Beiqiong Kingdom, a Third-Grade Cultivation Kingdom.
In the city of Wanbeiwu to the southwest, Wen Li and Gu Linshu had already been waiting for four days.
The two had rented a courtyard with four rooms on the edge of the city. Under the setting sun, a figure was busy in the thatched kitchen, stir-frying spicy chicken in a wok.
The enticing aroma wafted from the chimney’s curling smoke and drifted into the homes of the surrounding commoners.
“Hey, which family is cooking? It smells so good. What are they stir-frying?”
“No idea, but it definitely isn't the same house that kept letting out the smell of burnt, stinking food a few days ago.”
“I tell you, this smell is even better than what you’d get at a restaurant. Could it be that someone’s husband returned from a job as a chef?”
Most of the people living here were ordinary commoners and rarely were there any cultivators, which allowed the two of them to live a quiet and comfortable life.
“See that? You have to stir-fry the chili peppers first to infuse the oil with their aroma. The chicken needs to be marinated for an hour with cooking wine and spices. After washing it, throw it in with Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, and garlic cloves for a quick stir-fry. Once the color is even and the chicken is about thirty percent cooked, turn down the heat and cover the wok to let it simmer for fifteen minutes. Then, continue stir-frying until the fat renders out...”
After four days of being poisoned by Gu Linshu’s culinary skills—to the point where she had endured a piece of half-raw chicken yesterday just because she couldn’t bear the look of disappointment in the boy’s eyes, only to suffer a bout of explosive diarrhea that required half a bottle of pills to stop—Wen Li had finally reached her limit.
It was a rare occasion where she personally went into the kitchen to give her new servant-disciple a hands-on lesson.
“Yes... I’ve... I’ve memorized it.”
Gu Linshu was learning diligently by her side, even using a brush to jot down her words in a small notebook.
The Cangchen Brush—an incredibly precious High-Grade artifact usually used for drawing talismans—was currently being used in a kitchen to record recipes. If it had an artifact soul, it would have surely looked for a noodle to hang itself with.
“Culinary skill doesn’t rely on talent, but on perseverance. Your Second Senior Brother practiced for a long time before his cooking became barely edible. As for you...” Wen Li nodded, not wanting to discourage the boy too much as she patted his shoulder comfortingly.
Gu Linshu looked up expectantly.
Wen Li avoided his gaze and spoke sincerely, “If you can keep people from getting diarrhea after eating your food, that would be a huge step forward.”
Gu Linshu stiffened, his expression filled with guilt and helplessness.
“Ma—Master, I’m sorry... I... I really didn't mean to forget to clean the waste out of the wild chicken's small intestine yesterday...” It was his first time preparing a chicken, and he hadn't realized that the small intestine needed cleaning; he had thought just washing off the blood and fat on the outside was enough.
“Mmf!”
Before he could finish, Wen Li reached out and pinched his mouth shut while maintaining a polite smile.
“Enough. We will never mention that matter again. Let's just pretend it never happened, okay? You aren't allowed to tell anyone.” Fortunately, the piece of chicken she had eaten yesterday was only from the drumstick. Her diarrhea must have been from it being raw, not for any other reason.
The key was that this dutiful disciple hadn't even had the heart to eat a single bite himself after finishing; he had brought it straight to her to let her taste it first. After she had cautiously eaten one piece, realized it was raw, and spat it out, he hadn't touched it either and simply went out to eat at a restaurant with her.
She secretly suspected the brat had done it on purpose, but upon careful thought, she realized she couldn't have been nicer to him, aside from the occasional verbal threat. She treated him better than Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan; whatever he wanted to eat, wear, or use, he got the best—even if it was all paid for with the money his parents had given her.
But she was the one who had been generous enough to spend it, right?
Gu Linshu, his mouth still covered, nodded obediently in rapid succession.
Next time he cooked, he would try it himself first. Only after he ate it for three days without incident would he serve it to his Master.
The spicy chicken in the wok smelled so good it made him famished, and suddenly, his stomach let out a loud rumble.
Gu Linshu’s face flushed red.
Wen Li lowered her hand and released her silly disciple. “Alright, alright. Go get the rice.”
She was hungry too.
“Okay!” It was his first time eating food cooked by his Master, and he was filled with anticipation.
Gu Linshu set the bowls and chopsticks on the open-air stone table in the courtyard. Using the fading twilight of evening as a backdrop, he poured two cups of tea and sat down once Wen Li brought over three dishes.
Bam!
Before they could even eat, the wooden courtyard door was suddenly slammed open by a great force.
Who was disturbing their meal?
They must be seeking death.
Wen Li and Gu Linshu looked over with cold eyes, ready to strike.
“Ma—Master...”
A figure collapsed at the entrance. It was exactly the person they had been waiting four days for: Zongzheng Huangyue.
At this moment, her white dress was stained with blood, and the face revealed by her fallen veiled hat was pale and weak. She was bloodless and at death’s door; the spiritual energy around her was faint, and her breathing was heavy and labored. A closer look revealed that her body was covered in bloody lacerations from a blade, and blood dripped from her legs onto the threshold.
It looked as if she had been bled dry; it was a shocking sight to behold.
Her eyes finally fell upon Wen Li, and her broken, miserable face finally relaxed into a smile. With tears in her eyes, she sank into a deep unconsciousness and collapsed to the floor, though her tensed brow remained furrowed.
Wen Li and Gu Linshu immediately rushed to her side.
“Master, was Junior Sister ambushed?” Gu Linshu reached out to check her pulse. It was very weak, so he quickly took out a Heart-Calming Pill and fed it to her.
Wen Li’s face was colder than it had ever been. Without saying a word, she avoided the wounds and picked up Zongzheng Huangyue, swiftly walking toward the interior of the courtyard. She kicked open a room door and rushed inside to carefully lay the girl on the bed.
“Go stand guard outside. If anyone intrudes, kill them.”
“Yes.”
Gu Linshu closed the door.
Inside the room, Wen Li sat by the bed and raised her hand, releasing a jolt of spiritual power. The clothing on the unconscious Zongzheng Huangyue instantly tore and shattered. With a wave of Wen Li's hand, the fragments of fabric that had been stuck to her bloody wounds flew aside.
Wen Li carefully inspected the injuries on her body. They were all whip wounds, and they bore the spiritual energy traces left by a Nascent Soul cultivator using a High-Grade artifact.
When her fingertips traced from the girl's head down to her knees, she paused. Frowning slightly, she reached out toward Zongzheng Huangyue’s knees. At the slightest touch, the unconscious Huangyue immediately knit her brows in a reflex of agonizing pain, her face twisting as if she were enduring excruciating torture.
“Ngh...”
Seeing this, Wen Li’s gaze turned icy.
She performed a hand seal and tapped two fingers from her right hand against her own brow, projecting her divine sense toward the girl's knees. Sure enough, she felt the lingering aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine sense.
Wen Li lowered her hand, her eyes devoid of warmth. Zongzheng Huangyue’s knees had been destroyed.
This was Zongzheng Yingchu’s provocation to her.
However...
This was exactly what she had expected.
Wen Li calmly took out the pills and ointments she had prepared long ago. From a pile of bottles and jars, she selected medicines for healing scars and repairing bones. She dislocated Zongzheng Huangyue’s jaw to feed her the pills before snapping it back into place.
She then applied the ointment to all the whip wounds across the girl's body.
These injuries weren't fatal, but they were enough to damage a cultivator’s foundation. Currently, Zongzheng Huangyue was only at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment and her physical body was fragile; moreover, she hadn't yet fully integrated with this body after her possession. Zongzheng Yingchu was showing off his power to her, mocking her by implying the disciple she had stolen away was nothing more than a mediocre talent.
He didn’t care that Zongzheng Huangyue was leaving with her, but he wouldn't allow himself to be betrayed. He wanted Zongzheng Huangyue to understand that her choice was a mistake.
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