[{"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-3":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},2313126,4524,"Chapter 3","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-3",3,"\u003Cp>But when he stopped to study the two, they too noticed he had regained consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye frowned and said, “You two—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly gasped and looked down—without warning, a sharp danger had closed in on his lower back; his muscles spasmed and contracted involuntarily, followed by the piercing pain of a blade entering his flesh—but before the glinting dagger plunged deeper, Pei Ye clamped his wrist with all his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man immediately drove a knee upward, but Pei Ye struck faster and harder, slamming his own knee into the man’s stomach; his left hand still gripped the enemy’s knife-wielding arm, while his right fist twisted through his waist and smashed into the man’s face, sending him crashing to the ground with a splash of water up to his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another dagger stabbed toward him almost simultaneously, arriving half a body’s length late; Pei Ye twisted aside as much as he could, the blade grazing his abdomen and leaving a bloody gash, but his posture was ruined—he couldn’t evade the follow-up kick, and was knocked flat onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye was accustomed to fighting; to avoid being bullied in alleyways, one needed fists that could truly hold their own. But since killing that starving wolf at age twelve, he had never faced such a dire situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two men struck with ruthless precision, their assaults ferocious—they were clearly seasoned killers accustomed to life-or-death struggles. This was Pei Ye’s first encounter with enemies who meant to kill, and yet he had fallen into the disadvantage of being ambushed by both at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Surprises always come in greater numbers,” the old man’s hoarse training voice echoed in his ears again. “The world isn’t a fighting ring; enemies won’t wait for you to be ready. When danger strikes, you often won’t even have time to draw your sword.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, if he had even a sword he couldn’t draw—something he could use as a club—he would thank heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After falling, Pei Ye didn’t pause to think—he rolled instantly to evade, and the next dagger plunged into the spot he had just left. Before he could rise, his hand seized the dagger-wielding arm; the man, bent over, couldn’t straighten up, so Pei Ye kicked his body sideways, then leapt into a sideways flip, pinning him to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye growled low and drove both arms forward with all his strength, forcing the man’s own hand to plunge the dagger into his own throat. The man’s eyes bulged wide, his arm muscles straining in resistance, but blood gushed gushing from his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A slicing wind came again from behind, barely in time; Pei Ye rolled away once more in desperation, and as he rose and looked up, the enemy was already before him—his face, bruised from the punch, streamed with mingled blood and tears, his expression monstrous and vicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another slash came—this time, Pei Ye finally had the composure to apply his trained combat techniques. He sidestepped, trapping the enemy’s arm under his armpit, delivered two knee strikes, forcing the man to hunch forward; then he released his grip, seized the enemy’s wrist joint, twisted, and disarmed him, immediately clamping the other hand around his throat, shoving him forward two steps, and slamming him hard against the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hand—punched! Twice! Three times!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The body in his hands slumped lifelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye gasped for breath, his heart pounding like a drumbeat, his arms and thighs trembling with post-exertion weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye examined his wounds—mostly scrapes and bruises; only two knife cuts, one on his abdomen and one on his lower back, were prominent, but not severe. Yet after the injuries, he had exerted himself repeatedly, causing them to reopen, and blood now seeped steadily, soaking a large portion of his clothing, making it look terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both wounds were hard to bandage; he barely wrapped them as best he could, then, by the flickering light, surveyed his surroundings—he was beside the city wall, just outside the gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stared at the two corpses on the ground, utterly baffled as to where they had come from. He calmed his breathing and bent to retrieve the lantern, still burning steadily in the pooled water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he bent down, the sight before him froze him in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flame, embedded in the standing water, formed a pale blue mirror; though constantly disturbed by falling rain, it still twisted into Pei Ye’s reflection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A bare-chested boy, pale-faced, a pale blue symbol burning on his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting from a single point, two “Y” shapes extended diagonally upward to the left and right; from the tops of the “Y”s, branches further split and multiplied, growing increasingly complex until the top, simple to intricate—seen at a glance, it resembled a cold, abstract burst of flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No brush needed to trace it—this was the original, true form of the crude symbol on Old Xiangzi’s head!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye slowly raised his hand to touch his forehead—but his skin was smooth, unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stood frozen for a moment, yet no “immortal” appeared; clearly, this was not the correct place for “enlightenment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling the two men’s attacks, though they showed no hesitation in wounding him, they had avoided targeting his neck or heart—points that would kill instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where were they trying to take him? What awaited at the end?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind slammed torrents of rain against his body; his old chest and abdominal wounds throbbed faintly again—if pain flared and enemies came now, he would be nothing but fish on a chopping block.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should report to the county magistrate immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after taking two steps, Pei Ye stopped—he knew that on a night like this, only County Magistrate Chang Zhiyuan resided in the back courtyard, and Chang Zhiyuan was merely an ordinary sixty-year-old man; he would need to summon other senior officials before any action could be taken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fenghuai was a remote county with fewer than forty thousand people; its available forces were pitifully few. For such strange, supernatural events, only two men could respond: County Commandant Lin Lin and Immortal Platform Inspector Shen Yanping. Whether reporting the crime or seeking protection, it was better to go directly to these two men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, heaven granted a thick bolt of lightning, bright as midday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it lasted only an instant, Pei Ye clearly recognized his location—he was at the northern city gate; Inspector Shen lived in the eastern city, while Commandant Lin lived in the western suburbs outside the walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their residences were equally distant; Pei Ye wiped the rain from his face and headed toward Lin’s home in the west.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This decision was based on personal closeness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Lin was over fifty, upright in character, cold-faced but warm-hearted, and had served as County Commandant for thirteen years—one year longer than Chang Zhiyuan’s tenure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In peaceful, small Fenghuai, the position of Commandant was idle; Lin Lin often visited martial schools to instruct young trainees, and Pei Ye’s foundational boxing skills came from this stern yet gentle elder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Coil like a coiled snake, strike like a vicious tiger,” “Punch seven parts, leave three parts in reserve”—before ever picking up a sword, these simple maxims had accompanied nearly all of Pei Ye’s training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Pei Ye’s dantian was damaged, it was Lin Lin who spent two consecutive months daily expending his own true Qi to warm and nourish Pei Ye’s heart meridians, keeping the injury within manageable limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without kinship or obligation, yet deeply indebted—Lin Lin was one of the few elders Pei Ye cherished in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this bond, he could speak plainly; going to Inspector Shen offered no such advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Braving the heavy rain, wading through water above his ankles, Pei Ye trudged unevenly toward the western city; when he finally saw the familiar house, the darkest hour had passed, the rain had lessened, and the sky faintly brightened.\u003C\u002Fp>",1316,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5d7f7f4122bf83f4b5e23b52b527d3575df72780cb71e0e478d6f527624a7ed4","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-4","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-2",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]