"Tap tap tap tap—"

"Tap tap tap tap—"

The morning sunlight streamed through the windowpanes, and tiny golden particles floated in the air. The familiar sound of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen, and large swaths of wisteria blossoms bloomed in the morning light, like a light purple ocean.

"Plop..."

Mo Xuan, smelling the faint sour scent in the air, couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Madam Xu's cooking skills seem to have improved quite a bit. Before, when she cooked a pot of soup, it was just something the neighbors would make. But now, even before the soup is finished, the aroma alone is enough to make one feel like they're floating on air, slurping... This taste is probably even better than the nectar at the Peach Banquet."

Even the finest liquor can't compare to a bowl of soup personally prepared by Madam Xu!

Suddenly, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself with a touch of conflict:

"I don't know what happened that day. Madam Xu stayed in seclusion all day. If it weren't for the aroma of food wafting from the backyard every day, I would have thought that Madam Xu was in seclusion."

He wanted to peer over the wall, but he couldn't see anything through the backyard. The wisteria vine climbing the wall moved its dark brown tendrils, and countless purple branches, like writhing snakes, completely blocked his view.

"Click-clack-click-clack..."

Brown vines twisted and turned, and a small mound of earth rose up from under the tree roots. Suddenly, a little child with two tender leaves on his head popped out. This little child was fair and lovely, with a strange light green skin. He wore a bright red bib embroidered with scorpions, centipedes, toads, snakes, and geckos on his chest. His limbs were chubby and looked like sections of plump, tender lotus roots.

The little child twisted his arm, blinked his two bright black eyes, and stood in front of the two people in a soft, tender voice:

"My wife said that if you still want to eat her cooking, don't wander around outside. Otherwise, you'll only get soup tonight, and all the meat will go to Dai Zi, hmph!"

"I didn't uproot you back then because I saw that you, the wisteria tree spirit, hadn't yet taken human form, and I also saw that you could do some odd jobs. If I hadn't watered you with the spiritual water I used to wash vegetables every day, how could you have taken human form in less than a thousand years?"

Mo Xuan was so angry at the little demon that he gritted his teeth and sneered:

"You little wisteria demon dare to stop me? You're a centuries-old demon, yet you're pretending to be a three-year-old child. If it weren't for Madam Xu forbidding me from eating a delicate little demon like you, I would have devoured you in the past!"

—Although Xu Milu did not specifically feed the wisteria tree spirit with spiritual vegetables, under the long-term influence of spiritual energy, no one expected that the wisteria tree in the courtyard would take human form ahead of schedule.

"Hehehe!"

Dai Zi made a face at Mo Xuan and stood on tiptoe, trying to make herself taller:

"It's Young Master Chenxiang who waters the little demon every day, and it's Madam Xu who nourishes the little demon with spiritual energy. What does that have to do with you, great dragon demon?"

"you!"

Mo Xuan was about to get angry when he suddenly remembered something, his eyes darted around, and he forced a smile:

"I've heard that newly transformed flower fairies are incredibly nourishing. Roast them over a fire until all their spiritual energy is extracted into their skin. Take a bite, and ah, they're crisp, sweet, and delicious—"

He had intended to scare the little demon, and after saying this, he grinned, revealing a set of sharp teeth. This frightened Dai Zi so much that she kicked her little legs and ran into the house with tears welling in her eyes.

"Wife! Wife! This dragon is going to eat me! Waaaaah! Don't eat me! I sweep, dust, and fetch water every day without fail! Waaaaah!"

"Tap tap tap tap—tap tap tap..."

The chopping sounds in the backyard stopped, followed by Xu Milu's somewhat helpless voice:

"Mo Xuan, Dai Zi is about to take human form, and her mind is still immature. Don't bully her—have you seen Chen Xiang?"

Upon hearing Xu Milu's voice, Mo Xuan's eyes lit up. Ignoring Dai Zi's attempts to stop him, he leaped onto the wall in a few quick movements and replied:

"My wife said early this morning that she wanted to make 'garlic, radish, and old duck soup,' so young master Chenxiang went to the West Market to buy some ingredients to please her—"

Before he could finish speaking, the expression on his face suddenly froze.

In the backyard, a large pot was set up, and the fire spirit, which had not been seen for many days, was jumping happily at the bottom of the pot. However, standing next to the table was not Xu Milu in her Taoist robe, but a little chick that was less than three feet tall.

Yes, little chicks.

Yellow and round, little chicks.

Its head is covered with a layer of soft, pale yellow down, and its slightly immature fledgling feathers have a light golden tinge. Its tail is supported by several long, fiery red feathers, each of which looks as if a layer of brilliant flames is slowly flowing on it. Its two beady eyes are round and bulging, and if you look closely, you can see specks of gold.

"I'm talking about 'pickled radish and old duck soup,' which is made by stewing duck with pickled radish. After cooking, the soup is rich but not greasy. The sourness of the radish can relieve the greasiness of the old duck, and the fishy smell of the duck meat itself will be covered up. The radish absorbs the oil in the soup base and becomes soft, tender, and tangy."

The fledgling bird, which was not even as tall as a stool, flapped its pair of tender red wings. Its two thin and weak claws easily gripped the kitchen knife that Xu Milu usually used, chopping radish chunks with a "tap tap tap" sound. The large basin at its feet was already piled high with square white radishes.

"?"

The fledgling bird, sensing something, slowly raised its head and suddenly met Mo Xuan's gaze on the wall.

Xu Milu, forced to revert to Ars's original form due to energy overflow: "..."

Mo Xuan, too shocked to speak, exclaimed: "!!!"

He slowly opened his mouth wide, and then the expression on his face crumbled inch by inch, like shattered cement.

—This time, it was Mo Xuan who broke down.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!