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After putting the goose into the alchemy furnace and using spiritual energy to control the flames, Ning Ning waited for the meat to cook while thinking with a touch of dry humor:

She was the seventh person to get goose meat from the kitchen, so in terms of order, she was officially "Goose-Taster Number Seven." Wow, that felt pretty good.

"Fairy Goose-Taster" didn't sound too bad either.

The only thing she couldn't figure out was... what exactly did that female cultivator's words mean?

She didn't have time to come up with an answer.

What arrived before the answer was a deafening, incredibly close explosion.

A wave of intense heat rushed toward her. Fortunately, Ning Ning still had her defensive instincts, so she immediately formed a hand seal to protect herself. Although the heat wave forced her to take a few steps back, she didn't suffer any serious injuries.

Dust and ash drifted before her eyes. Through her blurred vision, she could barely make out the state of the room.

The desk had been blown off two of its legs and lay to the side, looking rather crippled; the clean white walls looked as if they had gone on vacation to Africa, covered in soot; as for the furnace she used to roast the goose—

The alchemy furnace had died in the line of duty, unable to bear the humiliation. To defend its dignity as an alchemy furnace, it had exploded in a blaze of glory.

It was just a goose, was it really necessary to go that far?

The hunger in her stomach kept poking at her nerves. Ning Ning couldn't care less about the rest; she held her breath and stepped forward.

The alchemy furnace had been reduced to a pile of messy shards, with light smoke and black mist swirling around. Her roasted goose lay quietly on the ground.

Its charred, pitch-black skin was like a blooming flower from Ethiopia. Ning Ning was willing to call it Bao Zheng the Second.

She finally understood.

She wouldn't be becoming Fairy Goose-Taster; at most, she was a "Goose-Less Fairy."

Before the smoky, chaotic scene could settle, just as Ning Ning picked up her Ethiopian flower, she heard a soft knock at the door: "Junior Sister?"

[Ding! Mission issued!]

[Outside the door is Lin Xun, the newly accepted personal disciple of Tian Xianzi. As his senior sister, you have always been jealous of him for stealing your master's affection and wish to take ruthless revenge.]

[Please open the door for him and proceed with the seduction as per the original plot!]

Ning Ning: ?

With her hair disheveled and her face covered in ash, she wanted to seduce someone? She was more suited to playing a female ghost in a horror movie.

The system's chime echoed in her ears. She remembered this character, Lin Xun.

The young prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, a celebrated genius of the sword. Because he grew up in the palace and rarely interacted with outsiders, he had gradually developed a shy and introverted personality, blushing whenever he touched a woman.

In short, he had social anxiety.

After he became a disciple under Tian Xianzi, he snatched away the status of the youngest disciple from the original owner. Coupled with his sharp sword intent and rapid cultivation, he made her burn with jealousy.

Lin Xun was born into nobility, so the original owner naturally wouldn't bully him openly. Instead, she adopted a more subtle approach—seduction.

Her original intention was to gain Lin Xun's trust and then slowly squeeze out his utility, turning him into a tool for her own use. She hadn't expected this young master to be naturally gynophobic; the closer the original owner got, the more he resisted.

Tonight was the moment of their first direct confrontation.

Ning Ning temporarily gathered her thoughts and replied in a low voice, "Come in."

And so, when Lin Xun pushed the door open, this was the scene he saw—

The entire room looked as if it had been burgled, set on fire, and then, just to be safe, subjected to a earth-shattering explosion. Amidst the rising smoke, his Junior Sister had a smudge of soot on the tip of her nose, and the pitch-black, unrecognizable lump in her hand emitted an eerie sheen.

Lin Xun was genuinely and thoroughly startled. "Junior Sister, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Ning Ning gave him a reassuring smile and waved the blackened, unrecognizable object. "I'm roasting a goose."

Lin Xun was stunned again, his expression complex as he scrutinized the object.

This thing... if one were to take it grave robbing, even a zombie would mistake it for a black donkey hoof.

But that wasn't the most important point.

The handsome, elegant youth frowned slightly, his gaze falling upon the shattered remains of the furnace. His voice turned involuntarily hoarse. "Junior Sister, is this your alchemy furnace?"

"Yeah." Ning Ning didn't understand why his reaction was so intense and reached up to touch the tip of her nose. "Do you know where I can buy a new one?"

The atmosphere fell into an eerily long silence.

When the Junior Brother's clear, youthful voice sounded again, it was like a death knell from hell.

"But... Junior Sister, don't you still owe a lot of debt?"

Ning Ning: Pupils shaking.

Seeing her look of disbelief, Lin Xun lowered his head to avoid Ning Ning's gaze and continued in a small voice, "Master told me that you borrowed a lot of money to forge Star Trace, and you haven't paid it off yet. This furnace costs ten thousand spirit stones, the compensation for damaging the residence is five thousand spirit stones, and that sandalwood table of yours is—"

"Wait!"

Ning Ning found it hard to process so much information at once. "Aren't these pieces of furniture cheap, mass-produced items from the sect?"

Lin Xun was a bit afraid of her and gripped his sleeves tightly. "You were the one who said you liked sandalwood and that you had to use the best for alchemy."

"Then... then what about my family? Isn't my family wealthy?"

"Master forbids disciples from squandering family wealth."

Ning Ning was shocked. She suppressed the urge to vomit blood and asked him one last question, "Shouldn't the sect pay for alchemy training?"

"Junior Sister, please, get a grip."

Lin Xun was starting to get anxious. "We're Sword Cultivators! We don't have any money!"

The words woke the dreamer.

Ning Ning had a sudden epiphany.

Oh, right.

She was a Sword Cultivator.

What were Sword Cultivators like in the eyes of the general public? Aloof and indifferent, decisive in slaughter, capable of severing the void with a single strike.

And what were they like in reality? Straight-laced, stubborn, and violent.

Most importantly, they were poor.

Out of all the sects, Sword Cultivators always carried the best and most flashy swords, wielded the sharpest sword intent, yet their clothes were always the cheapest.

There was no other reason for it; all their money was spent on their wives.