Old Hu stamped his foot and said with a bitter face:

"My granddaughter is getting married on the 18th of this month, but I can't find a cook I like. With the wedding date fast approaching, I'm really at my wit's end, so I've swallowed my pride and come to Madam Xu's place, hoping to ask you to cook a banquet for her!"

"Get married? But I remember—"

Xu Milu recalled Old Hu's granddaughter, who was a little yellow fox, not even as big as a kitten, who could barely speak, yet she got married.

Old Hu laughed, and a fox-faced phantom appeared and disappeared on his face:

"That's my twenty-fourth daughter, but the one getting married this month is my eleventh daughter. She's the most beautiful and well-groomed red fox in our family. Her fur is as red as fire, and even the City God praised her for being clever!"

Xu Milu found it somewhat novel. She had attended several human wedding banquets, but she had never attended a fairy wedding before.

Besides, there haven't been many guests these past few days, so she might as well go along and broaden her horizons. Anyway, it's not far outside Chang'an City, and she has the Vermilion Bird Yin-Yang Blade and Monkey King's fur protecting her, so she should be fine.

Upon hearing her agree, Old Hu's eyes narrowed with a smile:

"Oh! Oh! Then I'll have to trouble you, Madam Xu. Please make a list of all the ingredients you need so I can go and buy them in the next few days."

"Since it's a wedding banquet, it has to be done perfectly. Chicken, duck, and fish are indispensable. If we can find mutton and beef, that would be great. There are plenty of wild game in the mountains. If we can find rabbits, pheasants, or deer, that would be great too. In autumn, we can have lotus roots, arrowhead from the south, and water chestnuts. We also need to prepare some fresh fruits and vegetables. I also need to find a few helpers, otherwise I won't be able to handle it all."

Xu Milu thought for a moment and then asked Mo Xuan to write down a list for Old Man Hu.

"Of course, of course. I have more than a dozen unmarried granddaughters at home. They are good at knitting and sewing, and often serve soup and meals. It is no problem for them to help out Madam Xu."

Old Hu was all smiles, as if afraid Xu Milu would change her mind. With a flick of his sleeve, three small, square boxes fell to the ground:

"This is Madam Xu's hard-earned money. On the seventeenth of this month, I will have my fox clan junior come to pick up Madam Xu. Thank you very much."

...

...

After Old Hu left, Xu Milu opened the box to take a look and was immediately surprised.

The first box was filled with four layers of gold ingots, so bright and dazzling that they hurt the eyes. There were about twenty of them, which amounted to a hundred taels of gold.

The second box contained a full box of herbs such as Solomon's Seal, Panax notoginseng, and ginseng. The ginseng was as thick as a child's arm, plump and white, tied with red thread. The Solomon's Seal was also thick and robust, almost resembling a human face.

The third one is the most precious, but it is a palm-sized Ganoderma lucidum with a layer of fiery red Ganoderma powder on its pale purple cap. Just smelling it makes you feel that it is full of medicinal power.

"I thought it was some kind of treasure, but it's just some wild herbs and a hundred taels of gold. Only this fifty-year-old fire lingzhi is worth mentioning."

Mo Xuan pouted, looking somewhat disgusted:

"Thinking of my Dragon Palace in Dongting Lake, how much gold, silver, jade, pearls, and precious stones it holds, along with beautiful wives and concubines—"

"Oh, if I remember correctly, you don't have a hundred taels of silver on you right now."

Xu Milu coldly exposed him, slamming the box shut.

"Is there any precedent for the fox clan hiring human cooks to help with the cooking when their daughters get married?"

Mo Xuan was taken aback: "Yes, although the fox clan is on good terms with humans, there has never been a precedent for the fox clan to marry off their daughters. This old man Hu spent a lot of money to invite a bride, could there be a trick involved?"

"Who cares if it's a trap? Anyway, the Great Sage said that as long as I practice my sword skills properly, I can cut down any man-eating demons and monsters with a single stroke."

Xu Milu remained extremely calm.