"Okay, please wait a moment." Mai Ge nodded and turned to walk towards the kitchen. He was quite satisfied with Amy's answer, at least the little girl didn't immediately agree after hearing that he was going to teach her magic. However, it seemed that this mage had not given up yet, and he was still somewhat wary.
"Grandpa White Beard, where are you from?" Amy, having confirmed that Crassus wasn't there to sell matches and now that he had money, wasn't in a hurry to let him go and asked curiously.
"My name is Crassus • Aiou. I come from Luo Du, the capital of the Los Empire. It took me half a year to reach Chaos City. Luo Du is a city more than ten times larger than Chaos City." Crassus said with a smile, trying to make his voice and expression as friendly as possible.
If the people in the Tower of Honor saw Crassus, who was usually so stern and even somewhat rigid, speaking so kindly to a little girl, they would be utterly astonished.
Mai Ge, who had just reached the kitchen door, suddenly stopped and clenched his fist.
Half of the powerful human mages reside in Luo Du, the capital of the Los Empire. The most powerful among them are enshrined in the magnificent 36 story mage tower in the royal palace. These individuals are revered by the royal family as honored guests, hence the tower is also known as the Tower of Honor.
Two of the three mages who attacked him back then came from the Tower of Honor which means that the royal family tacitly approved of the matter, or at least that some members of the royal family had given the order to do so.
Although the imperial military was shaken after the incident, and the king ordered a reorganization of the mage tower, scapegoating two low-ranking members of the royal family to quell the matter.
Mai Ge found the name Crassus in the original owner's memories. He was one of the mages revered by the imperial royal family. It is said that he was over 120 years old, had a reclusive and mysterious personality, and basically never stepped out of the mage tower. Even if there were any major events in the Los Empire, he would never participate. Even the king could not do anything about him.
As a knight, Mai Ge • Alex generally looked down on mages and had never even met Crassus. To this day, he still doesn't know whether the incident was the result of a discussion among all the mages in the mage tower or an action that was given to those two mages separately.
Regardless, Mai Ge had to keep Amy and Crassus from getting closer. The Tower of Honor was too dangerous, and Crassus, as one of the most senior mages there, must have heard about what happened back then. His insight should not be underestimated.
Moreover, seeing him now patiently and skillfully trying to entice Amy to become interested in Luo Du made him even more uneasy. He would never allow Amy to leave his side, much less let her go to that gloomy mage tower in Luo Du.
Having made his decision, Mai Ge went straight into the kitchen and began preparing the ingredients to make Yang Zhou Fried Rice.
"Has it been half a year?" Amy tilted her head and thought seriously for a while.
Just as Crassus thought she would ask expectantly what fun things there were to do in Luo Du, Amy sighed and looked at Crassus with a somewhat earnest expression, saying, "Grandpa White Beard, you're so old. It's taken you more than half a year to walk such a short distance. It would be so much better if you stayed at home. If you collapsed on the road, others would have to transport you back, which would be such a hassle."
Crassus felt like he was choking, almost unable to breathe. If he took a carriage from Luo Du to the Chaos City, it would take about twenty days to get there by traveling each day.
However, his purpose in coming all this way was to find a good prospect, so he took many detours and went to many places along the way. Unexpectedly, he became the best proof that half of his leg was buried in the ground in Amy's eyes.
"Actually, I know even more powerful magic..." Crassus tried to calm himself down and attempted to attract Amy's attention with magic again.
"Ugly Duckling, do you want to see it?" Amy asked, looking down at the Ugly Duckling.
The Ugly Duckling glanced at Crassus and shook its head.
"I don't want to see it either." Amy shrugged as well.
"..." For the first time, Crassus realized that children were not as easy to fool as he had imagined, or rather, this half-elf girl was more difficult to handle than he had thought. Her sharp tongue and unconventional thinking made her completely unpredictable.
Just as Crassus was racking his brains trying to figure out how to get Amy interested in him, Mai Ge brought out a plate of Yang Zhou Fried Rice, gently placed it in front of him, and smiled, "Your Yang Zhou Fried Rice."
"What is this?" Crassus's eyes lit up as he looked at the brightly colored fried rice in front of him. Just as Amy had described, the colors are like a rainbow, chopped up and stir-fried into a dish. The golden egg, wrapped around rice and various ingredients cut into tiny grains with exquisite knife skills, creates such a delicate and beautiful dish.
The aroma of eggs and various ingredients wafting towards him made him swallow hard. This rich fragrance was even more tempting than that made by the chefs in the palace, giving Crassus, who had lost his appetite for many years, an urge to try it.
He reached for the spoon, scooped a spoonful from the center, and put it in his mouth. The egg wrapped around the rice was incredibly tender and fragrant. The savory juices of the ham burst forth as he bit into it, and the flavors of all the ingredients blended together. The deliciousness made his long-dormant taste buds seem reborn, nourished by the flavor, allowing him to rediscover the feeling of deliciousness.
"This is!" However, when Crassus bit into the rice wrapped in the egg, he suddenly opened his eyes. The rice was exceptionally sweet and refreshing, and it had a comforting aroma that nourished every part of his body as it went down his throat.
It was this familiar scent that surprised and puzzled him, the scent of the Fountain of Life!
The sacred spring of the elves. Years ago, an interesting elf girl visited him and brought him a small jar of the Fountain of Life. That taste was etched in his memory and was the most important reason he had sustained his life all these years.
Even he had only tasted that stuff three times in his life, twice as a royal's honor guest privilege. It was such a pity for that girl, such a wonderful girl, she met the wrong person.
Moreover, where does the "Fountain of Life" flavor in this Yang Zhou Fried Rice come from? Did the owner pour the "Fountain of Life" into the rice while cooking? Even just a drop would be an extraordinary thing.
Crassus's hand paused for a moment, but soon couldn't help but scoop up a spoonful and put it in his mouth, feeling the deliciousness spread in his mouth. He forgot all about the Fountain of Life, his troubled memories, and the difficulties in recruiting disciples. This taste allowed him to temporarily forget everything.