I'm fighting the final of three rounds against a mysterious masked chef.
The last round revolves around Braising - hotpot cooking.
I must hurry up and give the antidote to Mei Li and Mr. Chouyu before they...
There's no time. If the hourglass runs out, everyone will die!
Start judging now!
Don't be hasty, boy. I've lined up a suitable judge for the final round.
What?
Shilou!
Heroism! Grand Finale of Revenge!
Go ahead, eat!
Decide which one tastes better with your tongue.
If you choose the boy's pot, everyone here will be saved.
But if you choose my pot, I will poison the boy as well.
The seafood hotpot uses delicacies from the sea.
The mountain vegetable pot uses delicacies from the land.
And they both smell really good.
One of these was prepared by Brother Mao. The other one is that masked guy's.
Which one... which one is Brother Mao's??
Augh! How am I going to tell?!
What's the matter? Better hurry. You're running out of time!
Although, I won't mind one bit if that happens.
Shilou.
Don't try to pick out my cooking.
What?
Just choose the one you really think is delicious.
That will be my dish!
The conceit of this stripling... The arrogance!
Taste it carefully, and compare the scenery it creates on your tongue.
Got it, Brother Mao.
Okay!
What?
That's right. All I have to do is trust in Brother Mao!
I have never gone wrong in trusting him.
Concentrate all nerves on the tip of my tongue.
Okay, first up is the seafood bowl. The white one.
It... it's
The sea...
The taste of lobster, and the flavor of other marine life!
The rich soup comes on like a series of strong waves.
All of these ingredients have soaked up the sunlight for days and months...
This bowl is...
Like a dragon flying over the massive sea!
Wow! There's nothing to complain about here.
Okay then. Next is the black bowl.
With all the alkaline in the bowl, there's no way to bring out the proper taste.
Even an amateur like Shilou should be able to recognize this.
Powered by the accumulation of 16 years of hatred...
I was able to bring out the savory flavor of each and every ingredient.
The difference is too great.
This match is mine!
To get back at Chouyu for taking Meika away from me, I threw myself into the Underground Cooking Society.
After sixteen long years...
I will fulfill my desire!
Kid, what is your decision?
I can't tell which one was cooked by Brother Mao.
However!
I can tell you which one I truly felt was delicious.
I pick...
It'll be the white bowl.
The black bowl!
What?!
Black?!
Yes!
Brother Mao...!
Shilou!
We're saved.
Everyone is saved!
Good job, Shilou. Your tongue was right!
Wait.
Why? Why did you pick that bowl?
You must have somehow signaled to him which one to pick!
Brother Mao!
He didn't need to do that!
Then explain!
It's the difference in the cooking skill, masked man.
What was that?
Without a doubt, your seafood bowl was good.
But the main ingredient of this dish was lobster, right?
The lobster was overwhelmed by the other ingredients you put in the soup!
However, in the mountain vegetables bowl created by Brother Mao...
The taste of all the ingredients melded together to create a mild soup.
This brought out the sweetness of the lobster.
The result is a taste that is far superior.
In other words, it's like a dragon soaring freely in the mountains.
That was the scenery created on my tongue!
True, the mountain food is like a treasure box. It may very well bring out the lobster's flavor.
But with all the alkaline spewing out, you can't cook anything decent!
There was no sign of him getting rid of the foam at any point in time!
So how can this be?!
The secret to that... is here!
This is...
A paper bowl!
A paper bowl?!
Paper? At the time, he was actually...
You didn't rip out the pages of the cookbook just to read, did you?
That's right. It was to make these!
That's impossible! You can't use this as a bowl!
Let me show you.
As you can see, you can boil water on this.
The paper won't smolder because of the water soaked into it. What's your point?
You'll see.
W-what?
The paper is soaking up all the alkaline...
I can see the words printed on the bottom!
So that was how you removed the alkaline and make a perfect soup.
The paper absorbs even the slightest hint of alkaline.
That's why I kept changing the paper bowls!
You planned this all along.
This is your real strength!
What had taken me sixteen long years to create was easily beaten.
This boy has no limits!
I was completely defeated, boy.
You did it! Brother Mao wins the lobster best two of three contest!
Let's hurry!
Yes.
Mr. Chouyu, Mei Li!
Everybody!
Don't worry, everything will be all right now.
Mei Li... Mei Li... Mei Li!
Wake up, Mei Li!
Wha...
Mei Li... Mei Li! Get up, Mei Li!
Mao?
Mei Li, I'm so glad!
What happened to me?
Mr. Chouyu.
Because of that boy, I wasn't able to get my revenge.
I lived only to gain revenge on the humiliation you inflicted sixteen years ago.
But know this, Chouyu! I will never forget the thing you did to get Meika!
You hid a poisoned needle in my lobster basket.
A cowardly act shameful for a chef!
No way...
That's a lie. Mr. Chouyu would never do such a thing!
You're the one who poisoned Mr. Chouyu!
Mao.
But...
That's enough.
Sixteen years ago...
Meika and I had already pledged our lives to each other.
That's interesting. I never knew you could tell jokes, Chouyu.
Stop talking nonsense!
You're telling the truth.
Meika's strict father wanted to test whether I could take good care of her.
So he planned a lobster cooking contest.
Then you decided to enter this contest.
What?
Meika started to think.
The opposition was very tough. What if I lost...?
After agonizing over it, Meika made a fateful decision.
Liar! No one's going to believe that! Meika wouldn't... she couldn't...!
If that's true, then why didn't you tell me back then?
Why?
Because your feelings toward Meika were genuine.
Is this everything?
Ms. Meika! One day, I will... be with you!
Ms. Meika!
If I told you the truth about Meika then, you would have been devastated.
That's why I decided not to say anything.
I felt that your hatred should only be directed to me.
But, I was mistaken.
I never thought that this would make you suffer for such a long time.
Meika has regretted what she did up to her deathbed.
She asked me to tell you this if I were ever to see you again.
I'm sorry.
I am truly sorry.
I see...
Meika apologized.
She has always been like that.
Chouyu... you're far too quiet.
I have always been competing alone.
I sold out my cooking soul for the purpose of revenge.
At that point, I had already lost.
Those scars...!
I have seen hell in my time with the Underground Cooking Society.
Underground Cooking Society.
The Underground Cooking Society is a large secret society that exists around the world.
They are unbelievably cruel and merciless.
Once you join the Society, you could never get out.
How can you seek revenge with such a soft heart?!
Once you join us, you will endure suffering from the training!
You will live only to take revenge on the overworld.
But this ends today.
Boy, because of you, I was able to become a chef again.
That's how I feel. Thank you.
An uncanny resemblance.
So much alike that it saddens me...
Lien! What's wrong?
Lien, you drank the poison?!
You finally called me by my name, Chouyu.
Why?
Such is the fate... of someone who steps... into the Underground Cooking Society.
It's karma.
Be careful... Chouyu.
The Underground Cooking Society will definitely come after you and that boy!
Dad and Mao?
Chouyu, have you ever gone against this boy?
No.
He's going to be big.
Just like you when you were young.
Once you face him in the kitchen, there's no trace of evil intentions.
Only the ones who have fought him know this.
Nobody knows the limits to his power.
Soon, you and that boy will represent the Chinese cooking world.
The Society will not ignore that.
Something's burning.
This smoke...
Move it, Chouyu!
Lien! Run!
Chouyu!
Lien, stop! Come back here!
Meika... did Ms. Meika live a happy life?
Yes!
I see.
Lien, wait!
Farewell, Chouyu.
Mr. Lien. Mr. Lien!
Mr. Lien!
Lien, I swear to you, I will make Mao the best chef in China!
And I swear this. I will never lose to anyone from the Underground Cooking Society!
I must report this.
Sixteen years ago...
I never imagined anything like this had happened between Mom and Dad.
Father had a rival too.
I guess my rival is cooking...
The city center has a bustling din,
As I jump over the guard rails unseen.
Must hurry over to our meeting place,
And beat the dusk in a race.
In your twinkling eyes, I see so clearly,
The soothing warmth that you feel for me.
And with only that, my poor defenseless heart,
Is starting to melt and break apart.
This is a feeling that won't stop; it just keeps going straight.
And it's starting to speed up and accelerate.
I'm by your door, and knocking hard. Won't you let me in?
Let me show you my spirit filled with passion. Yeah!