A low warmth spread through Hao’s core. Not the kind from soup or spicy food.
No, this was the real deal – the bubbling prelude to a breakthrough!
His meridians tingled. Spiritual qi churned in his lower abdomen, swirling tighter and tighter.
This… wasn’t normal.
This fish wasn’t just a roasted delicacy. It had to be some high-level beast!
Maybe not on par with those ultra-tier sacred beasts the system uses for its product ingredients, but definitely no regular swamp-dwelling carp beast either.
In cultivation terms, the stronger the beast, the purer and more potent its flesh. For cultivators, eating a powerful beast wasn’t just for taste – it was part nutrition, part fortification, and part qi supplementation.
But the catch?
Your body could only absorb what it was ready to handle. The rest would either be flushed out, wasted – or in worse cases, burn you from the inside out.
Hao already felt his body soaking up everything it could like a dry sponge in a thunderstorm. Any more, and it might spill over.
But Elder Bai Qingshui, standing nearby with the proud face of someone offering a personal treasure, mistook Hao’s awed expression for something far more poetic.
“Ai…” Elder Bai murmured deeply.
’To receive such humble gratitude from my benefactor… to witness him savor each chew so reverently…’
He placed a hand over his chest.
’To think, even when blessed with stronger delicacies beyond imagination, he still treasures this simple offering.’
’This… this is true cultivation of the heart!
If Hao could hear what Elder Bai Qingshui was thinking, he would definitely be: “…Huh?”
What humble gratitude? What simple offering?
Chill, grandpa.
He was just trying not to explode from qi overload, that’s what.
But sure. Let the old man think he was being spiritually noble.
Still…
His hand hovered again. A small piece would’ve sufficed. A light nibble.
A courteous second bite.
But no. Hao’s hand refused to listen.
It dove in like it had a will of its own, pinching a chunk three times larger than before.
He stared at it. ’I could put this back.’
His hand did not obey.
’I could trim it.’
Still no cooperation.
’Am I being possessed? Is this how food demons work?’
Hao stood there, wrestling with himself, much in the way a cat chases its own tail in slow motion.
His stomach growled in support of the enemy.
And then the chunk of Roasted Crimson Bone Barracuda was gone, claimed by his mouth.
Elder Bai Qingshui, seeing that his benefactor had now tasted the offering, finally stepped back in silent satisfaction.
A man should know when to retreat.
He let Hao chew through his second bite in peace before gently suggesting.
“Benefactor, feel free to store it first and continue enjoying it throughout the day.”
Hao nodded without hesitation.
“Yeah. Good idea.”
With system’s go signal from before, there was no one to stop him from devouring it whenever he wanted now.
Fate had finally decided to cut him some slack.
Just as he stored the dish into his inventory, four figures suddenly stepped forward in sync.
Lin Yijun, Xiao Lianfeng, Elder Tang Sheng, and even Sect Master Jiang Xianwei!
They moved so perfectly together, it almost looked rehearsed.
’What’s happening?’
Before Hao could finish the thought, another set of trays materialized in each of their hands.
The dishes shimmered faintly under the store’s lights.
Each one… had the unmistakable glow of the fish meat from before, seemingly all from that very same fish.
’Wait… is this all for me again?’
Why is this turning into some kind of buffet?
This felt weirdly familiar.
Like those moments when friends suddenly handed you birthday gifts all at once and your brain left your body because you didn’t know which one to open first.
Or when grandma visits and keeps shoving food into your hands because you’re his favorite little eater who can never say no.
Hao’s eyes swept over the trays.
Five new dishes. All based on the same beast. All different.
First, a golden-crisped Fried Crimson Bone drizzled with a light citrus glaze. The batter crackled even from a distance.
Second… Third… Fourth…
Fifth, a plate of Barracuda Noodle Nest, thin springy noodles wrapped in shreds of roasted meat and lightly coated in a savory bone broth reduction.
Hao didn’t even know where to start.
Should he call the heavens and report that he was now a fish-based deity in someone’s religion.
Elder Bai Qingshui’s voice cut through Hao’s daydream.
“This is all for you, benefactor. I hope you will accept these as well.”
Hao stared. Decline? No way.
He gave a small nod and carefully stored all the trays.
He was going to share these dishes with all his employees – no, his growing little family. They deserved it.
That included everyone under his roof.
Somehow, Little Sneak, who was always feisty at Hao, was slowly melting into their crew.
Instead of leaving right after handing over the food, the Drifting Sword Sect’s group started filling their hands with everything they could carry. Xiao Lianfeng and Lin Yijun were practically sliding into the shelves.
After all, their morning had been thoroughly interrupted.
They didn’t even have to worry about their wallets today, either.
Elder Bai Qingshui calmly said he would shoulder all their purchases.
Now that’s a good elder! Lin Yijun and Xiao Lianfeng thought.
If all it took was helping pick up some fish meat again to freeload products from the store…
Then hey, they’d start training their grab-and-store reflexes like it was a core cultivation technique.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. When night fell, Hao and others gathered together in the second floor, trays unsealed, steam rising like gentle clouds of happiness.
They ate. They laughed. And they lived.
At one corner, a chaos of paws and claws erupted.
Little Sneak was locked in a dramatic battle with the two kittens, Yoru and Tsuki, over a single, glistening bite of roasted fish.
He was growling.
Yoru hissed.
Tsuki smacked Little Sneak’s forehead with a paw.
It was a fair fight in theory.
In practice?
Not really.
Little Sneak yelped and flopped to the ground, tail twitching like a sad flag of surrender. He could have fought back, but deep inside, he knew – if he laid a claw on either kitten, he’d have to answer to his big sister.
And no one messed with Kurome. Not even him.
On the sofa, Kurome licked her paw slowly, eyes gleaming in silent warning.
Mo Xixi let out a soft giggle, the sound rare and unguarded.