8. I'll Teach You the Void Sword Qi

As the setting sun slowly sank into the sunset, its crimson glow cast long shadows of the two figures.

The rustling of birdsong and human voices mingled with the rustling of leaves and branches, reaching my ears.

A gentle breeze brushed against her hair and the hem of her clothes, seemingly causing her shadow to sway and weave together a dreamlike picture.

The girl said to Su Qing'an beside her in an annoyed tone:

"Su Qing'an, you can't just do something as dangerous as jumping off a building!"

She glanced helplessly at the boy, who was wearing pajamas, barefoot, and looked completely unaffected.

At this moment, he wore a faint smile, his dark eyes filled with golden light, and he held the bag he had been holding earlier in his hand.

Fu Hua felt as if her worldview had been torn into strange shapes.

Three seconds ago, she had just looked up when she saw Su Qing'an suddenly leap from the eighth floor, landing lightly on the ground.

Her feelings went through several cycles, from confusion to worry to bewilderment. The girl felt like her heart was being challenged, and she began to question whether there was something wrong with her initial confidence.

The person in front of me is completely strange.

Would a normal human being jump off a building to save time?

The mentally ill patient thought she could fly, which is why she did this. But Su Qing'an landed unharmed and even calmly took the bag from her hand. This matter-of-fact manner made the girl wonder if she was the one who was wrong about common sense.

It was clear that his initial thought that bringing Su Qing'an home would be completely safe was a grave mistake.

It's ridiculous to try to confine someone with your own way of thinking and common sense; someone with [Hidden]'s abilities should have made her realize this long ago.

Upon hearing Fu Hua's gentle questioning, Su Qing'an realized for the first time how vulnerable the girl before her was.

A single, ordinary Chariot-class Honkai Beast could easily tear her life apart. Her martial arts, which lacked a coherent system, combined with her slender and frail limbs, could only deal with the weakest Zombie.

This offered the boy little sense of security.

It's difficult to change the future for the better, but it's always easy to change it for the worse.

No one can say for sure whether Fu Hua can still follow the original path and become the Immortal Chi Yuan 55,000 years later.

It wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly died due to an accident.

Su Qing'an began to struggle with whether or not to temporarily leave Fu Hua's life, as if even a few steps away from her would cause him unavoidable anxiety.

This is an era on the verge of Honkai. Far from this city lies a distant experimental field teeming with Honkai Beast and vast amounts of Honkai Energy, where accidents could happen at any moment.

Even if a minor Honkai occurred the next second, giving birth to Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Su Qing'an wouldn't find it strange.

The Previous Civilization was destined to be a terrifying hell on earth.

All Su Qing'an had to do was ensure her safety.

As for everything else, it has nothing to do with him now.

The boy looked at the scene beside the road and responded:

"It's okay, no one will see."

[Hidden]'s skills became increasingly proficient. He intentionally did not separate himself from Fu Hua's subconscious, but instead blocked the vision of the surrounding life forms, which created the strange state where only she could see Su Qing'an.

That is why Su Qing'an still did not discover the fact that Udu-dust had shown the girl his hidden power.

Fu Hua glanced longingly at his ankle, where a corner of a scar was visible, but ultimately remained silent.

This person seems to have a past that he doesn't know about, completely different from the world and life he has experienced. It's as if he lives in the stories of urban legends, and has gone through countless bloody storms before finally arriving in the normal world.

Whether it's the faint, varying depths of scars on his body, his strange abilities, his superhuman physical qualities, or even the martial arts level he possessed that far surpassed his own, all of these indicate that Su Qing'an has an abnormal past.

Because it is obvious that only abnormal experiences can cultivate abnormal abilities.

Tigers in zoos don't need to learn to hunt; food is readily available to them. They don't need to hone their physique or fighting skills. But tigers that live alone in the wild are completely different.

The differences between humans can be like the differences between these two, creating an irreparable distance. Fu Hua once saw her father shatter an ancient tree as thick as a waist with a single, powerful blow.

She could clearly understand that normal humans were two completely different beings compared to her father.

In this technologically advanced yet terrifying era, martial arts schools cannot survive without genuine skills.

Su Qing'an's situation was even more extreme. The girl's martial arts skills were still shallow, and she couldn't see through the boy's abilities, but she understood that Su Qing'an was definitely stronger than her father.

This is true even in martial arts alone.

Martial artists aren't so magical that they can see through each other's skill level at a glance, but Su Qing'an's use of force-dissipating techniques and light movements couldn't be explained simply by high physical fitness.

Fu Hua immediately realized that Su Qing'an had a very high level of martial arts skill.

This person seems to have never thought of hiding anything from himself.

That's really strange.

But that was all the girl was thinking. When she said Su Qing'an was strange, she didn't realize that she herself was strange.

Normally, if you bring a stranger home and find that the other person is far more powerful than you, your first reaction should be a sense of crisis and a vague regret or fear. But Fu Hua's reaction was just a little surprised.

It seemed as if she subconsciously knew that Su Qing'an wouldn't hurt her.

Just as Fu Hua was lost in thought, Su Qing'an broke the silence with his words.

What groceries did you buy?

The girl glanced at the bag he had taken and instinctively replied:

"Two pieces of pork, one green bell pepper, one eggplant, and some spices."

Su Qing'an felt the weight of the bag and said:

Is the rice cooked in the rice cooker?

She replied naturally:

"It's been fine for a while now, it's just being kept warm."

Su Qing'an asked:

Do you have rock sugar and seasonings at home?

The girl thought for a moment and said:

"Yes, we have all of those, including dried osmanthus flowers and many medicinal herbs."

Fu Hua realized something was wrong, and she asked:

"... Why are you asking these questions?"

Su Qing'an looked at her with a puzzled expression, then said matter-of-factly:

"Of course I'll cook! If we have osmanthus flowers and pork, would you like braised pork with osmanthus fragrance?"

The young girl was taken aback for a moment. She actually had some doubts about the other person's cooking skills, but faced with the question, she still answered honestly:

"I don't dislike it."

"Stir-fried green peppers and pork?"

"Well enough."

"Minced meat and eggplant?"

"I don't dislike it."

The boy asked patiently, and the girl answered patiently.

Everyday conversations that bridged the gap between them shielded the gloom of the future. It was like gears of different densities and sizes trying to find their proper place, gradually transforming the somewhat unfamiliar and awkward atmosphere between the two into harmony.

Su Qing'an asked:

Can you eat spicy food?

A hint of hesitation crossed the girl's fair face, but she finally nodded her chin and answered earnestly:

"A little bit."

Just half an hour later, the table was already full of dishes. Fu Hua looked at the brightly colored braised pork with osmanthus and the other dishes that were delicious and visually appealing without saying a word, and felt very strange.

She remembered that braised pork should take a while to cook, and half an hour is normally not enough.

Moreover, he cooked more than one dish during this period. How did he manage that?

The girl originally planned to buy groceries after Su Qing'an Awakened, naturally to avoid the food getting cold and losing its flavor.

This gentle thoughtfulness was clearly proof that the girl had been saying one thing but meaning another.

Although she secretly hoped to treat him to a good meal and then send him away, whether Fu Hua could bear to let a clearly homeless person wander around at night was another question.

The rice had already been served by Su Qing'an, and chopsticks were placed in front of her. During this time, it seemed that there was little room for her to interfere with the arrangement of these bowls and chopsticks or the cooking process in the kitchen.

The reason was that the other person's movements were so fluid and quick that the girl felt completely useless.

For a moment, Fu Hua doubted whether her previous deduction was wrong. Such skillful cooking not only reassured the girl that she wouldn't eat any terrible food, but also made her feel that Su Qing'an was actually an experienced househusband, rather than a killer who came from some bloody and turbulent environment.

But no matter how skilled you are, it's not normal to shorten the normal cooking time of this dish to half an hour.

With concerns about the taste, she carefully examined the appearance of the braised pork. The ratio of dark soy sauce to light soy sauce seemed to be normal, and the color was very appealing, making the little girl's appetite quite strong.

It wasn't because Fu Hua was easy to deal with, but simply because, in addition to her unusually large appetite, she was also having a very tough time today.

Having convinced herself that it wasn't gluttony at all, the girl continued to look at the braised pork on the plate with a slightly reserved air.

The dish, which could easily appear greasy, was somewhat neutralized by the dried osmanthus petals sprinkled evenly on the meat, giving it a refreshing and fragrant taste.

The girl secretly glanced at Su Qing'an sitting opposite her, and encouraged by his gaze, used her chopsticks to put the braised pork into her bowl.

The pieces of meat that rolled into the bowl were all the same size as those on the plate, demonstrating the chef's precise knife skills.

The rich sauce permeated every grain of plump rice, and a few osmanthus petals scattered among the simmering braised pork made the aroma even more enticing.

She tentatively picked up a piece of braised pork, took a bite, and put it in her mouth to taste.

The sauce made her cherry-colored lips look moist and glossy, tempting you to taste them.

The girl's eyes sparkled with excitement as she experienced the positive sensation in her mouth.

The fragrance of osmanthus was exceptionally sweet for some reason; the delicate floral aroma that burst forth upon tasting it had a lingering, enveloping quality that completely eliminated the greasiness of the braised pork.

The well-balanced spices and rock sugar, along with a subtle saltiness, create an excellent flavor, and the texture is much better than the pork I used to buy.

Should we call it magical cooking skills?

Each layer of texture is clearly displayed on the tongue and rolls around in the mouth.

The girl herself clearly didn't have such a precise sense of taste, but she could miraculously perceive the subtle differences in each layer of texture and the delicious flavors that came from their collision.

I always feel that the normal method can't produce this flavor.

This is the honest assessment from the heart of a girl who tries so hard to maintain an elegant eating demeanor.

Because her father's cooking skills were rather mediocre, Fu Hua learned to cook at a very young age.

Furthermore, because Fu Hua was very popular with the elders in the neighborhood, she could usually get cheaper prices for groceries than her father did, which eventually led to the task of cooking falling to the girl.

For Fu Hua, whose culinary skills were now considered average, Su Qing'an's cooking skills were practically indistinguishable from magic. She asked with some curiosity:

"How come you finished cooking all the dishes in just half an hour?"

And... not only is it fast, but it also tastes so good.

Su Qing'an stared blankly at the girl's youthful face, momentarily stunned by her answer.

The boy recalled his question to Fu Hua that day. He asked her why she could make brownies so quickly, and why they tasted no different from those made normally, or even better.

She responded with a smile.

All of this is strikingly similar to what is happening now, like a strange cycle.

[Su Qing'an, haven't you been underestimating the power of the Void Sword Qi's Honkai Energy all along?]

For just this one sentence, he gradually abandoned his original aversion to using Honkai Energy and began to try to learn, improve, and more precisely control the use of Honkai Energy.

But when it comes down to the details, it's all about culinary skills.

How should I answer this?

Su Qing'an smiled.

This is a question whose answer is obvious without needing to be said.

He said softly:

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Just like back then, when that girl taught him how to play [Thousand Stars].

It turns out that time really is so unpredictable and mysterious, capable of changing so many events into such bizarre and fantastical forms. And Su Qing'an suddenly felt that perhaps seeing Fu Hua was not a coincidence, but an inevitable result.

The answer was so mystical, yet it resonated so firmly within the boy's heart that he never doubted it again the moment he arrived at it.

And then Atropos's words from that time flashed into his mind.

Su Qing'an understood even more clearly that there was already conclusive evidence for many things.

[The time and location of random respawns are not entirely random.]

What seemed like casual and perfunctory public information at the time now appears to be quite meaningful.

He silently kept his guess to himself, watching the girl eating quietly and somewhat reservedly, and his smile grew even wider.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Fu Hua responded:

"What kind of learning? Cooking?"

Su Qing'an said:

"It can be, or it can not be."

The girl tilted her head in confusion and muttered:

"What exactly is it? It sounds so mystical!"

The young man chuckled:

"Let me put it this way, I can teach you a way to cook faster and taste better. And this method I teach you will eventually allow you to replicate the techniques I used to present to you."

The means to get right in front of me?

The girl was taken aback, and after realizing the other person's somewhat convoluted words, she understood that they were referring to her jumping from the eighth floor.

Can I do that too?

Such an unscientific claim clearly sounds like a hoax, and what does it have to do with making food taste better?

How did Su Qing'an manage to connect these seemingly unrelated things?

The girl secretly poked at the tempting braised pork in her bowl with her chopsticks, her thoughts wandering and her feelings complicated.

Of course, she didn't completely disbelieve it, after all, the other party had already presented her with concrete examples.

It's an undeniable fact that the other party can do these things, but it sounds questionable whether I can do them too.

The girl understood that even if she could do many things herself, it was difficult to expect others to do the same.

Just like the set of boxing techniques her father taught her, Fu Hua might have mastered them in a few days, but someone else might not have been able to learn them even after months of practice.

This is the most basic difference.

Su Qing'an gave her the feeling that he was going to teach her some unique and unparalleled martial arts technique. Once she learned it, flying over rooftops and scaling walls would be child's play. At the very least, she could play hopscotch and jump eight stories high without getting out of breath or injured.

But putting aside whether peerless martial arts techniques are easy to cultivate, the problem is why such things can be taught so casually? It sounds like something that should never be passed on to just anyone. Even Fu Hua's own family martial arts cannot avoid sectarianism.

But Su Qing'an quickly gave Fu Hua an answer.

"Yes, I'm going to teach you a technique called the Void Sword Qi."

"In exchange, could I stay at your house for a short period of time?"

Fu Hua kept repeating this name, feeling a particular fondness for it:

"Void Sword Qi?"

Su Qing'an confirmed:

"Void Sword Qi"

Although she kept telling herself she wanted him to leave, the girl knew she was actually a little reluctant to part with him, especially since she was about to meet such a strange person at a turning point in her life, just before heading to Canghai City.

Is this what they call fate?

Even though the young girl was confused about the future, she still had fantasies. At least the brief encounter, like a shooting star, always left her with regrets. It was like a story that ended before it was even turned, which seemed too abrupt.

If she wants the story to continue, she will inevitably have to contend with some lingering thoughts.

Ever since meeting Su Qing'an, an inexplicable feeling has told the girl that the person in front of her would never hurt her.

Therefore, from a purely safety perspective, even if Fu Hua witnessed the opponent's abilities, she was not worried about them.

Having gone through this much internal struggle, the answer is actually quite obvious.

The girl didn't even glance at him, but just kept her head down and quietly poked at the rice in her bowl.

After a while, she said softly:

"If... you do the housework."

Su Qing'an looked at her reddened earlobes and suppressed a smile as he said:

"Including cooking?"

Fu Hua nodded quietly. She paused in her movement of moving her chopsticks, and responded somewhat awkwardly in a muffled voice:

"Including cooking."

This was met with Su Qing'an's affirmative reply, which she suppressed a laugh.

"Good."

From this point on, Su Qing'an's story in this city begins with her cohabitation with Fu Hua.