After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 221 Treating guests to dinner

As night fell, Shen Xu ceased resonating with the ancient forest, and the azure energy surrounding him slowly dissipated.

He could sense that he wasn't the only one benefiting from this resonance; the entire ancient forest was accelerating its recovery through the resonance.

The collective consciousness of the ancient forest is also growing little by little, and I believe that we should be able to have some simple exchanges with him soon.

When he returned to the cabin, he found an uninvited guest waiting for him.

"Young Master Shen, Miss would like to invite you to a meal as a token of her gratitude for saving the Ancient Forest. Would you do me the honor?" Guan Bi said with a light laugh.

"Why are you being so polite today? I wouldn't dare eat your young lady's food."

"What if I said I did it?" Guan Bi whispered in Shen Xu's ear.

Shen Xu reached out and gently pinched Guan Bi's cheek, then said with a smile, "Then I'll have to go and try it."

Ignoring Guan Bi's somewhat dazed expression, Shen Xu turned and walked towards the white jade bridge over Qingling Creek. He had been too honest with these girls, which had led them to take advantage of him. He believed that after this incident, the girl would be much more obedient in front of him.

He didn't see Guan Bi's blushing cheeks hidden in the darkness.

"What a rare guest! I thought you wouldn't come!" Bai Lu smiled when she saw Shen Xu arrive.

“Guanbi told me that she did it, and I didn’t want to waste her good intentions.”

Upon hearing Shen Xu's answer, Bai Lu's smile vanished immediately.

“Guanbi’s cooking skills are indeed quite good, but they are two different styles from Xiaoxi’s. I think you will like Guanbi’s cooking,” Li Xiaoyi said.

"Xiao Yi, didn't you bring Xiao Xi with you?" Shen Xu asked curiously.

"Her cultivation level is not high, so she is not suitable to live in Qinglingxi. She would be more comfortable living in Tianjian City."

"That's true, this place really isn't suitable for her, but I do miss her cooking a bit." Shen Xu couldn't help but sigh.

Li Xiaoyi suggested, "You can move out with me. There are many places suitable for servants to live in Tianjian Mountain. I will bring Xiaoxi over then."

"Shen Xu, you promised me!" Bai Lu immediately reminded him upon hearing Li Xiaoyi's words.

“Maybe I’ll leave here later, but not now,” Shen Xu said earnestly.

"Stop talking, didn't you want to try Guanbi's cooking? Let's go inside!" Bai Lu immediately changed the subject.

The first floor of Bailu Pavilion is decorated in a very luxurious style. It is the living room of the entire pavilion. Various glittering treasures are displayed as decorations. The lights are bright, the carpet is gorgeous, the chairs are soft, and every piece of furniture is exquisitely crafted. Every detail reveals luxury and the owner's taste.

The door on the left leads to a room specifically for dining, furnished with black tables and chairs made of some unknown type of wood. The tabletops, gleaming like obsidian, are laden with various dishes.

Indeed, as Li Xiaoyi said, Guan Bi's style is completely different from Xiao Xi's. If Xiao Xi's dishes are exquisite works of art, then Guan Bi's dishes are very home-style. However, he does prefer home-style meals.

"It looks great! But why doesn't Guanbi seem to be here?" Shen Xu asked, looking behind him with some confusion.

“Indeed, I haven’t seen her since just now. I’ll go look for her.” Bai Lu said and then left the room.

Shen Xu casually found a seat and sat down, then patted the chair next to him, indicating that Li Xiaoyi should sit next to him.

Seeing Shen Xu's gesture, Li Xiaoyi smiled and then gracefully sat down next to him.

"Xiao Yi, you don't seem to be angry with me."

"You just didn't see me when I was angry. Actually, I want to devour your flesh and drink your blood," Li Xiaoyi said calmly.

Hearing Li Xiaoyi's calm words, Shen Xu's heart skipped a beat, and he carefully said, "It seems there is no deep-seated hatred between us."

"If only there were some deep-seated hatred between us, I could plunge a sword into your heart right now."

"I'm sorry, Xiao Yi," Shen Xu said with a hint of guilt, though he didn't know exactly what he felt guilty about.

"I don't want to hear your apology," Li Xiaoyi said earnestly, looking into Shen Xu's eyes.

"Sorry!" Shen Xu avoided Li Xiaoyi's eyes.

When Bai Lu and Guan Bi pushed open the door, they saw this seemingly romantic scene, and their expressions immediately darkened.

"Guanbi, you can rearrange the seating. If you're eating here, you have to follow my rules," Bai Lu said coldly.

Ultimately, under Guan Bi's arrangement, the four of them occupied four different directions, which was a relatively comfortable social distance. For some reason, Guan Bi chose to sit opposite him.

Seeing the somewhat tense atmosphere at the dinner table, Shen Xu asked, "I'd like to ask when you'll give me my identity jade token?"

"Since these dishes are all from Guanbi's heart, I'll give you your identity jade token after you finish eating," Bai Lu replied coldly.

"There's definitely something wrong!" Shen Xu's gaze couldn't help but sweep over the food in front of him.

“You don’t need to worry, there’s nothing wrong with the food I made, and it’s not just for you.” After saying that, Guan Bi gestured for him to try some.

Shen Xu tasted a steamed fish near him with some doubt. The taste was incredibly delicious, which made his eyes light up. He didn't expect that Guan Bi could make such a simple steamed fish so delicious. He couldn't wait to try the other dishes.

At the same time, the taste of the steamed fish put his mind at ease. It was indeed impossible for Guan Bi to have made so many dishes just to trick him, and Li Xiaoyi and Bai Lu had also eaten some of the dishes.

So he replied, "There's probably not enough food for me to finish, but I'll try my best not to waste any."

“That works too!” Bai Lu readily agreed.

Then the three women put down their chopsticks and began staring at him, making Shen Xu feel a little uneasy.

“Just pretend we don’t exist!” Li Xiaoyi suddenly said.

He felt something was off, but since he had promised Bai Lu, he had to try his best to finish the food on the table, and he really didn't have much resistance to delicious food.

"Guanbi, your cooking skills are miles ahead of those chefs in restaurants," Shen Xu exclaimed as he ate, feeling that this was the most wonderful meal he had ever had in his life.

"Eat more if you like it!" Guan Bi said with a light laugh, resting her chin on her hand.

Gradually, Shen Xu realized that something was wrong. Why was his vision so blurry? And the food on the table was also changing, suddenly turning into a colorful blob.

It was disgusting just to look at, not to mention the pungent stench emanating from it.

Shen Xu's expression changed drastically. He immediately put down his chopsticks and rubbed his eyes, but nothing had changed. He then looked at the three people at the table.

"Young Master Shen, is the food I prepared not to your liking?" Guan Bi asked softly, her big eyes wide with innocence.

"You promised me you'd try to finish it all, and you seemed to have said you wouldn't waste Guanbi's kindness when you were outside," Bai Lu said with a hint of helplessness.

“I heard it too,” Li Xiaoyi said coldly.

Looking at the disgusting food in front of him, Shen Xu couldn't help but chuckle. In his previous life, he had tasted the hearts of others in order to survive, let alone these mere shells of food.

"I don't know why you're doing this to me, but trust between people is fragile. After eating this, I will never set foot in here again."

After Shen Xu finished speaking calmly, he picked up his chopsticks again and forced himself to eat the food in front of him bit by bit, suppressing his nausea.

Bai Lu and Guan Bi were a little flustered when they heard Shen Xu's calm words. After exchanging a glance, Bai Lu took the initiative to say, "There's something wrong with your chopsticks. If you change your chopsticks, you won't have hallucinations anymore."

"Thank you for letting me know! But it's alright, after all, these chopsticks are a token of your kindness." Shen Xu's hands did not pause for a moment because of Bai Lu's words.

Seeing that Shen Xu was unwilling to replace the illusion chopsticks, Bai Lu and Guan Bi had no choice but to remove all the dishes from the table.

"Thank you for the hospitality!" Shen Xu returned a bright smile to the three of them, then got up and left the room.

After Shen Xu left, Bai Lu murmured to herself, "Do you think I did something wrong?"

“Shen Xu doesn’t have many hobbies. Eating is one of the few things that can make him happy. I think he must have been looking forward to this meal before he came,” Li Xiaoyi said casually.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bai Lu's eyes suddenly turned cold as she looked at Li Xiaoyi.

“I think this result is pretty good.” Li Xiaoyi couldn’t help but smile at Bai Lu.

At that moment, Guan Bi had only one thought in her mind: "He will never eat my cooking again."