Chapter 3006

The group of people riding the immortal boat had just landed when a group of people walked toward them; the one leading was Ye Zhangqing, whom he knew well—who else could it be but Qing Shi? Beside him followed his disciple Wang Yao.

It had been many years since these master and disciple last saw each other; thinking back to when they first arrived in the Immortal Realm, Qi Xiong and the others had pursued them, while Xia Jie was guarded by Qing Shi and his companions.

I never expected to see him here.

Seeing an old friend, Ye Zhangqing naturally felt happy and quickly stepped forward, smiling.

"Elder Qing Shi, when did you come to the Immortal Realm?"

"It's been a while; I couldn't stay in Xia Jie any longer, so here I am."

"No way, Ye Zhangqing Shī xiōng, my master is just craving something good; he doesn't want to eat dry rations."

"You……………………"

As soon as the words fell, Wang Yao beside him spoke without mercy, directly exposing the old background.

Although Xia Jie's Dao Yi Shengdi receives a fixed shipment of dry rations every year, nothing compares to the meal Ye Zhangqing prepares fresh.

If it were someone else, they could just bear it and move on; after all, the dry rations aren't actually bad.

But can Qing Shi really tolerate that? Not long ago, he too was a backbone of the dry‑ration crew.

What gives you the right to all come to the Immortal Realm to look for Ye Zhangqing, while he can't come?

Even if they send more Xiūliàn resources and all kinds of immortal pills, what good would it do?

So, after Qing Shi protested repeatedly, Qi Xiong finally grew annoyed and had no choice but to let him come to the Immortal Realm.

But he had just arrived in the Immortal Realm, his seat not even warm, when he again encountered Ye Zhangqing's disappearance.

Qi Xiong and the others were each busy going to Beyond the Heavens to search for people, yet he was left behind again, which made him explode in anger.

Now, seeing Ye Zhangqing again, the resentment in his heart seemed to vanish in an instant.

After expending so much effort and enduring so much hardship, seeing Ye Zhangqing again makes it all worthwhile.

Therefore, facing Wang Yao's words, Qing Shi did not refute them; instead, he openly admitted it.

He grabbed Ye Zhangqing's hand, and his eyes turned red as he spoke.

"Young Ye Zhangqing, I've finally awaited your arrival. Do you know how I've spent these years? Back then we were together at Jinhai Yingdi………………………"

Just as Qing Shi was about to reminisce about the past, Ye Zhangqing felt a tingling on his scalp and hurriedly interrupted.

"Elder Qing Shi, we'll eat today; I'll go prepare it right away."

Upon hearing about eating, Qing Shi's emotions, which he had been cultivating, instantly withdrew—you should have said that earlier.

He immediately nodded repeatedly.

"Good, good, good."

For the time being, Ye Zhangqing steadied Qing Shi, then took Bai Hua Xianzi and several other women, along with Tianlin and Miao Qianqian, to the Fire Room.

As for the personnel selection, that was naturally handled by Qi Xiong and the others.

Along the way, most of the disciples did not know Ye Zhangqing.

Although Ye Zhangqing enjoys high prestige in the Dao One Immortal Sect, he has hardly been present in the Sect in recent years, so few have actually seen him.

That is, only the disciples from the first two batches who joined the Sect have seen him.

Nevertheless, along this route, he was naturally also seen by some senior disciples.

When these people saw Ye Zhangqing, they first stared in shock, wearing a look as if they had seen a ghost, even thinking it was an illusion—how could they see Elder Ye in the Sect?

But upon taking a closer look, they realized it was indeed Ye Zhangqing, and these senior disciples all became excited.

Some of the bolder ones couldn't help but step forward.

"Elder Ye, you're back."

"Hmm."

"Well… then, are we having dinner tonight?"

"Go ahead and eat, but the amount is limited—just ten thousand people."

Faced with the expectant gazes of those senior disciples, Ye Zhangqing could not bear to refuse; after thinking, he spoke.

Anyway, he was going to cook anyway; one pot is no trouble for ten thousand people.

Hearing this, the senior disciples' eyes lit up—today they would have a meal, and it would be Elder Ye cooking on the spot, not dry rations.

Unable to contain their excitement, they respectfully bowed and took their leave, then hurried away.

The Fire Room will be lit again tonight—what a great thing!

After eating dry rations for so many years, which aren't always available, I never expected to have this good fortune today.

However, in their excitement, many senior disciples also realized a problem: this news must not be spread.

Especially, the junior brothers and sisters must not find out.

Elder Ye already said there is only enough for ten thousand people; this amount isn't even enough for us senior disciples, let alone to have to fight over it—how could we possibly tell the junior brothers and sisters?

Anyway, they haven't even seen Ye Zhangqing; if neither of us says anything, how would they know?

Moreover, in recent years, hardly anyone goes to the Sect's Fire Room, so there's no fear of being discovered.

At first, Ye Zhangqing had long been absent from the Sect, and Qi Xiong and the others had indeed tried to find other Immortal Chefs.

But even when they found them, it was pointless, because hardly anyone went to eat.

Having grown accustomed to Ye Zhangqing's cooking, trying other Immortal Chefs' food would be almost impossible to swallow.

It would be better to just eat dry rations; over time, the Fire Room would have no one, and the Immortal Chef would naturally leave as well.

Thus, when there's nothing else to do, no one in the Sect will go near the Fire Room; just eating dry rations would suffice.

With enough Sect merits, one can directly exchange for a portion of dry rations to relieve one's cravings.

Many senior disciples were tacitly in agreement; none of them disclosed Ye Zhangqing's situation.

Even when meeting, they needed no words; a simple glance was enough to understand each other's meaning.

"Elder Ye is back."

"I know."

"Do you know what to do?"

"Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Then that's good."

A silent understanding spread among the senior disciples, though some new disciples noticed something different.

Seeing the new disciples, they curiously looked at the Shī xiōng and senior sister beside them and asked curiously.

"Shī xiōng, is there something happy today?"

"What's wrong? Why do you say that?"

"You've been smiling ever since you came back just now."

"Really? Have I been smiling?"

"Yes, you haven't stopped."

"Oh, maybe it's because my father is going to take a wife; I'm happy inside."

He casually blurted out a sentence, he didn't even want to laugh, but thinking of Ye Zhangqing's return and that he could eat tonight, the corners of his mouth just wouldn't stay down; if he wasn't careful, they'd lift up, truly hard to control.

Meanwhile, the junior brother beside him, hearing this, gave a strange reply.

"Shī xiōng, I remember your mother is still alive, right? How dare your father take a wife?"

Huh???

Hearing this, that senior disciple was stunned; for a moment he had no good excuse, and couldn't be bothered to think, his mind full of eating, with no time to think of anything else, he blurted out a sentence.

"My mother agreed."

Huh???

Just saying that made people even more doubtful; this junior brother had indeed seen Shī xiōng's parents before.

This Shī xiōng was born into an immortal clan; moreover, his father seems to be a reverse-married son-in-law, and in his household isn't it always the aunt who calls the shots? Add his burly build and fiery temperament—how could his mother agree to his father taking a wife? You're just spouting nonsense.