Since their inner demon tribulations, Wun Fan and Wun Siu Lan’s minds seemed to be linked with an unseen connection. It wasn’t a telepathic connection, but they could still faintly sense what the other person was thinking about. Moreover, this feeling was getting stronger every day. They might be able to completely read one another’s minds one day.
That was why Wun Siu Lan had a feeling that Wun Fan was planning to leave tonight and prepared dinner for him ahead of time. It was a farewell dinner.
Wun Siu Lan sat down with Wun Fan to enjoy the dinner. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried. After all, it was a training journey. Who knows if anything unexpected might happen? However, she knew about Old Lei, which gave her a little reassurance despite her worries.
That was why she took the extra effort to prepare a numbing spicy hotpot for Wun Fan. If she remembered correctly, Wun Fan loved spicy food. She picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks and put it in the pot. After a short while, she picked it out of the pot and put it into Wun Fan’s plate. She said proudly, “Try it.”
Wun Fan put the beef into his mouth and felt its fragrance spread throughout. The meat was incredibly soft and blended well with the hot, spicy taste of the broth. He immediately picked up a wooden ladle and scooped up the broth to taste. There were over a dozen spices in the broth that worked in perfect harmony: herbs, sugar, peppercorn, rice wine and many more. Wun Fan immediately praised, “Siu Lan, did you hit your head?”
Wun Siu Lan immediately punched Wun Fan on the head, causing him to howl in pain. She then licked her lips and bragged, “While you were flirting with a certain someone at the Hundred Treasures Hall, I was spending a whole afternoon making this. It’s really good, isn’t it?”
“Haha,” Wun Fan did a silly laugh to hide his awkwardness. As expected, all girls were prone to getting jealous. That said, he wondered how Wun Siu Lan heard about his little excursion. He quickly changed the topic, “So what ingredients did you use to make it?”
Wun Siu Lan scoffed. She was upset that Wun Fan changed the topic. It seemed like she was very concerned about Chan Chi Yuet. However, she didn’t linger on the topic and instead started counting with her fingers, “First fry spring onions, coriander, yellow onions and ginger in hot oil, then pour in the chilis with bean sauce and ale for flavor, then add wild peppercorns, star anise, licorice, cardamom, dried tangerine peels, orange jasmine, cumin and thirteen other spices. Then cook for two hours.”
She didn’t have enough fingers to count everything and almost started using her toes as well, “Lastly, add rice wine to taste and rock sugar to counter-balance the spice. Skim off the scrap pieces, add spring onions, coriander and cone peppers to bring out the numbing spice and you’re done.”
The corner of Wun Fan’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch when he heard Siu Lan list off all the ingredients. He was shocked. It was just a simple soup base for a numbing spicy hotpot and the recipe was already this complicated. He couldn’t help but be curious, “Where did you learn all this?”
“Don’t you know the answer to that, idiot?” said Wun Siu Lan disdainfully. Wun Fan did indeed know the answer very well, but he chose to shut up. He didn’t dare to bring up Wun Siu Lan’s memory from their past lives. He didn’t want to have the trouble of dealing with her the night before he left.
The two of them stuffed themselves, one piece of meat at a time. Wun Fan picked up a piece of meat called yellow intestines. It was cow intestines stuffed with crab butter, frozen and then stuffed into bamboo. Wun Fan lowered it into the boiling pot with his chopsticks and let it cook for a bit before biting into it. The rich taste of the crab butter, mixed with the spicy fragrance of the broth and the taste of beef was exquisite. Meat, seafood and vegetables, cooked in spicy broth and paired with white rice was the best. Wun Fan ate four whole bowls of rice before he stopped. Even Wun Siu Lan was shocked by his appetite.
Just like that, the two of them enjoyed their dinner. Wun Fan rubbed his belly. He was so full it almost hurt, but he was completely and utterly satisfied. He stared at Wun Siu Lan as he rubbed her head in circles, occasionally twirling her hair with his fingers. He said sincerely, “Don’t worry, I promise you, I will return to Green Sea Town without a single scratch on me.”
“Mm,” said Wun Siu Lan. In a rare display of affection, she closed her eyes and enjoyed Wun Fan’s warm hand instead of scolding him for touching her hair. She leaned forward into Wun Fan’s arms. The two of them were about the same height. She whispered into his ear, “I believe you.”
Wun Fan didn’t know where to put his hands. After all, she was still his sister in name, even if their relationship was a little strange…
They only let go of each other after a long while.
Just as Wun Fan was turning to leave, he felt his right thumb itch. Light slowly seeped out of his ring as Old Lei appeared before Wun Siu Lan. Old Lei hovered in midair, Shennong’s Ring and two other rings on his right hand. He waved his hand at Wun Fan and said firmly, “Go back to your room, kid. There’s no need to go to the mountain tonight. Rest well. I will be back later.”
Wun Fan saw Siu Lan looking expectantly at Old Lei and was confused. Had the two of them communicated without his knowledge?
However, he wasn’t worried about Old Lei doing anything bad to Siu Lan. He nodded and left Wun Siu Lan’s room for his own room. He entered the room and saw that Siu Ceon had placed a large wooden tub in his room. She was pouring warm water into the tub and sealing it with a wooden lid so the heat didn’t escape.
Upon seeing Wun Fan return to his room, she bowed respectfully and said, “Young master, I have done as the mistress ordered and prepared your bathwater soaked with pomelo leaves for you. The mistress said you would understand.”
Wun Fan couldn’t help but laugh and clasp his face. He was moved beyond words and thought to himself, This little girl seemed to have had a deep connection with Earth during her inner demon tribulation.
Wun Fan was very curious about this strange effect of the inner demon tribulation to cross worlds. He had a strange thought. If he had enough power, would it be possible to shatter space itself, break the world’s limitations and freely travel across dimensions? He recalled the legends of immortals and deities from his previous life. All those powerful beings could easily shatter spacetime with a wave of their hands. It seemed like those stories might not be completely fictional.
“Young master?” asked Siu Ceon. She saw Wun Fan staring into empty air, his emotions flickering between frustration and confusion and immediately panicked. She bowed down low and said, “Has Siu Ceon done something wrong to anger the young master?”
“Ah?” said Wun Fan as he snapped back to his senses. Siu Ceon was still in the room, so he stopped his weird fantasies and came back to real life. He quickly consoled the servant, “It’s nothing. Nothing, really. I was just thinking about something else.”
“Alright, you may leave now,” said Wun Fan. He couldn’t actually let Siu Ceon help him change and bathe. After all, he wasn’t exactly used to the decadent lifestyle of a young master.
“Yes, young master. I will be waiting outside the door to clean up after you are done with your shower.”
Wun Fan shook his hands and head, “No need to wait outside. Just wait in the living room. I will call for you when I’m done.”
It was winter and cold outside. He couldn’t let a servant wait in the cold wind. Wun Fan was empathetic towards the servants. He didn’t want someone else to suffer while he enjoyed, especially when this sort of suffering was completely pointless and avoidable.
Siu Ceon was moved to hear this. He didn’t expect both the young master and young mistress to be such kind and nice people. Suddenly, she felt like serving the Wun Clan was a good choice after all. She bowed and took her leave. Before she left, she blushed slightly as she thought to herself, No wonder the young mistress is so taken by Young Master Fan. The difference between him and Young Master Ping is like heaven and earth.
Wun Fan cast aside his clothes in a matter of seconds, with the speed of a cicada shedding its shell. There was a hole in the wooden lid, just wide enough for one person to fit through while keeping all the heat in the tub. It was a very thoughtful design. As he sank into the water, he was immersed in warm water. It was a magical feeling and it made him very relaxed. In particular, the fragrance of the pomelo leaves was so refreshing that the knot between Wun Fan’s brows loosened and his eyelids started to close.
However, just as quickly as he forgot his fatigue, he remembered his frustrations and longings. Two girls appeared in his mind, lingering before his eyes and revolving around his heart.
Wun Siu Lan knew what his heart desired. Moreover, she had lived on Earth because of her inner demon tribulation and could often surprise him in unexpected ways. He was a stranger in this world, but she gave him a familiar feeling and the warmth of home. She was also extremely concerned about him and valued his life as if it were her own. What else could he ask for from a sister like this?
Chan Chi Yuet could read his mind like a book. Her ideas were innovative and ground-breaking, similar to those from his previous life. At the same time, she was a caring and attentive person who made him feel cared for in every way possible, as gentle as can be. Not to mention how easily she could switch between effortless elegance in every action and cunning streetwise at the flick of a finger. She was perfect; an example of the heavens was unfair.
Wun Fan stayed in the shower for a long time before getting out. He changed into his fresh clothes and pushed open the wooden doors. He was surprised to see Siu Ceon waiting for him outside. However, she was dressed appropriately for the weather, with a heavy coat around her as she waited outside.
Wun Fan couldn’t help but flash a bitter smile. This was loyalty in this world. Sometimes, pride and honor in one’s clan completely superseded personal needs. Siu Ceon emptied all the water in the tub and only Wun Fan was left in the room. He sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed as he meditated. He adjusted his physical condition and slowly activated the Sword Mantra of the Endless Crimson Dust.
The crimson dusts are endless. Endless causes rise, endless causes extinguished. The weakwater flows through the crimson dust in endless forms, endless causes flowing for endless miles. Endless objects float; endless objects sink.
The soul energy in his body turned into a long but narrow river. The river enveloped all the meridians and vessels around his lungs, once again demonstrating its unbelievable power. However, Wun Fan’s instincts told him not to recite the third line of the mantra yet, or there might be trouble. That said, he did not feel any danger, which meant that the trouble wasn’t exactly lethal.
Nevertheless, this was the sixth sense with which Wun Fan had relied on all these years to stay out of trouble. He had no intention of going against it.
On the other hand, he could very obviously feel that the speed of absorbing aether was much slower in his room than in the mountain. Was it because of the presence of all the plants?
However, even if it was slower than usual, he was still pouring an endless amount of aether into the Spiritstartler Ring. The Ring purified the energy and fed it back to Wun Fan, completely replenishing his soul energy. The excess energy was stored in the ring for future use.
Meditation makes you forget the time. Wun Fan didn’t even notice time slipping by at all. When he opened his eyes and saw the water clock, he realized that the clock hand was pointing at half past four in the morning. He couldn’t help but wonder, Where did Old Lei go? Why isn’t he back yet, even though it’s already so late?
The saying was right, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Old Lei appeared almost right as the thought appeared in Wun Fan’s mind. His translucent body passed through the walls easily. He looked tired, which made Wun Fan even more curious. However, Old Lei spoke before he could ask.
“Leave me alone for the moment. I just taught your first lover a cultivation technique and showed her the ropes; then I made a bunch of pills for your second lover. Let me recover and then we can talk,” said Old Lei before zooming into the Spiritstartler Ring in a flash of light. He left one last sentence before he disappeared, “Pack up. We’re leaving in an hour.”
“Understood!” said Wun Fan. He leapt out of his bed and opened his closet to prepare for his journey.250Please respect copyright.PENANAxFJz1XjJED