CFSMS -Chapter 280 I Am the Food Messenger, Here to Deliver Warmth

What Lu Wu said made sense, but the diners weren’t listening.

Once food was in their hands, of course they wanted to eat it immediately. Otherwise, their stomachs would start a rebellion.

The people at the front of the line had already taken their first bites.

The moment they bit down, the first thing they tasted was the sweetness of red dates. The glutinous rice was soft without being mushy. After being compressed and shaped, the sliced rice cake offered satisfying resistance as their teeth sank into the sticky layers.

Its glossy, oily surface would sink slightly when pinched, only to spring right back.

Some people even started playing with it.

“Boss Lu, can I have another piece?”

One diner finished his one-liang portion in just a few bites. Before Lu Wu could answer his shameless request, other diners had already dragged him away.

“Get lost! If you want more, go line up again.”

“Exactly. Who told you not to buy more? Regretting it now won’t help.”

Some had only wanted to give it a try.

Who could have guessed that this plain-looking rice cake would be this good?

The recipe itself was traditional. Tasting it carefully, one could tell the glutinous rice had fully absorbed the sweetness of the red dates. The syrup had penetrated every grain, while the rice’s own gentle fragrance remained intact. The soft, chewy texture lingered between the lips and teeth, making it impossible to stop eating.

Sweet but not cloying.

The kind of food you could keep eating without getting tired of it.

Its flavor was completely different from grilled skewers.

Kids might choose one or the other.

Adults wanted both.

As their teeth slowly ground through the rice cake, they could feel the chef’s care and attention.

The moderate sweetness was accompanied by the lingering aroma of nuts, subtle and restrained.

The diners crowded forward, eager for their turn.

Lu Wu’s knife rose and fell.

One portion after another was sliced and handed out.

Qing Di, Dao Di, and Yan Zu were mixed into the queue as well.

Of course, they wanted to use their status to skip the line.

Unfortunately, nobody cooperated.

Status was useless here.

Arrive late, and all you could do was stand in line and stare longingly toward the stall.

“Why is this taking so long?”

The impatient Dao Di wished he could draw his blade and chop down everyone ahead of him.

After yesterday’s chaotic skewer scramble, he apparently hadn’t learned his lesson.

Yet again, he’d leisurely strolled over to buy food today.

The glorious days of being able to eat as much as he wanted whenever he wanted were gone forever.

Thinking about it made him want to slap himself.

Serves you right for being so complacent yesterday.

Now his cravings were tormenting him.

Dao Di reflected on his mistakes as his gaze wandered.

“My goodness, this smells amazing.”

Someone was talking nearby.

A faint aroma of rice drifted through the air.

Dao Di came back to his senses and saw a junior disciple squatting a few steps away, holding a huge chunk of rice cake.

The young man bit into it enthusiastically.

As his teeth tore through it, strands stretched from the torn edge.

He ate with great satisfaction, cheeks puffed out.

Even though his mouth was already stuffed full, he kept taking bigger bites.

Eventually he ate too much and nearly choked.

Patting his chest to catch his breath, he immediately resumed his assault on the rice cake.

“So delicious. Sweet, soft, and chewy. This glutinous rice has such great texture. And look how much date meat is inside!”

Chomp chomp.

Dao Di wasn’t a petty person.

If you wanted to eat, then eat.

But why smack your lips while facing his direction?

And those little sideways glances.

And the exaggerated praise.

No matter how he looked at it, the brat was clearly showing off on purpose.

Dao Di’s face darkened.

Beside him, Qing Di and Yan Zu also glanced over.

Killing intent began gathering.

“Brat, get lost!”

Yan Zu scolded coldly.

A ball of flame brushed past the youngster’s head, burning away a patch of hair and leaving a bald spot.

The little rascal deserved a beating.

“Ah! Yan Zu is bullying people!”

The youngster wasn’t afraid at all.

Instead, he grinned mischievously.

Feeling the cool breeze on his newly bald scalp, he pinched the rice cake in his hand.

“Soft, fragrant, and filling. I’m almost full already.”

“Oh? Yan Zu, are you hungry?”

A small piece remained in his palm as he stepped forward.

The eyes of all three elders lit up instantly.

“At least you’re showing some respect.”

Yan Zu’s expression improved considerably.

He extended a hand toward the youngster, wearing the pleased expression of a teacher approving a promising student.

His open palm waited expectantly.

And waited.

And waited.

Nothing landed in it.

Meanwhile, the youngster blinked innocently at Yan Zu’s hand.

“Yan Zu, what are you doing?”

He looked confused on the surface.

The laughter in his eyes said otherwise.

“Last bite. Time to get full and get back to work.”

Before Yan Zu could respond, he tossed the final piece into his mouth and chewed happily.

That smug expression was unbelievably punchable.

Dao Di, who had been holding back this entire time, finally exploded.

He kicked the youngster so hard that he personally sent him skyward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun.

Some people got sleepy after eating.

This guy got obnoxious after eating.

Looking up at the tiny black silhouette soaring through the sky, Lu Wu felt absolutely no sympathy.

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The line continued moving forward.

Even though everyone present was an ancient powerhouse, anyone who wanted Boss Lu’s food still had to follow the rules.

Far beyond their sight, within the demon camp, the imprisoned Wolf Demon was reminiscing about the ice cream he had eaten that day.

After his failure had contributed to the demons’ crushing defeat, he hadn’t been executed, but he had become a prisoner.

Two days of confinement hadn’t left him hungry—his cultivation level was too high for that.

Yet the memory of that ice cream haunted him like a nightmare.

He had even resorted to imagining food to satisfy himself, but the cravings in his stomach refused to let him go.

I want ice cream so badly…

The Wolf Demon’s expression became wistful.

If he had known he’d end up imprisoned, he would have eaten much more that day.

At least he could have gotten his money’s worth.

Gulp. Gulp.

The silent prison echoed only with the sound of him swallowing saliva.

His eyes were beginning to lose focus.

He continued staring blankly into space.

Then his sharp demonic senses suddenly caught a scent unlike anything else in the cell.

Among all the surrounding stench, it stood out distinctly.

Immediately, he thought of Boss Lu.

The dullness vanished from his eyes.

Looking over, he saw a figure in a black robe standing within the shadows.

The person held something in their hand.

The enticing aroma was coming from that item.

“Heh heh heh—cough, cough, cough…”

The newcomer had intended to let out a villainous laugh.

Unfortunately, it was apparently his first time playing the role of a villain.

His voice cracked halfway through, and he nearly choked himself.

His dramatic entrance instantly lost most of its impact.

Hidden beneath the hood, the black-robed figure’s face turned red with embarrassment.

A miscalculation. A terrible miscalculation.

“Ahem.”

“Wolf Demon, I am the Food Messenger.”

“Boss Lu has created a new delicacy today. She still remembers you and asked me to bring you some warmth.”

“Would… you like to try it?”

The black-robed figure walked to the outside of the prison cell.

Only the iron bars separated them now.

He extended the food in his hand.

The amber-colored rice cake seemed to shine brilliantly within the dim prison.

Don’t misunderstand.

The atmosphere wasn’t natural.

The black-robed figure had simply used his free hand to cast a spell and create dramatic lighting for the rice cake.

“Smells good, doesn’t it?”

“I guarantee this rice cake is even better than the ice cream from that day.”

“As long as you nod, it’s yours.”

“And if it’s not enough, there’s more.”

He deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound sinister while desperately trying to maintain his villain persona.

The Wolf Demon stared blankly at the rice cake.

His nose told him the man wasn’t lying.

But why would humans be so kind?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Yet his body moved toward the food of its own accord.

His stomach rumbled like thunder.

Saliva flooded his mouth.

His throat bobbed.

“What… would I have to give in return?”

The Wolf Demon didn’t believe in free lunches.

But neither could he resist such temptation.

Swallowing repeatedly, he asked in a hoarse voice, unwilling to take his eyes off the rice cake.

The greed and longing in those eyes told the black-robed figure everything he needed to know.

The Food Temptation Plan had succeeded.