Meishan Residence was small and exquisite with absolutely beautiful scenery. After drinking a cup of tea in the main hall, Xin Mei couldn’t sit still and went out to wander around by herself, leaving only two men behind – one silent and cold, the other anxious and uneasy.
“General, please… please have some tea…” He tremblingly poured tea with his own hands, but spilled most of the tea water on the table.
“General, please try… try some tea snacks…” He brought a plate of pine nut candy, but shook half the plate of candy onto the floor.
Lu Qianqiao took a sip of tea and said indifferently: “You seem very afraid of me?”
“No… no…” Lord Meishan shamefully lowered his head. He was just at a loss when it came to this clan that excelled at both one-on-one combat and group fighting, and was incredibly fierce in battle. If he offended him, the man could probably pulverize him to dust with one slap.
“I heard you know everything in heaven and earth. This time I came…”
“I know, I know!” Lord Meishan nodded frantically. “I can guess what the General wants to ask about. Regarding how War Ghost descendants mixed with ordinary human bloodlines can survive the transformation tribulation at age twenty-five, I can have Little Crow investigate. You can rest assured.”
Little Crow had always been known for having a third eye. This kind of matter didn’t seem too difficult, so leaving it to Little Crow should be fine.
“This… the matter isn’t really difficult, but… that… my rule here is that I don’t accept gold, silver, or treasures. If the General can beat me in drinking capacity, then this, naturally…”
Regarding compensation, he spoke haltingly, occasionally stealing glances at Lu Qianqiao’s expression. Seeing his brows furrow and his hand reach into his chest, he was so startled he shivered and frantically waved his hands: “Such a small matter, where’s the need for compensation! No need, no need!”
Lu Qianqiao glanced at him and put his hand down: “I’m not good at drinking. I heard you’re crazy about alcohol, so this time I brought ingredients for wine used in ancient times by my clan to honor gods and respect heaven as compensation. However…”
He looked at Lord Meishan’s cowering appearance and smiled: “Since you don’t want it, then thank you.”
…Retribution! This was the retribution for being as timid as a mouse!
Lord Meishan left the main hall in tears. He needed to find a quiet place to mend his shattered heart. Coincidentally passing by the kitchen, he saw a group of spirit ghosts in white clothes and red skirts surrounding the door, clapping and cheering. Curious, he moved closer to look, and saw Xin Mei standing in front of the cutting board chopping vegetables. The huge, thick cleaver was wielded by her like a willow leaf knife, cold light flashing chaotically. In just the blink of an eye, what should be julienned was julienned, what should be sliced was sliced, neatly arranged in several plates.
Divine skill!
Lord Meishan was so excited his whole body trembled as he rushed to the front and clapped vigorously. Xin Mei wiped her hands while asking him: “Lord Meishan, I heard immortals don’t eat meat, so I’ve prepared all vegetarian dishes. What do you like to eat?”
Lord Meishan said in a trembling voice: “Eat… eat tofu…”
She nodded, scooped up a block of tofu from the water basin, and compared it with the cleaver. Finding it unsuitable, someone beside her immediately handed her a small knife as thin as cicada wings. She turned back with a smile: “Then I’ll carve a tofu Lord Meishan. We’ll steam it to eat.”
Lord Meishan was moved to tears.
So that evening’s dinner was this scene: the tofu Meishan was steamed and brought to the table. Xin Mei ruthlessly picked off its head with her chopsticks and put it in Lord Meishan’s bowl, saying: “Lord Meishan, this is your head, you eat it first.”
He had never eaten such an enchanting meal. Before he realized it, he had eaten too much and could only grunt while holding his ball-like belly.
Xin Mei was quite worried: “Lord Meishan, your stomach looks like it has a ball inside. You should go lie down for a while.”
He was reluctant to leave. Taking advantage of Lu Qianqiao lowering his head to drink soup, he wanted to boldly hold Xin Mei’s snow-white little hand and rack his brains to say some gentle words – first praising her divine culinary skills, then talking about how she had carried him upstairs last time and thoughtfully cared for him, which he hadn’t had a chance to thank her for yet.
But just as he reached out his hand, Lu Qianqiao put down his bowl and glanced at him.
He immediately pulled his hand back and dejectedly lowered his head to play with his sleeves.
The spirit ghosts in white clothes and red skirts came in to clear the leftovers. Seeing Lord Meishan holding his round belly in a daze, they couldn’t help but snicker. Lord Meishan blushed and glared at them: “Not a bit of proper behavior! Hurry up and go down after cleaning!”
The spirit ghosts made faces at him, picked up the bowls, chopsticks, and plates, and walked out briskly. Suddenly one of them tripped on the threshold, and a drop of soup fell on a red skirt. With a swoosh, it turned into a white paper figure that floated lightly to the ground, with the soup stain still visible on the white paper.
Xin Mei was dumbfounded.
Lord Meishan hurriedly waved at her: “It’s fine, these spirit ghosts are all created using white paper spirit summoning techniques.”
He painfully shuffled over holding his belly, picked up the white paper figure, and casually tossed it. It fell to the ground and turned back into a lively spirit ghost in white clothes and red skirt, who turned back to grin at the stunned Xin Mei before continuing to run off with the plates.
Xin Mei looked at him with pity as he sweated profusely: “Lord Meishan, you really should go lie down. Be careful not to hurt your stomach. Gossipy immortals probably don’t have very good digestion, right?”
How gentle and considerate… Lord Meishan was moved and nodded: “Then… then I’ll go lie down in my room first. There are hot springs outside, and clothes you can change into. Feel free to bathe and wear whatever you want, don’t be polite at all.”
He walked back to his room holding his belly, supported by two spirit ghosts holding his arms.
Xin Mei was led by the spirit ghosts to bathe in the hot springs. By the poolside was a set of clean white robes, the fabric soft as silk and light as if weightless. After putting it on, she immediately felt light as a swallow.
The spirit ghosts explained with smiles: “This is why our master requires every visitor to first bathe and change clothes before entering.”
She put on wooden clogs and walked clackety-clack to the guest room in the back, where she saw Lu Qianqiao had also changed into white robes and was leaning against a crabapple tree with his head down, fiddling with something. Seeing her approach, he only gave her a brief glance and paid no attention.
“Lu Qianqiao, are you in a bad mood again?”
She suddenly moved closer, staring at his face.
She got too close, her breathing seemed about to brush against his face. In his confusion he felt somewhat flustered, turned his head away, and only after a while said: “How do you know how to cook?”
She smiled: “My father doesn’t like the food made by hired chefs, so I have to cook. Do you think it tastes good?”
He remained noncommittal, so she frowned: “Was it not good?”
“…It was good.”
“Then I’ll cook for you again next time.”
His expression gradually softened, his eyebrows and eyes relaxing as he looked at the bamboo root still in rudimentary form in his hands, saying quietly: “What about you? What kind of puppet do you like?”
Xin Mei’s eyes immediately lit up: “You’re going to make a puppet for me? I like the Heavenly Lady from that day on the stage who swoosh, chopped everyone’s heads off!”
“…” Who taught this child to be so violent?
He shook his head and began using a small knife to shave off the bamboo root’s rough edges. He felt her whole body leaning over, and a strand of her still-damp hair fell onto the back of his hand – cool, a bit ticklish, and a bit… fragrant.
For some reason, his mood tonight became particularly good, unprecedentedly good.
Suddenly he noticed a figure moving ahead. Looking up, he saw Lord Meishan with a face full of sorrow. Probably from eating too much, he was leaning against the wall and looked like he might fall at any moment. He focused and watched for a while, then lowered his head to continue carving the bamboo root, leaving Lord Meishan behind with a belly full of bitterness and tofu, scratching his hair.
The General just glanced at him, right? Right? Was it a warning? A threat? Looking down from above? Or proud showing off?