"Boss, bring out some good dishes and two bowls of rice."
"Coming right up. Oh, it's you, Su Bai? What happened to you?"
Verr Goldet covered her mouth in surprise. Messy hair, wrinkled clothes, a hoarse voice—if not for those three iconic fox tails, she wouldn't have recognized him at all.
"Yanxiao, prepare a few dishes for young master Su Bai."
"Got it. Three meats, one vegetable, no spice. I know the drill."
Yanxiao's enthusiastic voice came from the kitchen. Su Bai glanced toward the kitchen, envying the chef's passion and energy. Right now, all he wanted was to eat and then throw himself into bed.
"Young master Su Bai, will you be staying at Wangshu Inn tonight? You look completely worn out. I'll have someone prepare hot water for a bath."
"Thanks. Please hurry with the food. I'm starving. Send it up to the second floor. I'll eat with Brother Xiao."
Su Bai reminded Verr Goldet in a hoarse voice. Hearing that the young adeptus would also be dining, she rushed to the kitchen to tell Yanxiao to set aside other orders and prepare Su Bai's food first.
Knowing the adeptus upstairs would be eating too, Yanxiao didn't dare slack off. He took out the pork delivered from Springvale that morning and began cooking. Verr Goldet's eye twitched—that pork was supposed to be her own treat. She hadn't even tasted it yet, and now it was going into someone else's stomach.
"Don't forget to add an extra plate of Almond Tofu. And make a pot of Adeptus' Temptation. That makes six dishes."
Even though she thought the Conqueror of Demons wouldn't fuss over the number of dishes, Verr Goldet still wanted to be proper. After all, both guests upstairs were adepti. Making them uncomfortable would be troublesome.
Upstairs, Verr Goldet had already sent someone to place a table on the second floor. Xiao pushed the lunchbox toward Su Bai. Su Bai looked at the small wooden box suspiciously. Maybe it was because he'd seen too many coffins at Wangsheng, but he felt this box was rather ominous.
"Brother Xiao, I know you kicked me off the mountain, but you don't need to prepare a coffin for me, do you?"
"I'm an adeptus. From that height, I'd at least survive, crippled at worst."
Xiao didn't say anything. He just lifted the wooden lid. A whole box of stir-fried Qingxin appeared before Su Bai. Su Bai raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he'd seen Xiao bring out anything other than Almond Tofu. He had to try it.
He picked up his chopsticks and stuffed two pieces of Qingxin into his mouth. Instantly, the bitterness of the Qingxin, the greasiness of some unknown animal fat, and the saltiness of over-seasoning exploded in his mouth.
Su Bai's eyes went wide. Unable to believe his own taste buds, he chewed a couple more times. That strange flavor shot straight to his brain. He was now certain—this was just that awful.
"Ptooey, ptooey! Brother Xiao, how did you make this? Throw it out. Don't let anyone get food poisoning."
Su Bai grabbed the fine tea Verr Goldet had prepared for Xiao and downed the whole pot. Only after drinking an entire pot did the strange taste in his mouth subside somewhat.
Xiao quietly watched Su Bai's reaction. He was secretly relieved he hadn't tried a bite. Judging by Su Bai's expression, this stir-fried Qingxin might have transcended the category of "bad taste." Still, he was curious.
"Is it really that bad?"
"Brother Xiao, didn't you taste it yourself after cooking? Never mind, I'm throwing this out."
Su Bai picked up the box and prepared to find a trash can. Just as he turned to go downstairs and ask Verr Goldet where the trash was, Xiao spoke softly from behind him.
"This dish was made by Shenhe, Cloud Retainer's disciple. She specifically asked me to watch you finish it."
"She said you must have worked hard training all day, so she made this especially to help you replenish your strength."
Su Bai froze mid-step. What? Shenhe made this? No wonder it tasted so awful. Had Shenhe ever cooked before? As far as Su Bai knew, she just chewed on herbs raw.
Wait, something wasn't right. What did she mean by "training all day"? Had Cloud Retainer actually invented a device that could see the entire Jueyun Karst? Sensing Su Bai's shock, Xiao explained.
"Cloud Retainer's abode has a projection screen. By channeling adeptal energy into it, you can see any location in Jueyun Karst."
"So... Cloud Retainer and Shenhe watched me suffer all day?"
Su Bai's lips trembled. The principle that the more you don't want to be seen, the easier you are to spot, really held true. He thought he could avoid Cloud Retainer and the others by keeping his distance. But not only had he been spotted, even Shenhe had seen everything.
"How could this happen? How..."
Seeing Su Bai looking completely broken, Xiao felt a bit sorry for him. To ensure tomorrow's training wasn't affected, he decided to comfort Su Bai.
"Well, it's not that bad."
"What? Is there still hope? Did the projection break?"
A glimmer of hope reignited in Su Bai's dull eyes. Under his expectant gaze, Xiao slowly spoke.
"At least Cloud Retainer can't record the images on the projection yet."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. But she's already researching it. She said she won't rest until she solves this problem, so she can 'capture the beautiful moments of life.'"
Capture the beautiful moments of life? More like capture my embarrassing moments. Su Bai knew Cloud Retainer all too well. She definitely wanted to record his awkward moments to share with Ganyu and Shenhe.
"Tomorrow, I'll train hard. Brother Xiao, let's go to Jueyun Karst early in the morning."
Motivated, Su Bai decided he wouldn't sleep in for the next few days. He would part temporarily with his beloved bed. After all, a little separation makes the heart grow fonder. Once he learned to control Anemo, he could sleep in all he wanted.
"Good. Very spirited. I'll wake you up, then."
Su Bai couldn't believe his ears. The sky wouldn't even be light yet. Flying around Jueyun Karst that early, was Brother Xiao sure he wouldn't crash into a rock?
"What? Is there a problem?"
"No problem, Brother Xiao. Just wake me up."
Having never been an early riser, Su Bai gritted his teeth. It wasn't like he'd never gotten up early before. And he could watch the sunrise—consider it cultural enrichment. Xiao was pleased with Su Bai's response, but he hadn't forgotten his promise.
"Before that, you need to finish the Qingxin in that box. I promised Shenhe I'd watch you eat it all."
"What? Brother Xiao, this stuff isn't fit for human consumption."
"You're an adeptus, not human. Eat up."
"Fine, fine. Since Shenhe made it herself, I'll reluctantly eat it."