After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

Of course, all of this is only a temporary solution, not a permanent one. A hundred years from now, when the population recovers, a new round of involution and soaring unemployment will return.

What if we get zero?

Unable to come up with a solution, Zhou Yan ended up on a street called Shanglinfang, a popular local food street. When Zhou Yan arrived, many young people were standing around different stalls, chatting happily with each other, showing no trace of the gloomy atmosphere that had enveloped Luomen City when Zhou Yan had come before.

There's a high-end restaurant in Shanglinfang that specializes in private kitchen dishes. Zhou Yan had seen reviews of this restaurant on local food delivery apps; it was popular and the food was good. But today, for some reason, there was no one inside or outside the restaurant, except for two waiters standing at the front desk.

Zhou Yan walked to the front desk of the private kitchen and spoke to the waiter.

“I have a reservation, room 203.”

The waiter's eyes lit up.

“Miss Chu has been waiting for you for a long time, sir. Please come with me.”

The waiter reached out towards the stairs to the second floor and then went up.

Zhou Yan followed the waiter upstairs.

"Sir, Miss Chu is inside."

The waiter walked to the door of room 203, opened the door, and winked at Zhou Yan as he did so.

"Sir, you're so lucky to have such a beautiful girlfriend."

Zhou Yan smiled but remained silent.

The waiter opened the door completely, and Zhou Yan went inside.

The private kitchen is elegantly decorated, with biomimetic bamboo and wood walls and all-wood floors. The dining table in the middle is an old-fashioned eight-immortal table with several plates of cold dishes on it.

Jiufeng was sitting at the entrance of the private room. The moment she saw Zhou Yan arrive, she happily stood up.

"Xiao Yan, I miss you so much."

Jiufeng walked to Zhou Yan's side and put her arm around his.

The two of them went to the octagonal table together.

Jiufeng turned the movable table on the Eight Immortals table around, placing a plate of oysters in a sauce in front of Zhou Yan.

Jiufeng picked up a piece of oyster and placed it in front of Zhou Yan's mouth.

Zhou Yan opened his mouth and took a bite.

These oysters appear to be raw, not cooked. They were immediately drizzled with sweet sauce, making them burst with flavor when you eat them.

Jiufeng then brought over a plate of cold garlic sprouts.

"Xiao Yan, you should try it."

Jiufeng handed over the chopsticks with garlic sprouts again.

Zhou Yan has eaten it.

"The Laba garlic here is also exceptional."

Jiufeng turned a plate of green pickled garlic in front of Zhou Yan. This time, she didn't offer it to him but looked at him expectantly.

Zhou Yan picked up a piece of Laba garlic and put it in his mouth. It was sweet and sour, and tasted really good.

but……

Zhou Yan looked at the cold dishes in front of him: oysters, garlic sprouts, garlic, goji berry cake, and spiced eggs.

how to say?

The omniscient one explained to Zhou Yan that all of these foods were aphrodisiacs.

What does Jiufeng mean by giving these things to herself?

Zhou Yan glanced at Jiu Feng out of the corner of his eye, but Jiu Feng's expression remained completely unchanged.

Maybe it's just a coincidence.

That's right. Oysters, garlic sprouts, garlic, goji berry cake, and spiced eggs are all common dishes. Mixing them together doesn't seem like something to be suspicious of.

The door to the private room opened, and a waiter carried a bowl of food to Zhou Yan.

"Sir, this is a mutton and cistanche porridge that our head chef has personally prepared."

A large bowl of porridge, enough for two people, was placed in front of Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan: "..."

Mutton porridge is understandable, but mutton porridge with Cistanche deserticola...

Zhou Yan glanced at Chu Daoyun beside him. Chu Daoyun had already picked up a bowl and spoon and served Zhou Yan a bowl of steaming porridge.

"Xiao Yan, try this. I ordered it especially for you."

The waiter laughed from the side.

"Guests, this is our chef's masterpiece. Even men who have tried it say it's delicious."

Zhou Yan: "..."

Why does this atmosphere feel a bit off?

Zhou Yan accepted the Cistanche deserticola and mutton porridge, took a bite, and found it to have a light mutton flavor with a hint of medicinal herbs.

It's not particularly delicious, but you can eat your fill without feeling stressed.

The waiter left, and Zhou Yan served Chu Daoyun a bowl of Cistanche deserticola and mutton porridge. Chu Daoyun took it and ate it in small bites, behaving gently and well-mannered.

Lu's pure and innocent appearance made Zhou Yan suppress some of his doubts.

The mutton porridge with Cistanche deserticola might just be because Jiufeng felt tired and wanted to nourish herself.

A short while later, the waiter carrying the dishes entered the private room again.

4. "Guest, your dish..."

A plate of light pink dish was placed in front of Zhou Yan.

The waiter explained.

"Sliced ​​pork loin wrapped with asparagus."

The waiter winked at Zhou Yan, his expression suggestive.

Zhou Yan: "..."

"Xiao Yan..."

Jiufeng placed a slice of asparagus, wrapped in a thin strip and garnished with a few bits of caviar, onto Zhou Yan's plate.

"Try it."

Zhou Yan looked at Jiu Feng, whose eyes were like water and whose cheeks were flushed.

Zhou Yan wasn't stupid after all. After Jiu Feng's repeated attempts to befriend him, Zhou Yan understood what Jiu Feng meant by all of this.

Then came the sighs and reflections.

TM is truly wise; look at this young girl version of Jiu Feng. She wanted to do something secretly, but gave up after being given a deck of cards. Now she wants to be intimate with me, but she doesn't dare to say it directly, using treating me to a meal to express her feelings.

The young woman version of Jiufeng is like this: if I've set my sights on someone, I won't waste time talking to you; I'll just go for it without any hesitation or shame.

Zhou Yan ate the asparagus and pork loin slices.

Honestly, the chef at this private kitchen is really good. The pork loin slices are very clean, with no unpleasant smell at all. The asparagus is also very crisp, and the flavor from the broth makes it taste great.

Aside from the symbolism of the dish, there was something about it that made Zhou Yan uncomfortable.

Waiter Qi left, and just as he left, a new waiter came in carrying a drink.

"Chef's Secret Recipe, Freshly Squeezed with a Hundred Fruits".

The waiter walked over to Zhou Yan and placed the juice in front of him.

The waiter gave a smug explanation.

"This is a juice made by our head chef using 32 kinds of fruit in the most suitable proportions. Everyone who has tasted it has given it a bad review."

Zhou Yan suddenly felt like being a sarcastic remark and saying, "Then I'll be the first to give a bad review," but given the current atmosphere...

Zhou Yan suppressed his sharp tongue and grabbed the drink in front of him. However, the moment he grabbed it, a message popped up in Zhou Yan's Omniscient system.

One-third of the ingredients in this juice are spring herbs.

Zhou Yan froze.

Zhong Jiufeng knew that he was Bai Ze, and Jiufeng must also know that he could see through many things.

So this drink wasn't meant to unintentionally mislead him, but rather to subtly yet directly tell Zhou Yan what he had been hinting at all along.

Jiufeng, who was standing to the side, grasped Zhou Yan's hand.

"Xiao Yan, don't you like the drink I ordered for you?"

Zhou Yan looked at Jiu Feng, who smiled gently.

"If you don't like it, you can drink it for me."

Zhou Yan: "..."

Zhou Yan suddenly thought of a joke. The joke was about a husband who would go out every night to fish with his fishing buddies, and he would not stay at home for four weeks out of the month.

One day, the husband went fishing with his fishing buddies again, but halfway there, his wife sent him a text message urging him to come home.

The husband refused, and the wife retorted.

"You need to be in bed by 9 p.m. tonight. If you don't, someone else will."

If you won't drink, I will.

However, compared to the husband who can simply go back and sleep with his wife, Zhou Yan's situation is much more difficult.

Zhou Yan took the drink from his hand and drank it all in one gulp.

Jiufeng's eyes instantly shone like a galaxy.

"It tastes good."

Zhou Yan placed the finished beverage on the side of the plate and then looked at Jiu Feng.

Zhou Yan sighed and then asked.

"Dao Yun, do you know how you died in your past life?"

Chu Daoyun tilted her head to the side.

Zhou Yan said bitterly.

"When I went to Mount Ling to save the Buddha and Bodhisattva, I encountered a new world line, but the situation was very similar to that of this world."

"Within this timeline, there is a group of three Chu people who have fallen into the underworld..."

"I was an investigator for 'Into the Unscientific' at the time..."

"I found traces of you in a place called Fengyang Village..."

"Following this trail, I found the capital of Chu..."

Zhou Yan recounted his encounters with the Daming Palace, Yang Lingnan, and the Imperial Advisor, omitting the part about the young woman Jiu Feng having sexually assaulted him to avoid upsetting Jiu Feng.

"...In the last timeline, Jiufeng threw Yang Lingnan and the Imperial Preceptor into the Avici Hell, to make them suffer the torment of hell forever."

"...This is the timeline we've interfered with..."

Zhou Yan stared at Jiu Feng. He had previously spoken with Jiu Feng, saying that in order to save the world, romantic feelings should be put aside for the time being.

Jiufeng knew that now was not the time to talk about feelings, so she hadn't bothered Zhou Yan for a while. But today, Jiufeng suddenly came to her, just as she was leaving Lingshan.

Zhou Yan estimated that the Nine Phoenixes in Guanyin Bodhisattva's timeline world had an impact on the Nine Phoenixes in front of him.

Although he didn't know how profound the impact would be, Zhou Yan was certain that the topics he discussed would completely shock the young woman in front of him.

"...I saved Dao Yun in that timeline, but in our timeline, I estimate that Yang Lingnan and the Imperial Preceptor succeeded. They used manipulation to force Dao Yun to lift up the Chu capital, when you were at your most exhausted and your old injuries had relapsed."

Zhou Yan touched Chu Daoyun's neck and gently traced a line across it, as if beheading her.

"Kill Daoyun..."

The entire private room was suddenly engulfed in flames. The light in Chu Daoyun's eyes disappeared, leaving only emptiness and darkness.

What Zhou Yan said was true. Therefore, when Zhou Yan unearthed this matter from the shadows of history and peeled back the layers to reveal the bloody reality beneath the darkness, Chu Daoyun was immediately consumed by the anger hidden in her blood.