Entering the main house from the courtyard where I had previously only seen Daoist Sun in the side rooms, I opened the lights and was astonished. While the specifics of the decoration are beyond description, I could estimate the cost. The living room alone must have exceeded two million, with lavish decorative materials like rosewood, nanmu, and cloisonné (not porcelain, but an expensive type of stone) everywhere. It could only be described with one word: opulent!
Finding the kitchen, the renovation here was surprisingly normal. I rummaged through the refrigerator but found no ready-to-eat food. In the preservation cabinet, there was a piece of meat with a beautiful color and white marbling, specially wrapped in a glass container. I didn't know what kind of meat it was, but I didn't hesitate. I took it out, washed it, and cut it into pieces. I put a piece in the pan to test it. It cooked quickly, and as it heated, it released a lot of oil. The red meat turned orangish-red, and the chunks began to split. I picked up a piece with chopsticks and tasted it. It tasted like tuna!
This was good stuff. I dumped the rest of the meat into the pan. I didn't even need to add oil; the fish's own fat was enough. Born of the same origin, pan-fried it was incredibly fragrant!
After it was cooked, I plated it and sprinkled some pink salt on top. I didn't know what kind of salt it was, but it smelled faintly of flowers, possibly rose salt or something similar.
I brought it out to the courtyard, and before I could call them, Shen Xingyue and Yaoyao, drawn by the aroma, came over.
The two catties of fish were quickly divided among the three of us. Yaoyao said she had never eaten such a fish before. Shen Xingyue recognized it, saying it was likely bluefin tuna, which she had eaten when she traveled to Japan. It was very expensive; this two-catty piece was probably worth several thousand yuan.
Yaoyao hadn't had enough and asked if there was any more.
"No more, there was only this piece in the fridge. If you like it, I'll take you for Japanese food tomorrow," I said. There was a supposedly delicious Japanese restaurant near my home, but I had never been because it was too expensive, and I used to be poor.
"If I eat it every day from now on, can you afford it?" Yaoyao asked.
"Oh my god, you two are enough!" Shen Xingyue frowned. "With a great enemy approaching, you're still being lovey-dovey. It's disgusting!"
"Ask him to support you too!" Yaoyao laughed.
"...I don't need him to support me," Shen Xingyue raised her eyebrows disdainfully.
"If you don't want him to support you, let him sleep with you," Yaoyao said.
"I won't let him sleep with me!" Shen Xingyue got flustered.
"It's not like you haven't slept before!"
"...Slept, slept, but we didn't do *that*!" Shen Xingyue retorted.
"Mm, indeed, we didn't," I testified to Shen Xingyue's innocence.
"Then next time. His skills are very good," Yaoyao patted my shoulder. "Cost-effective... no, no, in modern terms, it's great value for money!"
"You—why are you so vulgar!" Shen Xingyue's face turned as red as the fish before it was cooked.
"Heh heh." The tiger chuckled foolishly from the side.
However, the light and lively atmosphere lasted only a few seconds before Yaoyao's expression suddenly changed. She turned her head to look in the direction of the forest path.
"Is it here?" Shen Xingyue pressed the hilt of her sword, her voice filled with caution.
"I've never sensed such powerful demonic energy—it's a demon at the intermediate Violet Qi level!" Yaoyao's voice even trembled slightly.
"What is intermediate Violet Qi?" I asked.
They ignored me. Upon hearing this, Shen Xingyue immediately released her sword, took out her phone, and dialed: "Hello, 203? We're screwed. We've encountered an intermediate Violet Qi demon. Please send reinforcements quickly!"
"Reinforcements for what?" Sha Wuji, who had somehow transformed back and appeared before us, covering his vital parts with his shirt, said, "Gege, let's retreat. We can't handle it!"
Even the thousand-year-old tiger demon was scared. What was the origin of this thing!
"It's too late," Yaoyao whispered. "Put on your clothes and don't make any rash moves. Since it didn't kill Old Sun and the others before, it might not harm us. Xingyue, stop calling. The far water can't quench the near fire. Throw away your sword quickly!"
After saying that, Yaoyao lifted the hem of her shirt, drew her pair of Mandarin Duck Twin Axes from her waist—I had no idea she brought her weapons, and how they passed the high-speed rail security check—and threw them on the ground. Shen Xingyue hesitated for a moment, then threw her sword away. She then drew her pistol from her waist and dropped it on the ground, presumably to show their sincerity.
I didn't have any weapons, so I could only lick the fork I was using to eat fish and throw it on the ground. Yaoyao chuckled: "You, at early Red Qi level, if that crocodile so much as looked at you properly, it would be a loss for it."