AMSSO-Chapter 2: Is This Edible?

Chu Jingzhuo trembled all over, tears bursting from fear.

His pitiful, tear-streaked expression made Mu Shiyue instinctively feel compassion.

This fourth disciple who appeared the most delicate was also the most timid and introverted among the six.

“Master, please don’t scare me! Don’t kick me out!” Chu Jingzhuo sobbed so hard he could barely breathe.

Mu Shiyue quickly comforted him. “No, no, no, I’m not trying to kick you out. Don’t cry!”

In her whole life, she had never seen someone cry like this.

Honestly, even though he was a guy, he cried in a way that was actually quite touching and rather attractive.

“Then what did you mean earlier, Master…”

“Oh, nothing, I was just joking.” Mu Shiyue forced a smile, though it looked a little worn.

Chu Jingzhuo furrowed his fine brows, his pretty eyes still filled with tears. “R-Really?”

“Of course,” Mu Shiyue maintained her tired smile. “Why would I drive you away? I was just joking.”

“That kind of thing isn’t something to joke about.” Chu Jingzhuo pursed his lips, wiped away his tears, and gave her a reproachful look.

“I understand. I won’t do it again.”

Mu Shiyue couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.

She was too hasty.

But looking at her disciple, who seemed ready to cry again at any moment, she could only swallow back her idea of disbanding the sect.

One as a master, forever like a mother!

She quickly changed the subject. “Where are the others?”

“They all went out,” Chu Jingzhuo answered obediently. “Should I call them back?”

“No need,” Mu Shiyue quickly shook her head. “No need to call them.”

“Oh, alright.” Chu Jingzhuo let out a big sigh of relief.

His reaction was so obvious that Mu Shiyue couldn’t help but look at him suspiciously.

He admitted honestly, “If you asked me to call them back, I wouldn’t have been able to.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have any communication talismans.”

Mu Shiyue was shocked. “We don’t even have communication talismans?!”

Communication talismans were the most basic kind of talisman like the modern world’s cell phones.

Not just the human world, even the demon and devil realms used them.

However, unlike phones, communication talismans were consumable items.

“We don’t have any left,” Chu Jingzhuo shook his head. “We don’t have the materials, and we can’t afford to buy any either.”

Mu Shiyue: “……”

Are they really this poor?

Well, all the resources were spent on her. Naturally, everyone else was dirt poor.

Mu Shiyue searched through the original host’s memories and recalled her disciples’ situations.

They probably all went out to earn money just to provide for their master.

Thinking about that, Mu Shiyue’s face twitched again.

With the sect this poor, would it be a little shameless of her to lie flat and slack off?

But remembering how her previous life’s nonstop working ended, she really couldn’t summon the will to fight.

“Woo-woo…”

Just as her headache was acting up, a deep beastly roar sounded nearby.

“Master, watch out!” Chu Jingzhuo immediately moved to shield Mu Shiyue behind him.

Mu Shiyue was stunned for a moment. Looking at his trembling yet unyielding back, she revealed a gratified smile.

Maybe lying down wasn’t so impossible after all.

“Roar~” The Soul-Devouring Tiger wobbled back to its feet, its large eyes vigilantly fixed on the two of them.

Its aura was overpowering. Due to damage to his spiritual roots, Chu Jingzhuo who had once built his foundation, regressed in cultivation. Under the tiger’s glare, his knees nearly buckled.

But he still clenched his teeth and stood firmly before his master.

The grandmasters once told them to always respect and protect their master and never let her come to harm.

Though the grandmasters were now gone, their words were etched deep in his bones.

However, this is a spirit beast at Spirit Severing Stage!

Chu Jingzhuo forced his trembling body to remain steady, his small face tense, until he felt a hand pat his back.

“It’s alright.”

Mu Shiyue stepped out from behind him and calmly looked up at the tiger. “I’ll return your egg. You can leave now.”

At her words, the tiger’s eyes noticeably brightened, but suspicion quickly returned.

Humans are cunning!

And this one suppressed it just moments ago, now she said she would give back the egg?

Could it be a trap?

Mu Shiyue didn’t care about the tiger’s paranoia. She simply took out an egg from her Beast-Storage Ring.

The moment the egg appeared, the sealed aura it carried instantly spread. The familiar scent made the tiger’s eyes go wide.

It instinctively shifted, but ultimately didn’t move.

Though this human’s current spiritual presence felt ordinary, that earlier punch demonstrated her terrifying strength.

It was afraid she might be setting it up.

Mu Shiyue had no idea that the spirit beast thought of so many conspiracy theories.

She simply wanted the thing to take its egg and leave.

She already confirmed, her earlier explosive punch was from residual soul power.

She is currently only at the Golden Core Stage. There was no way she could fight something so far above her level——unless she self-destructed.

If the tiger decided to fight, both her and Chu Jingzhuo would be dead.

Of course, Mu Shiyue was a seasoned veteran. Even if she was nervous, her face remained calm and unreadable.

She casually rolled the egg over. “Take your egg and leave.”

The golden egg, roughly the size of an adult’s head, rolled toward the tiger. It immediately scooped it up into its mouth.

Once it reached a safe place, it would spit it out again. It couldn’t keep the egg inside all the time, it had to stay outside to hatch a cub.

It only lost the egg before because it was careless.

Mu Shiyue had long become used to how different this world was from the modern one. Her expression didn’t even twitch.

After handing over the egg, she turned and said, “I’m hungry.”

Even though Foundation Establishment cultivators could go without food, that only applied to mundane grains. Spiritual foods were still fair game.

In her previous life, once she established her foundation, she never ate real food again. She was too busy cultivating and relied solely on pills to stay alive.

Back then, she always told herself: Once I ascend, I’ll finally rest easy.

Wasn’t that the same as her first life’s “Once I XXXX, it’ll get easier”?

This time around, she wouldn’t be that foolish.

You only live once. Eat when you want, drink when you want!

Who knows when you’ll be struck by lightning again?

Chu Jingzhuo was dumbfounded by his master’s attitude.

That was a Spirit Severing spirit beast! Could she just turn her back on it and walk away?

Before he could finish his thought, he saw the tiger move.

“Master!”

Chu Jingzhuo cried out, startled, only to see Mu Shiyue glance back and raise a brow at the tiger. “You want some food too? Fine, you’re a guest after all.”

With that, she kept walking inside.

Even the Soul-Devouring Tiger was stunned by her calmness. After a moment’s hesitation, it lifted its paw and followed her.

Chu Jingzhuo was so scared he stopped breathing, but still carefully trailed behind.

If something happened… maybe he could help… somehow?

Mu Shiyue didn’t seem to notice the spirit beast that could kill her with one swipe of its paw, following at her side. Leisurely, she picked a few fruits.

She originally wanted Chu Jingzhuo to cook for her, but then remembered only her eldest disciple was any good in the kitchen.

So, she could only snack on some fruit to stave off hunger.

Afterward, she picked some vegetables from the garden. Without even using Water Control Technique, she rinsed them briefly in a nearby pond.

There was still visible dirt clinging to them.

She didn’t mind at all. Then she pulled out some frozen meat from the kitchen.

She lit the fire, and without waiting for the water to boil or the meat to thaw, she chopped it up and threw everything into the pot. Slammed the lid on. Cranked up the heat!

Watching this series of smooth yet chaotic steps, cold sweat poured from Chu Jingzhuo’s forehead.

Is this even edible?!