Hometown Delicacy

Xiao Yu moved with practiced ease. After all, he had been out adventuring alone for so long that he could at least take care of his basic meals.

With a light wave of his right hand, the Bone Chilling Flame spread out and ignited the prepared firewood. Just as Xiao Yu was about to continue, Yun Zhi cried out from the stone bed, "Heavenly Flame?"

Xiao Yu smiled and turned to Yun Zhi. "Just a small stroke of luck."

Yet Yun Zhi retorted, "A Dou Practitioner so young, who is also an alchemist and possesses a Heavenly Flame that everyone on the Dou Qi Continent dreams of obtaining—and you're telling me it was merely a small stroke of luck?"

By the end, Yun Zhi could not help rolling her eyes at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu merely smiled without saying anything, quietly preparing dinner. Yun Zhi lay on the stone bed as well, staring blankly at the mysterious young man.

After a long while, Xiao Yu took out some tableware from his ring, poured the cooked millet porridge into a bowl, and carried it over to Yun Zhi, interrupting her gaze.

"Time to eat."

A gentle voice came from Xiao Yu's lips. The moment he said it, even he froze briefly, as though he had only just realized that his tone was perhaps somewhat inappropriate.

Heavens knew that Yun Zhi's pale face had made Xiao Yu momentarily forget that she was the Dou Emperor who had fought the Lion King in the sky, so the words had simply slipped out.

Yun Zhi was also slightly stunned upon hearing him, uncertain what to say. Xiao Yu was the first to break the awkward silence. Noticing that Yun Zhi still could not move, he said, "Just lie there. I'll feed you."

Awkward or not, she still had to eat.

"I'm not hungry. I won't eat."

Yun Zhi tried to reject Xiao Yu with her usual cold demeanor. Xiao Yu did not argue. He simply held the bowl and brought a spoonful of millet porridge to Yun Zhi's lips without speaking or pulling it back.

Unable to outstubborn Xiao Yu, Yun Zhi could only open her mouth and eat the porridge.

The sweet rice porridge, mixed with a few shreds of Magic Beast meat, was surprisingly enticing.

One fed while the other ate, creating a beautiful scene within the cave.

The bowl of millet porridge was soon emptied. Seeing that Yun Zhi still wanted more, Xiao Yu softly said, "That's enough. Don't eat too much at night; it won't digest well."

Yun Zhi shot him a fierce glare, then turned her head away as if sulking and said nothing more.

Xiao Yu smiled and put away the dishes. By then, the Magic Beast meat on the fire rack had been roasted golden and crisp. Xiao Yu took it down, bit off a huge mouthful, and sat in the cave tearing into it.

At some point, Yun Zhi had turned back around. Seeing the way Xiao Yu ate, she laughed and said, "Hey! Don't you pay any attention to your table manners?"

Xiao Yu looked at Yun Zhi while eating. "When you're hungry, you eat. As long as you fill your stomach, what's there to worry about? Besides, it's not like I'm that disgusting."

Xiao Yu quickly finished the large chunk of Magic Beast meat and said to Yun Zhi, "Rest well. I'll be right here. Call me if anything happens."

The days they spent alone passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, three days had gone by. Yun Zhi was now able to move about a little. With Xiao Yu supporting her, she could leave the stone bed and do some simple exercises.

After several days together, the two were no longer so unfamiliar with each other. Yun Zhi continued recovering from her injuries each day, while Xiao Yu occasionally went outside to check for nearby Magic Beasts. The rest of the time, he cultivated in the cave. Since he could not practice Dou Techniques, Xiao Yu took the opportunity to hone his alchemy experience instead.

Over three days, who knew how many first- and second-tier medicinal herbs he had used up? Xiao Yu had also successfully refined a second-tier medicinal pill by himself for the first time. This meant he had stepped into the threshold of a second-tier alchemist. Once he became more proficient, he could be considered a true second-tier alchemist.

This raised Yun Zhi's opinion of Xiao Yu by another level.

"What do you want to eat today?"

Noticing that it was getting late, Xiao Yu softly asked Yun Zhi, who was sitting on the stone bed.

Ever since the millet porridge on the first day, Xiao Yu's cooking had completely won Yun Zhi over.

Yun Zhi tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Charcoal-grilled golden fish and jade radish chicken."

Hearing the dishes Yun Zhi named, Xiao Yu laughed and teased her. "Hey, hey, hey, I may be decent at cooking, but your demands should be reasonable too. Why don't I just make you an Imperial Manchu-Han Banquet?"

"What is an Imperial Manchu-Han Banquet?"

"Uh... it's a famous dish from my hometown. I'll make it for you when I get the chance."

Yun Zhi did not know what this so-called Imperial Manchu-Han Banquet was. Thinking it was simply one of Xiao Yu's hometown specialties, she agreed with a smile.

Dinner gradually came to an end amid the pair's teasing laughter.

Not long after dinner, Xiao Yu noticed Yun Zhi hesitating to speak several times, so he took the initiative and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yun Zhi fidgeted for a while before finally saying in an almost inaudible voice, "Um... I want to bathe..."

Over the past few days, she had been unable to move while lying on the bed. Now that she could finally walk around, Yun Zhi naturally wanted to take a bath and relax as a woman.

Xiao Yu hesitated after hearing her request, but in the end, he could not bear to refuse and could only agree helplessly.

"Then wait here. I'll go make some preparations."

As he spoke, he went outside to inspect the surroundings. There were no dangerous Magic Beasts nearby, and he had already checked the lake a few days earlier. Other than some schools of fish, there were no other creatures, so Xiao Yu chose this place.

Returning to the cave, he brought Yun Zhi to the lakeshore and softly told her, "Call me if anything happens. I'll go check over there."

As soon as he finished speaking, he headed toward the nearby woods. He found a large tree and sat with his back facing the lake.

Yun Zhi looked at Xiao Yu on the tree trunk, her cheeks faintly red. She gently removed her clothes, and as her snowy jade feet touched the clear water, ripples spread outward in circles.

The night breeze drifted gently through the mountain forest.

Xiao Yu sat on a branch, feeling the breeze brush against him. He held a wine flask in his hand—not to show off, but because he had truly never relaxed properly like this since arriving here.

His recent days in the Magic Beast Mountain Range could be considered the most relaxing time since his transmigration.

Right after transmigrating, he and Xiao Yan had become disciples of Medicine Elder and trained bitterly for a year. Soon afterward, they had immediately left Wutan City, and even along the road, they had needed to remain vigilant in case someone used some underhanded trick against them.

After entering the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he had continued cultivating without pause, either practicing Dou Techniques or tempering his alchemy skills.

Speaking of Dou Techniques, Xiao Yu had yet to cultivate the Purple Cloud Wings he and Little Medical Fairy had taken from the stone chamber. Flight Dou Techniques were rather rare, and their cultivation methods were also more complicated, so Xiao Yu had kept putting it off. He needed to master it soon; at a critical moment, it could save his life.

These past few days with Yun Zhi had been a rare period of ease.

Perhaps because his strength had improved, even though he was some distance from the lake, his well-trained body still allowed him to clearly hear the sound of water being scooped up. It scratched at Xiao Yu's heart like a kitten's paw.

I'll just take one quick look. She probably won't notice, right? Xiao Yu quietly said to himself.

Pretending to shift positions casually, he turned sideways and leaned against the sturdy branch behind him. He took a sip from the wine flask in his hand to conceal his thoughts.

Using the motion of drinking as cover, his eyes secretly glanced toward the center of the lake.

What entered his sight was a flawless, jade-white back.

The hair that had originally been gathered atop her head had now fallen loose, draping perfectly over her shoulders. A few strands clung to Yun Zhi's back, dampened by the lake water.

Yun Zhi's slender fingers slowly scooped up the cool lake water and poured it over her head. It rolled down through her dark hair before falling back into the lake.

Half of her delicate waist was hidden beneath the gently rippling water, while the other half swayed above its surface. As Yun Zhi washed herself, it moved ever so slightly.