Chapter 398: Chapter 364: Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots with Pork
"The Rejuvenation Skill of our clan is easy to learn initially but difficult to truly master. Thus, Huichun Valley is not a prominent force in the martial world. We mostly rely on refining medicine and saving lives, instead of getting involved in fighting..."
"The Rejuvenation Skill has a characteristic, which is to help men regain their vigor. Your master probably didn’t tell you this. Although he married a wife, unfortunately, she passed away early..."
Wait, passed away early?
This "passed away" could have two meanings. It could mean she truly left, as in departed, or it could mean she died early.
However, judging by the tone, it seems Dongguo Sun is not too clear. After all, these senior brothers communicated through letters and hadn’t met in years.
"Your master is more interested in medicine and saving lives than in martial arts and seeking conflict. He believes that as long as the body is strong, it’s better to spend time picking herbs on the mountain than practicing martial arts," Dongguo Sun remarked with a sigh.
This implies that Sun Simiao’s martial skills were rather mediocre.
His disciple probably wasn’t trained well either. It makes sense, as Lin Miao practiced martial arts from a young age, but Sun Simiao wasn’t too strict with him. Having a good physique helped him pick herbs on the mountain, so he was urged to be diligent.
"This is the ’Rejuvenation Skill’ of our sect. No matter what, it should be passed on to you," Dongguo Sun tossed a thin book to Lin Miao. The three scribbled words on the cover, recognizable to Lin Miao, read ’Rejuvenation Skill.’
This doesn’t seem to be the original copy.
"I wrote this down from memory. I don’t know if there are any mistakes. If you find any problems during cultivation, just come to me."
"Didn’t Uncle Master cultivate the Rejuvenation Skill?"
"The Rejuvenation Skill is too slow. How could Uncle Master establish himself in Li Hen City by cultivating it?" Dongguo Sun chuckled, then released his inner breath, and a powerful aura descended upon Lin Miao, making it hard for him to breathe and leaving him with a chest tightness.
Such powerful cultivation, at least at the Meridian Passage Realm!
Lin Miao was slightly shocked. This seemingly unimpressive uncle was actually a master at the Meridian Passage Realm. No wonder he had survived in Li Hen City for so many years.
"This is what I figured out after leaving my master. If you want to learn my cultivation technique in the future, I’ll teach you. After all, I don’t have any disciples," Dongguo Sun grinned, quickly withdrawing the pressure and becoming the same comical old man again.
Opening the ’Rejuvenation Skill,’ Lin Miao skimmed through it briefly and found that its content was indeed much more complex than the internal breath techniques he was used to.
It was evident that Master Sun Simiao had only taught him a basic version of the Rejuvenation Skill, without a word about the more advanced cultivation techniques.
Perhaps he realized Lin Miao wasn’t suited for martial arts. Even if he taught him such advanced heart methods, Lin Miao wouldn’t comprehend them, let alone achieve any results.
Another possibility was that Sun Simiao’s half-baked martial skills left him unable to grasp the esoteric meanings of the ’Rejuvenation Skill’ himself, let alone teach his disciple.
Only memories existed in his mind, and the original Lin Miao wasn’t a perceptive person. Naturally, he wouldn’t observe his master intently, so he felt it was indeed most unlikely that the truth lay there.
"Thank you, Uncle Master, I shall accept it."
"You’ve seen my assistant outside, haven’t you? He’s called Pillar, was once a little beggar, bereft of parents. I raised him; he’s a lazy one. If one day I’m gone, please look after him for me, nephew."
Why does this sound like final words?
However, taking care of a young assistant was no big deal for Lin Miao, so he nodded and agreed.
"About that Purple Gold Spirit Elixir..."
"I told you, I don’t need it."
"Okay, okay. Ah, this counts as laying down one of my worries. With this resolved, it’s good," Dongguo Sun smiled.
...
Sewing House, Yuyao’s Pavilion.
Baili Yuyao soaked in the water, surrounded by floating petals, the hot water relaxing her entire body.
She closed her eyes.
Scenes from the cave flashed continuously in her mind. She had never done anything like this, completely unlike her usual self. She felt ashamed for her "indulgence" in the repeated indulgence. How did he know she went to the ski resort with Shen An, and how did he know she was in the cave?
Could it be that the Blade Slave had already been bribed by him?
No, the Blade Slave, raised by Shen An from a young age, couldn’t have been easily bribed. The Blade Slave was covered in wounds, likely Shen An’s doing.
The Blade Slave betrayed his master.
If anyone were mistreated like this, resistance would be normal.
Can’t live like this forever...
"The water’s getting cold. Still not coming out?"
"Mother, why are you here..." Hearing this voice, Baili Yuyao hastily got up from the bath and changed into clean underclothes.
"Mrs. Mei said you were back and sprained your ankle. How could I, as your mother, not come to check on you?" Baili Bingyun looked down at Baili Yuyao’s fair feet, showing no signs of a sprained ankle.
Feeling her mother’s gaze, Baili Yuyao quickly withdrew her foot slightly, but it was already too late to cover up.
Unable to help but feel flustered, she called out, "Mother, it’s just a sprained ankle, Mrs. Mei was overreacting."
"Did you really sprain your ankle?"
"Mother, don’t you trust me?"
"Someone saw you went to the West City Ski Resort this morning with Shen An from the Green Blade Sect, and you didn’t come out until the afternoon. You were together, and he was supporting you. You parted ways at the ski resort’s entrance, didn’t you?"
"Mother, I just arranged to go skiing with a friend, do you really have to send someone to follow me?"
"I’m just surprised that he knew you sprained your ankle and didn’t even bother to send you back. Even if he’s afraid to see me, he could have dropped you at the embroidery shop’s entrance."
"He, he had something to do and left first..."
"Tell me the truth, how far have you and Shen An gone?" Baili Bingyun asked, staring intently at her daughter.
"Mother, Shen An and I are just friends, nothing more. You’re overthinking it," Baili Yuyao quickly explained.
"It better be this way. If you really did something out of line with Shen An, I can’t explain it to Lin," Baili Bingyun said.
Baili Yuyao blushed. She had nothing with Shen An, but she had already done what she needed to with Lin Miao. Perhaps it’s called destiny.
"Alright, since your foot is sprained, just rest at home for a few days. I’ll take care of asking Jing Wushuang for leave for a couple of days, so you won’t need to patrol the streets," Baili Bingyun said.
"Mother, I want to see the auction at Heaven-Dominating Tower tomorrow night?"
"Alright, you can go with your mother then," Baili Bingyun nodded, then gracefully left.
...
By the time we returned to Snow Mountain Residence, night had fallen.
Once back, Sun Youwei locked herself in her room alone, even driving Ling Yu’Er out, but she stayed close by, so no one disturbed her.
Perhaps after encountering such events, she needed a moment of calm.
Seeing someone killed right in front of her and then buried, such a cruel scene was a first for Sun Youwei.
Her kind nature finally witnessed the world’s cruelty.
There’s no such thing as eternal peace; she was always well protected, first by her father, and now by her junior brother.
"Where’s Senior Sister?"
"Sir, the lady locked herself in when she came back and hasn’t come out. She didn’t even ask for tea," Lianxin reported.
"No worries, I’ll go check on her."
Lin Miao knocked on the door, and Sun Youwei’s voice came through, "The door isn’t locked."
He pushed the door open to see Sun Youwei standing by the window, leaning against it. The window was half-open, and outside, lights filled the view.
Lin Miao took a fox fur cloak, walked over, draped it over her shoulders, and embraced her, speaking gently, "Senior Sister, about today, I should have told you earlier. I’m sorry for scaring you."
"Junior Brother, am I useless?" Sun Youwei’s eyelids fluttered slightly, her eyes gazing at Lin Miao with a look of sorrow.
"Silly, why would you think that? Haven’t you helped enough people this past year?" Lin Miao said, "Didn’t you deliver the child for that aunt from the Sun Family, and you healed the Le Family elder brother’s dislocated shoulder? How could you be useless? You’re a physician, healing and saving lives, how can you be useless?"
"Junior Brother, you know I wasn’t talking about that!"
"Senior Sister, some things are for us men to bear. You don’t need to carry these burdens, just be the lady of the Lin Family," Lin Miao said, holding her closer.
"Junior Brother, why are you so good to me?"
"You’re my future wife, if I’m not good to you, then to whom will I be? You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I heard you haven’t had anything since you came back. Let me prepare some delicious dishes for you, shall I?" Lin Miao spoke softly.
"Okay."
Lin Miao personally cooked up a few of his specialties, especially a dish of stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat. Some things, when spoken about, need a segue.
Sure enough, when this dish was placed before Sun Youwei, she was taken aback, as if she saw her father with his cracked hands bringing a dish to her.
Her father’s cooking skills were notoriously poor, except for the stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat, which was the best taste she eagerly awaited.
"Junior Brother, what made you think of making this dish for me today?" Sun Youwei asked, tasting a hint of saltiness in her mouth.
"I just saw fresh bamboo shoots in the kitchen and remembered that this was Master’s favorite dish. I made it using Master’s method. Try it, Senior Sister, does it taste the same?" Lin Miao explained.
Sun Youwei muttered, picking up a piece of bamboo shoot with her chopsticks, putting it into her mouth, and started chewing slowly. That familiar taste instantly returned, but what her junior brother made was even more flavorful and memorable than her father’s.
"How is it, is it good?"
"Yes, Junior Brother, thank you," Sun Youwei said with reddened eyes, almost ready to shed tears.
"Why thank me, Senior Sister? Don’t just eat the bamboo shoots, try the meat. Before you couldn’t eat it, but now you can," Lin Miao said, putting a piece of pork belly into Sun Youwei’s bowl.
Sun Youwei picked it up with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. The taste of the pork belly was extremely delicious. Although she could eat meat long ago and has had it every day since, this pork’s taste made her nostalgic.
This was the taste her father used to create.
Once it was her father, and now it’s her junior brother. In this moment, Sun Youwei’s heart wasn’t filled with sadness, but with a feeling of being melted by love.
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