After sitting down together, Ye Ju curiously examined the mask on his face, wondering how he would eat when the food came.
As Chaoyang Zi sat down, he glanced at Xiaobai, sensing the aura of a divine beast and realizing it was a Nine-Tailed Fox in human form. Truly worthy of being a legendary divine beast.
"Daoist Friend Zhao, do you have a scar on your face, or are you not good-looking? How can you eat without taking off your mask? Don't worry, we won't discriminate against you. External conditions aren't that important; what matters is what's inside. As the saying goes, an interesting soul is one in a million! Looks don't matter!"
Ye Ju kindly tried to reassure him, knowing that in ancient times, people valued their bodies as gifts from their parents, and any damage could lead to low self-esteem.
Chaoyang Zi's mouth twitched. He hadn't been particularly concerned about his appearance before, but after hearing Daoist Friend Ye's words, he felt an urge to immediately remove his mask and prove he wasn't ugly!
The hidden guards couldn't help but twitch their lips. Their young master's appearance was unparalleled in the world. If it weren't for the fact that he was hounded by female cultivators like a swarm of bees as soon as he came of age, he wouldn't have worn a mask to avoid them.
"Daoist Friend Ye worries too much. My face is not damaged!"
"Oh, that's good then!" Ye Ju thought to herself, assuming he must be ugly. In the cultivation world, she hadn't encountered anyone unattractive; most were handsome men and beautiful women. This person must be so unsightly that he dared not show his face!
Chaoyang Zi looked at Ye Ju's expression, which clearly conveyed a look of understanding towards someone ugly. A vein twitched on his forehead.
"Daoist Friend Ye, you are right. How can one enjoy delicious food with a mask hindering them?" Saying this, he waved his hand and put the mask away into his spatial ring.
Ye Ju and Xiaobai looked at Chaoyang Zi curiously, feeling a sense of familiarity... He wasn't ugly at all. He was quite handsome, with sharp sword-like eyebrows, piercing eyes, and a pair of peach blossom eyes that seemed like deep pools. When he looked at them, he seemed affectionate, yet it was more like a deity observing all beings with detachment!
"Sister, he looks very much like someone," Xiaobai couldn't help but say.
"Silly girl, he looks like Xiangzi, Zhao Xiangzi."
Was that all? This was their reaction? The hidden guards couldn't believe their young master had revealed his true face, and this was the sisters' only reaction?
When Zhao Xiangzi had fallen and gotten a bruised face, Ye Ju hadn't examined him closely and hadn't thought Zhao Xiangzi was particularly handsome. However, given the similarity, she guessed they might be twins. Yet, there were differences; the man before her had a more aggressive appearance, the kind of man who could make a woman fall for him at first sight and ruin her life.
Unfortunately for Ye Ju, her "old auntie" heart remained unmoved. Had she not seen enough handsome men? On Earth, contemporary celebrities were all handsome, with various types, heights, weights, and builds. They were a feast for the eyes!
The steaming鴛鴦 (yuan yang) hot pot's ingredients, which had been added earlier, were already cooked. Thinly sliced beef, lamb, and fish. There was also a plate of squid segments from the deep sea, also sliced. Pearl City was by the sea, so seafood was abundant. Dipped in Ye Ju's homemade sauce, she and Xiaobai ate with gusto.
Of course, they also invited the handsome young man to help himself. But considering he was a taste tester, they proactively served him a plate of assorted food and then left him to it.
Chaoyang Zi had rarely served himself food; usually, attendants did it for him. Seeing Ye Ju and Xiaobai serving themselves was quite novel!
After learning their eating style and taking a few bites, he couldn't help but speed up. They were simply too delicious, eating at a pace that created afterimages. If he didn't speed up, he would soon be faced with bare plates!
It was too delicious. Ye Ju couldn't help but inwardly praise. The food in the cultivation world all carried spiritual energy. The hot pot broth was made from spiritual spring water, combined with her hometown's soul-stirring method of hot pot, elevating the ingredients to a hundred percent of their flavor. She wished she had two mouths!
She called the waiter, A You, to bring more ingredients from the kitchen. She also took out some treasures from her spatial ring, as she hadn't had enough.
Chaoyang Zi also snapped his fingers and ordered them to find some top-tier ingredients, sea beasts of the Demon General level.
The two of them and the beast ate until past midnight, still unsatisfied. The spiritual wine was also finished. Finally, Ye Ju didn't forget the electric eel, Xiao Mo, placing it in the large bathtub, with Xiaobai responsible for feeding it.
Chaoyang Zi...
Daoist Friend Ye was indeed not as simple as she seemed. That sea beast resembled a flood dragon, a spiritual beast never seen on the Tianchen Continent.
The kitchen staff of Zhenxiu Zhai were all ecstatic, sighing in unison: Fairy Ye must be an immortal descending to the mortal realm. Such a delicious way of eating existed in this world. They could imagine that once the hot pot was introduced, Zhenxiu Zhai's branches would surely spread across the Tianchen Continent.
Night had fallen, and Ye Ju had drunk an unknown amount of spiritual wine, feeling dazed. The spiritual energy in her dantian was rapidly increasing. One of the pearls within her was particularly active. After putting Xiao Mo into her spiritual pet bag, she went into her room and fell into a deep sleep on the bed. Spiritual energy was furiously flooding in from all around. Xiaobai also reverted to its original form and lay beside Ye Ju, benefiting from the surrounding spiritual energy when her sister slept!
Yushou floated out of Ye Ju's sea of consciousness, a flash of spiritual light creating a barrier.
It was also the first time Chaoyang Zi had lost his composure like this, but he still retained a trace of clarity. He had drunk one hundred and eight pots of spiritual wine. This spiritual wine was brewed with mature Tufuling (a type of Chinese yam) and other heavenly treasures, and had been aged for five hundred years. Normally, Chaoyang Zi was reluctant to drink it, but upon hearing Ye Ju happily say it tasted good and ask if there was more, he inexplicably kept taking it out... The hidden guards were stunned. Had their young master been bewitched? He, who was usually so stingy with his treasured spiritual wine, rarely even gave them a generous portion.
However, the surging spiritual energy in his dantian had nothing to do with the spiritual wine. He had reached his absorption limit for this spiritual wine, and any treasure, when consumed in excess, would lead to fatigue. But when facing an enemy and being injured, this spiritual wine was a great tonic, helping to restore spiritual energy.
The hot pot broth was filled with rich spiritual energy, along with some ingredients he couldn't identify. These were unfamiliar yet gentle, carrying a sacred, healing spiritual energy. This spiritual energy coursed through his body, automatically repairing old internal injuries. He felt something seeping out of his skin. Chaoyang Zi's figure flickered as he returned to the bathhouse in his inner courtyard.
In the bathhouse, he used Chaotian Sect's basic cultivation technique: Marrow Cleansing. After fifteen minutes, thick, golden-grey impurities seeped from his body. All his previous internal injuries were healed, and he felt a hidden breakthrough approaching. Chaoyang Zi suppressed his cultivation, feeling that the time and place were not yet appropriate.
He instantly understood why his second brother had rushed to meditate immediately upon his return and was later covered in golden-grey grime before rushing into the bath. After that, he had slept soundly and had not yet woken up.
Opening his eyes the next morning, Chaoyang Zi received the results of the hidden guards' investigation into Ye Ju early.
Fairy Ye's origins were unknown. It was speculated that she might have traveled tens of thousands of miles from the deep sea region. All that was known was that when she entered the port of Pearl City, her sea vessel caused a stir. The reason was that although the sea vessel wasn't large, its design was peculiar, and it was entirely constructed from ten-thousand-year-old purple bamboo.
After they disembarked, they were targeted. Later, a male companion flew them into the city via a flying boat, avoiding some factions. That male companion was the second young master. They separated after entering the city. Fairy Ye bought clothes, sold her cooking recipes, and reportedly even sold top-tier pearls. She was invited by the proprietress of Yulinlang to attend the Pearl City Pearl Appreciation Event. The subsequent events were unnecessary to review! Chaoyang Zi had been present throughout!
It seemed that the only way to find out was to wait for his second brother to wake up.