Chapter 70: What Did the Bird Do Wrong? The Bird Will Change

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: What Did the Bird Do Wrong? The Bird Will Change

"Are these fruits poisonous or something?"

Lou Xiaotian covered his nose and quickly ran away, unable to stop himself from complaining.

While the fruits were simmering, the smell they gave off was so sour it made your mouth water.

He hadn’t even had a bite, but he already felt like his teeth would fall out from the tartness.

Lu Wu stirred the mixture with a stick. She tasted it midway through and added some honey.

This honey came from the Secret Realm and was completely natural.

As the water evaporated, the jam grew thicker and thicker. ℴ

She kept the heat moderate the whole time to prevent it from burning at the bottom.

It was finally done when she could lift some jam with a chopstick and it dripped slowly or held its shape.

The sweetness of the honey infused the jam, gradually masking the tartness until the entire large pot began to emit a sweet fragrance.

Faced with the jam’s dramatic transformation, Lou Xiaotian shamelessly asked for a taste.

The texture was smooth and rich, yet it retained the fruit’s light fragrance. The addition of honey had completed the jam’s magnificent transformation.

"Delicious!"

He gave a thumbs-up in praise.

The jam’s flavor had completely changed. It was nine parts sweet and one part tart—the perfect ratio.

Once the jam was cooked, it also needed to be cooled down. Qin Zhan was the man for that job.

"Let me!"

He squeezed between the other two, volunteering himself for the task.

While the jam was cooling, Lu Wu began making the ice powder.

Lu Wu was already very familiar with the entire process.

While everything was still being prepared, a considerable crowd of waiting customers had already gathered.

There were humans, and there were beasts.

All of them were familiar faces.

Thanks to the rapport built the day before, humans and beasts coexisted harmoniously.

The pictures on One World Communication were updated again. Some of the customers in the Secret Realm were people of considerable status, and they also came forward to confirm that all of this was really happening.

More and more people grew curious about what kind of charm this Boss Lu possessed to make both humans and beasts bow to her.

Only the disciples from the Beast Taming Sect remained on One World Communication, fuming impotently.

"This is a declaration of war! You want to go to war with our Beast Taming Sect! I won’t believe it unless I see it with my own eyes."

The stubborn Beast Taming Sect disciples stuck to their guns.

If all this were true, then what would their years of effort count for?

Would it all just be a waste of time?

"Let’s go. We’ll head to Hong’an City and wait for this Lu Wu to come out. I have to ask her for some pointers."

The members of the Beast Taming Sect gathered, sounding their horns, determined to defend their honor.

In the Secret Realm, the ice powder had finished cooling.

After covering the bottom of a bowl with ice powder, Lu Wu poured the jam on top. After being simmered, the jam had turned a purplish-red, like a ripe mulberry.

Lu Wu then sprinkled some crushed nuts on top as a garnish, and a bowl of Jumping Fruit jam ice powder was ready.

"Open for business!"

she yelled, opening her stall.

The new variety of ice powder stimulated the customers’ appetites. They crowded together, eager to get their hands on it sooner.

"Jumping Fruit? Never heard of it, but I trust Boss Lu."

"I know about it! That fruit is poisonous. It gives you diarrhea—the kind that leaves you completely drained. But I trust Boss Lu."

"It’s poisonous? Oh, I’m so scared! But I trust Boss Lu."

Many of the customers were blinded by Lu Wu’s culinary skill. Even knowing there was a problem with the ingredient, they wanted to taste for themselves what kind of problem it was.

They’d thrown their brains out the window, single-mindedly focused on eating.

This level of trust brought tears to Lu Wu’s eyes as she served her customers.

Not tears of gratitude, but tears brought on by the sight of sparkling Spirit Stones.

’Back when I first arrived in the Green Origin Realm, I had to rack my brains just to earn enough for food and shelter,’ she thought. ’But now? The Spirit Stones I earn from selling a few bowls of ice powder are enough to live comfortably.’

’It’s true, robbing people is the fastest way to make money.’

"CHIRP?"

It was a Fiery Fire Sparrow. Because it was so small, it stood right on the edge of the stall, its little claws gripping on for dear life, not daring to move.

A familiar Fire Rock Crystal was placed down, but Lu Wu pushed the crystal back in front of the Fiery Fire Sparrow.

"I don’t want this."

CHIRP?

The bird was stunned.

Its pea-sized eyes went wide. It hopped about anxiously, chirping away about something.

The human’s move had caught the bird completely off guard.

The bird... didn’t know what to do.

CHIRP CHIRP!

CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!

More and more Fiery Fire Sparrows began to chirp. Even though they were sad, they controlled their volume, not wanting the humans to get annoyed with them.

The other beasts were clearly getting to eat ice powder, so why couldn’t they?

’What did we birds do wrong? Can’t we birds just fix it?’

"Ahem, that’s not what I meant."

Stared at by pairs of bird eyes, Lu Wu quickly explained.

"I want to ask you to do me a favor. This ice powder is the payment, so you don’t need to give me anything extra."

She pointed at the ice powder.

"After you’ve eaten, I hope you can help me deliver some ice powder to the outer area and give it to those human Cultivators—the ones we met yesterday when we went to pick Jumping Fruit. And to those children, too."

Those children were only able to survive in this Secret Realm because they were being protected by Cultivators from various Sects.

Lu Wu hoped to relieve some of the pressure on those Cultivators, and she also hoped to make the children a little more comfortable.

One bowl of ice powder per person. It wasn’t much.

This was Lu Wu’s gift for the children.

’Consider it a congratulatory gift for them as they embark on the path of cultivation.’

After Lu Wu explained her idea, she saw Huohuo fly above the other Fiery Fire Sparrows and call out a few times.

"CHIRP!"

The Fiery Fire Sparrow nodded at Lu Wu, indicating that it accepted the deal.

Lu Wu’s heart felt warm and content.

"Thank you."

She rubbed Huohuo’s head and fed it another bowl of ice powder.

"CHIRP!"

’No need to thank me. This bird said it, this bird will spoil you.’

’Besides, this flock of Fiery Fire Sparrows has gotten fat lately. Acting as delivery birds will help them lose some weight.’

Lu Wu hadn’t tried to hide her words from the crowd, and many Cultivators heard her. The looks they gave her grew increasingly complex.

It was a look of admiration and respect.

If before they had admired Lu Wu for her food, now they were captivated by the charm of her character itself.

’Boss Lu is a good person.’

Lu Wu, having been issued the "good person" card, didn’t let their praise go to her head.

Do what you can with the power you have.

This was Lu Wu’s philosophy for life.

...

In the outer area, a group of young boys and girls were gathered together. They wore light, cool clothing and were fanning themselves.

Blocks of Ice Spirit Stones were placed around them, working to cool the air.

Some Cultivators were even circulating their energy to lower the surrounding temperature.

Even so, it was difficult to help the children escape the torment of the fire toxin.

"It’s already the fourth day. We’ll be getting out soon,"

a Cultivator muttered.

He was a disciple of the Holy Sword Sect named Chang Ming.

He had actually entered the Holy Sword Sect in the same year as Qin Zhan. But that guy had entered the Sect and been taken as the Sect Leader’s personal disciple, so in terms of seniority, Qin Zhan was far above him.

In terms of talent, he couldn’t catch up either.

But Chang Ming wasn’t jealous. In fact, he thought it was great.

’If Senior Brother Qin Zhan is strong, it means our Sect will continue to be powerful in the future. And that means I can keep coasting and waiting for death in the Sect.’

He had only accepted this mission because he knew Senior Brother Qin Zhan would be entering the Secret Realm.

"Just hang in there a little longer."

He encouraged the children as he took out another Ice Spirit Stone.

He glanced at their remaining supply, then met the eyes of the other Cultivators. Worry was hidden in all their gazes.

They were running low on Ice Spirit Stones.

Once they were used up, the children would have to rely on their own bodies to resist the fire toxin.