Sister Wu, having achieved her goal, immediately beamed with joy. “Oh, you make it sound so simple. Who would dare?”
Shen Ming was always bringing Ye Yang all kinds of spiritual ingredients, or sometimes cooking dishes himself to share with Ye Yang. These ingredients meant nothing to Shen Ming—he could get them effortlessly—but for most demons and spirits, they were rare treasures.
Not only were they delicious, but they also greatly benefited one’s cultivation.
Ye Yang would occasionally bring some spiritual food to the company, but those were just small snacks meant for tasting. A single bite only whetted their appetites and ended up making them crave more.
The dishes everyone had just ordered were all things Ye Yang had brought before. Needless to say, the flavors were incredible, but the energy packed inside was the real highlight.
But they also knew these spiritual items were given to Ye Yang by Shen Ming. Who would dare ask for them directly? This time, they’d finally managed to seize an opportunity.
And if it weren’t for how well Shen Ming treated Ye Yang, how approachable he seemed, Sister Wu and the others wouldn’t have dared bring it up at all—after all, this was Xuanwu.
Ye Yang didn’t realize their fear of Shen Ming; he only sensed their longing for good food. Putting himself in their shoes, he completely understood—he loved to eat, too.
Scratching his head, he said, “Alright, alright. How about… tomorrow night?”
·
Because he was hosting, Ye Yang asked Shen Ming for a large amount of ingredients.
Brother Hui and Xing Tian both looked like big eaters. Chi Lian had only recently entered modern society, and like Ye Yang back in the day, he was instantly captivated by modern cuisine—his appetite was enormous, too.
Shen Ming listened to Ye Yang list off a long string of items and raised an eyebrow. “You need this much?”
Ye Yang blinked, suddenly realizing he might have been too presumptuous.
They’d gotten used to cooking and eating together regularly. But these were precious spiritual ingredients after all. Was he asking too directly? It was all because Shen Ming was so good to him—was he starting to take it for granted? No, that’s not the right phrase. Was he being greedy? Pushing his luck?
Shen Ming took one look at his expression and knew he’d misunderstood. He smiled helplessly. “What are you thinking? With a relationship like ours, do we need to worry about that? These things aren’t worth much. Take whatever you want—I have plenty more. I’m just curious why you suddenly need so much.”
Ye Yang smiled back. He felt like Teacher Shen was smiling more and more often. It was nice.
“I got a big bonus from my last mission, plus extra subsidies, so I thought I’d treat my coworkers to a meal. I didn’t expect them all to want to come over.”
Ye Yang didn’t come out and say that his coworkers wanted to mooch spiritual food, but Shen Ming could read between the lines. He felt a twinge of displeasure.
Not because he begrudged the spiritual ingredients—but because Ye Yang had been so busy with missions lately that he hadn’t cooked for Shen Ming in a long time. They rarely even had the chance to eat together.
Now that he was finally back and had some free time, Shen Ming hadn’t even gotten to eat Ye Yang’s cooking yet, but his coworkers were about to.
Ye Yang brought an armful of ingredients back to his apartment. Shen Ming followed behind him, all the way into the kitchen. He stood there silently watching Ye Yang prep for a while, acting as a fully automatic obstacle for a few minutes. Then suddenly, he spoke up: “You’re doing all this alone—it’s too tiring. Let me help.”
·
So the next day, as soon as work ended, Sister Wu, Xing Tian, and the others eagerly and happily followed Ye Yang to his apartment.
When the elevator reached Ye Yang’s floor, Chi Lian started to feel uneasy. “The pressure is so heavy.”
He had faced Shen Ming directly before and recognized his presence. Remembering that Shen Ming lived right across the hall from Ye Yang, his legs went a little weak.
Sister Wu’s smile faded, and she slowed her pace. She asked Ye Yang, “Is Shen… is Lord Xuanwu at home today?”
“Oh, he’s not home right now.”
Chi Lian immediately patted his chest. “Good, good.”
But before he could fully relax, he froze in place—the door to Ye Yang’s apartment suddenly swung open on its own.
Standing inside was Shen Ming, wearing an apron with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
The group walked in one by one with solemn expressions. Even the soft click of the door closing made Sister Wu flinch.
It wasn’t until Shen Ming returned to the kitchen that Chi Lian gritted his teeth and sent Ye Yang a furious message: “I thought you said he wasn’t home?!!!!”
Ye Yang looked at him with wounded innocence. “He’s not at his own home. This is my home, isn’t it?”
Chi Lian: “…” Damn it. That’s even worse than him being at home.
Fortunately, Shen Ming just wanted to vent a little frustration. He didn’t actually intend to ruin the gathering with Ye Yang’s coworkers. Once all the dishes were on the table, he left.
The door clicked shut again, and the atmosphere around the dining table finally relaxed a little.
Xing Tian and Brother Hui both sighed inwardly—spiritual food really wasn’t so easy to mooch. The look the Xuanwu God had given them when he swept his gaze over them was far from friendly.
Only Ye Yang still felt regretful. “With so much good food today, why didn’t he stay and have some with us?”
“Please. Sitting at the same table as Lord Xuanwu? We’re not worthy of that.” Sister Wu thought to herself: That’s the God of the North. Only a kid like Ye Yang could treat the only true god on earth like an ordinary friend.
…
The meal was quite satisfying for both host and guests. The dishes were excellent, the flavors superb, and the spiritual energy abundant. Not only did they each get the items they ordered, but there were also many dishes they had never tried before—every single one of them irresistible.
“So good, so good! This is amazing!” Brother Hui devoured his food without lifting his head.
Xing Tian was well-traveled and had once sampled all kinds of rare delicacies across the world. But after the Great Calamity and the spiritual energy depletion, he hadn’t eaten any spiritual food in ages. Being able to feast like this today, he was especially moved. “Truly impressive. This herb, though beneficial for strengthening the body, is notoriously hard to swallow, so few people bother to seek it out. Yet you’ve made it so delicious.”
Chi Lian didn’t overthink it—he just found the food tasty. He kept piling food into his bowl, completely unconcerned with appearances.
Sister Wu also chimed in with praise. “After this meal, I might just break through to the next level. Little Ye Ye, you’re such a treasure.”
Ye Yang chuckled. “Hehe,” accepting the compliment quite naturally. “Don’t just eat the greens. Try this, and this, and this—I made all of these.”
Xing Tian’s chopsticks paused mid-air as a suspicion formed in his mind. “Only these few dishes are yours? What about the rest?”
“Teacher Shen made those, of course. Didn’t you see him bringing them out?”
Everyone: “…” Suddenly, the food in their mouths didn’t taste quite as good.
The Xuanwu God himself had cooked these dishes. Were they really allowed to just casually eat something like that?
But with such delicious food right in front of them, even if they felt conflicted, they only shifted from happily burying their heads in their food to heavily burying their heads in their food.
Halfway through the meal, a small interruption occurred—Little Crow arrived.
It was getting late. After roaming outside enough, he expertly pecked open the latch on the small window, flew in, and remembered to close it behind him.
“Little Ye Ye, you keep pets?” Sister Wu was a bit surprised to see a crow.
Brother Hui, in the midst of his frenzy of eating, took a moment to roll his eyes at Wu Shuwan. “Little Ye has mentioned him several times. You didn’t remember a thing.”
Sister Wu laughed. “Well, my memory’s always been so-so.”
Ye Yang briefly explained Little Crow’s background, making sure to emphasize, “He’s not my pet.”
Even though he had named him, treated his wounds, fed him plenty, and prepared many dedicated supplies… it still didn’t count!
Seeing so many people in the house, Little Crow grew wary. He fluttered up and landed on Ye Yang’s shoulder, his small head swiveling left and right.
Ye Yang gently stroked his wing. “Don’t be scared. They’re all friends of mine. There’s freshly bought sunflower seeds on the windowsill.”
Thinking Little Crow would fly to the windowsill, Ye Yang was surprised when the crow suddenly flew toward Sister Wu instead.
“Why are you coming at—huh? Wait.”
Sister Wu seemed to think of something. She suddenly put down her chopsticks and grabbed Little Crow.
Her reflexes were lightning-fast, her movements so quick that even Ye Yang only caught a blur. Little Crow had no chance of dodging.
But he didn’t seem to want to either.
Sister Wu stared at Little Crow for a moment, then turned to Ye Yang. “Where did you say you found him?”
Ye Yang was confused. “At the park near the research institute. Why?”
“Hmm… Little Crow seems to be a relative of mine.”
“What?!” Ye Yang was stunned.
Everyone else paused with their chopsticks as well, their eyes darting between Sister Wu and Little Crow.
Sister Wu let go. Not only did Little Crow not fly away, but he stepped closer, rubbed against Sister Wu’s wrist, then flapped his wings and flew up, perching on her index finger. His attitude was very affectionate.
Ye Yang immediately believed Sister Wu. He had never seen Little Crow act so close to anyone else.
Xing Tian stroked his chin. “Come to think of it, you are of the same race. But this little crow looks like just an ordinary animal. Besides, aren’t all your relatives long dead?”
The words were harsh, but they were true.
Back when Sister Wu was subdued by YCG, she had been beaten into submission. She had once been a great demon terrorizing a region, throwing her weight around with a gang of brothers and sisters. Elder Li had personally acted, killing every last one of her siblings before Sister Wu finally gave up resisting.
Sister Wu didn’t get angry. Instead, she explained seriously, “My youngest brother once fathered a little girl outside. She was talented and never involved in our affairs, but we lost contact and could never find her. Little Crow is very likely her descendant.”
“Little Crow’s wounds aren’t fully healed yet. I can sense a trace of that child’s aura in his life force—faint, almost gone, but I wouldn’t mistake it.”
“So that’s how it is.” Watching Little Crow and Sister Wu being so affectionate, Ye Yang quickly accepted this explanation.
Not only that, but he began scanning his own apartment. Since Little Crow had such a connection with Sister Wu, he would surely have to leave with her, right?
That cup that Little Crow liked best—Sister Wu should take it. There were plenty of nuts in the cupboard—those too. And the ones on the air conditioning unit… Ah, without even realizing it, he had come to think of Little Crow as family. The sudden prospect of him leaving was quite hard to accept.
But no one noticed Ye Yang’s racing thoughts. After playing with Little Crow for a moment, Sister Wu placed him back on Ye Yang’s shoulder.
“Then this little guy is in your care.”
“Huh?” Ye Yang was taken aback. “You’re not taking him with you?”
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