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Chapter 27: [Human Touch]

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Outside the Small Study, Lu Xun stood there, suddenly unsure of where to find food.

The back mountain was large but only inhabited by a few people, and Lu Xun was the only one who needed to eat three meals a day, no different from the Outer Sect Disciples.

While the Outer Sect Disciples did have a cafeteria where they lived, Lu Xun certainly couldn’t traverse mountains and valleys every day just to make sure he was well-fed, could he?

Moreover, his culinary skills were not bad at all. He just needed ingredients and preferred to cook for himself.

In his previous life, he had depended on his sister, Lu Yu, for survival, and he was usually the one cooking.

During his work-study days, he even helped out in the kitchen of a restaurant, where he managed to pick up quite a few tricks.

The chef noticed Lu Xun’s talent in the culinary path and taught him how to cook a few dishes when he was in a good mood.

This chef had a very stern face, everyone in the kitchen was afraid of him. He disliked Lu Xun the most and berated him often.

Often times, after everyone else had left work, he would harshly criticize Lu Xun, pointing out his mistakes, and then leave him a thermos full of warm food and dishes before leaving with a cold face.

Lu Yu had a particular fondness for the dishes made by the chef. Every time Lu Xun brought back the thermos, she was delighted.

As for this chef, Lu Xun always considered him as a type of half mentor.

“Gurgle, gurgle.” The continuous growling of his stomach brought Lu Xun’s thoughts back to reality.

After pondering for a bit, he knocked on Mao Nanbei’s door to ask if there were any ingredients on the back mountain.

Being a smooth talker was important. Under the influence of Lu Xun repeatedly calling her “Fourth Senior Sister,” Mao Nanbei was unsuspectingly coaxed into hunting for game with him.

In Mao Nanbei’s eyes, she was a benevolent senior sister.

In the eyes of the rascal, she had become a royal hunting cat.

In the end, Mao Nanbei caught two fish and a pheasant.

There were actually a lot of living creatures on the back mountain, but except for the fireflies that flew about at night, the other animals all mutually agreed not to approach the Small Study at the top of the mountain for some reason.

After bringing the two live fish and pheasant back to the Small Study, Lu Xun started to cook.

Luckily, the kitchen had everything he needed. According to Mao Nanbei, it was because their third senior brother loved to cook. Though his food was notoriously terrible, he still constantly invited people to taste his food.

“Do we have alcohol?” Lu Xun asked as he looked at the fish.

The fish caught in the stream could be considered river fish, and they had a bit of a muddy taste. If you use fresh ginger and alcohol to get rid of the fishy taste, it would make it much tastier. But there was no alcohol in the kitchen.

“Third Senior Brother will definitely have some in his room, I’ll go steal some.” Mao Nanbei hurried off without another word.

Originally, she had no interest in cooking. However, Lu Xun had described the food too deliciously.

His words painted vivid pictures, and as she listened, she could already taste it!

Her mouth was watering just thinking about it, yum!

It didn’t take Mao Nanbei long to hop out of the window, holding a small pot of Little kids preferred not to use the front door. Moreover, she was a cute little kitty, often jumping in and out of the window.

“Is it…okay to take it directly?” Lu Xun asked.

“It’s fine. Third Senior Brother is really nice, he’s always said that I can play with anything in his room. Plus, he’s quite forgetful. He probably doesn’t even know how many pots of alcohol he has.”

“Surely it’s not Immortal Wine, is it?” asked Lu Xun, a little hesitant to use it.

Immortal Wine, brewed from precious ingredients, was considered a great tonic. Given his current cultivation base, trying such a wine indiscriminately might result in the “receiving not its supplement.”

As Mao Nanbei quickly cracked open the pot of alcohol, she reassured: “No worries, Third Senior Brother is really simple. It’s all just regular alcohol.”

Somehow, with Mao Nanbei’s descriptions, Lu Xun seemed to have an initial impression of Third Senior Brother: good -tempered, terrible cook, forgetful, really simple.

Yet something felt off… The honorable Third Senior Brother of Small Study was just…like that?

But now, the most pressing issue was to prepare a meal so Lu Xun threw all his notions aside and began to show off his cooking skills.

The fishes Mao Nanbei caught were pomfrets, so he decided to make a Fujian dish, braised fish.

Once the fish is in the oil, it should not be moved much. This is one of the big taboos when cooking fish.

Don’t keep flipping the fish while frying. Otherwise, it may lose its original shape.

As soon as the seasoning was added, the aroma filled the room. The soup became rich in color, and it looked appetizing.

Lu Xun asked, “Fourth senior sister, do you eat spicy food?” “Yes, I do,” she answered.

“What about the second senior sister? Does she eat spicy food?”

“Yes, she does too,” came the answer.

There were Sichuan peppercorns in the kitchen of the Small Study, but Lu Xun didn’t use a lot of them.

After cooking the fish, he moved on to the chicken.

After some thought, he decided to make vinegar-fried chicken.

Surprisingly, there was a big jar filled with rice in a corner of the kitchen.

This jar, together with smaller boxes that contained spices like Sichuan peppercorns, green onions, ginger, and garlic, were all sealed using a special method. This was to prevent the rice and ingredients from going bad.

The third senior brother must really be fascinated by the culinary path…

When all the dishes were ready, Lu Xun turned around to find Mao Nanbei standing eagerly by, holding a small bamboo basket.

Upon seeing that the dishes were ready, she immediately placed the food into her bamboo basket.

They were going to take the food to the bamboo grove and deliver it to the second senior sister first.

Mao Nanbei was in a hurry this time, so she flew there with Lu Xun.

However, she didn’t dare to land directly on the rock where the second senior sister was sitting cross-legged, choosing instead to land on a narrow path nearby.

“Greetings, second senior sister.” Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei said in unison.

“Second senior sister, our little junior brother cooked two dishes. We brought them here to eat with you,” Mao Nanbei announced loudly.

From where he stood, Lu Xun could only see the thin silhouette of his second senior sister back. He saw her nod slightly.

Mao Nanbei set the basket down and began to serve the dishes.

There wasn’t enough room to sit three people on the rock where the second senior sister was sitting. She seemed to be marking her territory, so they had to eat separately.

But there were only two fish and three of them. How should they divide it?

The fish were caught by her, and she hadn’t thought much about it at the time. Had she known Lu Xun’s cooking would be so delicious, she would have caught more.

After hesitating briefly, she – Mao Nanbei – handed one fish to the second senior sister.

It was apparent that even though she was a little afraid of the second senior sister, they shared a close bond.

Mao Nanbei was still somewhat childlike. Just like many children: “You can hit me, you can scold me, but you’re not allowed to touch my cookies!”

If a child is willing to share their favorite snacks with you, it means they truly like you.

Furthermore, this was a fish shared by a small cat who loved fish.

Eventually, the second senior sister ate sitting on the rock, while Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei sat down next to the narrow path.

Both the fish and chicken dishes tasted great. Lu Xun’s cooking skills hadn’t decreased a bit. Mao Nanbei’s eyes lit up as she ate, her cat ears moving around comfortably, making one want to feel them.

Lu Xun chuckled. After taking a single piece of fish with his chopsticks, he left the rest to her.

The wind blew through the mountains, rustling the bamboo grove.

For the first time in this familiar yet foreign world, Lu Xun felt a touch of warmth, even though everyone was engrossed in eating, and no one was talking.

Perhaps it truly validates the saying:

[The warmth of human life, most comforting to the heart.]

Even Cultivators, who were beyond typical mortals, were no exceptions.

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