Crispy and Fragrant

What exactly is the relationship between the owner of A-Ya Fried Chicken and Shi Yuzhen? A mystery yet unsolved in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh.

Xu Ya moved with lightning speed, completing order after order. The cultivators today were unusually well-behaved, making everything run even smoother.

Thanks to the effectiveness of her previous products, Xu Ya’s new offerings were well-received. Most of the returning customers left with a portion of fried chicken in hand.

The stock was quickly running low. A Xi came out from the back with brush and ink, as usual, to write up preorder slips.

A few obviously non-local cultivators noticed and asked, “What’s this?”

Xu Ya didn’t stop her hands as she replied, “These are preorder slips! If you didn’t manage to get any today, you can write down what you’d like, and tomorrow just bring this slip to pick up your order~”

One cultivator gave a polite bow and hesitantly asked, “Boss, we’re not from Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. We were recommended by others to come try your food, but the journey is long. I’ll only be staying in Yunmeng Immortal Village for three days. If I want to buy again in the future, could I schedule an order in advance?”

Xu Ya understood. This cultivator wanted to reserve based on time.

That was actually a great idea. Some cultivators might not be able to come every day, so this method would let them reserve in advance and ensure no one left empty-handed.

Xu Ya responded cheerfully, “Of course you can!”

The cultivator smiled brightly at her reply. This shopkeeper was clearly reasonable and considerate, which made him like the place even more.

Shops run by cultivators weren’t uncommon, and transactions between cultivators happened all the time.

But dealings between cultivators were not something you could just meddle in. After all, before being a customer, a cultivator was still someone who walked the path of immortality, and naturally carried more pride than ordinary mortals.

In most cases, if they were unhappy, they’d just hold it in or never come back again.

Many cultivators had never encountered someone like Xu Ya—a seller who genuinely thought about her customers.

That was why her business had been thriving ever since she opened.

After all, who wants to buy something from a vendor who acts like you owe them hundreds of spirit stones?

Cultivators were still people. Everyone hoped for a pleasant transaction. Over time, as people compared the effects of different products, they were more inclined to buy fried chicken from Xu Ya’s shop. And even putting all that aside, the fried chicken really was delicious.

The visiting cultivators gave Xu Ya some inspiration. Ever since she reopened the shop, she had noticed many unfamiliar cultivators in strange attire coming to buy fried chicken, but they were almost always new faces.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head. In the modern world, there were food delivery services. Customers would place an order, then wait for a delivery person to pick it up and bring it to them. Over time, this had evolved into a mature industry chain.

It was quite similar to the request board in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. A cultivator in need would post a request, offer a reward, and another cultivator would take the job. But even the simplest task was never just a delivery run. More importantly, as someone at the bottom of the Immortal Marsh hierarchy, Xu Ya didn’t even have the qualifications to post a request asking other cultivators for help.

She still remembered vividly the time a low-level cultivator had complained that her fried chicken was too expensive when she first opened.

Xu Ya began to wonder if she could assign simple tasks like this to low-level cultivators so they could earn a bit of extra income—killing two birds with one stone.

But while the idea was beautiful, reality was harsh.

Having truly lost her memory and struggled to survive in this cultivation world for over ten years, Xu Ya was still wary of dealing with cultivators. That thought circled in her mind a few times before she ultimately dismissed it.

She really didn’t want to invite unnecessary trouble.

While swapping out with A Xi to prepare ingredients, Xu Ya sat at the dining table, watching the stove and waiting for the right moment.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door behind her.

She thought it might be Shi Yuzhen, but the system didn’t pop up with its usual sarcastic commentary, and besides, the male lead never knocked.

Who could it be?

When she opened the door, she saw it was the Carpenter Grandpa from the end of the street.

Before she could express her surprise, Carpenter Grandpa introduced himself, “Ah, little lady, a celestial asked me to make a custom bunk bed for you.”

Shi Yuzhen?

Xu Ya welcomed him in. “Grandpa, please come in.”

“Eh!” he responded cheerfully and stepped inside with his materials. In just a few swift moves, he dismantled the old bed in the shop.

The noise caught A Xi’s attention in the front room, but he had been told to watch the ingredients going into the pot. He kept peeking in anxiously.

Xu Ya noticed and told A Xi to go help Carpenter Grandpa in the back. She took over the cooking herself. After all, everything was new and exciting to a child.

A Xi put down the skimmer spoon with a scrunched-up face and walked off reluctantly.

Xu Ya thought he had just been bothered by the oil smoke and didn’t give it much thought.

Out of her sight, A Xi’s expression darkened even more. He stood in a corner of the room, watching the carpenter quickly dismantle the large bed and replace it with two stacked small beds. Biting his lip, he was clearly in a foul mood.

He remembered how, in a daze earlier that day, he’d heard Shi Yuzhen asking Xu Ya if they still shared a bed. He hadn’t expected him to act so quickly, already arranging for separate beds.

Carpenter Grandpa had worked with wood his whole life and moved with practiced ease.

He shaped the lumber into the desired form and soon completed the new bed.

Meanwhile, Xu Ya had finished frying and bagging the food. Seeing the work done, she poured a cup of water and brought it over.

The old man accepted it with a smile, drank it all in one go, and casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Oh, little lady, you sure aren’t busy today. This job’s a big one! That celestial was generous—he gave me a spirit stone! He told me to fix up whatever else in the shop needs work, so if you see anything, just let me know and I’ll take care of it!”

A spirit stone? You mean Shi Yuzhen paid a whole spirit stone for a job that would cost just a few dozen copper coins in the mortal world? That was pretty shocking.

But considering he was the male lead of a novel, Xu Ya could understand. Unlike her, someone who’d never been worth a dime, the male lead always came with top-tier perks. She wasn’t about to question his decisions.

She smiled and saw Carpenter Grandpa out.

Then she pulled A Xi into her arms, squishing and rolling him around, excitedly telling him that Great Senior Brother Shi Yuzhen had gotten them a bunk bed!

A Xi wasn’t too happy. His face was poked and squished, but the smile never came. Still, being hugged by Xu Ya made his ears flush red.

Shi Yuzhen, true to form, didn’t knock. He blinked into the room in an instant.

It was so abrupt that he startled Xu Ya.

But when she saw it was him, she welcomed him with a bright, smiling gaze.

Shi Yuzhen had to watch Xu Ya take her medicine every day and stand guard while she cultivated.

He quickly picked up on the low-pressure aura coming from A Xi, and for some reason, that put him in a better mood.

After Xu Ya swallowed the pill from the porcelain bottle—similar to the ones before—she climbed onto the bottom bunk, closed her eyes, and began meditating.

Shi Yuzhen sat behind her, channeling a steady stream of spiritual energy to protect her.

Just before closing his eyes, he felt a searing, angry gaze directed at him. It was impossible to ignore. But Shi Yuzhen pretended not to notice, curled his lips into a faint smile, and then shut his eyes.

A Xi was filled with fury, but powerless to do anything about it. Sulking, he thought gloomily that it was all his fault for growing up too fast.

Xu Ya could genuinely feel that her body had undergone a major transformation!

Before, she had felt like a leaky teapot. Even after eating the magical fried chicken, she was like a shattered vessel, unable to hold a single drop of spiritual energy.

But now, when Shi Yuzhen’s spiritual energy entered Xu Ya’s body, it could actually remain and condense inside her without dissipating. That uncomfortable feeling from excess spiritual energy flooding her system was completely gone.

Aside from having a high-level cultivator like Shi Yuzhen protecting her, perhaps her body truly was slowly improving.

Shi Yuzhen could also sense the changes in Xu Ya’s physique. What he had commissioned from Danxiao Manor for her was a care regimen designed for mortals. In truth, Danxiao Manor had long since stopped providing such services. The reason was simple: they barely made any spirit stones from it. Even low-level cultivators in the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh struggled to save up, let alone some delusional mortal dreaming of cultivating with a mortal body. It was pure fantasy.

However, when Shi Yuzhen pressed the edge of his sword, brimming with sword intent, against the neck of the Danxiao Manor representative, suddenly anything became possible.

And Shi Yuzhen was extremely generous with his payments.

The cultivators of Danxiao Manor could only smile politely and send this living Buddha on his way, promising to deliver the medicines he requested on time.

As a result, Shi Yuzhen became a regular at Danxiao Manor.

Almost every ten days, he would personally come to pick up the medicine.

Cultivators willing to spend lavishly on medicine to nourish themselves were already rare. With this living Buddha constantly hanging around the shop, it seemed other cultivators were less inclined to visit. Whenever they thought about this, the cultivators of Danxiao Manor were deeply frustrated.

They were especially envious every time they heard that the A Ya Fried Chicken Shop on the next street was doing booming business.

They even thought about going over one day to judge for themselves whether that so-called “immortal-method fried chicken” was really as good as everyone claimed. But just as they reached the corner of the street, a few cultivators sensed Shi Yuzhen nearby.

They cautiously walked down the street, and what they saw made the Danxiao Manor cultivators pinch the bridge of their noses in disbelief.

Why was Shi Yuzhen at the A Ya Fried Chicken Shop?!

The shop owner was clearly someone with no spiritual energy at all… Wait a minute?

No spiritual energy, really? Could it be that every time Shi Yuzhen came to pick up medicine, it was actually for her?!

In the end, the cultivator straightened his back and headed toward the line. He had come today to judge for himself whether this supposedly cost-effective fried chicken was worth the hype.

He got lucky. The queue was short, and he managed to buy every item on the menu. Though the shop owner was a bit of a useless mortal, she worked quickly and efficiently, and in no time had everything packed and handed over with both hands.

The moment they made eye contact, the cultivator recognized her as the same useless snack who had once claimed to be picking up medicine for Zhan Zhengzhen. Now, she seemed to have completely forgotten him, greeting him with a bright, pleasant smile, as if she had no memory of nearly being brought to tears by him at Danxiao Manor that day.

The cultivator couldn’t help but wonder: How does this woman have such a close relationship with a sword cultivator sect?

He quickly took the food and left.

No wonder Shi Yuzhen had stormed into Danxiao Manor that day, looking like he was about to explode with rage. They really had messed with the wrong person!

Still fuming, the cultivator pulled out the fried chicken he had bought.

He dumped the entire contents of the bag out in one go. Why was her business doing so well?

This fried chicken looked completely ordinary!

He called over the other cultivators in the shop to try it with him.

The moment the crispy fried chicken skin touched their tongues, the rich, crunchy flavor hit their brains like a lightning bolt.

Then, a wave of heat surged through them, gathering straight in their dantian.

By the time they realized what was happening, the cultivators of Danxiao Manor had already licked up every last crumb that had fallen from the chicken.

Okay, maybe there really was something special about it!

— Translator’s Notes —

– killing two birds with one stone: This is a direct translation of the Chinese idiom ‘一石二鸟’ (yī shí èr niǎo), meaning accomplishing two things with a single action.