The Cook spoke the truth; this was the rule wherever one reclaimed wasteland.
Xiao Feng shouted, "Tao’er, let’s go! Aren’t you reclaiming the wasteland for my sake? Now that I can’t get in, what’s the point of your reclaiming efforts?"
Oil Peach bit into her chicken, looking up at Xiao Feng.
She really wanted to follow Xiao Feng, but simply couldn’t stop eating, not even to walk while eating. She just wanted to sit there and finish her chicken; she couldn’t even free her mouth to speak a word to Xiao Feng.
The Cook spoke on behalf of Oil Peach. "Miss Xiao Feng, what you’re saying is not right. Oil Peach indeed came here to reclaim the wasteland for you. Once she has made something of this wild land, she’ll also be able to protect you here. You should be helping her, giving her a hand. Why are you forcing her to leave? Could it be that you don’t want her to help you reclaim the land? Could it be that you don’t want her protection? That’s right, with your high cultivation level, you certainly don’t need her protection. I’ve been curious about this too. Why do you insist on taking her with you?"
"That’s none of your business! I can’t let Tao’er suffer!" Xiao Feng ignored the Cook and tried to force her way into the plot of land again.
At this point, Meng Yuchun had no need for courtesy. Xiao Feng was no longer a Pioneer but still attempted to enter the plot, clearly breaking the rules.
Meng Yuchun rushed forward, lifted Xiao Feng high into the air, and then forcefully slammed her onto the ground. Throughout the process, Meng Yuchun remained invisible. Xiao Feng struggled for a long time but couldn’t get up.
Oil Peach’s eyes reddened; she wanted to help Xiao Feng but couldn’t control herself.
From the sky, Meng Yuchun’s voice emerged—deep and mournful, blending in a way that made it hard to distinguish the tone, or even the gender. "Why have you come to my territory? Who sent you!"
Xiao Feng kept silent.
The Cook walked forward and opened the lower tier of the food box. Inside, there lay a roasted duck.
Smelling this duck’s aroma, Oil Peach almost put down her roast chicken.
The Cook tore off a piece of duck meat and brought it to Xiao Feng’s lips. Xiao Feng tried to struggle but was pinned to the ground by Meng Yuchun’s foot. The Cook stuffed the duck meat into Xiao Feng’s mouth. She tried to spit it out, but she couldn’t.
From the skin to the flesh, and even the bones, everything melted in her mouth, turning into a rich, ungreasy fat that slid down her throat bit by bit.
The Cook tore off a duck leg and said to Xiao Feng, "Miss, I advise you to tell the truth. What exactly are you doing here? If you don’t tell the truth, I will continue feeding you duck meat. Eat another half of this, and your life will be over."
After speaking, the Cook tore another piece of duck meat and stuffed it into Xiao Feng’s mouth. Xiao Feng felt a severe pain in her belly but still swallowed it down.
"I’ll talk! I’ll tell!" Out of fear, Xiao Feng told the truth. "Ah Xia sent me here! It was Ah Xia!"
Oil Peach, still munching on her roast chicken, stared blankly at Xiao Feng.
The Cook tore off another piece of duck meat and said, "You better explain more clearly."
Xiao Feng shook her head repeatedly, signaling to the Cook not to bring over the duck meat. She stopped resisting and explained everything. "One day, Ah Xia told me that through Divination, she found a great location. The Local Deity of that place had died, but the Contract Book was still there. As long as we found that place and got the Contract Book, Ah Xia could become the Local Deity. Then that territory would belong to our home, and my cultivation level would also surge!"
Oil Peach continued to eat her roast chicken, staring in shock at Xiao Feng, mumbling something unintelligible.
The Cook knew what Oil Peach was trying to say; most people who ate his cooking didn’t speak clearly.
The Cook asked Xiao Feng, "Miss Youtau seems to be asking you why you deceived her?"
Xiao Feng said to Oil Peach, "I didn’t mean to deceive you. I was worried you would be scared. Ah Xia becoming the Local Deity is to both our benefits. How could I bear to see you at a loss?"
The Cook fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "Miss Xiao Feng, what you said sounds quite convincing. If it were someone more gullible, they might have actually fallen for your trick. But I’m not so easily fooled. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived for so many years. If I’m not mistaken, this whole act you and Ah Xia put on wasn’t to deceive Miss Youtau, but to deceive your family homestead, right?"
Xiao Feng became somewhat flustered. "Why would I deceive the homestead?"
The Cook laughed. "Because Home Cultivation is special. The homestead, the House Spirit, and the Home Cultivation together make a complete Taoist Sect. If the Home Cultivation colludes with the House Spirit and wants to leave home, it means abandoning the homestead, and the homestead will surely put up a fierce fight. However, if the Home Cultivation falls out with the House Spirit, or even stages a painful deception, the homestead could also choose to part on good terms. This painful deception you played with the House Spirit was acted out very convincingly. I heard that the homestead even got injured trying to protect you. In such a case, the homestead would naturally want you to escape as quickly as possible. If it’s a mild-tempered homestead, it won’t keep the House Spirit against its will. Is that right?"
Xiao Feng said nothing.
Meng Yuchun said to Li Banfeng, "The Cook is right. If a Home Cultivation has already fallen out with the House Spirit, and they even fight each other, a mild-tempered homestead would choose to part on good terms."
Li Banfeng nodded.
Oil Peach nibbled on the roast chicken, her eyes reddening, her words still unclear.
The Cook translated, "Miss Youtau is asking you, now that you have left the homestead, why did you still deceive her?"
Xiao Feng said to Oil Peach, "That’s because I can’t bear to part with you! I can’t leave you!"
The Cook shook his head and sighed. "Miss Xiao Feng, you look so honest, but your words are anything but."
Xiao Feng cried out, "What I’ve said is all true!"
"The truth isn’t wrong, but your meaning isn’t quite right," the Cook said. "You really can’t bear to leave her, and you can’t do without her, but don’t try to make it sound so sentimental. Your cultivation level is indeed not low, but as a Home Cultivation with limited experience, you need someone to look after you when traveling far. Otherwise, Human Traffickers might even whisk you away. So you really can’t do without Miss Youtau, who has traveled Jianghu. You, a person who can’t scheme against outsiders, are truly adept at deceiving your own."
Xiao Feng shook her head repeatedly. "I haven’t deceived you, Tao’er! Don’t believe him!"
"Still won’t admit it?" The Cook smiled. "Let me lay it out for you. You and Ah Xia deceived the homestead and ran all the way to this place to find a territory without a Local Deity. You forced Oil Peach to pioneer this land because you wanted to help Ah Xia test whether there really was a Local Deity here."
Oil Peach remembered the scene in the tent last night, Xiao Feng incessantly muttering, ""
When Oil Peach awoke, Xiao Feng had said there was a snake.
Oil Peach continued to nibble on her roast chicken, watching Xiao Feng intently.
Xiao Feng couldn’t bear to look at Oil Peach anymore; the Cook’s every deduction was extremely accurate.
The Cook continued, "Once you confirmed there was a Local Deity here, and when Miss Youtau genuinely wanted to reclaim the land, you interfered. You did this because you didn’t want Oil Peach to succeed. You didn’t want Oil Peach to stay here. You wanted her to continue following you, to shield you from wind and rain, to handle your troubles, and even to entertain you at night. Is that the reasoning?"
Xiao Feng remained silent.
Tears streamed down Oil Peach’s face.
Then, the Cook asked, "How did you two find out that something had happened to this territory’s Local Deity?"
Xiao Feng said, "Ah Xia figured it out through Divination."
The Cook tore off another piece of duck meat and said, "If you don’t tell the truth now, you really will lose your life."
Li Banfeng listened intently nearby. He had repeatedly instructed the Cook to get a clear answer to this question.
This matter was of great importance; they had to find out the source of Ah Xia’s information.
PS: This Cook is incredibly useful; he doesn’t just get to your heart, he gets to your stomach too.