Chapter 428: If I Want to Flirt with Her, I Would Never Do It Behind Your Back

"Yu Yao, A Chou, what are you two talking about? You sound so happy."

Gu Yu Yao turned her head and looked at Zhang Xingyu: "Why aren't you staying with Sister Tang?"

Zhang Xingyu pointed ahead: "Ha, your Sister Tang is busy with her aunt's family matters, how could she look after me, her junior disciple?"

Gu Yu Yao covered her mouth and giggled.

Zhang Xingyu turned his head toward A Chou: "A Chou, why did you also come here?"

A Chou blinked her big eyes: "The palace master is coming here and needs someone to stay behind. I begged Sister A Rou to plead with the palace master, and he finally agreed to let me come along."

Zhang Xingyu nodded: "Alright. That means you finally set foot off Hundred Flowers Immortal Island. However, with so many water bags tied to your waist, you must have endured a lot of hardship along the way."

A Chou shook her head like a rattle: "Not hard at all, not hard at all, not a bit. Along the way I saw many things you can't see on Hundred Flowers Island, and I'm so happy."

Poor girl, her happiness is ridiculously low.

But that's fine too. Whether it's hardship or joy, it's all her own feeling. As long as she's happy, why should others bother themselves?

When A Chou started talking about the journey, Zhang Xingyu was speechless. A Chou's party had been teleported directly from outside into this desert, then walked twenty‑something days inside the desert to reach here. They were fully prepared, with air, water, and food all taken care of; apart from a blood blister on a foot, the path was smooth. Compared with the arduous trek of himself, Tang Yunxi, and Gu Yu Yao, the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace party's trip was practically a decadent travel.

Zhang Xingyu sighed: "People have different fates. The fate of those Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace maidens is truly good."

The afterglow of the setting sun faded, and a crescent moon rose into the sky.

At the foot of the mountain, the puppet strongmen who had been busy all day were still working overtime. A roaring bonfire was lit on the sandy ground a few hundred meters from the mountain ridge, and several Hundred Flowers palace maidens were gathered around it, turning food on the fire. About ten meters away, a snow‑white tent was pitched, and around the tent a few sword‑wielding palace maidens stood like straight spears.

Zhang Xingyu sat beside the bonfire, carefully turning the meat skewers in his hand. When the skewers on the iron spit turned golden, he took a pinch of seasoning from the nearby box and sprinkled it evenly over the meat. Over low heat for another two or three minutes, the fat sizzled, and a rich aroma spread everywhere.

The few Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace members who were grilling nearby suddenly froze. Their delicate noses twitched, and all eyes fixed on Zhang Xingyu's skewers.

At that moment, a lazy voice came from the tent: "A Rou, I'm hungry, go fetch the skewer in Young Master Zhang's hand for me."

The tent flap opened, and a graceful figure floated toward the fire. As A Rou approached, Zhang Xingyu slipped the skewer into her hand, then picked up another skewer to continue grilling.

Sister Yunxi hasn't eaten, little sister Yu Yao hasn't eaten, and even that starving girl A Chou hasn't eaten, so I have to grill a few more skewers.

Thinking that, he kept turning the skewers in his hand. When they turned golden, a voice from the tent, again the Hundred Flowers Palace Master, said: "A Rou, go bring all the skewers in Young Master Zhang's hand."

"Aunt, I'd rather not. Eating meat at night is hard to digest, and eating too much makes you gain flesh." That was Tang Yunxi's voice.

"You little girl, you don't know how blessed you are. Such delicious roasted meat, how can you not eat your fill? At worst you eat today and lose it tomorrow."

"Alright then......"

Immediately, a series of crack‑crack sounds came from the tent, like a swarm of mice gnawing corn.

Zhang Xingyu was speechless. The Hundred Flowers Palace Master, a several‑ten‑thousand‑year‑old old witch, still gorges on roasted meat. My god, women really are foodies.

He thought about it, then picked up another skewer. Beside him, A Chou stared blankly at the skewer, drool hanging from the corner of her mouth like a string. Gu Yu Yao sat beside him as well. Gu Yu Yao stared at Zhang Xingyu, bewildered: "I never expected your grilled meat to be this fragrant. Should I eat it or not? Eating makes me gain flesh, not eating feels wasteful. Eat, or not!"

Zhang Xingyu focused on grilling. A fragrant breeze wafted around him. Before he knew it, several Hundred Flowers Immortals had gathered beside the bonfire, each holding a skewer and mimicking Zhang Xingyu's constant turning.

After finishing his skewers, Zhang Xingyu casually handed two to the already impatient A Chou, then gave the remaining two to the still‑hesitant Gu Yu Yao: "Don't worry. A skewer or two now and then won't make you gain flesh."

Moonlight was cool, the bonfire warm; the satiated little girl A Chou was curled on Zhang Xingyu's thigh, snoring. Zhang Xingyu smoothed her tangled hair, gently wiped away the happy tears at her eyes, then fetched a piece of clothing to cover her. Somehow, he felt a natural closeness with this ugly girl.

Beside him, Gu Yu Yao sat cross‑legged, meditating. This little girl never forgets cultivation even while sleeping; truly a rare cultivation prodigy of the Ten Thousand Sea Pavilion, with good talent, good habits, and diligence. She remembered that before she transmigrated, her middle‑school homeroom teacher once said: "If a person studies diligently, they will never become a failure; if a person is smart and works hard, they will likely become a top student; if a person has high IQ, good habits, and diligence, they will certainly be a learning god." In just a few years, Gu Yu Yao went from a mortal to a Golden Core master, a bona fide learning god of the Cultivation Realm.

Thinking of Gu Yu Yao, he naturally thought of himself: at my cultivation speed, I'm also a learning god. It's just that I'm a bit odd; I rely on astonishingly extraordinary luck, on one chance after another. In a game world, I'd call that a built‑in protagonist aura.

A sip of clear water, a bite of roasted meat. Sated with water and meat, Zhang Xingyu fell into a deep sleep. In his dream, a noble goddess placed a crown woven with sweetgrass and fresh flowers upon his head: "My child, from now on you shall be the Lucky King of the new realm."

The next day, when warm sunlight bathed the desert, Zhang Xingyu awoke from his pleasant dream. He rose, stretched lazily, splashed water on his face, then, feeling refreshed, walked toward the tent to greet Sister Yunxi.

Last night, although Sister Yunxi wasn't beside him, he knew her gaze had never left him, not even for a moment.

Therefore, he prepared to tell Tang Yunxi: "Sister, last night I certainly wasn't scheming behind your back. That ugly girl A Chou is so unattractive that even if she tried to flirt with me I wouldn't. I didn't say a word to any of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace maidens. As for junior sister Yu Yao, you know our relationship is purely platonic. If I ever wanted to flirt with her, I would never do it behind your back."