Chapter 7: A Secret Stash
Sunlight shone onto the cutting board.
Rong Xie chopped ginger strips with a steady thump, thump rhythm. Then, using a stone mortar, he crushed spices and placed them into a six-petaled spice dish, categorized by type.
After finishing these tasks, he washed his hands and pushed open the window.
The kitchen window faced the courtyard, where a large, drooping-branch plum tree was planted. The tree stood thirty feet tall, a magnificent sight.
The drooping plum blossoms were in full bloom. Whenever the wind blew, palace-pink petals drifted down in waves.
A few petals flew over the windowsill and landed on the cutting board.
Rong Xie stared at the petals, lost in thought.
Life at Huanxue Villa was truly comfortable. There wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world better than here. Was he really going to leave Huanxue Villa just because of a dream?
Right, no matter how real the experience felt, it was still just a dream. Was he going to doubt his friendship with Shen Bingsi based solely on a dream?
That would be too insane.
Fortunately, he hadn’t told Shen Bingsi about the dream, or he would surely have been laughed at.
Suddenly, a wave of spiritual energy rippled from the main gate.
Someone was visiting.
Rong Xie paused. Who would come at a time like this?
…
Shen Bingsi, returning from the Mirror Palace to Huanxue Villa, wished he could have flown by sword the entire way. However, the Lingjing Sect was holding some ceremony in the front mountains, and flying was prohibited over the front plaza. According to the old Sect Master Xue Baoshan, whether you were the King of Heaven or the Jade Emperor, you had to come down, switch tokens, and walk.
Shen Bingsi really wanted to remind the old Sect Master that the King of Heaven and the Jade Emperor were likely the same person, but he didn’t get the chance. The moment he landed, he was swarmed by a crowd of enthusiastic fellow disciples.
“Is Senior Brother Shen here to watch the battles?”
“Which peak does Senior Brother Shen think will win?”
“I heard the winner of the sword competition gets personal guidance from Senior Brother Shen at Huanxue Villa. Is it true?”
…
Shen Bingsi pushed through the crowd expressionlessly, sparing a glance for only one of them: “No such thing. Don’t spread rumors!”
The young disciple hadn’t expected to stand out among so many brothers and sisters and receive a personal reply from Senior Brother Shen. He beamed, savoring that precious piece of guidance over and over in his heart.
Seeing his fellow disciples surging forward with even more enthusiasm, Shen Bingsi had no choice but to activate his Vanishing Steps. Turning into a blur, he twisted and turned through the crowd, escaping the front plaza via a quiet side path.
“Is it time for the Sect Grand Competition again? Years pass so quickly,” Shen Bingsi lamented. “But why isn’t there anyone maintaining order this year? Where are the elders of each peak?”
When Shen Bingsi flew his sword back to Huanxue Villa and entered the gate, seeing the bustling crowd inside, he finally figured out where all the elders had gone.
The beautiful large plum tree in the courtyard was in full bloom. Many thick branches, like pythons, hung down from the sky, covered in clusters of pink flowers. Occasionally, a breeze would blow, sending petals drifting down onto the old men seated around the stone table beneath the tree.
Shen Bingsi turned pale with shock. He rushed to the stone table and looked—his fish!
That plump, robust Heyang fish! The last time he saw it, it was jumping vigorously in the basket. Now, it had turned into scraps and leftovers.
Staring at the plate of clean-picked fish bones in the center of the stone table, fury rose in Shen Bingsi’s heart. A majestic ball of fire spiritual energy gathered in his palm.
Indeed, these old men mooching a free meal were none other than the elders of the various peaks.
Perhaps sensing the ominous fluctuation of spiritual energy in the air, the elders turned around one by one, enthusiastically welcoming Shen Bingsi and even pulling him to sit down and eat with them.
“Martial Nephew Shen, where did you find this butler? His skills are truly excellent!”
“Much better than the food in the peak’s dining hall.”
“Heard he’s a friend from your hometown? Heyang really produces talent.”
“…”
One doesn’t hit a smiling face. The elders knew this principle well. They heaped praise upon Shen Bingsi, from the fish to the butler, and from the butler to Shen Bingsi’s ability to judge character. In short, if not for Shen Bingsi’s keen eye for talent, they wouldn’t have eaten so uncontrollably until the food was gone without them realizing…
Shen Bingsi remained unmoved, his expression even colder. “You martial uncles really have short memories. Rong Xie was originally a disciple of our Lingjing Sect, came out of the inner sect. He counts as half a disciple to all of you, yet you don’t remember him at all?”
The elders looked at each other in dismay. “Well, he didn’t mention it…”
“He didn’t mention inviting you to eat fish either, so why did you eat so enthusiastically?” Shen Bingsi picked up chopsticks and flipped the fish skeleton over. “Heh, picked so clean. You didn’t leave a single bite for me.”
Seeing Shen Bingsi actually getting angry over a plate of fish, the elders hurriedly explained, “We didn’t come specifically to eat fish. We were worried about you, Martial Nephew. You released your spiritual consciousness early in the morning, throwing every peak into chaos. Even the old Sect Master, who was in secluded meditation, came out to ask what was wrong with Little Shen and if we had been regularly visiting Huanxue Villa to care for his well-being…”
Shen Bingsi slammed the chopsticks down. “Is this how you care for me? I only had this one fish! And you bunch swarmed it and ate it all!”
“It’s just that Martial Nephew Rong’s cooking is too good, hehe.” Knowing they were in the wrong, the elders stood up one after another, claiming urgent matters at their peaks, and took their leave.
Shen Bingsi wasn’t about to let them off so easily. They had to leave something behind—vegetables grown on their peaks, chickens, ducks, geese—all had to be prepared and sent over tomorrow.
Even so, Shen Bingsi still felt indignant. The sliced fish soup he had looked forward to all morning was gone. No, there wasn’t even soup left to drink.
He stomped into the kitchen, used spiritual fire to turn the fish bones on the plate into ash, and dumped them into the firewood pile under the stove.
Rong Xie was still busy in the kitchen, moving the salt jar here and there, arranging bowls and plates. There were endless things to do in the kitchen, which meant he didn’t have to go out and face the elders.
When Shen Bingsi entered, he tensed up for a moment. Seeing it was Shen Bingsi, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Have they left?” Rong Xie peeked outside cautiously.
“Gone,” Shen Bingsi fumed. “I chased them all away!”
Rong Xie got anxious. “How can you do that? They are your seniors after all…”
“They freeloaded first, showing no dignity as elders. Why should we respect them?” Shen Bingsi told Rong Xie about how he forced the elders to deliver meat and vegetables, telling him to keep an eye out for the deliveries. That way, he wouldn’t have to travel thousands of miles to the market for groceries in the near future.
Actually, the sect did send rice, flour, oil, and salt; daily necessities were never in short supply at Huanxue Villa. But if they wanted to have a special meal with gourmet food, they needed top-quality ingredients, especially meat.
This did save Rong Xie the trouble of shopping, but his heart didn’t settle down one bit.
“They came because they were worried about you. How could you ask them for things…” Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi with astonishment, his face saying You are too rebellious.
However, Shen Bingsi was naturally a rebellious person who prioritized his own feelings above all else.
“Elders should act like elders. If they don’t even remember the disciples they taught, what kind of elders are they?” Shen Bingsi sneered.
Rong Xie didn’t know what Shen Bingsi meant, but clearly, not getting to eat the fish made him very angry. It wasn’t surprising; he had been looking forward to it all morning…
Rong Xie tugged at the hem of Shen Bingsi’s clothes.
“Hm?” Shen Bingsi looked at him in confusion.
Rong Xie led him to a wooden bucket in the corner of the kitchen and opened the lid. A plump Heyang fish was swimming inside.
Shen Bingsi’s eyes widened.
“When did you learn to conjure live fish?” Shen Bingsi was amazed. Among the spell categories he knew, none could create living creatures out of thin air.
“This is the one I bought,” Rong Xie couldn’t help but smile. “I promised to make it for you; how could I let others eat it?”
Shen Bingsi raised his eyebrows. His expression of surprise gradually turned into a huge grin. He stepped forward, hugged Rong Xie tightly, buried his face in his shoulder, took a deep sniff, and sighed, “I knew it, Rong Er treats me the best.”
Rong Xie stiffened. Some unpleasant memories caused a pain in his chest. He had to hold his breath to remain quiet so Shen Bingsi wouldn’t notice anything strange.
Only when Shen Bingsi let go did he shift his weight slightly back, leaning against the cupboard behind him.
Shen Bingsi was focused on the fish in the water and didn’t notice Rong Xie’s abnormality. He cracked a few jokes, rolled up his sleeves, and reached into the water to grab the fish.
In the time that followed, Shen Bingsi single-handedly completed the prep work of killing the fish, scaling it, and removing the organs. Rong Xie’s mood recovered quite a bit.
It was just a nickname. Shen Bingsi used to call him “Rong Er” when he was extremely happy. Shen Bingsi had his own twisted logic: he didn’t like the character “Xie” (meaning thanks/wither), feeling that “Xie” belonged to others, while “Rong” belonged to Rong Xie himself. Of course, if Rong Xie was willing to change his name to “Rong Buxie” (Rong No-Thanks/Non-Wither), he wouldn’t mind calling him “Buxie.”
“That name is too ugly.” Young Rong Xie was a straightforward child and directly rejected the messy name Shen Bingsi came up with.
“Then I’ll call you Rong Er, Rong Er~” Shen Bingsi reached out with a hand dirty from climbing trees and grinningly picked a leaf out of Rong Xie’s hair.
“Rong Xie?” Shen Bingsi’s voice called out.
“Coming.” Rong Xie snapped back to reality, wiped his hands on his apron, took the sharp knife specifically for filleting fish from the rack, and walked to the cutting board.
Rong Xie’s filleting skills were superb. Shen Bingsi had never seen such dazzling knife work. Within moments, the plump Heyang fish on the board turned into over three hundred crystal-clear slices, arranged in the shape of an icy jade hibiscus flower. Layer upon layer, petals unfurling, the fresh, sweet scent made one’s mouth water.
“With this knife skill, if you cultivated a Golden Core and could control blades, wouldn’t you be invincible under the heavens?” Shen Bingsi praised. As soon as Rong Xie finished slicing, he immediately moved the plate to a cool spot.
“But I only like making fish, not being invincible,” Rong Xie turned around, switched to a cleaver, and chopped the fish bones in one go. He threw the fish head into the pot to boil for soup and set aside the remaining bones with some meat attached for deep-frying.
“Yes, yes. It’s enough for me to be invincible.” Shen Bingsi circled around Rong Xie, checking the soup one moment and touching the small spice jars the next. “I’ll guard the world, and you guard me… By the way, where did that fish earlier come from?”
Rong Xie found it funny. “Elder Yun Feng caught it fresh from the river.”
“Oh…” Shen Bingsi realized. “Seems I wrongly blamed them.”
However, Shen Bingsi would never admit his mistake.
“One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions. Why would Elder Yun Feng bring a fish over for no reason? He must have ulterior motives.” Shen Bingsi nodded, feeling his logic made sense. “That’s it. I bragged before about how good your fish is, so they took note. Terrible people.”
“Pfft.” Rong Xie laughed out loud.
Seeing him laugh, Shen Bingsi suddenly leaned in. He extended his arms to rest on the cutting board behind Rong Xie, trapping him between his body and the counter, and scrutinized his expression closely.
Rong Xie froze. His body subconsciously leaned back, his gaze shifting erratically, daring not to meet Shen Bingsi’s eyes.
“There is definitely a problem,” Shen Bingsi said with a grave tone. “Since last night, you’ve been avoiding me.”
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