Xie Xingwen and Yu Jinglan went to forge a sword together, while Chu Xuan headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner for everyone, with Jian Ze assisting her by her side.
Mo Jingxing also followed in: “Is there anything I can do?”
Chu Xuan thought for a moment and pointed to some green vegetables: “Wash these vegetables.”
They were wild vegetables exchanged at the Mutual Market today.
However, in Mo Jingxing’s eyes, these things were no different from grass. They were meat-eaters, so he didn’t understand why Chu Xuan had exchanged for these “grasses.”
Though he didn’t understand, he trusted that Chu Xuan had her own reasons for her actions, so he obediently went to wash the vegetables.
They had exchanged for many things at the Mutual Market today, and Chu Xuan planned to prepare a feast for the evening.
After Shen Lingjun returned, he went into his room, locked himself inside, and no one knew what he was busy with.
He didn’t come out until mealtime, and it was Mo Jingxing who went to call him.
Chu Xuan, meanwhile, went to fetch Xie Xingwen and Yu Jinglan.
She had to admit that Xie Xingwen was incredibly skilled—in such a short time, the sword billet had already taken shape.
Chu Xuan looked at the sword billet, her eyes filled with surprise, and she praised, “Xie Xingwen, you’re amazing! You’ve forged the sword billet so quickly.”
“What’s the big deal? Tomorrow, I’ll present you with a fully formed sword. With a sword personally crafted by me, I guarantee you’ll be invincible from now on.” Xie Xingwen lifted his chin, his eyes brimming with pride and arrogance.
To receive a sword personally forged by someone of his stature, the Demon Lord, was an unparalleled honor.
Hearing this, Chu Xuan couldn’t help but reflect inwardly: someone like Xie Xingwen, if placed in the future “cattle and horse path,” would definitely be deeply favored by bosses!
Willing to work overtime without complaint, his efficiency was simply too high.
However, Yu Jinglan sensed something fishy in his words: “You want me to stay up all night here with you forging the sword?!”
“Is there a problem with that?” Xie Xingwen asked. “Staying up one night won’t kill you.”
Yu Jinglan: “…”
Was this about life and death?
It was just a sword, not an urgent matter. Why did it have to be done overnight? Taking an extra day would suffice.
But in Xie Xingwen’s view, this was an extremely urgent matter.
He needed to help Chu Xuan grow stronger as quickly as possible, then support her in ascending to the position of Empress and freeing her from the control of that damned system.
Perhaps sensing Yu Jinglan’s dissatisfaction, Xie Xingwen reassured him, “Don’t worry, you won’t be working for nothing. I’ll give you some guidance later, ensuring that you can easily cross tiers and defeat seventh-tier opponents from now on, even as a sixth-tier.”
Xie Xingwen spoke with such conviction, but Yu Jinglan felt he was just boasting.
Among Beastmen, a difference of one tier in ability level meant absolute suppression in battle. Crossing tiers to fight was simply impossible.
He suspected that Xie Xingwen’s brain had been damaged in the last battle, and now he wasn’t thinking straight.
After a moment’s thought, he nudged Chu Xuan with his elbow and whispered to her, “Female Master, maybe you should check his brain. I suspect there’s something wrong with it.”
Chu Xuan: “…”
In truth, Chu Xuan also felt that Xie Xingwen sometimes spoke as if he were the supreme ruler of heaven and earth, embodying the classic “dragon pride” archetype.
But since she hadn’t known her Beast Husbands well before, she had never given it much thought, assuming Xie Xingwen had always been like this.
Prompted by Yu Jinglan’s words, she couldn’t help but feel a trace of doubt. She looked at the purple-haired boy still studying the sword billet and asked Yu Jinglan:
“He wasn’t like this before?”
Yu Jinglan shook his head: “He used to be quiet and reserved, never speaking such arrogant words.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he realized something was amiss. He looked at Chu Xuan with puzzlement: “You used to love tormenting him the most – wouldn’t you know what he was like before?”
Chu Xuan: “…”
“Of course I know,” Chu Xuan immediately defended herself. “I just wanted to know your perspective on how he’s changed, since I’m not familiar with how you two interact.”
Though she spoke with conviction, Yu Jinglan remained suspicious of both of them.
His probing gaze shifted back and forth between Chu Xuan and Xie Xingwen.
These two were truly peculiar.
Afraid Yu Jinglan would press further, Chu Xuan quickly changed the subject: “Alright, let’s go eat. We have to work through the night forging swords tonight – we’ll need our strength.”
As she pushed Yu Jinglan toward the main hall, he wailed: “You’re really making me forge swords overnight? How cruel!”
Chu Xuan declared: “This is the Female Master’s command. You must obey.”
At dinner that evening, besides meat dishes, Chu Xuan had prepared stir-fried greens. After days of eating nothing but meat, she had grown tired of it and was glad to have something different.
Mo Jingxing was taken aback seeing Chu Xuan enjoying the greens so much. Were they really that delicious?
Curious, he picked up some greens with his chopsticks and tasted them. To his surprise, they weren’t bad – quite palatable actually.
Still, compared to meat, he preferred the latter. But after being meat-weary, having some greens did help cut through the richness.
After the meal, Xie Xingwen dragged a reluctant Yu Jinglan back to continue sword forging. Jian Ze cleaned up the house, Mo Jingxing went to the courtyard to practice martial arts, and Shen Lingjun returned to his room as usual.
With nothing particular to do, Chu Xuan looked at the remaining half wild beast in the kitchen and decided to make some midnight snacks for everyone. After all, Xie Xingwen and Yu Jinglan would be working through the night – they might get hungry and need something to eat.
As she began preparations, Jian Ze noticed her handling the meat again and asked: “Female Master, what are you making? Do you need help?”
Chu Xuan thought for a moment: “Could you make some wooden skewers for me? The kind that are thin, long, and pointed at one end.”
She gestured to show what she meant, and Jian Ze immediately understood. He went to the courtyard, found some wood, and got to work.
Seeing Jian Ze emerge from the kitchen and start making strange objects from wood, Mo Jingxing approached and asked: “What did the Female Master ask you to make?”
“Wooden skewers,” Jian Ze replied.
Using his ability, Jian Ze worked quickly. After just one glance, Mo Jingxing joined in too.
With both using their abilities, they finished rapidly. When they brought the wooden skewers to the kitchen, Chu Xuan hadn’t even finished cutting the meat.
“Female Master, are these enough?” Jian Ze asked.
Chu Xuan looked at the large bundle of wooden skewers and nodded repeatedly: “More than enough.”
She marveled inwardly at how quickly the two had completed the task – having abilities was truly wonderful!
She couldn’t help but wonder what ability card she would draw when the time came.
However, the current problem was how she could reasonably spend a night with Xie Xingwen.
The mere thought of this issue gave Chu Xuan a headache. With a few days left before the mission deadline, she decided to set it aside for now and deal with it later. After all, people always find a way when faced with desperate situations.
Seeing Chu Xuan slowly cutting the beast meat into small pieces, Mo Jingxing approached and said, “Female Master, let me handle this!”
With that, he activated his ability and, almost instantly, sliced the remaining beast meat into uniformly sized cubes.
Chu Xuan: “…”
Having an ability doesn’t make you special, Chu Xuan thought, her jealousy gnawing at her, but her words were filled with admiration.
“Jingxing, you’re amazing! From now on, I’ll leave all the ingredient preparation to you.”
Meeting Chu Xuan’s admiring gaze, Mo Jingxing lowered his head shyly, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “Female Master, just call for me whenever you need me in the future,” he said somewhat bashfully.
[Ding! Mo Jingxing’s favorability +10, reward Points +10.]