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0.55% Skyfire Avenue / Chapter 5: Heavenly Treasure

Chapitre 5: Heavenly Treasure

Éditeur: AtlasStudios

The scarlet red wine that had been poured into the cups were very tranquil, not a hint of a ripple to be seen. The fragrance of the wine wasn’t too strong, as though all the flavor had been tightly locked into that sparkling, translucent, blood-red, ruby like wine.

The Wine Master’s hand didn’t tremble at all. He filled all four cups to an exceptionally equal level, up to two fingernails height in each cup. Just by looking at the cups, couldn’t tell the difference between any of the cups at all.

Lan Jue stared at the wine, but the Gourmet was staring at the enormous ham in front of him. Both sets of eyes were mesmerized.

Twenty candles were set up in orderly fashion, just slightly smaller in total size than that square serving tray. The Gourmet swept his right hand towards the wicks of the candles, and at the same instant, all twenty candles lit up at the same time. The flames didn’t burn very high, but they were very bright.

Holding the serving tray by the edges, the Gourmet held it at a straight level above the candle flames, allowing the heat of the candle flames to evenly heat up the tray.

The Coffee Master said, “Isn’t that too much trouble? Why can’t you just use your own fire?”

The Gourmet didn’t even look at him as he spoke. “That’s why we say you have no taste. If it weren’t for the fact that you are extremely lucky, there’s no way you would have the chance to drink this wine today, or eat a ham like this. My flames are positive energy flames, but of a dry and explosive type. Candle flames are positive energy flames that are gentle, soft, and evenly distributed. The latter is what I need right now.”

The Coffee Master said somewhat argumentatively, “Why is there no way? I don’t believe it! Wine Master, is he telling the truth?”

The Wine Master didn’t say a word. He lifted up the long-stemmed wineglass in front of him by its long, crystalline stem. Raising it high, he caught the light of the candles within it and stared at the scarlet red wine within.

The Coffee Master next turned to look at Lan Jue. “The Gourmet looks down on me! On what basis did he criticize me like that?”

Lan Jue’s gaze was focused on his wineglass as well. His movements were almost identical to the Wine Master’s. He lifted up his wineglass, staring at the ruby color within.

“He speaks the truth, and he has a very good reason. The reason the Wine Master didn’t say anything was because he didn’t want to hurt you. However, I can tell you the reason. We’ll just treat it as my revenge for you stirring up trouble earlier.”

“Fine. Tell me.” The Coffee Master said in a dissatisfied way.

Lan Jue laughed calmly. “If you want to learn something, you have to pay a price. Give me the wine in your glass, and I’ll tell you the reason. Otherwise, where’s the ‘revenge’ part?”

The Coffee Master said with some anger and embarrassment, “Fine. If your reasoning convinces me that I’m not worthy of drinking this Romanée-Conti, then I’ll give you my glass.”

Lan Jue put down his own wineglass, then turned to look towards the Wine Master. “You aren’t allowed to fight with me over it. He asked me the question. It’s your own fault for not saying anything earlier.”

The Wine Master let out a sigh. “For him to be willing to give up this glass of Romanée-Conti, in and of itself, is already a sufficient reason why he isn’t qualified to drink it.”

Lan Jue smiled as he spoke. “But this isn’t enough to convince him, because he could always make up the excuse that his desire for learning exceeds his desire for delicacies.”

Lan Jue raised the glass of water and took a sip before finally turning to look at the Coffee Master.

“Actually, the reasoning is very simple. It is because you are the Coffee Master. Although you know how to appreciate wine very much, and you also know how to appreciate gourmet food very much, in the end, you are a Coffee Master.”

The Coffee Master, somewhat bewildered, said, “How can this be considered a reason?”

Lan Jue said, “Of course this is a reason. Compared to red wine, you like coffee better. Might I ask, how many cups of coffee do you drink every day?”

The Coffee Master said, “Three cups.”

Lan Jue said, “Drinking coffee has already become the most important habit you have in your life. The better the coffee, the stronger and the longer lasting its flavor is. However, it will also dominate your taste buds. Before sampling a truly top-class red wine, in order to be able to enjoy all of its fragrance to the fullest, one has to avoid eating anything with strong flavor for at least three days in advance. Coffee, tea, chocolate…these are all definitely forbidden. Otherwise, your taste buds will have already been occupied. Although you can use white bread to try and absorb those flavors from your mouth, there will be at least a little bit that remains. It will impact the sublime feeling which this fine wine will transmit to your soul. This is a form of blasphemy towards the wine.”

Pausing a moment, Lan Jue smiled as he looked at the Coffee Master. “Then, in the past three days, have you drank coffee?”

The Coffee Master laughed bitterly. “Of course I have.”

“Thank you.” Lan Jue gracefully picked up the glass of wine in front of the Coffee Master, pouring all of the wine within into his own glass, then returned the empty glass to the Coffee Master.

The Wine Master let out a sigh. He gently swirled the glass in his hand, then delivered it to his nose for a sniff. Instantly, the solemn look in his eyes disappeared, and was replaced by an intoxicated, mesmerized look.

He took a rather large sip, keeping it in his mouth for a rather long moment before swallowing it.

Lan Jue also took a drink. Lowering his head, with a gentle sip, the gentle sound of liquid entering his mouth could be heard. And then, he once more lifted his head up, swallowing the wine.

Only a long moment afterwards did the Wine Master’s expression return to normal. “A pomegranate glow makes clear its quality; the fragrance of classic Romanée-Conti, the smell of roses and sweet peppers; gentle and harmonius, in the mouth, one can sense how the strength of the taste is rather reserved, but an extremely long aftertaste remains.

As he spoke, he turned his gaze towards Lan Jue. “You picked very well. This bottle of Romanée-Conti is right at the perfect time for drinking.”

Lan Jue let out a soft breath. “It fuses both a spicy fragrance and a floral fragrance, is refined and joyous; in the mouth, it shows off its astonishing suppleness and harmoniousness. The taste of haw fruit mixed with cherries, plentiful and exquisite. This existence of this wine and its exquisiteness is a sort of pleasant surprise to us! It indeed lives up to its reputation as being acclaimed as a ‘heavenly treasure’, the king of wines! I think, in the next three days, my taste buds and even my teeth will still be filled with this wondrous flavor. I can’t drink wine for the next three days.”

The Coffee Master looked at the expressions on their faces. He couldn’t help but say, “Is it as good as all that? Wine Master, give me a little bit more.”

The Wine Master let out a sigh. “I originally had prepared that plate of white bread especially for you. I wanted to have you use it to absorb some of the flavors saturating your taste buds. After doing that, given how powerful the flavor of Romanée-Conti is, you should be able to just barely appreciate the flavor of it as well. However, you’ve already lost it to the Jewel Master. I had only intended to offer you a single glass to begin with. Thus, I’m very sorry, but today, you don’t have a share.”

The Gourmet removed the tray from above the candles and placed it on the table. He patted the Coffee Master on the shoulders and said, “This is what the revenge of the Jewel Master is like. This fellow really knows how to hold a grudge.”

The Coffee Master turned his head to shoot a vicious glare at Lan Jue.

Lan Jue once again took a sip of that heavenly treasure, that wondrous wine. “The other day, Miss Camille [Ka’mei’er] went to my store. Although she didn’t buy anything, from her eyes, I could already tell what she liked.”

The Coffee Master’s face frozen. He let out a gloomy sigh. “You win.”

Lan Jue inclined his glass towards him. Slowly, the Coffee Master’s face returned to his previous calm. “But I won’t leave just like that. Although I didn’t have the chance to drink fine wine, I’m still going to eat some of this ham.”

The Gourmet had, at some point in time, taken a slender, long, yet narrow knife into his hands. With a gentle cut, a paper-thin slice of ham drifted down into the plate.

His hand suddenly transformed into a blur, and soon, several dozen slices of ham filled up the plate.

“Why did you have to roast it a bit first?” The Wine Master asked the Gourmet.

The Gourmet said, “This so-called ‘black pig’ should actually be called an Iberico boar. Generally speaking, in the previous era, they were raised in the mid-west forests of Spain. That place was one of the most classic, natural environments. It included wide pastures, oak trees, and the acorn trees which made up most of the foliage in Spain. The pigs which were raised in these wide pastures primarily ate the seeds of the oak trees and acorn trees. As for oak seeds, true oak sees were an indispensible part of the feeding for true Iberico ham.”

“This is the manufacturing process; Slice open the pig, then chill the pig meat to six degrees Celsius; cure it; clean it; after the curing for one section is complete, use cold water to wash away the remaining salt of the ham, then place it in a storehouse for two months while salting it evenly; it will naturally dry. Afterwards, hang it in a natural cave for at least twenty four months without disturbing it, and it will be ready to eat. The finest of Iberico ham actually needs to be quietly cured for at least forty eight months.”

“This ham that you brought out is an exquisite specimen even amongst Iberico hams. Only a 100% pure Iberico pig that was completely fed on oak seeds can possibly be cured in a mountain cave for as long as seventy two months. Even in the previous era, this is something that one cannot buy with money alone.”

“But this sort of ham has a problem. The problem is that its natural fat is too thick. Although the flavor is pure and beautiful, the fragrance will be somewhat masked by the fat. While chewing it over, although you’ll be able to taste it, in the end, it will still be flawed. I first heated up the tray, then chopped the ham into slices, so that the temperature of the tray will cause the fat to melt, allowing it to permeate into the meat and for the fragrance to completely come out. Look. The white fat has already turned translucent.”

Indeed, in the originally white-and-red ham, the white fatty parts were already translucent, looking like frozen crystals. A faint fragrance came out from the platter which thickened but did not dissipate.

Lan Jue reached over to take a slice, delivering it to his mouth. Instantly, his face changed. The flavor was strong and pure, and it lasted a long time in the mouth. After taking another sip of Romanée-Conti, he was utterly intoxicated.

The Wine Master also ate a slice, and his reaction was almost the same as Lan Jue’s. And then, he let out a bitter laugh. “It seems my previous manner of eating it was a waste.”

The Gourmet smiled as he ate the ham while drinking the wine. “I’m eating your food, drinking your wine, and being praised by you as well. How wonderful.”

Lan Jue sighed leisurely. “Heavenly treasure, a top-tier Iberico ham. Wine Master, in the future, I will often come.”

The Wine Master didn’t look at him, but his eyes had a bitter look in them. He knew that the Jewel Master wasn’t by nature an immodest person, but when he decided to act immodestly…

The Coffee Master also had a bitter look on his face. The aroma of the Iberico ham far exceeded his imaginations, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the ‘heavenly treasure’ to pair it with.


Chapitre 6: Letter, Pearl, Hera!

Éditeur: AtlasStudios

Walking out of the Old Gothic Winery, Lan Jue’s mouth was still filled with that abundant, meaty flavor, as well as the pure fragrance of that ‘heavenly treasure’. The Coffee Master, having received a satisfactory answer from him, had left earlier.

Turning his head, he looked at the Gourmet who had left alongside him. Lan Jue couldn’t help but want to laugh.

In the previous era, Iberico ham truly did have rather thick fat. But the method which the Gourmet had selected for them to eat had another effect; it reduced the amount of grease. After reducing the amount of grease, naturally it was a little bit tastier.

At this moment, Lan Jue’s mind was still full of that look of hidden bitterness in the eyes of the Wine Master when he stored away the remaining ham.

“I’m off.” The Gourmet waved at him, then merged into the night.

Lan Jue passed through Skyfire Avenue. He saw, to his somewhat astonishment, that the lights in his store were still lit. It was already very late at night.

Pushing the door open and entering, he saw Xiu Xiu, standing there with a smile.

“Xiu Xiu, why haven’t you gone home to rest yet? It’s very late.” Lan Jue looked towards her questioningly.

Xiu Xiu smiled as she went to welcome him, handing an envelope over to him. “Boss, this is the letter which that young Miss Mao left behind. I was afraid of delaying some important matter, so I waited until you came back. Ke’er originally wanted to wait alongside me, but she was sleepy, so I had her go home first.”

Lan Jue gave her a courtly hug. “You are always so thoughtful.”

Xiu Xiu smiled. “Then I’ll go home now?”

“Right. Good night. Be careful on the way home.” Lan Jue lightly kissed her on her cheek.

Xiu Xiu walked to the door, turned her head towards him, smiling beautifully. “The wine fragrance you are wearing today smells very good.”

Lan Jue laughed. “If I smelled this good every day, the Wine Master would try to kill me.”

Xiu Xiu shut the door after walking through it. Lan Jue stayed at the store at night. Not for the sake of standing guard or working at night, but because this was his home.

Holding that letter, Lan Jue strolled into the VIP room. He pressed a button on one of the side walls of the VIP room, and the wall slide away, revealing the room behind it.

Lan Jue’s residence wasn’t very large, only a hundred square meters or so, but it had all sorts of necessary equipment. Every day, Xiu Xiu and Ke’er would volunteer to help him keep it clean, so this place was always spotless.

The room still had the faint, natural fragrance left behind the two girls. Lan Jue didn’t like the smell of strong perfume, which Xiu Xiu and Ke’er both knew.

Sitting down on the sofa, Lan Jue pulled open the envelope. He actually didn’t want to read it at all, because he didn’t want to ruin the good mood the ‘heavenly treasure’ wine had given him, but…all people are affected by curiosity. He was no exception. In addition, he had the faint sense that this letter wasn’t a simple one.

Opening the envelope, he only saw four words, but these four words caused him to instantly forget about the flavor of the ‘heavenly treasure’.

Lan Jue’s eyes, slightly intoxicated after having drank wine, suddenly turned blue, and electricity crackled within them. The originally bright lights in the room began to flicker and turn dim, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, while emitting a nonstop crackling sound.

Hera! Is! Not! Dead!

Those were the four words on that piece of paper.

Hera was a name. In the previous era, on the home planet, she was the Queen of the Gods in Greek mythology.

Zeus was the King of the Gods. His wife, naturally, was the Queen of the Gods, Hera.

In the New Era, Hera Mao was Lan Jue’s wife. The wife who had disappeared in what was, to him, an utterly calamitous event. The explosion which had ended the event had destroyed an entire star. No one believed that Hera could have survived.

It had happened three years ago. After it happened, he had arrived here and settled down here.

Dragons have their weak points. Zeus did as well.

Lan Jue sat there for a full quarter hour, not moving at all.

After the quarter hour passed, he flipped the letter over. On the back, he found a contact number.

With his left hand, he pressed down in mid-air. The electronic screen on facing the sofa immediately lit up, and a holographic 3D image appeared. The image was that of Skyfire Star. Lan Jue’s left hand was now covered with a layer of light as well.

His elegant, agile finger transformed into a blur as he entered a lone line of numbers, and the holographic image in front of him rapidly moved.

Seconds later, the image of Skyfire Star disappeared. The woman who had come to the store before appeared in front of him, still dressed in white. But of course, this was just her digital hologram.

“Zeus, can we have a chat now?” The woman had a smile on her face as she spoke. She was very confident; perhaps even a bit coy.

Lan Jue’s face was very calm, and the blue color had vanished from his eyes. “Do you know what the price of lying to me is?”

Although they were separated by a great distance and only speaking through a communications device, upon hearing those words, the woman’s face couldn’t help but change. Strong heart palpitations caused her to suddenly feel as though her chest was under great pressure. Still, she quickly managed to calm down. “When Zeus is angered, the heavens and the world will know it. I know. My name is Pearl [Yue].”

Lan Jue said coldly, “Show me the evidence.”

“Alright.” Pearl agreed easily. Raising her two arms, she made pulling motions in mid-air, and an image appeared.

The image was that of a picture. It seemed to be a classroom in a school. The students were all dressed in school uniforms, and they were walking in line, preparing to go to class.

Suddenly, Lan Jue stood up. The blue light which had just disappeared from his eyes appeared yet again.

He saw a person. A person who, for him, had been engraved deep into his soul long ago.

The first thing he saw was her head of long, black hair. Her black hair was somewhat naturally wave, utterly black and glossy, rolling down to her waist. Her school uniform revealed her orchid-like, pure white arms, long and tender. Because the table obstructed the view, one couldn’t see anything lower than mid-skirt.

The most shocking thing was, her eyes had pupils that were different from that of ordinary people’s. They were sky blue, like the color of the sea, without a hint of impurity. Her long eyelashes blinked, and those sky-blue eyes became the most soul-stirring part of her exquisite features. Anyone who she looked at would feel that their soul was enchanted by her two beautiful eyes.

Black hair, blue eyes. It was her!

The picture disappeared, and Pearl’s voice rang out once more.

“Zeus, can we talk about our partnership now? The school uniform which Hera is wearing, in the area of Skyfire Star alone, is used by the students of over two hundred schools. In addition, the star she is at isn’t necessarily Skyfire. I can tell you a secret beforehand. Within the next ten days, if you aren’t able to find her, then, you will definitely regret it all your life.”

Lan Jue, or, to be precise, “Zeus” Lan Jue, said, his eyes flashing coldly, “Terms!”


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