Heart-to-Heart

"..."

Otto rubbed his forehead, his anger subsiding a little. His best friend...

"Come on, this isn't the place to talk, let's go back to the room!"

"... This Miss Kallen might be a wise woman pretending to be foolish."

Su Mei watched the two figures leave and commented with a strange expression.

This Tai Xu Mountain is really going to get lively...

"Miss Otto, are you there?"

"...exist."

After receiving a weak response, Fu Hua opened the door with the medicine in her hand.

"The medicine is ready. If you have nothing else to do, please..."

Fu Hua paused mid-sentence, glancing at Otto, who was slumped on the bed, with a slightly strange expression.

"... Judging from your complexion, Miss Otto, you seem to be suffering from a sudden onset of anxiety?"

"... Please don't mention this."

Otto got out of bed listlessly.

"This guy's mental state has completely collapsed." Liu Bai handed Otto a piece of dried meat offered by his disciples. "You and Kallen aren't new acquaintances."

"..."

That makes sense.

Actually, Otto wasn't entirely upset because Kallen fed Liu Bai —after all, they'd been together for so long, and Otto had experienced even more mindless things than that.

As for saving face, Kallen herself doesn't care, so why should she worry about it?

But this time... Otto has to admit that he might have been a little jealous.

—You went to feed us and didn't even include me? Are we still best friends?!

However, Otto simply couldn't bring himself to say those words.

Although I previously decided to accept the Lord God's choices and those around Lord God with an open mind, putting it into practice feels incredibly difficult...

(Ha... such an open and honest heart... such a heart... ha!)

The mockery of the Imaginary Archive arrived as expected.

(Even my own mother, Dr. Mei, with her magnanimity back then, didn't dare to say she could openly accept it. Your idea is truly audacious.)

(... Are you trying to drive me so crazy that I'll kill you?)

Otto's face darkened.

(Besides, isn't a flat plain auspicious?)

(Ha... that's another kind of openness.)

Imaginary Archive sneered.

(My default form as Prometheus was bigger than yours back in the day!)

Otto felt from the bottom of his heart that he should have a gossip session with Imaginary Archive about family hierarchy.

It was one thing to provoke me before, but to dare to provoke me again at this time... Aren't you afraid I'll sacrifice her to the heavens?

"... In any case, Miss Otto, you should calm down and take your medicine first."

Fu Hua put the bowl aside.

"I'll trouble you to keep an eye on things, Master. I still have some matters to attend to."

"It's my duty."

"..." The strong, pungent bitter smell made Otto frown.

Out of respect for Liu Bai, Otto still pinched his nose and started drinking... But then again, Otto has a pretty strong tolerance for bitterness, so even though it was very bitter, he could just endure it.

However, this only made Otto feel worse.

"... Speaking of which, is Miss Chi Yuan quite skilled in medicine?"

After Otto finished his drink in one gulp, Fu Hua was just about to leave when she heard Otto call her, and immediately turned around.

"Medical skills... I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at them, but I do have some experience with them."

Fu Hua answered calmly.

"Does Miss Otto want to learn?"

"No, no, no, I don't have that kind of energy..."

Otto's tongue was still a little unresponsive to the bitter taste.

"I'm just curious, does Miss Chi Yuan have any prescriptions for strengthening the body?"

"Of course there are," Fu Hua nodded. "However, for women, a gentle, nourishing herbal soup like the one Miss Otto just drank is more suitable."

"I see."

Otto nodded, looking like he had learned something. "Are there any medicines in this category that promote development?"

"... It depends on what aspect we want to promote: bones? Intelligence? Or something else?"

Fu Hua felt the topic was a bit strange, but she still answered quite honestly.

"Hmm... to promote pectoral muscles?"

Otto looked at Fu Hua with a smile and said.

"..."

Fu Hua fell silent.

Liu Bai's brow twitched... Although Fu Hua has a good temper, that's no reason for you to get angry!

And why are you, Otto, starting to act so arrogantly?

"...Miss Otto, you have a congenital deficiency, and it has been more than twenty years since then. You have missed the best opportunity, and now it is probably too late for medicine. You should make other plans as soon as possible."

"..."

Otto fell silent as he watched Fu Hua, who stood up slowly with a calm expression.

... Was she scolded?

Chapter 261 Heart-to-Heart Talk

End of 1474

"Master! Are you there? Here is your letter."

The door to Otto's room was pushed open.

"Please sit down, Su Yi."

Liu Bai and Otto were both huddled on the heated kang bed in the room at this moment.

Upon seeing Qin Suyi enter through the door, Liu Bai didn't stand on ceremony and directly invited her to sit down as well.

"Thank you, Master!"

Su Yi bowed, and without refusing, took off her shoes and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

Liu Bai lived here for a year, and his disciples and grand-disciples got to know their ancestor's personality, so there was no pressure in getting along with him.

Of course, respect remains.

"Here, Sister Otto, this is a letter. Senior Sister Ling Shuang found it on an eagle."

Qin Suyi stretched her feet under the covers while taking the letter out of her bosom.

Then, Qin Suyi showed a happy expression.

At times like these, only their own ancestral master's place allows them to slack off for a while, and it's also very warm.

"Let me see..." Otto took the letter, his face seemingly having already anticipated something. "Nagatsugu's letter. Schicksal has already made contact with those nomadic tribes in the north. They are currently stationed on the Kipchak steppe for winter. When spring comes next year, Schicksal and the Ming Empire will go to war."

After reading the letter, Otto casually tossed it onto the table.

"I thought Schicksal would be a bit more impatient."

"Forget it. The weather in the north of the Ming Empire is really terrible. Schicksal is not so strong as to wage war against a huge empire under such unfavorable conditions."

Otto sighed.

These days, it just so happens to be the Little Ice Age.

How fierce is it?

"Heavy snow fell for forty days in the prefectures of Jiangnan, and countless people in Suzhou and Changzhou froze and starved to death."

Even in the Jiangnan region, there can be heavy snow for forty days. In the North... the temperature there is enough to calm down those commanders who are blinded by greed.

Moreover, those who have been fighting there for five years and are still alive should know how tyrannical God has been in recent years.

So the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) was truly a wonderful civilization...

As Otto thought about it, he shrank deeper into the blankets.

Having spent a winter here, Otto shouldn't be surprised.

"However, we estimate that we will have to return in the spring, and Schicksal has started urging us to do so."

Is the Patriarch leaving?

Qin Suyi, who was almost fifteen years old, was still shy. She was confused by words like "Schicksal" and "war," but she understood the word "return trip" perfectly. So, Qin Suyi's face clearly showed her reluctance.

"Don't worry, there are still two or three months until spring. But then again... there are some things we should start planning for soon."

Liu Bai sat on Qin Suyi's head, signaling the girl to calm down.

However, Qin Suyi was still not happy, after all, two or three months... wasn't really that long.

"Is there anything else, Master? If Su Yi can do it..."

"Um... there's something I need to take care of." Liu Bai nodded. "What is Su Mei doing right now?"

"Second Senior Sister is preparing dinner now," Qin Suyi replied softly.

"Hua took Lin Chaoyu with him this time, so the burden fell entirely on Su Mei."

Although it's a bitterly cold winter outside, nothing can stop Fu Hua's determination to vanquish demons.

Therefore, Su Mei is now handling all matters, big and small, on Tai Xu Mountain.

"Based on past experience, Master should be back in a couple of days," Qin Suyi said softly and considerately.

"After all, it's almost Chinese New Year... Never mind, let's talk about this after dinner."

Now that Fu Hua and Lin Chaoyu are not around, it's much easier to talk about certain things.

"Oh..." Qin Suyi felt like she hadn't understood anything all day.

The patriarch sometimes said things that were hard to understand...

"I'll write a reply here, and ask Suyi to take it back to Ling Shuang later so she can put it on the eagle." Otto also took out a pen to write a reply to Nagatsugu to let him know that everything was alright.

But as soon as Otto spread out the paper, Otto noticed that Qin Suyi's expression was somewhat hesitant.

"Suyi, say what you want to say."

"Um..." Qin Suyi hesitated for a moment, "The eagle has already been roasted by Fifth Senior Sister."

"...?"

"Hahaha! I knew Ling Shuang would be the first to discover this letter. It seems that the eagle was circling above Tai Xu Mountain, which annoyed Ling Shuang, and then Ling Shuang cut it down with her sword!"

Liu Bai slapped his thigh and laughed happily.

"Our grandmaster was incredibly insightful..."

Qin Suyi's little face twitched, and she nodded obediently.