Foodie (Part 2)

The crowd instantly surrounded Shi Yuzhen with their swords raised. After a series of movements, Xu Ya saw her fellow disciples forming a circle, their faces grim, their swords pointed at Shi Yuzhen.

Although Xu Ya's magical power was weak, she recognized it as a talisman of distress.

Looking up, Shi Yuzhen was also standing with his hands behind his back and a cold expression... if you ignored the inappropriate ring of oil around the corner of his mouth.

A powerful voice came from behind Xu Ya: "You sinner Shi Yuzhen, you have gone mad with your cultivation and have accidentally injured your fellow disciples in the Immortal Realm! Do you know your crime?!"

Xu Ya recognized Chen Shibo's voice and was about to turn around when a man draped a large fur coat over her shoulders. Xu Ya smelled the familiar scent of herbs and immediately let down her guard, curling up in the man's arms.

Master Xu hugged Xu Ya tighter, his fingertips rubbing the bruises Shi Yuzhen had left on her, which stung. Yet, he still spoke fairly: "When you were little, we watched you grow up. You were always so respectable. It seems you've been corrupted by a demon, doing something so disgraceful to the family… what are you going to do?"

Master Chen was heartbroken and stopped Master Xu from speaking further, saying, "Junior brother, there is no need to say more. Since this sinner has become possessed by demons and harmed people, he must not be allowed to live. Let me end this."

Xu Ya sensed something was off but didn't comment.

The system suddenly started alarming in her mind, making Xu Ya even more dizzy and almost faint.

[Please help the male protagonist overcome this life-threatening ordeal.]

[Please help the male protagonist overcome this life-threatening ordeal.]

[Please help the male protagonist overcome this life-threatening ordeal.]

Xu Ya still didn't understand. How could this be a death sentence? Wasn't this highly sought-after male lead Chen Shibo's most prized disciple? How could he be asked to pay with his life so easily?

Xu Ya didn't have time to think; the alarm bells in her head were about to go off.

With a hoarse voice, she slowly raised her hand: "Wait...wait..."

Xu Ya's hoarse, broken voice was agonizing to hear even a single extra word, let alone her blatant lie: "Senior brother...didn't...hurt...me..."

Master Xu helped Xu Ya to sit up, and then straightened her fur coat for a moment, revealing the bluish-gray bruises on her neck, which also exuded the same demonic energy as Shi Yuzhen. She looked at Uncle Chen with a hint of hesitation.

The two exchanged glances, seemingly communicating something.

Master Xu placed his hands on Xu Ya's shoulders and looked at her with kind eyes: "Xiao Ya, you don't need to suffer for this, nor do you need to plead for him for the sake of your master."

Xu Ya has suffered far too many grievances to recount in a day and a night; but this time, she must do everything in her power to protect the male lead, otherwise how can she go home? She wants to go home!

Xu Ya endured the excruciating pain in her throat, which felt as if it had been slashed by a knife, and said, word by word, "This injury... is not from my senior brother..."

Master Xu frowned immediately and repeated, his meaning ambiguous, "No?"

Xu Ya couldn't talk anymore and shook her head desperately. She saw the chicken bones on the ground and thought of a brilliant idea.

“Yes…” Xu Ya pointed to the broken bones on the ground, “I was attacked by it, senior brother… save me…”

Master Xu: "..."

Master Xu looked at the distinct handprint on Xu Ya's slender neck, then at the tiny bone fragments on the ground. Despite having practiced abstinence for many years, Master Xu still felt that they were the bones of a harmless animal.

Master Xu had to ask again to confirm: "Really?"

Xu Ya nodded vigorously.

Indeed, when everyone arrived, Xu Ya was lying on the ground, while Shi Yuzhen stood in front of her, her murderous aura still lingering. Everyone immediately assumed that Shi Yuzhen had fallen into demonic possession and that it was inevitable that she had injured Xu Ya.

But since Xu Ya has already proven Shi Yuzhen's innocence, it is not their style to be aggressive.

Xu Ya has always been timid and useless, so she would never dare to give false testimony for others.

Could it be true, as she said?

Teacher Xu stopped looking at Xu Ya and turned to look at Shi Yuzhen.

The grease on Shi Yuzhen's lips had dried. However, after being imprisoned here for many days and falling into a demonic state, she was too busy to clean herself with a cleansing spell. The stubble that symbolized a mortal man had grown out a little, and the grease was hidden in it, making it difficult for people to see clearly. Therefore, Master Xu ignored it.

However, there is indeed no demonic energy of the same origin around him at the moment, which is puzzling.

Teacher Xu sighed, helped Xu Ya up, and tentatively accepted her explanation.

Xu Ya used the momentum to stand up, and said in a fake, breathy voice, "Thank you... Senior Brother." Then, as if she was angry, she kicked away the broken chicken bones at her feet.

“Alright,” Uncle Chen sighed and waved his hand at everyone. “Since your junior sister is here to testify for you, that’s fine. I see that the demonic energy around you has improved a lot. You can meditate and rest here and wait for your fate.”

The group obeyed and sheathed their swords, then departed with practiced ease.

Shi Yuzhen bowed and said, "Yes, Master."

Xu Ya fainted on her way down the mountain. It was no wonder, as the day had been full of ups and downs.

First, she was forced to hike up the mountain to take care of her beloved male lead, then she regained her memories of transmigrating into the book, and then, just as she was about to eat a couple of bites of fried chicken, her senior brother grabbed her by the neck like a chick...

The eldest brother actually ate her fried chicken without batting an eye?!

She's having such a tough time...

When she regained consciousness, Xu Ya opened her eyes and found herself lying in her small apartment.

With no one around, she was just about to settle accounts with the system.

The system, as if sensing something, spoke up: [Host, you're awake! You're so clever! You completed the mission brilliantly!]

hehe.

If the system had a physical form, it would probably have already been choked and thrashed 360 times by Xu Ya'e.

Xu Ya cleared her throat; she couldn't speak yet, and her entire neck ached when she swallowed.

System friendly reminder: [Host can eat fried chicken to recover from injuries~]

Listen to this? This system wants her dead? Sore throat, eating fried chicken? Is that even human language? Isn't this just finishing her off?

In an instant, a piece of paper materialized in the void. Xu Ya recognized it as the blind box cheat manual that she hadn't read carefully before!

Now that she could see the words clearly, her golden finger blind box was indeed very useful. Although it sounded absurd, as long as it was fried chicken made by Xu Ya, it could actually be a miraculous medicine to enhance cultivation and heal injuries.

You should know that for any pill with such effects, alchemists will inevitably rip you off for several thousand spirit stones. Even so, the gap in strength in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh is becoming increasingly severe. Someone like Xu Ya, who has half-crippled five spiritual roots, simply cannot afford even a little bit of it, let alone increase her cultivation.

Were they taken care of by the god of Tatin?

Compensation for the injured employee?

Xu Ya hurriedly found a container to fry the chicken, stuffed herself with a few bites, and immediately felt a warm sensation in her lower abdomen, and even the wound on her neck disappeared completely.

Xu Ya's slight dissatisfaction with the system dissipated after she had eaten her fill and recovered.

Patting her belly, which was full of fried chicken, Xu Ya's palm touched something hard, and she suddenly remembered the second half of the book.

She sat up abruptly and immediately took it out to examine it closely.

The summit of Xingyun Peak.

A person sits in the center, meditating.

Compared to before, this person is in good condition. The black aura around him has been reduced to a few faint gray threads that linger around his body. Given time, it will dissipate.

"Senior brother...did not...harm...me..."

However, Shi Yuzhen failed to truly calm her mind, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of the treatment.

Why would his junior sister from a distant branch of the family, whom he had never met, give false testimony for him? He couldn't understand it at all.

Shi Yuzhen gripped that slender neck, but he was actually conscious. He was fighting against the inner demon within him. The struggle over the past few days had caught Shi Yuzhen off guard, allowing the demon to gain the upper hand.

When she opened her eyes again, the girl's delicate neck was in Shi Yuzhen's palm.

Shi Yuzhen was exhausted from dealing with his inner demons and gradually lost power. For the first time, he helplessly watched a weak life perish before his eyes.

At that moment, the package that had fallen from the girl's sleeve rolled to his feet.

The scalding hot object felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. It struck Shi Yuzhen, causing a dull ache in her area. The next second, her inner demons inexplicably dissipated, and she was able to release her grip.

Then, he seemed to become unlike himself, picking it up, unpacking it, and tasting it bite by bite.

Thinking of this, Shi Yuzhen forced herself to concentrate her mind and energy, her handsome brows furrowed, and she completed another cycle of meditation.

...

Xu Ya snapped her fingers: "So the male lead ate my secret-recipe fried chicken, regained his senses, and that's why I was able to escape death? Is that what you mean?"

【Host, bingo.】

Xu Ya couldn't help but feel scared when she thought about the scene. It was the first time she had been so close to death, and the feeling of suffocation was terrifying. She almost thought she was really going to die.

"It's truly thanks to the God of Tatin..." Xu Ya clasped her hands together in prayer.

Xu Ya stuffed a lot of ready-made fried chicken into her treasure bag for emergencies. After doing all this, she sat cross-legged on the bed, scratching her head as she studied the half-finished book.

The plot twists and turns kept Xu Ya hooked. The male lead was definitely handsome, strong, and tragic. Everyone feared his strength and saw him as a thorn in their side, watching him from the shadows. His path to advancement was truly long and arduous.

Unfortunately, Xu Ya only drew the first half of the book, so no matter how much she threw a tantrum, the system couldn't activate any more benefits.

When the system pitifully indicated that it was just a lowly working person, Xu Ya inexplicably felt some empathy and stopped making a fuss about the system.

Well, we can only take it one step at a time.

However, a clue within the incomplete book sent chills down Xu Ya's spine: Master Xu was actually one of the villains who besieged the male protagonist in the first half of the book.

When she saw this section, she almost thought the incomplete copy was printed incorrectly.

That's impossible!

From the moment she began to have humiliating memories, Master Xu was practically the only light in her life. With her five spiritual roots ruined like an ordinary person, and being a helpless little girl who couldn't lift a finger or carry anything, she was destined to be chased around everywhere in the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh.

Without a family, spiritual power, or any value for cultivation, Xu Ya ultimately faced expulsion from Xianze. Like a parasitic vine, she was no match for a pet cat and had no ability to survive in the wild. It was at that time that Master Xu protected her, and from then on, she transformed from Aya into Xu Ya.

However, even the only light could not protect her from living like a zombie in the victorious Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, barely surviving. Master Xu was the only warmth in comparison.

However, Xu Ya has regained her modern memories, and she knows that those memories are just a line of ink in a book.

If it were up to her, she would definitely go back. Although she was an orphan in the real world and relied on government subsidies to survive, at least she wouldn't seem out of place if she stayed in the shadows. With that little bit of connection with Master Xu, she wouldn't risk another ten years of cannon fodder life for Xu Ya.

On a dark and windy night, a lightly dressed, short man quietly ascended Xingyun Peak.

After that day, Xingyun Peak became even more heavily guarded, with cultivators taking turns to watch over it during the day, and no one was allowed to climb the peak without the written instructions of their respective masters.

If it were the old Xu Ya, who was known for her meat buns, she would never have dared to disobey orders.

Things are different now; the male lead is her father!

She meditated for an afternoon and decided to build a good relationship with the male lead. Since she was going to help him reach the finale, it wouldn't seem out of place for her, as a support healer, to be close to him.

Furthermore, she wanted to subtly inform the male protagonist about Master Xu's situation so that he could be on guard.

Although Xu Ya ate fried chicken, she was still physically weak and struggled to climb the mountain, occasionally sitting cross-legged on a low rock to rest, panting heavily.