Glutton (Part 1)

“Hey, this month’s meal delivery is yours, you little waste.” The man shoved a food box roughly into Xu Ya’s hands, not even checking if she could hold it. His eyes were full of disdain. “I’m telling you, you better take good care of the Great Senior Brother. If anything goes wrong, how are we supposed to explain it to Master?”

“Yes…” Xu Ya nodded, tears brimming in her eyes as she resigned herself to fate, gripping the oversized food box with both hands.

Step by step, Xu Ya trudged up Xingyun Peak, trembling under the weight of the box and silently praying that the Great Senior Brother’s condition had improved. She thought back to last month, when she saw him from afar, possessed by madness, being subdued by the sect elders in a brutal confrontation. The memory made her even more afraid.

If it were any other disciple from the peaks, they could have used a simple spell to ascend easily. But Xu Ya was a five-element spiritual root trash. After a lifetime of cultivation, her spiritual power was still pitifully weak, barely above that of an ordinary person. The few minor spells she knew weren’t even enough for self-defense.

In Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, where the strong preyed on the weak, someone like Xu Ya was barely tolerated. If not for Master Xu’s relentless efforts on her behalf, she would have been expelled from the sect long ago.

After climbing for several exhausting hours, Xu Ya finally reached her destination.

The mountain peak was shrouded in mist and winding ridges, obscuring the hidden realm within. Xu Ya knew that just beyond these illusions lay a man of striking beauty, bound in layers of chains.

That man was none other than Shi Yuzhen, the genius disciple hailed as the only one in a hundred years with the potential to reach the Deity Transformation Stage.

Once a graceful and refined figure, Shi Yuzhen had been ambushed during the critical moment of forming his golden core. Now, driven mad by qi deviation, he had been forcibly restrained by the elders at the summit of Xingyun Peak.

The man who had once been elegant and courteous had become a deranged monster, attacking all who came near. How could Xu Ya not be terrified?

Just past the large boulder ahead was the place where Shi Yuzhen was imprisoned.

Xu Ya crouched behind the rock, cautiously poking out her fluffy head to take a look.

Before she could even see anything, a wild surge of spiritual power blasted outward. Her small body took the full brunt of the impact, slamming into the rock along with the food box. Pain shot through her, tears streaming down her face as she coughed up blood on the ground.

She felt like a helpless ant, one that could be crushed by anyone at any time.

Overwhelmed with grievance, Xu Ya lay on the ground sobbing quietly. Suddenly, a fragmented voice from beyond the heavens interrupted her.

Somehow, she instinctively knew—it was an electronic voice.

It crackled and stuttered, making it hard to understand, but Xu Ya found it oddly familiar.

A memory surged into her mind. Moments later, she lifted her head, her eyes sharp and focused, no longer filled with fear.

“What the hell…” Xu Ya muttered to herself. “What is even going on here?”

Grimacing in pain, she sat up awkwardly, rubbing her bruised limbs. Sprawled on the ground with legs splayed, she grumbled, “Seriously? Great Senior Brother? Heaven’s chosen male lead? More like a psycho killer! Was he trying to murder me just now? Huh?”

Despite her complaints, the memories had returned. She remembered everything.

She had originally been a part-time worker at a Ta-o-ting restaurant, just a freshman in college. Not long after starting the job, a deep fryer explosion had flung her into the world of this novel.

Yes, Xu Ya had been blessed—or cursed—with transmigration into a book.

But something had gone wrong. Though she had entered the story, her personal system had crashed. It had malfunctioned when she fell into water as a child, and had been broken for over a decade. She had lost her memory until that violent impact just now restored it. Who could’ve predicted that?

The system’s original mission was simple: help the male lead of a webnovel ascend to become a Celestial Dragon and return home reborn.

Otherwise, she’d be stuck in this godforsaken place, dying a meaningless death as a disposable extra.

Xu Ya wasn’t having it. She hadn’t forgotten the decades she’d spent struggling as a failure. She threw a tantrum inside her mind, arguing with the system, citing all kinds of rules and regulations to demand compensation. After much back-and-forth, she finally got the system to hand over some cheat items.

【Host, please calm down~ I contacted you as soon as the system rebooted, didn’t I~】

Xu Ya remained unimpressed, scowling as she accepted the system’s cheat item transmission.

【Alright, alright. I worked hard to get three mystery box cheats from the main god just for you. Please check your rewards~】

Xu Ya’s brow twitched in irritation. What kind of scammy system used mystery boxes?

Still, when golden light shimmered in her palm, her eyes sparkled despite herself. She was kind of excited.

The first mystery box opened to reveal… a fried chicken recipe from Ta-o-ting. One she knew all too well.

She had even stayed up late memorizing it during training…

What the hell? Other people get cheats that let them summon storms with a word, and I get a fried chicken recipe? What am I supposed to do with this???

【Don’t be hasty, Host. This will definitely come in handy~】

The second mystery box opened. A flash of gold, and a half-damaged book floated out. Xu Ya flipped through it with a grim expression, which gradually softened. She tucked the book into her robes.

It was the first half of the very novel she had transmigrated into, detailing all the crises Shi Yuzhen would face. Not a bad cheat. For someone like her, a total failure, this could actually help her complete the mission.

The third mystery box revealed a plain drawstring pouch.

Xu Ya recognized it. Almost every senior brother and sister in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh had one. It was called a Spirit Pouch—nothing special, but capable of holding countless items. Her eyes lit up. Rubbing her hands together like a greedy fly, she opened it and reached inside.

Her hand plunged into a vast space and brushed against something smooth and slippery. She groped around, suppressing a wave of goosebumps, and pulled it out.

It was a plump, marinated chicken drumstick.

…

Wait a minute. Did this pouch connect to the Ta-o-ting warehouse? Was that even legal??

The system, sensing her thoughts, replied with its usual flat tone, but Xu Ya could hear the smugness in it:

【Host, your three mystery box cheats have been successfully delivered! Here’s your user manual~ Please review it~】

With a scowl, Xu Ya reached into the air and pulled out a paper-thin manual. She didn’t bother reading it and stuffed it into her pocket. Whatever. It had been ages since she’d had fried chicken. Might as well treat herself.

With the return of her memories came the return of her taste buds. She had already forgotten all about the task of “taking good care of the Great Senior Brother.”

She picked up the food box that had nearly shattered in the fall. It was reinforced with spiritual energy, nearly indestructible—resistant to blades, fire, and water. But unfortunately for it, it had met the male lead of a novel. Naturally, it had to break first.

She used a water spell to clean the box, then pulled out a whole marinated chicken from her new pouch. She coated it with the seasoning from the pouch, summoned a fire spell, heated some oil, and started frying.

Xu Ya didn’t notice the strange golden light that flickered briefly around the chicken as it entered the box.

As the seasoned whole chicken hit the hot oil, it crackled and sizzled. Pearlescent bubbles rose around it, wrapping the golden crust in a glistening sheen.

A rich, nostalgic aroma filled the air. With her memory and senses restored, Xu Ya was overwhelmed by the mouthwatering scent. It was divine.

She chanted a short incantation and pulled out the perfectly fried, golden chicken. Wrapping it in a piece of plain cloth, she was just about to take a bite when ominous clouds gathered behind the boulder. Strange, guttural roars echoed out.

Startled, Xu Ya finally remembered her original task.

She tore off a wing from the chicken and stuffed it into her mouth, then grabbed a few clean food items from the ground and circled around the boulder.

For some reason, Shi Yuzhen had completely lost control. Though his arms were suspended by massive chains, it was as if nothing could restrain him. Thick black mist poured from his body and limbs.

The violent surge of spiritual energy shattered the surrounding rocks, sending debris flying in all directions. Xu Ya, who had come to check on the situation, was nearly struck.

With her memories restored, Xu Ya’s mindset was no longer what it once had been. Though she was no longer timid, the sight before her still made her heart pound in terror. Fear surged up uncontrollably.

Shi Yuzhen hung his head low, his hair masking the once-handsome face. Now, he looked like a demon, roaring in fury as he broke free from the chains.

With a deafening crack, the massive chains shattered and clattered to the ground.

Atop the towering peak, a demon shrouded in black mist faced off against a frail young woman who was barely stronger than a mortal.

In a desperate moment, the weak girl swiftly formed a hand seal, channeling a faint trace of spiritual energy into the spirit stone at the top, hoping to summon reinforcements.

But Xu Ya had underestimated the situation. The spiritual energy had only traveled halfway when the demon, eyes glowing red, casually flicked his sleeve. The energy was swatted down midair. Xu Ya could only watch as her last hope vanished before her eyes.

【—Aaaaah help! Help! System, do something! Aaaaah the male lead’s going to kill me! Aaaaah—】

Xu Ya turned and ran, her survival instinct kicking into overdrive. She quickly formed several more hand seals, but they had no effect. Shi Yuzhen, like some unstoppable monster, brushed them off as if they were nothing more than wind and dust.

The system, as usual, was completely useless—might as well be dead.

What Xu Ya didn’t see was that a faint wisp of spiritual energy had clung to the side of the spirit stone. What she never expected was that this mechanism not only summoned reinforcements, but also immediately dropped a massive cage to trap the target in place.

And so, Xu Ya ended up tragically locked inside the cage—with the male lead, Shi Yuzhen.

…

Xu Ya hadn’t given up on survival. She ran circles around the cage, crying out in panic, narrowly dodging several attacks by sheer luck.

Perhaps Shi Yuzhen had grown irritated with this tiresome game of cat and mouse. He extended a large hand and clenched his fingers. Xu Ya was instantly lifted into the air, flying straight toward him.

His palm clamped tightly around her throat, applying brutal force.

It was the first time Xu Ya had ever been this close to the legendary Great Senior Brother of Yunmeng Immortal Marsh—and it was going to be her last.

She struggled violently at first, clawing at Shi Yuzhen’s hand with both hands, her fingernails digging desperately into his fingers. “Great Senior Brother… it’s me… Great… Senior Brother…”

Though she had only ever been a nameless, disposable Junior Sister in his life, Xu Ya had no other choice. She could only pray that this would work.

She felt herself growing lighter, as if she were a feather floating upward. Her toes left the ground, and she no longer had the strength to struggle. Her arms went limp, and even the freshly fried chicken she had tucked into her sleeve slipped from her grasp.

The fried chicken was still piping hot, carefully wrapped in plain cloth. It rolled across the ground a few times before coming to a stop—right at Shi Yuzhen’s feet.

As if scalded, Shi Yuzhen abruptly released her throat.

With a thud, Xu Ya crashed to the ground. Her throat burned as if it had been doused in boiling oil—searing, sticky, and too painful to speak. All she could do was cough.

Through her blurred vision, she saw Shi Yuzhen crouch down, pick up the fried chicken with the same hand that had just gripped her throat.

Xu Ya’s vision swam with stars as she curled up defensively, narrowing her eyes to watch Shi Yuzhen warily.

But he didn’t attack. Instead, he unwrapped the plain cloth around the fried chicken and, unexpectedly and with surprising grace, took a bite.

In that instant, the black mist surrounding him faded significantly. Even his terrifying red eyes returned to normal.

Shi Yuzhen now looked just like the snack-craving customers Xu Ya had seen during her part-time job—calmly savoring the fried chicken.

But the scene was utterly bizarre. This was a world inside a novel. This man was the male lead, a Celestial Dragon of the cultivation world. This was a xianxia story, not a Ta-o-ting restaurant!

The chicken bones were picked clean, each one gleaming as if polished before falling to the ground.

The whole thing was deeply unsettling, yet Xu Ya couldn’t help but sense that Shi Yuzhen’s current state… actually seemed pretty good?

Before long, strange noises echoed from outside the cage. Reinforcements had finally arrived.

— Translator’s Notes —

– Ta-o-ting: A fictional restaurant name that sounds similar to ‘Tao Ting Ju’ (陶陶居), a famous real-world Cantonese restaurant chain, suggesting a food-themed establishment.

– five-element spiritual root trash: In xianxia (immortal hero) fiction, spiritual roots determine cultivation aptitude. A ‘five-element spiritual root’ is typically considered poor quality as it requires balancing multiple elements, making progress extremely difficult.

– Deity Transformation Stage: A high-level cultivation realm in xianxia where cultivators approach godhood or transcendence, often one of the final stages of power progression.

– forming his golden core: A crucial breakthrough in cultivation where spiritual energy is condensed into a ‘golden core’ (jindan), significantly increasing a cultivator’s power and lifespan.

– qi deviation: A dangerous condition in cultivation where one’s spiritual energy (qi) flows erratically or reverses, often causing madness, physical damage, or death.

– xianxia: A Chinese fantasy genre centered around immortality-seeking cultivators, martial arts, magic, and ancient Chinese mythology.

– Celestial Dragon: A term for an exceptionally talented and destined individual in xianxia, implying they are favored by heaven and destined for greatness.