Cooking with the Empress

Bang.

The door shut, and Long Yue flopped headfirst onto the sofa like a salted fish, too exhausted to move another inch.

Never in her life had she walked so much. After spending an entire day wandering the mall, the soles of her feet ached unbearably.

She had never expected a mortal body to be so frail...

Beyond her physical exhaustion, she was mentally drained as well.

Everywhere they went in the mall, people mistook her and the Demon Supreme for a married couple or lovers. Then, at the lingerie store, she had been forced to try on all sorts of strange underwear.

Even now, she could not forget the female clerk staring at her body with sparkling eyes, occasionally reaching out to touch her while constantly muttering, "I'm not into girls, I just think you're far too beautiful..."

In the end, Long Yue had been so frightened that she randomly picked a few sets of underwear and hurriedly fled the store.

"After walking all day, it seems Her Empress is truly tired."

Long Yue lay motionless on the sofa, her round cheeks squished upward. Her adorable yet utterly lifeless expression made Lin Fan want to laugh.

Long Yue shot Lin Fan an irritated glance, too tired to bother replying.

"This Venerable put the cake in the fridge first. Don't sneak any bites—you can have it after dinner."

Lin Fan put the cake into the refrigerator, specifically reminding Long Yue before carrying the ingredients they had bought into the kitchen.

"I wouldn't sneak any!"

Watching Lin Fan's back as he entered the kitchen, Long Yue replied with an aggrieved huff.

No matter what, she was the Empress of the Immortal Realm. Even if she desperately wanted to eat it, she would never stoop to sneaking food.

That hateful Demon Supreme actually dared question her noble character!

In the kitchen, Lin Fan skillfully prepared the ingredients, managing two burners by himself at the same time.

Hearing the sounds coming from the kitchen, Long Yue curiously climbed up and walked inside.

"Demon Supreme, you can cook too?"

"Yes. There was a time when this Venerable always cooked for himself."

Lin Fan calmly explained as he busily sliced meat.

Before he had transmigrated, he had always cooked for himself after graduation in order to save money to buy a home of his own.

Now, after several hundred years, it was rare for him to step into a kitchen again.

A trace of surprise appeared on Long Yue's face.

The supreme ruler of the demon realm could actually cook for himself like a mortal.

This was completely different from the Demon Supreme she had imagined...

"Do... do you need help?"

Watching Lin Fan's busy figure, Long Yue hesitated for a moment before asking.

Lin Fan paused with his kitchen knife and turned to look at her in slight surprise.

"Her Empress actually wants to help?"

Long Yue's pretty face reddened. "This Empress simply does not wish to accept your favor for nothing."

Hearing that, Lin Fan raised a hand and pointed at the greens soaking in a basin of water.

"Then I'll have to trouble Her Empress to wash those vegetables over there. Her Empress shouldn't have any problem with that, right?"

"Hmph! It's only washing vegetables. Do not underestimate this Empress."

Long Yue gave a light snort, confidently rolled up her sleeves, and walked to the sink.

Before long, she held up the washed greens and proudly showed them to Lin Fan.

"Look, this Empress has already washed them. There was nothing difficult about it."

Lin Fan said nothing. He simply took a stalk from the vegetables in her hands, lightly rubbed the root and the crevices between the leaves and stem, and a tiny bit of grit appeared on his fingertips.

"Her Empress, washing vegetables takes skill too. It is not enough to wash only the leaves. The dirt in the roots and crevices is what needs the most careful cleaning."

"Also, washing them once is not enough. They need to be washed at least twice."

As the Empress of the Immortal Realm, Long Yue had never so much as touched household water and had never entered a kitchen. He had expected that she would only wash the surface of the vegetables.

"This Empress was merely careless. I'll wash them properly again and show you!"

Long Yue looked embarrassed, but unwilling to concede, she turned around and tossed the vegetables back into the basin to wash them again.

Lin Fan smiled faintly and began stir-frying over high heat.

As the sounds of fierce stir-frying filled the room, the fragrance of food gradually spread through the kitchen. Lin Fan handled the wok while Long Yue, under his guidance, handed him the seasonings he needed.

"Soy sauce!"

"Soy... soy sauce? Which one is soy sauce...?"

"The black bottle."

"Oh..."

"Is this aged soy sauce, Empress!"

"..."

"Salt!"

"Uh... I know salt! This should be the right one!"

"Empress! This is sugar! Sugar! Salt is salty! Salty!"

"Oh..."

Before long, through the two of them fumbling about and working together, three dishes and a soup were served on the table.

Looking at the dishes on the table, complete in color, aroma, and flavor, Long Yue felt an indescribable sense of pride well up within her.

Although she had only been doing odd jobs in the kitchen, this still counted as the first time in her life that she had taken part in cooking.

She was actually pretty capable after all!

"Try it."

Lin Fan scooped a bowl of rice and placed it before Long Yue, then picked up his chopsticks and put some meat into her bowl.

Long Yue eagerly tossed the meat into her mouth and shoveled down two mouthfuls of rice. Her pretty face bloomed with a brilliant, sunflower-like smile.

After walking all day, she had long been starving. It was her first time realizing that eating her fill could be such a happy and satisfying thing!

The two sat across from each other at the table, quietly eating. Only the clinking of bowls and chopsticks could be heard.

After the meal, Lin Fan stood in the kitchen washing the dishes, while Long Yue impatiently sat on the sofa and began eating cake.

"Demon Supreme, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time. Why do you know this world so well?"

After stuffing a huge piece of cake into her mouth, Long Yue looked toward Lin Fan in the kitchen and asked.

She had found it strange long ago. They had both accidentally crossed into this world at the same time. She understood nothing, yet the Demon Supreme knew this world incredibly well and even had a base here.

No matter what she asked in the mall, he could answer every question, as though this was not his first time coming to this world...

"As for why, it's because this is my first homeland," Lin Fan explained casually as he washed the dishes.

"What?!"

Long Yue's expression changed in shock, and the cake in her hand slipped and fell.

"Demon Supreme, you were born here?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

Lin Fan was puzzled by Long Yue's enormous reaction.

"Of course there is!"

Long Yue sprang up from the sofa, wariness written across her face.

"This is your first homeland, Demon Supreme. Then, then does that mean... everyone here is actually part of the Demon Race too?!"

Lin Fan: "..."

Lin Fan rolled his eyes at Long Yue, speechless at her wild imagination.

"Empress, you're overthinking it. They're just ordinary mortals here."

"Mortals? But aren't you... part of the Demon Race, Demon Supreme?"

For a moment, Long Yue felt as though her mind had become muddled.

This was the Demon Supreme's first homeland, yet there was no spiritual energy here, and everyone was an ordinary mortal...

Then that meant the Demon Supreme was also... in a mortal body?!

At that thought, Long Yue's eyes instantly widened as she stared at Lin Fan in disbelief.

"Demon Supreme... you're actually just a mortal?!"