Chapter Seven: The Dragon's Banquet
At Elder Long An's final words, every pair of eyes was on the Patriarch. Long Qingxiao noticed the apprehensive look on most of them; they wanted to know the way, and he was going to point it.
Boom!
The sound surprised everyone, but it was quickly followed by the delighted roar of Long Xun. "I broke through! I really broke through! Thank you, Young Master!"
A proud smile touched Long Qingxiao's lips. He nodded to the jubilant elder. "And so it begins." His voice, calm but firm, drew every eye back to him. "Elder Xun's breakthrough is the first testament to what my son has said. These techniques are not mere potential; they are our reality now. With them alone, our family's rise is inevitable." The flicker of hope in their eyes intensified. "But is that all we have? No. The herbs and the crops outside can boost this growth to an even higher degree."
"Their quality is perceptible just by looking at them. But can their quality really mean that much?" Long Yun asked. "I mean, the herbs, I understand a bit. But food... food is just food, isn't it?"
Long An let out a soft, weary sigh. "Elder Yun, with all due respect, you see with a merchant's eyes. You must understand what food of this quality represents to the common folk. In our district, we live mostly on scraps and leftovers compared to what we have here. Food of this quality would strengthen the people, which would lead to less illness and so on. The base of the family would be stronger just from this. But I doubt that is the only beneficial thing food of such quality would bring, right, Patriarch?"
Long Yun got embarrassed by what the old Elder said, but before he could defend himself, Long Qingxiao spoke. "I believe Elder Yun didn't mean anything bad with his comment, Elder An. I think he was speaking more on the practical uses for cultivation." The old Elder just shrugged while the younger one nodded in agreement. "But you are right that there are more benefits, and not only for commoners. I didn't try the food, but I did test one of the herbs—a Soul Nurturing Grass. My intention was to verify if my son's suspicions about it raising cultivation were true, and they were. After I tested my Soul Force, it had risen by 6 points from what it was before. For me, that's a negligible amount. Maybe even for someone at the Gold Rank. But for someone in the lower realms?"
"It would be a huge boost," Long Jian completed. As someone in the middle ranks of the Silver Rank, he could understand the allure.
"Most of the city is composed of cultivators for whom these herbs would make a huge difference," Long Hai pointed out.
"And so they would for our own," completed Elder Long Tao.
"Yes. You are all very right. And if the herbs had such an effect, the food could too," Long Qingxiao said. "So I believe we cannot sell anything we produce here. Internal consumption is possible if we plan well enough to not raise suspicions. But selling it is impossible."
"The Patriarch is right," said Long Jian. "The moment we put this on the market is the moment we'll be ruined. And I'm not even talking about the Sacred Family."
The struggle in the eyes of the Resources elders was visible, but they didn't disagree. "Yeah. In the world we live in, it's impossible to have such a treasure and not be forced to give it to those in power," said Long Min with a very frustrated voice.
"Well..." The child's voice attracted everyone's attention. "I might have a solution for that, if you're interested in hearing it."
"Oh? What could it be?" Long Meifeng asked, leaning forward, an action that every other Elder in the room also did, including his parents.
"We start restaurants with it," Long Tian said.
Long Hai countered, "It isn't exactly a bad idea, but even if it annuls the problem of raising cultivation—which I doubt, taking what the Patriarch said earlier—restaurants are expensive and hard to maintain in the outer rings. The only successful one is in the central rings, and the Sacred Family owns it." The mention of the family made his mouth turn sour and everyone groan, but he continued, "Non-cultivators aren't much interested in spending their money on this kind of luxury, and neither are the cultivators of lower rank."
"Nor does this solve the herbs problem," Long Xun added to his brother's comment, and everyone nodded, disappointed.
A mysterious and mischievous smile appeared on Long Tian's face. "Oh, I will love to prove you all wrong. Head Elder Long Yun, there are demon beasts in the repository, right?" The man looked confused, as was everyone else. "I will be right back. You can pause this part of the discussion. I guarantee I will have the solution."
And so, he disappeared, leaving everyone bewildered.
"Sorry for my son's antics," the Patriarch said, embarrassed, as was his wife by his side. "But we will continue as he said. I confess I'm interested in his proposal if it's feasible," he admitted, which prompted thoughtful nods from his council.
"The next thing we need to discuss is what we have on the table," Zi Rou said, letting her husband compose himself. "I have read mostly only the titles, but the knowledge here is staggering. That book," she pointed to the one sitting in front of the Vice-Head of Resources, "isn't the only one we need to verify."
"Your son said that we have pill recipes and the like," said Long Tao. "What are they? How many?" he concluded.
"I have read only the titles, but here," Long Qingxiao pointed to the pile of scrolls, "we have recipes that the Alchemist Association complains have been lost to time or are incomplete. There are some that I have never even heard of. And as Tian said, some of the books have practical knowledge for alchemy and other professions as well."
"So, is your son an alchemist now?" Long Hui asked her friend with a smile.
"No, he is not. He has zero practical knowledge," Zi Rou said, much to everyone's disappointment. The family had no one really capable in the field; everyone they sent to the Alchemist Association didn't pass the test. But she wasn't done and said with a smile, "In the theoretical field, though? I am sure the president of the Alchemist Association couldn't handle a conversation with him on the subject."
"That is the kind of knowledge Tian said the books had," Long Qingxiao intervened. "In the bestiaries. I read the book on Dragon Demon Spirits. It's vast, covers so many types I had never heard of. And I believe we will have to copy more than just the techniques, Elder Tao, as you pointed out before."
Everyone was flabbergasted by the revelation. This kind of knowledge was groundbreaking for the city, much less the family.
"But can we really take advantage of such a huge amount of knowledge, though?" The voice of the Grand Elder brought everyone's bearings back. "We don't have competent alchemists, and the same for other professions. What can we do with it, except give it to their respective associations?"
"We make our own," the Patriarch said, to everyone's attention. "It will take time, without a doubt. And the amount of resources that will be spent in this endeavor is staggering." He smiled and gestured to the door. "But we can support this endeavor now, can't we? As the Old Man so eloquently pointed out before, we waited for ten years. We can wait twenty more for justice."
Everyone smiled at that, their eyes a mix of hope and determination, until a rich, savory aroma unlike anything they had ever known wafted from the direction of the kitchen, hijacking their senses.
"What is that?" asked Elder Long Yun.
"Sorry, it's me. I started to work on my proof. You guys can continue," Long Tian answered from a distance in the kitchen.
"I don't know if this smell will allow it," groaned Long Xun.
"I know. I said I would prove everybody wrong," he said, the mischievous tone audible from the distance, as was a sound of something frying.
"Again, my apologies. I will see what he is doing," Zi Rou said and stood before walking in the direction Long Tian was.
"Again, let's put my son's antics aside and continue, even if it's hard, Elder Long Xun," Long Qingxiao said humorously, drawing an awkward laugh from his friends and a humorous one from the rest.
"I have a proposal to make to this council regarding its positions," Long Qingxiao now said, seriously.
"Go on," answered the Grand Elder, her eyes meeting his.
"We need to create a new branch. A crafting one," he proposed.
"Your idea is sound. But how do we make that a reality?" Long Hui started. "The movement of personnel to create a branch isn't easy. It might attract attention if we have spies in our ranks."
"And we have them," Long Xun said seriously. "Probably fewer than the Noble Families, but surely more than any Aristocratic one."
"Can you identify them?" Long Wei asked, the steel in his eyes showing.
"Not really," he shook his head. "Most of them are normally outsiders that took jobs on our fields. Those, I can identify and use for false information. But the ones inside the family? Those are almost impossible to identify," he admitted.
"You said almost. So you have some names?" Long Shan inquired.
"I do have suspicions, but I'm not going hard on them because they are too low-level to know anything of notice, and since we don't have any sabotage, I can't follow any trail," Long Xun explained. "But I will not give these names out, not yet. We can't make them suspicious, and I don't have the personnel under me to try and follow through."
"How many do you need?" Long Qingxiao asked, his eyes cold.
"Six, maybe seven. I already scouted them out. I just need the leave to bring them in," Long Xun answered.
"You have my leave. But keep your division as it has been," the Patriarch said. "Elder Long Hui, after this, you will have a conversation with Elder Long Xun about the names he will need for his division."
Long Qingxiao was preparing to lead the conversation back to its course when everything above the table disappeared to everyone's immediate confusion.
"I have ended my proof." Long Tian was now back on his chair. "Are you interested?" he asked mysteriously.
"I think we can make a pause to eat, don't you think, Elder Long Xun?" said the head of Resources.
The boy abruptly nodded his head to everyone's laugh and his own embarrassment.
"You can bring the food then, son," Long Qingxiao said, before asking, "And your mother, won't she eat with us?"
"Oh, I doubt she will leave the kitchen," he said and in a low tone added, "She is probably trying to figure out what I did."
That raised his father's eyebrows in curiosity. But before he could say anything, Long Tian started, "Okay. In a minute you will be served a dish I dubbed Hearthstone Steak."
He snapped his fingers, and the smell assaulted everyone's noses. It felt as good as a breakthrough.
"Oh! What a wonderful smell!" said Long Min, delighted.
"Indeed. Never smelled something this good from food before, and it seems so simple," Long Feng commented and asked, "What did you put in it?"
Everyone was as curious as him. They saw rice, beef, and potatoes. That didn't match the smell.
To Long Tian, it felt so good to smell seasoned food again. When he tested it the other day, he almost cried. Some things he just can't let go of, it seems.
"Well, the dish is composed of these three things you pointed out, plus Ember Root. The base is made of steamed rice, and the crispy smashed potatoes are the accompaniment. But the star of the plate? The steak. It's a pan-seared Ridge-Back Auroch with a savory Ember Root pan sauce." He said, internally so happy to have found a substitute for garlic in this world. Now he only needed to find the rest.
"Young Master, you used such a fine meat for this? We usually use it for banquets," Long Yun said. It was possible to see the man's brain working on how much it cost.
"Oh, Elder Yun, you don't need to concern yourself. After you eat it, you will say we should buy a herd of it. Trust me. And I needed a common meat; Grandpa An can't eat demon beast meat. And between this one and the meat from the Stone-Horned Bull, the Auroch was the appropriate one," he explained and continued, "The only high-level thing in this dish is the herb. I didn't want to risk Elder An's health by bringing the rice from the space."
"Oh. Thank you for thinking of this old man, Young Master," Long An said with a smile.
"The prose is good and all, but can we eat? It's kind of impossible to resist," Long Xun said with his cheeks red.
"You certainly can. But the juice first." As he said this, a glass of orange-colored liquid appeared beside the plate. "This is made of Sunstone Oranges. They are fresh from the tree and squeezed to take the liquid. Now you can eat," he smiled and waited.
Everyone looked at each other, waiting for someone to do the honors, and so a sound was heard.
"Hummmmmm."
It was Long Xun. He had a blissful expression on his face, with his mouth full. He was slowly savoring everything he could, as if he was afraid the taste would run away from him.
"Well, it seems Elder Xun approves. I will try it myself," Long Yun said and so dug into his food.
And so did everyone else. Their reaction was delightful in Long Tian's eyes. He wasn't exactly a chef; he liked to cook at home and try different things in his other life. He was sure if he taught all he knew to the cooks of the family, they would make even better dishes.
He couldn't wait to see the restaurants of the family packed in the future and, of course, to have seasoned food again.