Don't Bring Up That Damn Everlasting Youth of Yours

Herrscher of Reason: "Fine, I'll have that old antique prepare a few more Crimson Birds to go with the drinks."

Hua: "Little Senti, I told you, I've never raised Crimson Birds."

Herrscher of Reason: "Telling me won't do any good. You need to tell everyone. When the time comes, we'll eat every fat chicken you've raised on Mount Tai Xu!"

Kiana: "Exactly! Class Monitor, we like Crimson Birds so much. You can't refuse to introduce them to us."

Raiden Mei: "Just how much do you like them, Kiana?"

Kiana: "Enough that I want them every meal!"

Chicken tendons, fried drumsticks... Just thinking about fried chicken piled higher than a hillside made Himeko drool.

On the screen, Otto's TV channel was still introducing Immortal Crimson Bird's Crimson Bird farm on Mount Tai Xu while the Immortal Crimson Bird brought her students there.

"Students, we'll soon arrive at the Mount Tai Xu scenic area. First, we'll visit the famous shopping street and experience the local culture."

The bus drove down the road, stirring up a breeze that blew against a wooden sign by the roadside.

A sheet of paper covering the three carved characters for Mount Tai Xu was blown away, revealing the original words beneath.

—Great Mount Xu.

The bus arrived at its destination. The Puppets got off one after another, and Teacher Crimson Bird began introducing the area as their guide.

"Students, ahead is Mount Tai Xu's specialty shopping street. From here on, you'll have free time."

"Woohoo..."

"Moon Chaser, wait!"

Moon Chaser dashed off at top speed, with no intention of touring with the main group.

She only stopped when she reached a roadside stall.

A huge black fat chicken, Black Kite, sat behind the stall. All sorts of goods were laid out before it, but the Xuanyuan Sword especially caught Moon Chaser's attention.

"Wow, is this the mysterious weapon from the East? So cool!"

With the Xuanyuan Sword in hand, Moon Chaser seemed to feel an endless wellspring of power.

"Well, well, young friend, you've got a good eye."

The stall owner, Herrscher of Reason, had somehow appeared behind Moon Chaser. Wearing sunglasses, she looked like a profoundly mysterious street swindler.

"From what I can tell, this might just be the sword Immortal Crimson Bird used back then."

"Alright, I'll buy this sword!"

Moon Chaser gripped the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand, liking it more and more the longer she looked at it.

Gritting her teeth, she pulled out her wallet and slapped a large handful of crystals onto the stall.

"I can feel the power of antiquity!"

With one swing of the Xuanyuan Sword, a righteous aura tore through the sky and cleaved the distant hillside in two.

"Wahahaha! With this sword, all of you shall become my servants!"

Holding the Xuanyuan Sword, Moon Chaser sank into her own fantasy world, completely unaware that a swindler Herrscher had altered her consciousness.

Herrscher of Reason altered your consciousness. You now believe this sword is real!

Meanwhile, beside her, Herrscher of Reason was still sweet-talking the other Puppets.

"With this magical treasure, your beloved will tie the knot with you."

"Really?"

Bella held the obviously worthless Friendship Points in her hands, her mind filled with visions of Queen Sirin showering her with affection.

She had been completely taken for a ride.

Only Little Ancestor Cang Xuan, still asleep on the bus, was dreaming of delicious meat buns.

But an accident with Herrscher of Reason's authority caused several people's illusions to blend together, and the Little Ancestor was quickly swallowed up.

"Meat buns, meat buns, meat buns..."

The mishmash illusion was as chaotic as the birth of heaven and earth: bald gangsters carrying machine guns, Moon Chaser transformed into a meat bun monster, spinach-haired figures wandering everywhere, and Ruoshui flying atop a Crimson Bird.

It was absolutely not something the living world should have been capable of producing.

Kiana: "Little Senti, what is this? Did your Herrscher authority bug out? Couldn't you make something a little more normal?"

Raiden Mei: "Spinach everywhere, meat bun monsters, robots caught in claw machines, and Black Kite outside the claw machines..."

Pardofelis: "Hahaha, Sister Mei, stop it! My stomach hurts from laughing. Is that what the Herrscher of Reason's authority is for? Hahahaha."

Thinking of the Herrscher of Reason from the Previous Era, she had been an absolute weapon of mass destruction.

The power to control consciousness had been practically unstoppable, nearly dealing humanity a devastating blow. Why had she become such a pathetic scammer here?

Herrscher of Reason: "How is that my fault? Those are their own illusions. Sure, I gave them a little push and exaggerated things a tiny bit, but everything inside was imagined by them."

Bronya: "So someone really dreams about nothing but meat buns? Could she be Kiana's relative?"

Kiana: "What do you mean by that, Bronya? Even if I dream, I dream about Mei's fried chicken. How could mere meat buns possibly satisfy me?"

Still, when it came to dreaming about food, perhaps Kiana and the Little Ancestor truly had something in common.

Everyone's eyes fell on the Little Ancestor's chubby little belly. She looked especially amusing, while only Hua wore a thoughtful expression, seemingly wanting to say something but unable to get the words out.

If she had cared more about the Book of Cang Xuan back then, perhaps it could have lived as happily as it did at Puppet Academy.

Elysia: "Am I the only one who thinks the little ones following Herrscher of Reason are adorable? I really want to raise one. I want one so badly, I want one!"

Pardofelis: "Me too, me too! This time, I don't want to eat one. I really, really like them!"

Its plump body was even fatter than Canned Food. Its legs were almost impossible to see, and aside from the feathers on its head, its entire body was basically just a ball.

That dumb, blank look made Black Kite absolutely adorable!

Kiana: "Class Monitor, you both raise chickens, so why are the Black Kites raised by Herrscher of Reason all about the same, while your Crimson Birds come in every imaginable form?"

Hua: "Uh..."

Bronya: "Perhaps one group is raised as underlings, while the other is raised as ingredients. Their jobs are different."

Herrscher of Reason: "Hey! Now that you mention it, having such a cute little thing following me around might be pretty fun. It'd be great if the system rewarded me with a Black Kite someday."

Raiden Mei: "Even if one were given away, wouldn't it be kidnapped from Puppet Academy?"

Herrscher of Reason: "What does it matter? She's Herrscher of Reason, and I'm also Herrscher of Reason. If Black Kite listens to her, then it'll definitely listen to me too."

Herrscher of Reason: "Besides, she has so many Black Kites. What's wrong with giving me one? We're both Herrschers of Reason. She must be as generous as I am!"

Theresa: "That makes so much sense that I can't even find a flaw in it."

Good lord.

By that logic, Herrscher of Reason, weren't you admitting that the swindler setting up a stall at the foot of Great Mount Xu was the same person as you?!

Everyone focused their eyes on the screen, anticipating what new nonsense Herrscher of Reason would come up with next.

On the screen, the Book of Cang Xuan suddenly smelled roast chicken in her dream and bit down on Black Kite.

"Cluck cluck!!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly awakened, the Book of Cang Xuan lifted her sleep mask. It took her quite a while to realize she had only been dreaming. Right now, she was lying sprawled atop a huge fat chicken's head.

"Isn't that my meat bun? Give my meat bun back!!"

"Cluck cluck!!"

"Give it to me! My meat bun! Did you hear me?!"

The Little Ancestor and Black Kite began fighting inside the bus, while outside, Herrscher of Reason had already made a fortune and was preparing to run off with the crystals.

"Hahaha! I made so much money so easily with just an illusion. Hey! We're done here. I'm taking you all out for good food and drinks!"

"You on the bus, it's time to go!"

Herrscher of Reason shouted at Black Kite inside the bus.

The sudden sound of police sirens made her panic, and then a large group of Kevin Puppets appeared before her.

"Herrscher over there, listen up. You are surrounded. Please put down your weapons!"

A Kevin Puppet shouted through a loudspeaker.

"Behave yourselves. Don't make any pointless—"

"Hehe, just you lot? Watch this—Reversal of All Things!"

Herrscher of Reason unleashed her ultimate move, escaping with the entire Great Mount Xu in tow, followed by a huge group of traffic cop Kevins.

Meanwhile, on Mount Tai Xu, thousands of miles away.

Immortal Crimson Bird sat on a wooden stool, dozing off as she occasionally tossed feed to her Crimson Birds.

"Sigh, why haven't those children who said they were coming to visit arrived yet?"

The children had not arrived, but Herrscher of Reason, carrying an entire mountain, crashed into her instead.

The two mountains collided, throwing Mount Tai Xu into chaos. Immortal Crimson Bird's vegetable garden and farm were smashed into enormous craters.

"Ow, that hurt. I should've shaken that guy off this time, right?"

Herrscher of Reason scratched her head, only to suddenly discover a large flock of Crimson Birds marching toward her. Their vicious expressions made it obvious they had come to settle the score.

"Um, this is a misunderstanding. I'm really pitiful too, you know."

"Hehe!"

Herrscher of Reason made an adorably cute expression, trying to muddle through it.

Unfortunately, Immortal Crimson Bird was in a rage and immediately led the Crimson Birds in a brutal beating.

"My Spring No Old! My vegetable garden! They've all been destroyed!!!"

Amid Immortal Crimson Bird's heart-wrenching cries, the screen slowly faded out.

Elysia: "Pfft, Spring No Old, vegetable garden... Hahaha, Hua, you're already miserable enough, so why do I still want to laugh? Hahaha."

Himeko Murata: "After all that, the one who got hurt in the end was actually Hua?"

Theresa: "It was bad enough that the Puppets never came to visit, but then Herrscher of Reason even destroyed her vegetable garden. I feel sorry for Hua for one second."

Herrscher of Reason: "Hey?! I'm pitiful too, alright? What were those Crimson Birds? Why was every single one of them so huge?"

Seeing herself getting beaten up again, Herrscher of Reason was beginning to wonder whether she was being targeted.

Those Crimson Birds were all plump and muscular, taller than small mountains. Just hearing the sounds of them beating someone up made it hurt.

Herrscher of Reason: "Old antique, just how did you raise those Crimson Birds to be so fat?"

Hua: "I-I don't know either!"

Kiana: "The scientific farming methods of Mount Tai Xu's Immortal Crimson Bird, combined with its beautiful natural environment, create an exceptional flavor."

Raiden Mei: "No, no, no, Kiana. That Crimson Bird was so huge, and you're still thinking about eating it?"

Didn't she see the Crimson Birds beat up Herrscher of Reason?

With chickens taller than small mountains, Mei did not even know whether she could find a pot that large. Even if she found one, there would not be a spatula big enough.

The Herrscher of Food's cooking skills faced a severe challenge for the first time.

Kiana: "Class Monitor raised so many Crimson Birds. If we don't help relieve her burden by eating them, how could she possibly finish them all by herself?"

Hua: "...There's really no need, and I'm the victim here. Won't anyone speak up for me? My Spring No Old!"

Her vegetable garden, the Spring No Old she had painstakingly tended, all of it had been destroyed!

Did they know how much of a shadow seeing that scene had cast over Hua's heart?

Did they know how much effort it took her to tend the Spring No Old?!

Mount Tai Xu had always offered nothing but plain tea and simple food. She had finally managed to pickle some Spring No Old every year as emergency rations, and then with one smack, it was all gone!

Herrscher of Reason: "Old antique, stop bringing up your damn Spring No Old! I didn't think much of it before, but after you said that, I suddenly remembered the five thousand years I spent on Mount Tai Xu!"