Foodie (Part 3)

After a period of recuperation and meditation, Shi Yuzhen's accumulated magical power shone brightly in the night.

Xu Ya climbed halfway up the mountain and saw the summit shining like a nightclub. Panting, she mentally gave it a thumbs up, thinking, "No wonder he's our male lead."

Shi Yuzhen was already a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Xu Ya had just sneaked up the mountain when he found out.

However, since regaining his senses that day, he could sense the cultivators monitoring him both openly and secretly.

His master, who was supposed to deal with him, never appeared again.

He was quite curious as to why the little girl had traveled so far, hiding from the guards, to find him.

It took Xu Ya a lot of effort to reach the top of the mountain. She ate several fried chicken legs along the way to replenish her strength. She had examined her dantian and found that although fried chicken had the ability to increase cultivation, it was only an enhancement on top of the existing level, a subtle and gradual improvement.

For someone like her, whose bucket was practically empty, being stuffed was a completely useless treat.

Xu Ya hid behind a rock, feeling indignant, and pondered how to start the conversation.

A telepathic message was transmitted accurately into her mind: "Junior Sister, what brings you here?"

It's infuriating that Xu Ya couldn't respond in the same way.

She could only force a response in her loudest voice: "I...I'm here to thank you!"

That doesn't sound sincere.

What should she thank? Should she thank him for showing mercy, or for grabbing her throat and then letting go?

Judging from the sound, Xu Ya thought the male lead was in good condition, so she mustered her courage and moved a little further ahead around the rocks.

Shi Yuzhen is now in a detached state, indifferent to everything, and really doesn't know how to ask the little girl why she acted as his witness that day.

Shi Yuzhen was unusually perplexed by this matter.

Shi Yuzhen looked up and saw Xu Ya waving comically in the air.

Xu Ya wanted to simply and crudely throw the incomplete book at the male protagonist.

The system bluntly reminded: "[Host, this cheat ability is for your personal use only.]"

Immediately afterwards, her movements were like those of a silent film actor, sweeping and flailing about, but she couldn't catch the tattered book no matter how many times she tried.

She had no choice but to give up, so she moved closer and shouted, "Watch out for Master Xu!"

Seeing that Shi Yuzhen remained unmoved, Xu Ya shouted again, "Watch out for Master Xu!!"

"Little ▇▇▇▇!"

"Master!"

[WARNING! Spoilers to characters in the book are strictly prohibited! Your inappropriate comment has been blocked! Please do not attempt this again! The consequences of causing text corruption are unimaginable!!]

[WARNING! Spoilers to characters in the book are strictly prohibited! Your inappropriate comment has been blocked! Please do not attempt this again! The consequences of causing text corruption are unimaginable!!]

[WARNING! Spoilers to characters in the book are strictly prohibited! Your inappropriate comment has been blocked! Please do not attempt this again! The consequences of causing text corruption are unimaginable!!]

Wow, your system has a lot of unscrupulous rules.

When Xu Ya confirmed with Yu Zhen that she could only see herself making a fool of herself, she immediately deflated.

This makes Xu Ya seem very presumptuous.

She can't do anything, so what's the point of her being here?

Xu Ya touched the drawstring bag attached to her belt and approached Shi Yuzhen. Shi Yuzhen looked up slightly and saw the little girl holding a box of familiar food that she had taken out of the bag.

It was that crispy chicken from that day...

The familiar aroma inexplicably awakened Shi Yuzhen's taste buds, and before he could react, he had already reached out and taken the food box.

The little girl had already disappeared in front of her, and Shi Yuzhen sensed that she was silently observing her from behind the big rock.

What is this? Feeding her? What is her purpose?

The crispy chicken in my hand seems to have a magical power, continuously emitting an enticing aroma that lures anyone who smells it.

Shi Yuzhen had been fasting for many years and had long since lost her sense of food, so her appetite was insignificant.

But Shi Yuzhen suddenly reached out to grab it.

They ate slowly and deliberately.

Most cultivators are extremely cautious about what they ingest. They prefer to avoid contact with pills, food, and drinks. This is the reason why the practice of fasting has become popular among cultivators; they are not truly abandoning the mortal world.

Shi Yuzhen was inexplicably confident that the little girl meant him no harm.

Shi Yuzhen ate very elegantly. Every bite of the smooth, oily filling and the crispy outer layer burst open inside, creating an excellent taste.

At the same time, the man felt a warm sensation passing through his dantian, which vanished in an instant.

This was unusually similar to the signs that usually indicated his cultivation was improving, which made him think twice.

Shi Yuzhen made a hand gesture that Xu Ya couldn't understand. Xu Ya watched as the male lead slowly finished the food box she had handed him, and the gray mist surrounding him lessened considerably. Xu Ya was relieved. She shook off the wrinkles in her clothes from resting during the climb and quietly descended the mountain.

For several days in a row, Xu Ya would quietly go up the mountain in the middle of the night, put down the fried chicken food box that had been deep-fried until golden and crispy, and then run away.

During this time, Shi Yuzhen sent many telepathic messages to Xu Ya. Xu Ya was a useless little devil. Too many telepathic messages made her feel annoyed. She was also restricted by the system from giving spoilers, so she could only reply with nonsense after reading the messages.

Every day, she toiled up the mountain to feed Shi Yuzhen, hoping to replenish his mana. Xu Ya only wished that he could recover as soon as possible and go down the mountain. Otherwise, she felt that she, this consumable, would eventually dissipate into nothingness, let alone go home.

I feel like I've been ripped off.

A few days later, Yunmeng Xianze ushered in its annual grand market. Apart from Shi Yuzhen, who was imprisoned, the other disciples would be assigned jobs directly by their respective senior brothers. Xu Ya was sent to the old academy of Xianze to organize the classics, which was undoubtedly a tiring and tedious task.

Carrying her personal bamboo scroll spirit book, Xu Ya pushed open the thick, long-sealed door alone.

She needed to climb a ladder nearly ten meters high to organize the top bookshelf, taking inventory of the books from top to bottom. If Xu Ya hadn't unlocked her modern memories, she probably would have had to climb up there, crying and trembling.

Now, Xu Ya has climbed up the ladder with remarkable quietness and steadiness, diligently organizing data book after book.

She was the only one in charge of this place, and the empty, towering bookshelves made her seem exceptionally small.

Xu Ya's spiritual power was weak, so her efficiency was not as high as others. Several hours passed before she finally finished tidying up a row of bookshelves.

Xu Ya faced the back of the bookshelf by the door again and rubbed her sore shoulders and neck.

A figure appeared in front of the door, and the sound of two unhurried footsteps stood out in the empty academy.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Xu Ya immediately shut her mouth, which was about to greet him, and hid behind the bookshelf, pricking up her ears to listen.

"Is that really true?" Master Xu asked calmly, his tone devoid of emotion. "Why has she suddenly become so abnormal lately?"

Then came a sentence that was hard to hear.

"How did she get involved with him?" Master Xu pondered for a moment. "Continue to observe, and await my instructions..."

"yes."

Xu Ya's heart pounded like a drum. She tried her best to hide herself in the bookshelf. She couldn't hear some of the conversation clearly, but she inexplicably felt that she was the one being discussed. To be honest, after reading the incomplete book, Xu Ya couldn't look Xu Shi in the eye anymore.

Will I be used as cannon fodder and killed if I get too close to the male lead? In a battle between two sides, unless it's a one-hit kill, I might be the first casualty to perish...

Xu Ya gritted her teeth and patiently sorted through the old academy's belongings one by one. After hiding them in the house for a few days, she still sneaked up the mountain in the dark to feed the male protagonist.

After much deliberation, Xu Ya decided to side with the male lead. Although she didn't know what would happen in the second half of the book, based on her experience of reading hundreds of modern novels, Master Xu would definitely not be the only villain preventing the male lead from becoming the number one person in the immortal realm.

He appeared too early. Although they were from the same school, authors usually introduce a villain in advance as a smokescreen, and the difficulty increases layer by layer later.

If she backs down here, there's no point in talking about the future.

Xu Ya planned a new route, one that was even more secretive than the previous one.

Shi Yuzhen, with his keen ears, already knew Xu Ya's supposedly meticulous climbing route. What surprised him was that there was also a mysterious distinguished guest climbing the mountain with him today.

Before long, Xu Ya was carried to the top by several cultivators.

Xu Ya was extremely nervous. When she was held down by the shoulders and unable to move, it was as if she had instantly returned to the day when Shi Yuzhen lost control. She was so frightened that she jumped up. Then, the two cultivators pressed down on her shoulders and lifted her into the air. In no time, they reached the top of the mountain.

Xu Ya was short and had no spirit stones to buy tonics to nourish her body. She was sallow and thin, and as light as a weasel. She was easily thrown to the ground by the two cultivators.

Xu Ya was in the wrong; she hadn't received Master Xu's written instructions before going up the mountain...

A pair of exquisite Suzhou embroidered shoes caught Xu Ya's eye.

Teacher Xu bent down slightly and helped Xu Ya up. Although he had a smile on his face, Xu Ya could tell from his tone that he was not in a good mood: "Xiao Ya, how could it be you? What are you doing here?"

"Uncle-Master, she came here looking for me."

Ignoring the telepathic communication, Master Xu stared intently into Xu Ya's eyes, as if trying to see through her thoughts...

What to do, what to do...

Xu Ya mustered her courage and said, "I...I came to thank my senior brother...I'm sorry, Master, I...I don't want to trouble you..."

"Oh? Thank you?"

"My senior brother saved me before, I escaped death, and I made food to bring to him..."

Master Xu's smile vanished, and he stared intently at Xu Ya, as if confirming the truth of her words. He knew all too well what kind of cultivators had already abstained from grains: "Food?"

Xu Ya knew Xu Shi's temperament; beneath his kind and gentle exterior lay a strong desire for control, and Xu Shi could not accept things being beyond his control.

After reading the incomplete book, Xu Ya deeply agreed with this point. She honestly opened her treasure bag, took out a food box full of hot fried chicken, and handed it over with both hands.

Master Xu's barely perceptible eyebrows relaxed considerably as he reached out, took the item, and peeled it off.

Upon lifting the lid, a rich, caramelized aroma wafted out. Unlike the bland soup eaten by the cultivators, the piping hot fried chicken, served in a food box, exuded a continuous heat. Its golden appearance left everyone present speechless.

It really smells delicious.

Xu Ya noticed that Xu Shi's impeccable features distorted for a moment, and she almost doubted her eyes. Then she saw his Adam's apple move.

"I had no idea my Xiaoya had such skills?" With that, she couldn't resist tearing off a piece of meat from the crispy chicken skin and bringing it to her mouth.

At this moment, Shi Yuzhen, who was standing behind the crowd, suddenly took half a step forward with an unfriendly expression.

As the fried chicken entered Master Xu's mouth, a barely perceptible aura flowed into his dantian.

Master Xu ate a few bites in succession, confirming once again that the unusual phenomenon in his dantian was not an illusion.

"Xiaoya, I never knew you had a talent for food cultivation. Did you know that just one bite of this chicken can increase your cultivation? Your future is limitless."

Xu Ya chuckled modestly, "Perhaps I was too grateful to my senior brother for saving my life, so I developed it in just a few days. The chicken that attacked me that day was this size. I was so angry and resentful that I turned my grief into motivation!"

Who would believe this if I told them... Help...

"Oh, really? If you only use your abilities to express gratitude to your senior brother, then you're really wasting your talents."

I believe it...

Indeed, Xu Ya was practically invisible in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. Who would care about the whereabouts of someone so insignificant? Even glancing at her would be a waste of energy! Unexpectedly, cannon fodder has the luck of cannon fodder, which actually gave Xu Ya some room to maneuver!

Xu Ya immediately followed up with a flattering bow, saying, "This humble girl is also grateful to Master."

Out of the corner of her eye, Xu Ya saw Xu Shi put the entire food box into his pocket and walk towards her.

Like a kind teacher, Master Xu put his arm around her shoulder and led her down the mountain without saying a word, completely ignoring Shi Yuzhen who was almost unable to stand behind him. He stretched out his index finger and lightly brushed Xu Ya's nose, chuckling, "I wonder if Xiao Ya would be interested in studying at the Food Cultivation School?"