Great Senior Brother, you can’t!

Xu Ya couldn’t take it anymore. “Great Senior Brother! You can’t keep talking like that!!”

“Why not?” Shi Yuzhen asked.

Xu Ya broke down. “No reason!! I just… I don’t want to dual cultivate!”

Shi Yuzhen’s tone held a trace of regret. “Alright then.”

He no longer circled around Xu Ya, but she squatted down, clutching her head, refusing to get up.

She couldn’t face Shi Yuzhen anymore?!

Shi Yuzhen sat beside her, one long leg bent up against his chest as he leaned back lazily, the other hand resting casually on his knee, waiting for Xu Ya to recover.

He hadn’t really understood before why cultivation partners were always hugging and clinging to each other in such an undignified way, but after experiencing it himself, Shi Yuzhen seemed to grasp something. At the very least, the hostility that constantly surrounded him had significantly dissipated.

Maybe dual cultivation really was a great way to improve one’s cultivation. This way, Xu Ya could train alongside him too—who knows, maybe it would yield surprising results. Otherwise, why would cultivation partners be so open about it, even addicted?

Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Xu Ya had refused. Shi Yuzhen had no choice but to temporarily drop the idea.

“It’s nearly the You hour,” Shi Yuzhen said. “Aren’t we heading back?”

Xu Ya finally lifted her mushroom-shaped head, remembering she still had proper business to attend to. Only then did she realize they were standing on the same low slope she had once tried to climb in her desperate attempt to escape the Immortal Marsh.

Ugh, she’d been set up by An Jiaze!!

And the system in her mind, always eager for drama, added fuel to the fire: 【Host, why didn’t you accept the male lead’s invitation to dual cultivate? Male-female pairing makes work less tiring. That way, we could reach our goal faster.】

“If I ever see your physical form, I swear I’ll beat you to a pulp…”

Xu Ya reluctantly got to her feet, trying to keep her distance from Shi Yuzhen.

But Shi Yuzhen grabbed the arm she had tucked into her sleeve in one swift motion, pulling her into his embrace as he mounted the Ink Sword.

With Ink Sword activated, the two of them quickly returned to the immortal village.

Just before the You hour, they arrived back at the shop.

The auntie noticed something unusual in the air between them. Seeing their flushed faces and slightly swollen lips, she immediately understood everything.

A Xi, already in a gloomy mood, brightened for a moment upon seeing Xu Ya—only to have her excitement snuffed out the instant she saw the person standing behind her sister.

Why was Shi Yuzhen always haunting them like a ghost?! Argh!!

The two stood side by side, maintaining proper distance, but the moment A Xi’s dark thoughts surfaced, it was as if that annoying high-level cultivator sensed them. He reached out and pulled Xu Ya, who had tried to put a bit of space between them, right back into his arms.

Xu Ya’s ears turned bright red as her cheek bumped into Shi Yuzhen’s chest, yet she said nothing.

A Xi gritted her teeth, clenching her fists in frustration.

Soon, several cultivators arrived at the shop’s back door as scheduled. As Xu Ya had expected, most of them were low-level cultivators.

She had been a bit worried that dealing with them alone might lead to awkward or unpleasant situations.

But now, the male lead was sitting beside her like a towering Buddha, practically glued to her side.

She could only pray the cultivators wouldn’t go around spreading rumors—aaah!!

But that hope was quickly dashed. Xu Ya could already see strange, unreadable expressions on the faces of the cultivators who had come to negotiate. She couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead. This rumor might never die.

Weren’t these cultivators shocked? They should be! This was shocking!

The post from earlier that day had vanished without a trace before it even had time to circulate.

If the cultivators didn’t already understand how posts worked in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, they’d have thought it was all some kind of prank.

When they came to A Ya Fried Chicken Shop, their hearts were filled with anxiety. They truly needed this shortcut to finding a cultivation partner.

If they could establish a long-term partnership with the shop, the pressure of surviving in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh would be greatly reduced.

But when they arrived at the designated location and saw Shi Yuzhen sitting so closely beside Xu Ya, their hearts were filled with nothing but admiration. Boss, you’re amazing! How on earth did you manage to build such a subtle relationship with two cultivation powerhouses?!

Ever since A Ya Fried Chicken Shop opened, every visit refreshed the cultivators’ perception of its owner, Xu Ya.

In their eyes, she had become the model for low-level cultivators. Who said someone with no talent couldn’t build a successful business? Xu Ya’s fried chicken was incredible! The shopkeeper was cute, polite, and humble…

Although the post had been released by a high-level cultivator, the actual commission came from Xu Ya—a half-mortal with barely any spiritual energy. Never mind what kind of relationship she had with the two powerhouses, the post had attracted exactly the kind of people she had envisioned.

The reward offered was modest, so it hadn’t drawn many mid- or high-level cultivators.

Many cultivators came to negotiate, some even trying to take advantage of Xu Ya, thinking she was just a young girl easy to swindle.

But with Shi Yuzhen—this towering “Buddha”—sitting beside her, most cultivators ended up nodding furiously at her proposals, even if they had objections. The whole process went unusually smoothly.

Xu Ya had been planning this fried chicken delivery service for quite a while. Over the past few months, she had looked into the prices of those spirit boards that worked like message boards.

With her savings growing, she could now afford a small one to place at the shop entrance, allowing cultivators from all directions to leave messages using spiritual energy.

These spirit boards functioned similarly to the spirit-seeking stones in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh.

Cultivators only needed to inject a small amount of spiritual energy to ensure accuracy, and the board would instantly display the message they wanted to leave.

From the moment Xu Ya first learned about these boards, she’d thought they could serve as a simple order system for her shop’s delivery service.

Even better, the board didn’t consume any of her own spiritual energy. Cultivators could inject, edit, or erase messages themselves.

Which was perfect, since Xu Ya’s spiritual energy was practically nonexistent.

She’d mentally rehearsed countless scenarios for how it would work, and she felt confident in the plan.

Next, she just needed to gather data on delivery fees and the time slots cultivators were willing to work, to ensure the delivery service ran smoothly.

She also had to consider the cultivators’ transportation methods. For example, sword cultivators were generally faster than others.

That made them the equivalent of “platinum couriers” on modern delivery apps, so naturally, they’d need a higher cut—depending, of course, on how urgently the customer wanted their food.

Xu Ya recorded the cultivators’ basic information in a ledger, telling them they only needed to check the spirit board during designated hours and accept orders on their own.

The cultivators all expressed understanding. Those who didn’t understand took one look at Shi Yuzhen’s expression and forced themselves to understand.

Next came promoting the shop’s new delivery service on the post.

Should she just give up and shamelessly ask the male lead to help advertise?

Shi Yuzhen, worthy of being a high-level cultivator, had top-tier comprehension skills. After sitting in on Xu Ya’s conversations with the cultivators, he immediately understood what kind of content she wanted.

He leaned lazily on one hand, resting his chin on his palm as he turned to gaze at Xu Ya’s profile. He seemed to be in a good mood. “Junior Sister, I’ll post it for you.”

That saved Xu Ya a lot of explaining.

Shi Yuzhen drafted the post and gave a casual wave.

A brand-new, high-profile post appeared in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. The reason? A Ya Fried Chicken Shop was unstoppable. Following An Jiaze’s post, now Shi Yuzhen had posted one too!

“A Ya Fried Chicken Shop is now offering delivery. Orders can be placed a day in advance by injecting spiritual energy and location into the spirit board in front of the shop. Orders will be picked up and delivered by partnered cultivators. —Shi Yuzhen.”

After the initial surprise, the cultivators were full of admiration for Xu Ya’s ingenuity. She’s too clever!

This way, not only could lower-level cultivators earn fried chicken as a reward, but even higher-level cultivators—who didn’t want to waste time queuing up in front of the always-crowded shop—benefited as well.

Though the chicken had extraordinary effects, lining up truly was a waste of time. A round trip usually took at least an hour.

With the development of a “delivery service,” cultivators only needed to pay a bit extra for the runner’s fee and could enjoy having fried chicken delivered right to them. Most cultivators thought this arrangement by A Ya Fried Chicken Shop was nothing short of genius. Why hadn’t they thought of it themselves?

They couldn’t help but feel a renewed fondness for A Ya Fried Chicken Shop.

After settling everything, Xu Ya cheerfully returned from the Immortal Market with the spirit board she had been eyeing for ages.

Shi Yuzhen followed not far behind, watching her excited face.

Xu Ya said, “Great Senior Brother, try leaving a message on the spirit board!”

At her words, Shi Yuzhen formed a hand seal and cast a spell. In no time, golden light shimmered across the spirit board, forming a string of characters.

Xu Ya grew even more excited. This thing was amazing!

As night fell, Xu Ya, A Xi, and the auntie prepared the next day’s stock. Xu Ya and A Xi each got ready to wash up and go to bed using the Cleaning Technique.

The auntie had already gone home with a cheerful smile, but Shi Yuzhen was still sitting in meditation, showing no sign of leaving.

High-level cultivators meditated to gather their essence, energy, and spirit. A single misstep could disrupt their flow. Xu Ya knew how delicate the process was and didn’t dare disturb him.

A Xi had been busy all day and didn’t even have the energy to be annoyed at Shi Yuzhen for lingering. Huffing, she climbed into bed, and before long, her steady breathing filled the room.

Now it was unusually quiet, and Xu Ya couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander. Thinking back to what happened that morning, she began to suspect that the male lead had misunderstood something.

But she really didn’t have the nerve to ask. She was afraid the male lead would say something outrageous and scare her half to death!

“You want to increase your cultivation, don’t you? We could dual cultivate…”

Aaaahhhhhh—

How did things end up like this?!

So terrifying! She had to shut the male lead up with fried chicken, make him the number one cultivator in the world, and then she was getting the hell back to the modern world! She couldn’t take another minute in this cultivation world!

Resting her head in her hands, Xu Ya mentally reviewed everything she had done since regaining her memories. She tried to figure out exactly which move had gone wrong to lead to this mess.

Wasn’t she just feeding Shi Yuzhen on a regular schedule like a little underling? Would a male lead like Long Aotian really fall for some random underling?

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head. She remembered that there were certain things the system had strictly forbidden her from saying.

For example, at the very beginning, when Xu Ya had tried to directly tell the male lead that Master Xu was the villain, the system had issued a severe warning.

What was that warning again?

“Revealing plot spoilers to characters in the book is strictly prohibited! Your unauthorized statement has been blocked! Do not attempt this behavior again! The consequences of narrative collapse are unimaginable!!”

Blocked? That’s all it did to her spoiler? Based on her years of reading webnovels, Xu Ya strongly suspected the system had actually repaired the storyline at that moment—because “narrative collapse” had to be avoided.

Doing something that defied logic would also cause narrative collapse, right?

Then why was Shi Yuzhen so confidently convinced that she liked him?

Xu Ya fell into deep thought again. Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind—back on the day she was falsely accused of theft by the Culinary Cultivator Senior Brother, she had said something that the system had also blocked.

Her mental state had truly collapsed that day. In a moment of desperation, she had blurted out the truth. After that, Shi Yuzhen’s expression had turned… strange.

Could it be?!