This Full Meal, This Seat Shall Provide

Two lines of turbid tears slid down Yu He’s shriveled cheeks.

He felt no fear, only a sense of sorrow that everything had finally come to an end.

Once again, he bowed deeply toward Chen Zhou, remaining in that position for a long time.

"My thanks to Lord... for the grace of awakening me."

If not for Chen Zhou, he would likely have continued to repeat the despair of that year over and over in this endless nightmare until his soul dissipated.

Chen Zhou looked at him, his tone calm: "Do you remember now?"

"I remember..." Yu He forced a bitter smile, his voice filled with shame.

"I have made a fool of myself before you, Lord."

"I dreamt a grand, delusional dream here, even presuming to reason with a deity."

"Looking back now, it was nothing more than the lingering obsession of a dead man."

"Master!"

Song Zi'an was weeping uncontrollably, clutching Yu He’s arm tightly as if afraid he would vanish in the next second.

"Master... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I came too late... If only I had found you sooner..."

The Nine-Age Crane also approached, wrapping its long neck around Yu He and letting out a low, mournful cry.

Yu He froze for a moment, a soft light flickering in his aged eyes.

He reached out, gently stroking the top of Song Zi'an’s head and patting the old crane’s wings.

"Good child... you've grown so big."

"A Ling as well, your feathers have gone bald. You should eat less of that messy junk in the future."

"Seeing that you are both safe and sound, this master is already very relieved."

He scrutinized Song Zi'an’s face, his eyes full of gratification.

"When I left Zhenlong Mountain, you were still a youth. Now... you’ve become a reliable adult."

Song Zi'an shook his head vigorously, his tears falling incessantly.

"No, Master, don't say that..."

"If you hadn't picked me up back then, taught me how to cook, and taught me how to be a person, I would have died in a mass grave long ago."

"The kindness you showed in raising me, I haven't even had the chance to repay it..."

"There's no need to feel sad for me," Yu He said softly, his tone carry a sense of open-mindedness. "This was my own choice."

"Being able to inherit your master's mantle and pass on my heart-intent is the best repayment you can give."

"In this life, I didn't accomplish anything great. My only obsession was wanting everyone to be able to eat their fill."

As he reminisced, he spoke of the past.

"Five hundred years ago, no deity like Lord descended from the heavens to resolve the crisis."

"In his fury, Zhu Pan brought down a divine punishment, granting everyone a hunger that could never be satisfied."

"After that day, the imperial palace became a hell."

"Yin Xuan went mad, and the civil and military officials went mad."

"I could only continuously produce sacrificial substitute meat."

"But the speed at which I produced food could not keep up with the speed at which people starved to death."

"Their throats became only the size of a needle tip; they couldn't even swallow a slightly larger piece of meat."

"In his last moments of clarity, Yin Xuan drove me out of the provincial capital."

Yu He looked toward the collapsed giant cauldron, a flash of pain in his eyes.

"He told me to get lost back to Zhenlong Mountain and not die in the palace."

"But I knew he was afraid that at the next century's sacrifice, Zhu Pan would make me just like them—forced to eat my own friends just to satisfy my hunger."

Song Zi'an listened with a face covered in tears: "So you went back to Zhenlong Mountain, Master?"

"Yes," Yu He nodded.

"After returning to the mountain, I researched constantly, day and night."

"I wanted to create a dish, a dish that could truly satisfy a hungry ghost."

Song Zi'an suddenly understood.

No wonder every page of the manual left by his master was filled with the words 'satiety'.

No wonder his master's greatest wish was for there to be no hunger in the world.

That was his sole obsession throughout five hundred years of despair.

Yu He nodded and continued: "Over these five hundred years, I often left Zhenlong Mountain to head to the provincial capital."

"Even though Yin Xuan had long since advised me not to come again, I... I couldn't stand by and watch my old friends continue to suffer after death."

Listening to the conversation between the master and disciple, Chen Zhou fell into thought.

He remembered the Happy Meat he had seen in the kitchen.

"I once saw a type of Happy Meat in the palace kitchen being divided among malevolent ghosts," Chen Zhou said. "Was that your creation?"

Yu He nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"That was the first generation; a failure."

"Does Lord call it Happy Meat? It is quite fitting."

He gave a bitter smile and explained, "I thought at the time that if I could create a food that could proliferate infinitely and never be exhausted, would that be enough to fill the bellies of the hungry ghosts?"

"I used the three livestock as a foundation, incorporating some special herbs and my own heart-intent, attempting to give it the ability to self-repair and self-proliferate."

"In the end... I failed."

"Happy Meat does indeed have some regenerative attributes, and eating it can generate a brief sense of pleasure, but for a hungry ghost, it still cannot fill that hunger rooted in divine punishment."

"No matter how much they eat, they will still feel starving."

Chen Zhou nodded: "Their hunger originates from Zhu Pan's punishment. Ordinary food is indeed hard-pressed to make them feel satisfied."

"To be able to create something like black meat to calm them down and let them briefly forget their hunger is already quite remarkable."

Yu He shook his head, his smile growing even more bitter: "But this is ultimately just a temporary measure..."

"They are still trapped here, unable to live and unable to die."

"As a Heavenly Chef... I can't even let them eat one full meal and leave this world cleanly."

Hearing this, Chen Zhou opened his system panel, his gaze landing on his newly acquired ability.

【Sinful Karma Punishment: As the god who commands the Yin-Yang Decree, you possess the authority to adjudicate sinful karma, imposing both punishment and pardon.】

Corner of Chen Zhou’s mouth curled upward slightly.

"There is no need to worry."

"A punishment from a false god can naturally be pardoned by a true god."

"This full meal—this seat shall provide."

Chen Zhou slowly raised his hand toward the sky, closing it gently.

"In my name, I command the Yin-Yang Decree."

Behind Chen Zhou, a brilliant gold light suddenly flared.

Like a piercing sun, it radiated a majestic glow.

His black robes flickered within the gold light, yet in the eyes of all the hungry ghosts, he became infinitely tall.

"Today, I address the royal family of Gloomlight Province, Yin Xuan, the civil and military officials, the palace maids and eunuchs, and the tens of thousands of citizens."

"Five hundred years ago, for offending the false god Zhu Pan, you were struck with the penalty of everlasting hunger."

"This punishment is unjust."

"This sin is invalid."

"Today, this seat adjudicates—"

Chen Zhou’s voice suddenly rose, echoing through heaven and earth.

"Pardon!"

Chen Zhou’s Ghost Domain unfolded, expanding infinitely until it filled the entire space of the Path of Hungry Ghosts.

Boom—!

The golden light poured down like a waterfall, instantly flooding the Altar of Heaven before frantically spreading in all directions.

"Ugh..."

A faint moan escaped the mouth of a hungry ghost who looked like a palace maid.

A hint of color suddenly returned to her sallow, withered face.

Her bulging belly slowly flattened, and her throat, once thin as a needle, began to return to normal.

She lowered her head, looking at the black meat in her hands. A flash of bewilderment crossed her eyes, followed by... a long-lost clarity.

"I... I'm not hungry anymore?"