Between Qi Yuan's ability to read hidden information and Chen Kangbao's silver tongue, duping the sheltered, inexperienced Jiang Yunxi was like leading a gullible pup by the nose, leaving her completely dazed.
"The gold hairpin swaying in your hair was a gift from your uncle..."
"The jade pendant at your waist was crafted by Xuangu; it is an artifact."
"Mm-hmm."
"Your underarm hair is a bit long."
"Huh???"
Half a day later, in a courtyard within the city, Jiang Yunxi stared at a whole room packed with ingredients, her expression utterly bewildered.
"The world is plagued by vicissitudes, and guiling run rampant. Young lady, the time has come for you to save the world," Chen Kangbao said with utter solemnity.
"B-but... what does saving the world have to do with chopping vegetables?"
Jiang Yunxi had bought the kitchen knife in a complete daze, and Chen Kangbao had subsequently brought her along to this courtyard.
"The Heavenly God once said: how can one sweep clean the world if one cannot even sweep a single room? If you do not chop vegetables and forge an unparalleled blade technique, how can you ever purge the guiling?" Chen Kangbao hoodwinked her with a straight face. "Therefore, the first step to saving the world is chopping vegetables. Mince all the cabbage, eggplant, meat, and everything else in this room into fine bits. This is your first trial. Ah, right—remember to wash the vegetables before you cut them. Don't get them dirty and waste good food."
Jiang Yunxi had a hundred thousand questions buzzing in her head.
Hesitant and half-believing, she replied, "All right."
The old man before her was truly too formidable. He seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself, carrying the unmistakable aura of an otherworldly master roaming the mortal realm.
*Well, I have nothing else to do anyway, so why not give it a try?* Jiang Yunxi thought.
Inside the kitchen, looking at the room full of vegetables and meat, this delicately reared young lady of noble birth finally began her day as a kitchen maid.
Outside the courtyard, in a pavilion.
A man and a woman were playing a game of go. Black held the upper hand on the board, surrounding and ruthlessly squeezing White. Both had ordinary looks, yet exuded the composed demeanor of hidden experts.
"The old man seems to possess some skill, but not much," the woman remarked.
Her name was Yun Li, an Earth-rank weapon wielder. The man was named Yun Hu. Both were under orders from the prince to secretly protect the commandery princess, Jiang Yunxi.
Jiang Yunxi had a carefree, naive personality. Having sneaked out of the prince's estate this time to join the bustling excitement at Yeshan Lake, her father had been worried sick, so he had dispatched the two of them to protect her in secret.
Unless forced by dire necessity, neither of them would show themselves.
After all, Jiang Yunxi had cultivation of her own, along with numerous protective artifacts on her person. Ordinary people could not harm her in the least, so there was little cause for concern.
"I'm just curious—how on earth did he persuade the princess?" Yun Hu asked in mild confusion.
Though naive and romantic, the princess was by no means stupid.
Trailing from afar, they had only seen her conversing with the old man, unable to catch the specifics of their exchange.
"Probably an accomplished charlatan well-versed in deceit. Once the princess grows tired of playing around, that will be our time to strike," Yun Li said indifferently.
She looked down on Chen Kangbao.
"Agreed." Yun Hu nodded, a faint smile appearing in his eyes. "The old man truly has some ability, though, managing to con the princess into chopping vegetables."
The princess had grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth; she had never done hard labor in her life.
Right now, she was truly seeking out hardship where there was none to be had.
This was the exact opposite of Qi Yuan, who insisted on indulging in luxury without having earned it.
Inside the kitchen, continuous clattering and thumping echoed out.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Jiang Yunxi gripped the kitchen knife and chopped with all her might.
The vegetable baskets were already filled with minced ingredients.
Her arms ached terribly.
"I'm so exhausted! This is more tiring than cultivating!"
Jiang Yunxi had washed vegetables for an hour and had already spent three hours chopping.
Yet despite working so hard, she had cleared less than a third of the room.
Though her hands were sore and her arms burned, she kept pressing on.
*The old immortal was right. In all the biographies and chronicles I've read, when the protagonist wants to grow stronger, they have to undergo harsh training—like thrusting a spear a hundred thousand times a day, or catching a hundred flies with chopsticks. Chopping vegetables... this is the cultivation path meant exclusively for me!*
*To think that one day, I, Jiang Yunxi, could also become the protagonist of a legend!*
*Wait, who is going to write about me?*
*No, that won't do. I need to keep a diary and record everything that happens every day. When I get back, I'll drop hints to Steward Chen to write a book about me!*
Jiang Yunxi's thoughts drifted wildly.
She began pondering how to beautify her image in the diary.
As for the things the old immortal had mentioned—her long underarm hair, wetting the bed, and the like—none of that could ever make it onto the pages.
*Tonight when I bathe, I have to shave that underarm hair off immediately!*
Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps rang out.
Jiang Yunxi hurriedly sped up her movements; she could not let the old immortal look down on her.
"Not bad, you are working very hard... Wait, why have you only cut this little bit?" Chen Kangbao asked, looking puzzled.
Then, as he watched her thumping away with frantic clatter, a helpless expression crossed his face. "You... have you never used a kitchen knife before? You haven't even taken the sheath off!"
Initially, Qi Yuan had forged a protective cover for himself to avoid smelling of raw blood and grease.
Later, however, Qi Yuan reconsidered: if he was going to play the role of a kitchen knife, he ought to truly act like one and immerse himself completely.
"Ah, a sheath?" Jiang Yunxi was stunned.
Only then did she realize that the kitchen knife she had been using felt rather peculiar.
A look of pure grievance washed over her face.
No wonder chopping was so exhausting—she had been cutting with the sheath still on!
She pulled off the knife's cover, and instantly, a simple, sharp, and understated kitchen knife met her eyes.
"Well? Was this knife worth nine hundred and ninety-nine taels of silver?" Chen Kangbao said smugly.
Jiang Yunxi gave it a glance... Well, it lacked the divine charm of a high-grade artifact.
"...It was."
Out of respect for the old immortal, it was.
"Chop up the rest of these vegetables quickly, and I'll teach you the second step."
Excitement flared on Jiang Yunxi's face.
Was the old immortal finally going to teach her real skills?
"The first step to saving the world is chopping vegetables. The second step... is making steamed buns."
"Huh?" Jiang Yunxi blinked.
Making buns?
"Indeed, making steamed buns."
"Old immortal, is there any profound meaning behind this?" Jiang Yunxi asked, perplexed.
Chopping vegetables could at least be understood as blade training, but why make buns?
"Making steamed buns may look ordinary, but it is far from simple. What your eyes see might not be the truth," Chen Kangbao continued to bluster.
Jiang Yunxi stood quietly, listening to his teachings.
"I have a friend who sells dog meat. In your eyes, has he committed countless sins of slaughter against dogs?"
"Yes."
"In truth, however, he is a man of great virtue who has saved many dogs. Every time he sells dog meat, he weighs out three liang and sells it as six. For every dog he sells, he actually saves a dog. While he appears to be doing evil by selling dog meat, he is performing immense acts of charity."
Chen Kangbao recited the stale joke he had overheard from Qi Yuan.
Jiang Yunxi's eyes widened. Never having witnessed internet comment sections or been steeped in web humor, hearing such logic for the first time completely bamboozled her.
"It works like that?!"
"Therefore, once you finish chopping the vegetables, hurry and make the buns. Sometimes, what you make is not just buns, but the salvation of the common people."
"Making buns can save the common people?" Jiang Yunxi remained baffled, feeling that the old immortal truly was an old immortal—his words carried such profound depths that ordinary mortals could scarcely comprehend them.
*Indeed,* Chen Kangbao answered silently in his heart.
He loved eating steamed buns.
Once the buns were made, he would eat them to fill his stomach, which technically counted as saving a member of the populace.
He was one of the common people, after all.
Three days passed, and Jiang Yunxi worked diligently throughout.
During this time, she threw herself heart and soul into the life of a kitchen maid.
Every day, she chopped vegetables, chopped vegetables, chopped vegetables, and occasionally made steamed buns.
Such a life was something she had never experienced before.
At first, she felt exhausted, bored, and thoroughly exasperated.
Yet gradually, she found herself growing fond of this routine, possessed by a righteous sense of purpose.
It felt as though doing chores was deeply meaningful.
Indeed, she had the innate constitution of an eager workhorse, actively seeking out hardship where there was none.
That night, dragging her weary body, she returned to her room.
The kitchen knife lay on the vanity table.
She stretched lazily.
"I'm so tired and sleepy. I won't bathe tonight; I'll wash up tomorrow morning instead."
"I have to write my diary first."
*Today was another hardworking day. My blade technique has grown increasingly refined; even if I met a grandmaster, they would be far beneath me in vegetable chopping. Even though I am weary and exhausted, my grace cannot be abandoned. After returning to my room and taking a bath, I will sleep and welcome a splendid tomorrow.*
Having finished her entry, Jiang Yunxi felt thoroughly satisfied.
Right at that moment, a voice sounded in her mind.
"Hey, are you seriously deceiving even yourself?"
"Who is that?!" Jiang Yunxi started, looking around in utter shock.
"Stop looking. I'm the kitchen knife."
"The kitchen knife?" Jiang Yunxi stared at the implement as though seeing a ghost, her eyes filled with wariness and confusion.
How could a kitchen knife talk?
Not even Heaven-rank artifacts could speak!
"Originally, I was incapable of speech. But because you chopped vegetables so diligently every day, you awakened my spiritual consciousness," Qi Yuan remarked casually.
To truly immerse himself in the role of a kitchen knife, Qi Yuan had severed his five senses from the moment the chopping began, acting like an ordinary knife without intellect or conscious thought.
As Jiang Yunxi continued chopping, his roleplay progress had steadily climbed, reaching past sixty percent.
This had unlocked a new ability for him.
Or rather, it had granted the kitchen knife a new trait: the awakening of spiritual consciousness and the five senses.
Moreover, the blade had grown even sturdier and sharper.
A subtle assessment suggested that its durability alone was already comparable to resilient Heaven-rank artifacts.
In other words, his physical body was now on par with a Heaven-rank artifact.
This was an astonishing feat.
In this world, an Earth-rank weapon wielder's capabilities stemmed largely from their artifacts. Even with cultivation, their physical bodies remained fragile, incapable of withstanding direct strikes from artifacts.
Now, Qi Yuan was different.
Where he had once been a technical combatant, he could now brawl like a juggernaut.
"You can actually talk?" Jiang Yunxi blinked, waves of disbelief surging through her heart.
Could it be that she truly was the savior?
"Are you male or female? No, wait! According to the chronicles, beings like you usually have no gender. You deliberately chose a male voice to please me, your master! Your voice sounds quite nice—say some more!" Jiang Yunxi grew thrilled, all her exhaustion vanishing in an instant.
"..."
"Why did you stop talking? Ah... I understand! My mindset slipped; I shouldn't have said something so suggestive. What we must do now is cast aside romantic entanglements and strive to defeat the archvillain! In the end, as I cradle your battered, broken form and watch your consciousness fade away, grief will tear through my heart. Only then will I realize that what I felt for you was not just camaraderie, but love—that I had been overlooking you all along! Finally, you will die in my arms, and I will retreat into the mountains to live in solitude forever... What a heartbreaking, moving scene that will be!"
The mere thought sent Jiang Yunxi into a flutter of melodramatic excitement.
Her reaction mirrored those netizens who wished a chess master would drop dead over the board right after defeating an AI, cementing the match as an eternal masterpiece and crowning him a legendary saint of chess—rather than watching him linger on, getting rattled and humiliated by opponents in card games.
"You're overthinking things a bit too much," Qi Yuan said, thoroughly speech-bound.
The last time he had encountered someone this absurd was... well, the last time.
"At this point, you have chopped enough vegetables. We should proceed to the third step," Qi Yuan said seriously.
"The third step?" Jiang Yunxi looked on with eager anticipation.
"A kitchen knife that has never tasted blood is no good knife. A warrior who has never undergone slaughter cannot become a savior."
"Are we going out tomorrow to punish evil, promote virtue, rob the rich to help the poor, kill bandits, and purge guiling?" Jiang Yunxi's eyes shone with hope.
*Rob the rich to help the poor? Why don't you start by robbing yourself first?*
"Not quite. Starting tomorrow, we will catch our own ingredients and kill fish!"
"In Yeshan Lake, the archvillain has secretly tainted many fish, turning them into guiling. What you need to do now is kill those fish!" Qi Yuan stated solemnly.
Previously, while aboard the boat, he had preached the Dragon Transformation Art, drawing a massive school of fish behind him.
Many of those fish had subsequently swum into Yeshan Lake.
This had afforded Qi Yuan a deeper grasp of the lake's waters, allowing him to uncover subtle abnormalities.
Some of the fish he had enlightened had met bizarre, gruesome ends.
The culprits were strange, mutated fish.
With Qi Yuan's keen perception, he immediately recognized that those fish resembled the corpses in the spirit-nurturing grounds—they were being reared as guiling.
Now, while roleplaying as a kitchen knife, having Jiang Yunxi hunt for ingredients and slay the tainted fish would also earn him some experience points. It was killing three birds with one stone.
"Understood!"
***
The morning sun rose, dispelling the chill over Yeshan Lake.
Yun Li and Yun Hu sat aboard a vessel, trailing the small skiff ahead from a distance.
"I have to admit, that old man truly has skill, managing to trick the princess into doing hard labor for days on end!" Yun Li chuckled at the thought.
The princess had made far too many steamed buns for Chen Kangbao to finish, so he had actually set up a stall to sell them.
As one of the princess's protectors, Yun Li had never tasted her culinary handiwork before, so she had hurried over to buy some.
Truth be told, they were quite delicious.
"The prince was informed of what happened here. He was somewhat surprised, but raised no objection," Yun Hu remarked.
The prince had arrived at Yeshan Lake yesterday. Yun Hu had reported the princess's antics to him and even brought along several buns.
The prince had eaten every last bun without objecting.
As long as his daughter faced no genuine peril, experiencing a bit of the world was always a good thing.
"The princess is certainly far more diligent than before. And today... she seems even more driven," Yun Li noted.
Then, struck by a thought, she murmured, "Do you think that old man could actually be a reclusive master?"
"How could he be? He acts half-crazed. If he were a genuine master, why would the princess be foolishly conversing with a fish?" Yun Hu countered.
Just moments ago, when their vessel drew near the princess's skiff, he had heard with his own ears the princess cradling a fish and asking where the tainted fish were.
Not only that, but she had even instructed the fish to lead the way so she could hunt them down.
There were simply too many absurdities to pick apart.
For one, how could fish possibly become guiling? In Yeshan Lake, the Water Lord was the sole terrifying guiling; it would never permit other guiling into its domain.
Second, even if tainted fish existed, how could an ordinary fish understand human speech, let alone guide the way?
Was that not utter nonsense?
Chapter 511