The Performer

The little girl, realizing she had been toyed with, was not angry.

Instead, she felt a wave of chagrin that she had been seen through by the boy.

Her eyes darted around briefly before she put on a thick-skinned, pitiful expression and said, "Kind person, give me a bite to eat. I'm hungry..."

Xu Xian gave a slight smile, turned around, and began walking away, not forgetting to call out, "Come along, then."

The little girl hurriedly stood up and trotted after him.

The boy deliberately quickened his pace.

She frowned deeply and hurried to catch up.

He continued to accelerate...

She broke into a run...

Xu Xian's eyes were filled with playfulness, while the little girl's eyes brimmed with resentment.

One was thinking: 'Weren't you starving to death? How can you still run so fast?'

The other was thinking: 'I'm clearly the one who's hungry, why are you walking so fast?'

About a quarter of an hour later.

In a noodle shop in the outer city of the Nether Capital, Xu Xian led the beggar-like little girl to a table and sat down.

The boy raised his hand and signaled, calling out to the woman who appeared to be the owner across the room:

"Boss, one bowl of noodles. Add meat."

"Coming right up! Just a moment, it'll be quick."

The little beggar snuck a glance at the white-haired boy. She felt that this person was actually decent; though he hadn't acted like a proper human before and seemed cynical, his heart wasn't bad.

At least he knew to add meat for her.

She muttered inwardly that perhaps she had misunderstood him.

He was likely just cautious. After all, in these times when public morals were declining and people's hearts were no longer what they used to be, there was nothing wrong with being a bit careful.

The noodles were soon served by the charming proprietress. It was a very large bowl, about the size of the little beggar's forehead.

A thick layer of demon beef was spread across the top, steaming hot and releasing the mellow aroma of the meat.

The little beggar looked eager, eyes wide with anticipation, yet she deliberately restrained herself and asked weakly, "Aren't you eating?"

Xu Xian looked at her calmly without answering. His gaze was as if he were looking at a fool.

The little beggar felt slighted, thinking she shouldn't have even asked. What cultivator would eat this mundane food? She reached out her hand, preparing to pull the bowl in front of her and start devouring it.

But just as her hand touched the bowl, it was slapped away by Xu Xian.

Slap!

"Ah... hiss!"

The girl pulled her hand back in pain, looked up at the boy, and questioned, "What are you doing?"

Xu Xian rolled his eyes at her and said airily, "Did I say you could eat?"

The little girl was utterly bewildered, feeling like she was in a fog.

Xu Xian reached out for a pair of chopsticks, pulled the bowl toward him, and began to stir the noodles.

The little girl's throat bobbed as she swallowed. "What do you mean by this?"

Xu Xian glanced at her and said casually, "I'll eat the noodles; you drink the soup."

Little girl: "???"

Her eyes grew as round as saucers, unable to believe her ears.

Xu Xian didn't bother with her. Right in front of her, he took small bites of the noodles, chewing slowly and swallowing carefully, with a terrifying level of refinement.

Meanwhile, the little girl could only sit to the side and stare. Staring, staring, staring...

"Mmm... tastes good. So fragrant!"

She clenched her fists tightly; she was about to explode.

Even the proprietress kneading dough couldn't bear to watch anymore. She turned her head away and sighed.

'Sigh!'

She thought to herself: 'This young man looks so refined and clean, clearly not an evil person. How can he do such a thing?'

But then she reconsidered. These days, being unrelated and still offering a sip of soup was actually considered quite generous.

In front of the square table, the boy ate without any haste. The girl's gaze never left him for a single moment.

Her eyes were full of resentment and glowed with a faint, predatory blue light. From time to time, she swallowed her saliva, and her stomach growled loudly, as if playing a hunger march.

Xu Xian saw all of this and thought to himself, 'She's acting quite well, and she certainly has endurance.'

As a young man who had received nine years of compulsory education and was a senior disciple of the Wendao Sword Sect, Xu Xian wouldn't call himself virtuous, but he was definitely not evil.

He couldn't claim he would always draw his sword to help in every injustice, but giving a bite of food to someone on the verge of starvation was something he could do.

Of course, the premise was that you couldn't lie to him.

It wasn't that he was heartless; it was just that the little girl before him had ulterior motives. Back when they first met, Xu Xian had used his Pupil of Insight to see that this girl was extraordinary.

She possessed a cultivation base, and demon qi swirled around her. Her appearance was also the result of a transformation technique.

However...

For some reason, Xu Xian couldn't see through to her true form, nor could he gauge her cultivation level. Everything was hazy, as if she were shrouded in a dense fog.

There were two possibilities. First, he had misjudged her, which was virtually impossible.

Second, he truly couldn't see through her.

This meant that the true identity of this little girl was either a powerhouse at the demon god stage—and not an ordinary one at that, which was why the current Pupil of Insight was insufficient—or she possessed a divine ability similar to Xu Xian's (Simulation Art: Truth in Falsehood), but one that was slightly superior to his own.

The Little Book and Xu Xian both agreed that the probability of her being a demon god stage powerhouse was the highest.

However, what neither Xu Xian nor the Little Book could understand was why a powerhouse at the demon god stage would be so bored as to put on such a show.

Or... did she just enjoy this? Did she like roleplaying?

How tedious!

Extremely childish!

Xu Xian gently pushed the remaining half-bowl of noodles in front of the little girl, looking at her without saying a word.

The little girl stared at the bowl and didn't speak either.

"Eat?" Xu Xian prompted.

The little girl glared at him again, remaining silent.

Xu Xian said playfully, "Didn't you say you were starving to death? What, are you being picky now?"

The little girl gritted her teeth and endured it.

Her small hands picked up the bowl. Without using chopsticks, she began to pour the noodles and soup into her stomach. Her manner was so voracious that the term 'wolfing it down' would seem inadequate.

Of course, eating this way wasn't because she was truly that hungry as others might perceive.

She just felt this was faster and slightly less disgusting. After all, there was quite a bit of Xu Xian's saliva in these noodles.

Very quickly.

She finished everything. To dispel the boy's doubts, she went all the way and deliberately licked the bottom of the bowl.

Then she let out a burp and sucked her fingers as if she hadn't had enough.

Seeing this, Xu Xian began to have second thoughts. Even the Little Book became uncertain, saying in the boy's mind, "Master, could we have been wrong? Is she actually just an ordinary beggar?"

Xu Xian was speechless. "Weren't you the one who said it?"

The Little Book played it off. "I'm not necessarily always right."

Xu Xian felt numb. If she really was just an ordinary little demon girl, then he would probably never get over this hurdle in his heart for the rest of his life.

Even hundreds of years later, thinking back on it would make him scratch his head in embarrassment.

Therefore...

He firmly believed she was acting—a high-level performer.

She was likely the master behind that lesser demon king stage subordinate who had tested him before.

Based on the information provided by Chi Ji, it wasn't hard to guess. She was very likely one of the High and Low Priests.

However...

"It seems you really were hungry," he muttered softly, then raised his hand and called out, "Proprietress, another bowl. Don't add meat..."