Xie Lian, who originally intended to show off his skills, experienced many twists and turns in his confidence that night.
Hua Cheng had suggested that he cook, but how could Xie Lian have the nerve to ask him to fix the door, clean the house, and then cook for him? It was unthinkable to ask a guest to do that. Besides, what did he think of the mighty Ghost King of Despair?
Fortunately, he had brought back a good supply from town. Even though he had put most of the food into the pot for Xie Lian last night, there were still some steamed buns, pancakes, vegetables, and fruits left over, so he could just nibble on them. But after he had finished, what was he going to do?
The next day, the question was resolved. Early in the morning, a group of village girls knocked on the door of the Puqi Monastery, bringing large pots of porridge and a roasted chicken. The girls were all shy and timid, and it was obvious who they were coming for. Xie Lian couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Good looks really can be eaten.
The two children shared the roast chicken. Xie Lian only drank a little porridge. Hua Cheng didn't touch anything and said, "Brother, you're truly welcome here."
Xie Lian laughed and said, "Don't make fun of me, Sanlang. It's clear that everyone's interest lies elsewhere."
After that bowl of food, Qi Rong struggled outside the temple for the entire night, howling and wailing, saying things like, "I'd rather be caught by Lang Qianqiu and have him cut into pieces than be poisoned by you here!" and "My cousin, I was wrong, please give me the antidote!" He also seemed to have seen many hallucinations, and Gu Zi was simply terrified. In the morning, Qi Rong looked listless, his face already blue. He lowered his head and slurped the porridge from the bowl held by Gu Zi. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and said in a hoarse voice, "Bullshit! What do you mean by popular? Who comes for him? He looks so shabby! Also, Gou Huacheng, don't be so proud. You can only attract these village girls from the remote mountains. It's because you dress so richly that they come to you! If you were dressed like a beggar, I don't believe they would still be interested in you!"
Xie Lian thought to himself, "That's not right. Even if Hua Cheng was dressed like a beggar, Xie Lian believed he could make a fortune just by begging." But he said nothing, simply going about his business leisurely. After a while, a scent wafted away, and Qi Rong cried out again, "What are you doing again? What is this?"
Xie Lian said gently, "That pot of 'Hundred Years of Happiness Soup'. I'm heating it up now."
When Hua Cheng heard this, he immediately clapped his hands and said, "What a good name! What a good name!"
Qi Rong said, "You even gave this thing a fucking name?!?! Stop it!!!"
There was no need to actually feed him; simply heating it up brought back horrible memories for Qi Rong, and he dared not speak again. After finishing the meal, Lang Ying silently collected the dishes and seemed to be taking them to wash. Xie Lian said, "No need. Go play over there, I'll take care of it."
Maybe he can't cook, but he can still wash dishes. Hua Cheng watched Lang Ying take Gu Zi out to play and said, "Let me do it."
Xie Lian declined, “You don’t need to do that either. Just sit down.”
Before he could finish his words, Qi Rong, who had nothing better to do after eating and drinking, whistled twice outside the door and said in a sloppy tone, "Hey, little girl, why are you staring at me? Are you attracted to me?"
This ghost had just said he looked down on this country girl from the remote mountains, but now he was flirting with her, and in such a clichéd way. Xie Lian shook his head, thinking that he should drag him in, so as not to scare others by leaving him outside. But before he even opened the door, he heard the villagers exclaiming, "What a stunning beauty!"
"How could such a beautiful girl come to our village..."
"I've never seen such beautiful girls in my life, and two of them at once!"
Then, there was a knock at the door. It was actually the door to the Puqi Monastery. Xie Lian was puzzled: "A peerless beauty? Two more? Why are two peerless beauties knocking on my door? Ah, could it be that the wealthy businessman brought his new wife to fulfill a vow?" Thinking of this possibility, he quickly took the sign that read "This temple is in dilapidated and needs donations" and prepared to put it out. At this time, he heard another girl say coldly, "What is that thing at the door? It's really an eyesore."
Then, another girl's voice asked in confusion, "Is it raised as a guard? No way. They wouldn't choose such a low-quality spirit beast, would they?"
Although these two voices were female, Xie Lian had heard them both before. Wind Master Qingxuan and Earth Master Yi!
He wanted to push the door open and go out immediately, but when he turned around suddenly, he saw Hua Cheng slowly tidying up the dishes at the altar behind him. He stopped and looked out cautiously through the crack in the door.
Two tall women stood outside the door. One was a woman in white, with rosy lips and white teeth, a graceful figure, swinging a whisk, her eyes sparkling. The other was a woman in black, with a snowy complexion, beautiful and sharp eyebrows, and a very bad complexion. She stood with her hands behind her back, looking away. The woman in white was smiling broadly, bowing everywhere, saying, "Haha, thank you everyone, thank you everyone, don't praise me, don't be so arrogant. You guys are really bothering me. That's enough. Thank you. Haha."
Xie Lian: “…”
A large crowd of villagers gathered around to admire the beauty. After appreciating the beauty, they began to point fingers at Qi Rong. Qi Rong was not pleased and shouted, "What are you looking at! I like lying on the ground! Get out of here! There's nothing to look at!" The villagers were frightened by the man's strange behavior and ferocious, blue face, and they all fled in panic. Shi Qingxuan said to Qi Rong, "This... green young man, may I ask if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in the temple now?"
Upon hearing this person address Xie Lian as "Your Highness the Crown Prince," Qi Rong instantly lost interest in the two beauties before him and spat, "Bah! Turns out you're a dog official from the Heavenly Palace! I'm not his doorkeeper. Listen carefully, I'm..." Before he could finish his words, Ming Yi came over with his head down, followed by a scream and a flurry of bangs and bangs. From Xie Lian's position, he couldn't see what Ming Yi did after he came up. He could only see Shi Qingxuan flick his whisk and say, "Brother Ming, this kind of violence isn't very good!"
Ming Yi said indifferently, "What are you afraid of? He said it's not a domesticated spirit beast anymore."
“…”
To prevent Qi Rong from being beaten to death, Xie Lian had no choice but to open the door and raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Sir! Show mercy! You can't hit him. He's a human being!"
Seeing Xie Lian open the door, Ming Yi lifted the hem of his black robe and removed his boots from behind Qi Rong. Shi Qing Xuan came forward and bowed, "Your Highness, I'm here a few days early. What's wrong with this guy? He's so full of ghostly aura that he can't even hide it. Does he think we're blind? Well, let's go in and talk. This time I have something important to ask you for help..." As he spoke, he was about to walk around Qi Rong on the ground and enter the room. Hua Cheng was still in the room. How could Xie Lian dare to let them in like this? He hurriedly said, "Wait!"
However, it was too late. The Puqi Monastery was so small it offered no hiding place. The two men immediately spotted the Desperate Ghost King standing behind Xie Lian, washing dishes. Their eyes met, and Hua Cheng grinned, revealing a few white teeth. His smile was sinister, but his eyes held no trace of amusement.
In an instant, Mingyi's pupils suddenly shrank, and she retreated three feet. Shi Qingxuan swung out the Wind Master Fan, took a stance, and was extremely vigilant: "Blood Rain Explores the Flower!"
Qi Rong, who was covered in dust and dirt outside the door, was furious and said, "I'm still wandering the night with a green lamp! How come you couldn't recognize me after beating me for a long time, but you knew it was him as soon as you saw him?!"
Mingyi had once infiltrated the Ghost Market, working undercover for Huacheng for years. He'd recently been caught and imprisoned in the maze dungeon, where he'd been beaten. Now, like enemies meeting, their eyes were etched with jealousy. The small Puqi Temple reeked of poison, both inside and out. Huacheng dropped the rag in his hand and squinted, "Master Geomancer, you're still quite lively."
Ming Yi also said in a cold voice: "Your Excellency the Ghost King is also idle as before."
After a pretentious greeting, Hua Cheng's tone and expression turned cold in the next sentence.
He warned, "Leave. I don't care what's important to you, don't come near here again."
Although she was extremely wary of Hua Cheng, she refused to back down and showed any weakness. Ming Yi replied in a deep voice, "It was not my intention to come here!"
Seeing the smell of poison about to turn into gunpowder, Xie Lian said from the side, "Hey, hey, Master Feng, what should we do?"
Shi Qingxuan tapped his forehead with his fan and said, "I didn't expect Xueyu Tanhua to be right here with you! Didn't you just meet not long ago? How did you get together again so soon? In any case, if we can resolve it without using force, it's best not to use it. Violence is not good. If a fight breaks out, let's stop it."
Xie Lian said, "I generally agree." Qi Rong was eagerly anticipating a fight between the two groups, listening intently. Suddenly, he said, "Oh—so you're that bitch from Wind Master???"
Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan both turned to look at him. Qi Rong had cursed Shi Qingxuan like that in his own cave, and he had the nerve to do it to his face. It was hard to say whether to call him courageous or mentally deficient. Shi Qingxuan had always lived a life of luxury, and this was probably the first time he'd heard someone use such words to insult him. He blinked, a look of confusion on his face, and said to Xie Lian, "Your Highness, wait a moment."
After saying this, he left the temple and closed the door. Qi Rong screamed again outside, followed by a series of bangs and bangs. A moment later, Shi Qingxuan opened the door and came in, now in his masculine form. He said, "Alright. Where were we just now? I'm hungry, too. I think we should all sit down and have something to eat. We can discuss anything. There's nothing that can't be resolved over a meal."
“…”
Although Xie Lian didn't want them to fight at Puqi Monastery, Huacheng seemed extremely angry about Mingyi's undercover work. Unaware of the underlying situation, it seemed unlikely that they would sit down and eat peacefully. However, Huacheng surprisingly didn't object. After a brief standoff, the cold expression on his face gradually faded, and he continued to wash the dishes. When he was done, he walked over to the pot and poured a bowl of the "Hundred Years of Happiness" soup.
Seeing him withdraw his troops and avert a fierce battle, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The next step was to immediately change the topic and liven up the atmosphere. So, Shi Qingxuan said, "Your Highness, what's in that pot? It looks like it's still hot."
Xie Lian said, “Oh, I did that.”
The pot had been simmering for so long that the flavor had already absorbed it, and the smell had dissipated considerably. While the color was bizarre, the shape had completely disappeared. It looked much, much better than it did last night. Upon hearing this, Shi Qingxuan became excited: "Really? I've never eaten anything made by a priest myself! Come on, let's try it."
As he spoke, he also took two sets of bowls and chopsticks and filled two bowls. To be honest, Xie Lian wanted to stop him at first. But Hua Cheng's repeated affirmation planted a seed of confidence in him. Moreover, when he reheated the soup this morning and adjusted it according to Hua Cheng's advice last night, he had a thought: "Maybe I have saved it." He hesitated for a moment, but still said nothing. He watched with hidden anticipation as Shi Qingxuan handed one of the bowls to Ming Yi and said, "Here, Brother Ming, your share."
Mingyi glanced into the bowl and reluctantly turned her face away.
This was a bit rude. Shi Qingxuan was furious and handed it over again, insisting, "Come and eat! Didn't you say you were hungry on the way there?"
Hua Cheng slowly scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, brought it to his mouth, swallowed it, and smiled at Xie Lian, "It's indeed a little bland today, the taste is just right."
Xie Lian also smiled and said, "Really? I added extra water today."
Hua Cheng took another bite and said with a smile, "Brother is so thoughtful."
Judging from Hua Cheng's expression, it was quite convincing to say that he was savoring some delicious dish. After a while, Ming Yi finally took the bowl. Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, "That's right!" They both scooped a spoonful and put it into their mouths.
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