This site puts novels behind a paywall at 50,000 words; I have fewer chapters, but more words, so mine goes behind a paywall at 60,000

Stinky Chicken Fry Fry Fry Food Shop.

At that moment, the shop was packed, and rich aromas filled the air.

There was stinky tofu that gave off a powerful stench, as well as chicken cutlets, fried chicken, fried skewers, and staples such as tofu pudding, egg fried rice, and noodles tossed in scallion oil.

Every customer here ate to their heart's content.

Because business had exploded, the original premises had become too small, so Chef Guga had commissioned Builder Guga to upgrade the shop.

The space had become much more spacious.

"Chef Guga, we're here."

"Phoebe Chibi."

Aemeath and the others came up to Chef Guga, who was run off her feet.

"Guga, Phoebe, Paimon, Rover, Aemeath!" Chef Guga greeted the group.

"Chef, chef, bring us a hundred portions of everything on your menu."

"Phoebe wants a hundred portions too."

Paimon's and Phoebe's eyes shone.

The moment those words left their mouths, the entire room fell silent.

Aemeath, a beautiful young girl, was already the center of attention wherever she went, and what surprised everyone was that His Highness the Crown Prince had actually come in with her this time.

Hearing that bottomless-pit order made all their jaws drop even further.

Beside them, Qian Renxue's eye twitched.

She had known it. These two bottomless pits.

Sigh.

Fortunately, the food at Stinky Chicken Fry Fry Fry Food Shop was affordable. Each dish generally cost between five and thirty copper coins, and the menu currently only had fifteen or twenty items.

Even if Paimon and Phoebe Chibi each ordered a thousand portions, they would not eat her out of house and home.

"Guga?" Chef Guga stared at Paimon and Phoebe Chibi in disbelief.

Every time you come, you pile more work on me. Fine, but this time you're going even further!

A hundred portions each?

"Guga?"

Chef Guga stared at Paimon. So who was paying?

This time, Paimon had called out especially loudly.

But she could be certain that Paimon absolutely would not be paying.

"His Highness the Crown Prince is picking up everyone's tab." Paimon proudly patted her chest.

The others also looked at Qian Renxue in disbelief.

Qian Renxue felt a little helpless, but still gave Chef Guga a gentle smile. "Indeed, everyone's tab is on me."

Chef Guga understood at once.

However, she could not handle everything at once right now, so she immediately pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"Gugu gaga."

After a burst of goose-speak, Qian Renxue froze briefly, then saw several Gugas abruptly appear in the kitchen and begin frantically preparing food.

"Bring a few portions of tofu pudding for Traveler and the others too."

"Oh, right, does Your Highness like it sweet or savory?" Paimon came back to her senses and fixed her eyes on Qian Renxue.

"There's savory tofu pudding too?"

Qian Renxue stared at Chef Guga in disbelief.

Wasn't tofu pudding always sweet?

Could Chef Guga actually have savory tofu pudding here?

"Guga, Guga has everything here."

Chef Guga held her head high and puffed out her chest, brimming with pride.

There was no dish Guga could not make.

"...Please bring me a portion of sweet tofu pudding."

"Phoebe wants savory tofu pudding."

"We'll have two portions of spicy tofu pudding."

Qian Renxue had already been surprised that Phoebe ate savory tofu pudding. When Aemeath spoke, her eye twitched even harder.

There were actually people who ate it spicy!

They were heretics!

"Spicy tofu pudding?"

"That's why they're heretics! Sweet tofu pudding is obviously the tasty kind!" Paimon stamped her feet in midair.

"Da... A-Piao likes it, so that's what I'll eat. What's it to you, Paimon?" Aemeath planted her hands on her hips and glared at Paimon.

Paimon retreated in defeat.

Boohoo... Just what was going on with Traveler? How had he gained another daughter?

Though she wasn't his biological daughter.

Qian Renxue looked at Xu Qing. What a truly inseparable pair of siblings.

Only... Paimon called Xu Qing Traveler, Chef Guga and Phoebe Chibi called him Rover, and Aemeath called him A-Piao.

What strange names.

Moreover, for some reason, she kept feeling that there was something peculiar about the way Aemeath looked at Xu Qing.

She also envied Aemeath, who was even prettier than her true appearance.

She could walk freely in the light.

Inside the private room.

Once the dishes arrived, they covered the table, piled like a small mountain.

Paimon and Phoebe Chibi stuffed themselves. Qian Renxue's mouth twitched as she watched. They really were bottomless pits.

As Qian Renxue ate breakfast, she probed, "Little Sister Meath, Little Brother Qing, you've been appearing during the day and leaving at night these past few days. Are you staying nearby?"

Aemeath glanced at her without exposing her intentions:

"You seem pretty free, Your Highness, strolling around the streets every day. Don't you have memorials to review?"

Qian Renxue smiled. "I come out for some fresh air occasionally. But where are you two from? I'm fairly familiar with the Heaven Dou Empire."

"A small place. You probably wouldn't know it, Your Highness."

After speaking, Aemeath lowered her head slightly and parted her lips, asking to be fed.

Xu Qing scooped up a spoonful of tofu pudding and fed it to her.

"Mmm... Da... This taste..."

"Not to your taste? If you're not used to it, I'll get you sweet tofu pudding instead."

"No, it just feels pretty novel. But I like everything A-Piao likes!"

Aemeath's eyes curved with her smile.

Dad had fed her this. No matter how awful it tasted, she could eat it.

Besides, nothing Chef Guga made tasted bad.

It was simply her first time trying it, and she was not quite used to it.

Then she also scooped up a spoonful from her own bowl and fed it to Xu Qing.

Seeing how intimate they were, Qian Renxue wore an odd expression. "You two siblings really are close."

"Of course. A-Piao and I are the closest."

Beneath the table, Aemeath took the opportunity to lace her fingers through Xu Qing's, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

The more Qian Renxue watched, the more something felt off.

Why did it keep feeling like she was watching a couple?

Qian Renxue changed the subject. "But which academy do you two attend? Which renowned master teaches you?"

"We study under Fairy Qingxiao."

"Fairy Qingxiao?" Qian Renxue thought it over repeatedly, but had never heard that name.

Yet as she looked at the two before her, then at their so-called detached Martial Souls, she still felt that they were full of suspicious points.

"Your Highness."

Xu Qing put down his spoon and looked at Qian Renxue.

"Please, Little Brother Qing."

"From that chance encounter a few days ago to today, you could actually be a little more sincere. Just ask whatever you want to ask. Wear a mask too much, and it looks false."

Qian Renxue's heart jolted.

A mask!

Had she been exposed?

She stared straight at Xu Qing, finding his gaze calm.

Aemeath also wore a faint, ambiguous smile.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Qian Renxue decided he was probably referring to her pretending to meet them by chance and what had happened today.

Her expression became a little more candid:

"Little Brother Qing, how forthright. Then I'll be direct. When you entered the city a few days ago, Senior Dugu personally came to welcome you. That truly made me very curious."

"People in Heaven Dou City all know something of Senior Dugu's temper. If he treats someone with such solemn respect, I can hardly refrain from getting acquainted."

"That's all?"

Qian Renxue was somewhat speechless.

If not that, what else?

Someone had abruptly appeared in Heaven Dou City whom even a Titled Douluo treated with respect. Wasn't that a major matter?

"That's all," Qian Renxue said firmly.

"Oh, he's my subordinate."

"So he's a subordinate..."

"Wait. Your subordinate?"

Once it sank in, Qian Renxue's head buzzed.

They had recruited Dugu Bo? When had that happened?

A force capable of bringing a Titled Douluo under its command?

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?

Or the Clear Sky Sect, which had withdrawn from the world for years?

Or some other hidden sect?

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

Only after Aemeath called twice did Qian Renxue come back to her senses.

She looked stiffly at Aemeath, forcing a smile. "Little Sister Meath, what is it?"

A mischievous smile hung on Aemeath's face. "Your Highness, what do you think about changing Heaven Dou Royal Academy into Aemeath Academy?"

"!!!!!"

Qian Renxue abruptly stood up.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"