At noon, Lu Zheng made three dishes.
Braised snake segments.
Grilled snake slices.
Fresh snake soup with mushrooms.
Ten Thousand Pines Daoist did not eat the braised snake segments or grilled snake slices. He merely drank a small bowl of fresh snake soup with mushrooms, and that was enough.
However, Si Lingxi elegantly ate more than half the dishes. Her phoenix eyes curved slightly, and the corners of her lips lifted. She was clearly enjoying the meal.
That afternoon, having thoroughly learned Ten Thousand Pines Daoist's style and reached the point where there were no more surprises to be found, Si Lingxi invited Lu Zheng to play a game with her.
Lu Zheng had already shown his hand while playing Ten Thousand Pines Daoist, so he did not hold back.
At their level, although each person's style bore their own distinctive mark, the paths of play remained endlessly varied, with no fixed pattern whatsoever.
Thus, although Si Lingxi's skill was far inferior to Ten Thousand Pines Daoist's, playing against her still helped Lu Zheng accumulate experience and foundation.
When the game ended, Si Lingxi lost by one and a half stones without question.
Yet Si Lingxi did not mind. She simply sent Lu Zheng off to attend Ten Thousand Pines Daoist's lessons, while she continued taking leisurely walks through Ten Thousand Pines Mountain with Shen Ying.
Along the way, they gathered some fresh mushrooms and all kinds of wild vegetables.
"Frost fills the sky over a ten-li lake; every inch of black silk grieves the passing years. Alone beneath the moon, yearning for someone to watch over me; I envy only mandarin ducks, never immortals."
As Shen Ying and Si Lingxi strolled through the forests of Ten Thousand Pines Mountain, they gradually came to understand each other better.