Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"Silly girl, it's already a great achievement that society can be relatively fair and just. At least those who make mistakes will be punished by law, which is much better than having nowhere to seek justice!" Ling Chi comforted her.

Xiao Zhao is good in every way, except that she's been carefree since childhood and is too naive. A girl like her will definitely get hurt if she doesn't have enough self-protection skills.

Just like tonight, if Xiao Zhao hadn't been raised on a diet of food and drink and managed to reach the blue level, she might have been hurt by the village girl and had nowhere to turn for help.

Ling Chi began to consider whether to recruit Xiao Zhao ahead of schedule so that she could reunite with her parents.

"..."

I think I'll pass. I should at least be eighteen by then!

Ok.

……

Meanwhile, He Taichong and his wife, along with Ding Minjun, followed the village girl southwestward. On the way, they encountered three people who identified themselves as Wu Lie, Wu Qingying, and Wei Bi. They claimed to be from Zhu Wu Lianhuan Manor and said they had come to capture the village girl. They also said that the village girl had killed Zhu Jiuzhen under someone's orders.

Since both groups were eager to kill the village girl, they quickly reached an agreement and went with her to see the person she wanted to see before she died, and then...

The village girl saw an ugly young man lying on the ground, not speaking to her.

The village girl turned around and sighed.

Wei Bi brandished his long sword and sneered, "You said you wanted to meet someone before you died. I thought it would be a handsome young man as good-looking as Pan An, but it turns out to be such an ugly monster. Haha, how funny! This person and you are truly a match made in heaven."

……

A miraculous thing happened: after the young girl exchanged sweet words with the young man, she suddenly displayed great power and drove away He Taichong and his wife, as well as Wu Lie's gang.

Ding Minjun's attempt to steal a chicken backfired spectacularly; he tried to injure the village girl but ended up fracturing his own bones.

Just then, a clear, resonant whistle was heard from the northeast corner; it was a woman's voice. Ding Minjun responded with a whistle of her own.

The village girl had a bad feeling and whispered, "Someone from the Emei Sect is here again."

The ugly young man looked up and saw that it was already dawn. He saw a green figure walking lightly through the snow. When it got closer, he realized that it was a woman dressed in a light green dress.

Her clothes fluttered, her movements were light and graceful, and though her steps were small, she was already four or five zhang away from the two of them in an instant. She was beautiful and elegant, with an extremely lovely face, and appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

At that glance, the ugly young man's heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable feeling lingered in his heart.

Spring is here, everything is coming back to life, it's that time of year again...

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Everything's in Chaos

As noon approached, Zhou Zhiruo and Ding Minjun returned, bringing back not only the village girl but also a beggar man with a broken leg and wrist.

After He Taichong and Ban Shuxian left, to save face, they deliberately said that the village girl had a powerful figure helping her, and to avoid any complications, they had no choice but to leave. Unexpectedly, not long after, Zhou Zhiruo brought the village girl back.

The couple felt utterly humiliated. Ban Shuxian turned and left in anger, too ashamed to stay any longer. He Taichong, concerned for his reputation, quickly apologized and hurried after her.

Abbess Miejue also felt that the matter was quite awkward. She asked Zhou Zhiruo about the situation and then told her to go and rest.

After receiving the order, Zhou Zhiruo went to Ling Chi's side immediately.

Since no recipes were revealed for breakfast, Ling Chi had no plans to sell food for lunch. He and Xiao Zhao were eating a plate of chicken by the roadside and discussing their future plans.

There's no need to stay in these six major sects any longer. They've already provided all the recipes they could, and there's not much experience to be gained. They might as well go check out the Ming Cult.

Xiao Zhao nodded repeatedly, fully supporting the idea: "Father, let's go to Bright Peak after we finish eating! There are many people in the Ming Cult, we're sure to make a lot of money."

Although Ling Chi felt that Xiao Zhao was a bit anxious, he didn't think too much about it and nodded: "Alright, let's go after we finish eating!"

Xiao Zhao immediately beamed with joy: "Okay."

Hehe, great! I can finally get rid of that vixen Zhou Zhiruo.

"Brother Ling, are you leaving already?" Zhou Zhiruo's soft voice came from behind, startling Xiao Zhao.

Turning his head, he cursed inwardly: "Why did this vixen have to come back at this time of year? She must be deliberately trying to make things difficult for me!"

Ling Chi turned to look at Zhou Zhiruo, whose expression held a hint of resentment. He scratched his head and explained, "You can't keep picking at one sheep. The six major sects have made enough money. It's time for me to go and pick some more sheep from the Ming Cult."

"..."

Zhou Zhiruo was both amused and exasperated, rolling her eyes slightly: "Brother Ling~~~~"

That "Brother Ling" was so sweet and charming that Ling Chi felt his bones lighten.

"Hmph!" Xiao Zhao clung tightly to Ling Chi's arm, glaring fiercely at her.

"..."

Zhou Zhiruo walked over and sat down. Looking at the white rice and the big plate of chicken, she smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I've had big plate chicken."

"Let's eat together!" Ling Chi patted Xiao Zhao's head, served Zhou Zhiruo a bowl of rice, and asked, "How was last night?"

"Thank you, Brother Ling." Zhou Zhiruo said, "The road is difficult to travel at night, and we didn't arrive at our destination until dawn..."

Zhou Zhiruo briefly recounted what had happened last night and this morning.

Upon hearing this, Ling Chi was taken aback: "You encountered a highly skilled young man with a broken leg, and you even broke both of his wrists?"

Zhou Zhiruo nodded: "Although that young man's legs were broken and his martial arts skills were rudimentary, his internal strength was extremely profound and not weaker than mine. Just then, my senior sister asked me to break his and that woman's wrists, so I did as she asked."

"..."

Ling Chi emptied her mind.

Was that the young man with the broken leg Zhang Wuji? It was him, wasn't it? It should be him, right?

But what did Zhou Zhiruo do? She broke his wrist?

It's all in chaos, complete chaos.

Zhang Wuji had essentially repaid her for the kindness of feeding him on the Han River back then.

Oh right, and that little village girl, could she be Yin Li?

Ling Chi remembered that six months before Han Qianye passed away, he brought back a little girl who was four or five years old, named Yin Li, nicknamed Zhu'er. However, Han Qianye and Dai Qisi did not raise her on Peach Blossom Island with Xiao Zhao, but instead brought her back to Spirit Snake Island.

After Han Qianye and Dai Qisi were recruited, Ling Chi had no idea how Yin Li was doing.

Unexpectedly, after many years, by a twist of fate, Yin Li still ended up with Zhang Wuji.

Looking at Zhou Zhiruo eating big plate chicken, Ling Chi touched his chin: With her hand broken, Zhang Wuji should have no more thoughts, right?

But now that Zhang Wuji has mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill, shouldn't we feed him something?

"..." He thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Not yet. Although Zhang Wuji has mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill, his hand skills are too poor, and he has not mastered the Great Shift of the Universe. He cannot unleash the combat power in the original work. The current Zhang Wuji may just be a diner who has just entered the blue realm, or even less than the blue realm.

Let's talk about it after he masters the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth!

But then again, without Xiao Zhao's help, where would Zhang Wuji have learned the Qiankun Great Shift?

Furthermore, Xiao Zhao has never been to Bright Peak since she was a child, so she has no idea where the Ming Cult's forbidden area is.

"..." That's interesting.

If Zhang Wuji hadn't mastered the Qiankun Great Shift, even if he helped the Ming Cult take hits, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand many. Zhou Zhiruo alone could easily break his wrist.

After considering many possibilities, I finally shook my head: What does it matter to me whether the Ming Cult lives or dies? I'll just focus on revealing the recipes.

But Yin Li...

"You guys eat first, I'll go check on those two prisoners," Ling Chi said, getting up.

Neither Zhou Zhiruo nor Xiao Zhao said anything. After he left, the two looked at each other.

Xiao Zhao said fiercely, "I'm warning you, don't even think about making a move on my father, I'd rather die than let you be my mother!"

Zhou Zhiruo smiled faintly: "You're overthinking it. I only admire Brother Ling and have no improper thoughts."

"You can fool others, but you can't fool me." Xiao Zhao sneered, "I know exactly what you're thinking."

"That's strange," Zhou Zhiruo chuckled. "You're not a mind reader, how would you know what I'm thinking?"

"You're the one who can read minds!" Xiao Zhao's face turned red with anger. "Anyway, I'm warning you, don't you dare try anything with Daddy, or I won't be polite!"

Zhou Zhiruo looked at her with a smile in her eyes, but said nothing.

Xiao Zhao felt her scalp tingle under his gaze: "Why...why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhou Zhiruo smiled and said, "Brother Ling isn't your biological father, is he?"

"You...how did you know?!" Xiao Zhao's eyes widened, and her face turned pale.

“As expected.” Zhou Zhiruo nodded: “You don’t look like Brother Ling at all, and your eyes are blue, so you look a bit like someone from the Western Regions.”

“I… my mother is from the Western Regions, is that not allowed?” Xiao Zhao retorted stubbornly.

“Of course you can,” Zhou Zhiruo said calmly, “but your surname is Han, not Ling.”

"You...how did you know?!" Xiao Zhao was shocked. She had never told Zhou Zhiruo this secret. How did she find out?

"I knew it all along." Zhou Zhiruo smiled slightly, her eyes fixed intently on her, and said, "Han Zhao, you're the one who's really after Brother Ling, aren't you!"

A few days ago, Zhou Zhiruo went to Peach Blossom Island. A year prior, in her spare time, she had personally carved two exquisite palace sashes. One bore her own name, which she wore herself, while the other was engraved with the name Ling Zhao.

It was originally intended as a gift for Xiao Zhao, as a memento of their reunion after many years.

But as soon as she arrived on the island, Xiao Zhao drove her away, which made her lose the desire to give gifts.

Afterwards, she stayed on Peach Blossom Island for a few days, and finally couldn't help but hand the palace sash to Ling Chi, hoping that he could pass it on to Xiao Zhao.

But when Ling Chi looked at the name on the palace sash, he said something that shocked her: "Xiao Zhao's surname is not Ling, but Han."

Later, she learned about Xiao Zhao's background from Ling Chi.

While feeling sympathy, I also came to understand many things.

Is Xiao Zhao always wary of her because she really doesn't want her to be her mother?

These questions had been lingering in her mind, but she had nowhere to express them. Today, however, she took the opportunity to speak them out.

And Xiao Zhao's reaction...

"I...I...You're lying! I didn't." Although she said this, she looked very flustered.

"..."

Zhou Zhiruo didn't say anything more and lowered her head to eat her meal.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhao's emotions gradually calmed down, but looking at Zhou Zhiruo's elegant eating manners, her mind was in turmoil, and she lost her appetite.