7. I Picked It Up, You Picked It Up
While Gong Yiling and Yan Chuyue were busy in the kitchen, the three girls, having finished their baths, were already waiting at the dining table.
Qiu Shui was surprised to hear that Gong Yiling was cooking.
In her memory, the Young Palace Master was a culinary disaster, capable of burning even scrambled eggs. Had she been practicing in secret?
After about forty minutes, the food was finally ready.
Before they even saw the dishes, the aroma reached them.
Chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and a blend of spices filled the air, making their mouths water.
And when they saw the bowl of fiery red spicy crayfish, the three girls’ eyes widened in surprise and curiosity.
“The main course, spicy crayfish.” Gong Yiling placed the bowl on the table with a smile.
There were also a few side dishes: garlic lettuce, seaweed soup, braised eggplant, and a large bowl of rice.
A feast for the eyes and the nose, and the taste was predictably excellent.
The three girls all looked at Gong Yiling.
“Don’t just look at me, eat! Don’t tell me you don’t like it.”
After Miss Gong’s playful remark, the three girls immediately dug in.
The art of eating crayfish: first, slurp the broth, then twist off the head, devein it from the tail, and peel off the shell.
Then, a bite of the roe, a bite of the meat, the sweet and spicy flavors exploding in your mouth. This was the joy of eating crayfish.
Qiu Shui and Chun Lian, having peeled shrimp before, were naturals. However, one of them had a rather peculiar way of eating.
In the palace, shrimp was always served peeled, called “shrimp meat.”
Little Heehee had never seen such a strange-looking creature. She picked up a crayfish and put it directly into her mouth.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Even with ordinary shrimp, this would be awkward, let alone with the armored crayfish. Little Heehee couldn’t taste anything and looked like she was about to cry.
“This girl…”
Gong Yiling chuckled helplessly, peeled one for her, dipped it in the sauce, and placed it in her bowl.
“Delicious!” Little Heehee’s eyes lit up, finally experiencing the same joy as the others.
Then, she started peeling them herself, her movements surprisingly swift.
When it came to food, everyone was a natural.
After a hearty meal, everyone except Gong Yiling was flushed from the spiciness, beads of sweat on their foreheads, accentuating their already beautiful faces.
After a brief chat, Qiu Shui and Chun Lian volunteered to do the dishes. Little Heehee went with them, leaving Yan Chuyue and Gong Yiling lounging in their chairs, a satisfied expression on their faces.
The night was quiet, the moon hazy, veiled by the mountain mist.
Listening to the distant sounds of laughter and flowing water, Yan Chuyue suddenly turned and patted her shoulder. “You said you’re their master. What do you teach them?”
“Cultivation techniques, martial skills, spiritual arts.”
“You know so many things?”
“I can find them.” Gong Yiling shrugged. “I found a lot of things for Qiu Ming in the ruins of the Cloud Rainbow Sect. Chunhuai and Xinyao don’t even need cultivation techniques or spiritual arts.”
“The ruins of the Cloud Rainbow Sect?”
Yan Chuyue froze. “Are you sure it’s the Cloud Rainbow Sect?”
“Yes, that time the Hehuan Sect was almost wiped out. You should have heard about it.”
“I’ve heard about it, but…” Yan Chuyue said, “The Cloud Rainbow Sect’s techniques can only be learned with their own inner cultivation method as a foundation. Qiu Ming was already a cultivator when we first met. Did you rebuild her foundation?”
“She was already cultivating the Cloud Rainbow Sect’s technique.” Gong Yiling waved her hand dismissively.
At this point, Miss Gong had no intention of hiding it.
After all, this protagonist didn’t react much when she claimed to be from the Great One Engineering Sect.
“The Cloud Rainbow Heavenly Sound Technique, that’s what it’s called.”
“What did you say!?”
Yan Chuyue almost fell off her chair, tumbling backward.
“Bam!”
The impact made her see stars, her mind almost blanking out. But thinking about what Gong Yiling had just said, she jumped up, asking in disbelief, “Qiu Ming knows the Cloud Rainbow Heavenly Sound Technique!?”
No wonder Qiu Ming’s spiritual arts had a pure, natural aura, and her abilities were mainly healing-based…
It really was the Cloud Rainbow Heavenly Sound Technique!?
“Where did she get it? Did she pick it up off the ground?”
“I taught her.”
“Then where did you get it!?”
“I picked it up off the ground.”
“You picked it up… huh!? Huh!!??”
The author was dumbfounded.
What the hell? Was the Cloud Rainbow Heavenly Sound Technique something you could just pick up off the ground?
She remembered writing that there were no existing copies of this technique. Only after receiving the oral tradition from the Nine-Colored Deer could one learn it.
And it was incredibly difficult to learn, requiring exceptional talent in nature-type spiritual arts to comprehend it just from the oral tradition. In her original setting, the only one who could do this was…
Yin Qiushui!
Qiu Ming… Qiu Shui! Chunhuai… Chun Lian!
Lü… Gong!
So that was it!?
So Miss Lü was really Gong Yiling!
“Then you are…” Yan Chuyue was about to reveal her discovery, but she stopped herself.
No… I can’t say it.
If this woman was Gong Yiling, then she knew her strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.
If she showed any sign of recognition, would it make Gong Yiling suspicious?
Like, how did she guess her identity? Did she know more about her? What else did she know?
The author suddenly had a vision of being tied to a bed and whipped into submission.
Thinking of this, her words changed to:
“Then you’re really lucky.”
“…Huh?” The girl’s expression had been a whirlwind of emotions, and now she said this? Miss Gong was confused. “You really believe I just picked it up?”
“Because I also picked up an incredibly powerful treasure. We’re both lucky.”
“Ah…”
In a sense… they were both lucky.
Dying suddenly and transmigrating to another world, wasn’t that a form of good luck?
