Chapter 39: Cooking the Iron-Beaked Chicken

"All right, then you should go rest now!" She was aware that Ji Jiuxuan had gone out for training, but she hadn’t known they had encountered danger.

The fact that Ji Jiuxuan could still talk to her already brought her great joy.

Nodding slightly, Ji Jiuxuan caught up with Min Chengjun.

The room was spacious, echoing the luxurious yet elegant style of the whole ship.

Min Chengjun laid a soft quilt on the bed. "Ah Jiu, you rest first. I’ll be next door. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

After Min Chengjun closed the door and left, Ji Jiuxuan lay straight down on the bed. Staring up at the canopy, she raised her hand and curiously asked, "Suiyi, Suiyi, are you there?"

The ring emitted a faint glow. Ji Jiuxuan was overjoyed. "Suiyi, can you come out?"

She waited for a while, but nothing happened. Perhaps she was too tired, or maybe the bedding was simply too comfortable. Ji Jiuxuan soon drifted off to sleep.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed when the shadowy figure appeared again. Watching the small figure sleeping soundly, he looked a little helpless. "Strangely, I find myself afraid to meet you. Why is that?"

His missing memories left him confused about many things.

By the time Ji Jiuxuan woke, the sun was already climbing to its zenith and her stomach was growling in protest. Sensing her cultivation, she was astonished to find the system hadn’t been wrong. After just one night, her cultivation had become remarkably stable—nothing like the usual aftermath of a breakthrough.

She stood up, feeling refreshed. This was undoubtedly a good thing, and she suspected it had much to do with the solid foundation Wen Ying had helped her build. The incantation for drawing spiritual energy into the body was also from Wen Ying, and from the very beginning she had been able to absorb spiritual energy on her own.

After a cleansing spell, she touched her stomach and suddenly remembered the chicken meat stored in her space. She decided to find a place to cook some food.

Leaving the room, Ji Jiuxuan immediately saw Min Chengjun playing chess with Feng Chen. Even from a distance, she could sense the fierce intent on the board.

She’d heard that a chess game could form a world of its own, and today she finally understood.

Feng Hanxiao, who was watching from the side, beamed with delight when she saw Ji Jiuxuan. "Xuanxuan, you’re up?"

"Yes." Ji Jiuxuan didn’t linger on pleasantries and instead turned to Min Chengjun. Though she hadn’t met this second uncle many times, their rapport was natural, as if they’d known each other for years. "Uncle, is there a kitchen on this ship?"

"Feeling hungry?" Min Chengjun’s eyes twinkled with a smile. He left the chessboard and stood up. "What would you like to eat? I’ll cook for you."

This surprised Ji Jiuxuan. This refined, seemingly otherworldly uncle didn’t seem the type to cook at all.

Then again, if he were truly detached from worldly affairs, he wouldn’t be such a shrewd merchant.

"Girl, I’d advise you not to eat your uncle’s cooking," Feng Chen warned from his seat, recalling unforgettable flavors from the past, no matter how long ago. "Even fasting pills taste better than his food."

Min Chengjun was entirely unruffled by this revelation of his shortcomings and still smiled gently. "Then, little Jiu, what would you like? I’ll prepare the ingredients for you."

With that, he produced a simple stove from his space, fully equipped with all the necessary tools.

Soon, spiritual vegetables, spirit rice, fish, spirit beast meat, and a mountain of seasonings appeared on the table.

Ever since he learned the girl loved good food, he had prepared these things in his space. They were never lacking on their journeys.

"Little Jiu, see if any of these are suitable?"

Ji Jiuxuan nodded happily. "Yes, yes!"

She had never expected her uncle’s space to hold so many ingredients. It was a delightful surprise.

"Just wait and taste my cooking!"

She produced an iron-beaked chicken from her space. If Meng Jiao were here, she’d recognize it at once as the very bird that had chased her through the Ancient Fallen Forest.

Ji Jiuxuan held a gleaming knife. The look she gave the iron-beaked chicken made everyone feel as if there was some deep-seated grudge between her and the bird, as if she couldn’t wait to tear it limb from limb.

"Little Jiu, do you need help with that chicken?" Min Chengjun chuckled at her determined pose. The chicken lying on the ground was as tall as her shoulder; dealing with its feathers would surely be a hassle.

"Uncle, no need, I can do it myself." Ji Jiuxuan put away her knife, and as she gazed at the chicken, flames rose from her hands, enveloping the bird evenly.

Spiritual energy gathered, forming a tangible red glow. In that moment, impurities were constantly expelled from the chicken, and inedible parts, like feathers, turned to ash and drifted to the floor.

Gradually, the whole chicken was transformed. Even uncooked, the glistening meat looked mouthwatering.

The knife reappeared in her hand. With swift, sword-like strokes, the chicken was chopped into countless neat pieces.

The onlookers were all a bit surprised by how cleanly she had removed the impurities and how deft her knife work was.

This girl had barely trained for a year! Yet already, as a fourth-stage Qi practitioner, she displayed such skill.

Min Chengjun looked on with pride, while Qin Yuzhou, who had only just arrived and witnessed the entire scene, clenched his fists in determination.

Clearly, he would have to work even harder.

Feng Hanxiao was full of admiration. Xuanxuan never failed to impress.

She couldn’t help recalling the things her senior sisters had done before, and the guilt in her heart deepened.

Ji Jiuxuan divided the chicken into several portions, preparing each differently. There were fried chicken pieces, braised chicken, mushroom chicken soup, charcoal-grilled chicken skewers, and yellow-braised chicken, each served on its own plate. She also made boiled fish, steamed fish, braised fish, pan-fried fish, boiled shrimp, and grilled shrimp.

Of course, there were also stir-fried vegetables and white rice.

At first, seeing the small girl standing on a chair to stir-fry at the stove, the adults hurried over to help, while Qin Yuzhou and Feng Hanxiao, being children themselves, could only watch from the side.

In the end, Ji Jiuxuan told them what to add, and she had already processed all the ingredients to remove impurities.

When the aroma began to waft through the air, the three assistants couldn’t help but swallow their saliva in anticipation. Was this really food they had helped make?

The three grown men could scarcely believe it.

"Uncle, why is Peak Master Feng here too?" She had heard that only her uncle and another disciple were meant to escort her.

Meng Chengfang was probably the other chosen escort, and Feng Chen just seemed to be a coincidence.

"Peak Master Feng happened to have business near the Beast Taming Sect, so he offered to take us there first. He’ll travel back with us afterward." He knew perfectly well that Peak Master Feng had only joined them because he was worried about his daughter, Feng Hanxiao.

He couldn’t help but think that if his senior brothers were still around, they would surely have come along too.

That thought made the food before him lose some of its flavor.

"What’s wrong, Uncle?" Seeing her uncle lost in thought as he stared at the food, Ji Jiuxuan asked curiously in a soft voice.

To be this distracted by food—he truly lived up to his reputation as the owner of the world’s most renowned restaurant. It seemed her cooking still needed improvement.

Min Chengjun shook his head and smiled. "It’s delicious—just a little too moving, perhaps."

"This is so good, Xuanxuan! Next time, let’s have a barbecue together! The last time we grilled meat, it was amazing too," Feng Hanxiao said happily, momentarily forgetting she had yet to explain everything to Ji Jiuxuan.