Su Yi was briefly stunned, but he quickly understood.

The boar was undoubtedly a gift from the Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast.

It really is an intelligent spirit beast; it even understands the importance of repaying benevolence, thought Su Yi.

He picked up Guiding Mysteries, then cut the boar’s legs right off. He took them to the nearby stream, washed them off, and assembled a campfire and a simple grill, upon which he arranged the legs. 

Soon, the fire roared, and the boar legs were quickly turning golden brown. Dense drops of grease splattered into the fire with a series of pops and cracks, and an enticing, savory aroma wafted into the air.

Su Yi crouched to one side, then took some honey and spices from his black jade pendant. From time to time, he slathered them on the roasting legs. Surprisingly, his movements were practiced and familiar. 

He was simply acting on the spur of the moment; it was rare for him to take action like this.

When he saw the flavors soaking into the roasted boar, and when he saw the meat turn increasingly crisp and golden, Su Yi’s appetite stirred.

Even gods and immortals love a good drink. Besides, while a delicacy like this is no dragon liver or phoenix marrow, I made it myself…. Su Yi raised his sword and sliced off a piece of crispy, juicy, roasted meat. He dipped it in a sauce, and bit down. The moment it entered his mouth, his taste buds seemed to relax, and the fresh and delicious flavor filled his entire mouth.

The meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. When he chewed, it released fatty juices. It was fresh, tender, and supremely delicious.

After his first bite, Su Yi couldn’t help but nod to himself. The taste of his own cooking put him in a good mood, and both the feel and flavor were extraordinary.

He then drank and feasted on meat. What could be better?

By the time Cha Jin walked over, only one boar leg remained over the fire.

When the savory smell of roasting meat assailed her nostrils, she couldn’t help but gulp. At the same time, her eyes widened in surprise. Someone so lazy actually roasted meat all by himself?! This is unprecedented!

It looks quite tasty, too….

She said softly, “Young Lord, your clothes are already clean. They’re currently hanging up to dry.”

She now wore a loose blue shirt, with her long black hair tied back. Her stunning face was now clear and lustrous, her skin white and soft as lamb suet, and her big eyes sparkled like autumn waters.

She was like a flower blooming after the rain; she looked refreshed and even more vibrantly beautiful than usual.

Su Yi nodded. “There’s one boar leg left, so pack it up for me.”

The first half of the sentence filled Cha Jin’s heart with delight.

But when she heard the second half, her smile faltered. She felt stifled; the gap between reality and her expectations was enormous. She couldn’t help but kvetch, Why did I have any expectations for this guy? In his eyes, I’m nothing but a prisoner. There’s no way he could possibly consider my feelings!

Su Yi put his hands behind his back and walked away. “Of course, if you don’t object, you’re welcome to just eat it too.”

“Uh… Ah?” Cha Jin’s spirits had only just sunk when she heard this, but she instantly perked back up again. This was what it meant to alternate between different extremes of emotion. He obviously wanted me to eat it, yet he just had to yank my chain first. It’s so infuriating!

After taking a moment to complain, she crouched where Su Yi had earlier, picked up the remaining leg, and started eating it.

After just one bite, her mouth was already smeared with grease. Her cheeks bulged, and her pretty eyes lit up with surprise. “Oh….! How could his cooking taste so good?”

Her stomach was already growling, and she couldn’t be bothered to give the matter any further thought. She just started eating to her heart’s content.

She was a dainty beauty, so the sight of her wolfing down her food, her cheeks bulging, gave her an additional layer of innocent charm.

After devouring the entire leg, Cha Jin still wanted more, so she sucked the grease off her fingers and licked her lips clean.

She felt that, between now and leaving the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital, this was her most delicious meal by far. It didn’t just taste good; it left her unusually relaxed and comfortable, too.

“When you’re done eating, gather up the clothes. We should get going,” came Su Yi’s voice from afar.

Cha Jin rose and hurriedly got to work.

In the past, she rather detested following his orders, but after eating the roasted boar leg, this no longer bothered her.

The ancients said that it’s hard to refuse a request after eating someone’s food, and they weren’t lying.

Once she put all the clothes away, the two of them resumed their journey. From time to time, Su Yi would pause atop the peaks and gaze into the sea of clouds. Other times, he’d sit beside a stream and rest.

When the mood struck him, he’d exchange a few words with Cha Jin.

But for the most part, he was like an idle traveler. He admired the vast mountains and sweeping rivers, gazed upon the grandeur of heaven and earth, and experienced the beauty of nature.

Cha Jin’s mental state changed too. She seemed to forget her worldly troubles. She accompanied Su Yi. In the morning, she watched the sunrise. In the evening, she watched the rosy clouds of dusk. Throughout their journey, the scenery was magnificent.

This was a formless experience. What changed and grew was the heart.

Cha Jin soon realized that every time they stopped to rest, someone would deliver prey right to their door. All were beasts and fowl native to the mountains.

Some time passed before Cha Jin realized that this was the Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast’s way of repaying its debts. This realization filled her with emotion.

What left Cha Jin feeling rather awkward was that, when she roasted meat, the results were bland and far inferior to Su Yi’s. It was so bad that, after just one bite, Su Yi refused to eat anymore. He disdainfully set his rejected portion aside, then took over for her. 

Su Yi didn’t object to leaving his leftovers for Cha Jin, and she naturally wouldn’t object to this arrangement either.

There was nothing for it. The food Su Yi made had little to criticize….

On multiple occasions, Cha Jin even felt like she’d just enjoyed a sumptuous feast.

A few days later.

Su Yi bumped into a woodcutter in the mountains, and after a few quick questions, he learned that if they traveled for another half a day, they’d reach a place called “Yangku Town.” 

If they left Yangku Town and proceeded east for another eighty miles, they’d arrive at the heart of the six prefectures, the Imperatorial Provincial Capital.

Noon.

Su Yi sat casually on a boulder halfway up a mountain. Shortly after, the sound of something heavy thudding to the ground rang out from afar.

“That’s enough,” said Su Yi calmly. “Today, I’ll return to the mundane world. You no longer need to deliver food.”

Cha Jin couldn’t help but glance into the distance, but the forest was still. There was no response.

But just fifteen minutes later, a white blur streaked over the distant cliffs. It was a full ten feet long, with snowy white fur that blazed with searing firelight.

This was none other than a Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast.

However, it now carried a beast cub in its jaws. The cub was white with black stripes, like a baby tiger, and it was only about half a foot long. Its paws were soft and fuzzy, and it looked charmingly innocent.

Cha Jin was stunned. What’s going on?

Then, off in the distance, the Jade-Eyed Crimson Flame Beast faced Su Yi and knelt, lowering its head to the ground. A low roar emerged from its throat, but the sound was respectful with a hint of pleading. 

Su Yi furrowed his brow. He seemed to understand. “You want me to take your cub with me and train it up?”

The Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast nodded repeatedly.

“That’s actually rather interesting. Had I offered any other spirit beast an opportunity to learn the art of transformation, they would have gone mad with delight and sobbed tears of gratitude. They might have even accepted me as their master and followed my every command. Yet here you are, willing to give up on this grand stroke of fortune for the sake of your child’s growth…” Su Yi’s voice trailed off, and he sighed with emotion.

Cha Jin finally understood. Despite herself, she was moved, and waves of emotion rocked her heart.

She’d once flipped through her sect’s classic texts, and she was well aware of how difficult it was for spirit beasts and their ilk to take on human form.

The higher a beast’s tier and the more powerful its bloodline, the more difficult it was!

Cha Jin was certain that, with the unbelievable methods at Su Yi’s disposal, if he said he could teach the Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast to take on human form, he could do so easily.

Who would have guessed the spirit beast would leave this good fortune to its cub instead?

Of course she was moved! Who wouldn’t have been?

Thinking about it, this rare specimen of a tier-nine spirit beast had followed them for days, silently delivering them food. Now, it was kneeling before them, begging for them to give its cub a better future. Who wouldn’t have sighed at this sight?

Su Yi fell silent for a moment, then walked up to the Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast, knelt, and picked the cub off the ground. The little guy had obviously only been born a few months ago. Its striped white fur was soft and smooth, and its paws were fat with big pink pads. 

When Su Yi held it by the scruff of its neck, the cub couldn’t help but bare its teeth and wail in displeasure, but its roars were babyish and not the least bit threatening. On the contrary, they were innocent and adorable.

Su Yi poked the little guy’s soft belly. “Its spirit bone is barely passable, but I’m not sure whether the trace of True Spirit lineage in its blood is pure or not. Out of consideration for your assistance in establishing my Dao, I can keep it by my side and train it up.”

The Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast was mad with delight. It kowtowed, its blue-green eyes filled with pure gratitude.

“But first, I have to make myself clear: I absolutely won’t accept your cub as my apprentice, and if it performs poorly or otherwise displeases me, I’ll send it packing,” said Su Yi flatly.

In his past life, a Golden-Winged Great Peng once knelt at the gate to his mountain, kowtowing for ten days and ten nights.

Out of consideration for its sincerity, he allowed it to remain by his side and cultivate with him as his honorary disciple. 

But the moment the little sparrow heard news of his “death”, he turned into a blatant traitor, taking advantage of the chaos to run off with one of the treasures Su Yi left within his immortal grotto, the “Heaven-Smelting Furnace”!

Of course, Su Yi didn’t care about a handful of treasure; what hurt him was the bird’s betrayal.

There was no need to even question it: when the day came that he returned to the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, he’d reclaim the Heaven-Smelting Furnace, then use it to stew the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

Nothing else would suffice to vent his hatred.

It was because of this bitter lesson that, even though he was closer to his little sister-in-law than anyone else, when he taught her the Abstruse Spiritual Essence Pearl Incantation, he only shared the secrets relevant to the Four Realms of the Martial Dao.

As for the incantations needed for higher realms, he planned to give them to her later….

This was called “once bitten, twice shy.” No matter how broad-minded Su Xuanjun was, he was still human; it was hard to fully escape mortal weaknesses.

Thus, he felt the need to explain his terms clearly.

The Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast kowtowed repeatedly, as if expressing its understanding. 

When he saw this, Su Yi sighed. If I take a little critter like this with me everywhere I go, won’t it hurt my dignity….?

Oh, later on, I can give it to Lingxue as a playmate. After all, it’s the offspring of a Jade-Eyed Crimson Flamebeast. If I teach it appropriately, it can even become her bodyguard….

Once this thought occurred to him, Su Yi’s initial aversion dissipated. He passed the juvenile beast to the nearby Cha Jin.

Her eyes lit up, and she gently cradled it in her arms, her expression filled with happiness and doting affection.

The little guy was white with black stripes, strong and healthy, charmingly innocent, and utterly adorable. Its fur was shiny and sleek, and it was only half a meter long. It was curled up into a ball, chubby and soft, and hugging it felt great.

The more Cha Jin looked at it, the more she liked it. She couldn’t help but affectionately rub her cheek against its little head, and her smile was utterly affectionate.

No matter how pretty they might be, women were women. She simply couldn’t resist this fuzzy little baby beast.

I think the last chapter said the boar was merely unconscious? Let's assume that Su Yi killed it humanely, shall we? 

Also, while I generally don't use these notes for this sort of thing, I got curious and couldn't help it... 

A full leg is a lot of food. If a wild boar weighs ~180 pounds, and 75% of that is edible, and the back legs make up about 25% of the edible meat,  that means Cha Jin ate.... 180 x .75 x .125 = 16.875 pounds of meat? Or if she ate a front leg, that's 17 percent of the carcass, divided by two for.... 11.475 pounds of meat? Am I doing that math right? I'm a translator, not a mathematician, guys. If I'm being an idiot, yell at me in the comments. In any event, even if this is a young boar, or a female, or otherwise smaller than 180 lbs, and even if my math is off.... That's a lot of food!

....I'm suddenly jealous. I wish I could eat all that food and not get fat(ter). Cultivators must have crazy metabolisms. What do you think? Does this make you want to take up cultivation?