SailorStar9: Well, I've uploaded Chapter 27, and here's Chapter 28. So, read and review. Come on boys and girls, is it so hard for you to leave a review other than putting this on your favorited lists and alerts?

Disclaimers: Me no own, you no sue.

Chapter 28: Chef of Darkness Society's Revenge

"Hey. Wait for me, Brother Mao!" Shilou whined as he caught up with the rest of the group. "So this is Shanghai? It's so crowded that I can't relax!"

"Mao's always like this." Shell chuckled. "We may be fighting against the Underworld, but he isn't nervous at all! The wharf was just built, so it's brimming with pent-up energy." he added, walking past a fist-fight that had erupted.

"We need to search for the thousand-year old Legendary cookware." Ya Xue reminded. "Our only lead is to talk to the Cooking guild here."

"You mean the Shanghai Cooking Guild?" Leon remarked.

"I hear that it's similar to Canton's Cooking Association." Shell noted. "But it's more active and wields more power compared to the Cantonese group."

"Then we must hurry to see them." Leon pressed. "We don't have much time."

"That's true." Ya Xue agreed. "I'm sure the Underworld is on their way."

"Have you two noticed?" Shell whispered as they continued down the street.

"Yes." Leon nodded. "Someone is following us."

"Underworld agents." Ya Xue hissed, her hand resting on the hilt of her saber. "So they're already here."

"Perhaps." Leon noted.

"Let's lose them." Shell suggested and the two men grabbed Mao, Shilou and Mei Li and took off running.

"Excuse us!" Ya Xue shouted as they burst into a nearby restaurant. "We apologize!" she added, the group dashing through the kitchen and exiting via the back door.

"Who are these people?" Shilou gaped, the group suddenly finding themselves surrounded.

"We're not mistaken." the leader took a look at Leon's palm. "You're 'Seven-Star Knives' Leon!"

"They're from the Underworld!" the rest of the gang roared in agreement. "Lynch them! Lynch them! Lynch them! Lynch them!" they chanted. "Lynch the interlopers!"

"Wait!" a voice barked. "They're not from the Underworld."

"Sanche!" Mao beamed as he and Mei Li ran over.

"Mao! Mei Li!" Sanche greeted. "What a surprise! Long time no see! What is it?" he gave Mao a wedgie. "You brought your friends on a training mission? You should have told me you were coming to Shanghai."

"B-boss." the leader of the lynch mob stammered. "Are they your friends?"

"Morons!" Sanche snapped. "Listen men! I'll tell you who you were trying to lynch. This guy is the pride of Canton, the youngest Super Chef in history... Liu Mao Xing!"

"Looks like your job has been taken over, Shilou." Ya Xue joked.

"I wouldn't be here today if I didn't meet Mao in the past." Sanche added. "Let's catch up later. Come, let's go to our restaurant." he led the group off.

"I'll go and talk to the Guild." Leon stated.

"Hey, wait Leon." Shell held him back. "You should come with us."

"Ryuchin Shuka is one of the few really old restaurants remaining in Shanghai." Shell was impressed. "I didn't know the owner's son trained in Yousen Shuka."

"Yeah." Mei Li teased. "Sanche was really scared of knives back then! He made a cutting mistake as a child, and had major mageirocophobia. We couldn't do a thing about his wimpyness!"

"I won't say it's mageirocophobia, Mei Li." Ya Xue corrected. "It's aichmophobia."

"Cut that out, Mei Li." Sanche chided.

"Hey, it's true." Ya Xue grinned impishly.

"Well, yeah." Sanche admitted." I'm here like this thanks to Mao. I once gave up on my dream to become a chef. Mao helped me rekindle that spark."

"Calm down, Leon." Mei LI pacified.

"We don't have time to socialize." Leon reminded.

"Okay, you two, fess up." Sanche looked at the two Szuchuanese. "Why did you really come to Shanghai?"

"You're getting sharper." Ya Xue sighed. "I'll go get my tea leaves; this is going to take awhile."

"The Legendary cookware?" Sanche echoed. "Mao, are you guys looking for the Legendary cookware too?"

"What do you mean, 'too'?" Ya Xue frowned, her mental warning bells were already ringing in her head.

"The Shanghainese cooking world is in disarray right now thanks to the Legendary cookware." Sanche explained. "The Underground is sending us threatening letters, every day without fail, demanding that we hand over the Legendary cookware. Everyone's getting very sensitive about this issue. So that's why they tried to attack you, and said all those things."

"The Underworld hasn't moved yet?" Leon asked as Sanche poured out the tea.

"Doesn't look it so far." Sanche replied. "The Guild Leaders, led by Dad, decided to hold a meeting to fight back. They're now deliberating on a boat at the Huangpu River. But I don't think they'll come up with any good ideas or ways to deal with the situation."

"What's that noise?" Shilou looked up at the ceiling when they heard a creaking sound. "What is that?" he stammered, the group splitting to dodge the falling glass when a lone body fell through the roof.

"It's Lord Shin Chi from Jinjiang Restaurant!" Sanche recognized the person. "I thought he was joining the meeting. W-who are you?" he demanded, seeing the four shadowy figures on the roof.

"T-this is..." Mao gasped, seeing the Black Qilin on the red cloth.

"It's the insignia of the Underworld, the Black Qilin." Leon supplied.

"The lives of the Cooking Guild leaders are in our hands." Shan chuckled. "We have your father too, Tang Sanche!" she pulled down her mouth piece to reveal her face. "This is a declaration of war from the Underworld Cooking Society! You will make ready four chefs. Your most talented ones! The battle will begin at half-past midnight, on a boat by the River. Huo Ya Xue! Bring along your maps! You do understand? If you run away, we can't guarantee the lives of the leaders."

"W-wait!" Shell was ready to give chase.

"Don't go after them, Shell." Mao objected. "They challenged us with cooking."

"That's right." Leon agreed. "We will defeat them with cooking!"

"All right." Shell relented.

"But what do they mean by your maps?" Sanche looked at Ya Xue.

"Well..." Ya Xue sighed. "Before we went on our journey, Lou-sama..." she started.

"I see." Sanche noted after Mao explained. "We need four chefs, Mao. Let's go! Take me with you. That will make four! They kidnapped my father!"

"Wait." Leon cut in. "We don't know how well you can cook. We can't accept you as the fourth chef just because they have your father."

"He's right, Mao." Shell agreed. "We're competing against people from the Underworld. If we're not careful, we may end up dead. Or even worse, if we lose the battles against them! We can't let them have the Legendary cookware under any circumstances!"

"So we can't afford to bring along someone mediocre." Leon added.

"What do I need to do?" Sanche asked.

"Show us how talented you are, through your cooking." Shell requested. "Prepare an amazing dish that can satisfy everyone's palate!"

"All right." Sanche pulled off his coat and entered the kitchen. "So then, what should I make?"

"You can use… that! " Leon pointed to the basket that held the leftover shark-fin.

"You can't make anything good with the damaged shark fin." Shilou protested.

"Be that as it may, shark-fin is still shark-fin." Ya Xue reminded. "The Underworld will not fight fair, just like that time."

"If he turns something bad into a first-class dish, then we can accept him to battle as the fourth chef." Leon stated.

"Alright. Let's go!" Leon declared, after Sanche passed the surprise test. "I'll ensure the Underworld's destruction with my own hands!"

"I will ferry you to the arena." the aged caretaker from before stated rowing a boat over to the pier. "Please put on these blindfolds." he handed out the pieces of cloth. "Please take off your blindfolds." he requested, after delivering the group to their destination.

"W-what is that?" Mao stammered, seeing the large vessel once the lights came on.

"A floating castle?!" Shilou gaped.

"I've heard stories about this vessel." Leon was stunned. "The Underground Cooking Society's Floating Qilin Palace..."

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.