Chapter 19: Can't Hide It Anymore

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

Before even entering the courtyard gate, they already smelled the fragrance; the craving worms in their bellies were instantly triggered, and saliva flowed freely.

"Smells great."

Charging into the courtyard, the mapo tofu had already been cooked and taken out of the pot; seeing there was a new dish, several disciples were extremely excited.

"Holy shit, a new dish."

"Good, good, good, Junior Brother Ye Zhangqing can do it."

Although they hadn't eaten yet, just this aroma alone already made several people's index fingers twitch, their hearts full of anticipation.

Without Ye Zhangqing needing to say more, several disciples immediately prepared to line up, but upon seeing Xiao Bai already standing outside the kitchen, several were stunned.

"A crane?"

How could there be a crane in the kitchen? And it looks like it's lining up—joking, would a crane even line up?

"This is my Shòuchǒng; just call it Xiao Bai."

Ye Zhangqing also poked his head out and said; hearing this, several people were stunned—Junior Brother Ye Zhangqing actually had a Shòuchǒng? And it was a crane.

Several of them were Menial Disciples, naturally unaware of the preciousness of a red-crowned crane; even an ordinary crane was something they could only hope for but never attain.

For a moment they were filled with envy, but with the food before them, several quickly came to their senses and lined up behind Xiao Bai.

Although the crane was enviable, at this moment nothing was more important than a dry meal.

As time passed, more and more disciples arrived at the kitchen; upon seeing Xiao Bai, they were momentarily stunned, but soon they all 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 long yet, but seeing that there were already over ten disciples ahead, the old man couldn't help but curse.

"You little brats, are you just guarding this place? Don't you have tasks to do? Coming this early."

"Peak Master, we've already finished our tasks."

"Finished?"

Hearing that the disciples had only come after finishing their tasks, Hong Zun felt a bit gloomy for a moment.

Looking at the sky, he said, "No way, you finished this early—did you all take pills?"

Although the work of Menial Disciples isn't especially heavy, it's certainly not easy; according to past experience, they shouldn't be able to finish now, especially with so many people—far more than just one or two.

But these guys actually finished it all; the only explanation is that their efficiency is simply outrageous.

Just arriving a little later, he got cut in line; although Hong Zun was unhappy, he still obediently went to the end of the queue.

After all, this rule was something he approved of; he had even cited it more than once before, and now asking him to break the rule really made him unable to do so.

But when Hong Zun saw Xiao Bai at the front of the line, he instantly refused.

"Hey hey hey, lining up is fine, but how did a monster beast get mixed in?"

When did monster beasts start lining up for the kitchen? In response, a disciple explained.

"Peak Master, this is permitted by Junior Brother Ye Zhangqing, who said Xiao Bai is also a member of our Divine Sword Peak."

Hearing this, Hong Zun was speechless; competing with people was bad enough, but now he had to compete with a monster beast for food?

Xiao Bai simply ignored the people behind him; his eyes were fixed only on the two large bowls of stir-fried meat and mapo tofu.

Not long after, Lu Youyou and Liu Shuang also arrived, accompanied by Xu Jie, who had been following Lu Youyou all along.

"Huh? The kitchen?"

Looking at the small courtyard before him and the already long queue, Xu Jie was somewhat stunned.

All along the way, the little junior sister rushed over anxiously—could it be just to come eat at the kitchen? Also, what's the situation with these disciples? When did the kitchen have so many people?

Feeling his mind a bit unable to keep up, Xu Jie no longer concealed his presence and strode straight toward the courtyard.

However, just as he entered the courtyard, a disciple spoke up to remind him.

"Senior Brother, you have to line up to eat."

Being reminded, Xu Jie blinked—line up? Me?

As an Inner Disciple, to eat at the kitchen he has to line up? What a joke.

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

"You ungrateful wretch—if it weren't for me raising you from shit and piss, you wouldn't be where you are today? You won't even change your position?"

Following the voice, he saw Hong Zun standing beside Xiao Bai, angrily shouting.

It turned out Hong Zun saw Xiao Bai in first place and wanted to go up and swap positions with him; this didn't violate the rules, as long as the other party agreed.

Unfortunately, Hong Zun overestimated his own face, or underestimated Xiao Bai's determination to eat, so he was turned away at the door.

No matter how he tried to coax or threaten, Xiao Bai simply refused to agree.

This made him furious.

Seeing his master also there, Xu Jie called out in a daze.

"Master?"

Hearing this, Hong Zun turned his head, saw it was Xu Jie, his face instantly showing a hint of doubt, then he turned his gaze to Lu Youyou and Liu Shuang, his eyes clearly carrying a touch of blame and inquiry.

It seemed as if he were saying, "You two told him? Weren't we supposed to keep this secret?"

However, facing Hong Zun's gaze, the two women were also at a loss, wondering why Xu Jie had appeared here.

"How did you come here?"

Seeing the two women seemed unaware, Hong Zun frowned and asked; Xu Jie only felt a sense of grievance—was his master not wanting him to come here?

As master and disciple, he felt that his master and junior sister were intentionally keeping things from him, and a sense of grievance welled up in his heart.

"I've noticed the little junior sister has been absent-minded these past couple of days, I was worried, so............"

He spoke up, voice full of grievance; hearing this, Hong Zun instantly understood.

He gave Lu Youyou a blameful look: "You silly thing, you can't even act properly—this was so easy for others to see through?"

In response, Lu Youyou also felt wronged; she truly hadn't done it on purpose.

But now that everyone had arrived, Hong Zun couldn't say anything more; he just uttered a sentence.

"If you want to eat, go line up at the back."

Again it was lining up, but this time it was the master's order; Xu Jie didn't dare to refute, so he could only honestly go to the end of the line and stand.

At the same time, outside the courtyard, many new faces kept arriving one after another; these people had sensed something was off and followed the others, almost all of them being menial disciples.

But seeing that their destination was the canteen, these menial disciples were also puzzled.

They were so worked up, I originally thought there was some urgent matter, but in the end they just came to the canteen to eat?

"These guys are in such a hurry just for this?"

"Probably."

"It's nothing, just to come to the canteen for a bite of rice, they've gotten all worked up—do you believe it?"

"Although it's a bit exaggerated, it really smells wonderful."

Someone smelled the aroma of the dishes in Yuàn zhōng and couldn't help but exclaim in delight; hearing this, the others also took a deep sniff, and indeed it was fragrant.

Without thinking much, these people likewise joined the queue, and for a moment the line grew even longer.