Bai Ye must've returned straight to his room, since I didn't see any sign of him in the garden on my way back. I was slightly relieved. With his sharp observance, he might be able to figure out what I had just read by simply looking at the expression on my face.
I set Twin Stars down on the table in my room and stared at it for a little while, unsure what to think. When I first received the swords from Bai Ye, I had thought of it as nothing more than a generous gift from a master to a disciple. A precious one at that, of course, but I hadn't expected any of these that I would come to learn later. Its ability to compensate for my spiritual root, its bond with my power, its demonic past … And the more I knew, the more mysterious things started to seem.
What else was there that Bai Ye felt so reluctant about telling me? Had Twin Stars really wreaked some kind of havoc in its earlier days?
A knock on the door jolted me out of my pensiveness. "Qing-er." Bai Ye's familiar voice rang from beyond the entryway.
I sprang up from my chair, silently cursing the lack of time to cover up the troubled look on my face. I didn't expect him to show up at lunch hour, and I could only hope that he wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I opened the door and greeted him.
He didn't pay attention to my expression at all though. In fact, he seemed a little uneasy himself, lowering his gaze to avoid meeting mine. "I … was wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch," he said somewhat hesitantly.
I blinked. "Lunch?" That was the last thing I expected him to say. Immortals didn't need to eat, and I had been making my own meals ever since I came to Mount Hua. What was this about?
He looked even more hesitant than before. "I thought some herbal recipes will help you feel better, so I tried a few. At the very least, it'll save you some trouble cooking. But I wasn't sure if … if you'll like them. It's been too long since the last time I cooked."
My jaw fell to the floor. He made lunch for me? And from the look of him, he seemed … nervous about it? The legendary immortal master Bai Ye … was … shy?
"Would you be willing to try it?" he asked. "If it's not to your taste, you can always come back and … make something for yourself instead."
Hearing him talk like this was so different, but almost amusing in a strange way, and I couldn't help smiling. The gloomy thoughts about Twin Stars vanished from my mind. "How could it not be?" I said and slipped out of the door, taking his hand in mine. "I'll love anything you make for me, and I'm sure it's good."
Relief flashed across his eyes. He gripped my hand. "Just … tell me the truth if you don't like it," he said and led me to the dining room.
Like the bath chamber, this was another space that was almost left wasted in our hall. Bai Ye never ate, and it was easier for me to stay in my kitchen for a quick meal. I almost shook my head out of pity when we approached the bright room lined with huge windows, but the moment we stepped across the threshold, my attention was fully on the table.
There were six different dishes, laid out neatly and steaming with bold aroma. "You made all of these? Just for me?" I exclaimed. How much time and effort did it take him?
"I wasn't sure which ones you might like … but they should all help with overcoming the yin power in you." He sat me down in the chair and scooped a bowlful of soup for me. "Try this first?"
The bowl was warm in my hands, but it was the unmistakable care and slight nervousness in his tone that melted my heart from inside out. "Bai Ye … You … You didn't need to …"
My earlier thoughts about Twin Stars suddenly stabbed me. No, I was only imagining things. Someone so gentle and loving like him couldn't be capable of doing those unspeakable deeds with the swords.
"Qing-er," he urged. "It'll get cold."
I smiled, wiping the distracting thoughts away and scooped a heaping spoonful into my mouth.
Bai Ye looked like he was holding his breath. "H-How is it?"
"…"
For a moment, all I did was stare at him. The rich scent of silkie chicken and red sage overwhelmed me. There were no fancy spices or sauces, no special ingredients except the bare basics, and yet … The flavors were incredible. The tenderness of the meat, the thickness of the broth, the depth and balance of the few herbs there were …
It tasted impossible.
"Qing-er?"
Not wanting him to mistake my lack of response as disapproval, I swallowed hard, finishing my first bite much faster than I wished. "Were you a chef at the Emperor's palace before you became immortal?" I asked. "This is … How did you make this? How could something like this exist?"
A big smile of relief danced on his face. "I haven't forgotten how to cook then." He let out a deep breath. "I taught myself while at Mount Hua. When I started focusing more on medicine instead of swords, I found that tasting the herbs helps me remember them."
I was scooping more soup, and my hand halted at his words. I always thought that he had practiced medicine as a casual interest alongside swordsmanship, since he was most known at Mount Hua for his accomplishment in swords. But he had actually switched from one to the other, in the direction that was opposite to what I did? What made him make such a decision?
"Want to try something different?" He pushed another dish closer to me when he noticed my pause.
I nodded, and I went through all the six dishes in no time. Braised lamb with angelica, congee with hawthorns and longan, dessert drink with ginger and dates … The ingredients were all simple, but even the plain stir-fried vegetables burst with flavor. All of them were unbelievably delicious.
"You never told me you could cook like this," I said when he refilled my bowl with a second helping of soup.
"It's been too long, and I was worried that …" He trailed off a little embarrassedly. "But now that I know you like it, I can make more for you every day."
My jaw dropped again. "Every day? But—"
"Herbal supplements in meals can work just as well as medicine. It'll be good for your body." He smiled as he brushed off a little smudge of food on my lips with his thumb. "Besides … it makes me happy to be able to do something for you."
The sparkling love in his eyes dazzled me. The soup sloshed a little in my bowl, and before I knew it, my arms were looped around him in a tight embrace.
How could I possibly think that he could ever hurt anyone with Twin Stars?
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