Mu Qingyun glanced at the fish in her hand, then at the line of lobsters on the ground. Without hesitation, she extended her right hand and began to grill them over her palm's flame.
She decided not to dwell on what she couldn't understand. After all, the result didn't harm her, and there was no ill intent toward her. Why obsess over something pointless?
And it was exactly this nonchalant mindset that made her completely overlook the faint blue glow that was quietly fading from Su's clenched fist beside her.
"Why… how?"
Mu Xueyao stared at the now-calm sea before her, trying her best to control her expression. But the shock in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Your Highness, was that you just now?" Xiong Ruoyou blinked her starry eyes in awe, looking at Mu Xueyao with utter reverence.
Clearly, she had assumed that the seawater's strange reversal was Mu Xueyao's doing.
"Haha, yes," Mu Xueyao replied awkwardly, caught off guard but still playing along with a forced laugh.
"Your Highness is amazing! Always able to turn the tide!" Xiong Ruoyou praised loudly.
The words reached Mu Qingyun's ears, prompting a cold, mocking snort.
Shameless. Taking credit for something you didn't do... Don't you fear backlash from the universe?
Su glanced over in their direction, a trace of ridicule flickering in his eyes.
[Wow, it really was Her Highness?]
[I knew it! A little seawater is nothing for her.]
[But... I didn't see her make any moves just now. Am I blind?]
[You are blind. Who else could've done it? Or are you saying this is some supernatural event?]
[Exactly. You really think someone's secretly helping that ugly guy, Mu Qingyun?]
[Your Highness, you're my idol!]
...
"Could you do me a favor?" Mu Xueyao turned her eyes to Mu Qingyun for a moment before looking toward Xiong Ruoyou, her smile softening.
"Anything, Your Highness."
"Could you carry Feifei for me? I need to regroup with my team."
Mu Xueyao spoke earnestly. Xiong Ruoyou nodded immediately, then let out a roar as her body morphed into a giant bear. She easily lifted Bai Feifei, then crouched down to let Mu Xueyao climb on, and the two left swiftly.
"They're gone."
"Mm." Without even looking up, Mu Qingyun flipped the grilled lobsters. She extended a hand to Su. "Give it to me."
"Give what?"
"The stuff you scraped off earlier," she said, pointing at the container he was holding, hand still outstretched.
"Oh, right!"
Su quickly handed her the white crystals.
He watched as Mu Qingyun sprinkled the fine white powder over the grilled fish and lobster. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Is that… salt?"
Mu Qingyun nodded.
[What?! Salt?!]
[Someone slap me—I seriously thought that was poison!]
[But wait… doesn't it look exactly like salt?]
[I'm losing it. Someone explain—wasn't that supposed to be a drug or something deadly? Now it's salt?!]
[Isn't salt supposed to be synthesized with high-tech machines? How can it come from just boiling seawater?!]
In the end, it was Su who gave voice to what everyone in the livestream was wondering: "I thought salt had to be synthesized with expensive compounds. How did boiling seawater make this?"
A fair question.
Mu Qingyun raised an eyebrow. To be honest, even she didn't fully understand it. She'd simply heard soldiers in the military say it was possible.
"No reason. Just remember it."
Su: …
Seriously? That's your answer?
[Wow. That's so badass.]
[Total alpha vs. gentle omega vibes.]
[Shut up with the shipping, please.]
This scene blew up online, and several hashtags quietly crept onto the trending list:
#Shock! Salt Can Be Made Like This#MuQingyunDominates#IsThereAnythingMuQingyunWon'tEat#WhoExactlyIsMuQingyun
"Someone investigate why boiling seawater turns into salt. We need to seize this opportunity," murmured an executive at a major salt brand, scrubbing back through the footage of Mu Qingyun's method.
On their planet, salt was an expensive luxury synthesized through high-tech instruments and costly materials. Even a tiny jar was worth more than three high-grade crystals.
If they could replicate this seawater method…
They'd make an absolute fortune.
...
"I've got a few other seasonings, too," Su offered, watching Mu Qingyun salt the grilled fish. He quickly rummaged through his storage pouch and pulled out a clattering assortment of bottles and jars.
Mu Qingyun looked up, her eyes lighting up at the sight. She picked them up, gave each one a sniff, and immediately began adding spices to the fish and lobster.
[Wait a minute—is this guy really from a junk planet?]
[He did say he was.]
[But seasoning is the most expensive stuff in the galaxy—almost as valuable as crystals. And he's just… pulling out a whole collection?!]
[Wow. Must be one of the rich folk on that junk planet.]
"Here, try it." Mu Qingyun split the grilled fish in half and handed him a portion.
Before becoming an emperor, she hadn't lived in luxury. Catching a fish used to mean a rare, precious meal.
"Thanks." Su took it, eyeing the golden, crispy surface layered with colorful spices. He swallowed involuntarily.
The aroma was mouthwatering.
Mu Qingyun held a piece of fish too. She bit into the crispy skin, and underneath, the meat was tender and juicy. Despite a strange undertone in flavor, the seasonings balanced it out perfectly, leaving only the delicious taste behind.
This is what real food tastes like. Compared to those weird-tasting minnows I ate before… this is heaven.
"Mmm, delicious!" Su's eyes lit up after one bite. He immediately dove in for several more.
The grilled fish was genuinely amazing. And with black fish having so few bones, eating it was pure satisfaction.
[God, I'm starving just watching this.]
[Now I want grilled fish too!]
[Someone order a fresh black fish, raised in purified water, to be delivered to my door right now!]
[Black fish? I'm ordering grilled fish directly—I need this!]
As more viewers rushed off to place orders, the comment section began to quiet down.
Planet-wide delivery services experienced a massive boom thanks to Mu Qingyun's broadcast.
"Once we pass the military academy trial, I'm definitely keeping you by my side—to grill fish for me every day," Su said between bites, genuinely grateful that he'd chosen to bring spices instead of weapons. Food was the real power.
"Find someone else. I'm no chef," Mu Qingyun replied coldly.
Her eyes dimmed.
She hated cooking. In her childhood, it meant she and her little brother had barely escaped death yet again.
That awful mix of hope and despair… she never wanted to feel that again.
Ever since returning to the capital and rising to prominence under her father's favor, no one had dared ask her to cook again.