CFSMS -Chapter 289 Boss Lu’s Food Stall Is Open for Business! (Final Chapter)

With its owner’s return, the little courtyard became lively once more.

Lou Xiaotian bustled around after Lu Wu, happily serving as her all-purpose assistant.

At that very moment, Qin Zhan, who was traveling across the Qingyuan Realm, suddenly sneezed. Jiang Yunhe, deep in research at Divine Physician Valley, accidentally blew up another batch of pills. Long Zhang and Shan Hanzhi—currently starring in a dramatic “chasing-my-wife-to-the-crematorium” romance—stumbled on level ground, resulting in the man catching the woman in a princess carry and accidentally kissing her. Zhang Yue, wandering the wilderness hunting ghosts, fed away the last spirit stone she had on her.

At that instant, all of them felt something.

One after another, they looked in the same direction.

The bond between diners and chef had activated.

When Lu Wu finished preparing all the food, several familiar guests had unsurprisingly appeared in the courtyard.

They sat together, listening as Lu Wu recounted her experiences from the past few days.

Everyone was amazed.

“Qing Emperor, Blade Emperor, Flame Ancestor… Why do those names sound familiar?”

Qin Zhan’s mouth was stuffed with food, his cheeks puffed out as he chewed and pondered.

“I feel like I’ve heard them somewhere too.”

The countless texts stored in Jiang Yunhe’s memory began flipping through themselves.

The history of the Qingyuan Realm stretched back too far.

Even if records from tens of thousands of years ago had been passed down, much had been buried beneath the erosion of time.

Such was the power of the ages.

Yet some things endured, waiting for later generations to uncover them again.

“I remember now! I saw them in an ancient text before. Boss Lu, wait a moment!”

Stuffing a chicken drumstick into his mouth, Qin Zhan hurriedly sent a message to his master.

The ancient books were preserved in the library of the Holy Sword Sect. Qin Zhan distinctly remembered seeing those three names there.

A short while later, the ancient tome arrived before everyone.

“Look! Right here!”

Qin Zhan excitedly flipped past half the book and handed it to Lu Wu.

The page described a war between humans and demons that had taken place tens of thousands of years ago.

A war that should have shaken the world had ended in an inexplicably strange manner.

The demons had behaved as though they had collectively lost their minds, practically marching themselves into destruction.

Throughout the account, the names of the three ancestors appeared repeatedly.

Although much of the historical record had been lost, later generations firmly believed the key to victory had been those three figures.

As a result, countless praises had been written in their honor.

Lu Wu wholeheartedly agreed.

She read the account carefully.

Then, as she turned another page and saw a familiar name, she froze.

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing her reaction, Qin Zhan leaned over.

“After more than a month of stalemate, a human descended from the heavens. Through supreme means, this individual united and inspired the human race, changing the course of the war. Thereafter, humanity advanced with overwhelming momentum, and the demons collapsed.”

“Their name was ‘Lu Wu.’”

“They were a chef.”

“But to the three of us, this person was a junior, a confidant, and a witness.”

Below that were additional records.

Qin Zhan had already lost interest in reading them.

Instead, he pointed at the name in surprise.

“Hey, this person’s also called Lu Wu! And they’re a chef too! What a coincidence!”

“There’s even a portrait. Look at this! You can’t even say she resembles Boss Lu—it’s literally the same person!”

Qin Zhan laughed and teased.

Meanwhile, Lu Wu’s gaze began drifting.

The expressions of everyone else grew increasingly strange.

Qin Zhan quickly put the pieces together.

Combining it with the story Lu Wu had just told, realization dawned.

He stared at her in disbelief.

“Boss Lu… don’t tell me this person is actually you?”

Faced with his astonished question, Lu Wu hesitated briefly before nodding.

“If nothing unexpected happened… then yes, that’s me.”

She flipped through the book.

There wasn’t much written about her.

She was mentioned only briefly.

Yet even those few sparse lines carried the gentle warmth left behind by the ancestors.

To Lu Wu, they were immeasurably precious.

She recalled the meaningful smiles the three ancestors had worn when they promised to leave her a gift.

Now, that gift had crossed ten thousand years of time and finally returned to its rightful owner.

What even was this?

She had merely gone out to run a food stall—

—and somehow ended up immortalized in history.

Perhaps even before she had arrived in the Qingyuan Realm, someone had already held this book and spoken her name.

The gift stirred her emotions deeply.

“Yes.”

“It’s me.”

She repeated the words softly.

Smiling, she brushed aside a strand of hair from her cheek—and with it, the trace of moisture at the corner of her eye.

Look.

Even separated by time itself, old friends had found one another again.

Everyone sighed with emotion.

“This calls for a grand toast.”

Sensing Lu Wu’s mood, Lou Xiaotian rolled his eyes and raised a wine cup while throwing an arm around Qin Zhan’s shoulders.

“Exactly! We’ve got great food and great wine in front of us. Eat! Drink! Nobody stops!”

Qin Zhan cheerfully raised his cup to drink with him.

Who would have thought that while Qin Zhan tilted his head back to drink, Lou Xiaotian’s evil hand would sneak toward the giant prawn Qin Zhan had been “saving” for ages?

“LOU XIAOTIAN! PUT MY TREASURE DOWN!”

Qin Zhan instantly transformed.

He lunged forward and grabbed Lou Xiaotian by the neck, shaking him furiously.

While everyone was busy watching the spectacle, Long Zhang quietly placed peeled shrimp into Shan Hanzhi’s bowl.

His mother had always said:

After sharing physical intimacy with a woman, a man must take responsibility for her for the rest of his life.

He was faithfully putting that advice into practice.

Nearby, Jiang Yunhe dragged his chair farther away from the sickeningly sweet smell of romance.

At the same time, he and Old Li discussed ways to improve certain poisons so they could knock people unconscious faster.

Zhang Yue stuffed a sneaky ghost spirit back into confinement.

Eat, eat, eat. That’s all you ever think about.

Go hungry for once!

The courtyard was filled with laughter and warmth.

Lu Wu sat in her chair, watching everyone fool around.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

She thought that whether it was the love left behind by the ancestors or the companionship of these diners, all of it was the greatest gift she could have received.

“System, haven’t I still got a lottery draw left?”

she asked inwardly.

The atmosphere was perfect.

How could she not gamble once?

[Correct.]

“Then let’s draw.”

Lu Wu lightly pressed the button.

Brilliant colors exploded before her eyes.

The spinning wheel turned and turned before finally transforming into a gift package.

She opened it.

A sheet of golden paper appeared before her.

Gold rarity!

Lu Wu stared in surprise.

Then she looked closer.

[Free Stall Permit]

[Congratulations, Host.]

According to the description, from this day forward, Lu Wu alone would decide when she set up her stall, where she set it up, and what food she sold.

Anytime.

Anywhere.

Entirely according to her own wishes.

From now on, the system would no longer issue mandatory missions.

“So I can work for a month and then lie around doing nothing for another month?”

She no longer had to be the system’s overworked employee!

[Whether it is one month or one year, the choice belongs entirely to the Host.]

[The system will forever await your call.]

[Ding-dong!]

[The Culinary Cultivation System is dedicated to serving you.]

The mechanical voice sounded exactly as it had the first day they met.

Leaning back in her chair, listening to the voices of her friends, Lu Wu opened the system map.

The vast Qingyuan Realm spread before her.

Scattered points of light shone across it.

Each point marked a place where she had once set up her stall.

Compared to the immense world, those lights were so few.

Countless places still awaited her exploration.

Now that she had finally become her own boss, shouldn’t she work a little harder?

Across mountains.

Across rivers.

Across seas.

Into lands yet unknown.

Perhaps one day she would illuminate the entire map.

Old Li sipped tea.

The “assistant” fought over food.

The three little troublemakers raced around the courtyard in a whirlwind of flying fur.

Within the fully upgraded paradise realm, countless spirit beasts watched with envy.

“Boss Lu! I want the drumstick!”

“I want the wings!”

“I want the chicken butt!”

“Ugh!”

“Take this!”

Lu Wu carved up the roast chicken, thoughtfully setting aside the chicken butt.

What should I do when all my diners are a little weird?

Spoil them, of course.

She thought that no matter how far the future stretched before her, as long as they were there, she would never walk alone.

…

High above, the sun blazed brightly.

Deep inside a pitch-black cave, someone set up a stall and hung out a sign.

Boss Lu’s Food Stall

Now Open for Business!

— End of Main Story —