Several women worked together to clean up the huge chicken coop in the yard.

The hen flapped its wings near the women's legs, but no one paid it any attention. So it flapped its wings, kicked its claws, flew to the wall, shook its wings, squatted down, and tilted its head to watch them busy in the yard.

There were so many corpses that they simply piled them up and covered them with some dry grass.

The hen flapped her wings, flew over, and nestled there to brood.

The women then carried a large round wooden table into the courtyard, and also brought over some benches and chairs.

The little girl cheered and pulled Yang Lingyao to the table. The two sat side by side, like two little animals waiting to be fed.

The proprietress brought over a large pot of steaming hot food and placed it in the center of a round wooden table. Several other women brought bowls filled with rice and chopsticks and placed them around the table.

They took their seats one by one, but didn't touch their chopsticks, only talking to each other in hushed tones.

The little fox in Ai Cao's arms twitched its nose, then turned nimbly toward the wooden table, its moist nose twitching. The aroma of food wafted through the air—unlike those fasting pills that only had a single flavor, this was the aroma of mortals, full of the warmth of everyday life.

The mugwort calmed the eager little fox, and I carried it to the table.

Upon seeing the mugwort arrive, the proprietress wiped her face with the white towel around her neck and said with a smile, "I was short on time, so I only made this much."

In the center of the round table was a large pot that was almost completely full. The pot was about two and a half feet in diameter and nearly a foot deep. The top layer was red chili oil, and the bottom was piled high with various ingredients.

Aside from common ingredients like bean sprouts and sliced ​​meat, the most important ingredient in this dish is the long, golden strips of blood tofu.

Some of them broke, but scattered in the soup, they still looked as beautiful as stars.

Ai Cao sat down next to Yang Lingyao and asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

The women around the little girl squeezed together to make room for the proprietress.

The proprietress held up a bowl filled with golden blood tofu, topped with a layer of meat and vegetables, and said to the little girl, "Nannan, this was specially saved for you. Eating these is good for your health."

The little girl looked at the big pot on the table, lowered her head a little disappointed, and slurped the golden blood tofu in her bowl.

Yang Lingyao rubbed the little girl's head and said with a smile, "We've been waiting for you." She winked at Ai Cao and said, "You're our great benefactor, so of course you should start eating first."

“…Where is this custom from?” Ai Cao sighed and said, “I’m just a mortal, you don’t need to treat me with such respect.”

But everyone still stared at her longingly.

Defeated by their sparkling eyes, Ai Cao had no choice but to pick up her chopsticks and say, "...Let's eat together then."

The women cheered and picked up their bowls and chopsticks. They tacitly avoided the blood tofu, only eating the unimportant items. Ai Cao also picked up a slice of meat and stuffed it into the mouth of the little fox who was staring blankly at the pot and drooling.

The little fox chewed on the meat with satisfaction. A layer of mist covered its black eyes, which quickly gathered into tears.

Before the mugwort could be examined more closely, the system gave its answer: "It's from the spiciness, but it's nothing."

The women exclaimed in unison, "It smells so good!"

The proprietress's cheeks flushed slightly.

Ai Cao reached her chopsticks towards the pot again. Naturally, she avoided the blood tofu and only picked up a slice of meat coated in red oil, putting it in her mouth. She swallowed the hot and spicy meat, then reached out again, joining the chopstick battle above the pot.

Yang Lingyao was gripping her chopsticks, wrestling with the woman sitting opposite her. They both ended up with the same piece of meat, marbled with fat and lean, without any hint of courtesy or consideration.

Ai Cao deftly bypassed their chopsticks and easily picked up a large piece of meat from the bubbling red oil. After she finished eating, seeing that the two were still arguing over the piece of meat, she smiled and took a pair of unused chopsticks, giving each of them a piece of meat.

Although the two were still unconvinced, they divided the meat they had been fighting over into half and ate it with their heads down.

The little girl finished the golden blood tofu in her bowl. When she looked up again, everyone was still scrambling for food as before. There was plenty of meat and vegetables in the pot, but the piece that everyone else was eyeing smelled even better.

She eagerly reached out with her chopsticks and joined the fray.

The proprietress said softly, "With a girl this competitive, her future path may not be easy."

Yang Lingyao smiled and put a piece of meat she had just snatched on the little girl's plate, saying, "Cultivating immortality means fighting and grabbing, otherwise you'll just keep getting trampled on."

The proprietress sighed softly.

She whispered, "It's good that my little girl is living happily."

Ai Cao overheard their conversation and joined in with a smile, saying, "She'll probably be happier if she doesn't act like a normal child."

The proprietress's gaze fell on the little girl's red hair. She said, somewhat bewildered, "Yes..."

She pursed her lips, smiled faintly, and said, "After all, I'm just an ordinary mother following my daughter around. How far can I pave the way for her?"

Ai Cao smiled and asked, "The Demon King's location?"

The steam from the pot blurred the proprietress's expression.

The proprietress hesitated before saying, "The Demon King... that's fine too. It's better for Nannan to be the Demon King than for anyone else."

Ai Cao casually corrected her wording: "It's not about letting her become the demon king, but about paving a path for her to become the demon king."

“The current Demon King is dead, but I still have to go to the Demon Continent,” Ai Cao said. “Anyway, killing one is the same as killing two, and I can bury them anyway. I might as well kill them all, and it can also pave the way for her.”

The proprietress stared blankly at the pot.

Seeing that her bowl was empty, Ai Cao took some meat from Yang Lingyao's bowl to eat. Yang Lingyao didn't tolerate her at all and fiercely grabbed her chopsticks to fight her. But Ai Cao stuffed the meat into her mouth and continued to fight back with her chopsticks.

Yang Lingyao angrily put down her bowl: "Come here and fight me!"

Artemisia blinked and said, "No."

Taking advantage of Yang Lingyao's anger, she stuffed two more bites of meat into her mouth. The woman sitting next to her laughed heartily and piled the meat into Ai Cao's bowl with her chopsticks.

Seeing that Yang Lingyao was still angry, Ai Cao took half of the meat from her bowl and gave it to her, saying, "Here, have some, don't be angry anymore."

Yang Lingyao's anger, which had just subsided a little, flared up again.

She looked at the mugwort, then at the fragrant meat in the bowl.

A moment of patience brings calm, a step back...

Yang Lingyao picked up the bowl, sat down angrily, and stuffed meat into her mouth.

As she ate, she asked, "Are you planning to go to the Demon Realm?"

The mugwort nodded.

Yang Lingyao asked again, "Will you take me with you?"

The mugwort hesitated.

Yang Lingyao sighed and said, "I knew you would hesitate." She flipped her hand, and a small porcelain bottle appeared in her palm.

Yang Lingyao said, "This contains my blood, it was just drained." She pointed to her eyelids, "When you need to use it, just apply some to your eyelids. Why don't you try it now?"

Ai Cao nodded. She unscrewed the porcelain bottle, poked a little blood with her fingertip, and smeared it on her eyelids.

She blinked and saw her own face reflected in the eyes of the woman opposite her, whose face was as pale as snow.

Artemisia: "?"