Chapter 19: It Can't Be Hidden

At the foot of Divine Sword Peak at dusk, the first batch of disciples had already arrived at the kitchen.

Before they even entered the courtyard gate, they could smell the fragrance, and the gluttonous worms in their stomachs were instantly stirred, making their mouths water.

"So fragrant."

Rushing into the courtyard, the Mapo Tofu had already been stir-fried and taken out of the pot. Seeing a new dish, several disciples were incredibly excited.

"Holy crap, a new dish."

"Good, good, good, Junior Brother Ye Changqing is capable."

Although they hadn't eaten yet, the mere scent alone was enough to make their mouths water, and they were filled with anticipation.

Without needing Ye Changqing to say anything, several disciples immediately prepared to line up, but when they saw Bai Bai standing outside the kitchen early on, they were all stunned.

"A crane?"

How could there be a crane at the kitchen? And it looked like it was queuing up—are you kidding me? A crane knows how to queue?

"This is a beast pet I raised; you can just call it Bai Bai."

Ye Changqing poked his head out at this moment and said. Hearing this, the group was stunned—Junior Brother Ye Changqing actually had a beast pet? And it was a crane at that.

They were all miscellaneous disciples, so naturally, they didn't know the rarity of a Red-Crowned Crane, but even an ordinary crane was something out of reach for them.

For a moment, they were filled with envy, but with delicious food right in front of them, they quickly regained their senses and lined up behind Bai Bai one after another.

Although a crane was enviable, what could be more important than eating at a time like this?

As time passed, more and more disciples arrived at the kitchen. Upon seeing Bai Bai, they were all stunned, but they quickly and obediently went to line up.

Lu Youyou, Liu Shuang, and Hong Zun—the master and his two disciples—arrived almost one after another. When Hong Zun arrived, the line wasn't too long, but seeing that there were already more than a dozen disciples in front, the old man couldn't help but curse.

"Are you little brats guarding this place? Don't you have tasks to do? Coming so early."

"Peak Master, we finished our tasks long ago."

"Finished?"

Hearing that all the disciples had finished their tasks before coming, Hong Zun felt a bit depressed for a moment.

He looked at the sky; that shouldn't be right. Finishing so early—you guys must have taken some kind of drug.

Although the work of the miscellaneous disciples wasn't particularly heavy, it certainly wasn't easy either. According to past experience, they shouldn't have been able to finish by now, and there were so many of them, far more than just one or two.

But these guys had actually finished, which could only mean that their efficiency was ridiculously fast.

Having arrived just a little late, he had been beaten to the punch. Although Hong Zun was unhappy, he still obediently went to the end of the line.

After all, he was the one who had approved these rules, and he had even used them to make a point more than once before. Now, asking him to break the rules was something he really couldn't bring himself to do.

But when Hong Zun saw Bai Bai standing in the first position, he immediately refused to accept it.

"Hey, hey, hey, us queuing is one thing, but how did a spirit beast get mixed in here?"

Since when do spirit beasts come to the kitchen to queue? Regarding this, a disciple explained.

"Peak Master, this is allowed by Junior Brother Ye Changqing; he said Bai Bai is also a member of our Divine Sword Peak."

Hearing this, Hong Zun was speechless. Competing with people is one thing, but since when do we have to compete with a spirit beast for food?

But Bai Bai ignored everyone behind it, its eyes fixed only on the two large basins of stir-fried meat and Mapo Tofu.

Before long, Lu Youyou and Liu Shuang arrived, and following them was Xu Jie, who had been trailing Lu Youyou the whole way.

"Hmm? The kitchen?"

Looking at the small courtyard in front of him and the long line that had already formed, Xu Jie was a bit stunned.

All the way here, the Junior Sister had been rushing—was it just to come to the kitchen to eat? And what was going on with these disciples? Since when were there so many people at the kitchen?

Feeling that his brain couldn't quite keep up, Xu Jie stopped hiding his tracks and walked into the courtyard.

But just as he entered the courtyard, a disciple reminded him.

"Senior Brother, you have to queue to eat."

Reminded by someone, Xu Jie was stunned. Queue? Me?

A dignified personal disciple, having to queue to eat at the kitchen? Are you kidding me?

However, before Xu Jie could speak, a familiar voice instantly reached his ears.

"You ungrateful thing, if I hadn't raised you with such difficulty, would you be where you are today? You won't even switch spots with me?"

Looking toward the sound, he saw Hong Zun standing beside Bai Bai, cursing in anger.

It turned out that Hong Zun saw Bai Bai in the first position and wanted to go up and switch spots with it. This didn't violate the rules, as long as the other party agreed.

It was a pity that Hong Zun overestimated his own face, or rather, underestimated Bai Bai's determination to eat, so he was given the cold shoulder.

No matter how he tried to persuade it, or how he threatened or lured it, Bai Bai simply wouldn't agree.

This made him incredibly angry.

Seeing that his master was also here, Xu Jie called out in a daze.

"Master?"

Hearing this, Hong Zun turned his head to look. Seeing it was Xu Jie, a look of confusion appeared on his face, and he immediately turned to look at Lu Youyou and Liu Shuang, his eyes clearly carrying a hint of blame and inquiry.

It was as if he were saying, "Did you two tell him? Didn't we agree to keep it a secret?"

However, faced with Hong Zun's gaze, the two women were also confused, wondering why Xu Jie would appear here.

"Why are you here?"

Seeing that the two women seemed to be unaware, Hong Zun asked with a frown. At this, Xu Jie only felt a sense of grievance—did his master not want him to come here?

Having been master and disciple for so long, why did it feel like his master and junior sister were intentionally hiding things from him? A sense of grievance welled up in his heart.

"I saw that the Junior Sister had been absent-minded these past two days, so I was worried, and so..."

He explained in a grievance-filled tone. Hearing this, Hong Zun understood instantly.

He gave Lu Youyou a reproachful look: "You silly girl, you can't even act properly; how could you be seen through so easily?"

Regarding this, Lu Youyou felt equally aggrieved; she really hadn't done it on purpose.

However, since he was already here, Hong Zun couldn't say much more, only saying:

"If you want to eat, go to the back and queue."

Queuing again. But this time it was his master who said it, so Xu Jie didn't dare to refute and could only honestly go to the end of the line.

Meanwhile, outside the courtyard, many new faces arrived one after another. These people had sensed something was wrong and followed the others; almost all of them were miscellaneous disciples.

But seeing that their final destination was the kitchen, these miscellaneous disciples were also very strange.

They were so excited, they thought there was some urgent matter, and in the end, it was just to come to the kitchen to eat?

"These guys were so anxious, just for this?"

"I suppose so."

"Like hell it is. To come to the kitchen for a meal, they even burned their blood essence—do you believe that?"

"Although it is a bit exaggerated, it really is very fragrant."

Someone smelled the fragrance of the dishes in the courtyard and couldn't help but be intoxicated. The others, hearing this, also sniffed hard; it was indeed fragrant.

Without thinking too much, these people also joined the queuing army, and for a time, the entire line became even longer.