Four Split Personalities

"Ugh! If you’re so capable, try making a meal out of this rock!"

"..."

"Hehe, nothing to say now, huh? How about I catch another Mudkaqiu and you cook it for me?"

"You should be full by now."

"But I’m craving!"

"Not interested."

"Then I won’t protect you. You can walk out of this wilderness by yourself."

"..."

"Haha, wait for me when I come back!"

...

Although she wasn’t exceptionally beautiful, she looked extraordinarily beautiful in his eyes that day.

"Stay with me forever."

He gently caressed her cheek and whispered into her ear with what he believed to be his most magnetic voice, "I’ll cook anything you want to eat."

However...

"Kissing you doesn’t mean I’m willing to stay by your side forever."

She cunningly blinked her eyes while curled up in his arms.

"What..."

"Liking you doesn’t mean I’m willing to stay by your side either."

"Jia Jia, you..."

"Even what just happened doesn’t mean I’m willing to stay by your side forever."

"But I..."

"Shush, don’t speak."

She gently placed her index finger on her lips, her eyes brimming with tears drew closer and closer...

...

On the fifth year after she left, also the third year he ventured alone into the Perpetual Ice Plain in search of Heaven-cold Meteor Steel, a letter that was delayed by a year and a half finally reached his hands.

’Come home when you have time; your mother wants to see you one last time.’

That rather unattractive short sentence, however, rekindled feelings in his heart that he thought had already numbed.

A heart-wrenching pain...

...

The month of Songs was cold, the piece of Heaven-cold Meteor Steel in his arms was cold, his mother’s tombstone was cold, but his father’s gaze was even colder than the previous three.

From that day forward, until the day old Ramsey passed away, the father and son never had a proper conversation again.

...

His father passed away on the morning of the 329th anniversary of his mother’s death.

During the half day before that, he had a long chat with his son, whose fame had already spread far and wide.

He didn’t mention anything related to the kitchen, instead, he casually shared his childhood stories, how he met his wife, boasted obviously exaggerated tales, and finally asked about his son’s love life, wondering if he had any romantic stories in these past several centuries.

He told him that he had fallen in love with a girl over three hundred years ago.

His father asked, then what?

Then?

Then the girl disappeared one day without a trace, and he still couldn’t forget her, still loved her.

His father asked, what happened next?

Of course, there was nothing next, after all, she was just a human with a lifespan barely over a hundred years.

"Is that so..."

His father was stunned for a long while, suddenly laughed, and said, "It turns out that the people we loved are no longer in this world."

He silently nodded, his heart heavy with a sense of guilt.

But...

"I’m luckier than you, at least I was able to stay by her side."

His father, lying on the bed, smiled, his expression as wooden as ever. He gently gripped his son’s hand resting by the bed, and whispered, "I’m sorry, I was too childish, I’ve been sulking at you for so many years."

The childish one is me.

He was just about to say this, but found that his father had slowly closed his eyes.

"Let me rest for a while."

He said.

Then he never woke up.

...

Many years later, his fame had spread throughout the entire continent, at least among the culinary world of the continent. Apart from a few old rivals who were not gifted enough but worked hard enough, no one could match him in the realm of culinary arts, but...

Having reached middle age, his physical and mental condition had deteriorated continually, until even the feasts he prepared himself became tasteless.

That cannot be, that was his only existing value.

He reminded himself in the mirror countless times.

But miracles, indeed, don’t come to those who have given up deep inside.

...

Game Time PM19:45

"Grandpa Harper! Grandpa Harper!!"

In the girl’s panicked calling, Harper Ramsey slowly opened his eyes.

Ji Xiaoge, who regretted so much she wished she could chop herself into pieces, happily hurried to help the elderly Tree Elf sitting in front of her into a chair, tightly holding his hands and stuttering apologies...

"I’m so sorry! I really am sorry!"

"I overestimated my own cooking skills!"

"Are there any discomforts? Should I find a Pharmacist or Priest for you?"

"I, I, I... I realize my mistake, you can punish me however you want, or you can slap me, my dad has never even hit me."

"If you... if you don’t have the energy, I can hit myself too!"

Ji Xiaoge’s intestines were almost green with regret, because in the months at Sky Pillar Mountain, whether it was Femigel, Lujiang, or Cordova, they could eat her food with a straight face. With her own self-production and self-sale at hand, and having just made a very common stir-fry, Mr. Harper had said that he could handle anything, the stronger the taste, the better. So, the girl hadn’t thought much about it.

But after eating just half a slice of meat, Harper collapsed in front of her, convulsing on the floor for a full twenty minutes.

"Um, you little girl..."

Harper vigorously shook his head, then slapped himself twice to clear his mind, twitching at the corners of his mouth as he looked at Ji Xiaoge: "What did you put in this dish!"

"Little... little chili, earth root, snow onion, bull tendon, white fish slice..."

Ji Xiaoge reported more than a dozen ingredients, hanging her head.

Harper’s eyes bulged, and after a long pause exclaimed angrily: "Who are you fooling! These ingredients couldn’t possibly make something so disgusting... Disgusting... Uh... Hm!?"

His speech slowing down, he first paused, then suddenly pulled the strange substance in front of him and stuffed a spoonful into his mouth.

...

Game Time PM20:05

"Grandpa Harper! Grandpa Harper!!"

In the trembling call of the girl, Harper Ramsey once again opened his eyes, his face even wearing a hint of excitement as he exclaimed loudly: "Blah!!!"

"Grandpa Harper! Grandpa Harper!!"

Ji Xiaoge quickly handed a drink to the gagging man, anxiously saying, "You drink some water first."

"Blah!!!"

"Please drink quickly!"

"Glug glug... Spit! What the hell is this?!"

Harper, who forcefully drank half a cup of water, was purple in the face, waving the cup at Ji Xiaoge angrily: "Is this even drinkable! Though it’s a bit better than that dish earlier..."

Ji Xiaoge shrank her neck, timidly pointing at a teapot on the table: "That... that was the drink you prepared yourself, I saw you drinking it when I came."

"Alright, alright, it really tastes terrible."

The old man’s expression suddenly changed significantly, then he casually threw the cup and the teapot out of the window, and looked back at the now cold dish after a long while before hesitantly asking, "This thing, are you sure it only had the ingredients you mentioned?"

"Yes, yes! Please enlighten me!!"

Ji Xiaoge immediately nodded, having suspected when she saw the two legendary... cough, two legendary quality kitchen utensils in the kitchen, that this tasteless old man was no ordinary person, possibly even a grandmaster chef hiding his skills!

This might be something a normal NPC would never notice, but for players, the two items named [Harper Ramsey’s Old Stir Spoon] and [Harper Ramsey’s Scorched Spatula], the legendary culinary utensils, already provided enough information.

"Not so much enlightening, I need to first confirm whether this thing really only had what you just mentioned."

Harper glanced at Ji Xiaoge coldly and said in a deep voice: "If I find out you’re lying, hmm..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, only carefully leaning over, sticking his nose close to the dish, and took a deep breath...

Bang!!

"Grandpa Harper! Grandpa Harper!!"

Chapter 610: The End