Zhuge Cuihua

# Chapter 9: Zhuge Cuihua

After Zhang Chongtian left, Xu Zimo and Lin Ruhu also began their preparations.

Boiling water, killing the chicken, plucking feathers, preparing seasonings.

By the time Zhang Chongtian sneaked back carrying a large pile of spirit tree branches, Xu Zimo and the other man had finished their preparations.

"What took you so long?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.

"I was watching some excitement," Zhang Chongtian said with a smile. "Yesterday, the Second Elder went to peek at the female disciples bathing and got caught.

The Second Elder had a flash of inspiration and transformed into the appearance of his own senior disciple, Xiao Xinghe.

Now Xiao Xinghe himself is being hunted down by all the female disciples of the sect."

"With a master like that, Senior Brother Xiao is pretty unlucky," Lin Ruhu said with a laugh.

Xu Zimo lit the spirit tree branches, set up a rack, and placed a Medicinal Dao Sacred Chicken on it to roast.

In another pot, he steamed one, adding not only the Medicinal Dao Sacred Chicken but also some other supplementary ingredients: Dragon Spirit Grass, Heavenly Heart Flower, and Refreshing Mint.

As the spirit tree branches burned, a faint fragrance wafted through the air, and the boiling water bubbled away.

Just then, the maidservant Chunxiao walked over and said, "Young Master, the First Elder's granddaughter, Liao Ruyan, is here. She says she has something to discuss with you."

In the courtyard where Xu Zimo lived on Yan Nan Peak, besides himself and his guard Zhang Chongtian, there were also two maidservants who looked after his daily needs.

Chunxiao and Xiuqiu.

"Let her in," Xu Zimo said.

Before long, Liao Ruyan walked over, carrying a Dark Sky Tiger cub in each hand.

She gripped the cubs by the scruff of their necks, holding them up casually, both little tigers wearing expressions of utter despair.

"I've brought you the bet you won. From now on, we're even," Liao Ruyan said.

Her eyes were a little red, as if she had just been crying, and her expression was deeply dejected.

"Who bullied you?" Lin Ruhu asked curiously.

"The two little chicks born from my family's Medicinal Dao Sacred Chicken went missing," Liao Ruyan said pitifully. "I was playing with them just yesterday."

Lin Ruhu glanced at the roasting rack beside him, then at the pot where the water was already boiling. He fell silent for a moment and began staring at the sky.

Seeing that Liao Ruyan looked like she was about to cry, Xu Zimo sighed and said, "Ruyan, I originally thought you were a girl of extraordinary wisdom, but I never expected you to be so foolish."

"What do you mean?" Liao Ruyan asked curiously, her big eyes wide open.

"Every living being has its own path to walk," Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. "Chickens all meet their end—some die by braising, some by steaming.

But no matter what they die for, as long as they die a worthy death, a death of value, then their death is meaningful, is worthwhile. Do you understand?"

"Oh, I understand," Liao Ruyan said, nodding blankly. "So I won't look for them anymore?"

"Search for them a thousand times in the crowd, then suddenly turn around—and there they are, where the lantern lights are dim," Xu Zimo said. "Some things, the more you look for them, the less you find them. When you stop wanting to look, they might just appear on their own."

Liao Ruyan nodded seriously. "I understand."

"Ruhu, let's take one of these Dark Sky Tiger cubs each," Xu Zimo said to Lin Ruhu.

At this age, the Dark Sky Tigers were still young, about the size of a house cat, and even their appearance was very cat-like, except they had two pairs of wings as thin as cicada wings.

Their bodies were entirely dark-colored, covered in grid-like stripes, looking especially kawaii.

Right now, one of the two Dark Sky Tigers was rolling on the ground, acting cute, while the other was viciously biting at Xu Zimo's shoelaces.

They say you can tell the future from the present—from a creature's behavior as a child, you can see its personality when it grows up.

This Dark Sky Tiger rolling around and acting cute clearly had no future, while the one biting the shoelaces would surely be fierce when grown, a powerful mount.

So Xu Zimo wisely chose the one that was rolling around and acting cute.

Dark Sky Tiger: "...MMP."

"Brother Zimo, why don't you give these two cubs names?" Lin Ruhu suggested.

"As descendants of the Imperial Bloodline Beast, they will surely carry the glory of their ancestors. One day, their names will spread across the four seas, shake the eternal universe, and sweep the eight wastelands. So they must be given domineering names," Xu Zimo said, gazing into the distance with a solemn tone. "From today onward, your two names shall be...

Zhuge Cuihua, Situ Goudan!"

Lin Ruhu: ...

Liao Ruyan: ...

The two Dark Sky Tigers: ?????

"Marvelous, marvelous!" Lin Ruhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly clapped and praised. "Though this name has only a few words, its grammar is rigorous, its wording neat, its structure clever, and it rolls off the tongue.

It extremely aptly expresses the namer's blessings and profound emotions toward the little animals. One could say it is concise, each word worth a thousand gold, every word tugging at the heartstrings, every word moving one to tears.

It fully demonstrates the namer's solid literary foundation, his effortless writing skill, and his utterly devastating creative ability. Truly admirable!

And ending with an exclamation mark is the finishing touch—a stroke of genius, profound in conception, echoing the preceding text, elevating the theme, expressing the namer's emotions to the fullest!"

It stirs endless emotion and melancholy, with a sense of natural perfection—truly the pinnacle of naming, the masterpiece of blessings.

After Lin Ruhu finished speaking, seeing everyone's expressions like they'd just been fed a dog, he asked back, "Did I say something wrong?"

Xu Zimo now deeply understood the saying, "When a person has no shame, they're invincible under heaven."

"Right, you're right," the others replied with helpless, tearful smiles.

At that moment, the Medicinal Dao Sacred Chicken on the grill had already turned a golden brown, crackling and popping as it cooked.

Drops of oil rolled down one by one, and Xu Zimo quickly sprinkled the seasoning over it.

That particularly enticing aroma drifted through the air, and all four of them unconsciously licked their lips.

"Oh, right, Sister Ruyan, are you feeling a bit better now?" Xu Zimo asked.

"Much better," Liao Ruyan replied, staring at the roasted chicken as her stomach growled.

"Well, if you don't have anything else to do, you should head off now. We're busy here, so we won't entertain you," Lin Ruhu said with a chuckle.

"I don't have anything to do either. It's boring just hanging around, and going back is no fun," Liao Ruyan said nonchalantly. "I haven't eaten yet anyway. You don't mind if I mooch a meal, do you?"

"Are we that close with you?" Lin Ruhu curled his lip.

"If you don't let me eat, I'll go report you to the Second Elder," Liao Ruyan snorted coldly. "Don't think I didn't notice—the branches you're burning are from the Heavenly Tier spirit tree, the Seven Star Sky Radiance Tree. Only that kind of tree gives off star-like sparks when it burns."

"Oh, my little temper," Xu Zimo stood up and said, "I'm someone who yields to softness, not hardness. If you beg me nicely, I might just agree.

But you threaten me? Ruhu, shut the door, let out Dog Egg and Cuihua."