Chapter 244: This Meal is Poisoned…

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

“Who are you?” Everlasting Fairy asked warily, looking at the four newcomers. Each of them had a higher cultivation level than hers, all at the Golden Core stage.

Lu Chang’s smile widened. (TL Note: Not really relevant but the Lu in Lu Chang’s surname and Lu Yang’s surname are different)

These four often roamed the dense forest. Outwardly, they were like everyone else, fighting demonic beasts and gathering rare treasures. In reality, they were all demonic beasts in disguise. They secretly killed and robbed, taking storage rings, looting everything, and trading with corrupt humans for high profits.

They initially came to discuss their next plan with the lake’s master, but unexpectedly encountered a young girl here.

She was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, looked cute and innocent, dressed sloppily, and was barefoot. She was likely a young lady from some noble family out for training, separated from her guards.

This was a common occurrence since the vast forest couldn’t be patrolled entirely by just Golden Core stage cultivators.

According to their knowledge, there was a giant demonic beast of the elephant tribe with Nascent Soul stage cultivation nearby, an incredibly powerful entity.

Lu Chang couldn’t identify what Everlasting Fairy was wearing, but he could tell the material was extremely valuable.

A young lady from a noble family out for training surely had plenty of good things on her. Even if the family pursued them later, it didn’t matter. This was the dense forest, where life and death were often left to fate. Who could guarantee that training wouldn’t lead to accidents?

At worst, they could blame the deaths on other humans, as humans often did similar things themselves.

And this young girl was cooking here, seemingly carefree and easy to deceive.

Lu Chang considered all possible scenarios, ensuring there was no danger, before approaching Everlasting Fairy kindly to inquire about her background.

“We are cultivators here to gather medicinal herbs by the lake. We didn’t expect to meet a young girl like you here. This place is very dangerous, with Golden Core stage demonic beasts lurking around. Even we dare not stay here long.”

Everlasting Fairy recalled the lake’s master she had easily killed with a punch earlier, thinking it was weak and posed no threat. She shook her head, “Dangerous? Not really.”

“Maybe you haven’t encountered any yet. Where are your family elders? This place is very dangerous!”

“They went to challenge a Golden Core stage demonic beast. I felt bored, so I ran out… wait, no, he’s not my family elder!” Everlasting Fairy instinctively followed Lu Chang’s lead but quickly corrected the logical inconsistency.

Lu Yang was just a junior; she was the elder.

Lu Chang and the other three exchanged glances, convinced that this young girl had snuck out.

“King Fish, are you here?” Lu Chang secretly used his divine sense to communicate with the lake’s master, trying to inquire about the young girl’s situation and whether to collaborate for a big haul.

“Not here?”

Lu Chang called out several times with his divine sense but got no response from the King Fish.

Could it have transformed and gone elsewhere to hunt?

If so, it was just bad luck for the lake’s master, and the four of them would enjoy this unexpected bounty alone.

“Are you looking for a fish?” Everlasting Fairy’s question startled Lu Chang. How could she detect his divine sense transmission with the lake’s master?

“How about we eat? I just finished cooking.”

Everlasting True Fire had turned the branches to ashes, and the residual heat of the ashes was now cooking the beggar’s fish.

Everlasting Fairy dug out a large lump of clay from the ashes, cracked open the outer layer, and peeled off the middle layer of lotus leaves, releasing a fragrant aroma into the air. Lu Chang and the others inhaled deeply.

After surviving in the wild for so long, this was the first time they smelled such delicious food.

So this was the difference a noble family’s resources made, even their outdoor food was different.

“Eat up. This is the fish you were looking for,” Everlasting Fairy said cryptically. (TL Note: The word for cryptically can also mean unclearly or brainlessly.)

Although Everlasting Fairy is an immortal chef, at the end of the day, a chef is still a chef. And what do chefs love most? Having guests enjoy their food.

Thus, Everlasting Fairy generously shared the freshly made beggar’s fish with the four men.

The four men saw the little girl as carefree and harmless, not suspecting that she would poison the food. Besides, the fish smelled incredibly delicious.

They decided to enjoy this meal before sending the girl on her way, planning to be a bit gentler in their approach.

The four found large stones to sit on, forming a circle to enjoy the meal.

Lu Chang took out chopsticks from his storage ring and gently picked up a piece of fish. He didn’t expect the fish to be so tender that it fell apart with slight pressure. Adjusting his strength, he carefully picked up another piece.

The fish melted in his mouth, sliding down his throat without him even tasting it properly.

Everlasting Fairy used two small twigs as chopsticks after washing them in the lake.

She carefully picked up a piece of fish, savoring it as she put it in her mouth.

“Delicious.”

“By the way, why do you, demonic beasts transform into human form?” Everlasting Fairy suddenly asked. “Isn’t it said that moving in your beast form is more efficient in the dense forest?”

The four men sprang up, staring down at Everlasting Fairy intensely.

“You know we’re demonic beasts?!”

“I saw through it a long time ago.”

“Then why didn’t you react?”

“Why should I?”

Just as Lu Chang was about to praise her courage, he felt the fish in his stomach turn from water to fire, burning his meridians and rendering him powerless, sweat beading on his forehead.

Thud—

Lu Chang collapsed, clutching his stomach and writhing on the ground. The other three men were similarly affected, lying on the ground, staring at the harmless-looking Everlasting Fairy in disbelief.

They reverted to their original forms: Lu Chang as a fox, the others as a hedgehog, a snake, and a lynx.

Everlasting Fairy realized that the fish meat was highly toxic, potent enough to corrode Lu Yang’s wooden avatar. If this continued, she would soon have to return to Lu Yang’s side.

She quietly activated her immortal ariaya-phala, dispersing the fish’s toxins.

“What kind of fish is this? How did you poison it?” Lu Chang widened his eyes, trying to divert Everlasting Fairy’s attention while secretly using his cultivation to resist the poison.

She saw through their disguises, acted nonchalantly, and even invited them to eat the poisoned food. What a cunning mind!

“It’s the fish king you were looking for. It tried to eat me, but I ate it instead,” Everlasting Fairy said innocently. “You were looking for it, right? It’s a bad demonic beast, so don’t look for it anymore.”

Everlasting Fairy wrinkled her nose, annoyed at the fish king’s impudence.

In ancient times, no demonic beast would dare behave like this towards her—it would be considered treason and grounds for suicide.

“The fish king was a pufferfish?!” Lu Chang exclaimed. The fish king was the master of this lake, a late Golden Core stage pufferfish, with a body full of deadly poison!

Most importantly, this little girl was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. How could she have defeated the fish king?

“Attack! Kill her! She ate the fish and survived, so she must have an antidote on her!” Lu Chang and the others temporarily suppressed the pufferfish’s poison with their cultivation and launched an attack.

“And grab her storage ring while you’re at it!”

Four Golden Core stage cultivators against a Foundation Establishment stage girl—there was no way she could win, right?

“So, you’re just like the big fish, all bad demonic beasts!” Everlasting Fairy was displeased with their attitude.

She had intended to detoxify them but hadn’t expected them to turn on her.

(End of the chapter)