Chapter 37

"Sir, it's time for dinner, please come and eat."

The clear voice of the young boy echoed from below. Su Peng nodded in response, "I'll be there shortly."

Thus, Su Peng closed his book, went downstairs, and headed to the dining area with the young boy.

It turned out to be a pavilion, resembling the residence of a wealthy household, but with a much higher taste, subtly situated amidst the forest. The boy led Su Peng inside, where he saw several people already gathered in the dining hall.

The dining table was not the round table commonly seen in games, but rather a slightly elongated one. The old Taoist who might be the leader of the Purple Mist Sect sat at the head of the table, with Xu Daoqi, Dugu Sheng, and Chen Qizhen seated on either side. Additionally, there was a young girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a beautiful oval face and large, very lively eyes.

"Su Peng, come and sit here." Seeing Su Peng approach, Dugu Sheng called out. Su Peng nodded and walked over.

"This is Zhong Lingxiu, our little junior sister. This is Su Peng, the disciple chosen by the senior brother to potentially join our sect." Dugu Sheng introduced the young girl to Su Peng. Su Peng nodded and greeted her.

"Hmm? You don't seem to have much martial arts skill... Not fun, can't help me with experiments... I don't like making things that are too weak..." The girl named Zhong Lingxiu glanced at Su Peng and said.

"Hehe, Little Sister Lingxiu, if you have any new inventions, go to the second senior brother. Wait until Su Peng's martial arts improve." Chen Qizhen, looking slightly nervous and trying to please her, said.

"Alright...!" The mischievous-looking girl elongated her voice and nodded. She tugged at Su Peng's sleeve and said, "If you join the sect, you'll be my junior brother... Don't think I'm younger than you, you still have to call me senior sister. Senior sister will make sure you practice hard. The methods of supervision, the third senior brother knows."

Chen Qizhen, sitting next to her, almost spat out the wine he was secretly drinking from his sleeve, seemingly recalling something.

"Alright, let's eat." At this moment, the old Taoist, who seemed to be meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and said. Everyone at the table responded and began to eat, while the old Taoist seemed to fall back into a meditative state.

Su Peng also started eating with the others. The Purple Mist Sect seemed to have few members, only a few formal disciples, a few young boys, a cook, and some servants, but they did not eat here.

Su Peng had just put a chopstick of bamboo shoots in his mouth and almost spat it out, as the taste was both salty and sour, as if a salt shaker and a vinegar bottle had been overturned, very strange.

However, Su Peng forced himself to endure and looked around. He noticed that Senior Brother Xu Daoqi was eating absent-mindedly, Second Senior Brother Dugu Sheng was expressionless, eating one chopstick after another, Third Senior Brother Chen Qizhen was also eating while occasionally glancing at a book on his lap, and Little Senior Sister Zhong Lingxiu had only put a chopstick of vegetables in her bowl, slowly playing with it, seemingly lost in thought.

"Could it be that everyone in the Purple Mist Sect has such a heavy taste?" Su Peng thought, looking at Second Senior Brother Dugu Sheng, who was eating quite diligently, and Senior Brother Xu Daoqi, who showed no signs of discomfort, as if this was normal.

Thinking about this, Su Peng tried a few other dishes and found that the entire table of food, while visually appealing and beautifully presented, tasted the same—sour and salty.

"Perhaps this is their taste... I see that everyone in the Purple Mist Sect is unique, and unique people have unique tastes, or perhaps it's a requirement for their practice." Su Peng looked around, trying to rationalize it to himself, and to fit in, he ate a few more bites, but still found it hard to accept.

At this moment, the old Taoist, who seemed to be in a meditative state, suddenly came to and opened his eyes. He picked up a chopstick of bamboo shoots, put it in his mouth, and chewed.

However, after tasting the bamboo shoots, the old Taoist remained focused for at least the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then took the chopsticks out of his mouth, placed them on the table, and asked the others, "Do you feel that today's dishes taste... unique?"

Hearing this, Senior Brother Xu Daoqi came to his senses and looked at the old Taoist, saying, "I was distracted earlier, but now that Master mentions it, it does seem... different from usual."

"Master, I also feel it's different from usual. The taste is stronger, more appetizing." Dugu Sheng also put down his bowl and said.

"Speaking of which, it does seem that way. I've eaten a few bites and feel that tonight's dinner is quite creative, with a strange taste, reminiscent of Master Ouyang Qi's style..." Chen Qizhen, who had been distracted by the book, gradually came back to his senses and said.

"Ah?" Zhong Lingxiu, who had been lost in thought, came to her senses, took a bite of the food in her bowl, and then suddenly spat it out, fanning her small mouth and saying, "What kind of taste is this? It's like a whole jar of vinegar was poured in!"

"Master... Senior Brothers and Senior Sister, do you usually eat food that tastes like this?" Su Peng was taken aback, looking at the others at the table.

The others at the table all shook their heads in unison and looked at Su Peng.

"Damn! You should have said so earlier!" Su Peng said, feeling helpless, realizing he had overthought it... Of course, he didn't actually say the word "damn."

At this moment, a young boy walked in, looking at the food everyone was eating, and said with a look of lingering fear, "Today, the cook in the sect has dysentery and can't cook. The Second Ancestor Master happened to go to the kitchen and decided to show off his cooking skills. The food was made by the Second Ancestor Master. So... Qingzhu took a bite and almost vomited, but choked and fainted. I just revived him and came to warn the Ancestor Master and the senior uncles to be careful."

"Is that so..." The old Taoist nodded and looked at the table of food, but did not touch it.

"How can we eat this..." Zhong Lingxiu looked at the table of food, her brows furrowed.

"I am not very talented, but I do have some cooking skills. If you don't mind the late hour, I can prepare some dishes for everyone to eat." Su Peng said. Hearing this, the old Taoist nodded and said, "Thank you for your effort."

"No problem." Su Peng nodded. He was actually looking for an opportunity to show his skills in the Purple Mist Sect and integrate with the others, and cooking was a good opportunity.

The young boy led Su Peng to the kitchen. Su Peng looked at the ingredients, which were quite complete. As Su Peng had lived alone for four or five years and had plenty of free time, he had long honed his cooking skills. In no time, he prepared five fresh stir-fried dishes. The quantity was not small, part of it was given to the young boys and servants, and the rest was brought to the table by the young boy for Dugu Sheng and the others.

This time, everyone's appetite was clearly whetted, and the atmosphere at the table became lively. The old Taoist also ate quite a bit, and the original dishes were quietly thrown into the nearby waste bin.

Su Peng saw in the lower left corner of his field of vision, "Yundaozi's favorability towards you increased by 2 points," "Xu Daoqi's favorability towards you increased by 3 points," "Dugu Sheng's favorability towards you increased by 3 points," "Chen Qizhen's favorability towards you increased by 5 points," and "Zhong Lingxiu's favorability towards you increased by 5 points."

"Improving cooking skills can also increase favorability?" Su Peng thought, and decided to take charge of the sect's meals for the next few days.

This meal lasted for over an hour, and everyone was quite satisfied. During the meal, Su Peng also spoke a few words with the others, gaining more understanding and presence. From Chen Qizhen, he learned that the little junior sister had some unique insights into the creation of strange objects, mechanics, and even weapon making.

After dinner, everyone returned to their respective quarters, and Su Peng also returned to his small bamboo house.

"It seems I will have to stay in the Purple Mist Sect for some time." Su Peng thought, and since there was nothing to worry about for the night, he logged out of the game and found that it was almost 8 PM in the real world.

Lei Ming was still waiting for him in the computer room, while Ji Ming and Sun Shijia had already logged out long ago.

Su Peng explained to Lei Ming that he had received a series of tasks and that his online time might be irregular over the next few days. After some thought, Lei Ming told Su Peng that he could decide his own online time for ten days, but he would need to fill out the overtime form each day when logging out.

The day passed quickly, and the next morning, Su Peng arrived at the computer room around 6 AM and logged into the game. After logging in, Su Peng went to the nearby wooden pavilion to find Dugu Sheng.

When he arrived at Dugu Sheng's residence, he happened to encounter Little Senior Sister Zhong Lingxiu. She was holding a black iron box, about the size of a large mobile phone, and talking to Dugu Sheng.

"Second Senior Brother, this is a new weapon I made, called the Ox Hair Gold Needle. I think it can penetrate many protective true qi. Second Senior Brother, can you help me test its power?" Zhong Lingxiu said to Dugu Sheng.

"Sure."

Dugu Sheng, as always, was calm and spoke little, briefly agreeing.

"Little Su, you came just in time. Come and see my new weapon." Seeing Su Peng approach, Zhong Lingxiu greeted him. Because of the dinner Su Peng had prepared the previous day, she had become more familiar with him and started calling him "Little Su."

"Sure." Su Peng nodded, walked over, and sat on a stone to watch Zhong Lingxiu test the weapon.

Zhong Lingxiu nodded, moved a few steps back, and stood about seven or eight meters in front of Dugu Sheng. She then pointed the black iron box at Dugu Sheng and pressed the trigger!

"Boom!"

Su Peng only heard a faint sound, like the buzzing of a mosquito, and then saw a cloud of yellowish light fly towards Dugu Sheng.

Dugu Sheng stood still, unmoving, and only extended his hand forward.

In less than five seconds, the dark iron box's contents were exhausted. Zhong Lingxiu called out to Su Peng, "Little Su, come and help me check."

"Phew..." Su Peng was helpless. This girl was a few years younger than him... The title "Little Su" seemed more fitting for the eunuchs in the palace... Shaking his head, Su Peng walked over.

Su Peng walked over and carefully examined behind Dugu Sheng. He was surprised to see a large green stone, which was densely punctured with holes like ox hair... At least thousands of Ox Hair Gold Needles had penetrated the stone!

This... What kind of power is this?

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Aiming for three updates!

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