What Makes a Hero?

After being urged to practice the basics all afternoon, Lan Tian had no time to continue telling them stories. Still, Gao Shun and Lu Lingqi were more than satisfied to have mooched a dinner.

By the time Lu Lingqi returned to Xiaopei City, dinner time had already passed. Lady Yan had specifically saved some food for her daughter.

Since Lu Bu had given his permission earlier, no one blamed Lu Lingqi for returning late now.

"Lingqi, why are you only back now? Did you go to Gan Family Village to listen to stories again? I'll have someone heat up the food," Lady Yan said.

"Mother, there's no need to trouble yourself. General Gao and I already ate at the village," Lu Lingqi replied.

"You already ate? Farmhouse food must be rather rough. Could you even stomach it?" Lady Yan asked worriedly.

"She could. I heard she enjoyed it quite a bit," Lu Bu said as he pushed open the door and entered. Gao Shun had just reported the day's events to him.

"Father."

"General."

Lady Yan helped Lu Bu remove his armor. Once he sat down, he looked at his embarrassed daughter and asked, "Why didn't you listen to a story today? Why did you end up teaching him martial arts instead?"

"I saw that Lan Ziyu was too frail, so I decided to show him a little kindness," Lu Lingqi explained.

"If you're going to teach him, teach him properly. Don't tarnish your father's reputation," Lu Bu instructed.

Because of one careless remark from Lan Tian, this warrior who looked down upon the world had developed a favorable impression of the young man he had never met.

"I understand."

"Enough. Go back to your room and rest. I hear you're going there for breakfast tomorrow morning too, so don't oversleep," Lu Bu said with a smile.

Lu Lingqi blushed at his words. "Then I'll return to my room first. Father, Mother, you should rest early too."

"General, aren't you indulging our daughter too much? Lingqi may be bold and forthright, but she is still a young lady. Before she is married, frequently associating with a farm boy may invite idle gossip in the future," Lady Yan said worriedly after Lu Lingqi left.

Lu Bu poured himself a cup of wine from the small table and drank it. Then he said boldly, "Such a woman's view. That Lan Ziyu is no ordinary farm boy. It is a pity that I cannot use him for my own purposes now, but it will do Lingqi no harm to befriend him. Besides, Gao Boping is with her. What is there to worry about? Empires and hegemony are discussed with a laugh; life is no more than a drunken dream."

Seeing Lu Bu make such lofty pronouncements after drinking, Lady Yan did not dare persuade him further.

Early the next morning, Lu Lingqi and Gao Shun rode to Gan Family Village.

"Lan Ziyu, we're here! What delicious food did you prepare this morning?" Lu Lingqi shouted as soon as she reached the small courtyard by the entrance.

Lan Ziyu was tending the fire and cooking at the time. Hearing her call, he came out wearing a homemade apron. "Why are you here so early? Haven't you eaten?"

Lu Lingqi nearly laughed at the sight of him dressed like that. "Aren't we here to urge you to practice? Where would we find time to eat? Make us a portion too. We rode all the way here and we're starving."

Gao Shun looked around awkwardly. Young Lady's excuse for mooching food and drink doesn't seem very convincing.

"Fine. It's only two more sets of bowls and chopsticks. But you have to come in and help me," Lan Tian said, setting his terms.

"Help? I can charge into battle and kill enemies, but I don't know how to start fires or cook," Lu Lingqi said, spreading her hands.

"That's fine. You can learn, and I can teach you," Lan Tian said.

"I won't be able to learn it," Lu Lingqi said somewhat reluctantly.

"How could you possibly not learn? With my build, I can practice martial arts with you. Can't you learn to cook from me?" Lan Tian shot back. I, the gold-medal instructor Lan Ziyu, can't even teach you something as simple as cooking? If ingredients weren't so limited and I had recipes, I could even teach you a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.

Lan Tian used her own spear against her own shield, leaving Lu Lingqi unable to retort. Gao Shun clicked his tongue in amazement beside them. This Lan Ziyu is truly quick-witted.

Lu Lingqi followed him into the kitchen. She had initially complained that it would dirty her clothes, but Lan Tian simply untied his own apron and gave it to her.

"You'll be in charge of the fire now. We're having millet porridge this morning. Add the firewood gradually like this. Don't let the flames get too strong, understand?" Lan Tian said as he demonstrated.

"I know," Lu Lingqi replied impatiently.

Since there were two additional people eating, Lan Tian mixed some more millet flour and planned to steam several more buns on the second stove. It did not matter if he ate a little less, but Lu Lingqi and Gao Shun were martial artists. If they did not eat enough, they would get hungry quickly.

Lan Tian had lived in the countryside as a child and was very familiar with the habits of rural life. He had brought some useful everyday skills with him into this world.

After Gan Ji and his daughter went to Xiapi to enjoy their good fortune, Lan Tian had remodeled the kitchen himself into a connected-stove setup. The first stove was for cooking rice and stir-frying dishes, the second for steaming food and reheating dishes, and the third for boiling water and washing pots. This allowed the heat generated by the firewood to be fully utilized.

Lu Lingqi had resisted at first, but after tending the fire for a while, she found it rather interesting. The warm glow made her face rosy, and she completely forgot Lan Tian's instructions, continuously feeding firewood into the stove.

Lan Tian kneaded dough and made buns with practiced ease. Since he was not selling them, he did not pay much attention to the appearance of the millet buns. But after placing them in the steamer, he sensed something was wrong. Why were the flames beneath the second stove so fierce?

He immediately lifted the lid of the first stove's pot and saw that the water inside had nearly boiled dry. The millet porridge was about to turn into millet rice.

Adding water now would not save it. Seeing what had become of the millet porridge, Lu Lingqi ran sheepishly outside to rest. Lan Tian scooped out the dry porridge, then added some water to prevent the bottom of the pot from burning through.

A while later, Lan Tian brought the millet porridge and buns to the table. Beside them was a plate of sliced cabbage stalks.

Buns with dry porridge were rather hard to swallow, but fortunately, there were refreshing pickled cabbage stalks. One bite immediately filled the mouth with saliva.

"Why are these cabbage stalks so crisp? They seem tastier than steamed or boiled ones," Lu Lingqi said, picking up a slice.

"They were soaked in salt water. We country folk call this 'pickled vegetables,'" Lan Tian explained.

"General Gao, have you eaten pickled vegetables before?" Lu Lingqi asked.

Gao Shun ate in peace, then decisively shook his head at the question. After all his years in the army, how many good meals had he eaten? Lan Tian's food was not lavish, but it truly tasted good.

After the simple breakfast, Lan Tian was still a little sore. That morning, he continued telling them Legend of the Condor Heroes. Once his mouth was dry from talking, Lu Lingqi urged him to practice the basics again. That evening, the two of them mooched another dinner before returning to the city.

For the following days, they repeated the same cycle: mooching meals, listening to stories, and practicing martial arts.

During this time, village residents often brought eggs, vegetables, and other farm produce. Lu Lingqi and Gao Shun were both deeply surprised. Lan Ziyu is actually so beloved by the villagers.

At noon on the fifth day, Lan Tian reached the Mount Hua Sword Contest in his story. With Genghis Khan's death, Legend of the Condor Heroes finally came to an end.

The two listeners each had their own thoughts and remained seated where they were, carefully reflecting on the tale.

Lu Lingqi was very pleased that Guo Jing had not become the Golden Blade Prince Consort, but had instead chosen to stay together with Huang Rong.

Gao Shun, meanwhile, was silent for quite some time before saying, "Guo Jing is loyal and righteous. He is truly a great hero of this world."

Seeing that both of them had gained some insight, Lan Tian suddenly remembered Gao Shun's eventual fate and felt it was a pity. So he added, "Just as Guo Jing said: a hero admired by his contemporaries and revered by later generations must be someone who brings benefit to the people and protects the common folk. It has nothing to do with how many people he has killed."

"Guo Jing's words are good, but they do not apply to the present age. The realm is in chaos now. This crude warrior does not understand how to benefit the people; I can only be loyal to my lord," Gao Shun sighed.

"The sun, moon, and stars in the heavens all perform their own duties. How could there be perfect people beneath the sky? If General Gao does not understand how to benefit the common people, then join those who do and end this chaos. Wouldn't that be enough?" Lan Tian said with a faint smile.

Gao Shun fell silent after hearing this. Who can end this chaos?

Lu Lingqi sensed that Lan Tian seemed to be implying something, but she was not as clever as Huang Rong. "General Gao, don't listen to Ziyu's nonsense. This is nothing more than a story he made up."