"Tian Meng, there aren't any soul beasts in this pond, are there?" Huo Yutong stood by the water, hesitating.
"No, just a few ordinary fish. Go ahead and wash. I'll keep watch for you and this little girl."
Tian Meng manifested her spiritual form, her translucent figure floating above the pond. She patted her chest reassuringly at Huo Yutong.
Of course, Tang Ya couldn't see any of this.
Fish?
Something stirred in Huo Yutong's heart.
If there was one thing she excelled at, it was grilling fish.
Back when she lived at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, she often caught fish in the river and grilled them for her mother. Now was the perfect chance to catch a few and let Tang Qi taste her cooking later.
With that thought, the girl instinctively reached toward her waist.
Nothing.
A sudden wave of panic surged through her.
Where was her White Tiger Dagger? It was a keepsake her mother had left her.
Sensing her panic, Tian Meng volunteered, "I saw it with Tang Qi."
So Tang Qi picked it up.
Huo Yutong breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded, glanced around, and picked up a forked branch from the ground. Then she removed her cumbersome shoes and socks and stepped barefoot into the water.
A refreshing coolness shot up from her soles and spread through her body, soothing her to the core. She narrowed her eyes in pleasure, then swiftly swung the branch and began spearing fish.
Within a few strokes, a pile of fresh fish lay flopping on the bank.
"Little Huo, what are you doing?" Tang Ya watched from the bank, dumbfounded.
Huo Yutong carried the fish ashore and flashed her a radiant smile. "I'll grill some fish for everyone later."
"Grilled fish!"
Tang Ya's eyes lit up, and she danced with excitement. "Grilled fish, grilled fish, my one true love!"
"Let's hurry up and absorb the Mystic Water Pills! I can't wait."
As she spoke, she eagerly began tugging at Huo Yutong's clothes.
"What are you doing, Xiaoya?"
Huo Yutong protested bashfully, instinctively covering her neckline.
"Oh, what are you being shy for?"
Tang Ya grinned mischievously and deliberately glanced at Huo Yutong's chest. "Absorbing a Mystic Water Pill flushes out a lot of impurities. Especially with your kind of talent, Little Huo... ahem, you'll need a thorough wash."
"What? You're not that much bigger than me either," Huo Yutong retorted quietly, blushing.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Two hours later.
Dressed in an outfit matching Tang Ya's, Huo Yutong looked down at the thoroughly fouled Small Pond, the tips of her ears turning red.
Were there... really that many impurities in my body?
"Come on, Little Huo. Let's go eat grilled fish!" Tang Ya urged, pinching her nose.
Huo Yutong answered, picked up the fish on the bank, and hurried back.
Her steps were light, and she felt as though an invisible set of shackles had fallen away inside her.
Tang Ya pulled Huo Yutong along, hiding her behind her back as though preparing to unveil a treasure.
As her words fell, she abruptly stepped aside, revealing the girl behind her in full.
"Ta-da! The brand-new Yutong makes her dazzling debut!"
Tang Qi looked up.
The girl wore a pink-and-yellow bow matching Tang Ya's atop her soft, fluffy blue hair. She was dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit, its apron and skirt arranged in overlapping layers, with white stockings accentuating her slender figure.
She stood with her hands folded in front of her and her head lowered, only lifting her watery blue eyes through her hair to look shyly at Tang Qi.
"All right, all right! Tang Qi, you're not even blinking. You're making Yutong blush!"
Tang Ya held several fish, her voice full of teasing.
That damned Haki Ya dared slander me in public. She's practically paved her own road to death!
"The most important thing right now is eating grilled fish!"
Tang Ya was about to run toward the water with the fish when Bei Bei reached out to stop her.
"Xiaoya, let me do it. How could I let you clean the fish yourself?"
Bei Bei smiled warmly, his tone sincere.
Tang Ya paused. After a moment's hesitation, she shoved all the fish into his hands. "...All right. Thank you, Bei Bei."
Xiaoya smiled at me!
In an instant, Bei Bei looked as though he'd been pumped full of three pounds of chicken blood, positively bursting with energy.
He immediately scampered toward the water with the fish, his steps springing with joy.
Meanwhile, Tang Ya remained where she was, hands on her hips, studying Tang Qi thoughtfully.
Suddenly, she issued a solemn command. "Tang Qi, go gather some dry firewood."
Silence hung in the air for a second.
Tang Qi slowly turned his head and gave her a strange look.
Had I heard that right?
Tang Qi stood with the ghost of a smile. "Haki Ya, aren't you forgetting something?"
Tang Ya blinked. "What?"
Tang Qi stood with his hands behind his back. "I'm the Tang Sect Leader now."
Then he turned around. "Here are your assignments. Both of you, take note."
"Tang Ya, gather dry firewood. Yutong, grill the fish."
Huo Yutong obediently nodded and pulled Tang Ya, whose cheeks had puffed up in anger, off to the side.
"He... he actually ordered this Sect Leader around!"
Tang Ya stamped her foot indignantly. Then her eyes shifted, and she caught Huo Yutong, who was walking ahead.
"Yutong, could you gather the firewood for me? This Sect Leader is in a good mood today, so I'll let you taste my cooking!"
Ever since the Iron Blood Sect destroyed the Tang Sect, she had scraped out a living alone at Shrek Academy and often cooked for herself.
Partly because prices at Shrek were high, and partly because she needed to save money to revive the Tang Sect.
Looking at Tang Ya's eager expression, Huo Yutong smiled helplessly. "All right, I'll gather the firewood."
She had barely taken two steps when she suddenly turned back, her expression earnest. "Xiaoya, you're not the Sect Leader anymore, you know."
"You! Ugh! What's wrong with you two? Honestly!" Tang Ya shook with cold fury.
A short while later, the four sat around a campfire.
Tang Qi eyed the fish in her hand, half blackened and half streaked with blood, and said disdainfully, "Haki Ya, have you ever grilled fish before? If you can't do it, let Yutong take over."
"Nonsense! I've never grilled fish, but isn't it just a matter of flipping them back and forth?"
Tang Ya stubbornly argued.
"Ta-da! Tang Sect's Tang Ya-brand grilled fish, made with love, fresh off the fire!"
She held the grilled fish high and proudly waved it before them.
Tang Qi frowned at the sight, while Huo Yutong silently turned her head away.
Tang Ya huffed and turned toward her last hope.
"Bei Bei, do you want some?" She blinked at him, her face full of anticipation.
Ignoring the other two's expressions, Bei Bei accepted the grilled fish with slightly trembling hands, disbelief written all over his face.
This... this is fish Xiaoya grilled herself? And she grilled it "especially" for me?
Dean Yan Shaozhe wasn't entirely right. Sometimes a man still needs to do a little bootlicking. Keep licking to the end, and you'll have everything!
Isn't this "grilled fish made with love" that Xiaoya personally cooked for me the best proof? It might lack all three-color, aroma, and flavor-but the affection is real.
Bei Bei took a bite and ate with relish, his face brimming with happiness, leaving Huo Yutong and Tang Qi staring in disbelief.
While the three weren't paying attention, Tang Ya had already finished grilling a second fish.
She raised the sorry-looking result before her eyes and couldn't help twisting her lips.
"How could it possibly taste bad...?"
She closed her eyes and took a bite.
"Urgh! Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"
Tang Ya spat it straight out and angrily flung the grilled fish into a nearby patch of grass.
"It tastes awful!"
Seeing her dejected expression, Huo Yutong felt a little sorry for her and took over the important task of grilling fish. "Xiaoya, let me do it."
It really did take the goddess of grilled fish. Before long, a soul-snatching aroma filled the air.
Tang Ya, who had still been wallowing in misery, snapped her head up, her eyes glowing green.
Even Bei Bei, who had been locked in a passionate struggle with his "grilled fish," froze for a moment.
Tang Ya drooled at the sight of the fish's crisp, golden skin.
The instant the first skewer reached her hands, Tang Ya pounced like a starving tiger. "Now this is grilled fish! What even was that stuff earlier?"
Bei Bei stared blankly at Tang Ya.
Your servants were ready to fight to the death, Your Majesty. Why did you surrender first?
An indescribable bitterness welled up in Bei Bei's heart, and he immediately redoubled his struggle with the grilled fish in his mouth.
Before you continue