E12 - Man of Destiny

Source: Crunchyroll
Translator:
Editor:
Timer:
QC:
(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
SIGN    True Cooking Master Boy
[01:33] Zhang
    Your food sucks!
[01:36] Meili
    Lei En's ultimate crab dish...
[01:39] Shirou
    Sucks?
[01:43] He
    Yeah, it sucks!
[01:45] Hu
    Are you mocking us?
[01:47] Zhang
    It's decided.
[01:49] Zhang
    The second round of the banquet contest
[01:52] Zhang
    featuring Chinese mitten crab
    goes to Ten Feet of Blue Xiang!
[01:59] Xiang
    And you swear not to reverse
    your decision, no matter what?
[02:06] All
    Yes!
[02:07] Shirou
    You can't be serious!
[02:08] Shirou
    They fell for Xiang's seduction!
[02:11] Meili
    He can't possibly have lost
    to mere crab and eggs!
[02:14] Sanjie
    Yeah! Lei En put all his
    strength into that dish!
[02:18] Sanjie
    Claiming it sucks could
    only be a false accusation!
[02:21] Zhang
    Restrain yourself, Sanjie!
[02:24] Zhang
    Remember what we said at the start.
[02:26] Zhang
    Our job is very simple: to vote
    for the better tasting dish.
[02:31] Zhang
    That's all.
[02:33] Zhang
    Try them, and you'll understand.
[02:34] Sanjie
    He stuffed the crab shells with crab
    meat and fried them to a golden-brown.
[02:42] All
    So good!
[02:45] Sanjie
    The fine, silky pieces of
    crab meat are plump with fat.
[02:48] Sanjie
    The bursting crab eggs are so luxurious.
[02:51] Meili
    The innards are so thick and smooth,
    and the roe is viscous and rich.
[02:55] Shirou
    The moment you bite into the
    fragrantly fried shells,
[02:58] Shirou
    the Chinese mitten crab's
    flavor comes bursting forth.
[03:00] All
    It's a flood! A flood of crab!
[03:05] Shirou
    All right, Sis.
    Let's try the crab and eggs.
[03:07] Meili
    Yeah. It's certainly good,
[03:10] Meili
    but she didn't do anything
    particularly special.
[03:12] Shirou
    Right? I knew it was bogus!
[03:16] Shirou
    No matter how you look at it,
    your decision was clearly fishy!
[03:20] Zhang
    Wh-What was that, boy?
[03:22] Mob
    Hey, what's going on?
[03:25] Mob
    If their reactions are this different,
    then one side must be lying.
[03:31] Mao
    Neither of them are lying.
[03:40] Mao
    Xiang, you're a dishonest person!
[03:44] Shirou
    What's wrong, Mao?
[03:46] Mao
    Drink this, Shirou. Every last drop.
[03:49] Shirou
    Huh?
[03:50] Shirou
    Who cares about a side soup?
[03:57] Shirou
    It's a rich crab soup.
[03:58] Shirou
    It's full of crab shell extract.
[04:01] Mao
    Now try Lei En's fried
    crab shells again, Shirou.
[04:05] Shirou
    What? Eating them again
    won't change anything.
[04:08] Mao
    Just do it!
[04:10] Shirou
    Fine, Mao.
[04:16] Shirou
    Gross!
[04:21] Shirou
    It doesn't taste at all like crab.
[04:24] Shirou
    It leaves only something
    flavorless, flabby, and muddy
[04:27] Shirou
    and a heavy greasiness in my mouth.
[04:29] Shirou
    This isn't edible at all.
[04:31] Meili
    What's going on, Mao?
[04:35] Mao
    It definitely tastes like crab soup,
[04:37] Mao
    but this is an ultra concentrated crab soup
    made from thoroughly boiled crab shells
[04:42] Mao
    to achieve a level of concentration
    several times stronger than normal.
[04:47] Shirou
    But...
[04:48] Meili
    But why?
[04:50] Mao
    Ever heard of olfactory fatigue?
[04:52] Mao
    Even if a room smells bad,
    if you stay in there long enough,
[04:56] Mao
    your senses become numb to the smell.
[04:59] Mao
    While it's not as extreme as your sense of
    smell, your sense of taste behaves similarly.
[05:04] Mao
    By drinking this extremely
    concentrated crab soup first,
[05:07] Mao
    their tongues became numb
    to the flavor of crab,
[05:10] Mao
    making them unable to taste the
    crab flavor they ate afterwards.
[05:14] Mao
    That's why they couldn't detect
    the deliciousness of Lei En's dish
[05:18] Mao
    loaded with crab flavor, leaving
    only greasiness in their mouths.
[05:23] Mao
    Honestly, this crab dish Lei En
    made is the best in Shanghai.
[05:27] Mao
    It's the reason the tastier a crab dish is,
[05:30] Mao
    the worse it tastes after
    you drink this soup.
[05:39] Mao
    That's why Xiang started
    by observing her opponent.
[05:42] Mao
    She chose this strategy once she knew
    Lei En was making stuffed crab shells.
[05:47] Mao
    Ignoring the pursuit of true deliciousness
[05:50] Mao
    to cook something just to
    discredit your opponent
[05:54] Mao
    isn't something an honest chef does!
[05:56] Sanjie
    That's unfair.
[05:58] Xiang
    It's no wonder he recognizes
    your superiority, Liu Maoxing.
[06:03] Xiang
    I'm impressed you saw through the
    underworld's taste paralysis technique.
[06:08] Xiang
    However, the decision can't be reversed.
[06:11] Leien
    I-I failed.
[06:16] Xiang
    You've fallen so far, Lei En.
[06:17] Xiang
    Despite your abundance of talent,
[06:19] Xiang
    your naivete made you lose
    to such a basic trick.
[06:23] Xiang
    I can hardly believe you're the chef
[06:25] Xiang
    who killed a man in order to become the best.
[06:27] Xiang
    You're no longer worthy of
    possessing the Seven Star Knives.
[06:34] Leien
    You're absolutely right.
[06:40] Xiang
    Victory is mine!
[06:42] Xiang
    And I alone am the chef who should
    possess the Seven Star Knives!
[06:47] Xielu
    I see.
[06:50] Xielu
    I get it now, Xiang.
[06:56] Xielu
    I know why you have a set of Seven
    Star Knives that shouldn't exist.
[07:02] Meili
    What do you mean, Xie Lu?
[07:04] Shirou
    Why does Xiang have a set
    of Seven Star Knives?
[07:07] Xielu
    The Seven Star Knives are
    the greatest masterpiece
[07:09] Xielu
    made by the extraordinary
    knife-maker, Lang Tie.
[07:12] Xielu
    That's why one year ago, when Lei En
    lost his way, he killed Lang Tie
[07:16] Xielu
    after he completed the Seven Star Knives
    so he could never forge a better knife.
[07:20] Xielu
    It doesn't make sense for there to
    be a second set of Seven Star Knives.
[07:25] Xielu
    Xiang seemed to suggest her Seven Star Knives
[07:28] Xielu
    were made by Lang Tie's hatred itself,
[07:31] Xielu
    but that's not possible.
[07:34] Xielu
    In that case, there's only one answer.
[07:38] All
    What?
[07:39] Xielu
    The injury Lei En inflicted
    probably wasn't fatal.
[07:49] Xielu
    I've heard the underworld possesses
    all manner of medical secrets.
[07:54] Xielu
    When Xiang discovered the dying Lang Tie,
[07:56] Xielu
    she must have used all the underworld
    techniques at her disposal
[08:00] Xielu
    to save him so he could forge knives again.
[08:05] Xiang
    Indeed. That's exactly right.
[08:10] Xiang
    It was one year ago.
[08:12] Xiang
    I traveled into the mountains
    to reach Lang Tie's workshop.
[08:16] Xiang
    But on the way...
[08:24] (Flashback) Xiang
    Hey! Are you all right?
[08:30] (Flashback) Langtie
    Lei En...
[08:31] (Flashback) Xiang
    Lei En? Lei En the chef?
[08:34] (Flashback) Xiang
    He did this to you?
[08:43] Xiang
    The underworld's greatest secrets even
    include techniques that control life and death.
[08:48] Xiang
    With my surgery and medicines,
    Lang Tie returned to life.
[08:54] (Flashback) Langtie
    I can't believe a strange
    young woman stayed with me
[08:57] (Flashback) Langtie
    in the mountains for a whole month.
[09:00] (Flashback) Langtie
    Thank you, Xiang.
[09:01] (Flashback) Langtie
    I can't find the words to thank you enough.
[09:04] (Flashback) Xiang
    What are you talking about?
[09:06] (Flashback) Xiang
    As a knife-maker, you're a national treasure.
[09:09] (Flashback) Xiang
    And helping the injured recover
    is also the duty of a chef.
[09:15] (Flashback) Langtie
    I'm no more than a single knife-maker.
[09:18] (Flashback) Langtie
    I'm not capable of much, but if there's
    anything I can do for you, just ask.
[09:23] (Flashback) Langtie
    I won't be satisfied until I thank you.
[09:27] (Flashback) Xiang
    In that case, I do have one request.
[09:37] (Flashback) Langtie
    The Seven Star Knives.
[09:39] (Flashback) Langtie
    Perhaps they're so terribly cursed
    that they lead people astray.
[09:44] (Flashback) Langtie
    I was hesitant to make these again,
[09:46] (Flashback) Langtie
    but if that's what you want, I can't refuse.
[09:48] (Flashback) Langtie
    This is greatest thanks I can offer you.
[09:51] (Flashback) Langtie
    Take them, Xiang.
[09:53] (Flashback) Xiang
    Thank you, Lang Tie!
[09:56] Xiang
    At my request, Lang Tie forged a second
    set of the miraculous Seven Star Knives
[10:01] Xiang
    that he was not meant to have made again.
[10:05] Leien
    So that's what happened.
[10:07] Leien
    If that's true, then Lang Tie...
    Lang Tie is alive...
[10:13] Leien
    Xiang, is Lang Tie still alive?
[10:23] Leien
    Y-You didn't...
[10:26] Xiang
    I'm not as naive as you.
[10:29] Xiang
    This time, I actually finished him off.
[10:46] Xielu
    You healed Lang Tie with
    the intention of killing him
[10:49] Xielu
    so he would make you a second
    set of Seven Star Knives.
[10:52] Xielu
    What a terrifying woman.
[10:55] Xiang
    Open your eyes, Lei En.
[10:57] Xiang
    I did it all for the world ruled by
    chefs that will someday come to be.
[11:03] Leien
    I should never have survived this long.
[11:08] Leien
    I'm taking you to hell with me, Xiang.
[11:15] Leien
    Don't worry. I'll be right behind you.
[11:21] Mao
    Lei En!
[11:27] Xiang
    Is this how you'll atone for
    what you did to Lang Tie?
[11:31] Leien
    This act is motivated by
    my anger against you alone!
[11:34] Leien
    Once I kill you, I'll kill myself!
[11:44] Xiang
    What is this?
[11:46] Leien
    An illusion?
[11:47] Both
    L-Lang Tie!
[11:50] Langtie
    Lei En, why do you still draw your
    blade against another person?
[11:56] Langtie
    Remember what I told you.
[11:58] Langtie
    The stars of the Big Dipper
    govern life and death.
[12:02] Langtie
    The noble duty of the Seven Star Knives
[12:04] Langtie
    is to channel the lives of ingredients
    into the lives of people.
[12:09] Langtie
    To lead people to happiness
    with their sublime cuts.
[12:16] Langtie
    The path of suffering you've followed
[12:19] Langtie
    with the Seven Star Knives
    since that day wasn't wrong.
[12:24] Langtie
    Do not stain the Seven Star Knives
    with blood and lose your way again.
[12:29] Langtie
    I won't permit you to die.
[12:31] Langtie
    Continue living, Lei En.
[12:33] Langtie
    Use my Seven Star Knives to keep on working
[12:38] Langtie
    for as many new lives as possible.
[12:46] Xiang
    Impossible!
[12:50] Mao
    The Seven Star Knives... shattered?
[12:57] Xiang
    Impossible!
[12:59] Xiang
    My Seven Star Knives!
[13:06] Mao
    Lei En's Seven Star Knives
    are shining even brighter.
[13:10] Mao
    I see. This must be the answer given
[13:12] Mao
    by the soul of Lang Tie
    that's been living inside
[13:15] Mao
    the two sets of Seven Star Knives.
[13:18] Mieli
    Yeah. While suffering from burning agony,
[13:23] Mieli
    Lei En has used his Seven Star
    Knives to make people happy.
[13:28] Meili
    Lang Tie's soul has recognized him as
    the true owner of the Seven Star Knives!
[13:37] Xielu
    You may have fooled the judges,
[13:40] Xielu
    but you can't fool the
    Seven Star Knives, Xiang.
[13:45] Xielu
    The dish you made was a mockery.
[13:47] Xielu
    I doubt you've ever used your Seven
    Star Knives for anything decent.
[13:52] Xielu
    You're the one who was unworthy of
    holding these great knives, Xiang!
[14:04] Leien
    The smell of blood that
    stained my hands is gone.
[14:09] Leien
    Lang Tie, does this mean you forgive me?
[14:15] Leien
    Then I swear to you, I will bear
    your soul for the rest of my life
[14:20] Leien
    and continue fighting for the
    people's happiness until I die!
[14:29] Leien
    Judges,
[14:31] Leien
    I accept that your decision cannot
    be reversed, no matter the reason!
[14:36] Leien
    I have lost this battle!
[14:39] Mob
    He's Lang Tie's chosen chef.
[14:41] Mob
    He accepts their judgment
    regardless of the reason for it.
[14:44] Mob
    Impressive, Lei En!
[14:53] Leien
    I'm sorry, Mao.
[14:55] Leien
    My weakness resulted in
    a painful loss for us.
[15:00] Mao
    Lei En, you couldn't have fought better.
[15:06] Zhang
    It's finally time for the final round!
[15:09] Zhang
    Are you both ready?
[15:12] Shirou
    Judges, clear your ears and listen closely!
[15:16] Shirou
    It's finally time our unbeatable
    captain made his appearance!
[15:19] Shirou
    He is the youngest Super
    Chef ever, Liu Maoxing!
[15:26] Zhang
    And who will represent the underworld?
[15:30] Xielu
    You've been putting on airs this whole time!
[15:32] Xielu
    Who's your third competitor, Xiang?
[15:36] Xiang
    Don't get carried away after
    beating underworld dropouts
[15:41] Xiang
    like the masked Li Yan
    and Lei En, Liu Maoxing.
[15:45] Xiang
    A man who once became famous in your
    hometown of Szechuan will be your opponent.
[15:51] Mao
    Famous in Szechuan?
[15:54] Xiang
    He's already arrived on this ship.
[15:58] Xiang
    A man who knows you very well.
[16:08] Mao
    Could it be? Could it be?
[16:11] Mao
    Could it be?!
[16:15] Shaoan
    Born deep in Szechuan, from which the
    headwaters of the Yangtze River flow,
[16:20] Shaoan
    we spent ten years together.
[16:23] Shaoan
    Now we meet again two
    thousand kilometers away
[16:26] Shaoan
    at the end of the Yangtze River in Shanghai.
[16:30] Shaoan
    It's been a while,
[16:34] Shaoan
    Mao.
[16:36] Mao
    S-Shao An?
[16:40] (Flashback) Sister
    A new head chef is finally
    coming to this restaurant.
[16:43] (Flashback) Sister
    Mao, you asked for this contest.
[16:47] (Flashback) Sister
    If you lose, we'll have
    to leave this restaurant.
[16:51] (Flashback) Mao
    I'll beat him, no matter what.
[16:55] (Flashback) Shaoan
    Bei's mapo tofu?!
[16:57] (Flashback) Li
    That's precisely why you
    were given this task.
[17:01] (Flashback) Li
    You solved the mystery of
    this meat. Impressive work.
[17:05] (Flashback) Li
    You are the new head chef, Mao!
[17:11] (Flashback) Mao
    Thank you!
[17:13] (Flashback) Li
    And Shao An, the loser is stripped
    of the right to be a chef forever.
[17:19] (Flashback) Li
    You know this.
[17:22] Shaoan
    Stripped of my right to be a chef forever?
[17:25] Shaoan
    I swear this won't end like this.
[17:28] Shaoan
    You'll pay for this, Mao!
[17:36] Meili
    The former apprentice of Mao's mother,
[17:40] Meili
    the Szechuan Fairy Master Bei.
[17:42] Sanjie
    He's the evil man who walked
    off with all the chefs
[17:46] Sanjie
    and money from Mao's family restaurant
[17:49] Sanjie
    and drove Bei to work herself to death.
[17:54] Xielu
    He's famous in Szechuan for disappearing
    after losing to Mao in a mapo tofu contest
[17:59] Xielu
    to determine the next head chef and
    being stripped of the right to work
[18:05] Xielu
    as a chef according to the regulations.
[18:08] Leien
    The young prodigy from Szechuan who
    experienced exceptional success
[18:13] Leien
    after entering the underworld, Shao An.
[18:17] Leien
    I've heard his name before.
[18:20] Leien
    This truly is a battle of destiny.
[18:25] Mao
    Why did you join the cooking underworld?
[18:28] Shaoan
    Why?
[18:30] Shaoan
    You think I had anywhere else to go
[18:32] Shaoan
    after losing everything
    to you in that contest?
[18:38] Shaoan
    The cooking underworld with
    their Black Cloud Kirin
[18:43] Shaoan
    were the only ones to extend a hand to me.
[18:46] Shaoan
    I joined them without hesitation.
[18:48] Shaoan
    It's where my dream was.
[18:51] Shaoan
    Let me tell you about the wonderful
    significance of our rematch, Mao.
[19:11] Sanjie
    Dad!
[19:12] Mob
    Sir!
[19:13] Mao
    What?
[19:14] Shaoan
    I know.
[19:16] Shaoan
    In addition to the legendary utensil,
    let's wager the life of Tang Li,
[19:21] Shaoan
    top man of the Shanghai culinary
    world, on this contest.
[19:26] Shaoan
    If I somehow lose to you,
[19:30] Shaoan
    then Xiang will report
    everything to the higher ups,
[19:34] Shaoan
    and I will lose everything again.
[19:37] Shaoan
    But if I win and Tang Li dies,
[19:41] Shaoan
    then not only will I rule all of Shanghai,
[19:45] Shaoan
    but my future in the underworld
    will be guaranteed,
[19:49] Shaoan
    and I'll get to see you cry with
    the shame, pain, and sadness
[19:54] Shaoan
    over being personally
    responsible for the death
[19:58] Shaoan
    of Longzhen Restaurant's head chef!
[20:04] Sanjie
    You can't be serious! Release my father!
[20:07] Shaoan
    In other words, Mao, defeating you
    and forcing you to grovel at my feet
[20:14] Shaoan
    will be the glorious starting
    point of my dream!
[20:20] Mao
    You kidnapped Sanjie's father for that?
[20:25] Mao
    Why?
[20:26] Mao
    Why are you always like this?!
[20:33] Shaoan
    It's to make you taste the hell of losing!
[20:37] Meili
    Mao!
[20:38] Shirou
    Mao!
[20:39] Shaoan
    You know nothing!
[20:41] Shaoan
    You don't know the misery
    of being swatted away
[20:42] Shaoan
    like a fly despite possessing
    first-rate talent!
[20:45] Shaoan
    You don't know the pain of
    having rocks thrown at you,
[20:47] Shaoan
    or the bitterness of drinking mud!
[20:49] Shaoan
    You even abandoned the head chef's position
[20:51] Shaoan
    at the Chrysanthemum Tower
    that I failed to win!
[20:54] Shaoan
    And on top of that, you're a Super Chef!
[20:58] Xielu
    I'll crush you!
[21:00] Leien
    You fiend!
[21:03] Xielu
    Mao?
[21:18] Meili
    Those scars...
[21:20] Mao
    Just like the masked chef Li Yan,
[21:24] Mao
    did you get those enduring the unimaginably
    difficult training of the underworld?
[21:32] Xiang
    Do you understand now?
[21:33] Xiang
    Just surviving in the
    underworld is no small feat.
[21:37] Mao
    You stay out of this.
[21:42] Mao
    Very well. The pain of your scars.
[21:45] Mao
    The pain of my mom's death.
[21:48] Mao
    Let's settle everything from
    our mangled pasts, now!
[21:57] Shirou
    Mao...
[21:58] Mao
    There's only one ingredient we
    can use to settle our pasts.
[22:03] Shaoan
    The ingredient I've rued since
    the Chrysanthemum Tower.
[22:09] Mao
    Yes. It is...
[22:13] Both
    Tofu!
[22:20] Zhang
    So the theme is tofu?
[22:23] Zhang
    Ready-made tofu would be a wet blanket
[22:27] Zhang
    on the final round of such an
    exciting cooking contest.
[22:31] Zhang
    How do you feel about making
    the tofu itself from scratch?
[22:36] Hu
    Besides, we're full from
    eating too much good food.
[22:40] Hu
    Could you give us a break?
[22:42] Shaoan
    No objections here. Well?
[22:46] Mao
    No objections.
[22:48] Zhang
    It's decided, then.
[22:49] Zhang
    This time of year, the beans need
    to be soaked for about nine hours.
[22:54] Zhang
    It will take about 12 hours total
    for the tofu to be completed.
[22:59] Zhang
    Including time to plan and prepare
    your dishes as well as breaks,
[23:03] Zhang
    we'll reconvene 18 hours from now.
[23:05] Zhang
    I'm looking forward to it.
[23:07] Shaoan
    No matter how many hours we wait,
[23:09] Shaoan
    you'll still be the one to break
    at the end of the Yangtze River!
[23:13] Shaoan
    Tomorrow I will achieve
    my long-cherished dream!
[23:19] Mao
    As someone who bears this
    crest, you should know.
[23:23] Mao
    This contest isn't the
    starting point of your dream.
[23:27] Mao
    Shanghai, this city at the end of the
    two thousand kilometer Yangtze River,
[23:30] Mao
    is where you rotten dream ends, Shao An!
[23:50] Fei
    So that's the great warship pavilion.