ARLQLCC chapter 35

In the end, Su Ji was still a bit worried that he had prepared too many ingredients and they would not be finished, so to avoid wasting them he decided to make hotpot, cooking only as much as they could ate.

That rare deep-sea fish and the giant rabbit meat were honored to become hotpot ingredients. After learning that Tu Yan could not eat spicy food, Su Ji chose to make a yin-yang hotpot base¹yin-yang hotpot base refers to a design that allows diners to enjoy two different soup bases simultaneously in one pot. This design is often seen in Chongqing hot pot, where one side features a spicy broth, while the other offers a clear broth, such as mushroom or bone broth..

Four of the plumpest pigeons were selected for soup, one half per person, while Tu Yan alone ate a whole one.

The chefs of the demon race were especially fond of barbecue, and besides that they also liked to prepare all kinds of rich meats, mountain delicacies, and seafood for Chu Zhaoye. As Chu Zhaoye’s trusted subordinate and old friend, Tu Yan often came to eat and drink for free, and afterwards would even bring a lot back to feed his Dao companion.

Because of this, even hotpot, as a way of eating, was something he was trying for the first time, despite being a well-informed Demon Venerable.

But judging from the reactions of these Yunxian Sect disciples, it was probably not their first time eating it.

Su Ji had already gone alone to the kitchen to cook. He originally planned to bring Chu Zhaoye with him, but the little cat wrote on his hand that he would come find him later, so Su Ji respected the cub’s choice and prepared to chop the most tender part of the deep-sea fish to make fish porridge for the cat.

The moment Tu Yan saw Chu Zhaoye allowing Su Ji to go cook alone, he immediately sensed something was wrong. Pretending not to see his boss’s gaze that looked like it wanted to beat him up, he turned to the only young girl, Yue He, and casually asked, “You’ve all eaten Su Ji’s cooking before, right? Is this thing called hotpot good?”

Yue He immediately showed a very horrified expression. Her lips trembled as she stuttered, “…Eaten, eaten… it’s… very, very good…”

Tu Yan: “……Why are you shaking so much?”

Yue He: “…N-no, it’s nothing, I… I-I just, I’m sick… sick, my throat is u-uncomfortable!”

Upon hearing this, Tu Yan understood. Just as he was about to tell her to take care of herself, Yue He suddenly stood up, her gaze firm as she looked ahead, and said, “I’m going to help Chef Su prepare ingredients,” then quickly left.

She nearly tripped over her own feet, almost falling, and scrambled all the way into the small kitchen.

Chu Zhaoye’s gaze became even more obvious. Cold sweat appeared on Tu Yan’s forehead, but since he was wearing a mask, he couldn’t wipe it, so he could only find someone else to awkwardly chat with.

This lucky person was Yan Shao, who was sitting next to Yue He.

Tu Yan turned his gaze to him. Before he even opened his mouth, the big guy stood up even faster than Yue He, and Yun Che beside him also stood up. The two looked at each other and saw determination in each other’s eyes.

“Chef Su is cooking for so many of us, he must be very tired, I’ll go help!”

“Good job, Yan Shao. As your good brother, I can’t just stand by, I’m going too!”

“Good brother, I didn’t misjudge you!”

“Let’s go, brothers united, the kitchen will be cleared.”

While calling each other brothers, the two figures disappeared from the courtyard as if they were being chased by a dog.

In the courtyard, the remaining two people and one cat looked at each other. Yun Xicheng awkwardly stood up and tentatively took a step forward. “Then…? Should I also go help?”

Tu Yan: “……”

Tu Yan: “Go on then. Such helpful children.”

In the end, Yun Xicheng also left, not because he was afraid like the other three, but because he felt a bit awkward.

Now only Chu Zhaoye and Tu Yan were left in the courtyard.

To be precise, a person and a cat.

With no one left for Tu Yan to awkwardly chat with, he pretended to be calm and turned around to face Chu Zhaoye.

A barrier silently rose, like rippling water, enveloping them, but it disappeared the moment it closed, as if it had never appeared.

Sound was compressed within this small space. Tu Yan said bitterly, “Boss, don’t be angry, I was just joking. Didn’t Su Ji also laugh quite happily after hearing it?”

The black cat lifted its front paw and stood on the stone stool, staring at him coldly for a moment before speaking human words directly: “You still have the nerve to mention it?”

The voice was mature and low, carrying a faint pressure of a superior. It would normally be a very attractive trait, but placed on a round little cat that looked like it had been rolled flat on a chopping board, it was a bit funny.

Tu Yan used all his lifetime restraint not to laugh out loud.

Good thing I wore a mask.

He thought, otherwise the boss would have seen me holding back laughter.

The lower half of his face twitched slightly. Chu Zhaoye suppressed the urge to swat him and asked in a deep voice, “During the days I was gone, were those old things in the clan behaving themselves?”

Talking about serious matters, Tu Yan immediately straightened up. “Boss, don’t worry. Although the loud noise the day you disappeared attracted their attention, I only said you were in closed cultivation, everything normal. They were restless for a few days, but I suppressed them.”

It was obvious that Chu Zhaoye’s gaze shifted from “if you laugh again I’ll take your head” to “somewhat useful.” Tu Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had known Chu Zhaoye for thousands of years and their relationship had gradually changed from superior-subordinate to friends who could risk their lives for each other, Chu Zhaoye’s prestige in the demon race was deeply rooted. His original form alone stood at the top of the pyramid since birth. Even when he had no expression and a cold face, he still made other demons instinctively submit.

Because of this, although Tu Yan was the only one in the vast demon race who could joke around with him, he had never dared to tease him this intensely before. Even knowing the other party would not truly do anything to him, he still felt a bit nervous.

Now that the crisis was resolved, Tu Yan relaxed.

After relaxing, curiosity arose about Chu Zhaoye’s experience during the time he was missing.

In the past, Chu Zhaoye was not exactly cold-blooded or murderous, but he possessed all the aura and dominance an overlord should have. As the ruler of the demon race, he needed to maintain a cold and mysterious image while dealing with ambitious lords within the race. Even the most peaceful temperament would be sharpened by such pressure. Not to mention Chu Zhaoye was never purely a good person.

He rose to power by crushing the lords with the bloodline of an ancient beast. Those who once opposed him the most were now nothing but bones beneath his seat. Even in the human world, kings rise through blood, let alone the demon realm where the strong rule.

And yet such a Demon King, who rarely showed emotion and stepped over countless lives to reach the throne, had in such a short time become so dependent on and indulgent toward a human cultivator.

Even Tu Yan, who had followed him for thousands of years, found it unbelievable. If those lords who feared and hated Chu Zhaoye heard of this, they would probably be scared out of their teeth.

After spending only a day or two with Su Ji, Tu Yan’s impression of him was still limited to “good-looking” and “straightforward when speaking.” Maybe after eating he could add “good at cooking,” but beyond that he couldn’t see much.

Could it be that his boss thought he had exceptional talent and wanted to recruit him as a subordinate to be placed in the cultivation world?

Becoming a mid–Soul Transformation cultivator after a hundred years of cultivation was indeed a sign of genius, but among Chu Zhaoye’s demon race elites, Soul Transformation experts were everywhere. Even so, it shouldn’t warrant such closeness.

Besides, the boss’s attitude toward Su Ji did not look like how he treats a subordinate.

At least not to him.

Curiosity grew uncontrollably. Unable to figure it out himself, Tu Yan boldly asked, “Boss, I see your spiritual energy has mostly recovered. In a few days you should be able to regain your human form. Will you return to the demon race with me then?”

“……”

Silence filled the barrier. Tu Yan saw him lower his head and thought he hadn’t heard, so he asked again dutifully.

This time Chu Zhaoye raised his head, but still did not speak.

It was obvious he heard, but he neither confirmed nor denied it. His expression was hidden under black fur, and although there was no clear refusal, Tu Yan felt a trace of avoidance.

Carefully choosing his words, Tu Yan asked, “…Boss, you don’t want to go back?”

After a strange silence, Chu Zhaoye nodded very naturally.

Tu Yan panicked. “But, but your home is still better than someone else’s! You can’t just stay in the cultivation world forever!”

For Chu Zhaoye, who already had a plan, this was not difficult to consider. “We’ll return to the demon realm, but not now. We’ll take Su Ji back with us then.”

Tu Yan: “Huh?”

Tu Yan: “But boss, have you considered one thing?”

Chu Zhaoye: “Hm?”

Tu Yan: “What if Su Ji is unwilling to go?”

Chu Zhaoye answered instantly: “Why would he be unwilling? In the demon race he can still do what he likes. He won’t worry about money. I can give him half of my palace, or even the whole thing if he wants.

He likes collecting things. Now that my spiritual power has recovered, my personal space is fully open. Whatever he fancies, I can give him. Isn’t that more comfortable than this damn cultivation world?”

After saying this, he looked at Tu Yan in confusion, not feeling anything strange about his words.

Tu Yan felt like his worldview was collapsing.

Boss, do you even know how many people covet your palace and your storage space?!

Anyone who tried to assassinate you for it back then ended up with broken legs, gouged eyes, and thrown into snake pits to be torn apart by ten thousand snakes!

And you just casually want to give it away?!

What kind of boss recruits subordinates like this?!

Even I wouldn’t treat my Dao companion this well…

Wait. Dao companion.

Tu Yan’s eyes flickered.

Feeling Tu Yan’s probing gaze again, Chu Zhaoye said impatiently, “What now?”

Tu Yan quickly recalled everything from the moment he found Chu Zhaoye and how he interacted with Su Ji.

Su Ji was injured, and the boss was nervous; Su Ji wanted to touch his head and the boss leaned in; he even stole pills and lied clumsily just to cover it up.

If someone told him yesterday that his boss would actively let someone touch his head, Tu Yan would think that person was insane.

But it had indeed happened right in front of him.

As memories flashed by, Tu Yan suddenly remembered another detail he had overlooked.

That night when he went to deliver medicine, there was a small pillow beside Su Ji’s pillow. At the time he didn’t think much of it, but now it seemed that was prepared for the boss to sleep on!

Sleeping in the same bed at night!

Isn’t this exactly like trying to hide injuries from a Dao companion and lying to avoid making them worry?!

Tu Yan’s gaze grew increasingly strange, and Chu Zhaoye’s patience grew thinner and thinner. Just as he was about to lose it and swat him, Tu Yan suddenly spoke with realization, his words exploding like thunder in his ears—

“Boss, don’t tell me you want to become Su Ji’s Dao companion!”

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  yin-yang hotpot base refers to a design that allows diners to enjoy two different soup bases simultaneously in one pot. This design is often seen in Chongqing hot pot, where one side features a spicy broth, while the other offers a clear broth, such as mushroom or bone broth.