novelraw Chapter 157 : Gourmet Experience
Chapter 157 : Gourmet Experience
Chapter 157: Gourmet Experience
“You little bastard, how dare you…!”
Cheon Sugong’s thunderous voice rang down the narrow alley. Even with his qi membrane deployed, the sheer force of his voice made the whole area quiver.
His usual stealthy gait was nowhere to be seen. He charged down the alley like an enraged bull, snorting through his nose.
“So you really do want to become a eunuch!”
“Ghk.”
I gasped at the slicing gesture he made with his hand, implying something rather severe.
It was far scarier than simply shouting he’d kill me.
I hastily ducked behind my reliable noona’s back.
“Dang Yeo-hye shield!”
“…You crazy?!”
Dang Yeo-hye snapped at me, jerking her head around as I grabbed her shoulders.
Her eyes brimmed with disbelief and exasperation.
“You idiot, there’s no way you can hide behind me.”
“Damn it, why do I have to be short…”
“…I’m not short!”
She jumped and snapped back at me indignantly.
Meanwhile, Cheon Sugong stomped closer, each step resounding heavily, until he was right in front of us.
He looked down at me, my body far too big to be tucked behind Dang Yeo-hye’s back.
“…What the hell are you?”
A question tangled with equal parts absurdity and disbelief.
“I’m the new eunuch, Muhong.”
I just answered since he asked, but his expression only grew darker.
“I told you—stay out of sight until we catch the poisoner! Don’t get involved with the princess! Were those two things really so hard to follow…?!”
Cheon Sugong fumed, furious that I’d done exactly the things I was told not to do, instead of quietly catching the real culprit.
And of all people, I had to get involved with the princess. He looked downright irritated.
“Well, it just kinda happened that way.”
I explained that it wasn’t intentional and recounted what happened that first day—how I ended up stepping into the garden and how we ended up together.
“She… offered to guide you herself?”
His expression began to shift oddly as I explained how unexpectedly meddlesome she’d been.
“Yes, I think she took a liking to me.”
To that, Cheon Sugong scoffed, as if the notion was absurd.
“Hah. Liking you? Please. She just has a habit of caring too much for those beneath her. There’s no need for her to do that, yet she still does.”
Apparently, her temperament was far too kind to navigate the messy power struggles of the imperial palace.
Worry briefly clouded Cheon Sugong’s expression.
“Anyway… nothing happened beyond you escorting her back to her quarters, right?”
His eyes asked the question with a look that screamed: If something did, I’ll kill you.
“Nope. Nothing.”
I shrugged, clearly signaling that nothing untoward had happened.
“You’re sure? If you cause any trouble or so much as touch a single hair on the princess’s head…”
“…Then what?”
I asked, watching him narrow his eyes, full of pent-up frustration.
“You’ll be leaving behind a part of your body.”
“….”
Probably a joke… right?
Given my track record with saying the wrong thing, I wasn’t feeling too confident.
In the end, that night, I got a long scolding from Cheon Sugong under the moonlight.
The imperial palace woke early.
Especially for the palace workers who served the nobility—their workload started at the crack of dawn and piled high from the start.
So when I had just woken up, rubbing my eyes and trying to recall what I needed to do, an unexpected visitor showed up.
“Muhong, you’re taking the food taster’s role.”
Who else would it be but Cheon Sugong, the man who had scolded me all night long.
He approached with a scowl, accompanied by a court lady, and abruptly handed me this strange assignment.
“Is it really okay for you to be seen coming to me like this?”
Weren’t we supposed to avoid drawing attention? He’d specifically told me not to acknowledge him inside.
“You walked with Princess Peach Blossom. That gives me a reason to be here.”
That made sense, I suppose. Anyway, the whole ‘quiet infiltration’ plan seemed long gone.
“But… food taster? Why that all of a sudden?”
Dang Yeo-hye, dressed as a court lady, stepped up to explain.
“The one who was found poisoned to death was the previous food taster.”
A food taster was someone who tasted the food first to ensure the safety of the royal family—essentially a human shield who risked their life to block poison.
Conversely, if someone managed to trick the food taster, they could slip poison straight down a royal’s throat.
Which meant the role required poison knowledge—and carried immense responsibility for the royals’ lives.
“…Why would I take on that kind of job?”
The previous holder had literally been poisoned to death—how could I not feel uneasy?
“There hasn’t been any progress in the investigation. Someone has to do it.”
No progress? Did they really expect to catch the culprit in a single day?
This place was nothing like the Eunseong Trading Company. They had separate facilities for ingredient procurement, cooking, and delivery.
In other words, Cheon Sugong’s Heaven-Slaying Eye, which could only read nearby killing intent, had its limits here.
“And on the first day, you were just getting mocked by the other eunuchs for being a nobody getting guided by a royal.”
He seemed genuinely annoyed as he nagged me.
“Well, that’s on you,” Cheon Sugong said with a smirk, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Yeah, he really was impossible to reason with. I glanced toward Dang Yeo-hye for help.
“She’s the poison expert. Isn’t it more appropriate for her to be the food taster?”
Dang Yeo-hye looked down with an apologetic face.
“Sorry… I wouldn’t survive even a dose of Ten-Step Soul-Chasing Powder. I’d die.”
She hadn’t reached Myriad Poison Immunity yet, so she didn’t have the necessary resistance. She explained that only someone like the Tang Clan Head could endure that much poison through poison arts.
Her lips were tightly bitten—clearly, her pride was hurt.
“But you… might be able to…”
She had personally witnessed my absurd regeneration firsthand.
She looked at me with eyes that said I’d survive, since Human-faced Spider’s poison had been worse.
Of course, I didn’t have immunity—I just healed fast. It was still extremely painful and torturous.
“We considered assigning the role to another court lady, but we don’t know how deep the poisoner’s plan goes. We can’t trust anyone right now.”
As the saying goes, “You may know the depths of water, but not the depths of the human heart.” Cheon Sugong was doing everything he could to avoid the worst-case scenario.
“Oh, so you’re saying you trust me?”
“No. I’m saying you’re the least bad option.”
“…….”
Seriously, would it kill him to just say he trusts me?
Every word out of the man’s mouth was barbed—he was sharp-tongued to the bone.
“If you do well, I’ll contribute silver coins to your orphanage. So give it your best.”
Typical of someone from the Eastern Depot, he must have thoroughly investigated me before hiring. He even knew about the newly opened orphanage.
Though, there’s really no need to donate to the shelter…
I’m the one taking all the risk here. He could just give it to me directly.
…Could it be that, even if he thinks I’m a scoundrel, he sees me as someone with decent character?
“Alright then, sure.”
Well, if he’s offering more money, I’ve no reason to refuse.
And that’s how I ended up accepting the role of the food taster—a living shield for the royal family. By noon, I was already on my way to Princess Peach Blossom’s quarters.
When I arrived, the table was already laden with dishes that made my mouth water just from the sight.
“Wow… so this is what the royals eat…”
Lavish palace cuisine prepared with exotic spices from the Western Regions and premium ingredients sourced from across the land.
There were even seafood dishes that were said to be nearly impossible to find in Beijing.
A true feast of delicacies from both land and sea—mountain and ocean treasures.
“This is like a buffet. A literal buffet.”
Palace staff stood silently as I took in the extravagant spread.
Their gazes weren’t so much envious or jealous as they were filled with concern and pity.
“Isn’t that the new eunuch?”
“Heard the last food taster died under… unfortunate circumstances…”
“Poor guy, he’s a newbie and already stuck with that job.”
Apparently, the role of a food taster was seen as tragic—likely to die or be maimed.
But for someone like me, the Heaven-Slaying Star, such concerns didn’t apply.
I picked up a steaming bowl of meat broth first. Then I grabbed a bowl of glossy, glistening rice.
Soup and rice—together, they become gukbap.
And to a Korean, gukbap is basically soul food.
“Craaap, hell yes.”
The hot, rich broth soaked into each grain of rice and slid down my throat—eliciting a groan of satisfaction.
After chewing on nothing but dry stuff lately, this greased my insides just right.
“…….”
Palace servants around me were left speechless as I devoured everything, completely unbothered by any threat of poison.
They just stood there, mouths agape, blankly watching.
But who cared what they thought? This meal was prepared for me to eat.
I loosened my waistband and began enjoying real food for the first time in a while.
Amidst the breath-held silence, the clink of a spoon scraping the bottom of a bowl echoed.
Clatter, clatter.
“Haaaah.”
The young eunuch named Muhong slammed the emptied bowl of meat soup down on the table with a satisfied thud.
But apparently that wasn’t enough. He picked up his chopsticks and dove into the other dishes without hesitation.
He wasn’t tasting the food—he was clearing it like a man enjoying a full meal. The palace staff looked stunned.
Only one person watched the scene with amused eyes, stifling a laugh.
“That young eunuch eats so heartily. Just watching him fills me up.”
Princess Peach Blossom’s voice carried a sense of delight, as if she hadn’t seen anything this amusing in the palace in a long time.
“Your Highness, I believe… he’s just possessed by a food demon.”
Cheon Sugong muttered with a devastated expression as he watched alongside her.
Meanwhile, another dish was emptied. The spoon scraped the bottom longingly.
There were still many dishes left, but at this rate, this wasn’t tasting—it was just eating.
“Sigh… he’s a damn thunderous fool, that one…”
Had he lived as a beggar in the past or something? His appetite was monstrous.
Cheon Sugong shook his head, thinking how hopeless the guy was.
“Isn’t this better than trembling in fear while tasting, Cheon Sugong?”
Normally, food tasters weren’t like this.
Especially in tense times like now, they’d be pale as ghosts, forcing down each bite with visible dread.
“Compared to that, this Muhong fellow… hehe.”
Princess Peach Blossom smiled faintly, saying she was getting her appetite back just from watching him.
Cheon Sugong glared at Muhong, eyes wide.
Could it be… Her Highness actually likes this guy?
She was always kind to her people, but it was rare to see her this delighted.
Thoughts raced through Cheon Sugong’s head.
Before she gets too attached, I need to get rid of him fast.
Just then, Muhong suddenly gasped and froze mid-bite.
“What… What is it? Is it poison?!”
Cheon Sugong flinched and asked, alarmed.
Muhong gulped something down and, still shaken, replied—
“It’s just… too delicious…”
A dish made with abalone and bird’s nest was melting in his mouth, apparently.
Then he resumed eating with gusto. Cheon Sugong made a face like he’d seen a demon.
He wanted to rush over and knock him out on the spot. But the bastard probably knew he couldn’t, which is why he was acting out like this.
“You damn bastard…”
Princess Peach Blossom found this hilarious, laughing softly again at Cheon Sugong’s reaction.
Cheon Sugong, flustered, muttered,
“…This is no laughing matter, Your Highness.”
“It’s rare to see you this flustered.”
“Phew… That new eunuch is seriously… problematic.”
I will deal with him when this is over.
While he stewed over that, the guy suddenly raised his head and choked again.
“What is it this time, you rascal?!”
Cheon Sugong groaned, face sour.
But this time, it seemed no joke. Muhong, his face pale, began foaming at the mouth—then collapsed on the spot.
Thud.