DEM Chapter 25: Deep Breaths, This Is Normal!

“Class monitor, the first step in making roasted goose is to stuff the goose’s belly with various spices and sauces to marinate and flavor the ingredient.”

Su Yuan spread the cleaned dragonscale goose on the cutting board and began preparing the marinade, while Chen Nuoyi watched attentively and took notes.

“Class monitor, look, this is Cold Star Leaf. It effectively keeps the corpse as lifelike as when it was alive and imparts a faint fragrance.”

“And this is Blood Fragrance Flower. It helps the soul sealed within the goose’s body fuse further with the flesh, allowing it to control its movements as if it were still alive.”

“Then there’s this Copper Skin Gu. It may look a bit like the twin-tailed elves from Guangdong, but it significantly enhances the toughness of the corpse’s skin, making the roasted goose’s skin crispier and its meat tenderer.”

“Don’t worry, these intimidating auxiliary ingredients will be ground into powder, so the diners won’t see them and have their dining experience affected.”

As he spoke, Su Yuan mixed various spices and seasonings, some bought online, others already in the kitchen—in precise proportions, evenly applying them inside the dragonscale goose.

Chen Nuoyi, diligently taking notes, noticed that some of the ingredients’ effects were eerily familiar, reminiscent of those she’d seen in a movie called The Mortician online. She couldn’t help but say, “Coach, why do I feel like the spices you’re preparing are… a bit different from the roasted goose recipes I found online?”

Su Yuan waved his hand casually, “Tch, you trust those online tutorials? The real skills that keep a restaurant running are top-tier secrets. How could they be shared online?”

“Class monitor, just trust me. My ancestral roasted goose technique will produce a goose so good you’ll be speechless after one bite.”

Chen Nuoyi cautiously said, “But I thought you were an orphan?”

Su Yuan: “…”

Damn, he got carried away boasting and forgot about that detail.

Before he could come up with an explanation, Chen Nuoyi quickly covered her mouth, apologizing, “I’m sorry, that was tactless of me.”

In this world, where the rediscovery of ancient cultivation legacies had led to universal cultivation, ancient inheritances, big and small, were unearthed constantly.

Many people rose to prominence through fortuitous encounters in ancient secret realms or inheritances.

As long as such encounters weren’t used for illegal activities, the Cultivators’ Association never pried or questioned them.

Su Yuan’s willingness to share his treasured roasted goose technique was already a great favor to her. How could she dig into his secrets?
Seeing this, Su Yuan nodded, opting not to concoct an excuse, and continued teaching the method, ostensibly for char siu but in reality for corpse refining.

After stuffing the spices into the goose’s belly, Su Yuan used a corpse-stitching needle to neatly sew the opening shut, restoring it to a pristine state.

Next, following the techniques of Ancient Corpse Refining, he began shaping the goose’s body and applying a skin glaze.

“Su Yuan, I just saw the goose move a little. Is it… not completely dead?”

“It’s nothing, just a normal nerve reflex. They taught this in junior high biology.”

“Su Yuan, why is the goose suddenly jumping up, running around, and trying to peck me? Is that a nerve reflex too?”

“Yes, deep breaths, it’s all normal.”

“Oh, I see.”

Su Yuan hurriedly pinned down the goose wandering on the cutting board, wrapping its bloodthirsty beak with gauze.

“Su Yuan, I read online that roasted goose needs to air-dry for hours before going into the oven. This goose looks wet too. Do we need to wait for it to dry?”

Chen Nuoyi asked like a curious child, researching roasted goose facts.

Su Yuan thought to himself: If we really had to air-dry for hours, how could I teach you the full corpse-refining knowledge and make you fall completely today?

His face, however, showed a calm smile, “Don’t worry, my secret method includes a special drying technique. Watch closely, class monitor.”

With that, Su Yuan grabbed a bag of sticky rice from the kitchen and carefully spread it over every inch of the goose’s body.

Amid a sizzling sound, like a chemical reaction, excess moisture steamed off the goose’s surface.

Once the moisture was mostly gone, Su Yuan brushed the rice aside, revealing a goose that looked as if it had been air-dried overnight.

“This is my ancestral secret technique, the Rice-Drying Method, distinct from air-drying.”

Su Yuan declared proudly.

In truth, the goose had been fully refined into a walking corpse through the earlier steps, and sticky rice, which countered it to some extent, rapidly drew out its moisture, achieving an effect similar to air-drying.

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

Unaware of the intricacies, Chen Nuoyi’s bright eyes gleamed with admiration.

“Next comes the roasting.”

Su Yuan hung the person-sized goose and placed it into the kitchen’s oven, officially starting the roast.

This step was entirely absent from corpse refining, so even Su Yuan wasn’t certain if the goose would roast properly.

However, having fully mastered Ancient Corpse Refining, he had thoroughly understood the goose’s structure during the refining process, giving him confidence in controlling the roasting heat.

From slaughtering the goose to placing it in the oven, the process took nearly an hour. By now, the cafeteria had just closed, with plenty of unsold food remaining.

This worked in Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi’s favor. Chef Li, citing their status as staff, gave them a hearty portion of food for free.

After eating their fill, Su Yuan noticed a large bucket of slop that hadn’t been disposed of yet. He volunteered to handle it, discreetly using the Demonic Technique · Spirit Finger during the process to harvest another blue pill.

He realized he no longer needed to collect students’ leftovers. As cafeteria staff, he could take on this task permanently.

This way, he could reliably obtain a blue pill every morning, noon, and evening.

After handling the slop, Su Yuan returned to the oven to monitor his roasted goose.

Time ticked by, and the spirit-powered oven glowed with intense red heat, roasting the goose from the outside in.

An hour and a half later, Su Yuan judged the heat was about right and opened the oven door.

Chen Nuoyi, who had been waiting by the oven, looked on expectantly.

The moment the door opened, a mouthwatering meaty aroma burst forth like a storm, hitting Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi’s noses. A glossy, reddish-brown roasted goose, dripping with fat and irresistibly appetizing, appeared before them!
“It smells so good, even better than the roasted goose we saw at the char siu shop last night!”

Though she had just eaten, Chen Nuoyi felt an urge to dive in and devour it.

“Not yet, we can’t let our guard down. The ultimate test of gourmet food is its taste.”

Su Yuan remained serious.

After all, this roasted goose was made using Ancient Corpse Refining methods. Though every technique suggested it would be crispy-skinned and tender, Su Yuan still felt a twinge of uncertainty until he tasted it.

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