That command hit the air like a block of lead, freezing it solid.
Su Chen lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the charred, unidentifiable object.
The information on the Light Screen was perfectly honest.
[Bibi Dong's current emotions: Shame 98% / Guilt 85% / Nervousness 90%] [Inner monologue: Don't look at the plate... Absolutely do not look... If he dares say a single word of "no," I'll stuff his head into this blasted plate today!]
Su Chen didn't hesitate.
His hands trembling slightly, he lifted the solid silver platter, gripping it so tightly that his fingertips shook like leaves in an autumn wind.
Then he raised his head.
Two feverish blushes flared across his pale face, spreading all the way to his ears.
His eyes reddened in an instant. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his lips quivered several times before he managed to force out a hoarse, nearly inaudible question.
"Th-this... was this made by Your Holiness... with your own hands?"
His voice trembled.
Not with fear, but with a reverent, almost abject quiver of disbelief, a fervor blooming from the dust.
The Soul Power about to erupt from Bibi Dong's fingertips quietly dissipated.
She had expected Su Chen to look troubled, or even throw up on the spot.
Her purple-black Soul Power had already gathered at her fingertips, ready to pry open his mouth and force it down.
But what she heard wasn't disgust.
She instinctively turned her head, catching a glimpse of Su Chen's hands from the corner of her eye.
The way he held the silver platter was as if it contained some peerless treasure.
Bibi Dong felt as though something had lodged in her throat.
She couldn't bring herself to spit out the words, "Enough nonsense."
Su Chen didn't give her time to think.
He reached out, grabbed the charred meat, shut his eyes, and took a bite!
"Crack~"
The bitterness of charcoal and the stench of raw meat exploded across his taste buds, followed by the cloying saltiness of coarse salt that shot straight to his crown.
It tasted like a chemical weapon!
Su Chen kept his expression blank as he ranted wildly in his mind, his jaw chewing without a moment's pause.
His cheeks bulged, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, every gulp urgent yet solemn. He looked like a prisoner who'd gone three days and nights without food, finally served his last meal.
By the window, Bibi Dong caught sight of him from the corner of her eye, and her heart gave a sudden leap.
That stuff... even she had nearly thrown up after tasting a tiny bite.
How... how could he eat it?
The information on the Light Screen began updating.
[Bibi Dong's current emotions: Shock 70% / Astonishment 60% / A trace of panic 23%]
Su Chen didn't even leave behind the bits of charcoal that had fallen onto the plate. He pinched them up one by one with his fingertips and reverently put them in his mouth.
Bibi Dong's body took half a step forward against her will.
"Y-you don't have to eat so fast!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she froze.
Su Chen swallowed the last bite, even wiping the grease from the bottom of the plate with his fingers and stuffing them into his mouth to lick them clean.
When he was done, his knees buckled. With a heavy thud, he dropped to the ground and bowed his head.
When he looked up again, a tear happened to slide from the corner of his eye.
Just one. It traced the bloodstain on his cheekbone that had yet to heal, leaving a wet, glistening streak.
"In my sixteen years at Spirit Hall, I've never eaten... such a delicacy."
His voice was hoarse, every word trembling.
"Your Holiness, with your precious hands, deigned to wash them and cook for a subordinate... I could die without regrets!"
Bibi Dong stood frozen.
She wanted to scold him for talking nonsense. It was just a failed piece of meat, charred beyond saving.
But she couldn't say a word.
What surged through her mind wasn't anger, but images locked away in the deepest recesses of her memory.
Qian Xunji's control and exploitation.
Yu Xiaogang's cowardice and evasion.
The men in her life had brought her nothing but hurt and betrayal.
No one had ever been grateful to her for doing something so insignificant.
Even if it was just a plate of charred meat.
Bibi Dong's fingers clenched tightly around her skirt.
She said nothing.
Two figures on the Light Screen jumped at the same time.
[Affection: 12 → 17] [Dependency: 31%]
The system's mechanical voice rang in her mind.
[Ding—First Meal Bonding Mission perfectly completed! The host's mental power has increased slightly.]
A cool breath flowed into her sea of consciousness, soothing the last trace of agitation.
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, her chest weighed down by a dull, indescribable ache.
She forced her face into a stern expression and left him with four words.
"Come again tomorrow morning."
She turned and left, striding as quickly as if she were running away.
The instant the wooden door closed, Su Chen caught the flush lingering on her ears before it could fade.
The door shut.
Golden light burst through Su Chen's mind.
[Ding! Detected an interaction completed with Binder No. 001. Lord of Creation's hundredfold critical return activated!] [Reward obtained: God-Level Culinary Arts!]
An ocean of information flooded his mind in an instant.
Heat control, knife skills, seasoning, the preparation of spirit dishes... Countless culinary secrets were mastered completely in a single second.
Su Chen let out a long breath.
He wiped away the eyedrop he'd just squeezed into the corner of his eye—no, the tear—and looked down at the now-empty silver platter.
The taste of charcoal mixed with raw meat still lingered in his mouth.
He'd nearly blown his act.
When you gave someone what they needed emotionally, it worked better than a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
The next seven days were a training camp from hell.
Bibi Dong showed up right on time for all three meals.
Day one: charred meat. Su Chen: "I'm grateful!"
Day two: burnt congee and burnt vegetables. Su Chen: "Your Holiness, I recommend more water and lower heat."
Day three: the congee wasn't burnt anymore, but the vegetables were still charcoal. Su Chen: "Your Holiness's congee is the best in the world." Bibi Dong turned to look out the window, and kept looking for a long time.
Day four: only the edges of the vegetables were charred.
Day five: the meat slices finally had a normal color.
Day six: a bowl of hot noodle soup, with an... egg whose shape was a marvel. Su Chen drank every last drop of soup, and her Affection rose to 23.
The evening of day seven.
Bibi Dong collected the empty bowl. The corners of her mouth relaxed, ever so slightly, for an instant. Seven days of perfect attendance; mission complete.
Su Chen watched her leave, and the Light Screen flashed with golden text.
[Seven Days of Perfect Attendance achieved! Extra reward: Rakshasa God Trial, Eighth Gate Certificate ×1—already injected into Binder No. 001, Bibi Dong.] [Lord of Creation's hundredfold critical return activated! Reward obtained: A surge in Origin Soul Power! Soul Power Level: Level 30 → Level 40 · Soul Ancestor!]
Boom!
A wave of heat burst from his dantian. The roots of the World Tree inside him burrowed deeper again, and its trunk thickened by a whole ring.
Su Chen closed his eyes to feel the power. The smile hadn't yet faded from his lips when the Light Screen before him abruptly turned blood red!
A bold warning exploded in both his and Bibi Dong's minds.
[Ding! Advanced interaction mission triggered—Bedtime Reading.] [Host, go to the Library Pavilion tonight, draw Lord of Creation into your embrace, hold him close, and read him a bedtime story for one hour.] [Reward: Difficulty of the Rakshasa God Trial, Eighth Gate reduced by 50%.] [Failure penalty: Ultimate Soul-Devouring Pain, lasting 288 hours.]
Su Chen stared at the words "draw him into your embrace" and "hold him close," and fell silent.
System, there's something wrong with you.
He silently switched to Bibi Dong's emotion panel.
[Bibi Dong's current emotions: Shame—off the charts, unable to display] [Inner monologue: ...??!!!]
The inner monologue field was completely blank, filled only with a string of question marks and exclamation marks.
Clearly.
His Holiness the Pope's brain had crashed.
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