Chapter 20: Wang Chu’s Great Merit Born of a Moment’s Indulgence

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Wan’s bright eyes immediately widened.
“Another sect?”
Qiu Yeqing lowered his head.
“Yes, there was a sect before—Qingcheng Mountain—and this time, it’s the Changheng Sect.”
Jiang Wan furrowed her brows.
“Do we know which faction is responsible?”
Qiu Yeqing answered with grave seriousness,
“I’m not sure, but judging from the site investigation, the assailant’s cultivation level is at least in the Nascent Soul stage.”
“Nascent Soul? Looks like this has something to do with Beiming again... Indeed, after learning that my elder brother is in Ling City, people from Beiming have also mobilized. Could it be that these two sects are connected to my brother? I wonder if Beiming has discovered him...”
Jiang Wan’s voice grew tense as she spoke. She quickly asked,
“Where are that village and the sect? Take me there.”
Qiu Yeqing stood up and said,
“Please follow me, Your Highness.”
...
Several days later, one afternoon, the sky was overcast, and light snow began to fall.
Wang Chu stepped out of his shop, intending to go to a nearby restaurant for some food.
Walking on the snow-covered road, each step he took caused a crunching sound beneath his feet.
After strolling for a while amidst the crunching, Wang Chu arrived at the entrance of a small tavern.
This tavern had been running in Ling City for over a hundred years, now managed by the third generation since its founding.
Both the wine and dishes inside were very authentic, and after trying many places, Wang Chu had finally settled on this one.
He often came alone to order a few small dishes and a pot of light wine.
As he entered, the tavern owner’s wife at the counter warmly greeted him,
“Oh, isn’t this Xiao Chu? What a rare guest! I haven’t seen you here for several days.”
Wang Chu smiled at the woman, who was in her thirties but still elegant,
“Been busy lately, but now that I have some free time, I’m here to look after your business.”
The owner’s wife rolled her eyes playfully,
“Heh, yeah right. So, what are you planning to eat today?”
Wang Chu tossed a low-grade spirit stone onto the counter,
“The usual.”
The owner’s wife pocketed the spirit stone from the table,
“Alright then, go to your usual spot. The food and wine will be right out.”
Wang Chu pressed his hand down to show he understood, then sat alone near the window.
Not long after, the owner’s wife brought the dishes and wine to him.
Since the tavern was small, she managed everything herself; there were no assistants.
“Take your time eating. If you want more, just call me, and I’ll bring it.”
Wang Chu picked up his chopsticks, inhaled the aroma of the stir-fried dishes, and smacked his lips,
“Alright.”
The owner’s wife smiled and left, while Wang Chu began to savor the wine and food alone.
He had ordered two dishes: dry-fried peanuts and spicy stir-fried beef with chili.
In fact, these two dishes had only spread in the last two to three hundred years, largely thanks to Wang Chu himself.
When he realized that even without effort, his attributes and cultivation would steadily increase over time, Wang Chu began to slack off.
Over the more than nine hundred years that followed, he didn’t spend much time on cultivation.
Instead, he devoted himself to other pursuits.
For example, recreating the cuisine from his previous life.
For the gluttonous Wang Chu, if he couldn’t taste the authentic flavors from his past world in this new realm, he would rather not live forever.
To this end, using his created forces and immortal arts, he developed vegetables and grains such as peanuts, chili peppers, and potatoes—none of which originally existed on the Xuanxian Continent.
With these raw materials, Wang Chu then developed a variety of seasonings and taught some local chefs the cooking methods, so they could spread the culinary knowledge.
After centuries of careful planning, Wang Chu was finally able to enjoy these nostalgic dishes anywhere on the continent.
Unintentionally, he had resolved many commoners’ food security issues—a great merit.
But Wang Chu did not care for this; he never had such noble intentions.
His sole motivation was the pleasure of his taste buds.
Placing a piece of beef drenched in sauce into his mouth, Wang Chu closed his eyes, feeling his tongue dance in delight.
He followed it with a sip of the owner’s personally brewed white wine, relishing the coolness followed by a fiery warmth.
In an instant, a joyous sensation blossomed in his heart. Just as he was caught up in the moment,
Nearby at another table, he overheard customers chatting:
“Did you hear? The eldest princess of the current Great Rui Dynasty has come to our Ling City!”
“Who doesn’t know? I also heard she’s staying at Lord Qiu’s residence.”
“Tsk tsk, that crown prince really has the emperor’s favor—he even sent the eldest princess.”
“Yeah, if I didn’t look so much like my own father, I’d go to the government offices to try my luck with the family recognition.”
“Ah, that’s fate. Some of us are just not born with that luck.”
“Why talk about such depressing things? Compared to that, I’m more curious about what the princess looks like—pretty or not?”
“No one has seen her. They say she hasn’t appeared in public at all. Only hearsay claims she’s even more beautiful than Nangong Minghui, the top beauty of Jiuzhou. But who knows if it’s true.”
“Definitely not true. Who could compare to Fairy Minghui? When she stands on the pavilion and sings ‘Orchid Pavilion Preface’ alone, who can match her?”
...
“So the girl we saw earlier was the eldest princess of the Great Rui Dynasty? Heh, I didn’t expect her to be so cute—quite different from the rumors.”
Listening to the nearby table’s banter, Wang Chu thought to himself.
After happily finishing his wine and two dishes, and overhearing the boastful chatter at the next table,
Wang Chu left the tavern. As he departed, the owner’s wife handed him a bag of freshly made sausages.
Unable to refuse, Wang Chu accepted them with a helpless smile.
Carrying the sausages home, he leisurely hummed a tune:
“Unrelated to wind or moonlight...”
His voice was somewhat like a duck’s quack, but fortunately, few people were about in the winter, so hardly anyone heard his melodious singing.
Lost in his song, he soon arrived at the shop’s entrance.
When he saw a cute young woman standing there, who was looking at him with a disapproving gaze, his duck-like singing abruptly ceased, leaving an awkward silence in the air.
Wang Chu cleared his throat twice and approached the girl, who was none other than Jiang Wan:
“Heh heh, miss, didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
Jiang Wan stifled the urge to mock him,
“Heh heh, not bad singing, you’re in tune.”
Wang Chu, unfazed, boasted,
“Just average, but better than anyone else on this street.”
Jiang Wan held back an eye-roll and insincerely replied,
“Heh heh, you’re really modest.”
Wang Chu pulled out his keys and unlocked the door,
“Ah, it’s the hardships of life. Otherwise, I would have already ventured to Qianyuan to become a disciple alongside Minghui of the Yin Sect.”
Jiang Wan could no longer contain herself,
“Are you serious?”
Wang Chu pushed open the door and stepped inside,
“Of course, I’m joking. Though I sing fairly well, I’m still far from meeting the Yin Sect’s entry standards. At least I have that much self-awareness.”
Jiang Wan: ...