Glutton (Part Two)

In an instant, everyone raised their swords and surrounded Shi Yuzhen. After the synchronized movement, Xu Ya saw her fellow disciples form a formation around him, each face stern and resolute, their swords pointed directly at Shi Yuzhen.

Though Xu Ya’s cultivation was weak, she still recognized the formation as a Binding formation.

Looking up, she saw Shi Yuzhen standing calmly with his hands behind his back, expression cold and composed… if one ignored the conspicuous ring of grease around his mouth.

A deep, commanding voice rang out from behind Xu Ya: “Shi Yuzhen, you have succumbed to inner demons and harmed your fellow disciple of the Immortal Marsh. Do you understand your crime?!”

Xu Ya recognized the voice as Senior Uncle Chen’s. Just as she turned to look, someone draped a thick cloak over her shoulders. The familiar scent of medicinal herbs filled her nose, and she immediately let down her guard, curling into the person’s embrace.

Master Xu held her tightly, his fingers gently brushing the bruise Shi Yuzhen had left. The touch stung sharply, but his voice remained impartial. “Xiao Shi, I watched you grow up. You’ve always been proper and respectful. You must have been possessed by a demon to commit such a disgraceful act against our sect… What are we to do with you now?”

Senior Uncle Chen, heartbroken and furious, interrupted Master Xu sternly. “No need to say more, Junior Brother. Since this disciple has fallen to demonic influence and harmed others, he cannot be allowed to remain. I will end this myself.”

Xu Ya sensed something was off and didn’t respond immediately.

But just then, the system in her mind blared an alarm, making her head throb so badly she nearly passed out.

【Host, please help the male lead survive this deadly tribulation——】

【Host, please help the male lead survive this deadly tribulation——】

【Host, please help the male lead survive this deadly tribulation——】

Xu Ya hadn’t even figured out what was going on. A deadly tribulation? Wasn’t this male lead the prized disciple Senior Uncle Chen was most proud of? How did a few words suddenly turn into a death sentence?

She didn’t have time to think. The alarm in her head was about to explode.

With a raspy, broken voice, she slowly raised her hand. “W-Wait…”

Her voice was so hoarse it made people anxious just to hear it, let alone when she started lying through her teeth. “Senior Brother… did… not… hurt… me…”

Master Xu gently straightened her up and adjusted the cloak around her. This revealed the dark bruise on her neck, still radiating Demonic Qi identical to Shi Yuzhen’s. He hesitated, then looked toward Senior Uncle Chen.

The two exchanged glances, silently communicating something.

Master Xu placed both hands on Xu Ya’s shoulders, his gaze kind and gentle. “Xiao Ya, you don’t need to suffer in silence. And you certainly don’t need to plead for him just because of your respect for Senior Uncle.”

Xu Ya had suffered more than enough—she could talk about it for a whole day and night without finishing. But this time, she had to protect the male lead. Otherwise, how was she supposed to get home? She wanted to go home!

Enduring the searing pain in her throat that felt like it had been slashed by a knife, she forced out each word: “This injury… wasn’t from Senior Brother…”

Master Xu immediately frowned, repeating with a strange tone, “Wasn’t?”

Xu Ya couldn’t speak anymore. She shook her head desperately, then spotted the chicken bones on the ground and suddenly had a brilliant idea.

“It was…” Xu Ya pointed at the broken bones. “I was attacked by that. Senior Brother… saved me…”

Master Xu: “…”

He looked at the vivid handprint on Xu Ya’s slender neck, then down at the tiny, harmless-looking chicken bone on the ground. Even after years of fasting, Master Xu still felt it was clearly just the remains of a harmless creature.

He had to ask again, “Are you sure?”

Xu Ya nodded like a woodpecker.

Indeed, when everyone had arrived, Xu Ya had been lying on the ground while Shi Yuzhen stood before her, still exuding a fierce and murderous aura. Naturally, they had assumed he had lost control and harmed her.

But now that Xu Ya had vouched for him, pressing further would go against their principles.

Besides, Xu Ya had always been timid and weak. She wouldn’t dare lie to protect someone else.

Could it really be as she said?

Master Xu stopped looking at Xu Ya and turned his gaze to Shi Yuzhen.

The grease on Shi Yuzhen’s lips had already dried. After being locked up for days and overwhelmed by demonic delusions, he hadn’t had the energy to use a cleansing spell. A bit of stubble had grown on his chin, hiding the grease and making it hard to notice. Master Xu overlooked it.

At the moment, there was no trace of the same Demonic Qi on him, which was puzzling.

Master Xu sighed and helped Xu Ya to her feet, choosing—for now—to believe her story.

Xu Ya stood with his support and, putting on an act, whispered in a breathy voice, “Thank you… Senior Brother.” Then, as if angry, she kicked the chicken bone away.

“Enough,” Senior Uncle Chen sighed as well and waved to the others. “Since your Junior Sister has spoken on your behalf, so be it. I see the Demonic Qi around you has greatly diminished. Stay here and meditate while we decide your punishment.”

The others sheathed their swords and left in an orderly fashion.

Shi Yuzhen bowed. “Yes, Master.”

On the way down the mountain, Xu Ya fainted. No one could blame her. The day had been a rollercoaster of chaos and stress.

First, she’d been forced to climb the mountain on foot to care for her precious male lead. Then, her memories of transmigrating into the novel had returned. Just when she was about to enjoy a bite of fried chicken, her Great Senior Brother had grabbed her like a chick by the neck, nearly killing her…

And then he had the audacity to eat her fried chicken with a straight face?!

She had it rough…

When she woke again, Xu Ya found herself lying in her own small room.

No one was around. Perfect timing—she was ready to settle the score with the system.

The system chimed in with uncanny timing: 【Host, you’re awake! You were brilliant! You completed the mission perfectly!】

Ha.

If the system had a physical form, Xu Ya would’ve grabbed it by the throat and slammed it 360 times.

She cleared her throat, but still couldn’t speak. Even swallowing hurt like hell.

The system offered a friendly suggestion: 【Host, eating fried chicken can help you recover~】

Listen to that. Was the system trying to kill her? Fried chicken with a throat like this? Was it even human? That wasn’t a suggestion—it was a stab to the gut.

Suddenly, a piece of paper materialized in the air. Xu Ya recognized it as the instruction manual for the blind box golden finger she hadn’t bothered to read earlier.

Now, she finally saw the words clearly. Her golden finger really was something special. As ridiculous as it sounded, any fried chicken she made could actually serve as a miraculous elixir to boost cultivation and heal injuries.

Normally, pills with such effects would cost thousands of spirit stones from alchemists. That’s why the power gap in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh kept widening. For someone like Xu Ya, with five fractured spiritual roots, affording even a single pill was impossible—let alone increasing her cultivation.

Was she being looked after by the god of Ta-o-ting?

Employee compensation for a transmigration accident?

Without wasting a second, Xu Ya grabbed a container and started frying chicken. After stuffing a few bites into her mouth, she immediately felt warmth surge through her dantian, and the bruise on her neck vanished in an instant.

Most of her resentment toward the system melted away with the healing and the full belly.

As she patted her fried-chicken-filled stomach, her hand brushed against something hard. She suddenly remembered the second half of the book.

She sat up with a jolt and pulled it out to examine it carefully.

On the summit of Xingyun Peak.

A lone figure sat in meditation.

Compared to before, his condition had improved. The black Demonic Qi around him had thinned to faint gray threads, barely clinging to his body. Given time, they would dissipate completely.

“Senior Brother… did… not… hurt… me…”

But Shi Yuzhen couldn’t fully calm his mind. His meditation was far less effective than it should have been.

Why had his distant Junior Sister, someone he’d barely interacted with, lied to protect him? He couldn’t figure it out no matter how he thought about it.

When he’d grabbed that delicate neck, he had still been conscious. At the time, he had been locked in a fierce struggle with his inner demon. After days of battle, he had let his guard down for just a moment—and the demon had seized control.

When he opened his eyes again, the girl’s fragile neck was already in his grasp.

Shi Yuzhen, worn down by battling his inner demons, gradually lost control. For the first time, he watched helplessly as a fragile life faded before his eyes, powerless to do anything.

At that moment, the bundle that had slipped from the girl’s sleeve rolled to his feet.

That scorching-hot object felt as heavy as a thousand catties. When it hit him, a dull ache throbbed in that spot. The next second, his inner demons inexplicably vanished, and he was able to let go.

Then something strange happened—he no longer felt like himself. He actually bent down, picked it up, unwrapped the bundle, and began tasting it, bite by bite.

At this thought, Shi Yuzhen forced himself to focus, furrowing his handsome brows as he began another round of meditation.

…

Xu Ya snapped her fingers. “So, the male lead ate my secret-recipe fried chicken, snapped out of his daze, and that’s how I managed to escape death? Is that what you’re saying?”

【Host, bingo.】

Just thinking back to that moment made Xu Ya shiver. That was the first time she’d come so close to death. The feeling of suffocation was terrifying—she’d truly thought her life was over.

Thank the gods of Ta-o-ting… Xu Ya pressed her palms together in prayer.

She stuffed a generous supply of finished fried chicken into her spatial pouch, just in case. After that, she sat cross-legged on the bed, scratching her head as she studied the half-destroyed book.

The plot twists had her completely hooked. The male lead was the perfect tragic powerhouse—handsome, strong, and tormented. Feared for his strength, the world saw him as a thorn in their side, watching him from the shadows like wolves. His path to ascension was long and grueling.

Unfortunately, the part she’d drawn was only the first half. No matter how much she whined or rolled around, the system couldn’t unlock any more perks.

When the system pitifully explained that it was just a lowly wage slave, Xu Ya unexpectedly felt a pang of sympathy and stopped pestering it.

Sigh. She’d just have to take things one step at a time.

But one clue in the fragmented book sent a chill down her spine: Master Xu was actually one of the villains who led the siege against the male lead in the first half of the story.

When she read that part, she was almost convinced there was a printing error.

That couldn’t be right.

From the earliest moment she could remember being a pitiful nobody, Master Xu had been the only light in her life. With five crippled spiritual roots, she was basically a mortal. Add to that her frail, delicate body—she couldn’t lift a thing or carry a load. In Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, her fate was to be driven out and pushed around at every turn.

She had no family, no spiritual power, and no value worth cultivating. In the end, Xu Ya had faced expulsion from the Immortal Marsh. Someone like her, a clinging vine with no roots, was like a pampered housecat—completely incapable of surviving in the wild. It was then that Master Xu stepped in to protect her. From that moment on, she was no longer just Ah Ya—she became Xu Ya.

But even the only light in her life couldn’t shield her from the harsh reality of Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, where only the strong survived. She barely scraped by, a walking corpse. Compared to everything else, Master Xu was the only warmth she had.

Now, however, Xu Ya had regained her memories of the modern world. She understood that those memories were nothing more than ink on a page in a book.

If given the choice, she would absolutely go back. Sure, she was an orphan in the real world, living off government aid, but at least she blended in. That alone was reason enough not to throw herself into another ten-plus years of cannon fodder misery just for the sake of her bond with Master Xu.

On a dark, windy night, a petite figure in light clothing quietly climbed up Xingyun Peak.

After that incident, security around Xingyun Peak had become even tighter. During the day, cultivators took shifts guarding it. Without a written order from a sect master, no one was allowed to ascend.

The old Xu Ya—the timid, doughy one—would never have dared defy such orders.

But times had changed. The male lead was her dad now!

After meditating all afternoon, she’d made up her mind to get on his good side. Since she was supposed to help him reach the grand finale, it made sense for her, as the support healer, to stay close. That way, she wouldn’t seem out of place.

Besides, she wanted to gently warn him about Master Xu. That way, he could be on guard.

Even though she’d eaten fried chicken, Xu Ya’s body was still trash. She huffed and puffed her way up the mountain, stopping now and then to sit cross-legged on low rocks to catch her breath, panting heavily.

— Translator’s Notes —

– Demonic Qi: A malevolent energy associated with demonic cultivation or inner demons that can corrupt cultivators.

– Senior Uncle: A respectful term for a senior male member of a cultivation sect who is of the same generation as one’s master.

– dantian: A core energy center in the lower abdomen where cultivators store and circulate spiritual energy.

– spirit stones: Crystals containing spiritual energy used as currency and cultivation resources in xianxia settings.

– spiritual roots: The innate talent and affinity for cultivation that determines a person’s potential in practicing daoist arts.

– transmigration: A common trope in xianxia where a person’s consciousness travels from one world (usually modern) to a cultivation world.