Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
Bai Ju didn’t have to wait long. Just as Qing Lan finished his meditation and began studying his cultivation technique, Xiao Yao returned with the groceries. He carried a bag of fruit to his chest, a mix of bright yellow and red, large and small.
Bai Ju quickly took the bag of fruit and carried it to the kitchen, asking in surprise, “Where did these fruits come from?”
He knew Xiao Yao’s fruit-buying habits. If time allowed, this meticulous Director Xiao would pick out each cherry individually. The fruit he selected might not look pretty, but it would definitely taste good. Xiao Yao would also carefully pack the fruit, placing the hard ones at the bottom and the fragile ones on top, sorting and packing them separately, never making a mess like this.
Xiao Yao rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and placed the three sturdy bags on the kitchen table. His forearms, with their beautiful and strong lines, were dazzling to Bai Ju.
Bai Ju stepped forward and pressed Xiao Yao’s wrist, forgetting his previous question, and asked softly, “Was it heavy?”
“I’ll go grocery shopping with you next time.”
Xiao Yao smiled and waved his hand, showing a faint white mark on his palm, but not red. “I used a little magic to be lazy; it wasn’t heavy. I just carried it back as a cover.”
As he spoke, Xiao Yao gestured with his chin towards the large bag of fruit. “These fruits were given away at the folk market. Today is Saturday, there’s a promotion; you can redeem fruit with your coupons along the street outside the market. I ran into Jing Xia on the way, and that kid quietly exchanged this whole bunch for me.”
The market on Turtle Island was very clean; if you had to describe it, it was more like a grocery store. Xiao Yao knew the little demons had big appetites, so he bought a lot. He also bought an extra bag of food for Bai Ju, catering to Old Dog Bai’s tastes. Only after paying did he realize he had accumulated a huge pile of vouchers.
The folk street was crowded, and Xiao Yao wasn’t planning on taking advantage of the situation, even considering taking a detour, when a familiar face tugged at his bag.
It was Jing Xia.
Jing Xia’s fair face still had a touch of baby fat. He held Xiao Yao’s bag with two fingers, his expression hesitant: ‘Director Xiao.’
Xiao Yao stopped halfway, patiently waiting for him before asking, ‘Are you having some difficulties?'”
Old Dog Bai had already told him about the merman A Song. So Xiao Yao figured Jing Xia must have received some news, perhaps he was having a fight with the little merman, which was why he subconsciously sought help from others.
However, Jing Xia was stubborn, and Xiao Yao was prepared not to get him to talk, but he could still use this opportunity to build trust.
“If you don’t have any special plans, accompany me to browse the shops here for a while.” Seeing that Jing Xia hadn’t said anything for a while, Xiao Yao simply abandoned the original plan and led him towards the folk street.
After walking a few steps with him, Jing Xia asked in a low voice, “Director Xiao, don’t you feel it’s dangerous to be with Bai Wang?”
Xiao Yao glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then looked away without showing any emotion. “No, I trust him.”
Jing Xia hesitated for a moment, standing there for two seconds. “…But what if Bai Wang is hiding his unstable factors? You trust Bai Wang, but what if Bai Wang himself can’t control himself?”
Xiao Yao knew Jing Xia was actually referring to A Song, but hearing his question reminded him of the scar on Old Dog Bai’s face.
Slightly stunned, Xiao Yao curled his lips and gave his answer again: “I still believe in him.”
“Jing Xia, do you know what unwavering faith means?”
“It’s having someone who, even in hell, surrounded by indiscriminate attacking blades, you can still approach with your chest held high, believing that all his claws will obediently be subdued for you.”
“I have unwavering faith in Bai Wang.” Xiao Yao twitched his lips, “It’s that simple.”
Jing Xia lowered his head, his teeth pressed against his lips, making his already thin lips turn white.
After a two-second pause, Jing Xia raised his head: “Thank you, Director Xiao.”
Nothing more happened after that. Jing Xia seemed to have just recovered, and after following Xiao Yao for a few more steps, he asked him for the vouchers.
“I know this place well. I know what’s the best deal at each stall.”
Jing Xia, clutching a stack of vouchers, nimbly darted between the stalls like a fish, and returned with a bulging net bag full of hastily selected fruit.
Bai Ju washed a pear, took a bite, and puffed out his cheeks: “Jing Xia is a bold little thing; that little mermaid is probably going to suffer a bit.”
Xiao Yao nodded in agreement, pulled a large piece of frozen meat from his pocket, cast a spell to block the cold air, and then adjusted the flame intensity to quickly defrost some frozen food.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with paper figures: some chopping vegetables with knives, some carrying ingredients, and others standing on the edge of pots stirring evenly with spoons— it was clearly the familiar “Yao Yao Kitchen.”
Xiao Yao’s cooking skills were consistently excellent; the dishes the paper figures made were mostly standard stir-fries and stews, emphasizing quantity and deliciousness, without any fancy variations. However, the fish fillets that Bai Ju specifically requested required Xiao Yao to put on an apron and personally prepare them with a knife.
Old Dog Bai, no longer as obedient as before, simply stood at the kitchen door watching Xiao Yao cook; he… Having been promoted to family member, Old Dog Bai amplified his clingy nature, sticking to Xiao Yao’s back in just a few seconds.
Xiao Yao held a knife as thin as a cicada’s wing, its surface gleaming with orange-red flames—clearly a rare magical artifact; yet, Xiao Yao was using it to cut fish, quite extravagant indeed. His slender white wrist fell steadily, and Xiao Yao, considering the thickness, prepared to make a second cut, when a warm body pressed against him from behind. Through two thin layers of clothing, the muscles of Bai Ju’s chest and abdomen were clearly felt.
Bai Ju nuzzled Xiao Yao’s ear with his chin, then naturally clung to him, his tall frame slightly lowered, his arms encircling Xiao Yao’s waist, chin resting on Xiao Yao’s shoulder. With a slight twitch of his nose, Old Dog Bai licked his lips: “So fragrant.”
Xiao Yao paused, momentarily unsure whether Bai Ju was referring to the fish’s aroma or his own. After a moment’s thought, Xiao Yao feigned composure and said, “The fire spirit on the knife overcooked the surface of the fish while cutting it, locking in all the juices.”
Bai Ju was indeed referring to the fish’s aroma, and upon hearing this, he seemed to suddenly understand, carefully examining the cut surface of the fish: “No wonder it tastes like grilled fish.”
Xiao Yao chuckled lightly, shaking his head almost imperceptibly, and continued cutting the fish: “Brother Bai, I’ve noticed that you’re prone to causing misunderstandings.”
Bai Ju blinked blankly, his chin resting on Xiao Yao’s shoulder, not moving, only tilting his head slightly: “What misunderstanding?”
Xiao Yao swiftly cut off six pieces of fish fillet, giving five to Old Dog Bai and keeping one for himself; then he put down the knife, washed his hands, and poked Bai Ju’s cheek: “Am I more fragrant or is the fish more fragrant?”
Bai Ju subconsciously pressed his nose against Xiao Yao’s neck and took two deep breaths before realizing what Xiao Yao was saying: “…Yao Yao smells even better.”
Bai Ju couldn’t help but chuckle, his voice low and sweet: “I love Yao Yao’s scent the most.”
Xiao Yao coughed lightly. Although he was the one who brought up the topic, he still felt a little shy after hearing Old Dog Bai’s confession.
Bai Ju smiled and gently pecked his ear, then wisely stopped talking, only slightly tightening his arms and obediently becoming a large hanging accessory behind Xiao Yao.
At mealtime, Mengdu’s falcon Lei Wu and Chu Jiu returned from the sea. The two weasels’ cultivation time was also at its limit, and the flying corpse Qing Lan, after adjusting its breathing, successfully completed one cycle of its new cultivation technique.
“Wow, so much food?” Qu Lang, hearing that Xiao Yao was giving the little demons special treatment, immediately asked to turn on the video, exclaiming through the screen, “It looks delicious!”
Bai Ju held up his phone to show Qu Lang the table, as Xiao Yao brought out a large bowl of roast chicken from the kitchen and placed it on the table.
Glancing at the phone in Bai Ju’s hand, Xiao Yao chuckled, “What, you still want to mooch a meal?”
Qu Lang rubbed his stomach and said regretfully, “Next time, we’re all full today.”
On the other end of the screen, the Qilin Squad and the Peregrine Squad, a total of seven people, sat at the long table in Haiyin Castle, receiving an almost abnormally enthusiastic welcome from the vampires. The food was exquisite and plentiful, truly taking good care of their stomachs.
Bai Ju suddenly spoke up, “There won’t be a next time. Yao Yao won’t cook for you.”
Qu Lang: “…”
Qu Lang burped at the opportune moment. He felt that the dog food these two were forcibly feeding him was quite filling.
Deciding not to suffer the dog food anymore but insisting on taking a breath of the delicious aroma from afar, Qu Lang insisted on watching every dish before hanging up the video call.
Bai Ju glanced at Xiao Yao, and while the other wasn’t paying attention, secretly put his phone into his pocket, deciding to openly ignore the meaningless messages from Qu Lang and the others.
Xiao Yao caught a glimpse of Bai Ju’s actions out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
Qu Lang was a special family member to him, but he also knew Bai Ju would be jealous of Qu Lang, and he should indeed be a little more careful. When two people were in a relationship, security couldn’t be provided by just one person; he also needed to give Bai Ju a sense of stability.
Old Dog Bai, oblivious to everything, went to get the fish fillets, casually calling out to the little demons, “You’re in luck, eating food personally cooked by Director Xiao.”
The table was laden with various elaborate dishes and specifically tailored to each demon’s taste. Xiao Yao knew the little demons’ preferences, so he cooked a large pot of roast chicken[1] for the two Weasels, made a special dish of stinky mandarin fish[2] for the Flying Corpse Qing Lan, and also cooked hand-pulled mutton noodles[3] and stewed beef brisket[4] for the Falcon Lei Wu.
The Four-Phase Evil-Suppressing Chu Jiu flew back and forth between the living room and the kitchen, while the semi-transparent little spirit doll whimpered, gazing enviously at the food in front of the little demons, its mouth watering.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t eat it.
Bai Ju beckoned to Chu Jiu, and the Four Symbols Exorcising Disc obediently flew to him.
Gently poking the little spirit’s cheek, Bai Ju coaxed him with a smile, “Cultivate some more, do more good deeds, and you’ll be able to eat these things too in the future.”
Little Chu Jiu nodded eagerly. He couldn’t speak much yet, so he could only gesture with his hands and feet to express that “Chu Jiu will try his best.”
“Go on.” Bai Ju stroked the edge of the disc and gently pushed it with his finger, “Go back to the attic and organize today’s harvest.”
The little spirit nodded and obediently floated towards the attic.
The author has something to say:
I fell asleep halfway through writing qwq, sorry for the late update!
The author was assigned two big projects during the day, so busy 5555
….
Sleepy q mouth q
A mosquito was trapped in my bedroom, bit me five times, and fought with me for two hours… and this is what happened. orz I’ll finish the rest tomorrow.
Why did it have to bite the soles of my feet!
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron and access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next
