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Master Xu showed no change in expression. He simply patted the disciples on the shoulder and praised them for their hard work, exuding the calm and benevolent demeanor of a virtuous teacher.

Master Chen, seeing that those returning were not his own disciples, remained downcast. He stood atop a high place, still scanning the horizon, clinging to the faintest hope.

Master Xu noticed and flew up to join him, landing beside him with a look of regret. He said, “Senior Brother, I’m afraid… sigh, my condolences.”

Master Chen didn’t respond for a long while.

Meanwhile, Shi Yuzhen and the others were still strolling leisurely through the forest on their way back.

They had all agreed to slow their return to the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, hoping to lure the culprit into revealing themselves.

Normally, sword cultivators could simply ride their swords back, making them the fastest travelers in the cultivation world.

But the six of them had reached a preliminary consensus: they would walk. Since the enemy was hiding in the shadows and they were out in the open, it was all the more important to lie low.

Even though the malicious talisman had targeted Shi Yuzhen as the strongest among them, it had clearly been designed to take out the rest of the group as well, sacrificing them all in one blow.

There was no way they could allow that to happen.

Xu Ya, for her part, didn’t care how they returned. Her mind was twisting in circles, trying to find a way to slip away unnoticed. She was once again locked in a heated argument with the system in her head.

But sneaking off midway seemed increasingly unlikely. For some reason, Shi Yuzhen had stretched an entire arm across her side, and to outsiders, they looked like an affectionate couple.

The problem was, their walking speeds didn’t match at all, resulting in a rather comical scene: the girl was noticeably slower than the white-clad cultivator, making it look like her backside was lagging behind the rest of her body.

Shi Yuzhen noticed how awkward it was for Xu Ya to keep up. Glancing back, he saw the ridiculous sight and chuckled.

He summoned the Ink Sword and let Xu Ya step onto it, finally syncing their pace.

Yu Manjing and Rong Aoqing followed behind them. Yu Manjing was still shaken by the evil talisman and couldn’t calm her mind. That terrifying sense of losing control over her own body had left her deeply unsettled.

After eating some of the fried chicken Xu Ya had shared, warmth spread through her dantian, and she could feel her spiritual energy slowly recovering. It brought her some comfort.

Now, seeing the Senior Brother she admired being so close with Xu Ya, she found herself pondering the bond between the two.

Maybe Junior Sister had won over Senior Brother Shi’s stomach. Don’t all mortal love stories say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Xu Ya’s fried chicken lunchbox really was something else, Yu Manjing thought bitterly.

Zhan Zhengzhen and Cai Wenle, on the other hand, were walking far behind the group.

They had rarely seen Shi Yuzhen act like this. The two of them seemed practically glued together.

When rumors first spread from the Culinary Cultivators about Shi Yuzhen, the two had scoffed. Please, that was Shi Yuzhen we were talking about.

Others might not know his character and could make up nonsense, but those who cultivated alongside him would never believe such clumsy gossip.

But now, seeing with their own eyes the unusual closeness between Shi Yuzhen and Xu Ya, they couldn’t help but admit: some rumors might actually hold a grain of truth.

Originally, they had a rather pessimistic view of the pair’s clinginess. But now that Junior Sister had suddenly become their lifesaver, their perspective had changed.

Watching the two interact now, they couldn’t deny—they actually looked quite well matched.

In order to expose Master Xu within the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, Xu Ya had unexpectedly gained the chance to experience the mortal world firsthand.

Before she regained her modern memories, she had been chased around the marsh by the other cultivators. As a useless snack cultivator, she hadn’t even qualified for worldly training.

Slots for such training were always reserved for cultivators who advanced quickly.

This was her first time out.

Xu Ya felt like even the air was fresher.

They passed through a small mortal town and decided to stop and rest.

Shi Yuzhen pulled out a type of spirit stone Xu Ya had never seen before and handed it to the innkeeper.

Only then did the innkeeper realize he had been neglecting a group of immortals. He bowed and scraped as he welcomed them into a private suite. “Forgive my poor eyesight. How would the esteemed immortals like the rooms arranged?”

Shi Yuzhen thought for a moment. “Three rooms.”

Everyone understood immediately: one for the girls, one for Zhan Zhengzhen and Cai Wenle, and one for Shi Yuzhen alone.

Even Xu Ya assumed the same.

The innkeeper took the spirit stones and quickly prepared the rooms.

It was currently a popular travel season in the mortal world, and there weren’t many rooms left. The three rooms ended up being in different locations throughout the inn.

Everyone instinctively left the quietest room at the far end for Shi Yuzhen.

Xu Ya lifted her foot to follow Rong Aoqing and the others, but Shi Yuzhen reached out and pulled her into his arms.

“You’re staying with me,” he said.

“M-me? With you??” Why do I have to stay with you?! Men and women shouldn’t be so close!

Xu Ya stammered in shock.

The other four immediately adopted expressions of feigned indifference, pretending not to notice.

Shi Yuzhen wasn’t afraid of misunderstandings, but still explained, “That talisman earlier drained me significantly. Junior Sister needs to cook for me. We’re going.”

Everyone gave him a knowing look.

Eat, eat, eat. Just eat yourself to death already! Xu Ya was speechless.

【Since the male lead personally requested your fried chicken, completing the mission should be a breeze~ Host, don’t be so anxious!】

“Hmph, I don’t want to hear your crooked logic. Shut up.”

Xu Ya tried one last time to wriggle out of it. “I—I can bring the food to you later, Great Senior Brother?”

From the others’ perspective, Xu Ya was saying, “I▇▇▇▇, I’d love to cook for you! Great Senior Brother!”

Oh my god, she’s basically a real wife now!

Compared to Xu Ya, Shi Yuzhen was tall and striking, with nearly a twenty-centimeter height difference. Xu Ya had to crane her neck just to meet his gaze, and her heart was pounding with uncertainty.

Shi Yuzhen said, “Let’s go.”

Xu Ya had no choice but to resign herself and follow the male lead to his room.

She still hadn’t figured out how to explain that her storage pouch was currently packed with chicken. She had a creeping feeling she might be mistaken for a monster and hauled away.

The inn room door shut tightly behind them.

Shi Yuzhen sat down at the dining table, resting his head on one hand and tilting it slightly as he looked at Xu Ya.

Xu Ya’s heart was pounding. She shuffled over to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Then she picked up the teapot and poured water for both of them. “Great Senior Brother, you must be thirsty…”

Shi Yuzhen still wore that faint, unreadable smile. He took the teacup from her hand and downed it in one gulp.

Then his smile faded. He said, “Junior Sister, that day you claimed I saved you. But we both know that I was the one who had my hand around your throat, nearly killing you. I’ve never understood why you said that. Can you explain it to me?”

Xu Ya immediately sat up straight, fidgeting awkwardly.

Her performance was, as expected, painfully unconvincing. Shi Yuzhen noted this silently.

Half his suspicion that Xu Ya was an enemy spy had already been dispelled.

What kind of spy is this dumb?

Xu Ya scratched her head, her expression full of embarrassed frustration.

She said dryly, “Okay, I’ll come clean. That day, I was supposed to bring you food. But on the way, I found a spirit pouch. Then, out of nowhere, you lost control and slammed me into a rock. The chicken pieces inside the pouch spilled out. I was feeling snacky, so I used a special cultivator lunchbox to fry them up. Who knew…”

Who knew she’d run into a Shi Yuzhen completely overtaken by his inner demon.

“You—you really scared me that day…” Xu Ya half-complained, half-joked. “I didn’t even get to eat a single piece of that fried chicken. It fell on the ground, and after you ate it, you suddenly returned to normal. I wasn’t seriously hurt, but I saw how furious Master Xu and Master Chen looked. If they punished you, what would I do? So in a panic, I told a little lie to cover for you.”

Xu Ya had eaten quite a lot of golden-finger fried chicken by now. She had grown into a graceful young woman, and years of malnutrition had been made up for all at once. Her face was round and soft, still small and delicate, but her big, round eyes stood out, framed by long lashes that fluttered at Shi Yuzhen.

Seeing this, Shi Yuzhen inexplicably felt inclined to believe her again, and his expression softened.

Xu Ya carefully watched the male lead’s face and, following the cheat sheet provided by the system, said, “After I got back, I found there was a whole lot of fried chicken in the spirit pouch. I don’t really understand the effects of fried chicken. That day when you asked me, I was just repeating what the Culinary Cultivator senior brothers usually say about their spiritual ingredients… But I saw that it really seemed to work for you, so I kept bringing you food every day.”

She added with a touch of feigned regret, “I just wanted you to get better… Sorry if it made you think I was making fun of you.”

Xu Ya had no idea that her innocent, clueless expression could earn her a 75% trust score from the male lead. Half-truth, half-lie, she recounted the whole situation to Shi Yuzhen. Seeing that his expression had lost its former sternness and the tension had eased, Xu Ya cheered inwardly: Yes! She finally figured it out—turns out the people in this novel really aren’t that smart!

System: 【? Uh… what…】

Shi Yuzhen reached out and smoothed down a stray lock of her hair, then took the opportunity to pat her head and said, “Junior Sister, that was very thoughtful of you.”

And with that, the topic was dropped.

“Well then, Great Senior Brother, why don’t you rest here for a bit? I’ll make some fried chicken to help you recover, sound good?” Xu Ya subtly dodged Shi Yuzhen’s large hand.

With the male lead’s approval, Xu Ya got to work.

It wasn’t that she was worried about sharing a room with him—she trusted his character. The real problem was the awkwardness! Thinking about it, she hadn’t had many chances to interact with men in the cultivation world. Even when completing missions, she’d long forgotten how to act naturally around the opposite sex. Keeping herself busy was definitely the better option.

Stiff-backed, Xu Ya pulled out her special frying pot and, under the male lead’s watchful gaze, carefully fried several batches of chicken.

The fried chicken sizzled in the hot oil, releasing an irresistible aroma—rich and savory, but not greasy.

Every time she lifted a batch out of the pot, Xu Ya had to swallow her saliva several times. It smelled way too good!

What she didn’t realize was that Shi Yuzhen, catching the scent, was also unconsciously swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Xu Ya placed the steaming hot fried chicken boxes beside where Shi Yuzhen was meditating.

After watching him for a while and seeing that his breathing was steady, she tiptoed out of the room with several boxes of fried chicken in hand.

She grabbed a passing inn attendant to ask for directions, then delivered the boxes to the other senior brothers and sisters. They seemed a bit suspicious of Xu Ya’s never-ending supply of fried chicken, so she had to grit her teeth and, using the system’s cheat sheet, patiently explain everything all over again.

Who would believe something this ridiculous?

Well… apparently, they all did.

After finishing her deliveries, Xu Ya was pretty worn out. She quietly slipped back into Shi Yuzhen’s room, propped her chin up on the table, and watched him meditate and regulate his qi.

— Translator’s Notes —

– the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach: A common saying suggesting that cooking good food is an effective way to gain a man’s affection.

– mortal world: Refers to the ordinary human world, as opposed to the cultivation world where practitioners pursue immortality.