Chapter 26 - Premium Vinegar Dragonfish

Dong He had brought this upon himself so let this be a lesson for him. But still, the thought of that blubbery man lying stark naked in an alley made Lin Jin shudder. That scene must have been too 'pretty' to watch.

Lin Jin quickly shook his head, erasing these nasty thoughts away before lunch.

On the second floor, Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun waved at him from the regular seating area.

Symphony Restaurant was one of Maple City's top-rated eatery, famed for its scrumptious food with great color aesthetics, mouthwatering smells, exquisite taste, and skilled preparation. It was no doubt expensive but Lin Jin had just earned a sum, so it was affordable.

As a high-class restaurant, the premise naturally offered private rooms at a higher price, hence Lin Jin chose to sit in the regular hall since the dining experience was all the same.

"What would you girls like to eat?" Lin Jin asked, sitting down.

"Appraiser Lin, since you're treating, you decide," Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun answered.

Nodding, Lin Jin flipped the menu open and names of various delicacies scrolled past his vision. He had to admit, the names of these dishes already sounded appetizing enough.

"Dear guests, you're in luck today. Our Symphony Restaurant has invited Masterchef Liao Gu to personally prepare dishes for our guests. Of course, not every dish is made by Master Liao. So here's a mystery game, after you've ordered, I'll tell you which dish will be personally prepared by Master Liao."

The waiter was an eloquent speaker, but Lin Jin had never heard of this Masterchef before.

Lin Jin was oblivious, but Lu Xiaoyun recognized the name.

"Masterchef Liao Gu?" Lu Xiaoyun gasped.

"Is this Master Liao very famous?" Zhao Ying asked innocently.

"Of course!" Lu Xiaoyung nodded. "Masterchef Liao was once the head chef in the royal household. Not every dignitary who desires to taste his dishes had an opportunity to. After that, he went on a journey across the lands. At least in our Jade Dragon Kingdom, his culinary skills were invincible."

"That amazing?" Even Lin Jin was surprised.

It seemed like he was in luck today.

However, the menu only had names of the dishes written, so Lin Jin decided to ask the waiter what they were. The latter ardently elaborated and Lin Jin finally got some idea.

"Then we'll have the premium vinegar dragonfish, evoroot braised lamb, salted trigrass chicken…" Lin Jin ordered about eight dishes, planning to go for a feast.

At this, the waiter immediately straightened up. "Sir, you're truly an expert. Among these dishes, two of them would be prepared by Masterchef Liao."

As Lin Jin named their order, Lu Xiaoyun was so enchanted by the thought of the fine foods she was going to taste, she was wiping her drool away in excitement. No doubt, this girl was a foodie.

As they waited for their dishes to arrive, the trio chatted over tea. Customers continued to pour in and suddenly Lin Jin felt the uncomfortableness of someone's gaze piercing his skin.

He turned to see several people ascending the stairs. Among them was Zhang He.

Ever since his defeat, Zhang He dared not meet Lin Jin's eyes. He deliberately averted his gaze now as well, wearing a hostile expression.

Besides Zhang He, there was a woman. A curvaceous and enchanting figure whose every move could easily captivate her audience. Lin Jin found records of this person in his memory. 

Jia Qian.

She was the classmate of his predecessor, currently the association's number one apprentice. Rumor had it that she lost by one mark during the last official beast appraiser exams.

In his memory, his predecessor admired this woman as well, but Lin Jin didn't feel the same. Instead, he thought of her as an absolute witch where no regular man could handle her.

Both apprentices of the association were currently accompanying a middle-aged scribe. From their respectful attitude, that scribe clearly had a unique status.

Upon noticing Lin Jin, Zhang He wore an odious look while Jia Qian had the usual icy gaze. Without a word, the trio entered a private room.

"Appraiser Lin, that Zhang He is horrible. He's still spreading slanders about you," Zhao Ying said indignantly.

Lu Xiaoyun commented on something else instead. "Appraiser Lin, I heard that you and Jia Qian had never crossed paths but the only reason why the Chief is against you is because of her."

Lin Jin waved nonchalantly. "Let's just have a nice meal. Don't talk about such upsetting matters."

Inside the room, they didn't have a regular waiter serving them, but they had the manager of Symphony Restaurant personally receiving them. This affirmed how special a status the scribe possessed.

The restaurant's manager, Zhang Baili exited the room with a smile and called for a waiter. "We have a special guest here today, one of our country's greatest calligraphist, Gu Mengzhong. This master adores delicious food. Here is the menu. Get the kitchen to prepare them meticulously."

Snappily the waiter grabbed the order chit and ran off. But he returned shortly with a troubled expression.

"Manager, Masterchef Liao says there are only enough ingredients left for one plate of premium vinegar dragonfish. A customer had already ordered it so he can't make another one," the waiter whispered.

"What?" Zhang Baili was annoyed, he rolled his eyes. "Which customer ordered it?"

"There!" The waiter pointed to Lin Jin's table.

In a gander, Zhang Baili smirked. "I know who he is. So it's that wretched beast appraiser. Do as I tell you and bring their premium vinegar dragonfish here."

"Then… what about them?" The waiter was shocked.

"Simple. Find a similar fish and get the other chefs to prepare it the same way. Would they even tell the difference?"

"But…"

"No buts. Are you incapable of weighing who's more important? Hurry up and go. If anything happens, I'll shoulder it."

Over at Lin Jin's side, their dishes were presented in succession with the premium vinegar dragonfish being the finale. It was definitely a feast. Lu Xiaoyun fidgeted from her impatience to dig in.

Just then, Lin Jin who had indulged in his bite of fish meat, immediately spat it out, changing into a weirded out expression.

"Waiter!" He called for his server.

Feeling guilty, the waiter asked with his head hanging, "Sir, is something the matter?"

Lin Jin wasn't angry. He pointed to the premium vinegar dragonfish and said, "There's something wrong with this fish."

Zhang Baili who had been observing this was alarmed. He then walked over.

"This is our manager!" The waiter quickly introduced the man.

"I'm the manager of Symphony Restaurant, Zhang Baili. May I ask what is the problem?" Zhang Baili purposefully asked.

Lin Jin repeated, "There's something wrong with this fish."

"Sir, please consider your words carefully. Our Symphony Restaurant is a century-old establishment, famous for its name. You may have to take responsibility for claiming that our dishes have a problem without explanation." Of course, Zhang Baili knew there was a problem with the dish. Hence, he planned to overpower Lin Jin with his aura. Although he had no idea how Lin Jin could tell, a little intimidation should scare him.

Lin Jin frowned.

Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun were silent. They knew that if Lin Jin hadn't noticed something was off, he wouldn't say anything. Since he had his reasons, the girls lowered their chopsticks.

Lin Jin had no plans of making a scene. He continued in a composed tone, "Manager Zhang, please don't get so defensive. Why don't you clarify with the kitchen if they've served the wrong dish? This isn't the premium vinegar dragonfish we ordered."

Lin Jin was offering them a way out. Because earlier, he could tell in one bite that this wasn't a dragonfish. However, he didn't find out with his mouth, contact with this dish had triggered a record in the Museum of Deadly Beast.

Of course, it wasn't the dish that was recorded, but the ingredient itself.

The fish.

Fishes were a type of pet beast.

According to the waiter's introduction earlier, this premium vinegar dragonfish was prepared with a dragonfish from the Westspring River, cooked with salt and vinegar. Lin Jin was no culinary arts expert but this definitely wasn't a dragonfish from the Westspring River. It was just a regular carp.