Chapter 411 – Celia and Uli

There didn’t seem to be any dangerous magical beasts in the area, so Mo Lan and the others set up camp right by the lake.

Mo Lan took out her Mobile Kitchen Card, then materialized one of each type of fish ingredient card they had collected today.

“Rainbow Fin Fish has tender fins — perfect stewed with pickled cabbage. Round Head Fish has a big head — great for chopped pepper fish head. Pinecone Fish opens up like a pinecone — ideal for squirrel-style mandarin fish. Blue Horn Fish is boneless with delicate flesh — perfect for sashimi. Ink Shadow Fish are small with lots of roe — deep-fry them into crispy dried fish…”

Mo Lan had thought about the best cooking method for each of these fish back when she’d read the book on Emerald Creek Plains aquatic species. Now it all came to her effortlessly, and she arranged tonight’s menu with ease.

Just listening to Mo Lan rattle off dish names made Vasida feel her mouth watering uncontrollably.

A glance at Sylph and Lilith showed they weren’t faring much better.

Once Mo Lan had decided on the dishes, she materialized the side ingredients and seasoning cards as well, placed everything in the kitchen, then channeled her Mana and activated Culinary Magic.

The Mobile Kitchen’s utensils sprang into action immediately.

Though the ingredients were all fresh, the recipes were tried and true — Advanced Culinary Magic was more than up to the task.

Mo Lan freed up her hands entirely, took out her Grimoire, and sat down by the campfire. “All done! Let’s rest for a bit — dinner will be ready soon.”

With that, she opened the book and began reading.

Sylph glanced over and caught a chapter title — “Flesh Stripping and Bone Shaving: Humanoid Skeletal Remains” — and said in disbelief, “You’re reading a book about processing corpses while cooking?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Mo Lan said. “We’re about to head into the Black Forest to find humanoid corpse materials. I’m just cramming a little beforehand.”

Vasida came over to look too. “I know this book — 《Flesh Stripping and Bone Shaving Guide》, essential reading for resizing corpses! It’s on the necromancer witch reading list my mom gave me!”

“It really is an excellent book. The witch who wrote it studied every type of humanoid corpse material in all of Valen — how to reduce oversized body parts down to smaller dimensions, it’s all explained crystal clear in here,” Mo Lan said.

Mo Lan and Vasida grew more animated as they talked, so Sylph had no choice but to seek comfort from Lilith.

Only to discover that Lilith had vanished from her side.

Over by the Mobile Kitchen, there was an extra figure.

Sylph walked over. “Lilith, what are you doing over here?”

“I’m not very good at cooking fish, so I figured I’d take this chance to study a bit!” Lilith said.

This reminded Sylph that her own Culinary Magic was the weakest of the group — she was only good at cooking with Earth seasoning pack cards, or making various cold vegetable dishes.

So she joined Lilith in watching Mo Lan’s utensils work their magic.

As night deepened, the utensils transitioned from the prep stage to the actual cooking stage.

In the center of the calm lake, bubbles suddenly began gurgling to the surface.

Zhizhi, who had been playing with stones by the water’s edge, noticed the anomaly immediately and jumped up in alarm. “Zhizhi zhizhi!”

Mo Lan and the others were instantly on guard.

From the lake emerged a massive dark-green turtle. On its back sat a house made of coral, and outside the house stood a witch holding an oversized Wand, her face full of fury:

“Which scoundrel has been stealing my fish…”

Before she could finish, a rich, intense aroma hit her, and her anger faltered. “What is that? It smells amazing!”

She looked toward the shore and locked eyes with Mo Lan’s group of four, who stood at the ready.

Identities confirmed — they were all witches.

The tension between both sides immediately eased.

“Hello, we’re witches passing through. My name is Moira.”

“I’m Lilith.”

“I’m Sylph.” “I’m Vasida.”

They hurried to introduce themselves.

Mo Lan had caught the witch’s unfinished words and asked, “Are the fish in the lake ones you’ve been raising?”

“Hello, I’m Celia. Those fish — I raised them all as food for Uli,” the witch said. “Uli is my magical familiar. She’s an otherworldly traveling turtle who loves freshwater fish, so I’ve been raising some for her in the lake.”

“We’re sorry, we didn’t know those fish belonged to you,” Mo Lan said.

Thinking back on it now, the variety of edible fish in this lake really had been too comprehensive, encompassing nearly every fish species native to Emerald Creek Plains.

If they’d been deliberately cultivated, that would explain it.

“It’s fine. You didn’t catch that many — not even enough for Uli to pick her teeth with,” Celia said.

She had originally thought some magical beast had been sneaking in to eat her fish.

If it was just some witches passing through, taking a few to eat was no big deal.

Mo Lan felt bad about it and crafted a card: {Ingredient Card — Freshwater Fish}. “I’m really sorry! Please take this as compensation for Uli!”

The card contained every freshwater fish species she had catalogued, a hundred jin of each — far exceeding what she had taken from this lake.

“No need… what is this?” Celia started to refuse, but was drawn in by the card in her hand.

She was clearly a witch who had stayed holed up at home for many years without venturing out.

Living right here in the Wilds, yet she didn’t even know about the Sorceress Magic that had become popular through the Witch Council, let alone cards.

“It’s a long story. Why don’t you come ashore and join us for dinner, Miss Celia? We can explain over the meal,” Mo Lan invited.

“Yes, yes! Most of the fish Moira caught have been turned into dinner — the portions are huge! You and Uli will love it,” Vasida said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. A turtle carrying a house on its back — so cool!

“You really want to invite me and Uli to dinner?” Celia was both longing and embarrassed.

“Of course,” Mo Lan said.

Lilith, Sylph, and Vasida all expressed their welcome too.

“Then I won’t hold back!” Celia said. “Uli!”

Moments later, there was a new addition by the campfire at Mo Lan’s camp — a witch hugging a large green-furred turtle.

The witch craned her neck forward, and the turtle carrying the little house on its back craned its neck too, both staring unblinkingly at the Mobile Kitchen.

“I’m not usually like this, really! It’s just that your Culinary Magic is so incredible — the aroma alone is impossible for me and Uli to resist,” Celia said, trying to save face.

“It’s fine! We can’t resist Moira’s cooking either,” Vasida said, her throat bobbing with a swallow.

Lilith and Sylph were no different.

Hearing the familiar sound of people swallowing, Celia broke into a smile. “Is Moira a Culinary Witch? These dishes all look incredibly appetizing.”

Mo Lan gave a light cough and pointed at her chest.

At some point, she had already pinned her Culinary Witch badge on. “It’s my first time cooking with these ingredients, but don’t worry — I’m a professional!”

The Mobile Kitchen was just wrapping up, so Mo Lan introduced the dishes to Celia.

“Earth? So they really are otherworldly cuisines! I knew it — even if I haven’t left the Wilds in a long time, food culture everywhere couldn’t have changed this much!” Celia said.

Mo Lan smiled. “Come on! Let’s dig in together!”