Chapter 61

Hangzhou City was a beautiful place with exquisite food. Although the light-tasting cuisines here didn't satisfy Jun Zishu's fondness for spicy food, they were delicious nonetheless.

The martial arts conference was set to begin in half a month, so Hangzhou City gradually became more and more crowded. At this point, the state of the city's liveliness had already surpassed that of Weishui City.

As Jun Zishu's group had arrived somewhat early, they didn't choose to stay at an inn this time. Instead, they rented a small courtyard for their stay, giving them much more freedom and privacy. The courtyard even came with a small kitchen.

Out of the group of three, the responsibility of manning the kitchen fell on Wei Zinan.

Wei Zinan had originally placed his hopes on the two ladies in the group to cook. However, neither Jun Zishu nor Shen Zheyan knew how to cook.

It went without saying that Jun Zishu didn't know how to cook. After the Demon Cult kidnapped her, she had been focused on training every day. As the Demon Cult's Saintess, she also had several maidservants take care of her every need. So, there was no way she would ever have to cook for herself.

Initially, when Wei Zinan asked Jun Zishu if she could cook, Jun Zishu eagerly entered the kitchen and tried cooking. However, what she ended up returning with was something that could only be described as an abomination, and nobody even dared to give it a try, let alone eat it.

As for Shen Zheyan, although she had originally known how to cook, she had stopped cooking after joining her sect. After all, while the Heavenly Spirit Sect might be small, it still had people specialized in cooking. Thus, it had already been many years since Shen Zheyan had cooked, and she had long since forgotten how to cook.

Faced with this situation, Wei Zinan had no choice but to enter the kitchen himself.

Although the food Wei Zinan cooked wasn't delicious, it wasn't terrible, either. So, Jun Zishu couldn't nitpick even if she wanted to. After all, she had created something that couldn't even be considered food.

Even so, after two days of eating Wei Zinan's cooking, everyone quickly grew tired of it. It wasn't just Jun Zishu who got fed up with the food, even Wei Zinan couldn't stomach his own cooking any further. Although he could cook medicinal herbs to perfection, he simply couldn't find the trick to cooking good food no matter how he tried.

"How about we hire someone to cook for us?" Jun Zishu, the Demon Cult's Saintess who did not lack money, suggested.

"I agree." Wei Zinan, who was a top-performing disciple of the Medicine Valley and similarly did not lack money, nodded.

"It seems that's our only choice." Shen Zheyan also nodded in agreement.

Jun Zishu rubbed her belly and smacked her lips. At this time, she couldn't help but miss the Demon Cult. After all, the food there was wonderful, and the service she received was excellent.

Meanwhile, when Shen Zheyan noticed Jun Zishu's actions, her hands clenched in resolution as she made up her mind on something.

…

On one morning a few days after the trio started dining outside, Jun Zishu suddenly woke up to the smell of food.

Although the courtyard was small, it had exactly three bedrooms to accommodate their group. After taking a bath, Jun Zishu stretched in her room and worked her nose a little. Then, when she noticed that the smell of food still lingered in the air, she started making her way to the kitchen.

At this time, Wei Zinan had just woken up, and he, too, noticed the smell of food.

After arriving outside the kitchen, Jun Zishu smelled the smell of congee and fried pancakes. She also saw Shen Zheyan's silhouette through the kitchen's entrance, so she called out to her, "Big Sister? Are you cooking?"

"I woke up early today, so I went outside to buy some ingredients," Shen Zheyan said as she brought out a tray topped with a bowl of congee and a plate of scallion pancakes. Then, she set the food on the stone table outside the kitchen and invited Jun Zishu to sit at the table.

The scallion pancakes were fried to golden perfection, so Jun Zishu instantly felt her appetite stimulated. Quickly, she walked up to the table and asked, "You know how to make pancakes as well, Big Sister?"

Jun Zishu had been eating scallion pancakes consecutively for the past few days. There was also a stall selling them near the courtyard.

"I learned it after watching it a few times," Shen Zheyan said.

The pancake stall prepared its pancakes on the spot, so Shen Zheyan got to watch and learn every time she visited it with Jun Zishu. She had also managed to determine the ingredients through watching and tasting.

"Let me try," Jun Zishu said as she sat down and accepted the chopsticks Shen Zheyan offered. Afterward, she eagerly picked up a piece of pancake and put it into her mouth. Then, after some chewing, she gave Shen Zheyan a big thumbs-up.

"There is still some congee in the kitchen, Brother Zinan. You can go and get yourself a bowl," Shen Zheyan said when she noticed Wei Zinan walking over.

"Okay." Wei Zinan hurriedly walked into the kitchen and filled himself a bowl of congee.

"Did you deliberately learn how to cook for me, Big Sister?"

"It's not healthy to eat out every day. I still remember how to cook some things, in any case. Try the congee and see if it suits your taste," Shen Zheyan said.

Jun Zishu nodded, blew on the hot congee, and slurped a mouthful. Some diced meat and mushrooms had been added to the congee, so the flavor was much more impactful than the congee she had eaten the past few days.

"It's tasty," Jun Zishu commented. Then, she picked up a scallion pancake with the chopsticks she just used and brought it up to Shen Zheyan's mouth, saying, "Here, try some pancake for yourself, Big Sister."

Seeing this, Shen Zheyan lowered her head and took a bite out of the pancake.

"You should get yourself a bowl of congee as well," Jun Zishu said. Then, she nonchalantly retracted her chopsticks and finished the rest of the pancake.

Shen Zheyan's ears turned red when she saw Jun Zishu's actions.

Meanwhile, Wei Zinan, who took in this entire scene with his eyes, couldn't help but have complicated feelings. He had a feeling that the person he liked was seemingly falling deeper and deeper into that hole.

Subsequently, Jun Zishu and Shen Zheyan enjoyed a merry and affectionate breakfast, while Wei Zinan awkwardly ate in this abnormal atmosphere.

…

Half a month later, the martial arts conference officially began.

The martial arts conference was a grand event that was held only once every several years. So, many martial artists all over the continent had shown up for this event, with some attending the event on behalf of their sects and some attending as individuals.

"Will you be taking part in the conference, Big Sister?"

"Yes. This is a good opportunity to spread my name, after all."

Shen Zheyan was naturally going to participate in the conference since she was tasked with spreading the name of the Heavenly Spirit Sect.

"I'll be participating as well, but just for fun. Other members of my sect should be arriving in the next few days as well," Wei Zinan said. Then, he turned to Jun Zishu and asked, "What about you? Will you be participating?"

"I am only skilled at qinggong. If I go on stage, my only method of fighting will be to use poison. When it comes to using poison, I might not even be as skilled as you," Jun Zishu humbly said, shaking her head. She did not intend on exposing her identity at this time.

If Jun Zishu were to fight seriously, she would definitely become famous in the martial world. While she could make up another excuse for her strength, she felt it'd be best not to take unnecessary risks.

The Demon Cult's Saintesses practiced the same techniques. If someone had fought against a Saintess or seen a Saintess fighting in the past, they would definitely be able to recognize Jun Zishu's techniques. With so many people attending the conference, Jun Zishu dared not assume that such people wouldn't be present.

Meanwhile, if it got out that the Demon Cult's Saintess was boldly participating in the righteous faction's martial arts conference, the warriors of the righteous faction would definitely explode with rage.

The martial arts conference was included in one of the original storyline's plot points. However, it wasn't a crucial one. Basically, the plot point talked about how Shen Zheyan had won against many powerful opponents in this conference and successfully spread her name in the world of martial artists.

Shen Zheyan hadn't simply been sightseeing throughout their journey to Hangzhou City. She didn't forget to train her techniques and cultivate her internal strength every day.

The opponents Shen Zheyan met on the first two days of the conference were a bunch of small fries, so no interesting fights took place.

Jun Zishu had seen a few famous warriors fighting these past two days. She had also spotted someone who was even showier than Shen Zheyan.

When Shen Zheyan fought, she would always hold back on drawing her sword until absolutely necessary. This was an incredibly arrogant behavior in the eyes of others. However, it also served to show her strength when she defeated her opponents without drawing her sword.

However, this other warrior was even showier than Shen Zheyan.

Of course, that wasn't to say that he was powerful. In terms of martial prowess, he was only slightly above average. Rather than his martial prowess, what made him stand out was the many strange weapons he carried on him. He carried so many strangely shaped weapons that it had reached a comical level.

However, things stopped being funny when one of this warrior's weapons slipped out of his hand and flew toward the spectator stands.

"Be careful!" Jun Zishu shouted as she pointed at the direction in which the weapon flew in.

Based on the weapon's flight trajectory, it would land on a spectator sitting on a balcony. Reacting quickly, Jun Zishu dashed forward and caught the flying weapon before it could hit the spectator.

The spectator that nearly got hit was a young lady with a tender appearance. Although the girl was seated in a wheelchair, she maintained a straight and disciplined posture.

After sending the weapon flying back to its owner, Jun Zishu looked at the girl behind her and asked, "Are you alright, Miss?"

"I am fine. Thank you for your help."

"Isn't that Lady Yun Sheng?" someone sitting on the spectator stands exclaimed when he turned around and saw the girl on the balcony.

Upon hearing this person's words, many people turned around and looked at the girl as well.

"It seems you're quite famous," Jun Zishu said, feeling a little surprised by this situation. She would only ever put in the effort to learn about her mission targets and people related to her mission targets. So, she had no idea who this lady in front of her was.

Meanwhile, Yun Sheng smiled but did not speak. The next moment, a golden thread flew out of her palm and wound itself around Jun Zishu's wrist.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jun Zishu asked as she tugged at the golden thread. However, even after putting in considerable strength, she failed to remove the thread from her wrist.

"You are…part of the Demon Cult?" Yun Sheng asked. However, her expression remained calm despite the severity of her question.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Jun Zishu put on a confused and angry expression. Then, she tried to tug at the golden thread again, only to fail at removing it.

Meanwhile, Yun Sheng continued quietly observing Jun Zishu, not a word coming out of her mouth.

"I saved you, and this is how you repay me?"

"Forgive me for my rudeness," Yun Sheng said as she lifted her hand. Then, the golden thread unwound itself from Jun Zishu's wrist, leaving behind some faint red marks as it returned to Yun Sheng's hand.

"You were indeed very rude," Jun Zishu complained as she massaged her wrist. Inwardly, though, she began pondering the identity of the girl. She never thought someone could discern her identity with just a glance.

"If my guess is correct, you are the Demon Cult's new Saintess, right?" Yun Sheng calmly asked, her face showing no signs of fear or curiosity. Rather than a question, it felt more like she was stating a fact. She neither felt delighted over uncovering Jun Zishu's identity nor showed any disgust when mentioning the Demon Cult.

Jun Zishu narrowed her eyes when she heard Yun Sheng's words. Then, she leaned closer to Yun Sheng with a dangerous expression on her face.

However, even after sensing the dangerous aura coming from Jun Zishu, Yun Sheng remained calm as she looked Jun Zishu in the eye.

At this time, Shen Zheyan had just kicked her opponent off stage. Then, when she looked at the spectator stands, she coincidentally found Jun Zishu standing very close to another girl. Moreover, from her perspective, the two looked very much like they were kissing.