Shenqing Zhenjun gazed at the starry sky in a daze.

The young girl, Hongzhuang, is the posthumous child of the previous generation's guardian beast, the Fire Phoenix.

In that massacre of their entire clan, Fire Phoenix and the old sect leader fought to the last drop of blood.

The sect was ultimately saved, but Hongzhuang, still an infant, had already lost her mother.

Without her mother's care, Hongzhuang was born weak and thin.

Even with the combined efforts of the entire clan, there was still no way to resolve the situation.

As I watched her grow up day by day, my guilt grew stronger with each passing day.

They all knew that everything Xiao Hongzhuang presented was a facade.

She was expressing herself in her own way that she was very healthy.

Lacking experience, they could only play along with her antics.

This led her disciples to believe that she was extremely terrifying, and thus they avoided her.

Perhaps after all this time, we have never truly understood her.

With a sigh, Shenqing Zhenjun sincerely hoped that Ye Feng could take good care of Hongzhuang.

...

Early in the morning, Ye Feng prepared to go down the mountain to buy materials.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw the young girl in red standing outside.

The little girl looked nervous, a mix of happiness and shyness.

Her pale face was flushed, and she was twisting her hands together vigorously.

Ye Feng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and walked over to pat the little girl's head.

"I need to go to town to buy some things. Can I take you with me?"

Hongzhuang's eyes instantly brightened, and she said expectantly:

"Really... really okay?"

Ye Feng said with a smile, "Of course you can do it if you're willing."

The girl in red makeup nodded her little head rapidly, like a chick pecking at rice.

Naturally, he took the little girl's hand, and the two of them flew towards the outside of the mountain gate.

Shenqing Zhenjun was naturally aware of the young girl's movements.

He said directly to Xing Zuo, "I would appreciate it if you could secretly protect these two. They are both treasures of the sect and cannot be allowed to fall."

Xing Zuo nodded and then disappeared.

The town is some distance from the gate of the Shushan Sword Sect.

For ordinary people, this might take a very long time.

Moreover, with the mountain gate protected by a grand formation, it's impossible to see or enter without proper methods.

For disciples who have already established their foundation, this is not a problem.

Sword cultivators have the fastest long-distance movement speed among those of the same cultivation level.

When the two arrived in town, the market was bustling with activity.

The vendors' cries and the customers' haggling.

The laughter of young boys and girls.

This creates a real and moving scene.

[A bitter cucumber whose roots are damaged, so bitter you can't even open your mouth to eat it]

Freshly picked, crisp baby spinach this morning

[Premium sugar icing paired with candied hawthorn berries]

With a sudden burst of excitement, Ye Feng pulled Hongzhuang directly to the stall selling candied hawthorns.

The stall owner was an elderly woman with white hair.

Seeing the two figures, one big and one small, the old lady smiled kindly.

"Hey buddy, wanna have some candied hawthorns? They're homemade, so they're clean and hygienic."

Hongzhuang looked at the round, bright red candied hawthorns in front of her with great delight.

Ye Feng was naturally generous and picked up Hongzhuang, letting her choose for herself.

Hongzhuang's face instantly became even rosier than a candied hawthorn.

She pointed to one and then shyly buried her face in Ye Feng's shoulder.

After paying and receiving the candied hawthorn, Ye Feng stuffed it into Hongzhuang's hand.

Curious, I took a bite of the sweet and sour candied hawthorn.

Hongzhuang's big eyes instantly turned into crescent moons.

She carefully held the candied hawthorn to Ye Feng's lips.

Ye Feng smiled and ate one as well.

The little girl laughed even more happily.

Just then, a series of "duang" sounds came.

Hongzhuang craned her neck curiously to take a look.

Unfortunately, he was too small to use magic effectively, and he couldn't see anything except the back of his head.

Ye Feng adjusted his posture and let the little girl straddle his neck.

The sudden increase in elevation allowed the little girl to immediately see what was happening ahead.

It turned out there was a magician performing there.

The little girl wasn't interested in these things; after all, no matter how amazing a magic trick is, can it compare to magic?

The two did not linger and continued to buy the ingredients they needed.

Xing Zuo watched the two figures as they walked away, feeling a mix of emotions.

They look like siblings, but their bond is stronger than that of father and daughter.

I just hope that Xiao Hongzhuang can stay happy like this forever.

Many of the vendors at the town market were all smiles today.

I don't know where this rich guy came from, he brought a little girl to buy vegetables and didn't even ask for the weight.

They're selling directly by the stall.

If the food is good, we'll pack it up immediately, without even haggling over the price.

The vendors only regretted leaving home too early and not bringing enough.

After purchasing the supplies, the two returned to their sect.

Xing Zuo also went back to report to Shenqing Zhenjun.

...

Ye Feng was shocked as soon as he returned to the small canteen.

At this moment, the area was already surrounded by people, three layers deep.

Upon seeing the person in question return, they immediately began to chatter amongst themselves.

"Junior brother! Let's eat quickly! Your senior brother is starving."

"Junior brother, make sure to give me five servings of that Banmian and Xueshan Feihuo. I didn't get to eat properly yesterday."

"Junior brother, when is dinner? I didn't get to eat yesterday."

Ye Feng didn't think anything of the mess.

I'm used to it anyway.

Hongzhuang couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Stepping out from behind Ye Feng, he glared at him and spoke:

"Stop making a racket! Get in line! Anyone who keeps making noise, I'll beat them up!"

Everyone who saw the red dress was terrified.

The originally chaotic scene instantly transformed into a straight, long queue.

Those who couldn't stand in the space instinctively flicked a small tail into the air.

Ye Feng pulled the little girl who had displayed such great power behind him and laughed:

"Please wait a moment, fellow disciples. I have just returned from shopping down the mountain."

In addition to the Banmian (flat noodles) and Xue Shan Fei Huo (snow mountain fire), three new dishes were added today.

One is tomato tofu, another is chicken broth xiaolongbao, and the third is a vegetable juice drink.

Senior brothers and sisters can give it a try.

Also, I should mention that preparing the ingredients takes time.

From then on, the small canteen will open at noon and close at late afternoon, so all the senior students won't have to wait there anymore.

After saying that, she pulled Hongzhuang into the kitchen.

The long cutting board was piled high with various ingredients, and Ye Feng began to process them methodically.

While Ye Feng was kneading the dough, Hongzhuang found it amusing, so Ye Feng pinched off a piece and let her knead it for fun.

Holding that lump of flour.

One moment the dough is kneaded into a little mouse, the next it's kneaded into a little dog.

He was having a great time playing by himself.

In no time, his face was covered in flour.

Ye Feng smiled and reached out to leave a long white mark on her face.

Enraged, Hongzhuang jumped up and down, determined to slap him across the face.

Ye Feng offered his face, and Hongzhuang drew a circle on his face.

He then smiled with satisfaction.

This heartwarming scene was witnessed by the diners outside.

That's pretty terrifying!