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The younger they were, the faster friendships formed. Though Shang Yi was already a youth and a member of the Shang Kingdom's royal clan, he still became friends with Yi Yin in an exceedingly short time.

Before and after Yu Chen's lessons, the two wandered around the Daoist grounds.

Unlike the others, Yi Yin was one of the few children who lived within the grounds. He had his own room and little courtyard, where he grew quite a few common ingredients.

After becoming familiar with Shang Yi, he even pulled him along to cook together.

The two stood around a cauldron-like ceramic vessel, simmering fish soup.

As the lid lifted, a faint radiance emerged amid the billowing white steam, shrouding most of Shang Yi and Yi Yin's bodies.

Within the hazy, dense mist, several palm-sized fish that had been prepared beforehand bobbed in the thick soup.

By now, the fish flesh had fallen apart, like accumulated snow melting into water and dyeing it white, creating a wondrous sense of purity and sanctity.

Yi Yin picked out the fish bones one by one, then added various seasonings and made subtle adjustments, bringing the flavor of the entire fish soup to another pinnacle.

Shang Yi took a deep breath, inhaling the rich fragrance rolling over him in waves, and sighed. "Sure enough, among all dishes, soups and broths are what you do best!"

Yi Yin ladled out a bowl of fish soup and handed it to Shang Yi, replying, "Water is the foundation of flavor. Those who dwell in water are fishy, those who eat meat are rank, those who eat grass are muttony—all can be harmonized with water. The five flavors and three ingredients take fire as their measure; now swift, now slow, through nine boils and nine transformations, fishiness may