"But we have a tournament to win! We have diplomacy to conduct! You cannot establish a harem on a study tour! It is too irresponsible of you! We didn’t get to have a girlfriend yet, and you are already finding wives for yourself?!"
"I am not establishing a harem!" Ji’an shrieked, her face exploding in a violent, burning blush of second-hand embarrassment.
Wen Shiru, the calculating Fox, pushed his glasses up his nose, his brain frantically trying to assess the situation. "Chef, if you are attempting to secure political alliances through marital conquest, the Azure Crane Pavilion is a sub-optimal choice. Their dowries are heavily tied up in ill-liquid spiritual fabrics. Might I suggest waiting until we visit the Golden Cauldron Sect? Their maidens come with vast reserves of unrefined spirit-ore!"
"SHIRU, SHUT UP!" Ji’an screamed, her voice cracking, her hands flying to her head in absolute disbelief. "I AM NOT MARRYING THEM! I AM NOT SEDUCING THEM!"
"If you want a mate, you must claim her through combat!" Hu Yanlie roared, pounding his massive chest, his beast instincts completely overriding his logic. "Do not take them to a garden like a soft scholar! Drag them to a cave! Defeat a dragon to prove your virility!"
"I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON’T CLOSE YOUR MOUTH, YOU STUPID DOG!"
Ji’an was vibrating with rage and mortification.
Her pristine, untouchable young-master persona was completely disintegrating under the force of their absurd, hormone-poisoned delusions.
But the most terrifying reaction did not come from the yelling boys.
It came from the corner of the room.
The ambient temperature of the Azure Zenith Pavilion didn’t just drop. The very moisture in the air flash-froze, turning the humidity into thousands of razor-sharp, hovering icicles.
The silk curtains instantly crystallized and shattered into dust.
Xie Wangchen stepped forward.
The Ice Demon was not blushing or yelling.
His face was a mask of fury. His ruby eyes were blown wide, completely swallowed by a dark, murderous light.
He didn’t just hate the men for taking up her time.
The realization that Ji’an, his Chef, his deity, the center of his entire universe, was intentionally separating herself to spend "private" time with three beautiful women triggered a yandere meltdown.
’He wants them,’ Wangchen’s fractured mind hissed, the ice spreading rapidly across the floorboards toward the terrified maidens. ’He looks at their flowing silks, desires their softness. They are trying to steal his gaze. I will freeze the blood in their veins. I will shatter them into red mist. I will turn this entire pavilion into a tomb of black ice.’
"Shall I break them, Lin Ji’an?" Wangchen whispered. His voice was a soft, melodic, chillingly gentle hum that resonated with the promise of instant mass murder. He raised his pale hand, Winter’s Sigh beginning to materialize in his palm. "If they distract you from your Dao... I can remove them from the itinerary. Permanently."
Fairy Xue and the two maidens shrieked, huddling together, absolutely terrified as the frost began to climb up their water-silk robes.
"WANGCHEN, STAND DOWN!" Ji’an roared, sprinting across the room and grabbing the Ice Demon by the collar of his pristine white robes.
She didn’t use Qi.
She just yanked him downward, forcing him to look her directly in the eyes.
"Listen to me, you homicidal, silver-haired menace," Ji’an hissed, her face inches from his, her silver-flecked eyes blazing with absolute, uncompromising authority. "I am not seducing them. I am not building a harem. I have zero romantic interest in the Azure Crane maidens! I am going to train them! Because you over-muscled idiots have been hoarding all the experience points! I have to take care of them as the Leader so that they don’t fall behind!"
Wangchen blinked.
The murderous light in his ruby eyes flickered. He looked down at her hands gripping his collar and the fierce, annoyed flush on her cheeks.
’He has zero romantic interest in them,’ Wangchen’s internal supercomputer processed the data. ’He only wants to yell at them, not building a harem. Does that mean he didn’t cuckold me?’
The terrifying aura instantly, completely vanished. The floating icicles harmlessly turned into steam.
A slow, dark, incredibly smug, and relieved smile spread across Wangchen’s face. He leaned down slightly, his voice dropping into a husky, devoted purr.
"As you decree, Brother Ji’an," Wangchen murmured, completely ignoring the fact that she was currently manhandling him. "I shall leave the maidens to your discipline. Do ensure they sweat."
Ji’an released his collar, letting out a long, exhausted groan, rubbing her temples. She turned to the rest of the boys, who were still staring at her with wide, suspicious eyes.
"I swear to the Heavens," Ji’an threatened, pointing her spatula at the male contingent. "If any of you idiots follow me. If any of you try to spy on us. If I catch even a single glimpse of golden hair, beast-fire, or silver spectacles in the botanical gardens... I am going to chop you into bite-sized pieces and deep-fry you in swamp mud. GET OUT!"
The boys scrambled.
They practically trampled each other trying to get out the front doors, sprinting toward the Acid-Geyser Canyons, absolutely terrified of the Chef’s wrath.
Only Shen Zechuan lingered by the door, entirely unbothered by the harem panic.
"Have fun at the tea party, Ji’an!" Zechuan waved happily. "Should I pack you a wok? What if you want to bake a cake for the maidens?"
"Just go throw rocks at that bastard Yanlie and Jianheng, brother Zechuan," Ji’an sighed, waving him off.
Zechuan beamed, turned around, and happily bounded out the door to join the dodgeball game.
***
Left alone in the shattered, frost-covered living room, Ji’an turned to face her new trainees.
Fairy Xue and the two junior Azure Crane maidens were huddled in the corner, clutching each other, trembling violently.
Despite Ji’an’s loud, aggressive denials to the boys, the maidens’ romantic, heavily conditioned orthodox brains had completely misinterpreted the situation in the exact opposite direction.