Water of Life

"No, it's not that, but the feeling is still quite obvious," Su Ming replied. "For example, you've been getting more and more emotional lately, especially during battles where you're becoming increasingly uncooperative."

Just like now, they repeatedly deceived the innocent Su Ming regarding the limitations of magic.

"Let me explain for a moment," Zijin, her eyes crinkling with a smile, "This is to help you adapt to the unpredictable nature of the real battlefield!"

"A lot of things are changing too. Take clothes, for example. At first, you preferred sturdy, local clothing," Su Ming said. "As for food, when you first arrived you ate everything, but now you only pick the ones that taste good. If Galio is cooking, you'd rather just eat cookies!"

"Huh! Am I like that?" Zijin was quite surprised; she hadn't realized any of what Su Ming had mentioned.

A rare hint of unease appeared on her face. "Am I in a lot of trouble like this?"

"Ah, no trouble at all." Su Ming shook his head. "Of course, it would be even better if you were willing to learn to cook."

Zijin immediately turned her head to the side.

The question had been answered. Su Ming found a shady spot under a tree and lay down, preparing to contact Miao Xin to get clothes. The clothing market in Vietnam was quite good, but not knowing Vietnam was a bit of a hassle.

Zijin turned to look at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Finally, she decided to tell the truth, "Su Ming, when I was a dragon, I always ate raw food. It's really hard to change a mindset that's been ingrained for hundreds of years. For example, when I'm chopping vegetables, I unconsciously put them in my mouth, like the time you were sick. Every time I didn't even start heating them up, I was already full."

"... No wonder your stomach problems were so severe before!" Su Ming finally understood the cause of the matter and why Zijin always couldn't cook the food properly.

Another point is why the doctor prescribed deworming medication during the initial consultation.

"I'm feeling much better now, and my stomach doesn't hurt anymore."

"Alright, I understand," Su Ming said. "I'll try to cook more, but you're not allowed to eat raw food anymore. Human stomachs can't compare to dragon stomachs." He recalled their first meeting, "You even knew to soak instant noodles before you secretly ate them."

"I didn't soak it," Zijin said, her eyes wide. "I just sprinkled the sauce on the flatbread and ate it directly."

..."

Su Ming felt extremely sorry for those pickled cabbage and beef noodles.

"There's one more thing. I'm no longer an immortal being. Ailisha's time is synchronized with human time, so 1"

Zijin smiled mischievously, "According to human rules, shouldn't I call you brother?"

"Absolutely not!" Su Ming resolutely refused.

****

As promised, Beianqi prepared lunch.

She steamed a dwarf-style jerky, fried onion rings, and made a soup with fresh shellfish meat.

Su Ming ate to his heart's content; the girl's cooking skills were excellent, far surpassing his own.

"If my sister were here, she could make you even more variety," said Beianqi.

"Remember not to use alcohol when cooking," Su Ming reminded her. "Ailisha got completely drunk after just a little bit last time."

"It's just that this body hasn't been trained yet," Zijin said somewhat indignantly. "I can progress step by step!"

"Until this body reaches adulthood, you are not allowed to touch alcohol again!" Su Ming's tone was resolute, "No discussion!"

"Speaking of which, I've been hiding some good wine." Zijin suddenly remembered something. "Strange, I haven't seen it in a long time." Just as she was about to use her Omniscient Vision to search, Su Ming quickly stopped her.

"I forgot to tell you, I used up your few jars of wine."

"Used? What did you do with it!" The scholar's voice suddenly rose.

"When I treated you last time, it turned into medical alcohol," Su Ming replied.

"You used them all?" Zijin's expression was surprisingly panicked.

Su Ming nodded, and the girl's eyes immediately lost their sparkle. "That was something I went through a lot of trouble to get— Golden Tequila!"

"You actually made disinfectant from Golden Tequila!" Beianqi looked incredulously at the bottles of alcohol beside her. "Sister Ailisha won't be able to sleep tonight."

"This is the strongest liquor in the world, and its production is extremely limited," Zijin murmured softly.

"Okay, I don't know much about alcohol. But if it's spirits, I can still make it up to you."

Soon, Su Ming teleported a bottle of Russian liquor from Earth. He handed the bottle to Zijin, who looked at the bright white bottle, shook it, and examined it against the light. "This is water, isn't it?"

"The water of life," Su Ming replied, "Believe me, there is no liquor stronger than it."

Zijin sniffed the bottle opening carefully, then decided to accept it. "Alright, I'll forgive you this time."

She clearly has a collecting hobby; she didn't open the bottle and hid it directly in her small storage room.

After lunch, Su Ming and the scholar both took a nap. He didn't get up until 2:30, looked at the blue sea and sky outside, and decided to go swimming.

He had never enjoyed these things on Earth. It was a rare opportunity to experience them in another world, which could be considered an achievement.

He had swim trunks on hand, a conservative double-layered style. Su Ming simply wore them as outerwear, paired with a short-sleeved T-shirt, and went to the island.

Dozens of dwarf sailors on the shore had just finished their midday rest and resumed logging. These sailors were not only from the Five Fangs, but also from the Blue Ark.

Seeing the sailors excitedly scrambling for the axes, Su Ming felt a little itchy to join in. He asked for an axe and started chopping with it himself.

Thanks to the nourishment of Magic Power, Su Ming's physical strength was no worse than that of these sailors, but his skills were appalling. He could chop a perfectly good tree until it was torn to shreds but it still wouldn't fall.

In the end, he had no choice but to draw his short blade, imbue it with Magic Power, and give the tree a quick death.

He stood on a pile of broken wood, and looking up, he saw that the beach was covered with leftover pieces of wood. Su Mo realized that it was perfect for a bonfire party.

He considered the situation: the conditions were suitable, and there was no shortage of food. However, the only meat dish was grilled fish, which lacked flavor.

No, not just fish.

A few days ago, during a battle with pirates at Clear Spring Reef, the alchemical explosives on the decoy ship were used to set up a channel trap, and were subsequently abandoned by the pirates.

Before abandoning ship, Su Ming also took a few pigs and sheep from the ship and locked them in the farthest corner of the White Triangle. After instructing the skeleton servants to feed them, Su Ming forgot about it.

Now is the time to realize their value!

"Does anyone here know how to slaughter pigs or sheep?" Su Ming asked the sailors.

A dwarf stepped forward. "Sir," he said, "I used to be a butcher."

"Okay, does anyone know how to cook? I have a few pigs and sheep; let's have a bonfire party tonight and everyone can eat!"

The sailors immediately cheered, and Beianqi, who heard the noise, flew over from the other side of the island, wearing a large flower wreath around her neck.

"You have live pigs and sheep on your boat?" The girl was delighted to hear this. She called over another dwarf, "Here are the things. Can you arrange the dinner?"

The dwarf patted his chest. "No problem. If I don't do a good job, you won't let me drink tonight!"

Another cheer erupted. Several sailors were sent off to prepare, and everyone was in high spirits, working even harder.

"What kind of flower is this? It's so beautiful." After arranging things for the pigs and sheep, Su Ming turned to Beianqi.

The girl took off the flower wreath and handed it to the dwarf chef, saying, "Seaweed flowers are delicious in a cold salad."

"I'm going swimming first."

Su Ming turned and walked deeper into the island. He remembered a nice bay there from his morning stroll. "Swimming?" Beianqi asked, somewhat puzzled. "What's so fun about swimming?"

"Unlike you, I don't spend every day at sea. Of course I want to experience it," Su Ming said. Regardless, he had to swipe the card!

"After soaking in seawater, my body felt sticky, and even after drying, there were still salt grains on it. It's nothing like the comfortable hot showers on your ship," Beianqi complained.

"It's just for the novelty. When you see that White Triangle equipment, don't you stay up all night to touch it?"

Su Ming retorted.

Realizing her little trick had been discovered, the mechanic girl blushed slightly and protested, "Those things are really beautiful!"

Su Ming waved and left.

Beianqi looked at her clothes, then turned and returned to the White Triangle.