Chapter 3

Xiao Xihe realized that debating elegance with Xie Zhaixing was a waste of time when he had already put down his chopsticks and was about to leave. She quickly stopped him: “Would you like some fish soup?”

Xie Zhaixing seemed thoughtful.

“Stir-fried small fish with tomatoes and scallions, seasoned with vinegar, cilantro, and soy sauce—refreshing and delicious,” Xiao Xihe continued to tempt him.

Xie Zhaixing sat back down on the small stool.

Xiao Xihe smiled, carrying the remaining two or three small fish to the pot. Rolling up her sleeves, she began cooking the soup. Using the most homely method, she finished a bowl in just ten minutes and eagerly presented it to Xie Zhaixing.

Xie Zhaixing picked up a spoon and took a small sip.

“How is it?” Xiao Xihe’s eyes sparkled.

Xie Zhaixing glanced at her. “Passable.”

For him, this was already praise. Satisfied, Xiao Xihe seized the opportunity: “I can make many more dishes!”

“How many days do you have left to live?” Xie Zhaixing asked casually.

This was the first time he had brought up the subject voluntarily. Xiao Xihe instantly saw a glimmer of hope: “Less than twenty days!”

“Hmm, not bad,” Xie Zhaixing nodded.

…How was that “not bad”? Xiao Xihe’s lips twitched, but she pressed on undeterred: “Twenty days is barely enough to make a few dishes. If you’re willing to save me, I can stay in Shady Valley and cook for you for the rest of my life.”

“Really?” Xie Zhaixing smirked.

Xiao Xihe nodded immediately.

Of course, it was a lie. According to the plot, this demon would leave the valley in twenty years and continue wreaking havoc until the protagonist of the World of Cultivation finally killed him. There was no way she would ally herself with him.

Once the Yin-Yang Love Gu was cured, she would leave the valley immediately, change her identity, and start anew, cutting all ties with him.

“From delicacies to home-style stir-fries, cakes, desserts, and double-layer milk pudding—I can make anything you’ve seen or haven’t seen. I guarantee saving me will be worth it,” Xiao Xihe continued to sell herself. “And I’m very considerate. I’d never disturb you or entertain any inappropriate thoughts. I just want to live.”

Xie Zhaixing lazily glanced at her.

Xiao Xihe steeled herself, dropped to her knees, and clung to his leg, pleading desperately: “Demon Lord, I beg you!”

Xie Zhaixing raised an eyebrow. “If I were you, I’d leave Shady Valley immediately instead of lingering here.”

Xiao Xihe was puzzled.

“Not everyone in the Kunlun Sect is a fool. The three who left earlier have likely reported what happened. If I’m not mistaken, their elders already know of your existence. It won’t be long before high-level cultivators come to investigate,” Xie Zhaixing said with a smirk.

Xiao Xihe wasn’t worried. “It’s fine. You’re so powerful, yet even you’ve become an ordinary person here. The same goes for everyone else. As long as I wear my cloak, they won’t find me.”

“Three years ago, someone sneaked in wearing an Invisibility Cloak. Guess how they were discovered?” Xie Zhaixing looked at her with amusement, noting how her clear, bright eyes contrasted slightly with her striking appearance.

Xiao Xihe played along. “How?”

“The cloak hides the person, but not the scent. A hundred Kunlun disciples, each with a wolfhound, searched the mountain in the most primitive way,” Xie Zhaixing recalled, his lips curling into a strange smile. “When they found him, the hounds tore him apart and devoured him. In the end, only scattered bones remained.”

Xiao Xihe: “…”

“If you don’t run now, your frail body might not even leave a few scattered bones behind,” Xie Zhaixing kindly reminded.

Xiao Xihe’s lips twitched: “…Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“For the fish soup,” Xie Zhaixing answered frankly.

Xiao Xihe: “…” Damn bastard!

Before she could wallow in indignation, faint noises already reached her ears from the distance—soft human voices accompanied by intermittent dog barks. Xiao Xihe instantly realized Xie Zhaixing had been telling the truth, and her scalp prickled with terror. She hastily scrambled to put on the Invisibility Cloak.

“Don’t run too fast, or your scent will leak,” Xie Zhaixing ‘kindly’ reminded.

Xiao Xihe cursed eighteen generations of his ancestors under her breath as she wrapped herself in the cloak and bolted. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gone far before spotting figures approaching with dogs in tow. Her heart lurched, and she immediately changed direction.

While she was dodging and hiding, the Kunlun Sect elder had already appeared before Xie Zhaixing.

Taking in the unfolded table, chairs, and large pot that hadn’t been put away yet, the elder said meaningfully, “I never knew the Demon Lord possessed such… amenities.”

Xie Zhaixing lounged on a low stool, idly tapping the small table with his fingers, completely ignoring the elder’s words.

Being dismissed so blatantly, a flicker of humiliation and anger flashed in the elder’s eyes, but he dared not act as recklessly as those ignorant outer disciples. Suppressing his temper, he asked patiently, “Might I ask if the Demon Lord had guests today?”

Xie Zhaixing glanced up at him, saying nothing, yet conveying utter disdain with that single look.

The elder nearly spat blood in frustration. Taking a deep breath, he ground out, “Search the mountain. Ensure no filthy intruders disturb the Demon Lord’s peace.”

“Yes, sir!”

The disciples obeyed immediately, leading the dogs in a systematic search while the elder and a few burly disciples kept a close watch on Xie Zhaixing, wary of any sudden tricks. Over the thirty years of Xie Zhaixing’s imprisonment, they had conducted countless searches and were well-practiced in dividing the areas efficiently.

Xiao Xihe listened as the sounds drew nearer, the barking growing louder, her heart nearly stopping from fear. Clinging to a tree like a desperate fat silkworm, she barely dared to breathe.

Finally, two or three disciples reached her area. The trained hounds sniffed methodically, and when they neared her tree, they erupted into furious barking.

The dogs’ agitation quickly drew everyone nearby. Within moments, over twenty people and a dozen dogs had gathered beneath Xiao Xihe’s tree. She turned her head with difficulty, catching sight of the hounds’ bared teeth before her vision darkened.

This is it… I’m really going to die here…

As Xiao Xihe inwardly wailed, someone fetched the elder. The elder studied the tree intently, his narrowed eyes glinting dangerously. “Who’s there?”

No answer.

“Surrender now, and I’ll spare your life,” the elder added.

Xiao Xihe was tempted, but one look at the ravenous hounds below made her abandon the idea of surrender—

No way. Those dogs were clearly raised on raw meat. The moment she stepped down, she’d be torn to shreds.

The elder waited for a response in vain and sneered, raising his hand. Seeing this, the disciples immediately released the ropes in their hands, and the wolfhounds charged toward the tree, leaping and snapping at the empty air above.

Though to everyone else, the dogs seemed to be jumping and biting aimlessly, for Xiao Xihe, every bite was directed straight at her. Several times, the dogs’ noses even brushed against her clothes.

Xiao Xihe was terrified out of her wits. Her hands, tightly gripping the tree, began to lose strength again, and her body slid uncontrollably downward. The dogs, which had only been able to reach the hem of her clothes, were now close to her feet.

The wolfhounds seemed to sense her weakening state and began targeting her feet. More than once, Xiao Xihe could feel the hard, cold teeth through the soles of her shoes.

…After finally escaping a broken and painful life as a vegetative patient, was she really going to die under the jaws of dogs? She had thought transmigrating into this novel gave her a second chance at life, but it seemed it only wanted to give her a second way to die. Xiao Xihe’s hands trembled violently against the tree trunk, and she slid faster and faster.

Just as she was about to fall into the pack of dogs, a leisurely voice suddenly rang out: “Found it.”

Everyone who had been watching the dogs turned their heads simultaneously to see Xie Zhaixing emerge from the dense forest, walking unhurriedly toward the pack.

He seemed to carry an aura around him—wherever he went, people instinctively stepped aside. Even the frenzied dogs retreated on their own, clearing a path for him. One dog, still eager to lunge, whimpered and backed away with its head lowered after a single glance from him.

Xie Zhaixing looked up and, in front of everyone, plucked a rabbit from the tree branches.

When the rabbit was taken, Xiao Xihe could even feel his slender fingers graze the front of her robe. Her back stiffened, her heart pounding like a drum, terrified he might suddenly yank her down and give everyone a surprise.

“To think it hid here,” Xie Zhaixing said with a faint smirk. “A rabbit I recently took in. My apologies for the disturbance.”

“Were they chasing the rabbit just now?” someone muttered under their breath.

The elder sneered. “I wasn’t aware rabbits could climb trees.”

“Mine can,” Xie Zhaixing replied lightly, stroking the rabbit’s back, his long fingers half-hidden in its snow-white fur.

“You—”

“Goodbye. I won’t see you out.” Xie Zhaixing lifted the rabbit, stared at it for a moment, then tucked it back into his arms with satisfaction.

His repeated disrespect made the elder’s expression darken. Just as he was about to speak again, Xie Zhaixing glanced at him, his narrow eyes icy cold.

The elder shuddered, turned on his heel, and stormed off.

Seeing this, the disciples quickly followed, leading the dogs away. One who was relatively close to the elder whispered, “Are we really leaving like this?”

“We found nothing. What’s the point of staying?” the elder scoffed. “He’s a madman. Even imprisoned here with no cultivation left, he’s still a dangerous lunatic.”

“But we haven’t identified the anomaly yet…”

“Pass down my orders: starting today, three hundred new guards will be stationed outside the valley, rotating shifts around the clock. Reinforce the outer barrier with the Vajra Shield. If anyone has indeed infiltrated, let them be imprisoned here with Xie Zhaixing until the end of time.”

“Yes.”

“And no disciple is to set foot in the valley again. Violators will be expelled from the Immortal Sect!”

The disciple hastily agreed, not daring to say another word.

The group gradually moved away with the dogs, and Xiao Xihe finally couldn’t hold on any longer. With a loud thud, she fell straight from the tree, landing in a pile of soft, dry leaves.

Xie Zhaixing glanced at her: “Still alive?”

“Alive and kicking…” Xiao Xihe quickly scrambled up from the ground, taking off the Invisibility Cloak as she did.

Xie Zhaixing clicked his tongue and handed her the rabbit: “Hold it.”

Xiao Xihe fumbled to take the rabbit, barely steadying it before the man vanished again. She licked her dry lips, only then realizing how shaken she was as she slumped to the ground, unable to get up for quite some time.

Even so, she clung tightly to the rabbit.

Looking at the trembling creature, she sighed: “You and I are in the same boat, aren’t we?”

The rabbit continued to shiver, while Xiao Xihe gazed at it with tender pity.

An hour later, the spicy rabbit stew was ready.

Xie Zhaixing had assumed that after such an ordeal, she would surely give up. Instead of fleeing in panic, however, he was greeted by the rich aroma of food.

He had initially decided to ignore her, but the scent was too enticing. By dusk, he found himself appearing once more in the clearing by the stream.

“Come quick, Demon Lord, it’s just off the stove,” Xiao Xihe called out enthusiastically.

Xie Zhaixing studied her for a moment before chuckling: “You really don’t know when to quit.”

“Quitting means waiting to die. I have no choice,” Xiao Xihe sighed, then abruptly changed the subject. “I added extra chili—guaranteed to be spicy, fragrant, and delicious.”

Once was unfamiliar, twice was routine. Xie Zhaixing smoothly took his seat on the small stool, picked up his chopsticks, and helped himself to a piece of meat.

Tender yet springy, rich but not greasy. The red oil and seasonings were perfectly balanced, never overpowering. Though the texture was somewhat reminiscent of…

Xie Zhaixing paused, a sense of foreboding creeping in: “Where’s the rabbit?”

“Right here, isn’t it?” Xiao Xihe countered.

Xie Zhaixing: “…”

The air grew heavy with silence. Xiao Xihe blinked, faintly sensing something amiss: “The rabbit… wasn’t meant to be food?”

“Didn’t I say it was my pet for passing the time?” Xie Zhaixing murmured.

“…I thought you were just saying that to get rid of them,” Xiao Xihe forced a laugh, quietly serving him a rabbit leg.

Xie Zhaixing stared at the glistening leg for a long moment before silently picking it up.

“…Is it good?”

“…It is.”