The Amnesiac, Sickly Beauty Is Pregnant With My Dragon Cub - Chapter 37.1

The kitchen was a scene of utter devastation. Cang Lan sat on the floor, reclining in Yu Xuanji’s arms, extending her hand toward her lips while staring at her with wide, pitiful eyes. “Wife, my hand hurts so much. I need a kiss from my wife.”

Yu Xuanji glanced at the hand that had just wrestled with a hen. Faint traces of chicken feathers remained, and there was even grime beneath the fingernails—likely black mud from washing carrots.

Even with a heart full of love for Cang Lan, Yu Xuanji was only human.

She took hold of Cang Lan’s wrist, naturally pressing the hand down. Then, tilting Cang Lan’s chin up with one hand, she lightly brushed her lips against the dragons in front of everyone and blew a gentle breath onto the spot where the hen had pecked her.

Cang Lan licked her lips, where the fragrance of Yu Xuanji seemed to linger. A single kiss was enough to send her into a daze of infatuation. She greedily tried to burrow deeper into Yu Xuanji’s embrace, but a movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye: a crowd of onlookers was staring at them.

Simply detestable.

Cang Lan’s face flushed hot. The pain from the peck had long vanished, but she put on a show of shaking her fingers and scrambled out of Yu Xuanji’s arms. “That breath from my lady was pure immortal essence; my hand doesn’t hurt at all anymore.”

Yu Xuanji smiled and helped her up. “Since it doesn’t hurt, go back to cooking. You are the best.”

Finally having coaxed Cang Lan back to work, Yu Xuanji watched her busy silhouette and sighed silently before heading out of the kitchen.

Lu Xuan, standing at the door holding a clay pot full of fish soup, couldn’t resist asking, “Doesn’t your conscience ache from lying like that all the time? Careful, or heaven might strike you with lightning.”

Yu Xuanji curled her lips into a smile. “A little praise is always good. Does Ming Huang treat you the same way?”

At the mention of “Ming Huang,” Lu Xuan’s face suddenly heated up, her cheeks tinging with a faint crimson. She said shyly, “Master often says that hitting is a sign of intimacy and scolding is a sign of love. So she beats me frequently; every time, I can feel the depth of her love for me.”

The smile on Yu Xuanji’s lips froze. She asked in disbelief, “Is… is that so?”

Lu Xuan’s gaze was firm as she nodded solemnly. “Is it not the same for you two?”

Yu Xuanji gave a light laugh. “People have different ways of getting along. A-Lan and I are as you just saw.”

Lu Xuan said with a face full of sorrow, “Master is gone. Now there is no one to beat me.”

Yu Xuanji gave two dry laughs. “As long as you like it.”

While the two chatted at the kitchen door, a sudden BANG echoed from inside. Yu Xuanji didn’t even turn her head, merely smiling. “Finally, an explosion. It seems the meal is ready.”

Thick black smoke billowed from the kitchen. Lu Xuan waved the smoke away with her hand, while Yu Xuanji, practiced in the routine, took a handkerchief from her pocket, found Cang Lan’s face in the darkness, and wiped it clean.

Yu Xuanji asked with a smile, “A-Lan, is it done?”

Cang Lan spat out a mouthful of black smoke. Her ears were nearly deafened by the blast. She opened her mouth and shouted, “Wife, what did you say?”

Yu Xuanji leaned close to her ear and yelled, “I asked if the food is ready!”

Like a hard-of-hearing elderly person, Cang Lan shouted back, “Oh! It’s fully cooked!”

Huang Liu crawled out from beside the stove, coughing. Her golden fur had been charred pitch black. She scrambled toward the water vat and dove in headfirst, spinning in circles to wash herself.

Meanwhile, An Zhi, Ting Lan, the Grey Wolf Demon, and the Iron-Eating Beast (Panda) rushed over at the sound. Seeing the wreckage, they thought the Great King had fought a fierce battle with some powerful monster.

As the smoke cleared, the lid of the chicken soup pot was nowhere to be found. Everyone looked up to see the iron lid firmly embedded in the stone ceiling.

Black smoke drifted from the pot, which contained a pile of charred charcoal chunks that still held faint sparks of fire.

Silence fell. After soaking for a while, Huang Liu wrung out her fluffy tail and approached with curiosity. “Why have you all turned into mutes?”

Huang Liu peeked into the pot. The chicken was gone, replaced by a few unburnt white bones. She exclaimed, “Wow! The Great King succeeded! Is this the chicken’s sarira (relics)?”

Huang Liu carefully picked up a bone and held it in her palm with reverence. “The Great King is truly amazing, to have refined the chicken’s sarira through fire.” She scratched her head, a realization dawning on her. “But I remember the Great King saying she was making stew.”

Cang Lan glared at her fiercely. “Shut your mouth!”

Huang Liu quickly silenced herself, hugged her tail, and crawled away on her belly, vanishing in an instant.

Yu Xuanji looked at the “tragedy” in the pot and signaled the gossiping crowd. Receiving the hint, the Grey Wolf Demon hustled everyone away in a hurry.

Only Yu Xuanji and Cang Lan remained. Cang Lan stood motionless before the stove, her back to Yu Xuanji. Her face was unreadable, but in her heart, she was crying like a “tearful dragon.”

Yu Xuanji reached for her blackened hands, but Cang Lan was as slippery as a loach, skillfully dodging every attempt to be caught.

Seeing her stubbornness, Yu Xuanji simply embraced her tightly from behind, wrapping her arms around her waist. She leaned against Cang Lan’s ear and whispered her name with a smile: “A-Lan…”

Cang Lan remained silent, but Yu Xuanji kept nuzzling against her back. Stray strands of hair tickled Cang Lan’s ears and cheeks—itchy and numbing—until she finally surrendered.

When Cang Lan finally turned her head, her face was smudged like a little calico cat. Yu Xuanji suppressed a grin, dipped her handkerchief in clean water, and carefully wiped away the soot.

Cang Lan obediently leaned in. The cool, damp cloth brushed over her eyelids, nose, and lips. Yu Xuanji switched to a fresh part of the cloth and gently wiped Cang Lan’s soft mouth.

“In the future, you shouldn’t use such a high flame for cooking,” Yu Xuanji said. “What if a big explosion hurts you?”

Cang Lan patted her chest. “Wife, I am a Divine Dragon. Such a small blast is nothing. You don’t need to worry.”

Yu Xuanji said with a hint of anger, “Don’t say such things. Even if it’s a small matter to you and wouldn’t even singe your clothes, I won’t allow even a sliver of risk. You shouldn’t take it so lightly either.”

Cang Lan froze. This was the first time she had seen Yu Xuanji speak to her with such sternness. Her playful grin vanished instantly. She softened her voice to act spoiled: “Wife, I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Don’t be angry, please—”

Yu Xuanji’s expression remained neutral, but under Cang Lan’s persistent, clingy nudging, she eventually compromised. “Alright, I’m not angry. I just worry for you. Look at the state you’re in. Does it hurt where you were blasted?”

Cang Lan shook her head and touched the back of Yu Xuanji’s hand. “In this world, my lady cares for me most. That’s enough. Even if I were hurt, I wouldn’t feel the pain.”

Yu Xuanji covered Cang Lan’s lips with her palm and scolded, “Stop talking nonsense!”

The next second, a warm, wet sensation touched her palm. Cang Lan had quickly licked her hand, then pretended nothing happened.

Yu Xuanji’s face heated up, and she turned to leave the kitchen. Cang Lan watched her “indignant” retreat and chuckled mischievously behind her hand.

As soon as Yu Xuanji stepped out, she ran into Lu Xuan. Still clutching her precious fish soup, Lu Xuan asked, “Do you always spoil her like this?”

Yu Xuanji paused, then replied, “Not exactly. This is just our basic way of being together.”

Lu Xuan’s expression changed drastically. “Really? Master is good to me, but she’s never proactive. She only responds when I take the lead.”

Seeing the Demon Sovereign, whose name shook the three realms, hanging her head like a dejected kitten and complaining about such trifles, Yu Xuanji comforted her gently. “Everyone interacts differently. You’ve been with Ming Huang for years; you know her temperament and that she has you in her heart. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Before she could finish, Cang Lan charged in, swept Yu Xuanji up in a horizontal carry, and bared her teeth at Lu Xuan. “Stay away from my wife!”

Yu Xuanji laughed. Before she was carried off, she made sure to get the last word in: “See? This is what we call ‘no internal conflict’…”

Cang Lan carried Yu Xuanji to their bedroom and laid her on the bed. She intended to press down on her playfully, but Yu Xuanji’s hand met her chest. “You’re dirty. You’re not allowed on the bed.”

“Wifey—”

Cang Lan dragged out the word to act spoiled, but Yu Xuanji pointed at her dirty hands and clothes, wagging a finger. “Only after you’re clean.”

“Hmph!” Cang Lan turned around in a huff, stomped her foot, and bolted out.

Yu Xuanji watched her fading shadow with a sigh, sat on the bed, and picked up a worn copy of Dream of the Red Chamber, reading with great interest.

After an hour of reading, just as she was about to start a new chapter, she heard Huang Liu’s voice outside: “The Chef King Championship begins now!”

Yu Xuanji didn’t know what they were up to, but she smiled helplessly and left the room.

Outside, gongs were clashing and drums were beating. Huang Liu was standing on a table with a megaphone. Seeing Yu Xuanji, she shouted, “Please welcome today’s first judge, Lady Xuanji!”

Yu Xuanji had never seen such a spectacle just for dinner. Under everyone’s gaze, she sat at the center of the table and smiled at them.

Once she was seated, Cang Lan emerged carrying a tray and a pot. She gave Yu Xuanji a series of meaningful looks before turning a cold gaze toward Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan rolled her eyes and lifted the lid of her fish soup. The milky-white broth was fragrant, and the demons scrambled to inhale the aroma. Cang Lan coughed and glared at the “useless fools.”

The Iron-Eating Beast sat obediently, while the Grey Wolf Demon wiped drool from its lips. “Ahem, the Great King’s dish hasn’t been uncovered yet. Behave!”