A Pawn's Passage

Biyou Palace was spacious, with a designated dining hall.

Qi Xuansu watched as several female Daoists from Biyou Palace floated into the dining room, carrying various dishes and placing them one by one on a large round table.

Technically, this was meant to be individual servings in line with traditional etiquette. But given Zhang Yuelu’s culinary skills, it was unlikely she could produce uniform portions.

To Qi Xuansu, her cooking was completely random. It was highly probable that each of the three dishes would taste entirely different. So, the attendants at Biyou Palace had to hastily arrange for a round table.

Still, the table was quite large, and the various dishes only occupied one small corner. Fortunately, there were just three of them dining.

After washing their hands, the Heavenly Preceptor took the seat of honor. Qi Xuansu sat to the elder’s left, and Zhang Yuelu to his right, looking like a small harmonious family.

The Heavenly Preceptor waved at the attendants standing by. “Yuelu didn’t cook much, so we won’t keep you all.”

Since the Heavenly Preceptor was always kind to those around him, the attendants were not overly nervous. They all smiled and turned to leave.

It was precisely this kindness that greatly eased Qi Xuansu’s nerves.

But Zhang Yuelu’s cooking rekindled a slight sense of foreboding in Qi Xuansu.

Zhang Yuelu got up and served them something that resembled rice, but it was mixed with lotus seeds, red dates, and longan.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What is this?”

“Lotus seed porridge,” Zhang Yuelu replied as a matter of course.

The Heavenly Preceptor’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, but he said nothing.

Qi Xuansu paused for a moment and remarked, “I thought it was a new kind of lotus seed cake.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zhang Yuelu raised an eyebrow.

Qi Xuansu said bluntly, “You used too little water for porridge.”

The Heavenly Preceptor picked up his bowl and smiled. “Lotus seed cake is fine too. Every meal needs a staple.”

Zhang Yuelu corrected them once more. “It’s porridge.”

Both men nodded and did not bother to argue.

Qi Xuansu took a bite. At the very least, it was sweet and not mistakenly made salty, which was a good sign.

Zhang Yuelu brought over a dish with a glass cover. Before she opened the lid, she asked, “Tian Yuan, guess what dish this is? No using your powers to cheat.”

Qi Xuansu inhaled deeply. “I smell seafood and yellow rice wine. Is it drunken shrimp?”

“How clever!” Zhang Yuelu lifted the lid. A bunch of shrimp soaked in rice wine frantically jumped out of the dish, scattering in all directions as if fleeing for their lives.

This time, Qi Xuansu clearly saw the Heavenly Preceptor’s eyebrows twitch.

Since drunken shrimp was served live and the glass lid was opaque, Zhang Yuelu had not anticipated the chaos. She instantly became flustered.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to help catch the shrimp that were jumping all over the dining hall. All the while, he silently criticized Zhang Yuelu. How could she be so ambitious as to even try making this dish? Couldn’t she stick to a simple vegetable stir-fry? She just had to show off and make a mess.

With two Heavenly Beings working together, the shrimp had no chance to make their escape. They were quickly recaptured and shoved back into the bowl. But this dish was pretty much ruined.

Qi Xuansu sighed. “Let’s leave the shrimp aside so they can get a bit more drunk...”

The Heavenly Preceptor, already holding his chopsticks, smiled gently. “This is not too bad for a first try. Just watch the wine next time. What else do you have?”

Zhang Yuelu glanced at Qi Xuansu, then pulled over another plate and proudly announced, “Blanched Plain Cabbage.”

Before Qi Xuansu could respond, the well-traveled Heavenly Preceptor could not help but widen his eyes in surprise. “This dish is not easy to make! You first need to simmer ham, chicken, and duck meat in water for a full day, then add minced lean meat into the soup and filter it until a flavorful and crystal-clear broth remains. That broth is split in two, one part used to steam the cabbage, the other poured over it afterward. All in all, the whole process takes at least two days to complete. Yuelu, how did you manage to make this in such a short time?”

Zhang Yuelu was surprised. “It requires broth?”

She had not had much time to prepare, so she immediately assumed that “Blanched Plain Cabbage” was merely cabbage boiled in plain water when she saw the name of the dish in a cookbook.

“I see...a new method then.” The Heavenly Preceptor nodded, playing the role of a supportive grandfather.

Qi Xuansu picked up a piece of vegetable with his chopsticks, snickering. “At least it lives up to its name—utterly plain with not a hint of salt.”

Zhang Yuelu cast a sidelong glance at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu quickly placed the cabbage onto the cakey lotus seed “porridge” and said sheepishly, “Mmm...it goes well with the rice.”

Given Zhang Yuelu’s mastery of swordsmanship, knife skills posed no challenge to her. Of the three important components—color, aroma, and flavor—the color component was actually decent. Though she did not mistake salt for sugar, she was a self-taught chef with limited time and no focused practice. So she could only skim a few pages of recipes in her spare time and cook based on her own assumptions. Naturally, the outcome was not great.

Zhang Yuelu did not bother correcting him anymore. “I learned this dish from a novel.”

Qi Xuansu secretly applauded her honesty.

She had yet to learn to walk, but she wanted to run. How much did she underestimate cooking? While cooking was not as tough as cultivation, it was certainly not something that could be mastered in a few days. Thankfully, Zhang Yuelu had not gone so far as to invent her own recipes—yet.

Zhang Yuelu explained, “This dish is made with tofu and ham. The ham is sliced open and hollowed with 24 round holes, where 24 little balls of tofu are inserted. The ham is then tied up and steamed. Once done, all the flavor of the ham infuses into the tofu, and the ham is discarded. The dish is named Twenty-Four Moons.”

Qi Xuansu quipped, “If you made 36 holes and stuffed in 36 tofu balls, would it be called Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars?”

The Heavenly Preceptor smiled and said supportively, “Silken tofu falls apart at the lightest touch. It shows Yuelu’s mastery of knife skills. Otherwise, how could she carve 24 perfect little balls? The delicacy and difficulty rival inscribing on rice grains or carving a boat from a peach pit. Cutting them into cubes would be easier, but when has the moon ever been square? That would ruin the poetic name. There are many cooks in the world, but those with the cultivation of a Heavenly Being are rare indeed. That makes this dish truly special.”

Since the Heavenly Preceptor praised it so highly, Qi Xuansu could only nod in agreement.

While the dish’s appearance was decent, the taste was another matter. At first, Qi Xuansu held some hope. After all, it involved ham, and there was no way one could botch a ham dish. But then he remembered that Zhang Yuelu had discarded the ham and only kept the tofu. That instantly killed his optimism.

Qi Xuansu stole a glimpse at the Heavenly Preceptor, who had not even touched his chopsticks.

Left with no choice, Qi Xuansu reached out, picked up a tofu ball, and popped it in his mouth.

He was utterly speechless. But he had to admit that it was Zhang Yuelu’s most successful dish so far. But these recipes from novels could not be taken at face value. The tofu had indeed absorbed flavor, but it was overly salty, so much so that the saltiness drowned out the flavor of ham, leaving only a bitterness.

Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu with eager anticipation. “How is it?”

Qi Xuansu swallowed the tofu with a straight face and nodded. “Amazing...try it yourself!”

Zhang Yuelu was far too clever to be fooled. She waved her hand and said, “I made these for you two. Since you think it’s amazing, you should have more. I’ll just eat the leftovers.”

Qi Xuansu never imagined Zhang Yuelu would turn the tables on him so swiftly. This was what they called karma. Left with no choice, Qi Xuansu reluctantly ate a few more tofu balls, which felt like eating spoonfuls of salt. But Qi Xuansu had to act like nothing was wrong, which was an immense struggle in itself.

Zhang Yuelu smiled sweetly. “Since you like it so much, this dish is all yours!”

Qi Xuansu swallowed another tofu ball and said, “I can’t possibly finish this. The Heavenly Preceptor hasn’t even had a taste yet—”

Before he could finish, the Heavenly Preceptor interjected, “I’m old and not fond of these modern dishes. I’ll just stick with the lotus seed cake.”

Qi Xuansu took a deep breath.

He knew this would happen. A respected elder like the Heavenly Preceptor could reject eating whenever he wanted, and no one would fault him for it. In the end, this burden fell on Qi Xuansu alone.

Qi Xuansu chuckled. “There’s one last dish. I’ll take a look at it first before deciding.”

After the outcome of the earlier dishes, Zhang Yuelu was self-aware of her skill level. So she gave up trying to impress them. “I made four dishes and one soup. This last one is called the Pearl, Jade, and Emerald Soup.”

Qi Xuansu’s face immediately changed.

The Heavenly Preceptor said with interest, “That name certainly sounds grand.”

The Heavenly Preceptor was an Immortal, but not even Immortals knew everything. Besides, he had stopped eating regular meals since he was 20, only occasionally eating something once a year, like the annual Eight Treasures Porridge. So naturally, food was not his strong suit.

However, Qi Xuansu was different. As a Martial Arts Practitioner, he never practiced the Fasting Technique. Coming from poverty, he understood the hardships of commoners, so he knew what this so-called “Pearl, Jade, and Emerald Soup” really was—leftover scrap soup.

To put it plainly, the vegetable stalks were the emerald, the tofu was the jade, and the charred rice grains from the bottom of the pot were the pearls. Even if someone fancified the presentation, it was still just that. Zhang Yuelu could not even make it fancy.

Zhang Yuelu lifted the lid. The presentation of green and white scraps was barely passable. The taste was not great either.

The wise and seasoned Heavenly Preceptor could tell what it would taste like with just one glance. But he commented, “The Primordial Daoist Ancestor preached frugality as the second virtue. This dish, as well as the Blanched Plain Cabbage earlier, perfectly embodies that virtue. This is commendable. Xuansu, you mustn’t let Yuelu’s heartfelt gesture go to waste.”

Zhang Yuelu eagerly served a bowl to Qi Xuansu. “Tian Yuan, you’re a Martial Arts Practitioner, so eat more. They’re all yours!”

Qi Xuansu forced a smile. “Wonderful...”

The Heavenly Preceptor ate a bowl of lotus seed cake, then rose from the table, leaving Qi Xuansu to finish an entire “feast.”

Zhang Yuelu rested her chin on her hands, watching Qi Xuansu eat with great focus.

Qi Xuansu sighed. How could he bear to refuse Zhang Yuelu’s “kindness?”