Ning Xiang covered her forehead and stepped back a few paces. Was this guy forged from iron? Why was his chin so hard?
The girl's skin was delicate and tender, and Mingyuan could clearly see the red mark on her forehead.
Tsk, so fragile?
Mingyuan had no intention of cherishing a delicate flower. He asked, "You haven't stopped needing food yet?"
That shouldn't be right. He sized Ning Xiang up as though she were a weak little chicken.
Even human cultivators could normally forgo food after reaching Foundation Establishment and no longer felt hunger, let alone this girl, who had already formed her core.
Ning Xiang held her temper and said, "I can already forgo food, but my constitution is weak, so I often need to draw essence and spiritual energy from grains."
In fact, Ning Xiang thought those cultivators who ate no grains were the real idiots! Cultivators could expel impurities from their bodies themselves, so there were no ugly people in the cultivation world. Every one of them looked bright and refined, and they couldn't even get fat. Not eating their fill under those circumstances was such a waste of their natural advantages! In the twenty-first century, so many girls had to diet to keep their figures!
Mingyuan expressed his regret. "There's nothing to eat here. You'll have to endure it for a few days."
Ning Xiang waved a hand. "I've prepared everything."
With that, she swept her sleeve, and a grill appeared on the ground.
The system was long accustomed to such sights and stayed as quiet as a chicken. Even Mingyuan, despite his extraordinarily steady nerves, froze for a moment.
Ning Xiang took another pile of ingredients out of her Spirit Bracelet-
Marinated beef, pork, pig's trotters, chicken wings, and all sorts of other ingredients, along with a variety of vegetables...
The system could hardly bear to look.
Indeed, Ning Xiang had a second elder brother with a mutated ice spiritual root. Years ago, she had pestered him into making several small ice cellars as tall as she was. They were rather like refrigerators from a later era, except the ice cellars he made never thawed and needed no electricity.
In her spare time, Ning Xiang loved tinkering with ingredients. She put them in the ice cellars, then stored those in her Spirit Bracelet, taking food out whenever she wanted to eat. It was incredibly convenient.
Watching the girl bustle about with such practiced ease, Mingyuan couldn't help wondering how Lu Qingchen could possibly put up with a disciple like her.
[Host, don't you think the way you're acting right now is a little out of character for the female lead?] the system ventured timidly.
"Oh, right." Ning Xiang suddenly came to her senses. "But so what?" She put on an innocently cute look. "I'm hungry!"
System: [...You're pretty. Whatever you say goes!]
Fat sizzled out of the meat, sending its aroma wafting everywhere. Ning Xiang took a deeply satisfied sniff, then brought out a small brush and brushed sauce onto each piece.
Mingyuan: ...That smells amazing.
He walked over and stood beside Ning Xiang. As she tilted her head, a breeze lifted her veil and long hair. Mingyuan instinctively raised his hand, and her soft black tresses brushed his fingertips, elusive as clouds and mist.
Ning Xiang looked at him with her clear, dark eyes.
Mingyuan didn't know how to begin.
It was Ning Xiang who broke the silence first. "If you have nothing to do, why don't you turn this meat over for me?"
System: [You dare order the Demon Venerable around? Do you have a death wish?]
What happened next made the system feel even more as though it had seen a ghost: Mingyuan actually took the little tongs from Ning Xiang and, though clumsy, obediently turned the food on the grill.
What else could the system say? Perhaps the Demon Venerable wasn't as domineering and tyrannical as the rumors claimed.
While Ning Xiang turned away to prepare the dipping sauces, she caught a burnt smell.
She took a closer look. Good grief, Mingyuan had actually scorched several skewers of meat.
What a waste of ingredients!
Ning Xiang let out a whimper, pushed Mingyuan aside, and shot him a resentful look.
[If I could beat you in a fight, I'd shove your face into the brazier! Boo-hoo-hoo...]
Mingyuan had initially felt a little guilty, but hearing that left him torn between irritation and amusement.
Ning Xiang picked out the scorched skewers and thrust them in front of him. "You grilled these, so you're going to eat every last bite."
Mingyuan wanted to bark, "How dare you!" No one had ever dared hand him burnt food. Yet when he saw the girl's eyes reddened by the smoke, he still reached out, took them, and tried a bite.
Surprisingly, they tasted extraordinarily good. Numbing and spicy, the meat was tender and delicious, without a hint of gaminess or unpleasant odor.
He finished the skewers in an instant, but still craved more.
Ning Xiang thought smugly, No one can resist the temptation of grilled meat. And if they can, switch to hot pot!
She handed Mingyuan a cup of fat nerd happy water. He took it and gave it a disdainful look. "What's this?" It's pitch-black. Could it be poison?
The 192-centimeter-tall Demon Venerable stared blankly at what he held.
Ning Xiang gave a little huff. "It's called happy water. Try it and you'll see."
With some hesitation, the Demon Venerable took a small sip, and his eyes immediately lit up.
So sweet. Delicious!
The system cried inwardly that they were doomed. At this rate, wouldn't Ning Xiang lead the Demon Venerable astray?
The little fox perched on Ning Xiang's shoulder, its beady eyes gleaming with longing.
Ning Xiang flicked its little ear and said mercilessly, "You can't eat."
It was made of paper and feared both fire and water, so naturally it couldn't eat any food either.
The little fox looked utterly aggrieved and clung to Ning Xiang's veil, refusing to let go.
Mingyuan glanced at Ning Xiang and said, "If you like foxes, I'll catch one for you to keep as a spirit beast once I get out of here. There's a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox in the Demon Realm, snow-white all over and very beautiful. You young girls are sure to like it."
The moment he finished speaking, the little fox kicked up a fuss, squeaking wildly as though protesting to Mingyuan.
Mingyuan merely swept it with an indifferent glance, and the little fox immediately wilted, burying its head in Ning Xiang's hair without daring to make another sound.
Ning Xiang soothed the little fox, but inwardly dismissed his offer.
[That Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox is the Demon King's beloved pet, the old bastard. If you can catch it, I'll take your surname.]
Mingyuan asked, "Have you heard of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox?"
Ning Xiang promptly shook her head. "I'm just an insignificant little cultivator whose words carry no weight. How could I have heard of it?"
[Hmph, not only have I heard of it, I've seen it! Bet you didn't expect that!]
One day in the future, the Demon King would present the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox to Jiang Miaomiao with both hands, while Ning Xiang would be bound with the Immortal-Binding Lock and thrown at Jiang Miaomiao's feet. Holding the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox and stroking its fur, Jiang Miaomiao would watch the Demon King torture Ning Xiang to vent her anger.
Mingyuan puzzled over it endlessly, unable to understand why this girl was such an unfathomable riddle.
Still...
Coming to the Tianyuan Continent this time really had been the right decision.
Ning Xiang had no idea she had caught someone's interest. After finishing the grilled meat and tidying everything up in contentment, she conjured two tents. Pointing to one, she told Mingyuan, "You'll sleep here tonight. No peeking at me. That's very rude."
Then she muttered to herself, "Why do I feel like you're the one who should be worrying about your virtue? You're much prettier than I am."
Mingyuan heard every word Ning Xiang said. Being praised as prettier than a girl seemed... hardly a flattering thing to hear.
Before you continue