Volume 2, Chapter 123 – Truly For You

Chickening out?

Lu Zhuxin wouldn’t say anything else, but she definitely didn’t know how to write the word “chicken out.”

“System, you don’t think this woman has set up some trap inside, do you?”

[This is Mingzhao City. No matter how capable Qu Qingtang is, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to try anything here.]

The System’s voice transmitted.

“That’s hard to say.” Lu Zhuxin said. “What if this woman is a lunatic, and after going in, she suddenly goes crazy on me?”

“Wouldn’t I be walking right into the tiger’s den?”

[So you are chickening out after all?]

Is that a dog barking?

“What’s wrong, Zhuxin?” Qu Qingtang looked at Lu Zhuxin with a faint smile.

Lu Zhuxin looked behind Qu Qingtang.

“There’s no one inside, right?” she said.

The spiritual sense of an Eighth Realm powerhouse told Lu Zhuxin that there were no living beings inside the house behind Qu Qingtang.

So then, where was that “special chef” Qu Qingtang mentioned?

“Qingtang, the special chef you mentioned, it’s not some undead who’s been resurrected or come from another world, is it?”

Lu Zhuxin smiled as she stared straight into Qu Qingtang’s eyes.

She seemed to have guessed what Qu Qingtang was planning to do.

“Zhuxin, you’re joking.” Qu Qingtang also smiled. “What does ‘another world’ mean? I don’t quite understand.”

“However, if it were an undead, I’m afraid they couldn’t make food for the living, could they?”

Lu Zhuxin raised her finger, gently tapping her lower lip.

Was Qu Qingtang perhaps not a transmigrator, but a regressor?

Unclear. She’d watch and see.

“System, do you think I should go in or not?” Lu Zhuxin quietly asked in her mind.

[Go! Why won’t you go!]

System’s voice transmitted again, full of encouragement.

[If you don’t enter the fox’s den, how can you catch the fox cub!]

Why did that sound somehow off?

Lu Zhuxin frowned. “So you also think there’s something fishy?”

[The System has no other meaning. The System is just encouraging the host!]

Lu Zhuxin was amused by her.

However, she still stepped forward.

The atmosphere had come to this. It would be impolite not to go in.

Lu Zhuxin had never forgotten her purpose.

After entering, she discovered this was indeed just a very ordinary residence.

The house wasn’t large, and the furniture was merely some ordinary wooden furniture.

Very clean, with a simple and rustic beauty.

Lu Zhuxin’s gaze swept around once. The items were simple. This place was like an ordinary mortal family’s dwelling.

From the orderliness of the furnishings inside, it appeared no one usually lived here.

“This is my residence in Mingzhao City,” Qu Qingtang said. “Only I alone know about this place.”

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Lu Zhuxin understood in her heart.

“So then, where’s the chef?” Lu Zhuxin asked.

Qu Qingtang rolled up her sleeves and said softly to Lu Zhuxin, “The chef is right here, isn’t she?”

“Surprised?”

Lu Zhuxin wasn’t particularly surprised. She had already guessed.

But who had given Qu Qingtang this idea?

“Qingtang, this chef you mentioned is certainly special enough,” Lu Zhuxin said. “What virtue or ability do I have to make a Venerable Saint personally cook for me?”

“Zhuxin.” Qu Qingtang then said, “When you had me wash your feet earlier, you weren’t this reserved.”

Lu Zhuxin fell silent for a moment.

Qu Qingtang glanced at her. “Wait here for me a while. You can also read for a bit. I’m going to cook.”

This woman was actually serious. She wasn’t joking.

Lu Zhuxin was very curious about what Qu Qingtang would look like cooking.

Would she use the unique cooking spells of cultivators?

Moreover, in this situation, Lu Zhuxin didn’t want to let Qu Qingtang casually leave her sight.

“I’ll come with you,” Lu Zhuxin said.

“Do you know how to cook?” Qu Qingtang smiled faintly.

In a modern home environment, Lu Zhuxin naturally did.

Otherwise, how could she have cooked for Ming Zhaoxi back then?

But now, in this other world with an ancient setting, Lu Zhuxin didn’t even know how to start a fire.

“I’ll watch you from the side,” Lu Zhuxin said with complete naturalness.

Qu Qingtang’s delicate brows raised slightly. “Are you afraid I’ll poison the food?”

Why say it so bluntly!

Lu Zhuxin spread her hands. “I believe the Immortal Venerable of the sword sect wouldn’t use such despicable methods.”

“Qingtang, you wouldn’t do that, right?”

Qu Qingtang’s pale lips pressed together slightly. “Of course not.”

“It’s just, I don’t want you to see me…”

“Never mind…”

She suddenly shook her head and smiled with relief. “If you want to watch, then come along.”

This woman actually agreed.

Lu Zhuxin naturally wouldn’t be polite.

She followed behind Qu Qingtang all the way to the residence’s kitchen.

The kitchen was simple, with just some basic cooking utensils placed inside.

“No ingredients?” Lu Zhuxin asked.

“There are. I bought them in advance,” Qu Qingtang said, taking out some simple vegetables and fresh meat from her storage space.

Lu Zhuxin watched her movements.

These pre-prepared ingredients shouldn’t have any problems, right?

“These ingredients were all bought in Mingzhao City,” Qu Qingtang said. “When I was buying things, the people Hu Xian’er sent to monitor me should have seen it too.”

“So these ingredients are all healthy and clean.”

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Lu Zhuxin’s little face twitched.

With the methods of an Eighth Realm powerhouse, secretly replacing ingredients without anyone knowing wasn’t a difficult matter.

However,

“Qingtang, what are you saying?” Lu Zhuxin waved her hands repeatedly. “If I were going to suspect you, I wouldn’t have followed you here.”

Qu Qingtang looked at her, smiling.

She said nothing more and began busying herself.

Lu Zhuxin watched her movements, doubt flashing in her eyes.

She had originally thought that with Qu Qingtang’s cultivation level, daily cooking was merely a matter of a few hand seals.

She had wanted to see how women in the cultivation world used magic to cook.

But Qu Qingtang’s actions at this moment were not within Lu Zhuxin’s expectations.

This woman didn’t use magic at all. Instead, like an ordinary mortal woman, she used a fire starter to ignite the stove fire.

Then she personally drew water, selected and washed vegetables. The meat was also placed on a cutting board and cut bit by bit with a kitchen knife.

Lu Zhuxin found a small stool and sat at the doorway, watching her.

This woman seemed extremely skilled at these tasks, proceeding methodically.

As if she had completely grown accustomed to doing such things.

Why was an Immortal Venerable of the sword sect, untouched by mortal affairs, so skilled at these things?

From beginning to end, Qu Qingtang hadn’t used any magic.

Watching Qu Qingtang’s busy figure, Lu Zhuxin inexplicably had a sense of temporal dislocation.

As if she weren’t in a crisis-filled cultivation world, but had returned to the real world.

After a busy day, he who had come home from work was quietly waiting for her to finish making dinner.

If not for this transmigration, would Lu Zhuxin have been able to live this kind of ordinary, simple, yet peaceful and happy life?

Watching and watching, Lu Zhuxin’s mind drifted away.

She didn’t know the answer to this question, but she truly longed for such a life.

It didn’t need to be materially wealthy.

What he wanted was actually very simple.

When hurt, someone to care for him.

When discouraged, someone to comfort him.

When happy, someone to share his joy.

He wanted someone who could truly love him, protect him, and accompany him.

Unfortunately…

A sudden transmigration had turned his fantasies of a simple, stable life into bubbles.

“Zhuxin, Zhuxin?” Qu Qingtang’s words interrupted her. “What are you thinking about? So lost in thought.”

Lu Zhuxin raised her head to see Qu Qingtang’s face full of concern.

The care in her eyes was genuine and real, not seeming fake.

Lu Zhuxin lightly bit the corner of her lip.

She looked up with a smile. “I was fantasizing.”

“Fantasizing?” Qu Qingtang asked. “About what?”

“Fantasizing about the future, fantasizing about the life of my dreams,” Lu Zhuxin met her gaze.

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“Fantasizing that there could be such a person who could spend ordinary days with me like this, who could share joys and sorrows with me, never parting even with white hair.”

Qu Qingtang’s movements stopped for an instant, but quickly returned to normal. Her eyes were uncertain.

She pressed her lips together and hesitantly said, “Then, the person in your imagination…”

“What are you thinking, Qingtang?” Lu Zhuxin smiled. “We are cultivators.”

“Eighth Realm cultivators transcend the mortal realm, with limitless lifespans and eternal youth.”

Lu Zhuxin paused in her words before continuing. “Being this way, how could there be… a parting even with white hair?”

Qu Qingtang looked at her deeply before echoing her words. “Even if we’re cultivators, that doesn’t mean we can’t live like mortals…”

Lu Zhuxin interrupted her. “Is the food ready?”

“…” Qu Qingtang smiled helplessly.

She could see that Lu Zhuxin didn’t want to continue this topic.

“It’s already done,” she said.

The dishes Qu Qingtang prepared for Lu Zhuxin were unexpectedly sumptuous.

Lu Zhuxin had clearly been watching her the entire time, yet somehow, Qu Qingtang had already produced such a table full of delicious food.

Moreover, unlike the spirit beast meat porridge prepared in the Fox Palace before.

Lu Zhuxin didn’t sense any spiritual energy from this table of dishes.

These dishes used entirely ordinary vegetables and meat. When cooking, Qu Qingtang had also used mortal cooking methods.

Ordinary dishes without any spiritual energy, Lu Zhuxin hadn’t tasted such things in a long time.

Of course, this wasn’t any opinion about Hu Mei’er’s cooking skills.

Hu Mei’er’s skills were excellent. Lu Zhuxin felt that being able to eat the delicacies she made was a supreme enjoyment.

In all the world, only the Fox Monarch alone could have such treatment.

It was just that after enjoying precious delicacies for so long, Lu Zhuxin, trapped in this other world, would still miss the stable, peaceful days of the modern world.

“Want to try?” Qu Qingtang sat across from Lu Zhuxin.

In the small room, fragrant aromas filled the air. There were only the two of them.

Lu Zhuxin used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, and chewed in small bites.

Qu Qingtang looked at her expectantly.

“Oh?” Lu Zhuxin let out a light sound of surprise.

“What is it?” Qu Qingtang asked urgently.

“Do you often cook for yourself?” Lu Zhuxin asked.

“Me?” Qu Qingtang pressed her lips together. “I haven’t personally cooked like this in a very long time.”

“Cultivators abstain from food, lonely for a thousand years.”

“The five grains, to cultivators, are merely mundane mortal things.”

Qu Qingtang smiled bitterly. “So Qingtang has cultivated alone for thousands of years, with no one to share such mortal pleasures with Qingtang.”

Lu Zhuxin felt somewhat inexplicable.

Hearing this, it sounded like Qu Qingtang was a resentful wife who had been lonely for a thousand years.

“So… that’s why you wanted to find someone to have a child with?” Lu Zhuxin asked.

“Mm… let’s not talk about that.” Qu Qingtang closed her eyes slightly, then smiled. “What does Zhuxin think of my cooking skills?”

Lu Zhuxin didn’t continue pressing and followed her lead. “Qingtang’s cooking is very good. I’ve never eaten more delicious food than this.”

This wasn’t just flattery, but Lu Zhuxin’s honest truth.

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Qu Qingtang’s cooking skills were unexpectedly good.

Hard to imagine that this entire table of food was personally made by Qu Qingtang’s own hands, without using any cultivator methods.

This was quite impressive.

In Lu Zhuxin’s understanding, no cultivator would hone cooking skills that didn’t incorporate any spiritual energy.

The spirit beast meat porridge Qu Qingtang had cooked earlier was the type of dish commonly seen among cultivators.

Spiritual energy and medicinal properties had great benefits for cultivation.

“As long as Zhuxin likes it.” Qu Qingtang looked at Lu Zhuxin, her eyes brimming with warmth.

Seeing Lu Zhuxin eat so happily also made her feel very happy and content.

What the hell, this woman.

So was acting like a romantically clueless straight woman learning what Song Shiyuan had done just a smokescreen Qu Qingtang had thrown out?

Was this appearance now Qu Qingtang’s true method?

If so, then this woman was more formidable than Lu Zhuxin had imagined.

A transcendent, cool Immortal Venerable, yet willing to set aside her reserve for you, shed her cold disguise, and cook with her own hands.

Those tender, affectionate eyes, gentleness displayed for only one person.

Perhaps many people would fall for this trick?

Was this woman deeply calculating, or showing genuine feelings?

Lu Zhuxin wasn’t clear.

This dinner passed in an indescribable atmosphere.

Lu Zhuxin ate very happily.

Qu Qingtang kept serving her food, her eyes full of undisguised tenderness.

After eating her fill with satisfaction, Lu Zhuxin propped up her face, staring blankly out the window.

Qu Qingtang was cleaning up the kitchen waste and washing the dishes. She still didn’t use magic but did everything herself.

After finishing the cleanup, Qu Qingtang sat across from Lu Zhuxin again.

Lu Zhuxin looked at the moonlight outside while Qu Qingtang looked at Lu Zhuxin.

After a while, Lu Zhuxin withdrew her gaze.

“What are you looking at?” Lu Zhuxin asked.

“I’m looking at an extremely beautiful person,” Qu Qingtang answered.

“But I’m not a person.” Lu Zhuxin waved her hand. She grinned, revealing her canine teeth. “I’m a fox spirit.”

“Fox demons cultivate and must take human form,” Qu Qingtang said. “Among the three thousand paths, all roads lead to the same destination. What difference is there between humans and fox demons?”

“Besides, Zhuxin really is very beautiful.”

Qu Qingtang mimicked Lu Zhuxin’s posture, lying on the table with both hands propping up her face, gazing tenderly at Lu Zhuxin.

A pair of deep eyes, as if wanting to deeply imprint Lu Zhuxin’s appearance within them.

Lu Zhuxin felt this gaze was so fervent it could devour someone.

Qu Qingtang was truly very beautiful, full of heroic spirit yet unable to hide the softness belonging to a woman.

Such a heaven-gifted face, while displaying such an affectionate gaze.

For certain people who had never been in love, who hadn’t even held a girl’s hand—little virgins—this was truly breaking the rules.

When you like someone, even if you cover your mouth, it will still escape from your eyes.