Chapter 4

The night breeze was cool, and the sound of rushing water was thunderous.

Liuli stood by the Moon-Viewing Rock, unmoving.

She had arrived late, and without realizing it, night had fallen.

She tilted her head back, gazing up at the starry sky. Tonight, the bright moon hung high, accompanied by scattered, twinkling stars—a sight that lifted the spirits.

Seeing her refuse to leave, Feng Xiwu assumed she hadn’t given up yet and didn’t press further. After all, she would come around eventually.

If Liuli wouldn’t leave, then Feng Xiwu would.

Just then, Liuli delicately slumped to the ground.

Propping herself up with her hands, she twisted around, her small face a mask of bewilderment. “Perfected One Feng, I… I have no strength left.”

“No strength” wasn’t quite accurate. To be precise, she had no qi left. She couldn’t treat herself like a balloon, sputtering gas to fly into the sky anymore!

Feng Xiwu asked calmly, “What happened?”

Liuli scrunched up her face. “You just came out of seclusion, so you wouldn’t know. I got hurt a couple of days ago, and I think I hurt my head.”

After scrutinizing Feng Xiwu’s expression and seeing nothing, Liuli continued, “So, I’ve lost my memory. I don’t recognize people, can’t remember paths, and… even forgot how to cultivate…”

The more Liuli spoke, the more diffident she became. The more diffident she felt, the less she dared to look at her, and slowly, her little head drooped down.

With the sorry state she was in, and still coming to ask to be a disciple, it would be a miracle if Feng Xiwu actually accepted her!

As expected, the person before her fell silent.

Liuli figured she was probably being scorned.

Just as she thought this, a faint, almost imperceptible sigh reached her ears.

The owner of the white robe extended a fair wrist and pushed gently from a distance. A thread of cool air rose from beneath Liuli, and uncontrollably, her feet left the ground.

Feng Xiwu said, “I’ll escort you down the mountain.”

Liuli was well-versed in the art of pushing her luck. “After I’m down the mountain, I still have to fly away on a crane. The night is deep and the wind is cold. I already caught a chill during the day; blowing in the wind again tonight will surely make me sick again! If you don’t believe me, listen—Ah-choo~”

Feng Xiwu was choked up by her words, feeling rather helpless towards this sly, rascally little creature. “Then what do you propose?”

Liuli clutched her shoulders, looking pitifully weak and helpless. “This is my first time at Parasol Tree Mountain. Perfected One, could you take me in for the night?”

Look at how pitiful she seemed. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was some lowly little disciple, never imagining she was the Sect Leader’s precious daughter.

Feng Xiwu’s slightly elongated, coolly detached phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. Contrary to all of Liuli’s expectations, she actually said, “Alright.”

Liuli froze, rubbing her ear. “Huh?”

But Feng Xiwu paid her no more mind. With a wave of her hand, she lifted Liuli into mid-air!

Liuli silently tucked in the hem of her skirt.

Immediately after, she shot off at high speed like a roller coaster, heading somewhere else. Unlike riding a crane, this time, no cold wind surrounded her, because Feng Xiwu was shielding her from it.

When Liuli stopped, she didn’t know exactly where on the mountain she was. But before her stood a simple, rustic little courtyard, and out walked two women, one older and one younger.

There was no need for Liuli to introduce herself; the two immediately knew her identity.

The younger one said, “This place usually sees no visitors. We just heard of Senior Sister’s esteemed arrival and didn’t have time to prepare properly. We only managed a simple tidying up. We hope Senior Sister will forgive us.”

Liuli would never actually put on the airs of a privileged second-generation Senior Sister. Naturally, she was polite in return. “Sorry to trouble you both… Junior Sisters.”

Both disciples were Outer Sect members at the Foundation Establishment stage. The older one looked to be in her fifties or sixties, and the younger one also seemed to be in her twenties or thirties. Calling them “Junior Sister” required quite a bit of mental preparation for Liuli.

The two introduced themselves, saying they followed the Perfected One’s surname, Feng. So, Liuli silently nicknamed them in her mind: This one is Eldest Junior Sister Big Feng, and this one is Junior Sister Little Feng.

Little Feng led her into a room. Upon entering, Liuli saw it was decorated simply and archaically, neat and clean. Though not as magnificent as Xue Liuli’s own boudoir, it possessed its own leisurely, hermit-like charm.

As Little Feng turned to leave, Liuli quickly stopped her. “Junior Sister, wait a moment. I’m a bit hungry. Could you take me to the kitchen?”

Little Feng was somewhat surprised by the request. “Of course, that’s no problem.”

They weren’t very familiar, and Little Feng didn’t dare ask questions, but her confusion was written clearly on her face.

Liuli felt a bit embarrassed to explain. It had probably been two days since she first woke up, and she hadn’t had a single drop of water or grain of rice. After waking up, fainting, and waking again, plus having True Qi sustaining her, she hadn’t remembered whether she was hungry or thirsty in her fluster.

Now, her True Qi was completely depleted, and she couldn’t absorb or cultivate. The hunger surged up, urgent and fierce.

At the kitchen, Little Feng said, “This kitchen is normally only used by the two of us. There isn’t much here. Please forgive us, Senior Sister.”

She deftly helped tidy the stove and lit the fire, but didn’t interfere with anything else.

She probably assumed Liuli would use ingredients from her own Storage Ring to cook, unaware that Liuli still didn’t know how to use a Storage Ring.

Liuli said, “Junior Sister is too polite.”

So many apologies and pleas for forgiveness—Liuli really wasn’t used to it.

Liuli washed her hands and used the flour in the kitchen to make dough. She also prepared red bean paste filling, planning to make Red Bean Buns.

While the dough was resting, Liuli inquired, “My first time at Parasol Tree Mountain. Can Junior Sister tell me about Perfected One Feng?”

Little Feng instantly showed a face full of admiration. “Perfected One Feng is naturally wonderful.”

I know that, but I want to know specifics. Liuli asked, “In what ways is she good?”

“Perfected One is good in every way!”

Liuli: “…Ha, well, that is true.”

Little Feng smiled sheepishly.

Liuli asked again, “Normally, how does the Perfected One treat her disciples?”

Little Feng probably guessed that Liuli wanted to become Feng Xiwu’s disciple. She didn’t expose it, only saying, “Although Perfected One doesn’t show herself much normally and isn’t very close to us, she has never once slighted her disciples. When she is not busy, whoever goes to consult her, she will always give some guidance. It’s just a pity that we truly lack talent and have let her down.”

Saying this, Little Feng looked slightly ashamed.

Liuli consoled her, “Perhaps the time just hasn’t come yet.”

“Perhaps.”

The dough was ready. Liuli started wrapping the Red Bean Buns. Having chatted a while, their relationship had grown closer, and Little Feng was no longer so reserved. She began helping Liuli wrap them.

After wrapping for a while, Little Feng glanced over and asked curiously, “Senior Sister, why are you wrapping them to look like mantou (plain steamed buns)?”

Liuli smiled. “No matter what the appearance is, if the filling doesn’t change, the essence remains the same.”

Little Feng praised, “Senior Sister, these red bean paste mantou are wrapped so well. I thought Senior Sister… probably wouldn’t know how to do such chores.”

Liuli smiled but didn’t explain. Before she transmigrated, she lived alone. To take good care of her own tongue and stomach, her culinary skills were quite good. She even ran a Weibo account dedicated to posting her homemade delicacies, and before she crossed over, she had tens of thousands of followers.

Such a pity that Weibo account won’t be updated anymore.

The Red Bean Buns were wrapped and placed in the steamer. Liuli truly wasn’t skilled at tending a wood fire, so she left that entirely to Little Feng.

When the Red Bean Buns came out of the steamer, they were plump, white, and steaming hot, instantly whetting one’s appetite.

Liuli found a Food Box in the kitchen, washed and dried it, lined it with gauze, and placed four of her red bean paste mantou inside.

“Junior Sister Feng, could I trouble you with something?”

“Please, Senior Sister, just speak.”

Liuli handed her the Food Box. “My True Qi suffered severe damage today, and I don’t even know where Perfected One’s residence is. Could I trouble you to deliver this to Perfected One Feng for me?”

Little Feng was greatly surprised. “That’s not difficult. I’ll make the trip for Senior Sister. However, ever since Perfected One stepped into the Golden Core stage, she hasn’t eaten mortal food for a long time… If Senior Sister wishes to curry favor with Perfected One, perhaps sending something else would be better.”

Her concern was reasonable and indeed a valid point.

But Liuli knew that this Feng Xiwu was a person of few desires and no obvious hobbies, seemingly devoting her entire heart to the Great Dao.

Yet, this wasn’t entirely true.

Liuli had pored over the few and far-between segments describing Feng Xiwu within a million words of text, and she had actually managed to find Feng Xiwu’s preference!

She liked sweet things!

That damned author had written four times about Feng Xiwu tasting tea, describing its sweet and fragrant flavor; used three sentences to describe Feng Xiwu picking Spirit Fruit, the fruit bright red, dripping with sweetness; and even used an entire paragraph to describe Feng Xiwu attending a banquet, politely taking one chopstickful of Honey Yam and touching nothing else.

Liuli had posted her deduction in the comments section, and the damned author replied: ……

Looking at the author using ellipses instead of question marks, Liuli took a deep breath and decided not to argue with him.

Of course, Feng Xiwu’s slight preference was indeed not obvious. Perhaps even she herself hadn’t realized she had such a preference.

Liuli smiled and said, “I understand Junior Sister’s meaning. It’s just that these mantou are related to the matter of my Dao discussion with Perfected One today. Please make this trip for me. Right, don’t mention what’s inside these mantou.”

Little Feng had a sudden realization, her face full of admiration. “So that’s how it is! As expected of Senior Sister!”

Liuli sweated internally.

It wasn’t actually that profound. She was just using the opportunity to give a gift.

As the saying goes, a short hand is soft, and a fed mouth is soft. Eat her mantou, and you become her person!

There were plenty of Red Bean Buns from this batch. Liuli only took two for herself, eating them with hot water to fill her stomach, and distributed the rest to the two Junior Sisters Feng.

She felt a bit embarrassed troubling Little Feng for this trip. Moreover, if she succeeded in becoming a disciple, she would inevitably interact with these two. If it weren’t for the fact that she currently possessed nothing, Liuli would have planned to give a proper gift.

Little Feng had served Feng Xiwu for a long time and went to Perfected One’s place daily to clean, so she knew the path very well.

Cultivators were different from ordinary people. Though the mountain path was long and dangerous, Little Feng traversed it as if walking on level ground.

She quickly arrived. As luck would have it, Perfected One was awake and not resting.

“Perfected One, this was personally made by Senior Sister Xue Liuli.”

She helped deliver the Food Box to Perfected One, who indeed took it without a word.

Little Feng hid her surprise, gave a slight bow, and returned to the disciples’ courtyard.

When she got back, Liuli was actually waiting at the courtyard gate. Little Feng was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. “The night is deep and dew heavy, Senior Sister, please go and rest.”

Liuli grinned cheerfully. “I’m just relieved now that Junior Sister is back. Junior Sister, you should also rest early!”

Watching Liuli return to her room, Little Feng also went back to her own. She lived next door to Big Feng. Hearing her footsteps, Big Feng opened her door and looked at Liuli’s now-closed bedroom door in the distance. Big Feng said:

“This one… is truly a bit different.”

Little Feng agreed. “Indeed. Perhaps… she really might move Perfected One.”

××××××

Wind-Retaining Abode, Parasol Tree Mountain.

Feng Xiwu was looking at the Food Box placed before her.

The lid was open. Four plump, white mantou, each only half a fist-sized, lay in the reddish-brown box, with wisps of hot steam still rising.

She hadn’t eaten food for a very long time, let alone a mantou containing no spiritual energy.

Actually, she didn’t need to eat it.

Anyway, it was just a child’s pestering tactic.

Feng Xiwu thought this way. She also reached out her hand, intending to close the box.

But somehow, the memory of that impish, sly smiling face flashed quickly through her mind, turning into a wilted, downcast appearance. The hand she had extended, disobeying her command, veered off course and pinched one of the mantou.

As soon as she pinched it, warm and soft, Feng Xiwu recalled her absurd reasoning that the Dao could be a mantou.

“How to turn wheat into soft, white mantou requires learning. How to piece together your fragmented, scattered insights into your own Dao also requires learning!”

Forget it. She made it with her own hands; it is a piece of sincere regard.

Feng Xiwu pinched the mantou and slowly brought it to her mouth. Her two fine, willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly. She slowly opened her mouth, her pearly teeth biting off a corner of the mantou, somewhat unpracticedly tearing it away.

Her tongue and mouth, which hadn’t performed their original duty for years, quickly recalled the sensation of eating. The first thing she perceived was the slightly impure qi and the somewhat rough texture of mortal food. Then, the long-missed fragrance of wheat. After that…

Feng Xiwu swallowed the food in her mouth, lifted the mantou, and saw the dark color at the tear.

This child… is truly different now.

Feng Xiwu was lost in thought.