Chapter 023: With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?

When Song Ye heard Qin Xuanxi mention the word "master," he naturally became curious about who the master of this lady demon lord might be, so he asked directly, "Who is your master?"

Qin Xuanxi immediately withdrew from her memories and smiled, "That was my teacher who taught me to read when I was seven or eight years old at school. I’ve forgotten his name!"

She would never reveal to Song Ye that her master was the Wine Immortal. If people found out that the infamous Xuan Yuan Demon Lord was the disciple of the Wine Immortal, it would undoubtedly cause another great upheaval between the immortal and demon realms. At that point, it would become much more difficult for Qin Xuanxi to secretly search for the murderer of the Wine Immortal.

Song Ye could tell that Qin Xuanxi wasn't telling him the truth, but he didn't press further. He proceeded to scald the hen—with its throat already cut and blood drained—in hot water to make plucking easier. After removing the feathers, he chopped the chicken into pieces and handed it over to Qin Xuanxi to stir-fry.

Then, within Song Ye’s little kitchen, Qin Xuanxi displayed her culinary skills. Soon, a platter of aromatic stir-fried chicken was ready, secretly seasoned with the Wine Immortal’s unique spices.

Song Ye inhaled the fragrance and exclaimed, "It smells amazing! I never imagined my dear lady would have such outstanding culinary skills!"

"Would you like to try a piece?" Qin Xuanxi tilted her head and smiled.

"Yes!" Song Ye picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of chicken in his mouth. Instantly, disbelief spread across his face. This chicken was unbelievably delicious—he had never tasted stir-fried chicken so fragrant before. If this dish existed in the modern world, it alone could open hundreds of chain restaurants across the country; that was no exaggeration.

Unable to resist, Song Ye kept picking up more pieces to eat. Setting aside her penchant for fibs, Qin Xuanxi truly embodied both the grace of a lady and the skills of a perfect housewife! With a wife like her, what more could a husband wish for? Of course, she wasn’t really his wife.

Soon, Song Ye finished preparing his own sweet-and-sour duck, white-cut chicken, and stewed goose. With Qin Xuanxi’s superb stir-fried chicken added, the four hearty dishes would surely satisfy the guests from Moon-Gazing Sect.

Song Ye and Qin Xuanxi, the couple running the tea stall, carried out the four dishes one after another. Song Ye also served two sesame cakes—the very last ones.

Once the dishes were served, Zhou Nongshan’s eyes lit up, and he was immediately drawn to the stir-fried chicken made with Qin Xuanxi’s secret recipe. He picked up a piece and tasted it, chewing thoughtfully. His eyes widened, his mouth parted, as if witnessing a marvel of the world.

He pressed his palms together and bowed toward Song Ye. "Thank you, proprietor, for allowing Zhou the fortune of tasting such exquisite chicken!"

For Zhou Nongshan, a top-tier gourmet, sampling a delicacy was more thrilling and joyous than breaking through a cultivation realm.

"So this delicious chicken was made by the lady of the house!" Zhou Nongshan pressed his palms together again and bowed toward Qin Xuanxi with sincere reverence.

Beside him, Chen Huaiyin rolled her eyes at Zhou Nongshan. "It’s just a piece of chicken; do you have to exaggerate so much?"

Then she herself picked up a piece from the platter and tasted it, and immediately her face showed disbelief, her astonishment no less than Zhou Nongshan’s. Born into a prestigious family, she had sampled countless delicacies from childhood, but never had she tasted such delicious chicken.

Clearly, just this plate of stir-fried chicken had already made the three guests from Moon-Gazing Sect extremely satisfied with the meal.

At the same time, Song Ye received a notification for completing the special quest.

“Ding! Congratulations, player [Song Ye], for completing the special quest [Delicacy]!”

“Ding, congratulations on receiving the quest reward: [Demon Pet Draw Ticket]!”

“Quest experience reward: two hundred thousand points!”

A golden light flashed across Song Ye’s body, as he received the two hundred thousand experience points from the quest. He had leveled up again—the golden light of leveling up could only be seen by players. To Qin Xuanxi and the guests from Moon-Gazing Sect, who were merely NPCs from Song Ye’s perspective, the golden light was invisible.

Song Ye had not expected that a single special quest could grant so much experience; in this world, a daily quest from the novice village only gave a paltry hundred points.

Upon reaching level forty-five, Song Ye’s player interface unlocked a new feature—Realm Investigation!

[Realm Investigation] was extremely useful; it allowed Song Ye to probe the cultivation realm of any NPC.

In fact, Realm Investigation was a skill every cultivator on this continent had to learn, but its limitations were severe. Low-level cultivators could not probe the depths of high-level cultivators, so the higher could investigate the lower, but not vice versa. Moreover, cultivators like Qin Xuanxi, with exceptionally profound cultivation, could conceal their realm without leaving any trace, making it impossible for others to detect.

But as a player, after reaching level forty-five and unlocking [Realm Investigation], Song Ye could probe anyone’s cultivation, regardless of their level.

He immediately focused on Qin Xuanxi and used the Realm Investigation feature.

The interface promptly displayed the result:

[Qin Xuanxi: Ninth Stage of Emperor Demon Yuan Magic Realm]

The Ninth Stage of Emperor Demon Yuan Magic Realm was the highest realm for demon cultivators described in the Encyclopedia of Cultivation. However, above the ninth stage, there were actually three minor realms. Few knew of their existence—only those at the pinnacle of demon cultivation were aware. This select group called them the “Three Peak Realms.”

Across the entire Xuan Ying Continent, only three demon ancestors had broken through to the Three Peak Realms. Qin Xuanxi’s only trouble in cultivation now was that she herself did not know how to break through to those realms.

Now that Song Ye had discovered Qin Xuanxi’s true cultivation, he finally confirmed that this woman calling herself "Qin Xi Yi" was indeed the fourth-ranked lady demon lord Qin Xuanxi. Her name was clearly displayed on the investigation interface, leaving no room for doubt.

Song Ye truly hadn’t expected that his first romantic interest would turn out to be a demon overlord from the game. Of course, she was unreliable—she had run away once and would surely run again. How could a proud demon lord stay in this humble village and spend her life with him? Song Ye knew this well.

If she left again, Song Ye would be powerless to stop her. After all, he couldn’t best her in a fight—a player with only the fourth stage of Profound Realm was no match for an ultimate boss like Qin Xuanxi, who could defeat him in a single move.

Besides, she always called him her "little husband." How could he ever bring himself to harm his dear lady, not even scold her?