"Oh my, it's Madam Xu! No wonder this smells so wonderful! I've been so busy with official business these past few days that I haven't been to Shan Hai Restaurant. My stomach feels so empty, and I really want to have a bite of Madam Xu's radish dish!"

Before Xu Milu could answer, the bull-headed man glared at her, pointed at the fire on the ground, and said in a deep, booming voice:

"Do you know that the fire on the ground—"

Before it could finish speaking, Horse-Face hurriedly grabbed its colleague and said with a grin:

“Madam Xu, you are not from this world, so you may not know this. This is not firewood, but the hungry ghosts in hell who are tortured by fire. Every hour, the ghost messengers throw them into the fire to render oil, and then throw the hungry ghosts into the fire to burn. It seems that this young man misunderstood and brought this back thinking it was firewood for cooking!”

Xu Milu's smile froze, and she slowly turned her neck to stare at the "firewood" in the fire.

"Is this a hungry ghost?"

Is it safe to eat crayfish cooked with ghost food?

“That’s right. Although we sometimes use these evil spirits to make a fire for warmth, after all, Madam Xu is a mortal. I’m afraid you’ll be scared. These evil spirits and firewood spirits were arsonists and bandits who committed murder and other evil deeds in their previous lives. Yama sentenced them to suffer the torment of burning every day. Using them as firewood won’t cause any problems. It’s just that we don’t know how to explain this to our superiors… How about we wait until Madam has used up these hungry ghosts before we two brothers come back?”

Horse-face was very skilled at speaking; he explained the whole story clearly with a smile.

"We are truly sorry. We are new here and thought this was just ordinary firewood. We won't trouble you two. I can make it myself, so please take it with you."

Xu Milu realized that they were the ones who had delayed the other person's work, and immediately felt a little embarrassed, saying:

"Next time Rakshasa comes to the shop for drinks, how about I give you a jar of the finest wine?"

Horse-faced breathed a sigh of relief, his smile widening. He bowed, flicked his sleeves to extinguish the fire, lightly counted the hungry ghosts, then put the ghosts into his sleeves and took his leave.

After walking several dozen feet, the bull-headed creature, who had remained silent until now, clicked its tongue and said with some regret:

"I wonder how those wine and dishes were made; they tasted absolutely wonderful—Brother Ma, why are you being so polite to a mere mortal woman? Could it be that she has some extraordinary background?"

Horse-face shook his head and said mysteriously:

"You don't know, these three are not people that we brothers can afford to offend. The one in black used to be the Dragon King of Dongting Lake. He was a Dragon King appointed by the Heavenly Court. His father was Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, who ruled over the aquatic creatures of all directions and was ordered by Heaven to control the rain!"

Bull Head quickly patted his chest and said:

"Ha! Such a powerful background? I saw that he had no trace of immortality and thought he was some minor demon. I almost offended him. What a close call! — And what is the background of that Madam Xu?"

"This woman has quite a background. She is the lay disciple of Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace. I heard that last year, when the Gu Diao calamity struck Yaochi, she was the one who stopped it. The Queen Mother of the West, recognizing her youthful talent, specially gifted her a thousand-year-old peach!"

There was a hint of envy in Ma Mian's words:

"This Lady Xu is unlike ordinary cultivators. She runs a restaurant in Chang'an that specializes in spiritual food and dishes. Not only are they delicious, but it is said that even Prince Moang of the West Sea Dragon Palace, the Sudhana of the South Sea, and the Third Prince Nezha have dealings with her."

As you just saw, Madam Xu is kind and helpful, and she's always been kind to us underworld officials. Even the Black and White Impermanence often patronize her! Brother Niu, if you have the time, come with me to Chang'an and try Madam Xu's cooking. Tsk tsk tsk, it's so fragrant it's almost unbearable! Even immortals couldn't resist its aroma!

"I must go and take a look when I have time. The spiritual vegetables and rice are rare. It's kind of Madam Xu to be so understanding and willing to sell them to us."

These words stirred a longing in Niu Tou's heart, but then he suddenly remembered something and abruptly changed the subject:

"Just now I heard that young man call Madam Xu 'Senior Sister,' could he also be a disciple of the Great Sage Sun?"

"This... I don't know."

Horse-faced paused, a subtle expression on his head: "But I've heard that the young master's maternal uncle has three eyes."

Minotaur: "..."

Who else could have three eyes, one in the sky and one on earth?