[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-immortal-food":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-immortal-food-lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-105":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Immortal Food",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2313228,4524,"Chapter 105: Chapter Eight: The Dragon","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-105",105,"\u003Cp>Pei Ye chased all the way to the county yamen, the warm gold of the horizon already dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt somewhat awkward now; though he’d been told this sword possessed sentience, he hadn’t expected it to be so distinctly temperamental—based on his earlier impression of it in Ming Qi Tian’s hands, Pei Ye had always thought it dignified, reliable, and resilient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that wouldn’t hold grudges against you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could it quit after just two swings?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the county yamen’s gate, he looked up and saw the crystalline light hovering above the second courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not running away? At least you’ve got some sense—you didn’t vanish entirely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye thought with relief, striding into the yamen, but as soon as he entered, he heard a faint, familiar male voice coming from the next courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to be speaking directly to the aerial Liuli .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye paused, recalling Ming Qi Tian’s words: before it came to his courtyard, Zhu Gao Yang had been watching it—so now it had come to complain to Zhu Gao Yang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint unease stirred in Pei Ye’s chest—he truly thought the sword was beautiful, and he genuinely wanted to get along with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gate of the second courtyard, he pushed the door open and there stood the white-robed man, elegant as a jade tree, one hand on his hip, smiling faintly at the sword above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the words from his mouth made Pei Ye nearly stumble against the doorframe: “Come down! I swear I won’t touch you anymore!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Pei Ye entered, Zhanxin Liuli trembled violently—he could even sense its helplessness, caught between wolf and tiger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye was about to soothe it gently, but Zhu Gao Yang suddenly spotted a new ally and shouted: “Catch it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye startled; Zhanxin Liuli shuddered; Zhu Gao Yang blurred into a white streak and lunged upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhanxin Liuli made a sharp turn, diving beneath him to evade, and Zhu Gao Yang spun back to yell at Pei Ye: “You handle the bottom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhanxin Liuli passed directly before Pei Ye—he reacted faster than his mind could think, lunging forward to grab it, but just as his fingers neared, a flash of white light twisted, and it shot skyward like a crane taking flight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above, Zhu Gao Yang was already lunging again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This fierce chase lasted nearly half an hour; when Xing Zhi heard the commotion and came to investigate, he saw two grown men yelling wildly as they chased after a dragonfly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xing Zhi leaned against the doorframe, watching silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I can’t anymore,” Pei Ye panted, gripping his waist. “Let it stay where it is—it won’t leave the yamen anyway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it was an order left by its master; though chased back and forth, it obediently never strayed beyond the yamen’s boundaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Gao Yang still looked unsatisfied, wiped his forehead, and glared at the icy blade above, grinding his teeth slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Chang Zhiyuan, his hair white as snow, walked over, tapped on the door, and chuckled: “Master Zhu, little Pei, come eat first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Gao Yang glanced at the two by the door, then gave up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky shifted from pale dusk to cold blue; the bright moon hung high as they sat beneath pear shadows, dishes spread across a stone table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steaming tofu with crucian carp, stir-fried seasonal greens, cold-sliced pig’s ear. Pei Ye lifted the steamer lid—a circle of white buns released their fragrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They scooped a small dish of pickled radish, shared a pot of cool white porridge, and finished a splendid meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sitting and chatting for a moment, Zhu Gao Yang nudged Pei Ye, his bright, phoenix-like eyes signaling the still-floating Liuli .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eager to try again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Pei Ye grabbed his wrist. “Come with me first—I have something serious to discuss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Gao Yang tilted his head and followed Pei Ye to the back courtyard, entering the side room where they’d met before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s up? What’s this about?” Zhu Gao Yang asked, watching the boy shut the door and turn to face him with a serious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye looked at the man slightly taller than himself—this idea had come to him just now, as he’d coaxed Zhanxin Liuli down with sweet words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he’d blurted out, “Does it hurt? Come down so I can heal you,” he’d stared at the white-robed figure above—could he, if he could heal Zhanxin Liuli, also heal Zhu Gao Yang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this would reveal Binlu, but Zhu Gao Yang’s heart was far more important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me check your heart,” Pei Ye said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? You know about it? What can you see?” Zhu Gao Yang laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t resist,” Pei Ye replied, not answering, and pulled aside the fabric over Zhu Gao Yang’s left chest, baring his torso.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The skin looked normal—no visible signs of corruption. Pei Ye pressed his palm slowly against the heart, feeling nothing unusual: warm flesh, strong, steady pulses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pressed deeper—through bone and muscle, gradually drawing near to that rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a violent hunger for consumption slammed into his mind—he gasped sharply and snatched his hand back as if shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coming to his senses, Zhu Gao Yang had already seized his wrist, frowning: “What happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye shook his head. The heart was clearly visible in his perception, and Binlu stirred, ready to devour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his heart sank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This heart was nothing like Zhanxin Liuli.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His earlier fear—that the absorption might damage the heart—was now irrelevant, because this *was* the heart itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a shadow hidden within the heart—it had devoured the heart whole and replaced its function: a grotesque, powerful, blue-black mass, covered in fine scales, throbbed within this chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a hardened weapon—it was soft, edible, utterly vulnerable to Binlu; Pei Ye could swallow this sweet nectar in moments and leap several realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhu Gao Yang would die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye withdrew his hand, frustrated—he hadn’t realized he could do nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Gao Yang didn’t know what the boy had just thought; he laughed: “So, Doctor Pei, can my illness be cured?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No hope. Just wait to die,” Pei Ye muttered, rolling his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahahaha!” Zhu Gao Yang didn’t press further, adjusted his clothes, and flicked his head toward the door: “Anything else? Let’s go catch it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye thought the younger disciples who’d grown up with Zhu Gao Yang must have had a happy time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Stop thinking about playing,” Pei Ye sighed, pulling a small booklet from his robe. “Teach me this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Gao Yang frowned as he took it: “The Introduction? What’s there to teach? Just read it over and over—don’t skim.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… don’t understand it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How? With your sword comprehension, you can’t understand this—oh! You can’t… read characters?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Gao Yang recalled the boy’s pitiful scribbles in the stone cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.” Pei Ye grunted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pfft—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry up,” Pei Ye muttered, embarrassed, dragging the man to the table and seating him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ahem,” Zhu Gao Yang grinned as he opened the booklet. “Funny thing—I’ve actually explained this book many times to my junior disciples back at the mountain gate. Lucky for you, I’ll go over it with you before I leave—these next two days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1202,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c4be42f04a35ac9f27a251760f7720e7797c97da7c5b1716e9dbc02b3c154171","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-106","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-104",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]