I'm not a drama god

dusk.

Bridge arch.

The blood-red setting sun gradually sank into the earth. Before the dilapidated bridge arch, a bonfire crackled and popped.

The firelight flickered, causing the hot pot to bubble and steam. A figure dressed in a theatrical robe sat alone by the hot pot, holding a pair of chopsticks and gently stirring the ingredients inside.

On the dark gold street, a figure dressed in white training clothes, carrying a large bag, walked straight towards this place.

Hongchenjun now looks much more haggard than when Chen Ling last saw her here... Even her usually spotless training clothes have some stains on them.

She walked along the deserted street, and at first glance, she didn't look like Jiu Jun at all. Instead, she looked like an ordinary working person who had just finished get off work, bought groceries, and was heading home.

"Did you bring your own ingredients?" Chen Ling smiled slightly.

"No, these are all seasonings." Hongchenjun shook his head, sat down opposite Chen Ling, and took out small bottles of seasonings from the bag, a variety of flavors available.

"Food is in short supply in the Tian Shu Realm right now, and even I can't bring out any more ingredients."

"Oh, it's okay, I have some here."

"What's floating inside...? Chicken?" Hongchenjun's expression was a little strange.

"Well, we couldn't get any other meat right away, so we got a few chickens for now."

As she spoke, Chen Ling glanced at the chicken coop that had been fenced off under the bridge, and the image of Jin Fugui's heartbroken expression seemed to reappear in her mind. She chuckled softly as she spoke.

Hongchenjun nodded: "Chicken is also good."

Hongchenjun opened all the bottles and jars at hand and began to prepare the sauce in his bowl.

"What made you suddenly decide to meet here?" Chen Ling asked, voicing her doubts. "I thought we'd need to discuss something more formal..."

"I want to have another hot pot meal." Hongchenjun paused for a moment, "After this... I probably won't have the chance."

Chen Ling paused slightly in her chopsticks.

Chen Ling came to the Tian Shu Realm specifically to persuade Hong Chen Jun to help the Twilight Society restart the world... But now it seems that Hong Chen Jun was already mentally prepared before she came.

Hongchenjun's target is definitely not himself, otherwise she wouldn't be sitting across from him eating hotpot. Therefore, her target can only be...

Lord Lingxu.

Before Chen Ling arrived in the Tian Shu Realm, he had already obtained first-hand information from the Ling Xu Realm. He knew that the Tian Shu Realm had not responded to the Ling Xu Realm's request for help, and that the Ling Xu Realm had been completely sealed off... All of this could actually be used to deduce Hong Chenjun's attitude, but only now was Chen Ling's suspicions completely confirmed.

At this point, all the probing and rhetoric Chen Ling had prepared were no longer important, so he simply got straight to the point:

"If you were to encounter Lord Lingxu... what are your chances of winning?"

Hongchenjun remained silent for a long time: "If it were my home field, it would be about 40%, but if it were his home field... less than 20%."

Chen Ling's heart sank.

He knew Lingxu Jun was strong, but he didn't expect him to be this strong. Even Hongchen Jun at his peak was wary of him to this extent...

"I might have some good news," Chen Ling said thoughtfully.

"What good news?"

Chen Ling recalled the most confidential and secretive information about the Spirit Void Realm that the Gray King had just relayed to him. He looked into the eyes of the Red Dust Lord and said, word by word:

"A mutiny is taking place in the Spirit Void Realm."

……

Lingxu Realm.

rustling --

The coffee beans are continuously ground in the blades, and strands of powder fall into the cup.

A figure wearing a chef's hat cautiously scanned the surroundings out of the corner of his eye. With a flick of his finger from his sleeve, a wisp of powder that looked exactly like coffee powder silently mixed into the mix.

Just as he was about to continue brewing, a voice rang out from the side:

"what are you doing?"

The chef jerked violently and turned to see the head chef, wearing an even taller hat, standing beside him with a frown, squinting at the coffee powder in his cup.

"Head chef... head chef..." His voice trembled slightly.

The conversation immediately attracted the attention of several chefs nearby. These chefs were either elderly men nearing sixty or haggard-looking women. Their gazes were fixed on the head chef, their brows furrowed, and they began exchanging subtle glances with each other…

Then, they casually moved in that direction.

"Don't dawdle when you're doing things." The head chef looked into the chef's eyes with a complicated expression. "Lord Lingxu has been urging us for a long time... Hurry up and finish making it, then send it to him."

Upon hearing this, the other chefs slowly stopped in their tracks... and then continued their work as if nothing had happened.

"……Yes!"

The chef wiped his sweat, hurriedly brewed the coffee in the cup, and then quickly walked out with the coffee cup in his hand.

After pushing open the door, there was a semi-open, straight corridor. He handed the coffee to a person who seemed to be a secretary who had been waiting outside for a long time. After a brief exchange of glances, the secretary nodded silently and then carried the coffee toward Lingxu Mountain.

Without exchanging a single word, their movements were fluid and perfectly synchronized, as if they had done the same thing many times before.

As the secretary reached the T-junction in the corridor, a figure dressed in an amber-colored knight's uniform "happened" to walk from the other direction. The two walked side by side, their strides matching in size and frequency.

"Is it today?" the secretary asked softly, looking straight ahead.

"Yes." The Amber Knight nodded. "After accumulating for so long, it should be almost ready..."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Just stand guard outside the door and don't let anyone else in."

"I am just an ordinary person. If a divine being tries to force their way in, I cannot stop them."

"Don't worry." The Amber Knight paused for a moment, "Today, not a single knight will approach this place..."

The secretary looked at him with some surprise. "So many people know your plan? Aren't you afraid someone will tip him off?"

“The Spirit Void Realm now has only one enemy… What we are doing is upholding justice.” The Amber Knight took a deep breath. “Justice resides in the hearts of the people.”

A complex emotion flashed deep in the secretary's eyes, seemingly resonating with the Amber Knight's inner thoughts.

"Are you... really sure?"

“No.” The Amber Knight shook his head.

“But some things always need to be done by someone… Since he is an enemy of the Lingxu Realm when he is awake, let him fall asleep again… The sleeping Lingxu Lord is the Lingxu Lord we truly need.”