Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Walking down this painting-like world, a cottage appeared not far away.
It was an ordinary cottage. However, it complemented its surroundings, making it seem very homely.
Cheng Yi held on to a pile of things, walking toward the cottage.
Outside the cottage, around a few hundred meters away from it, there was a man with a goatee and a crown on his head. He was wearing a brown robe, standing by the stream. Both of his hands were behind his back. He looked worried but put on a calm look as he looked at the stream as if nothing was wrong.
Cheng Yi walked over with excitement. When she saw the man, she fixed her composure and quickly fixed the pot in her arms. She greeted, “Greetings to the Jade Emperor.”
“Alright, how many times have I told you, don’t mind the gesture.” The man waved it off and smiled. “Did you find anything on this trip?”
Cheng Yi could not help smiling. “This time, I met my Seventh Sister.”
“Seventh Sister?” The man halted and asked with a strange tone, “How did you two meet? You managed to get out of the Heavenly Temple or did she manage to get in?”
“Cheng Yi, don’t talk to him. Come over here!”
Suddenly, a voice was heard. The man and Cheng Yi halted.
“Jade Emperor, I’ll leave you here.”
“Cough, cough, go on.” The man waved without changing his expression at all.
Before the cottage, there was a pavilion. A woman with her hair down in a golden robe was sitting there.
The first impression of this woman was that she was elegant, noble, and well-behaved. She looked similar to Cheng Yi. In other words, Cheng Yi learned her behavior and mannerisms from this woman.
Other than those, the woman looked beautiful, but would not let anyone even think of having her. She exuded a motherly temperament—generous and respectable.
Cheng Yi lowered her head and greeted politely, “Greetings to the Empress.”
The Empress smiled and nodded. “Sit!”
Cheng Yi sat and asked in a small voice, “Empress, you’re having conflicts with the Jade Emperor again?”
She felt tired. She had not left for too long, and yet they had started fighting…again?
Over the years, they had a major fight every three days and a smaller fight every two days. Cheng Yi could never understand how there could be so many things to argue about.
“Hmph!” The Empress scoffed. “I was about to win the chess game, but he used a dirty trick to beat me at the end! How heartless!”
Cheng Yi looked at the chess game set up. She looked from left to right and still could not make out how the Empress ‘was about to win’. Sigh…it was a horrible loss!
Oh, Jade Emperor. Why did he not let the Empress win?
Cheng Yi could not help recalling, ‘Right, the last argument was caused by the Jade Emperor letting the Empress win!’
As the Empress said, ‘With my skills, why would I need you to let me win? Do you look down on me?’
Sigh…the Empress was difficult to deal with.
“Alright, let’s not talk about this.” The Empress pointed a finger and the chessboard disappeared. She then looked at Cheng Yi and said, “Cheng Yi, you met Ziye? Where did you see her?”
The Jade Emperor was still staring at the stream. He seemed to have turned into a sculpture but his ears were listening carefully.
Cheng Yi said instantly, “Empress, we met in the Heavenly Temple. Seventh Sister unsealed the seal of the Heavenly Temple.”
“Unsealed the seal?” The Empress frowned. She could not help shaking her head and sighed. “This silly girl’s stubborn. Fighting against the bigger force will get her in trouble. Did you try to talk her out of it? To ask her to stop?”
“All these years, Seventh Sister has grown up a lot.” Cheng Yi paused and said, “This time, we talked for a long while. She said an expert appeared in the world. The changes of the world are caused by this expert. He not only formed Buddhism, but he also appointed a Human Sovereign. He even rebuilt the Underworld.”
Silence.
The Empress was perplexed. The Jade Emperor was dumbfounded.
After a long while, the Empress took a deep breath and asked with a serious tone, “Are you sure this is true?”
Cheng Yi nodded. She continued, “Seventh Sister isn’t joking. Furthermore…the two Daluo Golden Immortals guarding the Heavenly Temple were vanquished by this expert.”
The Empress had a serious look. “Right, with your Seventh Sister’s ability, she’s unable to fight a Daluo Golden Immortal. Perhaps some changes have actually occurred.”
She could not help looking at the Jade Emperor, wanting to discuss it. The Jade Emperor looked at her at the same time. However, seeing her, his face sank and he scoffed arrogantly. He looked away.
He mumbled to himself, “If this is true, the expert’s quite powerful.”
The Jade Emperor could not help shaking his head and smiling bitterly, now that the Empress had no choice but to speak to him.
They were thinking about it at the same time. Who was it that had so much power to do such things?
“Right. Empress, Seventh Sister gave these to you!”
Cheng Yi said as she placed down the pot in her hand. She slowly laid out the things on the table.
The Empress saw her movement. She could not help smiling and shaking her head. “Look at you, you’re the most mature one out of them all. Why would you mess around with your Seventh Sister? Why did you bring these back here?”
Actually, the Empress already noticed these the moment Cheng Yi got back.
She thought it was something good since Cheng Yi did not mind about her image and carried these back. That had never happened before. However, when she saw what these things were, the Empress was rather disappointed.
These were merely some meat and vegetables. What good did they have?
She was the Empress of the Heavenly Temple, how would she be impressed by these things?
The Empress looked at the meat again. She could not help frowning and shaking her head. She looked down on these items.
Ever since becoming the Empress, she had never tasted any ordinary food. She was used to having Spiritual Roots as food. Even the drinks had to be ambrosia. Meat was impossible. It was too low-level. She was used to having some Dragon Liver and Essence of Phoenix but she got bored of these as well.
“Empress, these are food that my sister earned from the expert. They call it a hotpot. It’s the best food I’ve ever eaten,” Cheng Yi said as she set up the pot and lit a fire.
The Empress could not help shaking her head with disbelief. “Unless this is all the expert’s eating?”
Instantly, she thought lowly of the expert. An expert who ate these would not be too powerful anyway.
After all, even an ordinary Immortal had no appetite, let alone Saints. If they found some Immortal Fruits, they would eat them. If not, they would not need to eat. The so-called food was for ordinary men.
“Empress, this hotpot’s delicious. It’s a one-of-a-kind pleasure.”
Cheng Yi spoke highly of the hotpot. She gulped with anticipation as she said, “Empress, you’ve been trapped here for so long, you must be bored. I know you feel bitter, so you must try this hotpot. It’ll bring back the joy of life!”
The Empress halted. She suddenly felt emotional as she said with a confused tone, “You silly girl, why would you say such emotional things? I’ve lived for countless years. There’s no more difference between life and death to me. There’s no joy in being alive anymore.”
Cheng Yi had been accompanying the Empress around, so she knew the Empress well enough to know what she would resonate with.
The Emperor had been noticing them while stroking his beard. He smiled and shook his head, “Sigh, Cheng Yi, to us, everything’s dry and boring. You brought over this food to make our life more exciting. I thank you for your effort, but…forget about eating this. The Empress and I are well-restrained, we’re not people who would be tempted by good food.”
Cheng Yi tried to convince them, “Just give it a try. This hotpot’s yummy, perhaps you might like it?”
The Empress was helpless. She smiled lovingly and said, “Alright, since you and your Seventh Sister insisted, let’s give it a try. I’m watching by the side.”
The Jade Emperor and the Empress sighed quietly. They shook their heads.
They could not help raising their heads, looking around with sadness in their eyes.
No matter how beautiful the scenery was, this was a small place. They had lived there for more than ten thousand years without leaving. They had grown bored of it. It was similar to being sealed in this place.
They could not see the scenery outside nor could they touch the outside world. If someone did not have enough restraint, they would have gone crazy.
They both knew why they would argue from time to time. They did this to make their lives more interesting. If not…their lives would be so dry.
However…this hotpot was unable to excite them.
Ziye was so innocent. The expert she met was probably not reliable. She should be warned before the expert stole from her. Who knew, she might have been framed.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
As she was thinking, the red broth in the pot was boiling with bubbles. A source of heat rushed up and spread out.
The heat turned into smoke. The smoke floated to the Jade Emperor and Empress. Their bodies jolted as their lips turned dry. They started salivating.
This taste…
Fragrant! What a fragrance beyond imagination!
They looked at the pot at the same time. Since it was boiling, bubbles were popping out. Inside the pot, there were all kinds of condiments inside. The oil and fats were on the top layer. By the looks of it, it looked different from properly prepared delicious food.
However, the seemingly simple outlook of the food contained so much fragrance. It piqued one’s appetite.
That was it! That was hunger!
The Empress and the Jade Emperor took a deep breath at the same time. They suppressed their panic and agitation.
It had been too many years since they last felt hunger. It was so long ago, when they first tasted Flat Peaches. They were curious about the Flat Peaches and after tasting the Flat Peaches, it felt… meh!
Who would have thought that after countless years, they still had hunger and appetite? Furthermore, this was different than the previous time. This time, it was through the fragrance that triggered the most basic hunger and appetite.
Just like someone who was hungry and who felt like eating. Hunger was a problem, but this problem was also a source of happiness for some people.
Since Immortalization, they had lost too many problems. At the same time, they also lost their easily satisfied desires!
That original desire came back! They wanted…to cry.
The Jade Emperor and Express did not resist this feeling. In fact, they became more drawn to it.
Uncontrollably, their breathing started to speed up. Their chests moved more with the intention of sniffing more of this fragrance. It smelt so good! Even the smell of it made one feel loved.
The Empress could not help looking at the pot while exuding an air of motherly temperament. She sat there as if she was not moved by this fragrance, while her eyes stared at Cheng Yi’s spoon blankly as she scooped out the roulade and vegetables from the pot elegantly.
Cheng Yi laughed to herself as she filled up the bowl before the Empress. She continued to persuade them, “Empress, just do it for the sake of Seventh Sister and me. Why not give it a try?”
The Empress hesitated for a moment before fixing her clothes. She maintained her image and said calmly, “Whatever, since you’ve filled up my bowl, I’ll give it a try.”
Gulp!
Suddenly, a loud gulp was heard.
The Jade Emperor’s face grimaced. He awkwardly turned over and faced them with his back. He quickly coughed to cover up.
Cough, cough!
Cheng Yi instantly realized. She ran over to pull the Jade Emperor over as she said, “Jade Emperor, there’s too much hotpot, let’s eat.”
The Jade Emperor’s expression remained the same as he sat down. He rolled up his sleeves and said, “Since you insisted, I won’t say no to you, then.”
