"Anyway..." Yunli looked at Jiaoqiu, who had just arranged a meal with Jiang Yu. She had been unable to resist joining in, hoping for fewer spicy dishes and more sweet ones. "If you don't understand swordsmanship, what were you standing there grinning about?"
"I merely sympathized with the question of what Miss March 7th ought to learn and couldn't resist coming over," Jiaoqiu said. "In my professional experience, chopping knives, slicing knives, cutting knives, and carving knives are all blades, but like pan-frying, stir-frying, boiling, and deep-frying in cooking, they are merely techniques for people to employ. How you use them depends on the ingredients' inherent qualities.
"Take these sword lessons, for example. Only by following the ingredients'-I mean, the disciple's-natural disposition, and using a more suitable cooking method-I mean, teaching techniques better suited to her nature-can you help her achieve twice the results with half the effort!
"For example, Purple-Gold Eggplant should be deep-fried, Red Cloud Pepper stir-fried over high heat, and Yellowstone Beef braised. Discovering the ingredients'-I mean, the disciple's-natural qualities is our job."
"All this talk of dishes is making me hungry," March 7th said, wiping the corner of her mouth.
"Only natural," Jiang Yu said.
"Speaking of which, I was wondering why Little Fish wanted to arrange a meal with you... Aren't you a physician? Why are you talking about cooking?" Yunli swallowed.
"It's an analogy. I added a little analogy," Jiaoqiu said. "The medical school I studied under is called the Dye-Finger School. Its practices are unique to the Yaoqing Xianzhou, and it favors treating patients through dietary therapy. So I know a thing or two about cooking as well."
"He knows more than a thing or two," said Jiang Yu, who had already shared a meal with him once. "He knows loads."
Yunli frowned