Rations

Completely unaware that Grandpa Xiunuo had begun gathering all the deacon uncles still in Spirit Hall's main hall, Mu Tian'en arrived at the cafeteria with Aunt Qiansha.

"Little Tian'en, you're here so early today?"

Old Suolong remembered the child very well. The boy could eat his cooking, even liked it, and had an enormous appetite.

After all, according to Old Suolong's old friends, his cooking wasn't bad, but anyone would get tired of it after eating it for more than a decade.

Mu Tian'en never got tired of it.

Even though the dishes were much the same for all three meals every day, he would happily polish off three bowls of rice first, then devour at least three plates of food.

At the thought, the corners of Old Suolong's mouth began to rise.

But as he smiled, Old Suolong noticed something was wrong.

Little Tian'en's face didn't seem as round as before. In fact, he looked more like he had when he first arrived at Spirit Hall's Vast Sea City main hall.

Had he lost weight?

Old Suolong could hardly believe his eyes.

He'd been perfectly fine yesterday. How could he today-

Fire flickered in his eyes.

All sorts of unpleasant possibilities flashed through Old Suolong's mind.

He instinctively began preparing to summon his Martial Soul.

But as Qiansha and Mu Tian'en explained, the fire in his eyes burned even brighter.

He was a cook, yet a child had actually lost weight under his care.

Almost immediately, Old Suolong laid a hand on his pot.

The pot, which he had forged himself and which matched his Martial Soul remarkably well, was engulfed in flames in an instant.

Before the oil in the pot had reached its highest temperature, Old Suolong quickly finished preparing the ingredients and began cooking.

Normally, he wouldn't have done that.

After all, the morning had only just passed.

But-

Little Tian'en had lost weight!

The terrible discovery left Old Suolong, who was devoted to fattening up every child, somewhat disheartened.

He must not have eaten enough, or well enough.

Old Suolong brought out his Martial Soul, a spatula, and quickly stir-fried the food, adding seasonings from time to time. All the while, he thought about which people hadn't been coming to eat lately, planning to take the most nutritious portions of their shares to nourish Mu Tian'en.

"Grandpa Suolong, be careful. If you burn the food, we won't eat it."

Qiansha tapped on the counter. Seeing that Old Suolong was distracted, she reminded him in a playful tone not to let his mind wander now.

Mu Tian'en fetched his rice bowl from a nearby table. After carefully setting it on the table, he used both hands and feet to climb onto his chair.

A little cub waiting to be fed~

Qiansha had already soothed Mu Tian'en on the way over.

Mu Tian'en also knew that Grandpa Bishop Xiunuo wouldn't drive him away for eating too much, so his appetite naturally returned in full force.

His stomach, already empty from circulating Soul Power and having digested even the breakfast he'd eaten, began to rumble.

"Grandpa, food!"

Mu Tian'en watched with wide eyes as Old Suolong took a ladle of broth from a pot beside him and poured it over the dish he was stir-frying, turning it into a stew in an instant.

A faint aroma of seafood began to spread.

Because of that, Qiansha, who had just been leaning against the counter, hurriedly fetched clean dishes from a nearby table and sat down beside Mu Tian'en. She slowly wiped his little hands, and the two waited for the meal together.

A moment later-

Old Suolong poured the last bowlful of food into Mu Tian'en's little bowl, and only then did a pleased look appear on his face.

"Little Tian'en's appetite is growing. Good, good!"

Old Suolong patted Mu Tian'en on the head, then finally looked at Qiansha.

"Girl, whenever I want you to come see this old man, you only ever show up at noon or in the evening. What brings you here today?"

As he spoke, Old Suolong withdrew the Martial Soul in his hand and passed the pot to his apprentice beside him, waving for him to hurry up and wash it.

Not only that, while questioning Qiansha, who never came to the temple unless she needed something, Old Suolong walked out from behind the counter.

He first tapped Mu Tian'en's head, which felt wonderful to the touch, then rubbed the boy's slightly bulging little belly.

After confirming that Mu Tian'en hadn't eaten and drunk himself too full and that his belly still had some spring to it, Old Suolong looked at Qiansha, who had just put down her bowl and chopsticks with a satisfied expression. "Girl, what did you want with this old man?"

Qiansha seized one of Old Suolong's arms and shook it. "Grandpa Suolong, can't I simply come see you and have a meal?"

"Girl, don't I know you? There's no way you'd come here just for a little food."

Old Suolong wasn't fooled by Qiansha's coquettishness in the least. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Mu Tian'en.

It had to be because of this little fellow.

And it was that old fellow Xiunuo who had sent Qiansha to see him.

After all, in all of Spirit Hall's Vast Sea City main hall, there was only one person who could casually order his eldest granddaughter Qiansha around to do odd jobs.

"What does Old Xiu Nuo want with me?" Old Suolong asked bluntly. "Does he have some new arrangement for Little Tian'en?"

He and Old Xiu Nuo had been through life and death together, so he naturally wouldn't give that fellow, who spent his days scheming this way and that, any face.

Besides, Old Suolong was used to speaking his mind and couldn't be bothered to guess what Old Xiu Nuo was thinking.

Qiansha lifted her head from her bowl and blinked at Suolong. "Grandpa Suolong, I don't know."

"Grandpa only told me that from now on, the ingredients for Little Tian'en's meals should be raised to the same standard as his, and that his ration could be used."

"Also, every now and then, you're to cook according to the little fellow's limit for withstanding energy, so he can better sense the limit of his energy intake."

"That's all. I don't know anything else."

As she spoke, Qiansha buried her head in the earthenware bowl before her again.

At her answer, Old Suolong's eyes lit up. He had been thinking that the food the cafeteria gave ordinary Soul Masters might not contain enough energy, and was considering how to solve the problem.

"Good!" Old Suolong agreed at once.

He had already seen that Mu Tian'en ate and digested food far faster than an ordinary Soul Master.

Food that would sustain an ordinary Soul Master for a whole day wouldn't last more than half a day in little Mu Tian'en's stomach.

It took more energy to fill this big eater's belly.

But soon, Old Suolong's expression darkened slightly.

He stole a glance at Little Tian'en, who was still battling the food in his bowl, then reached out, seized Qiansha by the scruff of her neck, and hoisted her up as he spoke in a muffled voice.

"Wait, that's not right. Your grandpa's the sort who'd check a passing dog to see if there was anything he could fleece off it. How did he have such a change of heart today? He's actually willing to have me cook for the child using his own ration!"

"You should know those are top-grade ingredients your grandpa personally went out to sea to gather and catch."

As he spoke, Qiansha, held by the scruff of her neck, couldn't resist taking a sip of soup. Her voice held the satisfaction of someone enjoying a delicious meal.

But Qiansha was displeased with the old man for stopping her from eating.

She swung her dangling feet, signaling Old Suolong to put her down.

"Grandpa Suolong, I know the vast majority of those top-grade ingredients are used to maintain my grandpa's health and keep his Soul Power from declining."

"But Grandpa has already given up on advancing."

"Isn't it perfectly normal for him to give them to an outstanding junior for nourishment?"

Faced with Grandpa Suolong's questions, Qiansha wasn't nervous at all. Instead, she calmly faced the bleak fact that she was an idiot in her grandpa's eyes.

"Also, that's all Grandpa told me. If there's anything else to it, Grandpa Suolong, just go ask my grandpa. I don't know."

"And Grandpa Suolong, hurry up and put me down. The food's getting cold."

Hearing that, Old Suolong knew he wouldn't get anything out of her, so he let Qiansha go and allowed the young woman, who was already old enough to be a mother, to continue eating at the table.

That didn't mean Old Suolong stopped thinking, however.

He rubbed his chin.

He muttered to himself.

Until a flash of inspiration struck Old Suolong.

"That fellow Xiunuo knew this would cause dissatisfaction among the Soul Masters, but he still chose to make this decision..."

Only then did Old Suolong look at the little fellow who was still eating.

He had originally taken a liking to the little fellow because he had a big appetite and ate anything.

Now-

He was also considering what was extraordinary about the little fellow.

After all, a genius worth Old Xiu Nuo staking his own ration allotment on to invest further in was surely worth a gamble from Old Suolong as well.