When a person is in a state of extreme rage, their emotions become very difficult to stabilize, and they may even do irrational things.

The burly man who had suddenly rushed out from the street corner was in exactly this situation. He had approached the girl step by step, the flames flickering in his eyes seemingly capable of burning everything.

However, when the cold blade surface pressed against his shoulder, only a finger’s width from his neck, the towering fury instantly shrank from his Crown Point down to his Chrysanthemum Point, and he forced out a trembling smile.

Going from an angry face to a smiling face suddenly—difficulty rating: ten stars.

“Kid!”

“You’re fucking looking for death!”

“How dare you hold a blade to our Boss Zhang’s neck!”

Several subordinates glared with fury.

The burly man called Boss Zhang nearly spat blood.

Here I am with a blade at my throat, and you’re still trying to scare him—if his hand slips and cuts down, my head will go flying!

“Swish!”

Jun Changxiao lifted the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade slightly, the distance between the blade edge and his skin now only the thickness of a single sheet of paper.

“Your subordinates don’t understand courtesy either.”

The blade flashed with a sharp gleam.

Catching sight of it from the corner of his eye, Boss Zhang was so frightened his scalp went numb. With a trembling voice, he said: “Frie… Big Brother! Dear Brother! This younger brother taught them poorly! Don’t… don’t stoop to their level!”

“You bunch of bastards!”

He straightened his neck and roared: “Hurry up and apologize to my dear brother!”

The subordinates also realized their boss was currently in a very dangerous situation and hastily said in unison: “Dear Brother, we were wrong!”

Jun Changxiao said indifferently: “I’m giving you the time it takes to count to three. How fast you can run, run that fast.”

“One…”

The moment he spoke, Boss Wang led his subordinates in a panicked, disgraceful retreat.

Jun Changxiao shook his head, withdrew the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, and said: “They’ve already left. You’re safe now.”

The girl who had been hiding behind him peeked out, confirmed that the group of fierce-looking people had departed, tiptoed around to the front, and dropped to her knees with a thud, saying with tears of gratitude: “Thank you, Sect Leader Jun, for saving me!”

Jun Changxiao said: “I simply didn’t want to watch a group of men bully a weak woman. There’s no need for such a grand gesture.”

“Hehe, I knew Sect Leader Jun was a good person.” The girl stood up, raising her small head with a mischievous smile.

Only now could Jun Changxiao properly observe her appearance.

The girl was about thirteen or fourteen years old, petite and delicate, her height only reaching his chest. Her long black hair was disheveled, her large watery eyes blinked repeatedly as if they could speak, and although her face was covered with dust, it couldn’t conceal her delicate beauty.

Very cute…

This was Jun Changxiao’s first impression.

The girl was also observing him, then giggled and said: “Sect Leader Jun looks much more beautiful up close than from far away.”

What kind of statement was that—did that mean he looked very ugly from a distance? And “beautiful” as a descriptor—did he look very feminine?

Jun Changxiao shook his head and said: “I’m heading back now. You should leave quickly too.”

“Sect Leader Jun!”

The girl blocked his path, her eyes brimming with tears: “Can I join the Tiegu Zhengzheng Sect?”

Her appearance was pitiful and touching, arousing compassion.

Jun Changxiao shook his head. “I’m sorry, our sect isn’t currently accepting disciples.”

He also very much wanted to take in this cute little sister, but the sect’s member limit was full. Forcing her in would result in punishment.

Tears flowed down the girl’s face, mixing with the mud and dust on it, instantly turning her face into a tearful mess.

Good grief.

She didn’t even need to work up to it—crying on command!

The girl raised her sleeve to wipe her tears, making her face even messier: “Boo hoo hoo… Sect Leader Jun, I don’t have to be a disciple. I can be a menial servant too!”

Don’t let his decisive killing of the two Lingquan Sect elders earlier fool you—seeing the girl cry in front of him now, Sect Leader Jun immediately became somewhat at a loss.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry…”

“Waaah!”

The girl’s crying grew even louder, crying until she was drenched in tears like a pear blossom in the rain, as if she had some heartbreaking, devastating sorrow.

“Sect Leader Jun?”

“What happened to that girl?”

“Could he have bullied her?”

“Tsk! Even as a sect leader, bullying a little girl—is he even human!”

…

The girl’s crying alarmed passersby in the distance. They gathered around, pointing fingers and gossiping about Jun Changxiao.

Sect Leader Jun’s facial expression changed repeatedly.

“Waaah!” The girl continued crying.

Jun Changxiao shouted: “Stop crying!”

Screech!

The young girl immediately stopped crying.

She pressed her thin lips tightly together, her eyes red-rimmed as she looked at Jun Changxiao, her appearance truly pitiful!!

“Waaah!”

She still couldn’t hold it in and started wailing loudly again.

“Sect Leader Jun, you’re a sect leader—bullying a girl like this, doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

“She’s still just a child!”

Jun Changxiao said helplessly: “Stop crying, stop crying. This seat agrees.”

The girl’s tears turned to laughter: “Thank you, Sect Leader Jun!”

Just moments ago she had been crying with devastating sorrow, but the instant he agreed, her face broke into a brilliant smile. She must have studied Sichuan Opera—changing faces at the drop of a hat.

“Sigh.”

Jun Changxiao shook his head and said: “Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

The girl hurriedly followed.

As she walked, she introduced herself: “Sect Leader Jun, my name is Liu Wanshi, my childhood name is Dudu. You can just call me Dudu from now on.”

Liu Wanshi?

Jun Changxiao thought to himself: “Such a poetically beautiful name really feels incongruous on her.”

Although they had only just met, he had already discerned that this young girl, despite her tender age, had a very mischievous and clever personality.

“How much time is left on the Swift Movement Talisman?”

“Five minutes.”

“Bringing along this burden, I won’t make it back to the sect. I’ll have to hire a horse carriage to return.”

“Gurgle.”

After walking just a few steps, Liu Wanshi’s stomach made a rumbling sound of hunger. She clutched her abdomen, looking pitiful: “Sect Leader Jun, I haven’t eaten in a whole day.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“I want to eat Star Moon Tower’s Stir-Fried Gardenia Flowers, Honey-Glazed Ham, Date Paste Pudding Cake, Braised Beef, and Beggar’s Chicken!”

Liu Wanshi rattled off several dish names in one breath.

The corner of Jun Changxiao’s mouth twitched. Just from hearing the dish names, he knew the prices wouldn’t be cheap.

But then again, after transmigrating to this other world, every day was either rice with vegetables or noodles. Now that he had money, it was time to properly enjoy the cuisine here.

“Snap!”

Jun Changxiao snapped his fingers and said: “Lead the way. To Star Moon Tower.”

…

Star Moon Tower.

The most famous restaurant in Qingyang City. Their signature dishes like the secret recipe Stir-Fried Gardenia Flowers were renowned far and wide, hailed as heavenly delicacies.

Every year, food enthusiasts would travel thousands of miles just to personally taste them.

At this very moment, in a private room on the third floor, Jun Changxiao and Liu Wanshi were devouring their meal like a whirlwind, with a stack of empty plates already piled beside them.

“Burp!”

Half an hour later, Jun Changxiao leaned back against his chair and let out a satisfied belch: “Truly heavenly cuisine!”

Liu Wanshi had one slender little leg propped up on the chair, holding a toothpick and pointing at the empty plates: “This dish had too little salt—failure. This dish wasn’t cooked long enough—failure. This dish had too much oil—failure of failures!”

Jun Changxiao said helplessly: “I notice you didn’t eat any less though.”

Liu Wanshi puffed out her cheeks and said: “Sect Leader, you should know that when a person is extremely hungry, they won’t care about the quality of the food.”

Seeing her cute and serious expression, Jun Changxiao teased: “As if you know how to cook.”

“I don’t know how to cook.”

Liu Wanshi said: “I only know how to perform culinary arts.”

Jun Changxiao said helplessly: “What’s the difference between cooking and culinary arts?”

“The difference is huge.”

Liu Wanshi said seriously: “Cooking just means making food to eat. Culinary arts encompass everything—like stir-frying, pan-frying, grilling, quick-boiling, deep-frying, braising, stewing, simmering, red-cooking, roasting…”

“Stop talking!”

Jun Changxiao hastily interrupted, asking in amazement: “You really know culinary arts?”

“Of course.”

Liu Wanshi crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, saying proudly: “If culinary talent could be graded like martial arts aptitude, I would definitely be Divine Grade.”

“That impressive?” Jun Changxiao was skeptical.

Liu Wanshi smiled: “If Sect Leader doesn’t believe me, when we return to the sect, I can show you my skills and let you know what true heavenly delicacies taste like.”