Chapter 70: Bean Skin Breakfast and Shifting Priorities

For someone from Jiangxia, bean skin was undoubtedly one of the most common breakfast options.

But Lu Mingyi knew all too well from her past life spent in Lin’an that no one around here had the habit of delivering bean skin to guests in the morning.

Especially when there were only two people living in the house—yet they’d sent four bowls!

Looking at Guan Du’s expression, laced with anticipation and excitement, Lu Mingyi chose to snort with a laugh. “I haven’t had much appetite lately. Bean skin in the morning feels a bit greasy. Why don’t you take all four bowls?”

“Huh?!” Guan Du exclaimed, watching as Lu Mingyi leisurely walked to the table and sat down. She hurried over and took the seat across from her. “No way, no way! How could I eat all four bowls?”

“If you can’t finish them, that’s fine too. After all, food from strangers should be treated with caution,” Lu Mingyi said calmly.

“It’s not necessarily a stranger… Wait, why couldn’t it be something I bought?” Guan Du asked, sounding quite serious.

Lu Mingyi took a sip of porridge. “In Yaoguang Ravine, outsiders can’t use flight artifacts. If you wanted to go out, you’d have to rely on your own two legs. Even if you flew on your sword for the last stretch from here to the Bean Skin Shop, the round trip would take at least an hour. Clearly, there’s not enough time.

“Besides, bean skin wouldn’t be on Yaoguang Ravine’s menu.”

“Ah… Your mind really does work fast,” Guan Du said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair with a sigh.

From their experiences in Lin’an City the past few days, Guan Du had thought Lu Mingyi absolutely loved that Bean Skin Shop and would eat some no matter what.

She regretted being perhaps too obvious just now and sighed deeply, drawing out her words. “Come on, give me some face. I took these on behalf of someone else—honor me by trying a bit.”

Lu Mingyi raised an eyebrow. “On behalf of someone? What did you accept?”

“Here, I got these two bowls too, and I think they taste pretty good.” Guan Du picked up a bowl and started eating as she spoke. “On top of that, I exchanged some info with someone and got a bit of help.”

Lu Mingyi: “…”

Watching Guan Du eat with such satisfaction, she had to admit that this former second senior sister was indeed “generous” in certain ways.

But her words made something stir faintly in Lu Mingyi’s heart.

Bean skin was a food that filled you up easily. And as cultivators, especially after reaching the Golden Core Stage, they no longer needed much ordinary food—they could go without eating at all. One bowl might even be too much.

These four bowls of bean skin clearly meant two people had sent them.

Since Guan Du hadn’t named them directly, these two were probably both old acquaintances.

But earlier, Guan Du had said she “exchanged info with someone.”

That meant one person had delivered the bean skin in person, while the other… hadn’t come themselves, but their style was easy enough for Guan Du to recognize.

With just that much thought, Lu Mingyi already knew exactly who these two were.

She lowered her gaze to the two bowls on the table.

Eating habits were never something you could hide from people you’d spent a long time with.

Xiao Yuxie was meticulous and observant. Though she hadn’t visited Jiangxia often, Lu Mingyi had mentioned her preferences plenty of times in her presence. And Shen Mingzheng went without saying—they were both restless types who often slipped out of the sect whenever they had time.

But what did it mean for these two to send breakfast now?

“Ahem, fine. If you really don’t want any, I’ll take it away for you.” Guan Du cleared her throat lightly and reached out to take the bowls.

“Hey, wait. Shen Family servants will come to clear the table later anyway. And it’s not like I’m that picky.” Lu Mingyi raised a hand to stop her, thinking Guan Du was overreacting.

Guan Du said solemnly, “I just saw your expression turn a bit heavy. Good food is supposed to make you happy—if it sours your mood instead, that’d be a real loss.”

“I was just thinking about some other issues.” Lu Mingyi pushed the stray thoughts from her mind, took a breath, and said seriously, “Since you brought it up, I assume your chat with Xiao Yuxie covered something I’d be interested in?”

Guan Du blinked in surprise. “What? You not only figured out who sent it, but even who I exchanged info with…”

“It’s obvious. You and Shen Mingzheng wouldn’t get along,” Lu Mingyi said. She didn’t think it was that hard to deduce.

“Fine, I’ll say it again: not only does your mind work fast, you’re too damn smart.” Guan Du smiled helplessly.

The more time she spent with Lu Mingyi, the more she realized how outstanding this “former junior sister” was—and the better she understood why Jiang Liuzhao had decided, after taking her in, to pass down the Crimson Sky Sword Art and the Sword Peak Lord’s position so quickly.

Guan Du even thought that even if Lu Mingyi’s cultivation had regressed before and she couldn’t cultivate, her talents might have shone in other fields.

“Not long after you left this morning, Senior Sister… Xiao Yuxie knocked on the door. She delivered the food herself.” Guan Du propped her chin on her hand, watching Lu Mingyi’s reaction. Seeing she wasn’t as repulsed as she’d been in the southwest region, Guan Du relaxed her tone. “She brought two portions, and since I’m her junior sister too, I didn’t refuse at first.

“Then I chatted with her a bit and ended up accepting this ‘extra’ breakfast.”

Guan Du wouldn’t mention how, at the moment the door opened, this renowned head of the Xiao Family—also Lu Mingyi’s former senior sister, and hers too—hadn’t had time to hide the faint anticipation and nervousness on her face. And when she saw it was Guan Du, that fleeting disappointment was subtle but caught Guan Du’s eye.

“Before last night’s banquet in Qiankun Hall, you seemed surprised to hear that Master and the others had arrived. I didn’t get a chance to ask at the banquet, so I took the opportunity this morning.” Guan Du took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and briefly relayed her conversation with Xiao Yuxie to Lu Mingyi.

First, about Peach Blossom Source.

All the buildings there had basically been destroyed and needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. But unlike the Xiao Family’s near-annihilation a century ago, this time—whether it was the core clan members or the disciples and servants—there were only minor injuries and almost no other losses.

Because at the start, Xiao Yuxie and Jiang Liuzhao had planned to use the Xiao Family’s Spiritual Spring, infused with Ink Wave Stone spiritual energy, to lure the Demonic Cultivators out. When things turned suspicious, Xiao Yuxie had promptly evacuated everyone from Peach Blossom Source.

Sure, that left only a few disciples to defend it, planting the seeds for the later chaos among the families and sects—but it was still a blessing amid the disaster.

After this sudden calamity, the Xiao Family’s main task ahead was simply rebuilding Peach Blossom Source.

Lu Mingyi listened, held back for a moment, but couldn’t help asking, “It sounds relatively less grim, but at a time like this, she left the Xiao Family instead?”

“Uh, yeah. She said it’s just rebuilding—the land’s the same, and she doesn’t build houses anyway—so she left Madam Xie in charge.” Guan Du recounted vividly.

Lu Mingyi thought about it and couldn’t imagine Xie Muqing’s stern face overseeing construction.

She also knew how much Xie Muqing valued the Xiao Family—no less than Xiao Yuxie herself.

Even with the family’s foundations intact, the fractured situation in the southwest region, the loss of the Five-Colored Stone’s Spiritual Spring… All of it aside, would Xie Muqing even allow Xiao Yuxie to leave? And how could Xiao Yuxie—the one who prized her family above all—depart at such a moment?

After a moment of silence, Lu Mingyi softened her voice. “But the Xiao Family has so many matters, even if they’re not urgent… Why come here?”

“Oh, that? I asked too.” Guan Du nodded, recalling Xiao Yuxie’s expression then.

That soft, beautiful face—which haunted the dreams of countless young men and women in Taiqing Sect, with its exceptional poise—glowed faintly in the sunlight, a mix of detachment, resolve, and a subtle, cautious anticipation.

“She said the family matters aren’t thorny, but right now, there are more important things—for the Nine Provinces, for herself.”

Guan Du’s retelling was calm; she was just the messenger.

But when those words reached Lu Mingyi’s ears, they rolled straight into her heart, rippling endlessly.

She blinked, taking a while to process that Xiao Yuxie had said this.

In over a hundred years of my past life, Xiao Yuxie talked about her family the most, Lu Mingyi thought. Whenever sect duties clashed with family matters, nine times out of ten she’d set the sect aside and return to Tianfu.

And now this woman says there are more important things… for the Nine Provinces?

“Hmph… I bet my face looked about like yours—like I’d seen a ghost.” Guan Du shrugged with a laugh. “Everyone in the Nine Provinces knows it: Xiao Yuxie, head of the Xiao Family, is the ultimate family-first type.”

She sighed again. “Who knows if burning down Peach Blossom Source changed her so much that she’d say something like that.”

Of course not.

Lu Mingyi knew full well what a proud and stubborn person Xiao Yuxie truly was.

Without an obsession-like conviction, no one could juggle cultivation, family, and connections like that—let alone pull a fallen house back to prominence, rivaling even the Shen Family.

In mortal terms, Xiao Yuxie was at least a lord of revival for the Xiao Family.

Faced with another blow to her family, such a person would only grow more fixated, deepening her “family interests” obsession.

That was why Lu Mingyi, mindful of the entanglements from their Heart’s Blood oath, had chosen those words as a subtle reminder.

She hadn’t expected Xiao Yuxie to actually… change because of it?

This is too strange. What prompted her shift?

Lu Mingyi didn’t think her own words could have such an immediate effect.

In her past life, she’d offered similar gentle advice many times—urging Xiao Yuxie to focus on herself or look beyond the family.

The family mattered, but in cultivation, a stable mind was paramount.

Usually, Xiao Yuxie would smile mildly and change the subject, and Lu Mingyi wouldn’t press.

Lu Mingyi’s throat moved slightly. She picked up the tea beside her and drank to soothe the itch.

Across from her, Guan Du continued with their “chat log”: “Of course, I tried asking what it was, but she didn’t say—just that she came to help Master. Whew… They were supposed to arrive earlier, but some family and sect disputes in the southwest held them up.”

Guan Du didn’t know the details, but Lu Mingyi did.

It was all about the Five-Colored Stone—and dealing with those sects and families that tried to profit from the Xiao Family’s misfortune.

So Xiao Yuxie had come to Lin’an with Jiang Liuzhao purely for the Five-Colored Stone.

Jiang Liuzhao won’t let her touch the Five-Colored Stone, but calls her along quick enough.

Thinking of that figure under the locust tree earlier, Lu Mingyi’s eyes darkened, her fingers tightening slightly on the teacup. She pressed on: “What about Qi Yinxue?”

“You mean Peak Lord Junior Sister? I chatted with her last night. She said Master brought her along because she needs more experience—seeing the lay of the land across the Nine Provinces.” Guan Du said casually.

So Jiang Liuzhao’s pulling every trick to keep her out of the Five-Colored Stone mess—even using reverse psychology for once.

And she’s brought Xiao Yuxie, even dragging Qi Yinxue along.

Lu Mingyi sneered inwardly, but she stayed clear-headed.

She considered: With Taiqing Sect’s Sword Peak lordless now, big senior sister Jiang Liuzhao and second senior sister Guan Du away—even the sect leader herself—how was the sect faring?

Lu Mingyi hadn’t forgotten—from her awakening in Jiangxia, the initial news, to witnessing the rift between Tianyan Sect’s Taisu Medical Venerable and Jiang Liuzhao, and Taiqing Sect’s expanding recruitment.

She had once found all of this utterly absurd, but if it was Jiang Liuzhao who had made the decision, Lu Mingyi couldn’t help but feel there must be deeper reasons behind it.

Now that Guan Du was right there, Lu Mingyi figured she could take the opportunity to ask.

However, just as Lu Mingyi was about to speak, a knock suddenly came from outside their room. Then a somewhat muffled female voice called out, “Esteemed guests, have you finished your morning meal?”

“It must be a servant here to clear the dishes. Are you done eating?” Guan Du asked.

Lu Mingyi nodded. After downing a bowl of porridge, she already felt quite full.

But when Guan Du opened the door and saw who stood there, she let out a soft “Eh?”

The visitor was a young girl who looked unmistakably youthful. Her features were rather pretty in a delicate way. She wasn’t wearing the red robes that marked someone from the Shen Family; instead, she donned a simple gray robe, her long hair tied into a small bun at the back of her head, which made her seem all the more innocent and green.

Entry to Yaoguang Ravine was strictly controlled these days—only Shen Family members or people from other sects and clans who could prove their identity were allowed in.

Seeing someone who looked like a servant but clearly wasn’t from the Shen Family came as a sudden shock, and Lu Mingyi instantly went on alert.

Guan Du hesitated for a moment before explaining to Lu Mingyi, “Ah, actually… uh, the other portion of bean skin this morning? She delivered it.”

“What?” Now it was Lu Mingyi’s turn to be surprised.

This stranger? Not Shen Mingzheng, then…

Yet the girl curtsied boldly and lifted her gaze with a light smile. “Good day, esteemed guests. The two portions of bean skin from this morning? Shen Young Mistress had me prepare them and deliver straight to you both.”

“Oh, you made them?” Lu Mingyi and Guan Du were both astonished.

“Yes.” The girl’s smile brightened even more. “I’m the chef from that ‘Bean Skin Shop’ on the main street of Lin’an City. I was on break before, but last night Shen Young Mistress specially permitted me to enter Yaoguang Ravine and prepare breakfast for you two.”

Hearing this, Lu Mingyi recalled that day when she’d first encountered the bean skin stall originally from Jiangxia. The current owner had indeed mentioned that someone in their shop made bean skin even better than she did—but that person only showed up every few days…

Could it be this girl standing before her?

“I see. Your skills are impressive,” Guan Du praised. “What’s your name?”

The girl dipped into another slight curtsy and replied, “My name is Ji Yan—the ‘yan’ from ‘detest.'”