15

This matter had nothing to do with Lin You, but Aunt Chunling repeatedly pleaded with her.

“I heard that the young man is from the Taoist temple. I heard from our village’s Granny Hong that the temple worships Yanxia Yuanjun, and she loves to eat delicious food. Since he is offering sacrifices to Yuanjun, we must follow suit. Auntie originally didn’t want to see you, but what your sister, Yao Yun, did is really inappropriate. But thinking it over, you’re the best cook in the village…”

Lin You didn’t hesitate much before agreeing. It wasn’t that she had suddenly developed a saintly heart, but rather…

“Think about it, next door there’s… a master, we need to build a good relationship, right?”

And besides, Lin You always felt that since she mysteriously transmigrated into this world, perhaps it had something to do with these supernatural matters?

So, she should seize the opportunity to establish a connection!

Yao Jiu sighed, “If I had known this would happen, I would have asked for a divination!”

Lin You: “You didn’t encounter any misfortune, so why would you ask for a divination?”

Yao Jiu, with righteous indignation: “I’d ask the master if I could win the lottery this year!”

Lin You: “…”

“I’ve bought a whole stack of scratch-off lottery tickets, and at most, I win ten or twenty bucks… I should ask the master to help me win at least five hundred so I can make up for my losses.”

Yao Jiu was determined to ask the master, while Lin You was busy preparing the meal for the master.

There were still plenty of wild vegetables left from the mountain, so Lin You brought in some elm seeds and Chinese toon sprouts.

She cleaned the noodles and elm seeds, mixed them with cornmeal and flour, and steamed them in a bamboo steamer. After steaming, she added a few drops of sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together. She made garlic sauce with sesame oil and a pinch of five-spice powder, poured the sauce over the steamed vegetables, and stirred them well. The simple and rustic steamed vegetables were served with a plate of oil-splashing chili, adding a new flavor with the spice.

The ham slices she had just bought were thin. She quickly boiled them to make soup, placing spring bamboo shoots and green peas at the bottom of the pot, simmering it until the broth turned white and the fresh flavors spread. Just before finishing, she added fresh mushrooms and simmered them for a few more minutes, laying pea shoots at the bottom of the bowl. The white broth, with a few green slices, looked particularly appealing.

She cut the fatty part of the pork into small pomegranate-sized pieces, added an egg and two spoonfuls of starch to the meat mixture, seasoned it, and pounded it until firm. The longer it was pounded, the more compact and elastic the meat became. She greased her hands with peanut oil and formed meatballs, which were then fried until golden. The braised beef sauce used to cook the meatballs, adding two spoons of broth. After stewing for about ten minutes, the wrinkles on the meatballs absorbed the rich sauce. Lin You set aside two meatballs, made a slit, took out the filling, and added corn, green peas, peanuts, and carrots to make a new filling, which was then stuffed back inside. Who could tell that these plain-looking meatballs had a hidden surprise?

Braised chicken wings, dry pot ribs, braised pig intestines, kung pao chicken…

The kitchen was filled with delicious aromas all afternoon.

Yao Jiu scratched her head, wanting to steal a bite, but was afraid that if she ate some of the master’s food, the master wouldn’t tell her how to win the lottery, and she’d become depressed.

Lin You had to direct her: “Watch over Mengmeng and Xiao Huang, don’t let them come in.”

Xiao Huang was the little chick that had stolen noodles from the bowl that day. Since it caused trouble, Lin You had given it a name and treated it the same as Mengmeng—tied up when cooking.

Yao Jiu: “Seriously, you should ask the master to take a look. Your cows and chickens are way too greedy. Which chicken steals food from someone’s bowl?”

Lin You, hands on her hips: “Doesn’t that show my cooking skills are impressive?”

Yao Jiu: “Well, they are impressive, but I still think it’s a little… you know. Think about it—Duoduo is a child, and it’s fine if there’s misfortune. When we were kids and had misfortune, we just had an elder call the soul back, right? But that master next door, why is he doing something with paper dolls? This thing… don’t think too much about it, it’s so scary.”

Looking at it, this doesn’t seem like misfortune, but more like something out of a classic horror movie.

Lin You was cooking when Yao Jiu’s words gave her goosebumps.

Yao Jiu’s imagination ran wild: “If this were a TV drama, who knows, maybe the person next door isn’t real. The story starts with the child, paper dolls, and directions not to go down certain paths… In the end, everything turns out to be an illusion, and actually, there’s never been anyone living next door…”

Lin You: “…Great, now you’ve scared me. No dinner for you tonight.”

“Don’t!”

Bo Chuan descended the mountain, and from a hundred meters away, he began to sigh.

The mountain breeze brought the scent of food…

Was there something good happening next door?

Bo Chuan’s face showed no expression, but in the dimming light, his figure seemed especially lonely.

During this time, the little mountain god had been very picky. In addition to being busy with the Taoist temple every day, Bo Chuan also had to go up the mountain to find food for this fellow. He wouldn’t eat wild vegetables unless they were cooked a certain way, wouldn’t touch sour fruits if they didn’t look good, and wouldn’t even touch mushrooms.

The message Bo Chuan received from his master was to take good care of this little mountain god. When the time was right, a fated person would appear, signaling that the little mountain god would begin its recovery phase.

—This wasn’t a complicated matter. There were many mountain gods, but in recent years, most of the mountain gods had no one to worship them. Not only because the metaphysical world had declined and spiritual energy was scarce, but also because most of the people living in the mountains had moved out. With fewer people, naturally, there were fewer offerings. The lack of worship and the loss of faith power made the situation even worse.

Apart from a few scenic spots that still had some traditions, most of the mountain gods had been dormant for many years.

Bo Chuan, who studied under the Xuanmen (Daoist school), had many fellow disciples who had sought mountain peaks to cultivate, also worshiping mountain gods. Following his guidance, he arrived here, and the divination indicated that this was his place of cultivation. There were only a few paths to becoming enlightened.

Cultivate oneself, cultivate the mundane, cultivate heaven and earth, or cultivate divine power.

Bo Chuan originally wanted to find a mountain peak to practice alone. He didn’t need to communicate with others, nor did he want to deal with the mundane world. However, as he passed through here, the divination showed that the mountain god was about to awaken.

The awakened mountain god would be weak, and if not properly cared for, it would dissipate within a few years.

His master had sent a message, advising him to cultivate his own path while also cultivating divine power.

If he could preserve the mountain god, there might be multiple ways to attain enlightenment.

However…

Bo Chuan was troubled.

The mountain god seemed as naive as a child, having inexplicably pulled a soul from another world. Bo Chuan originally thought that this was the fated person for the mountain god, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The girl next door went about her own little life and showed no signs of spiritual awareness, not even reacting when passing by the Taoist temple.

The idea was to cultivate divine power, but where was that path?

Bo Chuan had no idea.

What troubled him even more was that his own cultivation path was also on shaky ground.

Cultivating oneself often involved hard practices—fasting, meditation, and the simple but difficult pursuit of the Dao, which in essence was a struggle against human nature.

Bo Chuan had thought that being in the mountains would allow him to focus more, but the daily meals next door always disturbed his peace of mind.

He found it puzzling—he was never someone who craved food, so why was his Daoist heart disrupted by this?

With heavy steps, he descended the mountain, hoping he could withstand it tonight…

So when Aunt Chunling stopped him and invited Bo Chuan to Lin You’s house, he was unusually slow to react.

Aunt Chunling couldn’t think of any other way to address the overly young and handsome face of Bo Chuan, so she could only respectfully say, “Taoist Priest, my grandson was already feeling better last night. I really don’t know how to thank you. Please allow me to invite you for a meal.”

“I know you worship Yanxia Yuanjun. Don’t worry, I’ve already set aside some offerings, and I’ll send them to the temple later. I noticed that there isn’t a large incense burner in the temple, so tomorrow, I’ll go with my husband to the town to have one custom-made and donate it to Yuanjun.”

Bo Chuan’s eyes flickered slightly: “Thank you for the incense burner. As for the meal…”

Bo Chuan struggled internally: “Maybe it’s better to pass on it.”

Just then, Lin You was in the yard calling out for Yao Jiu, “Come here to serve the dishes, and the stir-fried pork soup will be ready soon.”

Aunt Chunling seemed a bit disappointed, “Oh, I see… then I’ll just…”

Bo Chuan said, “I’ve thought about it, and I can’t bear to decline your kindness.”

Before Aunt Chunling could fully process what he said, Bo Chuan had already entered the house with large strides.

This was the second time Lin You had seen Bo Chuan. Unlike yesterday, this time she looked at him with a more respectful gaze, as if regarding a revered person. She warmly arranged for him to take a seat.

The dishes were served quickly. The steamed vegetables were light and delicious, the eight-treasure meatballs fragrant, and the wild vegetable and spring bamboo shoot ham soup was exceptionally fresh.

This was the taste!

Bo Chuan, just as he was about to sit down, was still trying to convince himself. His master had advised him to let things unfold naturally, and since he had become so fixated on it, perhaps once the food was in his mouth, he would be able to let go of his obsession. People often long for what they can’t have, once they obtain it, they find that the reality doesn’t live up to expectations. He thought he could…

Hmm, the fresh and fragrant soup entered his mouth, and Bo Chuan immediately felt something was off.

The crispy meatballs went down, and Bo Chuan fell silent.

After finishing the fragrant steamed vegetables, Bo Chuan finally spoke.

“Did you use any special method to make these dishes?”

Otherwise, how could they taste so good?

Lin You replied, “Not really, I just made them casually, some of the recipes I even found online.”

Her words weren’t a lie, that soup was indeed made according to an online recipe, and it turned out pretty well.

Bo Chuan didn’t speak further, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

Yao Jiu, eager to ask for a divination, first asked a question that had been bothering her all afternoon.

“Master, what happened to Duoduo last night? What was the purpose of that paper effigy?”

She had to ask this question, if she didn’t, she felt like she would burst.

Bo Chuan, without the mysterious air one might expect from a sage, straightforwardly replied, “That young friend from yesterday simply ran into a small mishap. It wasn’t anything evil.”

There had been fewer strange creatures and ghosts in the mountains in recent years, especially since the spiritual energy was lacking, and the spiritual intersections had become exceedingly weak. Apart from those with special physical conditions, most of the people left were the elderly and children, with unstable souls, which made them more prone to such encounters.

There are no evil things here in Lianhua Town, otherwise, Bo Chuan would have noticed them long ago.

But apart from evil beings, there were also many spiritual creatures practicing the Dao, such as the yellow foxes and guardian spirits often mentioned by the elders. These little spirits were minor deities who had cultivated to a certain level. If a family worshiped such spirits, it would bring prosperity and good fortune.

In Lianhua Town, however, no family had such guardian spirits. But there were small creatures with some spiritual awareness that would imitate these guardian spirits and find a vacant house to inhabit. Unlike the guardian spirits, these little creatures did not receive offerings, so they did not have the power to repay their hosts. They would only accumulate too much karmic debt, which would hinder their cultivation. Thus, they preferred empty houses. Over time, these houses would become inhabited by house spirits.

Last night, that child had been targeted by the house spirits. Children, being unstable, were easily drawn into such things.

Fortunately, the child had somehow borrowed a bit of golden light and managed to hold on.

The paper figurine Bo Chuan provided was similar to a substitute, once the substitute was given, the house spirits would no longer bother Duoduo.

Bo Chuan didn’t go into further detail, as such things would be too fantastical for ordinary people to understand.

Although Yao Jiu was still persistent and wanted to ask more, she knew that Bo Chuan likely wouldn’t say anything else.

Aunt Chunling, still at the table, formally apologized to Lin You.

After apologizing, Aunt Chunling smiled bitterly and said, “Yao and I have reflected on it. We were too indulgent with our daughter. We’ve fostered her vanity and selfishness. As parents, it’s easy to be protective over time, but in doing so, we’ve raised her wrongly.”

Thinking of her daughter made Aunt Chunling feel even more distressed.

She was upset that her grandson suffered, but her daughter’s cunning and naïve nature also worried her.

“I’ve made up my mind. Even as a mother, I shouldn’t always be cleaning up after her. Although I haven’t lived in the town to help raise her children, I haven’t slacked off in what I should do. Whatever she needed, I made sure she had it. If she needed something for her child’s kindergarten, I raised cows to provide milk. If she couldn’t come back, I’d often visit her in town. Her father even delivered milk and vegetables to her every day.”

But after all these years, their sacrifices were unnoticed by their daughter. Or maybe she noticed but didn’t care. The son-in-law was even pretending to be oblivious.

“So, I thought, since it’s like this, it might be better to let her face some hardships. We’ve spoiled her too much, and that’s why she’s so selfish.”

Aunt Chunling said, “I’m planning to sell all the cows.”

Their health wasn’t good, and they had put in a lot of effort to raise the cows, but now it seemed unnecessary.

Aunt Chunling spoke sincerely: “I’ve decided, if I keep the cows, she’ll just keep relying on them. It’s better to sell them all.”

Bo Chuan paused with his chopsticks in hand, “How much?”

Aunt Chunling replied, “Uh, there are eight large ones and four small ones.”

Bo Chuan thought for a moment about the seven figures in his account balance.

Twelve cows should be enough, right?

Aunt Chunling was startled, “Master, do you want to buy cows?”

What would a Taoist need with cows? Would he be drinking milk every day?

Bo Chuan glanced at Lin You, “Yes, I’ll buy them.”

Even Lin You was stunned. She wanted to ask if this master had something wrong with him, why wasn’t he focusing on his Taoist temple and instead planning to raise cows?

Bo Chuan spoke, and Aunt Chunling, eager to be agreeable, settled on half the market price and delivered all twelve cows to Bo Chuan’s place that evening.

So the next morning, when Lin You woke up, she found a large bucket of fresh milk at her doorstep.

There was a note on top of it.

“Gift of thanks.”

Lin You was both amused and confused. It was just a meal last night, so why had he sent her such a big bucket of milk today?

But she couldn’t waste it, so she started a live stream again.

“Hello everyone, I’m Lin You. Today, we’re making some milk cookies.”