You Haven't Eaten in Ages, Have You?!

Yun Qiyao lay dazed on the bed. When she came to, she stammered,

"Th-then... could you... close your eyes...?"

Jing Pu nodded seriously.

"Sure. But if I can't see, I'll have to feel around to confirm where it is. So, what are you planning to do?"

Yun Qiyao: "..."

Looking at Yun Qiyao's troubled expression, Jing Pu pursed his lips.

"A doctor's heart is the heart of a parent. In my eyes, you're no different from a piece of wood. Besides, if you had even half of Ling Ju's figure, I might be happy to take a look. But you're so flat, I can't even tell front from back. What's there to be embarrassed about? Hurry up. Once we're done, I still have vegetables to harvest."

As soon as Jing Pu finished speaking, the whole room fell silent.

Ling Ju, who had been standing behind Jing Pu with an impassive expression, suddenly flushed bright red. She gazed at Jing Pu with a bashful, reproachful look.

"Senior... what are you saying...?"

Yun Qiyao, lying on the bed, glared at Jing Pu in shame and indignation.

Hearing Ling Ju's bashful voice behind him, Jing Pu froze. He'd forgotten Ling Ju was there. Awkwardly, he turned to glance at her.

"I was just talking nonsense..."

When Jing Pu turned back, Yun Qiyao shut her eyes as if resigned to her fate and began taking off her clothes.

Five minutes later, it was done.

Jing Pu stepped out of the room and casually closed the door, leaving Ling Ju inside to keep an eye on things. Then he went to the backyard to gather vegetables.

He'd make a good lunch. It was the first time Jing Pu had cooked since coming here, and he wanted Ling Ju to try his cooking.

After reaching the courtyard, Jing Pu thought for a while about what to make for lunch, then immediately got to work.

About twenty minutes later, Jing Pu returned to the main room carrying a basket of vegetables. They were all ordinary sorts: eggplants, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

The dishes he planned to make for lunch were ordinary home cooking, too.

He'd make a pot of rice, braised eggplant, smashed cucumber with garlic, and tomato and egg stir-fry. In truth, Jing Pu knew how to make all kinds of elaborate, hearty dishes, but right now, this was exactly what he felt like eating.

Jing Pu went to the main room and filled a basin with water to wash the vegetables. Hearing the noise, Ling Ju came out from the inner room. Maybe because of Jing Pu's careless remark earlier, her face was still red.

Looking at Ling Ju, Jing Pu smiled.

"At lunch, you absolutely have to try my cooking. I mean, even people who cultivate immortality can eat a little mortal food, right?"

Ling Ju paused. Looking at the vegetables Jing Pu had placed in the clear water, which radiated the truths of the Great Dao and brimmed with spiritual energy, she nodded excitedly at him.

"Thank you, Senior..."

But after she finished speaking, Ling Ju suddenly froze... If she ate them... would she still be able to suppress her cultivation?

Ling Ju thought for a while, then looked at Jing Pu, who was washing the vegetables with his head lowered.

"Senior... I'm about to advance..."

Jing Pu was taken aback. He looked up at Ling Ju and said happily,

"That's great! Then you should eat even more at lunch."

Ling Ju didn't seem particularly happy. She lowered her head slightly and looked at Jing Pu, blushing.

"If I advance... I'll have to go into seclusion for a while, just like Ling Jing and the others."

Jing Pu blinked. Not quite understanding what Ling Ju meant, he nodded blankly.

"Mm... That seems normal. Don't you still have that Myriad Sect Grand Ceremony competition to take part in? You should go into seclusion."

Seeing how clueless Jing Pu looked, Ling Ju suddenly turned her blushing face to the side, unable to look at him. She lowered her voice.

"I mean... if I go into seclusion... I won't be able to come to Senior's place every day."

Hearing that, Jing Pu paused, then gave an helpless grin.

"What's so great about coming here? Spending time with me is nowhere near as important as competing and getting a good result. If you come here every day, I'm worried I'll hold up your cultivation."

Ling Ju pouted slightly, seeming reluctant.

"That competition isn't that important..."

Jing Pu raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that competition held only once every hundred years? A competition that important deserves to be taken seriously."

Ling Ju turned back to him, curious.

"Senior, do you want me to take part?"

Jing Pu thought Ling Ju was being a little strange, but he nodded at once.

"Of course! You're so formidable, you should naturally compete and show what you can do. Otherwise, you'd be wasting your talent. Besides, even if you like these quiet days, you can come back after the competition. There's plenty of time."

Ling Ju's unhappy expression had been there a moment before, but after she paused, she suddenly smiled and nodded gently.

"That's right... There's plenty of time..."

While Jing Pu and Ling Ju were talking, Yun Qiyao's voice suddenly came from the inner room.

"Are you two done? Hasn't the half hour passed yet?"

Jing Pu jolted and hurried toward the inner room. Damn, he'd almost forgotten there was still someone in there.

After finishing up with Yun Qiyao, Jing Pu went back to his spot and continued washing the vegetables.

Before long, Yun Qiyao came out, fully dressed. She still seemed angry about what Jing Pu had said. She gave him a cold little huff.

"I don't like owing people favors. Tell me what you want. I... Senior... could I have lunch here with you today?"

Jing Pu: "???"

What kind of nonsense was that??

When Jing Pu looked up at Yun Qiyao in bewilderment, her beautiful, alluring eyes were fixed on the large basin of vegetables in front of him.

Looking at Yun Qiyao, Jing Pu raised an eyebrow, his expression odd.

"It's just one extra pair of chopsticks. If you want to eat, stay. But I didn't prepare anything for you, so go pick some more vegetables from the backyard."

Yun Qiyao nodded eagerly, behaving like she'd forgotten everything that had happened earlier. She hurried out of the main room to pick vegetables in the backyard.

At lunchtime, Jing Pu sat at the table, chopsticks in one hand and a bowl of rice in the other, staring blankly at the scene before him.

Had you all never eaten before?!

There were a lot of people at the table today: Jing Pu, Ling Ju, Ling Jing, and Lie Chun, plus the newcomer, Yun Qiyao. Five people in all.

But aside from Jing Pu, the other four were eating like a band of starving refugees, fighting over the food on the table.

Even Ling Ju, who usually cared most about her manners, was gobbling it down. Her already tiny mouth was stuffed full, making her look rather cute.

Jing Pu watched the dishes he'd just brought out disappear almost entirely in less than three minutes, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He knew his cooking was delicious. But these people were members of the imperial family; their cooks couldn't be bad, either. Was this really necessary?

Besides... weren't these people supposedly not eating?!