When Lu Li woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.
At that moment, he was sitting on the bed in his chamber, drenched in a cold sweat and still shaken, his mind filled with the terrifying dream he had experienced the night before.
In his dream, Lu Li was confronted by five sickly, obsessive female disciples from the game world, who forcibly tied him up like a rice dumpling.
They then demanded to know why, in this lifetime, Lu Li had not sought them out.
Faced with the threat of the five disciples wielding woodcutters, Lu Li desperately ran and ran within the dream, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape their combined pursuit or the binding power of the Immortal Binding Chain.
Every time he managed to break free a little, the warm Immortal Binding Chain would stick back onto him again, its touch frighteningly real.
In the end, in that dream, the five obsessive disciples directly cleaved him into five bloody parts, staging a truly literal “Quintuple Bride” scene.
Fortunately, that blood-soaked hellish scene was just an illusion—a dream.
“Phew… it’s just a dream…”
Lu Li gasped sharply, leaping upright on the bed, his heart pounding wildly as if about to burst out of his chest.
He breathed heavily, still trembling, and glanced around the familiar quiet room.
Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, bringing a faint, genuine warmth to the chill on his back.
“That really scared me… but thankfully, it was only a dream…”
At that moment, Lu Li suddenly caught a whiff of food fragrance coming from outside the room.
It was not the monotonous scent of spiritual grain porridge from the Sect Canteen, but a more carefully prepared, warm aroma that brought a sense of comfort.
Still dazed, Lu Li got dressed and followed the scent to the small kitchen outside.
There, in front of the stove of the kitchen on Broken Love Peak, stood his newly accepted disciple Gu Qingkong, her back facing him, busily tending the fire.
Sensing the arrival of her master, Gu Qingying—who, relying on memories from her previous life, had long figured out Lu Li’s daily routine and timed his arrival—suddenly turned around.
Like a true drama queen possessed, she flashed Lu Li a perfectly innocent, sunny smile without the slightest flaw.
“Ah… Master, you’re awake! Please wait just outside the kitchen for a moment, breakfast will be ready soon~”
After saying that, the slender Gu Qingying deftly flipped the spatula once more, golden egg batter and emerald green spirit vegetables sizzling in hot oil, releasing a tantalizing aroma that made Lu Li’s mouth water.
Seeing this warm, lively scene, and recalling the horrifying nightmare from last night, the still-shaken Lu Li suddenly felt deeply comforted.
A surge of indescribable safety welled up inside him, almost bringing him to tears of joy.
As expected!
Male disciples are just better!
Masculine and upright! Responsible!
Dependable!
And good at housekeeping and cooking too!
Most importantly… safe!
The more Lu Li looked at his new eldest disciple, the happier he felt.
Recalling the female disciples from the simulated game in his previous life, who made his blood pressure skyrocket, Lu Li was suddenly overcome with inexplicable sadness.
The first disciple, Feng Lingshuang, was an absolute sword fanatic, her mind filled only with sword training, utterly incapable of managing daily life.
Naturally, her cooking was challenging the limits of human endurance—one bite and you’d see your great-grandma’s ghost!
As for the second disciple, Gong Shangyu, her cooking was indeed flawless in taste.
The problem was that she was a deadly poisoner; who knew what she might secretly add into a meal?
Lu Li never dared take a bite.
The third disciple, Mo Qingyou, was in the late stages of laziness, preferring to nibble on fasting pills rather than light a fire.
The fourth, Zhou Ruoxi, needed no further mention—her cooking barely kept her alive, let alone tasting good.
Although the fifth, Gu Qingying, was skilled in the kitchen, she had joined too late and was a hidden psychotic with split personalities.
Remembering the original five “aunties” and their behavior, Lu Li looked down at Gu Qingkong bustling about the kitchen, rising early to make breakfast for her master.
Lu Li felt immense relief, convinced that this time, he had finally found the perfect disciple.
What he didn’t know was that the “well-behaved disciple” Gu Qingkong, currently making a heartfelt breakfast at the stove, was actually the so-called “psychotic split personality” female disciple in disguise as a male.
“Uh… Qingkong, you really…”
Lu Li glanced at the table full of dishes set aside, then at Gu Qingying busy in the kitchen, and sighed inwardly.
As the saying goes, poor children grow up fast—Gu Qingkong was so young yet possessed such skills, it seemed she must have had a hard upbringing.
Hearing this, Gu Qingying carried the freshly made scrambled eggs out of the kitchen, her expression obedient as she explained.
“I saw that Master worked hard to help me clear my meridians, so I thought I’d make something to eat for you.”
“Before dawn, I went down to the sect market at the mountain’s foot to buy some vegetables, and I even caught a few fish in the nearby stream.”
The more Lu Li heard, the more convinced he was that taking Gu Qingkong as a disciple was his best decision since crossing over.
“Qingkong, you’re so thoughtful~”
Gu Qingying smiled,
“Thoughtful is an overstatement. I just did what every disciple should.”
Lu Li felt deeply comforted by those words; what she said truly struck a chord with him.
“Hehe~ Master, please eat. You must be starving.”
Gu Qingying pulled open a pear blossom chair for Lu Li, who sat down at the table and swallowed instinctively before hastily saying,
“Don’t rush so much. Sit down and eat with me!”
Gu Qingying chuckled softly,
“No need, Master. I already ate when I came down the mountain. You don’t need to worry about me.”
With that, she respectfully handed over a pair of polished wooden chopsticks, her bright eyes fixed on Lu Li.
That gaze and expression were exactly those of an excellent disciple desperate for their master’s approval—devoid of any evil intent or impurity.
“Master, please try it~”
“Mm! Okay! I’ll try my disciple’s cooking now!”
Taking the chopsticks, Lu Li began to eat heartily.
The stir-fried spirit vegetables were fresh and crisp, the golden scrambled spirit eggs were rich and perfectly cooked, and the white claypot fish soup was incredibly fresh.
The only odd thing was that Lu Li felt a strange sense of familiarity with these dishes, though he didn’t think much of it.
After finishing, Lu Li’s eyes lit up instantly; he gave a wholehearted thumbs-up and praised sincerely,
“Mm! Disciple, your skills are truly amazing!”
“Hehe~ I’m glad Master likes it!”
Pure joy and a faint shyness appeared on Gu Qingying’s face as she lowered her head slightly, hiding the sly glint that flashed deep in her eyes.
Successfully capturing the master’s stomach!
Plan complete!
“I like it! I love it, Qingkong! From now on, cooking on Broken Love Peak is all yours!”
“It’s an honor for the disciple to help Master with his worries.”
Gu Qingying smiled even more “obediently,” though inside she muttered darkly.
Hehe… of course it’s up to me, Master.
Your food, clothing, shelter, and everything in your life… will be my full responsibility~
At this thought, a faint, almost imperceptible redness flickered in her purple eyes.
Meanwhile, Lu Li, devouring the lovingly prepared breakfast at full speed like an incapable husband, remained completely oblivious.
After finishing breakfast in a whirlwind, Lu Li began his near force-feeding cultivation method with Gu Qingying.
Through an entire morning of relentless effort, feeding Gu Qingying pills and clearing her meridians to help absorb the medicinal power—this simple and crude force-feeding method consumed 20 top-grade Qi Condensation Pills.
It directly elevated her realm from Qi Refining Stage Six to Qi Refining Stage Seven.
Looking at Gu Qingying, flushed and sweating, nearly dehydrated from Lu Li’s meridian clearing and body tempering method, she lay on the big bed groaning softly.
Lu Li opened the system panel and calculated his remaining stock of fewer than 60 top-grade Qi Condensation Pills, doing a quick mental sum.
“Hmm… at this pace, the remaining pills obviously aren’t enough to get Qingkong to Qi Refining Peak.”
“Sigh~ Looks like I’ll have to go down the mountain and take some sect bounty tasks to earn contribution points to buy more pills for Qingkong.”
As Lu Li thought this, he casually reached out and lightly patted Gu Qingying’s back, which was slightly rising and falling from rapid breathing.
“Hehe… Qingkong, well done. Your progress today is amazing. You should stay on the mountain and rest well in the cave dwelling to consolidate your cultivation. Master needs to go down the mountain to handle some trivial matters~”
Lu Li’s touch was very gentle, but for Gu Qingying, who had just undergone intense medicinal refinement and forced meridian expansion, her body was in an extremely sensitive and excited state.
That light pat from Lu Li was like a spark landing on dry wood!
With his warm palm pressing down, an indescribable mixture of comfort and tingling trembled sharply from her back and instantly swept through her whole body.
The warm, tingling sensation almost made Gu Qingying want to cry out.
But considering her current disguise, she bit down hard on her lip, using the pain to force back the whimper.
Her body felt as if electric currents surged through every limb, making her limbs weak and unable to support her.
She buried her burning cheeks deep into her arms, with the tips of her ears flushed almost to bleeding.
Even so, Gu Qingying struggled to control her trembling body, managing to squeeze out a faint, oddly trembling reply from her throat.
“Mm. Disciple understands… I respectfully see Master off…”
Her voice was light and airy, wrapped in layers of moist vapor, sounding obedient but faintly strained.
Lu Li assumed the disciple was simply exhausted from cultivation and thought nothing more of it.
“Mm, then you rest well~”
With that, Lu Li turned and left the cave dwelling.
Only after confirming his master’s aura had completely faded and the dwelling’s formation had sealed did Gu Qingying suddenly relax, her whole body collapsing weakly onto the bed.
“Oh hoho… Master! Eugh…”
A suppressed, long-held, sobbing scream finally broke through her lips.
Drenched in sweat, Gu Qingying curled up, burying her burning face in the thin blanket still carrying Master’s scent, her body uncontrollably trembling.
Phew, that was close! Just barely…
When Master’s hand landed earlier, that electric shock nearly made her lose control and cry out!
If she had actually done so, with Master’s sharp senses, how could he not have become suspicious?
Gu Qingying gasped with relief, silently feeling the lingering, shameful, strange excitement deep within her body.
Her eyes shimmered with tears—both from fright and from a hidden secret pleasure quietly spreading inside after Master’s touch.
“Really~ too dangerous…”
Gu Qingying whimpered softly,
“Just now… I almost got exposed in front of Master! But… this forbidden feeling actually isn’t so bad~”