Shen Qi

The unfamiliar woman gave a formal bow and said in a measured tone, “I was sent by Master Xu. My name is Shen Qi. I was previously a low-level talisman cultivator. Master Xu asked me to come help out.”

It was already dusk. The orange glow of the setting sun cast its light from behind Shen Qi, allowing Xu Ya to get a clear look at her face—it was as plain as could be, except for how unnaturally pale it was.

As the woman raised her hand, a sliver of skin was revealed. On it were dark markings resembling tattoos, though it was hard to make out exactly what they were. They looked like talismans drawn directly onto her skin.

Shen Qi noticed Xu Ya’s gaze and stiffly adjusted her robe, offering a pale, unsettling smile in return.

Xu Ya was halfway through preparing her fried chicken. It wouldn’t be appropriate to turn away someone sent by Master Xu, so she quickly stepped aside to let her in.

Shen Qi nodded and floated inside like a ghost from a horror movie.

Xu Ya immediately broke out in goosebumps.

She rubbed her arms and closed the door behind them.

Inside the back room, Shi Yuzhen had already used a spell to neatly pack the fried chicken Xu Ya had piled into a large food container into individual paper bags.

Xu Ya muttered to herself, Magic is amazing! So convenient!

But her worries returned—Shen Qi clearly wasn’t here with good intentions!

How should she defend herself?

For once, she took the initiative to summon the system, anxiously confirming again, “You’re absolutely sure my golden finger is that any fried chicken I make is infused with spiritual energy and immune to all poisons, right?”

【Host~ It’s all clearly written in the manual we provided! Fried chicken deep-fried by your hands is indeed immune to all poisons! There’s no need to worry. If anything ever happens that could endanger the male lead, the system will alert you in time so you can make adjustments!】

Is this system really hers? It sure seemed to care a lot about the male lead. But then again, both she and the system shared the same goal—protecting the male lead. Ultimately, it was all so she could go home. That thought, strangely enough, brought her some peace.

Xu Ya finally felt fully at ease.

Since Master Xu’s arrangements had no effect on her fried chicken, she could boldly and confidently put Shen Qi to work.

This way, Shen Qi would be heavily involved in the shop and wouldn’t arouse Master Xu’s suspicion. As for what came next, she’d take it one step at a time.

When Shen Qi entered, Shi Yuzhen had already been subtly sizing her up. His unfriendly gaze didn’t hold back just because she was a woman.

But Shen Qi was still a girl, and being stared at so openly by a man made Xu Ya feel a strange sense of empathy. She picked up a paper bag and shoved it into Shi Yuzhen’s arms, nudging him toward the back.

Xu Ya smiled sweetly. “See you tomorrow, Senior Brother!”

Shi Yuzhen was caught off guard by the sudden dismissal, but he didn’t seem the least bit upset. He lowered his head, stared at Xu Ya’s chubby cheeks, reached out to give one a soft poke, then curved his lips into a smile and flew off on his sword.

Lately, Shi Yuzhen and Xu Ya had been seeing each other every day. Ever since he agreed to help her with her health, he’d been coming to the shop almost daily to make sure she took her medicine. Their relationship had grown much more harmonious, so Xu Ya wasn’t worried about Shen Qi getting access to the fried chicken she gave Shi Yuzhen.

When she returned inside, she saw that Shen Qi had already started mechanically helping A Xi clean the tables.

Yes… mechanically.

Shen Qi’s entire demeanor gave off an uncanny, inhuman vibe—like a prototype robot from a sci-fi movie, one that had been released into the market without proper social calibration. Her movements and expressions were eerily similar.

But upon closer inspection, she did have two eyes and a mouth, and there were no signs of a mask.

Xu Ya pushed aside the strange thoughts swirling in her head and earnestly explained all the shop’s rules and procedures to Shen Qi.

Shen Qi listened intently and responded slowly to each point.

The next day, Shen Qi reported in through the back door as instructed. Xu Ya opened the door for her, and they began another busy day at the shop.

Xu Ya’s fried chicken had extraordinary effects and was now widely known throughout Xianze. Many cultivators came early in the morning to line up and wait.

The shop had only been open for less than three months, but Xu Ya’s fried chicken had already become the most popular cultivation-boosting food among the cultivators in Xianze.

Cultivators were shrewd with their spending. When comparing the prices of various items that could enhance cultivation, Xu Ya’s fried chicken stood out as the best value.

It was relatively cheap, yet more effective than other foods at the same price point. Naturally, everyone chose Xu Ya’s fried chicken.

Many cultivators who had initially looked down on her changed their minds after tasting it.

Some even smiled at her naturally when making their purchases.

With two helpers now, Xu Ya’s efficiency improved significantly. When things got hectic, A Xi and Shen Qi could take turns resting. Whatever Master Xu’s original intentions were—malicious or otherwise—at least Xu Ya had gained a bit of real freedom from it.

Her stash of spirit stones was growing by the day. After deducting the monthly cut she had to hand over to Master Xu, A Xi’s allowance, and Shen Qi’s wages, Xu Ya had finally saved enough to afford multiple visits to Danxiao Manor.

So much so that she pestered Shi Yuzhen daily to check how her body was recovering.

But before Shi Yuzhen could bring her any good news, trouble hit A Ya Fried Chicken Shop.

A low-level cultivator took his fried chicken and, without a care for appearances, began eating it right at the shop entrance.

Normally, low-level cultivators were extremely cautious and would never act so shamelessly in public. That was the unspoken rule in Xianze. Xu Ya was just starting to feel puzzled when disaster struck.

The cultivator’s face suddenly turned deathly pale. He staggered, clutching his chest with a large hand. A violent wind began to swirl around him. The surrounding cultivators quickly spread out into a circle to avoid getting caught in whatever was happening, enclosing the affected cultivator in the center.

Zhan Zhengzhen happened to be on door duty that day. It was his first time witnessing something like this. He pushed through the crowd to the front and caught a terrifying sight: the low-level cultivator was writhing on the ground in agony, his face grotesquely swollen and still expanding. It was horrifying to watch. Within moments, his entire body began to distort, bulging and shrinking erratically.

Then, with a final scream, the cultivator exploded on the spot—no one had time to stop it.

The onlookers were met with a gruesome scene of mangled flesh and golden liquid sprayed everywhere.

Some cultivators even had the liquid splashed on their faces. It was warm—like hot oil.

Zhan Zhengzhen was one of the few high-level cultivators in the crowd. He furrowed his brows and stepped forward to examine the remains.

The cultivator was undeniably dead. His body had been blown to bits, barely recognizable as human. One might’ve mistaken it for some kind of beast, if not for the thick stench of blood mixed with the smell of hot oil that snapped everyone back to reality.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Someone shouted, “The fried chicken is poisoned!” and panic immediately spread through the crowd.

Zhan Zhengzhen quickly moved to the shop entrance to shield Xu Ya from any backlash. He absolutely refused to believe there was anything wrong with his Junior Sister’s fried chicken.

She had no reason to ruin her own reputation.

The six of them had all experienced the Soul Snatching Talisman incident together. Zhan Zhengzhen couldn’t help but wonder—was this another move by the person lurking in the shadows?

He frowned deeply. This wasn’t going to be resolved so easily.

The incident happened not long after A Ya Fried Chicken Shop opened. A Xi had just restocked supplies when everything went wrong.

Now, panic had seized the cultivators. Everyone who had gathered saw a low-level cultivator eagerly take a bite of the freshly bought fried chicken, only to drop dead moments later. Could something powerful enough to destroy the supposedly indestructible bodies of cultivators—comparable to the vajra-like resilience of mortals—really be hidden in a piece of fried chicken? Even if the chicken wasn’t to blame, no one would dare buy it again until the truth was fully uncovered.

Many cultivators fled in fear.

Where there was one group, another soon followed. Hesitation spread like wildfire, and for the first time since opening her shop, Xu Ya’s fried chicken failed to sell.

But even if anyone still wanted to buy, Xu Ya no longer had the heart to sell it. A powerful sixth sense told her that something major was about to happen. But why was it targeting her?

Wasn’t she just a nameless cannon fodder in the story?

Even the onlookers in this immortal town didn’t dare linger. As soon as the incident occurred, they hastily packed up their wares and scattered.

Yunmeng Immortal Marsh responded swiftly. A group of cultivators specializing in investigations descended from the sky, accompanied by the senior brothers and sisters who had come to assist earlier, including Shi Yuzhen.

The investigators were high-level cultivators and didn’t fear Shi Yuzhen and the others. Within Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, their statuses were nearly equal.

An Jiaze was among those responsible for handling such cases, but he was currently at a critical moment in his cultivation breakthrough and was extremely reluctant to be distracted by others’ affairs. Besides, the deceased was just a low-level cultivator. Why should someone like him be disturbed over such a trivial matter?

An Jiaze arrived at the scene with a sour expression. He hadn’t even examined the area when he noticed the greasy residue on the ground, mingled with the remains of the low-level cultivator. Then someone reported that the victim had died immediately after eating a drumstick from the A Ya Fried Chicken Shop.

An Jiaze had no intention of being overly thorough. In his eyes, this was just another petty squabble among low-level cultivators. One of them was dead—fine. To appease the public, just punish the other party and be done with it. That’s how these things were always handled…

He glanced up at the fried chicken shop’s signboard and confirmed that there were three staff members inside, including Xu Ya.

He was about to ascend to the next cultivation level and was clearly impatient. He gave a curt order to his subordinates: “In that case, take the shop’s employees back for questioning.”

With that, he rubbed his temples, waved his sleeve, and in the next instant, even the blood and body of the deceased cultivator vanished completely. Having taken care of the matter, An Jiaze didn’t spare another glance, ignoring Shi Yuzhen and the others as he turned to return to the Immortal Marsh.

Shi Yuzhen had rushed over after receiving an urgent message from Zhan Zhengzhen.

He had long known that when it came to cases involving low-level cultivators, those so-called investigators merely went through the motions.

For Xu Ya’s safety, he had descended the mountain at full speed.

But just as he had feared, the man really did intend to wrap things up hastily by sacrificing Xu Ya and the others to calm the crowd.

Only now did Shi Yuzhen truly feel the deep, hidden injustice embedded within the rigid hierarchy of Yunmeng Immortal Marsh.

The lives of low-level cultivators were, to put it bluntly, nothing more than fuel.

Shi Yuzhen could no longer hold back. The veins on his forehead bulged as the Ink Sword stirred restlessly. Spiritual energy surged around the dark blade, ready to strike at An Jiaze’s throat the moment its master gave the order.

Rong Aoqing, ever perceptive, immediately noticed the shift in Shi Yuzhen’s emotions. Without a word, she stepped forward and pressed him down.

Through spiritual transmission, she said, “Don’t act rashly, Great Senior Brother.”

Shi Yuzhen’s eyes burned red with fury. Blocked by Rong Aoqing and Zhan Zhengzhen, he had no outlet for his rage.

But he heeded Rong Aoqing’s warning. Powerless, he could only watch as several cultivators dragged the three shop employees away like livestock, following An Jiaze without a shred of courtesy.

— Translator’s Notes —

– vajra-like resilience: Vajra means ‘diamond’ or ‘thunderbolt’ in Sanskrit, referring to something indestructible. Here it means cultivators’ bodies are supposed to be extremely durable compared to ordinary humans.