What kind of relationship is this?

When Xu Ya once again considered the possibility of taking delivery orders, it was because she had found a reliable and capable mortal auntie.

With her help, the burden on Xu Ya and A Xi lightened considerably. The auntie was clearly quick and efficient, often stepping in to handle the finishing touches Xu Ya didn’t have time for.

With a bit of breathing room, Xu Ya began to seriously consider whether she could make the delivery service work. She wasn’t obligated to care about others’ cultivation progress, but seeing those struggling low-level cultivators reminded her of her past self.

If she could make deliveries happen, these low-level cultivators could earn a bit of income. Or better yet, she could pay them in fried chicken—it wasn’t a bad deal at all.

The opportunity came sooner than expected. That day, a rare visitor arrived at A Ya Fried Chicken Shop.

An Jiaze showed up with someone else’s order slip in hand.

He hadn’t come during the morning rush, but waited until the crowds had mostly dispersed before strolling in with the order.

Now that the shop had an extra pair of hands, Xu Ya’s workload had eased. She was currently sitting at the dining table, watching over A Xi as he worked on his daily assignments.

With the issue of food settled, Xu Ya’s first thought was to at least get A Xi to read some books.

As A Xi’s body grew taller, his mind developed just as quickly. He was nothing like the little dumpling she had met a year ago at the Meeting Immortals Platform. Back then, he looked about seven or eight years old. Now, he seemed more like seventeen or eighteen.

Looking at A Xi’s now slender profile, Xu Ya sighed inwardly: This kid’s growing up way too fast. Could it be because I fed him too much fried chicken?

“System, system, is there something in our chicken? Like hormones or something?”

【Host, you really know how to joke.】

When Xu Ya brought back a stack of books from Yunmeng Book Court, A Xi actually showed a rare bit of childish reluctance. He didn’t want to study.

In the end, after much coaxing and persuasion, Xu Ya got him to agree.

A Xi couldn’t bring himself to throw a tantrum at Xu Ya. He finally gave in. “Alright, sis, I’ll study.”

Xu Ya beamed and ruffled his hair until it turned red. “That’s my good boy~”

Just like Xu Ya, A Xi had no real foundation in cultivation. His sieve-like body couldn’t retain any of the knowledge he read.

Xu Ya was just considering whether she should give him a little push when the auntie working outside suddenly called out to her.

Xu Ya quickly responded and walked out to the front of the shop.

Seeing An Jiaze again after so long, Xu Ya was momentarily stunned.

The auntie enthusiastically threw an arm around Xu Ya’s shoulders and introduced him. “Boss Xu, this young immortal came looking for you. Says he’s got something to discuss.”

An Jiaze was easily one of the most handsome young men in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. Of course, in the grand scheme of the novel, only the male lead’s character model could be called truly peerless.

But to be honest, Xu Ya had to admit that An Jiaze was indeed good-looking. The auntie clearly had eyes too—she was a normal NPC with decent taste. Though, when she first met Shi Yuzhen, she had also been rendered speechless by his looks.

Now, seeing An Jiaze again didn’t bring the same shock of meeting a handsome guy for the first time. She had learned to control most of her reactions. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder why her boss seemed to know so many good-looking young men. She gave Xu Ya a playful wink.

Xu Ya could tell the auntie’s gossip radar had been activated. She quickly found an excuse to send her away. “Auntie, could you go to the back room and keep an eye on A Xi’s homework? I’m worried he might get up to mischief.”

“Sure, sure, I’ll go right now.”

An Jiaze cleared his throat. Thanks to his colleagues frequently buying and consuming Xu Ya’s fried chicken, he had successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. His spiritual energy was now far more concentrated than before.

He knew full well that Xu Ya’s fried chicken had played a crucial role in his advancement.

Now that he had achieved a major breakthrough, he had come in person with a colleague’s order slip to express his gratitude.

An Jiaze didn’t need to be this polite.

Everyone who came to the shop for fried chicken had hit some kind of bottleneck. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so addicted.

Even though the immortal-method fried chicken didn’t contain any addictive ingredients, its extraordinary effects had clearly been recognized by those with discerning eyes.

That said, Xu Ya’s fried chicken only enhanced what was already there. Without a solid foundation, its effects wouldn’t be nearly as impressive.

In the end, it was An Jiaze’s own talent that made the difference.

But now, An Jiaze fell into an unusual silence, as if struggling to find the right words. Unlike the decisive way he had acted during their first encounter, he now seemed a bit hesitant.

An Jiaze finally said, “I still owe you thanks. No matter what, your fried chicken really helped me. Thank you, Junior Sister. If you ever need anything from me, I’ll do everything I can to help.”

There was something Xu Ya had been mulling over for a long time. She thought about it during nearly every free moment.

No time like the present. Xu Ya gathered her courage and asked, “Really? Anything at all…?”

An Jiaze nodded firmly. “Of course.”

Xu Ya’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him seriously. “Then, could I ask you to post a notice in the Immortal Marsh? Something like, ‘A Ya Fried Chicken Shop is seeking cultivator partners. Payment in shop goods or spirit stones, negotiable. Interested parties, please come by after the You hour to discuss details’… Something like that?”

An Jiaze blinked. “What…?”

Xu Ya pulled out the notebook she always carried, flipping through it to show him her business ideas. She explained, “I’m trying to expand into deliveries. I’m hoping some cultivators with free time could help deliver orders. But I don’t have the qualifications to post in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh myself…”

An Jiaze was a smart man. He understood instantly. He glanced at Xu Ya, earnestly flipping through her notebook, and couldn’t help but smile.

Everyone in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh knew that posting a notice required real-name verification. Almost no one would post on someone else’s behalf unless…

But it seemed Xu Ya didn’t know that little detail.

An Jiaze readily agreed. “No problem. I’ll go back and put something together. I’ll post it for you, Junior Sister.”

Xu Ya watched An Jiaze’s departing figure with shining eyes, deeply moved. There really are still good people in this world!

The next day, a bombshell post appeared.

The content was simple, but the person who posted it was anything but. Cultivators across the marsh were stunned.

“A Ya Fried Chicken Shop is seeking cultivator partners. Interested cultivators, please come to the shop after the You hour to discuss details. Payment in shop goods or spirit stones, negotiable. —An Jiaze.”

Who? Who did you say posted this? Shouldn’t it have been Shi Yuzhen?

Why is Xu Ya now connected to An Jiaze too???

Cultivators stared at the post, floating midair with a layer of spiritual energy, and rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren’t seeing things. It really was An Jiaze, that high-level cultivator. There was no one else in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh with the same name.

So you’re telling us, Xu Ya and An Jiaze have a rather… unusual relationship?

Then what about Shi Yuzhen? What’s going on there??

The cultivators buzzed with speculation. The rumors about Shi Yuzhen hadn’t even been cleared up yet, and now Xu Ya was linked to An Jiaze?

Is this a love triangle? Remember that day? Shi Yuzhen and An Jiaze got into a fight over a box of fried chicken! I mean, I’ll admit Xu Ya’s fried chicken is something else, but now I’m starting to think she herself is the most mysterious hunter of all!

Do hunters often appear disguised as prey? Interesting.

What An Jiaze didn’t tell Xu Ya was that in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, all posted notices must be under the real name of the poster. If someone posts on another’s behalf, it’s assumed they are either cultivation partners or have an extraordinary relationship.

No one would take the risk of posting for someone else otherwise—it’s all hassle and no benefit. Even for a simple post like this, Xu Ya had no access to that information, so naturally, she had no idea.

An Jiaze chose not to tell Xu Ya about this matter. He had keenly sensed that he might actually have a subtle interest in her, so he welcomed the feeling and naturally understood why the cultivators would be so shocked.

However, the post hadn’t even lasted a moment before it was taken down by a mysterious force.

The cultivators all speculated that it must have been Shi Yuzhen’s doing. Some low-level cultivators had learned about the recruitment at A Ya Fried Chicken Shop through the post. They were quite interested in the idea of collaboration. Normally, if they wanted to indulge in a delicious piece of fried chicken, they’d have to take on numerous tasks to save up enough spirit stones to even consider it.

Regardless of the relationship between the poster and the owner of A Ya Fried Chicken Shop, many cultivators found the content intriguing.

But today, A Ya Fried Chicken Shop didn’t open at its usual time.

People waited outside for about half an hour before the door creaked open with a slow “squeak.”

Greeted at the entrance was not the shop owner Xu Ya, but a smiling new shop assistant auntie and A Xi, who looked so grumpy it seemed like he could hang an oil bottle from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing the unusual situation at the shop, everyone immediately thought of the proxy post that had appeared on the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh forum that morning.

The cultivators exchanged a few ambiguous glances.

Xu Ya and A Xi had already started sleeping in separate beds. A Xi took the top bunk, while Xu Ya slept alone on the bottom. It had been a long time since Xu Ya had such a spacious bed, and all the discipline she’d developed from decades of sleeping on a small one had completely vanished.

Shi Yuzhen, overwhelmed with emotion, suddenly flashed into Xu Ya’s room without a second thought. At that moment, Xu Ya was sprawled out in deep sleep, limbs flung in all directions.

One of her slender, pale legs was draped over the bundled-up quilt, making for a rather indecent sight.

Shi Yuzhen was used to being proud and domineering. She didn’t seem to think barging into someone else’s “boudoir” was rude at all, even with a third person present.

Since the shop assistant auntie had started helping out, Xu Ya had told her she could come in on her own. She’d even asked her to wake both A Xi and herself when she arrived. Xu Ya felt a bit embarrassed about it, but the auntie readily agreed. The pay was generous, and she couldn’t think of a reason to refuse.

As the auntie walked in with practiced ease, she happened to see a handsome man “stealing away” their boss.

Without a word, Shi Yuzhen scooped up the sleeping Xu Ya in her arms. When she met the auntie’s gaze, she showed no fear at all. She activated her spiritual energy, and the two of them turned into a glowing orb and vanished.

When the auntie woke the still-sleepy A Xi, her excited expression stood in stark contrast to A Xi’s gloomy face.

The auntie, worldly and experienced, had seen enough of young people’s troubles. She patted A Xi’s seemingly mature but actually still youthful frame and let out a meaningful sigh before adding, “Go wash up. Time to open the shop.”

A Xi responded gloomily, “Okay.”

— Translator’s Notes —

– You hour: A traditional Chinese timekeeping unit referring to the period between 5-7 PM.

– boudoir: Refers to a woman’s private bedroom or sitting room, carrying cultural connotations of privacy and propriety.