Fuli: ?

The High Elder raised a hand, signaling for everyone to withdraw. The attendants neatly set down their gift boxes one by one before leaving.

Once they had watched them leave, the four finally breathed a sigh of relief.

So this was what it meant for a novel scene to become reality. (Tactical lean back.)

Jing Yuan was the first to approach. He examined the gift boxes but could make nothing of them. "What's inside?"

Dan Feng began rolling up his sleeves. "Don't worry. Just open them. These are ingredients I just had someone purchase."

Jingliu hesitated.

She wanted to say that this was unnecessary. Really, completely unnecessary.

Dan Feng tried to reassure her. "Don't concern yourself. They only cost-" a six-figure sum in Strales, that was all.

"Master, let's prepare these ingredients together."

Before Dan Feng could finish, Jing Yuan interrupted him.

Jing Yuan first shot Dan Feng a glare, then carried several boxes of ingredients over to the chopping board.

Yingxing stared at the carp nestled in silk, lost in thought.

How was fish supposed to be prepared again?

Seeing this, Jingliu picked up the gift box with a soft laugh.

"Let's save our Master Forger's hands for pounding the fish paste. We wouldn't want any fish bones injuring them."

Yingxing thought it over. Fair enough. Jingliu was surely the best at preparing ingredients. He turned to find Dan Feng instead. "Dan Feng, sorry, but that ginseng... I think I ruined it while washing it."

Dan Feng's brows didn't so much as twitch. He shook his head. "It's fine. It was merely something a previous High Elder left behind. Hmm, I believe it was intended as a gift for the Former Marshal."

All five had keen hearing and sharp eyes. In the same room, they could hear every word the others said perfectly clearly.

Yingxing immediately set a pot of water on the stove to boil the ginseng.

Hearing this piqued Jing Yuan's curiosity. Yesterday, he had worked late into the night at the General's Residence, and before he left, General Teng Xiao had warned him not to disclose the matter.

But he had already told Xianyu early that morning. Knowing that Xianyu disliked drawing attention, he had simply sent a brief message asking him not to tell anyone else.

Now, hearing about the Former Marshal left Jing Yuan itching with curiosity.

"The Former Marshal? What sort of person was he? Was he on bad terms with the Imbibitor Lunae of that time?"

If they weren't on bad terms, why give him such a cheap gift?

"No, they were close friends. Someone else must have prepared the gift." Dan Feng paused, suppressing the surging emotions left behind by the other Imbibitor Lunaes, then added, "To be precise, everyone was a close friend of the Former Marshal."

Jing Yuan said, "...Why does that sound just like Baiheng?"

Baiheng was preparing ingredients with Jingliu. Hearing her name come up out of nowhere, she gave Jing Yuan a puzzled look, then went back to helping.

Holding a kitchen knife, Jingliu looked at the fish, its head now severed from its body, and asked Baiheng, "How do we prepare it next?"

Baiheng was working on the vegetables. She hesitated. "Cut it into sections?"

Jingliu asked, "What about these scales?"

Yingxing leaned over for a look and thumped his chest confidently. "No problem. We can pound them to pieces."

Baiheng was bewildered. Wasn't something wrong here?

Yingxing considered it. "It should all be the same once it's cooked, right? Don't worry, we have a slotted spoon."

Jingliu thoroughly agreed. She nodded and continued, chopping the fish until scales, blood, and flesh flew everywhere.

Beside them, Jing Yuan kept asking questions. Seeing his curiosity, Dan Feng dug through his memories for more stories about the Former Marshal.

"Once, in front of the Vidyadhara, he suggested to Yubie that he kill every clansman who opposed him. That way, when they were reborn, they would forget everything and support him instead."

What kind of living devil was this guy...? Jing Yuan thought.

"The Former Marshal once drank with the five Vidyadhara High Elders beside the Ambrosial Arbor. At the height of their revelry, he summoned his subordinates and had them bring over a dozen bound Abominations of Abundance. He actually managed to invite the Reignbow Arbiter himself-"

So everything in those storybooks was true! He really could summon the Reignbow Arbiter! Jing Yuan thought.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he pressed on. "What did he summon the Reignbow Arbiter for?"

Dan Feng fell silent for a moment before answering with difficulty. "To dispose of the Abominations."

Jing Yuan said, "..."

Dan Feng's expression was indescribably complicated. "After that drinking session, the Vidyadhara formally allied themselves with the Xianzhou."

Jing Yuan said, "..."

What kind of extraordinary person would bring in Abominations and the Reignbow Arbiter right in front of his prospective partners during negotiations?! That wasn't negotiation. That was intimidation!

Yingxing listened to Jing Yuan and Dan Feng's conversation while working on the fish. He exclaimed in admiration, then called them over to help.

Dan Feng took charge of mixing the ingredients for the nourishing soup. Jing Yuan glanced at the fish paste mixed with scales and innards and fell silent.

This looked wrong no matter how he looked at it! If Xianyu ate this, someone could die!

Jing Yuan whipped out his Jade Abacus and searched for cooking tutorials, trying to stop the other four.

Yingxing was cautious. Rather than putting the fish paste straight into the pot with the ginseng, he found another pot to cook it in.

The two pots sat side by side, with all four staring at them in unison.

Soon, the scales mixed into the fish paste floated to the surface, and a pungent fishy smell filled the air.

All four said, "..."

Dan Feng was the first to cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve and hurry outside.

Jing Yuan let out a piercing shriek. "That's not how you cook fish!" "You have to scrape off the scales, remove the innards, and add scallions, ginger, garlic, and cooking wine to get rid of the smell..."

Jingliu silently turned off the heat and covered the pot.

Yingxing said, "...Uh, that sounds like a lot of trouble. Should we try again?"

Baiheng took out her Jade Abacus. "I'll order hot pot from Takeout right now. Then we can cook a separate pot for Xianyu. What do you think, Jingliu?"

Jingliu had yet to recover from their failure. Hearing her name, she sighed. "Let's order Takeout. What does everyone want?"

"Berry wine."

"Shrimp paste."

"Oh, and crispy pork."

The four talked over one another as they ordered, then picked out the dishes Dan Feng liked as well.

By the time Takeout arrived at the High Elder's residence, Dan Feng had changed his clothes and returned.

The ends of the High Elder's hair were slightly damp; he had presumably washed himself with a cloudhymn technique again. First, the five combined the ginseng water with the beef-tallow hot pot base. Then Jingliu personally added plenty of meat and vegetables, and finally, the Sword Champion herself packed it up.

Yingxing nodded. "How does this not count as Jingliu's cooking?"

Baiheng wholeheartedly agreed.

Dan Feng summoned an attendant and had them deliver it to Xianyu in person.

Only after everything was settled did the five begin cooking their own hot pot broth.

Jingliu couldn't handle spicy food, so they had specifically chosen a tomato broth and added the ginseng water.

Yingxing enthusiastically poured drinks for his friends, scolding Jing Yuan when he tried to sneak some wine.

Jingliu handled adding the ingredients, while Baiheng kept her eyes fixed on the meat rolls.

Dan Feng stared blankly at the four, his gaze dazed.

"Imbibitor Lunae?"

"Imbibitor Lunae-"

Dan Feng seemed not to hear.

"Dan Feng!"

Upon hearing his name, the High Elder belatedly looked over.

Yingxing asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong?"

Smiling brightly, Baiheng urged him on. "Hurry up and eat. The meat will get tough soon-as expected of our High Elder! Aside from a slight medicinal taste, this broth is absolutely perfect!"

The five ate and drank together. Before long, their heads grew heavy, as though drowsiness had overtaken them.

Jingliu poked Baiheng, whose cheek was pressed against the table, then glanced at the sleepy Yingxing and Jing Yuan. Struggling to stay awake, she asked Dan Feng, "...Is this because of the Thousand-Year Ginseng? Or is the wine too strong?"

Dan Feng said nothing. His head tilted, and he collapsed.

*???* Jingliu thought.

Before Jingliu could call for help, her vision went black, and she followed her friends into unconsciousness.

Xianyu looked utterly bewildered when he received the food container delivered by a Vidyadhara.

After hearing their explanation, he understood.

Jingliu cared for him as a junior, just as she did Jing Yuan. Whenever she had something to eat, she never forgot Xianyu.

She had even specifically chosen his favorite spicy beef-tallow broth.

Xianyu thought for a moment, took a photo of the little hot pot, and sent it to Jingliu.

[No replies outside working hours: Got it. It's still hot, too.]

[No replies outside working hours: Cat Heart.jpg]

Xianyu waited and waited, but no reply came. He could only tuck into his meal. As he ate, an irresistible wave of sleepiness swept over him.

He hastily grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth, then stumbled into bed. The moment he closed his eyes, he saw the familiar great ice figure.

The great ice figure was silent for a moment before saying, "You've been poisoned."

*???* Xianyu thought.