Chapter 27: Let's Catch Up!

Hearing Qin Lang’s logical and well-founded analysis, Cao Dongdong looked at him with a newfound sense of admiration. He had never expected that the friend he had known for several years would have the potential to become a master detective.

"So, how should we start looking?" he couldn't help but ask.

Qin Lang was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know."

Cao Dongdong: "..."

He decided he needed to take back his previous thought.

Seeing the odd expression on Cao Dongdong’s face, Qin Lang explained helplessly, "Reasoning alone isn't enough to find the culprit." If not for the detective dramas he had watched in his past life, he wouldn't even have been able to come up with this much. "Let's walk around first and see if we can find any clues."

Only by solving the mystery of the stolen flowers could Song Hui free herself to conduct the assessment and help Qin Lang find leads on the *Traveler's Book*. Helping her right now was, in a way, helping himself.

"Alright," Cao Dongdong nodded. Upon reflection, he realized there was indeed no other way.

The two searched the perimeter of the Daisy Garden, asking passersby if they had seen anyone suspicious. However, after combing through the entire area, they came up empty-handed. Just as Qin Lang and Cao Dongdong were about to give up, a voice drifted over from nearby.

"I really did find an invisible ghost!"

An invisible ghost?

Qin Lang’s brow arched. He immediately associated this with the invisible Food Spirit that had stolen the flowers. He turned sharply toward the source of the voice, only to find three children, around ten years old, talking excitedly.

He nudged Cao Dongdong, and they approached quietly, their voices growing clearer.

"I was walking down the street when a big bite was suddenly taken out of the fried chicken fillet I’d just bought, but I didn't see anything at all."

"It must have been a ghost!"

One of the little boys spoke with conviction, while the other two looked on, half-doubting.

"Excuse me," Qin Lang said, smiling as he stepped forward. "When did your chicken fillet get bitten?"

"At noon today." The boy was a bit nervous seeing a stranger, but he answered honestly.

"Noon..." Qin Lang and Cao Dongdong exchanged a look, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.

"A chicken fillet that even a ghost loves must be delicious," Qin Lang said with a chuckle. "Could you tell me where you bought it?"

"I'd like to buy some to try, too."

After getting the location of the fried chicken stall, Qin Lang thanked them and hurried away with Cao Dongdong, both of them looking excited. They had found a lead! If nothing went wrong, this so-called "ghost" was the very Food Spirit that had stolen the flowers!

"I never imagined the Food Spirit that stole the flowers would also steal a child's food," Cao Dongdong said, feeling a surge of excitement. "Heaven is really helping us."

"Every Food Spirit is naive when it is first born," Qin Lang said, looking down at Danbao in his arms with a smile. "They don't know how to distinguish between right and wrong; they simply follow the instructions of their Spirit Chef."

"Perhaps it just happened to pass by and felt a bit greedy, so it snuck a bite. It’s unexpected, but it makes sense."

As they chatted, they soon arrived at the fried chicken stall. It had to be said that the stall owner had a knack for it; the rich aroma could be smelled from a distance, and there was a long line in front of it.

Danbao swallowed hard, its eyes filled with longing.

"Gurgle~"

"Alright, alright, I'll buy you some," Qin Lang said, laughing as he joined the back of the line. He planned to start by asking the customers and the stall owner if he could gather any useful information.

Cao Dongdong didn't join the line; instead, he circled the stall looking for traces. By the time Danbao was excitedly eating a freshly fried chicken fillet, Qin Lang and Cao Dongdong had made new discoveries.

Qin Lang had confirmed through passersby that there had indeed been reports of food mysteriously vanishing around noon, giving rise to the "ghost" rumors. Meanwhile, Cao Dongdong had discovered unusual footprints in a corner.

The two stood before the tracks, watching them lead off into the distance, and couldn't help but look at each other.

"It seems we found the right trail," Qin Lang said softly. "The reason we couldn't find any traces near the Daisy Garden is that only the invisible Food Spirit was doing the work."

"It was in flight, so it left no marks."

"This must be where the Spirit Chef and the Food Spirit met up..."

"Qin Lang?"

A voice filled with surprise rang out from nearby. Qin Lang turned to see Zhao Qian not far away and couldn't help but look surprised himself. "What are you doing here?"

"I was planning to visit the Food Scout Pang Long and just happened to be passing by..." Zhao Qian looked at the strange expressions on Qin Lang and Cao Dongdong’s faces, her own filled with confusion. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing..." Qin Lang shook his head. It was only now that he recalled that the location Pang Long had set for the Food Scout assessment was his own cooking training center. If a candidate failed his assessment, he would conveniently "recommend" them to join his training classes. It was a complete scheme for fleecing money.

And that training center happened to be right in this neighborhood.

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Lang briefly explained his previous experience with Pang Long.

"I'm not going!" After hearing his story, Zhao Qian looked indignant. "I never imagined there could be such a despicable person among the Food Scouts." As a Spirit Chef from out of town, she didn't know much about the Food Scouts in Dongxia City and had chosen him based solely on a list. Hearing Qin Lang's words, she immediately abandoned her plans.

"Are you two here because of Pang Long, too?"

"Not at all." Qin Lang briefly explained the situation regarding the stolen flowers, and to his surprise, Zhao Qian’s eyes lit up.

"Count me in!" Zhao Qian raised her hand excitedly. Beside her, Bubu let out a "Bui!" in agreement.

Considering that Zhao Qian’s Food Spirit was quite capable, Qin Lang thought for a moment before turning to Cao Dongdong.

"Dongdong, go back to the Daisy Garden and tell Ms. Song Hui and the Spirit Chef Association what we’ve found so they can send reinforcements."

"Zhao Qian and I will follow the footprints and see what we can find."

"Right." Cao Dongdong nodded firmly. He knew that as someone who wasn't a Spirit Chef, he would only be a burden to them. He took a deep breath and turned to run back.

*A Spirit Chef, huh...* Once he passed Ms. Song Hui’s assessment, he would have his own Food Spirit soon enough!

Watching Cao Dongdong leave, Qin Lang turned his gaze back to Zhao Qian.

"Let’s go after them!"

Even though it had been several hours since the flowers were stolen, Qin Lang trusted his judgment: the culprit could not have gone very far.