The Gourmand’s Tales

Shen Qingli is a thousand-year-old Qingli tree, a legendary spirit tree whose leaves and branches can be used in medicine and whose wood carries a natural fragrance. He looks to be in his late twenties, with gentle features and eyes that curve when he smiles. He looks like an easygoing cafe owner: mild-mannered and laid-back on the outside, clear-eyed and perceptive within. Having lived for so long, he has long since stopped caring about most things. The one exception is food. “What’s the point of living this long? It’s all for a good meal.”

A bunch of little demons who have been able to take human form for less than a century: the toad spirit A Jia, his assistant; the tabby cat A Bing, who handles operations; the bamboo pit viper Xiao Cui, the taste tester; and others.

Although Ao Bo is a collateral descendant of the East Sea Dragon Clan, he is still a true dragon. He currently lives among humans, managing the family business. He can fight, take a beating, and shoulder the blame, making him one of the top fighters in the demon world. It took him eight hundred years to finally win his beloved’s heart. At first, he was drawn to Shen Qingli’s cooking. Later, he realized it was Shen Qingli himself he craved. Aloof and taciturn with others, he is unexpectedly attentive to his beloved: quietly passing him seasonings during livestreams, washing the pots and pans after closing, and, when his beloved is lost in thought, turning back into his original form to bask in the sun in the courtyard, his tail lazily curling around his beloved’s ankle now and then.