Essence Fried Fish, as I Usually Call It

After hearing Huo Yuhao's words, both Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong felt as though they had suddenly understood.

Tang Ya froze, then defended herself. "I... our Tang Sect does make quite a bit of money, but according to the wishes of the first sect master, most of our income was donated away. So there's no way..."

"Donated?" Huo Yuhao gave a cold laugh.

Whenever Tang Ya mentioned the Tang Sect's first sect master, he thought of Tang San's loathsome face.

"Yes. Most of the Tang Sect's income was used to improve the lives of civilians in impoverished areas and to build public facilities such as schools. That's why the Tang Sect has never had much left over."

Beibei gently comforted Tang Ya as he spoke in a deep voice.

"Then could the two members of the Tang Sect please tell me which impoverished areas the Tang Sect once donated to, and which schools it built?"

"Th-this..." Beibei was instantly dumbfounded.

By the time he had joined the Tang Sect, Tang Ya's parents had long since passed away.

Although Beibei had approached Tang Ya and joined the Tang Sect under instructions from Mu En, his Ancestor, he had ultimately come to genuinely like Tang Ya.

But liking Tang Ya could not change the fact that he knew virtually nothing about the Tang Sect's own internal history.

What was more, he had never asked Ancestor Mu En about the Tang Sect.

With Huo Yuhao's question, Tang Ya was truly the only one who could answer.

But when Tang Ya revealed a bewildered expression, Beibei knew that Huo Yuhao had struck right at the heart of the matter.

Beibei firmly believed that Tang Ya would never lie in front of him. Then what exactly was this so-called donation business? The truth was now laid bare before everyone.

"Can't say it? Senior Tang Ya, it seems your Tang Sect predecessors were all people who couldn't accept defeat."

"To conceal the fact that your sect's hidden weapons were utterly inferior to Soul Tools, they used the excuse that the sect lacked strength. They even fabricated lies about Tang Sect income being used to improve impoverished areas and build schools..."

"Senior Tang Ya, don't tell me you believe that a sect selling arms to every major nation truly hopes for peace?"

"No, that's not it... It isn't like that... Right, Shrek Academy! Shrek Academy is a school too! Our Tang Sect..." Tang Ya said, on the verge of breaking down.

For a moment, even Beibei beside her could barely hold himself together.

"Heh, Shrek Academy? What a joke. The Tang Sect is clearly an arms dealer that stirs up wars everywhere and sells weapons, yet it leaves behind records portraying itself as a benefactor of impoverished civilians."

"Senior Tang Ya, your Tang Sect really is hypocritical!"

Huo Yuhao's words finally made Beibei unable to remain seated.

"Enough!"

Beibei immediately stood. "Junior, you weren't even from that era. How can you know that the Tang Sect never did such things?"

"Since you don't wish to join our Tang Sect, we won't disturb your business any longer. Goodbye."

With that, Beibei led Tang Ya away without pausing for even a moment.

Only Huo Yuhao, who remained calmly grilling fish, and Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who were still deep in thought, remained behind.

After only a brief period of thought, Xiao Xiao raised her head to look at Huo Yuhao, her eyes full of sparkling little stars.

Wang Dong, meanwhile, absently fiddled with the Copper Soul Coin in her hand, her eyes filled with confusion.

No one knew that she possessed Twin Martial Souls, and naturally, no one knew that she was from the Clear Sky Sect.

When the Tang Sect had declined, the Clear Sky Sect had turned a blind eye in the name of "seclusion." Wang Dong had felt that the Clear Sky Sect was in the wrong.

But after Huo Yuhao's revelation, Wang Dong suddenly wondered whether the Clear Sky Sect was the same.

She was confused.

Looking at Huo Yuhao's seemingly ordinary yet extraordinary figure, Wang Dong suddenly felt an urge to tell him her true identity.

But she quickly suppressed that impulse.

Huo Yuhao and the others had arrived early enough. When Tang Ya and Beibei had bought Grilled Fish earlier, there had not been many people around.

By now, the area outside the city gate was packed shoulder to shoulder, with stalls and goods as far as the eye could see.

Huo Yuhao's barbecue stall naturally drew attention as well.

Before long, several people had gathered in front of the stall. One student in yellow asked, "Little brother, how much is your Grilled Fish? And what's that thing you're making over there?"

The yellow-clothed student was pointing at an area separate from the barbecue grill.

Huo Yuhao smiled faintly as he lifted the lid covering that section. "The fish over here is carefully pan-fried with a secret blend of seasonings."

"So I call it Essence Fried Fish."

"Grilled Fish is five Copper Soul Coins each. Essence Fried Fish costs ten Copper Soul Coins, which is one Silver Coin per fish."

When Huo Yuhao lifted the lid off the frying pan, an aroma even richer and more intense than the Grilled Fish immediately spread through the air.

The yellow-clothed student took a deep breath, and his eyes lit up. "Give me one Grilled Fish and one Essence Fried Fish!"

Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Xiao Xiao hurriedly passed him a finished Grilled Fish and an Essence Fried Fish Huo Yuhao had just skewered.

Meanwhile, Wang Dong accepted the fifteen Copper Soul Coins offered by the yellow-clothed student.

The two of them unexpectedly developed an unspoken coordination.

When they came back to their senses, neither said a word as they each moved a little farther away from the other.

By this point, although Xiao Xiao did not know how Wang Dong had done it, she had already guessed that Wang Dong was a girl disguised as a boy.

Though she did not know why Wang Dong was doing this, it was obvious that Wang Dong had also developed an interest in Huo Yuhao.

Xiao Xiao was in grave danger!

After receiving the grilled and fried fish, the yellow-clothed student inhaled their fragrance and took a bite of the Grilled Fish first.

The crisp, charred fish skin, tender flesh, and burst of fragrant oil made the yellow-clothed student's eyes nearly pop out of his head after a single bite.

He did not even have time to praise it. In two or three bites, he wolfed down the Grilled Fish, then began tasting the Essence Fried Fish.

The Grilled Fish had already felt like a delicacy beyond compare, but the instant the Essence Fried Fish entered his mouth, the yellow-clothed student felt that he no longer had words capable of praising such supreme deliciousness.

The only thing he could say was, "Junior, sell me a few more. I'll be having dinner right here today!"

With the yellow-clothed student's reaction before them, the other students who had still been watching from the sidelines all crowded over as well.

The tiny barbecue stall was packed to the brim in an instant.

However, Huo Yuhao could not possibly keep grilling fish here forever.

Though it was a form of cultivation, it could not completely replace actual training.

Seeing that the big fish he had hoped to catch today had not appeared, Huo Yuhao left behind several skewers of Grilled Fish and immediately prepared to close up.

"Hey, you haven't even sold all your Grilled Fish yet. Why are you closing?"

A student complained in dissatisfaction.

"We haven't eaten yet. These Grilled Fish are for ourselves. If any seniors still want some, I'll set up here on time tomorrow at this hour."

Hearing that there was a share for them, both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao secretly felt a little delighted.

Just then, several female students wearing purple school uniforms walked out through Shrek Academy's gate.

No matter what the setup is, the original author always manages to stab me somewhere unexpected. Let me state this officially: I'll try my best to follow the original work's settings, but when special situations or conflicts arise, I can't avoid using secondary settings. Or sometimes the plot requires it—for example, to deal with the Ice Empress situation, Tian Meng underwent some secondary-setting changes as well.