Just as I was about to get up and leave, Da Ji came over. This time when I went to the underworld, I hadn't brought her and Diana's demon cores with me. Da Ji proactively asked if I wanted her to give them to me again. I said it didn't matter whether she did or not; the demon cores weren't important.
"Then what is important?" Da Ji asked with a charming laugh, implying she knew the answer.
Before dawn, I had regained Da Ji's and Diana's demon cores. With two warm demon cores in hand, I couldn't help but think of Bing Bing. I called her to ask how she was doing after receiving Yuwen Chengdu's demon core. Bing Bing said everything was fine, with no adverse reactions, only a constant warmth in her lower abdomen, as if she were carrying a small furnace.
I told her about Li Yuanba, assuring her that even if Yuwen Chengdu's demon core went berserk, there would be a way to fix it. At worst, Li Yuanba could come and defeat the "Bing Bing Chengdu" that had gone berserk. Bing Bing was a Yin Messenger, and she could be resurrected if she died. Yuwen Chengdu's demon core, if it became useless, would simply become useless; there would be no need to continue fighting the Shanhai tribe, and a useless demon core served no purpose.
Bing Bing said that based on her feelings, it was unlikely such measures would be necessary. Once her wounds healed, she estimated she would be fine.
As the sky in the east began to lighten with the color of fish belly, I remembered Dongfang Jibai again. Her name was likely given to her by her father or another elder at this time of day, when the dawn breaks. Her name was beautiful, and she was even more beautiful, but sadly, she was a cold ghost. If only she had a human's warmth, like the Little King Yama. Alas, life is often unsatisfactory, perhaps seven or eight out of ten times.
Chen Ke finally woke up and asked me what I wanted to eat. I said I felt like a bowl of fish porridge.
Chen Ke said no problem. There were fresh sea fish caught by the dolphin demons last night in the refrigerator, as well as shrimp and crab. She asked me which kind I preferred. I told her to make whatever she thought was delicious.
Since there was nothing else to do, I just stood in the kitchen watching her prepare the porridge.
It was quite elaborate, seemingly a southern style. First, she fried the shrimp heads. After frying, she discarded the shrimp and used only the infused olive oil. I asked why. Chen Ke explained that this was called shrimp oil, which was exceptionally savory, and it was the secret to the fish porridge's freshness.
Then came the various seafood ingredients, plentiful and not to be wasted. She carefully selected the best parts: tuna belly, crab claw meat, and shrimp tails, all cooked together with white rice porridge. Just before it was done, she sprinkled in coriander and scallions, then mixed it with sesame oil and shrimp oil. It was truly savory, truly delicious. I even felt that this pot of porridge she made was more valuable than her disguise skills; she could have opened a restaurant with it.
While drinking the porridge, I asked Chen Ke what would happen if the war ended. Our team would inevitably disband, or at least a portion of it would be dismissed. There were too many people now, and such a large group was unnecessary. But Chen Ke had joined relatively early. Although her combat ability wasn't strong, her support skills were decent. So, I asked her if she planned to stay by my side or go off on her own, especially since she had family.
Chen Ke thought about it seriously, then asked me a little shyly, "If I go back to be with my family, boss, will you still give me a salary?"
"That wouldn't be a salary, it would be severance pay," I said with a smile.
"How much would that be?" Chen Ke asked.
"Name your price, any price," I said, assuming she wouldn't ask for anything outrageous.
"If I ask for the moon, will you still give it to me?" Chen Ke asked, biting her lip, full of anticipation.
"Even a lion's mouth has its limits, right?" I said. "If you ask me for ten billion, that's impossible; I don't even have that much."
"Hehe, of course not. Hmm... ten million, is that okay?"
"No problem," I agreed readily.
"Really no problem?" Chen Ke sounded a bit surprised.
I nodded. "This is your severance pay. If you need investment to start a business, I can give you some startup capital."
Chen Ke's eyes welled up a little. "Brother, I didn't expect you to be so good to me. We've only known each other for this long, and you... can I understand this to mean that the longer I stay by your side, the more severance pay you'll give me?"
"You could say that." I had finished my first bowl and handed it over for another. It was incredibly delicious. If she were leaving, I would definitely find reasons to visit her often and eat her cooking.
"Then, if that's the case, I'm not leaving!" Chen Ke said with a smile. "I'll stay with you for life, so you'll never be able to afford to pay me severance when you want to 'disband' me, haha!"
Damn it, this girl was trying to pull a fast one on me.
Well, it's good that she's not leaving. Others might go, but the little chef can't. In the latter half of my life, I can manage without a female companion, but my stomach, it seems, cannot be separated from Chen Ke.