“Thwack!”

“Thwack!”

“Thwack!”

The sound of a cleaver chopping continuously echoed from the courtyard.

Qin Lu stood before the cutting board in his own kitchen, repeatedly bringing his cleaver down on a large piece of beast meat before him.

Beast meat was different from ordinary animal flesh. Not only was it heavy, but its muscle fibers were exceptionally tough.

Even for a cultivator, chopping it required considerable effort.

Qin Lu chopped off a palm-sized portion from the whole piece of beast meat, then placed the unused portion back into an earthenware jar and sealed the lid.

He then continued, raising and dropping his blade, slicing the palm-sized chunk of meat into appropriately sized thin slices. He poured in cooking wine, salt, and soy sauce for a simple marinade.

Once the preparations were nearly complete, Qin Lu used an [Ignition Technique] to light the firewood, then heated the wok and poured in oil.

Once the wok was hot, he immediately tossed in all the marinated meat slices. Wielding the spatula, he quickly stir-fried them, adding minced ginger and garlic midway to release their fragrance.

After the meat slices were cooked, he finally added the cleaned spirit vegetables and various seasonings, continuing to stir-fry until everything was evenly mixed.

In less than a moment, a simple dish of stir-fried spirit vegetables and meat was officially ready. A rich aroma instantly filled the entire kitchen, making one’s mouth water uncontrollably.

“Heh heh, another simple meal.”

Qin Lu brought the steamed spirit rice and the dish to the stone table outside the courtyard and set them down.

He had been here for some time now. Putting other matters aside, he was extremely satisfied with the food in this world.

His evaluation consisted of only two words—delicious!

Perhaps high-end ingredients often required only the simplest cooking methods.

Beasts absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, resulting in premium-quality meat. Whether the cooking method was pan-frying, deep-frying, stir-frying, stewing, steaming, boiling, braising, or roasting, the flavor was exceptionally delicious.

Qin Lu sat on the stone stool, rubbing the chopsticks in his hands.

Master Qin, after half an hour of busy work, was about to start his meal.

But just then, an ill-timed knocking sound came from outside the door.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Qin Lu set down his chopsticks and turned to look, puzzled.

This knocking didn’t sound like Cao Mo or his neighbor Lu Xian at all, because the force was far too gentle, as if afraid of damaging the courtyard gate.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

The voice was clear and pleasant, like the chirping of swallows and orioles.

Hearing this, Qin Lu was taken aback. Why was she here today?

This voice belonged precisely to the young widow he had met yesterday—Zhang Meng!

Upon hearing this reply, Qin Lu didn’t hesitate. He immediately stood up and walked quickly toward the door.

He opened it.

Zhang Meng was dressed today in a simple, plain gray gown. In her left hand, she held a bag of spirit fruits. Her hair was tied up in a bun, her features were delicate and cool, and she exuded an aura of quiet, elegant grace.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang? What brings you here?” Qin Lu asked, somewhat surprised.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, I came specifically today to thank you.”

Zhang Meng lifted the bag of spirit fruits in her hand, her gaze sincere and earnest.

“Ah, such a small matter hardly requires repeated thanks!” Qin Lu waved his hand dismissively with a light smile.

Zhang Meng glanced inside the courtyard, then lowered her head and said softly, “Fellow Daoist Qin, aren’t you going to welcome me in to sit for a while?”

“Uh…” Qin Lu’s face flushed with slight embarrassment. He quickly stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter. “Of course I welcome you! Please, Fellow Daoist Zhang, come in quickly!”

“I’m disturbing you…” Zhang Meng nodded with a smile and stepped inside.

The two of them went to sit by the stone table.

After they each took their seats, they looked at each other, neither speaking first.

After exchanging a few glances, they inexplicably fell into silence.

A flicker of awkwardness crossed Qin Lu’s face. He simply didn’t know what to say at a time like this.

Suddenly being alone with a beautiful widow made his originally calm heart begin to flutter uncontrollably.

After a moment of wild thoughts, Qin Lu, in an effort to break the awkwardness, pointed at the still-steaming food on the table.

“Fellow… Fellow Daoist Zhang, have you eaten? Would you like to join me for a bite?”

“I can.”

Zhang Meng’s simple reply made Qin Lu’s heart suddenly race.

He had only extended the invitation out of politeness…

How could she actually intend to eat together…

What was going on?

“Uh… alright then.”

Qin Lu reacted swiftly. He quickly stood up, walked back to the kitchen, and brought out a bowl and chopsticks, placing them before Zhang Meng.

Zhang Meng truly didn’t stand on ceremony. She served herself a bowl of rice and began picking up food to eat.

However, the two faint blushes that had unconsciously risen on her cheeks revealed that her heart was not truly calm.

The two began to eat, not speaking a word.

An awkward atmosphere filled the air.

This was the slowest and most restless meal Qin Lu had eaten since his transmigration.

Only when they had both nearly finished eating did Qin Lu remember a topic and ask, “By the way, what happened after you went to see Steward Liu yesterday?”

“Sigh…”

Hearing this, Zhang Meng sighed, gently set down her bowl and chopsticks, a trace of weariness appearing in her eyes as she slowly said, “Steward Liu said that since the incident didn’t cause any casualties, he wouldn’t involve himself in such matters. He told us to resolve it ourselves, and only to go to him if it escalated to a loss of life…”

“Uh… just as I thought…”

Qin Lu frowned, his expression somewhat helpless.

In fact, he had long anticipated this outcome.

From his observations, although the Wuji Sect was the master of this place, they didn’t intervene in every single matter. To some extent, they largely allowed loose cultivators to fend for themselves.

Unless some egregious event occurred that affected the market’s management system or broke the rules, the Wuji Sect would choose to strike with thunderous force.

For the vast majority of trivial matters, they stood by and watched, refusing to get involved.

Looking at Zhang Meng’s worried face, Qin Lu couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity.

In the slums, cultivators without a specialized skill could only risk their lives hunting beasts at East Head Ridge to earn some spirit stone income.

For a young widow like Zhang Meng, who had lost her dao companion, possessed no particular craft, and was raising a child alone, life certainly wouldn’t be easy.

Qin Lu pondered for a moment before speaking. “Since Steward Liu won’t intervene, what do you plan to do from now on?”

Zhang Meng paused upon hearing this, lowering her head as she slowly said, “Chen Er’gou is engaging in this kind of rogue behavior. Even with your help, he definitely won’t give up easily. I am weak and alone, and I truly don’t wish to have any dealings with such a person. Right now, I just want… to move.”

Move?

Looking at Zhang Meng’s hesitant, bashful demeanor, a thought inexplicably floated through Qin Lu’s mind. He couldn’t help but swallow and asked hesitantly, “Where do you want to move to?”

Zhang Meng suddenly raised her head, looked into Qin Lu’s eyes, her face instantly flushing crimson as she stammered, “I… I want to move in and live with Fellow Daoist Qin…”

“Ah?!”

This sudden surprise caught Qin Lu off guard.

He and this beauty before him had only met for the second time today, having exchanged fewer than twenty sentences in total. Now, after just talking, they were going to live together?

“Why me?” Qin Lu asked dumbly.

“Auntie Li says you no longer dabble in gambling, that you diligently draw talismans every day and are very driven. You don’t fool around in your daily life and are a man who can provide for a family. And yesterday, you scared off Chen Er’gou as soon as you intervened. From the first glance, I felt you were very reliable…”

As she spoke, Zhang Meng lowered her head.

Hearing these words, Qin Lu couldn’t help but straighten his back, a confident expression appearing on his face.

What she said made sense. He was a high-quality prospect!

He saw Zhang Meng’s fingers nervously twisting together. She paused in her speech and said, “I think that Chen Er’gou won’t let this go. Ziyun is still young. I… I truly have nowhere else to go. So today I came to seek refuge with Fellow Daoist Qin, hoping to find a safe place here to weather this difficulty… Hmm, it’s just that I don’t know if Fellow Daoist Qin is willing to accept us, mother and child…”

Looking at the beautiful young woman before him, who was several times more stunning than many female celebrities from his previous life, Qin Lu couldn’t suppress a surge of restlessness in his heart. After pondering for a moment, he raised his head and said seriously, “I am willing!”

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