CFSMS -Chapter 56 Qin Zhan Who Begins to Question His Life

“He’s my friend. He means no harm.”

Lu Wu tilted her head slightly and gently bumped her forehead against Huohuo’s.

She casually handed a bowl of ice jelly to Qin Zhan.

“Brown sugar watermelon ice jelly. Try it.”

Faced with Lu Wu’s enthusiastic recommendation—and under Huohuo’s clear, almost innocent gaze—Qin Zhan, who wasn’t fond of sweets, still accepted it and scooped a spoonful into his mouth.

It looked very ordinary.

At that moment, Qin Zhan’s attention was still on Huohuo.

This crimson bird was very different from a Flamefeather Sparrow. The feeling it gave him was clearly far more dangerous.

While his mind was still analyzing, his teeth had already started chewing instinctively.

The moment the soft, cool ice jelly touched his taste buds, it immediately pulled his attention back.

Gulp.

His throat moved, and a spoonful went down.

Qin Zhan looked at the bowl in his hand in disbelief, then at Lu Wu—his expression completely changed.

“How is it?” Lu Wu asked with a smile.

With the system’s backing, even a simple bowl of ice jelly was enough to give cultivators of the Azure Origin World a small shock.

“It’s great.”

Qin Zhan took another spoonful, this time much more slowly.

The cool, smooth ice jelly soaked in brown sugar water was sweet but not cloying.

The crisp sweetness of watermelon enriched the texture, balancing the richness of the brown sugar.

What shocked him even more was that as he ate it, the fire toxin inside his body was actually being expelled.

This ice jelly was practically the natural enemy of the Flamefire Secret Realm.

As expected—anything from Boss Lu was extraordinary.

Qin Zhan stopped using a spoon entirely and simply lifted the bowl, gulping it down.

Slurp!

In the blink of an eye, the entire bowl was gone.

“Refreshing!”

A heroic energy surged through Qin Zhan.

At that moment, his soul felt cleansed.

His entire body felt relaxed, and even his spiritual energy circulation sped up slightly—his cultivation subtly improved.

“Boss Lu, another bowl!”

Now completely absorbed in food, Qin Zhan had forgotten about Huohuo entirely.

“Chirp!”

Something suddenly fell onto Qin Zhan’s head.

Remembering the earlier miracle of the fire spirit crystal falling from the sky, Qin Zhan eagerly reached up—only to find a plain stone.

Well…

Not entirely plain.

It had a bit of dried bird droppings on it.

The strange “fragrance” made Qin Zhan, with his sharp senses, immediately drop it.

He glanced at the white residue on his hand, his mouth twitching.

Seriously? Why was he being treated so differently?

“Huohuo told you to go queue. They came first,” Lu Wu said, pointing at the Flamefeather Sparrows in front of the stall.

“Alright.”

Qin Zhan’s anger flared—then immediately subsided.

He dejectedly walked to the back of the line. Looking at the sparrows in front of him—each one seemingly so weak he could crush them with a single step—he hesitated, then took a few steps back to stand farther away.

The greatest illusion in life is thinking you can turn the tables.

In reality, charging in would just be sending himself to his death.

The bird queue slowly advanced. After enjoying their portion of ice jelly, Huohuo stood among the flock and chirped loudly.

The sparrows responded excitedly, as if pumped full of energy.

Then the entire flock scattered in all directions, flying off into the distance.

Qin Zhan watched them disappear, then glanced at Lu Wu, who was currently absentmindedly ruffling Huohuo’s feathers, and hesitated.

His understanding of beast language was limited, but he roughly grasped the meaning.

That special little bird… seemed to have ordered the Flamefeather Sparrows to search the secret realm for humans.

Why search for humans?

To roast them?

From a once-in-a-generation genius to someone now surviving under a bird’s mercy, Qin Zhan silently closed his mouth.

Dead fellow cultivators are better than oneself.

He would pray for them.

“I want five bowls of ice jelly.”

To help Lu Wu complete her sales target, Qin Zhan squatted on the ground and ate.

Ever since entering the secret realm yesterday, he had been on edge—worried about Lu Wu, and also worried about being silently killed by some unknown existence. He hadn’t had time to care about food at all.

Now that things were safe, he ate like crazy.

His favorite was peach-flavored ice jelly. The sweetness of peach juice mixed with the smooth texture filled his mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance with every breath.

On the other hand, he couldn’t accept the “earth heart fruit” version at all.

The fruit was too hard—painfully so.

Even though the ice jelly itself was good, each bite required grinding his teeth just to break the fruit down.

Still, he noticed most of the Flamefeather Sparrows had eaten that version.

Indeed, such “iron-beaked delicacies” were more suited to them.

After satisfying his appetite, Qin Zhan felt reborn.

Although the environment remained harsh, the lingering cool energy in his body restored his vitality.

“Boss Lu, do you need any help?”

Qin Zhan approached proactively, though in truth he just wanted a closer look at Huohuo.

This bird was unusual—he couldn’t even identify its species.

“You can help me peel these fruits.”

In high temperatures, food spoiled easily. Lu Wu had prepared a large batch of fruit for the sparrows, and most of it had already been used.

It was already the second day; she figured human cultivators should start arriving soon.

Her goal was simple: anyone who came would buy a bowl of ice jelly.

Fair pricing, honest business—everyone who tried it praised it.

“No trouble at all. I’m happy to help.”

Qin Zhan formed a hand seal and used spiritual energy to peel the fruit, while constantly sneaking glances at Huohuo.

But Huohuo didn’t even look at him.

Birds don’t like certain humans. They don’t even bother looking.

“Chirp!”

After being fed a variety of fruits, Huohuo only clung to Lu Wu affectionately.

Birds like the humans they like—and they’re even willing to give everything for them.

After the fruit was prepared, Lu Wu poured ice jelly powder into a pot and prepared to heat it.

“Boss Lu, let me help heat it.”

Qin Zhan eagerly volunteered.

A small orange flame appeared in his palm.

It was a sub-flame derived from a spiritual fire nurtured by the Sacred Sword Sect—usually reserved only for outstanding disciples.

Using it to cook didn’t feel beneath him at all.

“Oh…”

Lu Wu glanced at it and shook her head with mild disdain.

This fire… didn’t seem as good as hers.

“No need. I have one.”

With a snap of her fingers, a golden glazed flame appeared at her fingertip and was sent beneath the pot.

She controlled the temperature precisely and covered the pot.

…

Qin Zhan went silent.

Qin Zhan shut down emotionally.

Qin Zhan squatted down, pulled at his hair, and desperately spammed messages to his friends via a communication artifact.

“Where are you guys? I found Boss Lu. She’s made new food—it’s amazing. Hurry over!”

Good things should be shared with brothers.

At this point, what even was spiritual fire? Was it some kind of roadside commodity?

And that flame… it was clearly higher grade than his—and even higher than the Sacred Sword Sect’s main flame.

“Chirp!”

Huohuo let out a mocking chirp.

Under Qin Zhan’s resentful gaze, she opened her beak and spat out a tiny flame.

The golden-red flame drifted down and swallowed his little fire completely.

Trash fire.

Unworthy.

Qin Zhan forced a smile, using it to hide his shattered pride.