Chapter 59

Chapter 59: This Is a Haunted House, Not a Restaurant! Terrifying...

Rushing back to the small courtyard of the ghost feast, An Jishan sneaked a peek at the door for a while, first making sure that the female ghost wasn’t there.

Her craving for delicious food had already overcome the lingering fear in her mind!

Still, she needed to be cautious. Even if she got caught by the ghost, she figured the ghost would wait until she finished eating the mysterious casserole before taking her away, right?

She even thought that maybe this time, she might really be the first chef to catch Chen Ran.

Look at it—strange place, extremely delicious food—no matter how she looked at it, it very much seemed like Chen Ran’s style!

Only, the old man sitting by the table was a bit hard to deal with.

An Jishan carefully observed the entire courtyard layout and the dishes on the dining table.

On this huge table, there were many unopened disposable utensils wrapped in plastic.

When she came the first time, she only glanced at the dishes on the table and thought the pale food looked particularly scary under the lighting.

But now, looking again, she found every dish looked very tempting!

Later, she would have to quickly grab a set of disposable utensils, tear off the plastic wrap, grab some food fast, then slip out another door and find a safe place to eat!

After rehearsing her route several times, An Jishan dashed out!

However, just as she rushed to the table, Zheng Tao, who had just finished a round of eating, came back.

The two stared at each other, almost bumping into one another.

“Aren’t you going back to rescue your best friend? Where’s your best friend?”

“You guys just ran that way—why are you back here again?”

Seeing the disposable utensils torn open in An Jishan’s hand, Zheng Tao knew the secret of the lion’s head meatballs must have been uncovered.

When she left earlier, there were still four lion’s heads left in the casserole, so before the other noticed, she quickly grabbed one!

Not bothering to say more, Zheng Tao rushed to the table, lifted the casserole lid, and started scooping lion’s heads directly.

An Jishan, who was still hesitating about which dish to eat, saw Zheng Tao’s action and immediately decided on her direction:

Lion’s head meatballs!

“Give me one!”

Song Yuhan had just sneaked a meatball earlier, so now only three lion’s heads remained.

An Jishan, a seasoned foodie in food-snatching battles, saw at a glance that Zheng Tao was scooping one and about to scoop a second.

“Enough! Don’t eat them all! Half each!”

Feeling mischievous, she stretched out her spoon, trying to cut the lion’s head Zheng Tao was scooping in half.

There were only three meatballs total, and you actually want to eat two?

But the lion’s head was far softer and more tender than she imagined. The result of two spoons fighting for the same meatball was that the lion’s head tragically turned into a pile of minced meat.

Zheng Tao didn’t even lift her head and tried to keep grabbing more food.What’s wrong with it being broken? Broken bits mixed with some soup taste even better and more flavorful!

Xu Laoguai was furious!

Although he was glad everyone wasn’t scared off by the fierce scar on his face, he couldn’t let this go unnoticed.

His granddaughter was nearly shouting into the earpiece!

“Stay here with me!”

The two instinctively stopped scooping lion’s heads, each holding one, and ran off in different directions!

Getting caught and sent to the dark room now wouldn’t be worth it! Although they got the lion’s head, there was still a whole table full of dishes, many of which looked delicious too.

Holding the small bowls tightly, An Jishan ran until she could no longer hear the sound of chains before finally stopping.

To be honest, she was a bit disappointed.

At first, she thought this was just another one of Chen Ran’s bizarre job spots! But after scooping the lion’s head into the bowl, she realized it wasn’t made by Chen Ran.

She had eaten quite a few of Chen Ran’s lion’s heads at the Swan KTV.

She had always sincerely believed those were the best lion’s heads she’d ever had in her life. She could remember the color, shape, and taste of that braised lion’s head for a lifetime.

But this one… was obviously a completely different recipe.

At this moment, An Jishan’s phone kept ringing: when she rushed over just now, she was so excited thinking she had really found Chen Ran again that she immediately posted a message in the group.

“I found Chen Ran!”

Now, more than ten minutes later, there were hundreds of messages tagging her in the group, even dozens of new friend requests!

“Sorry! I was wrong! It’s not Chen Ran!”

An Jishan sighed and posted a photo in the group to prove she wasn’t trying to hog the food: “I thought it was her, but after grabbing a lion’s head I realized it’s not. Look, this lion’s head is clear stew, not braised.”

“Sigh, what a false hope.”

“Next time confirm first, Bao! I already took leave and was ready to rush over, but you said it wasn’t!”

“Oh, it’s okay, don’t kill everyone’s enthusiasm for finding Chen Ran! Shanhu don’t panic, I’ll send you a red envelope. Next time if you see something similar, still rush!”

An Jishan quickly replied to several messages in the group, sighed, and started eating the lion’s head with no expectations.

She missed Chen Ran’s lion’s head so much!

This clear stewed lion’s head was obviously quite different from the braised one she’d eaten before.

The braised one was tender too, but after frying it had a slightly firmer outer layer. However, this one was obviously softer and more tender.

She scooped up a spoonful, soup and all, and put it in her mouth.

“Oh wow!”

An Jishan was shocked!

Just judging by the taste, this lion’s head was even more amazing than the braised one she had eaten!

The braised lion’s head had a strong, dominating pork aroma, but this clear stewed lion’s head had layers upon layers of different fresh savory flavors. The three kinds of freshness were almost as intense as gelatin, able to cling in her mouth.There are actually lion’s heads even more delicious than the ones made by Chen Ran!

If the first bite was an unguarded surprise, then the second bite, with preparation, was a complete immersion in deliciousness.

She didn’t even dare to bite the lion’s head with her teeth, instead using her tongue to press the tender meat against the roof of her mouth…

She could almost feel the tender lion’s head being easily mashed into a meat paste by her tongue, the flavor rolling over the most sensitive middle part of her tongue, then to the root of the tongue, down the throat, all the way through the esophagus.

In that instant, An Jishan almost had a hallucination, as if even her stomach had grown taste buds, overwhelmed by this intensely rich aroma.

Even after swallowing that entire bite of lion’s head, the taste in her mouth did not fade at all!

She was doomed — her favorite chef was no longer Chen Ran; it was time to switch!

This small lion’s head made her a little reluctant to finish it in one bite.

But then she suddenly remembered there were other dishes on the table outside!

And… it seemed like there were still some meat scraps left from the lion’s head?

She quickly ate two big bites more, drinking the soup clean, then rushed back to the Ghost Banquet courtyard.

Xu Ruyi, controlling the mechanisms in the monitoring room, was furious.

Again?! Wasn’t the lion’s head already finished? Not even leaving the tiniest scrap?

“Everyone, block the guests in the Ghost Banquet courtyard!”

Still worried that this wouldn’t be enough to deter these reckless players, she couldn’t help but broadcast another announcement.

“One player has been captured. Remaining players please be aware: once caught, all carried items will be confiscated.”

An Jishan stopped in her tracks.

This haunted house did have some puzzle elements, and there were indeed quite a few props. She had just found a hairpin in another courtyard.

But right now, she wasn’t thinking about what would happen if her props got confiscated, but whether dining utensils and food counted as props.

…They probably did.

So if caught, even the food she had in hand would be lost?

She hesitated, then saw Zheng Tao, who had been grabbing food with her earlier, coming around from the other side.

“Did you hear the broadcast?”

“I heard it. Do you think props include food and utensils?”

The two wanted to go together!

“Probably… I’m planning to go check again, are you coming?”

“Let’s go! I haven’t even tried the other dishes yet.”

Although she only ate the lion’s head, even if the other dishes were only a third as tasty as the lion’s head, she could finish them all.

“Let’s go check it out. This time no stealing from each other! If we hadn’t fought just now, that lion’s head wouldn’t have broken and we would have already eaten it, right?”

Seeing An Jishan accuse first like a villain, Zheng Tao reluctantly nodded. Anyway, whether they fight over it or not, they’ll decide when the time comes.Over at the Ghost Banquet courtyard, it seemed a bit noisy. The two of them quietly quickened their steps toward it. While walking, they made a pact.

“If there’s another soft dish like this, put it in the bowl first before dividing.”

“Okay, we each grab our own first, then run together, find a safe place, and divide.”

“I’ll take more; I still have to get some for my best friend—she was the first to find the lion’s head delicious!”

An Jishan was about to protest but found that the courtyard was completely inaccessible now!

The two cautiously peeked inside from outside the courtyard. Besides the ghostly old man and two female ghosts they had just seen, there was another ghost.

“What’s going on here…”

“Should we go in and take a bite first before getting caught?”

“With so many people, they’d get caught before even reaching the table, right?”

At that moment, An Jishan finally remembered—she hadn’t come alone! She still had three friends!

She quickly messaged in the friends group: “Hurry back to the Ghost Banquet just now, the ghosts are all here!”

“Why go back? This is a good time to look for props.”

“Jishan, did you rescue anyone? If not, come over. I found the design of this haunted house pretty clever; the story is not bad either.”

An Jishan was a bit choked and had to drop a big bomb in the group chat.

“Hurry! The lion’s head at this Ghost Banquet tastes even better than the one we had at White Swan!”

“?”

Seeing that, Li Yao slowly typed a question mark in the group.

“You sneaked a bite without me? Can we still be friends?”

An Jishan felt a rare pang of guilt.

Back at White Swan KTV, Li Yao was the loyal lion’s head lover. When the lion’s head was taken off the menu, she even went to work feeling listless.

“No, I just wanted to try it first… Now there are ghosts here, you all come quickly!”

Someone had to lure the ghosts away so they could eat the last scraps.

However, after the other three arrived, the group voted to send Zheng Tao and An Jishan out first.

“You two already ate, go lure the ghosts away first. Don’t worry, after the ghosts leave, I’ll bring you some of the leftover dishes!”

An Jishan hesitated, but Li Yao shot her a sharp glance, and feeling guilty, she stood up.

“Remember my contribution! I took a hit for you all! Whatever dishes there are, at least save me some!”

“Hurry up!”

Zheng Tao dashed out first, luring away one female ghost. Then An Jishan dashed out again and lured away another female ghost. The remaining three agreed that one person would attract another ghost, while the other two would try to grab as much food as possible in the shortest time.

“Where do we regroup in the end?”

“At the big locust tree next to the artificial lake!”The last warrior also dashed out. Li Yao rushed toward the clay pot holding the legendary lion’s head at top speed.

Even better than Chen Ran’s braised lion’s head? She had to take a few more bites!

However, the moment she lifted the lid, her hatred toward her best friend increased by two degrees.

Only some meat scraps left?

She unceremoniously grabbed the clay pot, scooping the last bits of meat stuck to the bottom with a spoon, pouring the broth together into a small bowl.

Old Ghost Xu was somewhat numb...

He is a ghost! Couldn’t he be given some basic respect?

“If you love eating so much, then stay here with me!”

Unfortunately, Old Ghost Xu was burdened with too many chains, severely restricting his movements.

Li Yao scraped the meat quickly while unapologetically commanding her friends: “Why are you still dividing it here? Just grab the whole plate!”

“What utensils... can’t you eat with your hands?”

“Right! Those two plates were so little, just fold them onto the same plate!”

“Go! Hurry up!”

Back when she went to rural banquets, she could snatch roast chicken from the hands of an old professional plate folder!

Xu Ruyi, watching the surveillance, was getting tense.

She quickly commanded a few actors over the microphone: “Stop chasing people! Turn back! Surround the man and woman leaving the Ghost Banquet!”

An Jishan was looking at the group chat while slowly leading a female ghost. While running forward, she suddenly noticed the female ghost had turned back!

Something was wrong.

An Jishan immediately turned around and grabbed the female ghost’s bright red wedding dress: “Don’t go! Let’s keep running!”

The ghost shuddered all over from her grip.

Song Yuhan felt that she was the real visitor who had mistakenly entered the haunted house! How come now the visitors were starting to chase the female ghosts instead?

Li Yao, running wildly with a plate in both hands, wisely turned on group voice chat and started calling out:

“Everyone turn back and gather here! One plate each, then everyone escape on their own!”

“Try to finish eating before getting caught by ghosts!”

Xu Ruyi, commanding through the earpiece, fell silent.

She helplessly instructed some staff: “Forget it, just let them wander around, don’t chase so tightly… Running and eating—who cares if they choke?”

Although tickets included insurance, she still didn’t dare take that risk.

“Let them finish eating first. It’s supposed to be for the visitors anyway. After that, these few should be able to solve the puzzles properly, right?”

She couldn’t help but ask Old Ghost Xu in her earpiece, “Grandpa, is Chen Ran’s lion’s head really that delicious?”

To be honest, Old Ghost Xu hadn’t tasted it either.At first, he didn’t expect Chen Ran to succeed on the first try, nor did he expect her to boldly choose only one egg white.

However, judging by the final product’s color, aroma, and taste, it wasn’t much worse than his peak creations.

“It should be pretty tasty,” Old Ghost Xu sighed, recalling Chen Ran’s cooking technique. “If I had a disciple like this, how could an old man like me bear to let her go work everywhere...”

At this moment, several visitors had all received their dishes and keenly noticed the ghosts were temporarily gone.

“Alright, looks like we can eat first. Anyway, I guess this whole table of dishes was meant for us to eat, just that we have to solve the puzzle later to make that old man disappear.”

“True, otherwise the haunted house process would be so long, we can’t be running around hungry.”

Li Yao said this, giving An Jishan a sharp glance.

That lion’s head only had a little meat scrap left!

But those scraps had soaked in the broth so long, the flavor was even richer.

The clear broth made by simmering pork bones and old hen naturally contains some gelatin, making the broth very thick.

Now the broth was slightly cool, mixed with meat scraps, the rich flavor almost felt like meat jelly...

If only they could eat a whole lion’s head, how delicious that would be!

“Let’s come again tomorrow!”

“You’re crazy, tomorrow’s Monday, how about next weekend?”

“Next weekend works too. You have to remember, you owe me a lion’s head then!”

Besides the lion’s head, the other dishes were also very delicious.

“This whole table is Huaiyang cuisine. I heard before that many of Huaiyang’s creative dishes originate from Chinese classical gardens. This table fits the haunted house atmosphere quite well.”

“True. If we could slowly solve the puzzle storyline while enjoying this table, it would probably taste even better.”

Besides the clear stewed lion’s head, the other dishes were all fresh and flavorful soups—light yet exquisitely presented.

Only now, after the fierce scramble for dishes, it was hard to see the original appearance of the food.

“Let’s come again next week! Let’s make a pact to cooperate, follow the storyline normally, and no one secretly grabs food ahead, okay?”

“I think that’s good.”

“Alright! I agree! I can’t imagine how great it’d be to sit quietly and enjoy this feast...”

“That’d be hard too. There are only six of us; what if two others don’t agree?”

Speaking of six people, Zheng Tao, who was eating heartily, suddenly slapped her forehead...

There were only five people here! Her best friend was still locked in the dark room!

“You guys keep eating, I’m going to rescue my best friend first!”

In the end, all six gathered together, ate and drank their fill, and finally completed the entire storyline.

Xu Ruyi greeted the visitors at the door, looking somewhat ill.

“Boss lady! Can we make a reservation for the weekend?”Generally speaking, haunted houses with only one theme rarely get visitors coming back for a second or third time. After all, the storyline is usually dismantled after one experience.

Watching the whole process on the surveillance, Xu Ruyi fully understood that these people were not attracted by her storyline at all.

Moreover, she made this haunted house mainly to promote her own game—not to promote the clear stewed lion’s head!

Xu Ruyi forced a smile and handed out some promotional brochures to a few visitors: “If you want to know more about the story, you can support the game of the same name when it launches on Steam.”

“Oh, okay.”

An Jishan took the brochure, feeling somewhat disappointed. Still, she liked the haunted house’s theme, and since it was created by a female game developer, she would support it.

But Zheng Tao beside her was a bit unwilling: “Can’t we really make a reservation? I really want to go through the process again!”

You just really want to eat that ghost feast again, right?

Xu Ruyi was a bit speechless for a moment.

“A few days later. The park will be closed today and tomorrow. I’ll adjust the storyline again.”

This kind of situation cannot happen again!

She had already planned the direction for the changes.

First, the ghost feast should be a reward for solving the puzzle, not a scary scene at the start.

Second, the plates of the ghost feast must be fixed to the tables! She never wanted to see visitors running around wildly holding plates again in her life.

Thinking of this, Xu Ruyi no longer insisted: “Reservations are not possible, but you can come again later if you want.”

She wanted to raise the scariness level of the scenes, also to avenge Song Yuhan, who was scared stiff today!

Besides, judging by the popularity of this dish, if necessary, they could put a ghost guarding each lion’s head and see how they try to lure them away.

“By the way,” An Jishan couldn’t help but ask, “Can I ask what this chef’s name is? I really like her dishes! Is there a chance to eat her food outside sometime?”

Xu Ruyi had discussed this matter with Chen Ran before.

She had seen quite a few of Chen Ran’s videos and knew the crazy lines she had caused.

For Chen Ran, she naturally hoped there would be fewer such chases.

She followed Chef Chen’s steps to complete system tasks to try to please more diners and reach more people. If fans kept chasing her like this, she might as well open a restaurant on the spot.

So, after getting Chen Ran’s consent, Xu Ruyi gave her a pseudonym.

“Oh, our chef Lin Wei is only here temporarily for a while. I’m glad you appreciate her skills—I will definitely pass it on!”

An Jishan nodded; she would definitely come again to try Chef Lin’s cooking!

On the way home, she and Li Yao scrolled through Chen Ran’s fan group.

The fans in this group were high quality and very active, with dedicated people managing the group order—no one made inappropriate jokes.

She came here almost every day just to chat.

After all, Chen Ran’s dishes weren’t something they could eat every day, and people often shared other delicious food with each other.

“Today I ate a clear stewed lion’s head—so delicious, really not inferior at all to Chen Ran’s braised lion’s head!”Li Yao quickly caught up in the group chat: “Indeed, although I only ate a little meat residue, it was really delicious! And it’s also a female chef!”

This comment quickly attracted everyone’s attention in the group.

Many loyal fans of lion’s head couldn’t accept it, but some were curious and wanted to go try it.

“Where is it?”

“Yeah, tell us the restaurant, I want to taste it too and see if it really can compete with Chef Chen!”

“The two of us ate it in the haunted house…”

Haunted house?

Wang Zhaoshan, lurking in the group, frowned.

A suddenly appearing female chef, cooking in such a strange place... Could it be that someone noticed Chen Ran’s successful path and seemed to want to promote another similar chef?

To be honest, he was a bit skeptical.

Such a highly focused and talented chef is not common like cabbage growing casually in the field.

Not to mention the clear stewed lion’s head dish, one of the Huainan Three-Head Feasts—easy to make but extremely hard to make well. Could it be made with some high-tech ingredients?

He had to check it out! He couldn’t let just any random chef eat up the dividends they cultivated with Chen Ran.

Soon, Xu Ruyi noticed that all the group purchases for the haunted house this week had been booked out.

She frowned and quickly clicked a few times behind the number of fake blood packs in the shopping cart.

Here we go again?! Does she really look like she can’t make a scary haunted house? She would have to scare them so much they couldn’t even eat!