Jiang Zuo, sitting in the back, heard everything clearly. 'Is she an idiot?' he thought.
'Stealing that thing is going to stop a divorce?'
Her senior sister said, "Have you lost your mind? Why do you think the divorce papers are so important? If he wants to divorce you, it doesn't matter whether he has the papers or not.
Can't you just listen to me?
Just divorce him and get it over with."
Su Qi turned her head. "I don't want to."
"This is just making you both miserable. Think about it—your wife is away on business trips every other day and can't even explain why. Anyone would get suspicious.
You're going to get divorced sooner or later, so you might as well do it now. It'll be easier on both of you."
"Can't I just tell him the truth? Then he'd understand, wouldn't he?"
"The outcome would be the same."
"How could it be the same? If he knew what I was doing, he wouldn't be suspicious anymore."
Her senior sister sighed. "You're being too naive. If he knew you were a legendary Cultivator, how do you think he would react?
Let's not even get into whether he'd believe you. Let's just say he accepts it. What do you think would happen then?"
Su Qi said without a moment's hesitation, "He'd understand me, and we could live happily ever after."
Behind them, Jiang Zuo couldn't help but lower his head. 'Would it really be like that?'
'How could it possibly be that simple?'
"My silly junior sister, how could it possibly be that simple? Cultivation... it represents a near-endless lifespan, the ability to fly through the sky and tunnel through the earth, to summon the wind and the rain.
Do you really think he could resist that temptation?"
"I could teach him Cultivation."
"Didn't you already test him? He has no Talent for it whatsoever. How is he supposed to cultivate?
Lie to him? And when he gets nowhere with his Cultivation, won't he start to suspect you never intended to teach him in the first place? Then won't he fly into a rage out of shame and frustration?
Will that end well for you two?"
Su Qi lowered her head. "But..."
"But he might not be like that, you say? Fine. Let's assume he accepts that he can only be a normal person. Then his life becomes him waiting at home while you're out risking your life on missions every other day.
What does that sound like to you? A worried wife waiting for her husband to come home from war? If he has even a shred of male pride, he'll feel emasculated. That resentment will just build up until it explodes.
And if someone comes along and whispers a few things in his ear, he'll detonate.
What do you think the outcome will be then?"
Su Qi opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Her senior sister continued, "Alright, let's say he genuinely doesn't care about what others think. Have you ever considered that his feelings might change? You're gone all the time. Has it never occurred to you that he might find another woman?
People get lonely, and he can't just pass the time with secluded Cultivation like we can."
Su Qi said, agitated, "He would never do that."
Her senior sister shrugged. "Either way, there's no happy ending. Not unless you're willing to stay by his side and live a normal life, which unfortunately, you can't do either."
"I don't care. I'm going to steal the divorce papers first, and we'll go from there."
Her senior sister didn't seem to mind. "I knew you'd say that. Let's eat first. I don't want you going back on an empty stomach and telling people your big sister didn't feed you."
Jiang Zuo, listening from behind, was lost in thought. 'Su Qi's senior sister is really something else…'
'She's thought this through completely.'
If he really were just a mortal, how long could he have held on, faced with a Su Qi who could fly through the heavens and tunnel through the earth?
Even if he didn't have any strange ideas at first, he would eventually.
'Besides, who would be content to remain a mere mortal?'
'If it were just a friend who was a Cultivator, that would be one thing. But his own wife...'
Jiang Zuo sighed. He didn't know how his past self would have reacted if he had found out.
He couldn't imagine it.
But his current self didn't really care. He was a Cultivator himself—in fact, the future's strongest Cultivator. Ancient masters, major Sects... none of them would be a match for him.
Just then, a waitress came to Su Qi's table. "Ladies, I'm so sorry, but our owner is using the kitchen right now. Your food might be quite late. If you're in a hurry, you're welcome to cancel your order.
I truly apologize for not informing you sooner."
The senior sister was surprised. "Zhong Yiyang is cooking himself? That's a rare sight. What's he making?"
The waitress said, "We're not sure."
"Well, I was hoping to see what it was. A pity someone here can't wait any longer." At this point, Su Qi was dying to leave, and there was nothing her senior sister could do.
After another apology, the waitress walked over to Jiang Zuo. "Sir, the owner asked me to tell you that if you can't finish it all, just let him know."
Jiang Zuo's expression darkened. He'd never met such a shameless person.
He simply nodded.
Just then, Su Qi and her sister, who had been about to leave, turned around curiously. The senior sister said, "Junior Sister, let's go say hello. We might be able to get a taste of something good. If even Zhong Yiyang wants a bite, the ingredients must be incredibly rare."
Hearing this, Jiang Zuo felt a flicker of panic for the first time in a long time. How many years had it been? How many years since he'd last felt this fear of being discovered?
But Jiang Zuo was not just anyone. He instantly calmed himself, took out his phone, and dialed Su Qi's number.
Then he immediately put the call on mute—on both ends.
Before they could walk over, Su Qi's phone rang.
Su Qi shot to her feet. "S-Senior Sister, he's calling! What do I do? Tell me what to do!"
"Wait until after I get some of that food."
"Oh, forget the food! Let's go outside so I can take this call. My husband is more important."
"What's the use of telling me—someone who can't even get married—that your husband is more important? I want the food."
"If you keep this up, I'm telling Master you're perfectly fine now."
"Junior Sister, your marriage is what's most important. Let's go outside and have a proper talk with him."
Seeing them leave, Jiang Zuo breathed a sigh of relief. Then, the instant Su Qi answered the call, he hung up.
'That should make Su Qi angry and embarrassed enough to drag her senior sister away,' he thought.
"Whew..." Just as Jiang Zuo finished his sigh of relief, he saw the waitress looking at him with an awkward expression.
She felt like she had just witnessed something... interesting.
Jiang Zuo looked at her and said, "Just act like you didn't see anything."
The waitress let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and smiled. "Rest assured, sir. Is there anything else you need?"
Jiang Zuo shook his head.
He waited a moment, and sure enough, they didn't come back in. If they had, Jiang Zuo was prepared to use that Fifth-Grade Spirit Stone to set up a Restriction.
'Besides, asking me to share the meat of the Duoling Dog?'
'Not a chance.'
A long while later, Zhong Yiyang emerged carrying a whole roasted leg. It was hanging on a metal frame, still cooking under a high-temperature broiler.
Placing the frame in front of Jiang Zuo, Zhong Yiyang spoke. "Fellow Daoist, would you like me to carve the meat for you?"
Jiang Zuo shook his head. "No need, I can handle it myself. And you don't have to stand there and watch me eat."
Zhong Yiyang: "..."
'So blunt,' Zhong Yiyang thought. 'Not pulling any punches at all.'
But he was a businessman, after all. Zhong Yiyang said nothing and instead retreated a good distance away to observe.
Then he saw Jiang Zuo pick up the knife. In his eyes, a Level 1.2 Cultivator shouldn't be able to pull off any fancy moves with a blade.
The next moment, however, he was stunned. The gleam of the blade moved like a phantom. Every cut was clean and decisive, each one flowing into the next like a shadow. This Sword Skill wasn't for killing—it was for dicing vegetables.
And this was definitely no ordinary Sword Skill.
Zhong Yiyang was very confident in his own culinary Talent; he knew he wasn't mistaken.
He wanted to learn.
'Coach, I want to learn how to chop vegetables.'