Chapter 2

After asking “What did you say?” twice in a row, Xie Zhaixing disappeared directly.  

Xiao Xihe had already anticipated that things wouldn’t go too smoothly, so she wasn’t particularly disappointed. After getting up from the ground, she dusted herself off and began wandering around, intending to familiarize herself with the terrain first.  

Shady Valley was filled with towering trees, each reaching high into the clouds. Thanks to these trees, the entire valley was shaded by the dense canopy, with very little sunlight filtering through. As a result, the valley was perpetually damp and stifling, with a thick layer of fallen leaves—about ten inches deep—covering the ground. Stepping on them felt soft and spongy, accompanied by a squelching sound.  

Xiao Xihe walked while observing her surroundings, eventually arriving at a small stream.  

Though the stream was also covered by the canopy above, there were no trees growing along its banks, leaving a clear, open space. The water was crystal clear, flowing gently, with fish leisurely swimming about, their patterned scales clearly visible.  

Xiao Xihe recognized them at a glance—these were stream dace, small fish with tender and delicious meat, perfect whether fried or stewed.  

Rubbing her hands in anticipation, she tiptoed closer, ready to scoop up some fish when—unexpectedly—she caught sight of a face reflected in the mirror-like water. Startled, she let out a yelp and fell back onto the bank in horror.  

…What the hell was that?! She swallowed hard and stared intently at the water again, but this time, there was nothing there.  

Yet she was certain she hadn’t imagined it. Though it had only been a fleeting glimpse, the face was already etched in her mind—an oval face, willow-leaf brows, a straight nose, and rosy lips—a rather striking appearance. Except… those eyes looked familiar, almost like… her own?  

Xiao Xihe paused, then for the first time, looked down at her own body—only to see her gaze pass straight through empty air, landing on the pile of leaves beneath her.  

She seemed to realize something and looked back at the water. Sure enough, the same face reappeared, but this time, there was nothing below the neck.  

She twitched her lips, and the reflection did the same. Xiao Xihe let out an exasperated laugh—she had forgotten she was still wearing the cloak, but the hood had fallen off.  

So, in Xie Zhaixing’s eyes, she had just been… a floating head?!  

Taking a deep breath, she didn’t dare imagine how bizarre that scene must have looked. She quickly removed the Invisibility Cloak, rolled up her pants and sleeves, and stepped into the water.  

Xie Zhaixing, who had never actually left and had been watching her from the shadows, raised an eyebrow. Just as he was wondering what she was up to, he saw her deftly snatch up a small fish, then pull out a bamboo basket from her Cosmos Sack and toss the fish inside.  

Perhaps because Shady Valley was rarely visited, and Xie Zhaixing certainly wouldn’t bother catching fish for fun, these normally skittish creatures had grown completely unguarded. In less than half an hour, she had already caught over twenty.  

Xiao Xihe estimated that was enough and straightened up, stretching her back. Just as she was about to step out of the water, she suddenly heard voices approaching.  

“Senior Sister, there’s definitely something off about that Xie Zhaixing. I was standing right in front of him earlier when suddenly, out of nowhere, I got hit by a rock—twice!”  

“He’s confined here, practically no different from an ordinary person. How could he possibly ambush you? Are you sure it wasn’t just your imagination?”  

“Absolutely sure! Junior Brother can vouch for me too,” the senior disciple who had left earlier chimed in urgently.

The junior brother beside him nodded repeatedly, “I can testify. Although I didn’t see the stone, when the senior brother was hit, I definitely felt a whooshing sound behind me.”

“Then let’s go and confront him. If there’s really something fishy, we’ll report it to the inner sect immediately. It might even count as a great merit.”

As the woman’s voice fell, the three of them appeared in the clearing.

The senior brother was quick-eyed and swift-footed, rushing to the stream in a few strides and directly picking up the bamboo basket. “Senior sister, look! Xie Zhaixing actually has the leisure to catch fish.”

The woman he called senior sister stepped forward and glanced at the fish in the basket. “The basket is still here, so Xie Zhaixing must be nearby.”

After saying this, she scanned the surroundings but only saw the dark forest and damp ground.

“Could he have hidden after hearing the noise?” the junior brother wondered.

The senior brother sneered, “He must have been too scared to hide after knowing senior sister is here.”

“Senior sister is mighty,” the junior brother immediately flattered.

Hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, Xiao Xihe curled her lips, thinking these two were wasting their talents by cultivating—they should have gone to the mortal world to be lackeys for some noble family instead.

“Shady Valley isn’t exactly small. If he’s determined to hide, we might not find him anytime soon,” the senior sister frowned.

“No problem, we’ll just wait here. I don’t believe he won’t come out!” the senior brother said, kicking the bamboo basket away.

Thanks to Xie Zhaixing never retaliating, the outer sect disciples of the Kunlun Sect weren’t particularly afraid of him. Apart from not daring to directly provoke him, they were fearless when it came to such provocations.

The basket flew two meters away, and all the fish inside tumbled out, flopping like springs on the ground. Xiao Xihe watched her hard work being so carelessly ruined and silently cursed all eight generations of their ancestors in her heart.

The three being cursed remained oblivious, still pacing by the river with no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Xiao Xihe saw the fish’s movements growing weaker, some even stopping entirely, and her heart ached as if bleeding. The freshness of the fish was crucial—they had to be killed and cooked immediately to preserve their taste. If they were cooked after dying completely, the flavor would be compromised. Moreover, these were all carefully selected; the remaining fish in the stream were either too small or too thin.

Not wanting her efforts to go to waste, Xiao Xihe took a silent deep breath, quietly picked up another stone, and repeated her trick while the three were off guard, hurling it at them.

“Ouch!” the senior brother yelped, clutching his head and immediately tattling, “Senior sister! He really is nearby!”

“I saw it—the stone came from over there,” the junior brother quickly pointed in Xiao Xihe’s direction.

Their senior sister scowled and followed his finger. “Xie Zhaixing, I advise you to come out now. If you keep playing tricks, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

The mountain forest was empty, not even an echo in response.

After a moment of silence, the senior brother tentatively said, “Earlier, I was hit on the back of my head, but Xie Zhaixing was in front of me.”

The senior sister suddenly realized and turned to the opposite direction. “Xie Zhaixing, come out now!”

“Pfft—” Xiao Xihe couldn’t help but laugh.

“Who? Who’s laughing?” the senior sister sharply turned around.

Or rather, pretended to be sharp.

Xiao Xihe had already figured out that these three were each more clueless than the last. Feeling less restrained now, she tiptoed to stand right among them, then—while they were all highly focused—suddenly kicked the youngest brother.

The junior brother screamed, and the senior sister immediately turned her head, “What’s wrong?!”

“Someone hit me!” the junior brother exclaimed.

Just as the senior sister was about to ask for details, a stone hit her foot. The pain twisted her face, and the other two grew even more nervous. Xiao Xihe was having too much fun, pulling at one and tugging at another, driving the three of them to the brink of panic and despair.

Suddenly, the desperate senior sister drew her longsword and began slashing wildly.

Xiao Xihe hadn’t expected her to strike so suddenly and didn’t have time to dodge. She could only watch helplessly as the cold, gleaming blade swung toward her face.

Xiao Xihe paled in fright, certain she was doomed. But then, the senior sister’s wrist suddenly trembled, and the sword fell to the ground with a clatter.

“Ugh…” The senior sister clutched her wrist in pain, as if injured.

The two junior brothers were startled and rushed to support her. The trio, now terrified and disoriented, stumbled away behind the trees, no longer as bold as before.

Xiao Xihe was baffled. Recalling the senior sister’s reaction, it seemed as if something had struck her hand—or maybe it was just a cramp. It must have been a cramp; she had seen clearly that no one had touched her.

Xiao Xihe let out a relieved sigh and waited patiently for a while. Once she was sure no one was coming back, she took off her cloak and quickly gathered the fish from the ground.

Luckily, she had acted fast—most of them were still alive, though not as lively as before. Not daring to delay, she crouched by the stream and began cleaning them.

The scales of these small fish weren’t hard. A simple scrape against the grain with her fingers removed large patches of scales. Then, with a small knife, she slit the belly, squeezed out the innards, and rinsed them—completing the process in no time.

In less than half an hour, all twenty or so fish were cleaned. Xiao Xihe pulled out the earthen pot she had bought at the market from her Cosmos Sack, along with flour, rapeseed oil, and various seasonings. She first marinated the fish with salt and wine, then heated the oil in the pot.

Xie Zhaixing leaned against a tree in the shadows, lazily watching her busy herself. He probably already knew what she was up to.

After a brief marination, Xiao Xihe rinsed the fish in the stream, added seasonings, salt, and flour, mixed them well, and began frying them in batches.

Just as the first batch of fish started sizzling in the oil, the Demon Lord she had been longing to see suddenly appeared.

“These little trash fish barely have two ounces of meat—what’s there to eat?” he asked unhurriedly.

“Demon Lord?!” Xiao Xihe’s face lit up with surprise.

Xie Zhaixing glanced at her, smirking. “Why pretend to be shocked? You went through all this trouble just to lure me out, didn’t you?”

One of the few things widely known about him was his love for good food.

Xiao Xihe chuckled awkwardly. “It’s true I wanted to draw you out, but I’m still genuinely thrilled you actually came.”

As they spoke, the fish in the pot reached about seventy percent doneness, releasing a tantalizing aroma. Xie Zhaixing reluctantly spared it another glance.

Xiao Xihe scooped out the fish, added more firewood for a second fry, then served them to Xie Zhaixing. “Would you like to try?”

“No,” he refused bluntly.

The Demon Lord had two great passions: cultivation and food. As long as the taste was good, he would eat anything—even leftover chestnuts or sweet potatoes. Xiao Xihe hadn’t expected him to refuse. Stunned for a moment, she quickly explained, “These fish are called stream stone dace. Don’t let their size fool you—their flesh is incredibly tender…”

“Do you think I don’t know what stream stonefish is?” Xie Zhaixing interrupted with an ambiguous tone.  

Xiao Xihe paused. Right, the Demon Lord had tasted delicacies from all over the world—how could he not know stream stonefish? Though whether those bizarre things counted as delicacies was another matter.  

“Why don’t you like it?” Xiao Xihe asked curiously. She had full confidence in the taste of stream stonefish. If he refused to eat it, there must be a reason.  

Xie Zhaixing swept a glance at her and turned to leave.  

Seeing him about to go, Xiao Xihe panicked. In a flash of inspiration, she remembered: the Demon Lord loved cultivation and food above all else, and hated nothing more than inconvenience.  

Suddenly enlightened, she blurted, “I can pick out the bones for you.”  

Xie Zhaixing halted and looked at her properly for the first time.  

“I’m very skilled at deboning,” Xiao Xihe boasted modestly.  

Xie Zhaixing studied her for a moment, as if weighing something, then returned to the pot.  

Xiao Xihe tactfully pulled out a small table and stools from her Cosmos Sack, along with two sets of bowls and chopsticks.  

“You’re quite prepared,” Xie Zhaixing remarked, amused.  

Xiao Xihe gave an awkward laugh. “Well, I’m counting on you to save my life. Naturally, I had to be thorough.”  

At her words, Xie Zhaixing recalled her earlier plea, and his gaze deepened slightly.  

Xiao Xihe didn’t press further, lowering her head to diligently pick out the bones with her chopsticks. Stream stonefish didn’t have too many bones, but they were fine and tricky to remove. Fortunately, she was skilled enough to finish one quickly, leaving the fish intact without shredding it.  

“Demon Lord, please,” she offered eagerly.  

Xie Zhaixing picked up his chopsticks. “Are you sure you got them all?”  

“Absolutely,” Xiao Xihe assured.  

“You’d better be. Otherwise…” He left the threat hanging, glancing at the nearby pot of boiling oil.  

Xiao Xihe broke out in a cold sweat.  

Unconcerned about the indelible trauma his unfinished words might inflict on her fragile psyche, Xie Zhaixing elegantly picked up a piece of fried fish and took a bite. His long, beautiful eyes flickered with subtle appreciation.  

“Do you like it?” Xiao Xihe asked hopefully.  

Xie Zhaixing glanced at her and continued eating.  

Delighted, Xiao Xihe resumed deboning. One picked, the other ate, and soon only a third of the ten small fish remained on the plate.  

Feeling the mood was right, Xiao Xihe broached the subject again. “Demon Lord, I’m actually quite skilled in the kitchen. I can make more than just this. If you’re willing, I could prepare three meals a day for you.”  

“Three meals a day, and I’d bed you once a day?” Xie Zhaixing arched a brow.  

Xiao Xihe nearly choked on her own saliva. “You don’t have to put it so… crudely.”  

“Then more elegantly,” Xie Zhaixing, now well-fed, was in a good mood. “Sleep with you.”  

Xiao Xihe: “…” That wasn’t much more elegant.