Anomaly in the Data

Yun Yun picked up a small morsel with her chopsticks, brought it to her mouth, and chewed happily.

"?????"

The instant the meat, thin as a cicada's wing, entered her mouth, she tasted nothing at all. It was like eating air.

As expected of a five-star chef—Yun Yun really couldn't compliment his cooking.

She had eaten, yet somehow felt she hadn't quite eaten.

Not wanting to discourage Chen Yang, Yun Yun gave him a long, meaningful look.

Yun Yun assumed he had sliced it too thin, preventing the flavor from soaking into the meat, rather than simply forgetting the seasoning.

So she tried one of the larger chunks instead.

She put it into her mouth and chewed gently.

Hmm! I can't chew through it!

Yun Yun's brows furrowed slightly. Assuming she simply wasn't biting hard enough, she applied a little more force.

Her teeth nearly cracked, but she still couldn't bite through it. It was like dried bonito.

Yun Yun chewed until her teeth ached and nearly let a curse slip.

Fortunately, more than twenty years of good upbringing allowed her to force it back down.

Don't get angry. Don't get angry. It's just an accident.

She did her utmost to console herself.

Even if the meat's no good, there are still vegetables and white rice, aren't there?

Yun Yun turned her chopsticks toward the greens and the white rice in her bowl.

Who could tell her what on earth was going on with these greens that tasted sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty all at once?

And the rice was half-cooked! Was this some kind of joke?!

Yun Yun had been starving, but suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore—her speechlessness had filled her up.

"How is it, wifey?!" Chen Yang asked with boundless anticipation, his eyelashes fluttering.

Yun Yun praised him against her conscience. "It's pretty good, I suppose!" Never cook again.

Chen Yang had always been confident in his cooking. After receiving Yun Yun's approval, his head swelled until he was practically floating.

"If it's good, eat some more. Look at you—you barely have any flesh on you."

Ahem! As everyone knew, without flesh there was nothing to feel, and without anything to feel, there was no soft, springy bounce.

As he spoke, Chen Yang considerately placed several chunks of meat and a few greens into Yun Yun's bowl, urging her to eat more.

Yun Yun looked down at the newly added meat, hard as a dried-bonito sword, the greens that were sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty, and the half-cooked white rice. Her chopsticks froze in midair.

Utterly speechless, she rolled her eyes at Chen Yang and complained silently.

She really wanted to ask, Can't you recognize sarcasm?

And don't you taste your own food while cooking?

Never mind whether your cooking is garbage—even a stray dog would turn its nose up at it.

Struggling to maintain her smile, Yun Yun showed Chen Yang her gentlest side. "Husband, you worked hard cooking, too. Have a taste yourself!"

As she spoke, she placed a leaf of greens into Chen Yang's bowl.

How could Chen Yang withstand his little wife's sweet, tender manner? He surrendered on the spot.

Brimming with confidence, he took a big mouthful of greens and another of rice.

After a few chews, Chen Yang's expression underwent a subtle change, turning strange before his brows knitted.

The next instant, he spat it straight out.

"Ptoo! Ptoo! Ptoo!"

"What the hell is this stuff? Why does it taste so awful? Shit tastes better than this!"

Chen Yang disparaged it relentlessly as he spat.

He hadn't realized in the slightest that this "delicious" food had come from his own hands.

Only after saying that did he belatedly realize something was wrong.

Hmm! Wait, this stuff that's worse than shit seems to be my handiwork!

Chen Yang's expression promptly turned peculiar.

Especially when he met Yun Yun's gaze—he was so embarrassed he could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

Fucking hell!

Remembering how confidently he had just declared that his cooking was awesome enough to pierce the heavens, Chen Yang now wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it.

At the same time, Chen Yang was puzzled. Back when he was learning to cook, his teacher had said his cooking was good.

So why had it turned out like this the moment he made something?

This defies all reason!

Chen Yang couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

Could my cooking skills have deteriorated without me noticing?

Chen Yang mercilessly cleared away the five dishes and one soup on the table.

He went outside, brought back several plates of spirit fruit, and set them on the table.

"Have these to tide you over for now!"

Yun Yun held back her laughter, but couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked in a roundabout way.

"Husband, your knife skills are so excellent. Why is the food you make at the opposite extreme?"

Generally speaking, someone with excellent knife skills couldn't be too bad at cooking. They must have spent plenty of time in the kitchen.

How was Chen Yang supposed to know?

When he had learned knife skills from a Lanzhou hand-pulled noodle chef, the chef had told him he was extraordinarily gifted, could master things without instruction, and was ready to graduate after watching just once.

So he had accepted his teacher's advice and graduated!

After graduating, the first meal he had ever cooked had been tasted by his bodyguards and driver.

He still remembered how, after eating his food, his bodyguards and driver had all given him tearful thumbs-ups, declaring it delicious, a culinary masterpiece unmatched in the world.

Seeing their tears then, he had assumed the food was so delicious that they had been moved to tears.

He had even bragged about it for quite some time afterward.

Now it seemed that hadn't been the case at all.

His bodyguards and driver had probably said things they didn't mean because they wanted to spare his dignity and were on his payroll!

Damn it, flattery could get a man killed! They've made me embarrass myself horribly in front of my wife.

"Maybe it's because I haven't cooked in too long!" Chen Yang explained guiltily.

"Oh!" Yun Yun only half understood, but didn't ask further. Distractedly, she recalled that Nalan Yanran was currently receiving the inheritance of the Gate of Life and Death.

Sigh! However I look at it, I still have to keep grinding.

Otherwise, my disciple will catch up from behind sooner or later.

After eating a few bites of spirit fruit, she took the initiative to stand and approach him. Her lovely face flushed slightly as she kissed him on the lips, then pushed him out of the house.

"Go away. I'm going into seclusion to cultivate!"

"All right!" Chen Yang nodded helplessly, leaving her some time alone.

He turned and left.

As he left, Chen Yang didn't forget to give Windhowl to Yun Yun as a gift.

After receiving the "divine artifact: Windhowl," Yun Yun instantly fell in love with it.

The patterns on Windhowl's blade perfectly matched Yun Yun's tastes, and jade green was her signature color.

Moreover, Windhowl was the first proper gift Chen Yang had given her since their marriage, making her even more reluctant to put it down. She replaced the treasured sword that had accompanied her for more than ten years.

After Chen Yang left the main peak, the System Sprite, which had been quiet for many days, suddenly popped out and circled him rapidly.

[Ding! Data anomaly detected. The woeful poison body has awakened ahead of schedule.]

Chen Yang frowned.

The woeful poison body? Isn't that Xiao Yi Xian?!

At this point in time, shouldn't Xiao Yi Xian be in Qingshan Town, working as an apothecary and treating the townspeople for free?

How has her woeful poison body already awakened?!

"System Sprite, what's going on with Xiao Yi Xian?!" Chen Yang asked.

The System Sprite shook its head, blue data light flickering in its eyes.

[Ding! The system is running diagnostics.]

[Ding! Due to the excessive distance, and because the bearer of the woeful poison body is currently traveling from Qingshan Town toward Wutan City, the system cannot perform a scan.

Host, please proceed to Qingshan Town immediately and locate the bearer of the woeful poison body.]

[Ding! The system has locked onto the location of the bearer of the woeful poison body. Location information has been shared with the host.]

Suddenly, a compass appeared in Chen Yang's mind.

With this compass, Chen Yang could sense Xiao Yi Xian's current location without even releasing his spiritual perception.

Just as the System Sprite had said, Xiao Yi Xian was currently moving toward Wutan City at high speed.

Although he didn't understand what had happened, Chen Yang punched open a spatial passage and hurried toward Qingshan Town to find Xiao Yi Xian and see what had gone wrong.