Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Assistant
Yu Liu Ya didn’t reject that explanation. Even immortals had to respect cause and effect.
To the returnees, the Little Li Realm was like biological parents. The debt of raising them couldn’t be ignored. The immortal realm’s rules were stricter; before, they might not have had the means to do anything. Now that they did, some matters couldn’t be avoided.
But was that good for the Little Li Realm?
Yu Liu Ya wasn’t optimistic. “If all the most talented disciples are taken away, will Zhaohua Sect even survive?”
Other sects might be different, but among Zhaohua Sect’s returning seniors, some wanted to select good seedlings and bring them into the immortal sects they now belonged to. Some sent back techniques, immortal artifacts, and various news from the immortal realm.
Yet when Yu Liu Ya asked how Zhaohua Sect should develop, not one gave a clear answer. They only said fate would decide.
Yu Liu Ya saw it clearly. These people didn’t truly care about Zhaohua Sect anymore. Even if they did, they didn’t think highly of it.
Taking away their best disciples was for sect rewards. Nothing more.
How could he accept that? He refused to believe the Little Li Realm’s return meant only being carved up.
“Ancestors,” he said firmly, “only those who ascended from the Little Li Realm can enter it. Outsiders can’t pass the Heaven’s Grace Continent. And when the returnees come back, their cultivation is suppressed.”
He lifted his head. “That’s our chance.”
The logic was obvious. The ancestors, with far more experience, understood it even better. A few exchanged looks. A decision formed without words.
After the meeting dispersed, Yu Liu Ya headed for the main hall—only for Chan Ming to double back and block his path.
“When are you ascending?” Chan Ming demanded, openly impatient.
Yu Liu Ya’s face fell. “Martial Uncle, you might as well hope you ascend first.”
Chan Ming glared. “My granddaughter said you already promised you’d ascend before anyone else.”
Yu Liu Ya let out a helpless laugh. “Kids talk nonsense—”
“I don’t care.” Chan Ming’s temper flared. “Your Junior Sister is missing. Aren’t you going to look for her?”
When Chan Ming had been told Hu Qing had reached the immortal realm and wouldn’t be coming back, he’d practically exploded. Why did everything have to happen to Hu Qing?
“Martial Uncle,” Yu Liu Ya said with shameless honesty, “Junior Sister can handle herself. If I go looking for her, I’ll only drag her down.”
Chan Ming paused, then nodded, fully agreeing. “That’s true.”
Yu Liu Ya: “…”
Chan Ming sighed. “Either way, we still have to go to the immortal realm. Even if it’s not to find your Junior Sister, if Zhaohua Sect wants to become a great immortal sect, we need immortal-grade techniques.”
And not just any—top-tier ones.
Yu Liu Ya’s mood sank. “That requires serious discussion between the ancestors and the seniors.”
Chan Ming glanced at him and waved it off. “They want to repay cause and effect. That means there’s room to negotiate. You stabilize the disciples down here. We old fossils will handle the rest.”
Yu Liu Ya was genuinely moved. “The sect still relies on the ancestors.”
“You’d better know it.” Chan Ming jabbed a finger at him. “And keep your Junior Sister in mind, too.”
Yu Liu Ya nodded solemnly. “Martial Uncle, don’t worry. I’ve always kept her in mind.”
He couldn’t help thinking bitterly: look at Hu Qing. She’d only acknowledged her father for a few years, and he cared about her so much. If something happened to Yu Liu Ya, would his own master even spare him a thought?
Hu Qing, of course, had no idea Zhaohua Sect hadn’t even met its external enemies yet and was already teetering on the edge of internal fracture.
After settling into her assigned place, she returned with Da Mu at once. She didn’t have much to arrange, and the sooner she started working, the sooner she could stand on her own.
A clear, bright cry echoed from the other side of the mountain. Hu Qing turned instinctively, but the slope blocked her view.
Da Mu explained, “If you go around, that’s the main entrance for guests. That call is from a luan bird—they use them to pick up honored guests. Anyone who rides a luan-bird carriage is a guest only the upper peak can afford to host.”
He grew enthusiastic as he spoke. “Shixiu has different guest carriages. First class is the luan-bird flying carriage. Second is the celestial horse. Third is the wind ox. They correspond to upper peak, middle peak, and lower peak.”
He paused, then added, “Below lower peak, guests handle themselves.”
“And there’s an even higher level,” Da Mu said, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. “Dragon-drawn carriages. Very rare. I’ve never seen one.”
Hu Qing’s eyes widened. “Dragon Clan?”
Da Mu nodded. “A dragon-form demon beast.”
Hu Qing frowned. “Aren’t dragons proud?”
Da Mu looked at her like she was hopeless. “You really don’t know anything. I said dragon-form demon beast—something that cultivated a dragon shape from a demon body. Of course it’s not a true dragon.”
Hu Qing’s mouth fell open. So a flood dragon or snake or fish could cultivate into dragon form, survive tribulation, reach the immortal realm… and still end up pulling a carriage?
That was miserable.
“Even dragon-form demon beasts are rare,” Da Mu continued. “Anything shaped like a dragon has a terrible temper. Making them pull a carriage is hard. I don’t know what method headquarters uses to make them submit.”
Hu Qing nodded thoughtfully. “Powerful demon beasts are all arrogant. That’s why you had to kill that tiger on the spot.”
Da Mu shuddered. “It almost tore my chest open with one swipe. Too dangerous.”
“And you can’t use poison or sleeping drugs,” Hu Qing said. “It ruins the flavor.”
They sighed in perfect shared misery.
It was only then that Hu Qing realized the place where Master Han had tested her was merely the scrap room. In front of that was the apprentice practice room; beside it was the prep area; and only in front of that was the kitchen. Even that kitchen was just a training ground for chefs to practice and spar.
The real kitchens were on the other side of the mountain.
“We helpers rotate duty over there,” Da Mu told her as they walked. “Unless we’re sent out on tasks, it’s basically three days on, half a day of work, and the other two and a half days we practice here.”
He pointed at himself. “You’re an assistant, which really means you assist us helpers. You’re with me for now, since we already know each other.”
Then he added, a little proudly, “My knife work is almost qualified. Help me prep the vegetables.”
Hu Qing was still in shock. Half a day of work every three days? What kind of blessed life was this?
Thinking of Food Peak at Changdao Sect, she asked, “Does Shixiu have powerful food-path masters?”
Da Mu burst out laughing. “Of course. In the Deng Yun Realm immortal realm, the top three immortal food masters are all from Shixiu. Anyone who walks the food path dreams of joining us.”
He leaned closer, pleased with himself. “And you’re lucky. Master Han said you blundered into our Mountain Delicacy Garden, which means you have fate with Shixiu. Otherwise, do you think Shixiu is easy to enter? Even an assistant position makes people outside fight until their heads split.”
Hu Qing murmured, half dazed, “I really did hit the jackpot.”
Was that month of desperate survival in the million mountains all for this?
Heaven—Father—was this a hint that your dear daughter should put down her hammer and wash her hands to cook?
Hu Qing shivered hard at the thought.
Da Mu’s workroom was bright, clean, and semi-open, several dozen square meters of spotless white counters and walls. Layered cabinets lined the walls, opening outward, with both cold and warm storage. Near the floor, a ring of transparent water tanks had been built around the room, filled with aquatic ingredients—fish, shrimp, crabs—swimming in abundance.
Between workrooms, vegetables, meat, fruits, and other ingredients were arranged by type, stacked and sorted with obsessive neatness. It was the kind of order that made even a neat freak’s scalp tingle with satisfaction.
Da Mu demonstrated how to choose and prep the vegetables, explaining each step. Hu Qing listened carefully and memorized everything. By the second round, she could do it on her own—earning Da Mu’s delighted praise.
“You’re a natural,” he said. “Born for this line of work.”