Chapter 63: It Tastes So-So
"Elder, have you awoken?" Xiao Nanfeng forced a smile.
"Who did you say was a glutton?" The Lady Arclight glared at Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath. Wasn't she unconscious? How did she know what I said? Was she just pretending to be unconscious?
"Elder, you must have misheard. I called myself a glutton, saying that I was craving food after seeing you eat," Xiao Nanfeng fibbed.
The Lady Arclight stared at Xiao Nanfeng aggressively, but her eyes flashed with a series of complicated emotions.
"Elder, when did you wake up?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously. He had grumbled about the Lady Arclight quite often these last few days, and was worried that she had overheard his inadvertent remarks.
However, the Lady Arclight ignored him. She commanded, "Lift me up so that I can get some air."
Xiao Nanfeng hurriedly helped the Lady Arclight to her feet. She was silent as she walked to the entrance to the lair, not even inquiring as to the fact that she was wearing Xiao Nanfeng's clothes.
The more erratic her behavior, the more insecure Xiao Nanfeng felt.
"There are many spirits in this hidden realm, and I don't know how many of the senior disciples are still alive. Now that you've awoken, Elder, they can all be saved," Xiao Nanfeng began.
The Lady Arclight turned to him. "You're worried about your companion, aren't you?"
"I am worried about Senior Sister Yu'er, Elder, but also about my fellow disciples," Xiao Nanfeng replied in a politic fashion.
The Lady Arclight rolled her eyes at him in disbelief, in a display of sudden and unassuming beauty. Xiao Nanfeng was caught unawares and was suddenly enthralled.
"I have been seriously injured by Marquis Wu, and I'm still in a very weak condition. However, my cultivation technique is rather unusual, and I'll grow stronger by the time I do," the Lady Arclight explained.
"Oh?"
"If you still have the food you fed me, I'll be able to recover more quickly," the Lady Arclight added.
Xiao Nanfeng blinked. Was she talking about the golden lotus root, or the golden sunfruit from ten days ago? Just when had she woken up?
Xiao Nanfeng wanted to clarify things, but he didn't dare to do so, because that could well destroy the facade of civility between them. He had grumbled quite often in earshot of the Lady Arclight, after all.
"I'm hungry!" The Lady Arclight looked toward Xiao Nanfeng. Her tone was demanding and not particularly courteous.
Xiao Nanfeng was speechless. Is she really treating me like a nanny?
However, in order that she might recover her cultivation more quickly, that she might be able to help search for Yu'er more quickly, Xiao Nanfeng had no choice but to accede to her request.
"I hunted down a leopard spirit yesterday. I'll prepare it and return with the meal soon," Xiao Nanfeng offered.
The Lady Arclight nodded. She permitted Xiao Nanfeng to lead her to a nearby rock to rest. Xiao Nanfeng headed off into the forest and dragged out a leopard spirit.
"Don't you think I know about your storage ring? There's no need to hide it. I've already learned about it over the past few days." The Lady Arclight pursed her lips as she leaned against the rock.
Xiao Nanfeng didn't know that the Lady Arclight was secretly spying on him. He carefully prepared the leopard spirit's carcass and began roasting it. Not long later, he served the Lady Arclight with roast leopard. Both of them consumed the meal quickly.
"Did you like the taste, Elder? I marinated it with my own secret seasoning. I haven't shared it with anyone else!" Xiao Nanfeng laughed.
"It tastes so-so," the Lady Arclight replied, somewhat pridefully. However, she didn't stop eating the roast skewers.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at her strangely. As he thought, she was a glutton. Why was it that she didn't ask where she was, nor what was in her surroundings? Could she have known all this time?
Xiao Nanfeng's heart skipped a beat. Had she... had she been conscious all along? He then glanced at the Lady Arclight, who was wearing his clothes, once again. If she really had been pretending to be unconscious...
Forget it. It would hurt him more to ask. He was willing to keep up the pretense if she would, too.
Both cultivators had a rather voracious appetite, and they finished the leopard spirit in a single meal. After they were finished, the Lady Arclight patted her stomach and burped, causing Xiao Nanfeng to turn and look at her.
"What's the matter? Keep finding more food. I need to consume good food so that I can recover more quickly and help you find your companion," the Lady Arclight told him blithely.
Xiao Nanfeng: ...
The Lady Arclight was truly gluttonous—she had consumed the major part of the leopard spirit's carcass!
"Help me inside. I've just woken up, and my body's far too weak," she called out.
Xiao Nanfeng helped the Lady Arclight into the lair. He had the feeling that the Lady Arclight needed help not because of weakness, but rather because she had eaten too much.
She sat cross-legged on the rock and began to meditate.
After Xiao Nanfeng stepped out of the lair, the Lady Arclight opened her eyes a crack, saw that Xiao Nanfeng had left, made a fierce expression, then licked at her lips, enjoying the remnant flavor of meat. She was clearly very taken with his cooking.
Over the next five days, the spirits all around them suffered greatly. Xiao Nanfeng had grown much stronger than before, and he was able to make use of spiritual power to avoid the strongest spirits. All manner of spirits were transformed into sumptuous dishes for Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight.
"This is honeyed bear paw, Elder. What do you think?" Xiao Nanfeng looked toward the Lady Arclight with pride.
How was it? The Lady Arclight felt as though she were almost about to swallow her tongue! Where did Xiao Nanfeng pick up how to cook so well? His cooking was unbelievably delicious—when she returned to the sect, she intended to give the nominal disciples that served as her chefs a tremendous scolding. Just what had they been feeding her all these years?
"It was so-so. I hope you can improve your cooking skills," the Lady Arclight informed him, lifting her head up slightly.
"Only so-so?" Xiao Nanfeng was a little surprised.
Back in his previous life, he had been very into cooking for a period of time and had spent significant effort learning how to cook well. He was quite confident in his abilities, and he would be preparing his own meals even within the sect if not for his devotion to cultivation.
"You don't believe me?" The Lady Arclight glared at Xiao Nanfeng.
"No, of course not! You're far more experienced than I am, Elder, and have naturally eaten better food. I had some spare time after hunting, so I made you a little toy to while away your time." Xiao Nanfneg retrieved an erhu from his back.
He had been worried that the Lady Arclight would hold a grudge and try to make life difficult for him. She was too weak to do anything at the moment, but what about when she recovered her cultivation?
In order to attempt to repair their relationship, Xiao Nanfeng had personally crafted her an erhu based on materials he had found within the forest.
The Lady Arclight took the erhu, then looked at Xiao Nanfeng with some surprise. Complicated emotions flashed in her gaze. This was her first time receiving a musical instrument as a gift from anyone.
"Elder, I've already cleared out all the spirits nearby, and you've recovered enough to walk on your own now. I'm going to take a long trip, and it might be evening by the time I'm back. Please take care of yourself!"
The Lady Arclight nodded.
Xiao Nanfeng cleaned up after the meal, then left the valley quietly.
The Lady Arclight sat by the exit to the lair and watched Xiao Nanfeng's back, then the erhu in her hands. Her lips twitched and curled up. She felt the erhu carefully before slowly walking out of the lair.
Xiao Nanfeng was headed for the lotus pond where the toad spirits had been, curious if anything had happened since.
While he was still some distance from the pond, Xiao Nanfeng hid behind some trees and looked into the distance. He could see a few armored cultivators patrolling around the area.
"It looks like the toad spirits have left, and the armored cultivators' companions have found them. I can't stay in this region any longer—it's become far too dangerous," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
He silently retraced his steps and left the area, designating this patch of territory as forbidden land. It wasn't too far from the boar spirit's lair, either, so that lair was no longer safe.
On the way back, Xiao Nanfeng encountered a pheasant spirit, which he killed in no time at all.
"Haha, we'll have pheasant today! It's one of my best dishes, so I'd like to see you call it 'so-so' again—I'll make you swallow your tongue!" Xiao Nanfeng promised confidently.
He rushed back toward the lair, but as he drew close, he found two crow spirits hovering in the air, cawing at the valley.
"Has the valley been exposed...?"
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