Chapter 24

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the soft moonlight spilled through the window frame, casting a gentle glow into the room. Inside, the candlelight flickered and swayed, filling the air with a hazy, ethereal glow.

Yu Tao sat obediently at the table, her hands resting on her legs, her head lowered like a student listening to a lecture from their teacher.

“Little Senior Brother, I know I was wrong.”

She listed her mistakes: “I shouldn’t have ignored the doctor’s advice, shouldn’t have gone out without resting properly. It’s a big mistake to go out and catch a chill when I’m still recovering. I also shouldn’t have let last night’s thoughts cloud my mind and forgotten to take the medicine. And, I definitely shouldn’t have come back so late and made you worry, waiting for me for so long.”

When the girl spoke the second line, the cold, aloof young man’s footsteps faltered for a moment.

Without showing any emotion, he walked over and placed the medicine bowl on the table, his tone flat: “It’s rare for Junior Sister to be so self-aware.”

Yu Tao frowned instinctively at the steaming medicine bowl in front of her. Although she had taken the medicine the night before while in a semi-conscious state, she had subconsciously resisted it even in her sleep. Now that she was fully awake, she didn’t want to take it at all.

Yu Tao wasn’t afraid of much, but the one thing she feared was bitterness.

She looked up at the young man, her eyes full of hope: “Little Senior Brother, I feel like my chill is almost gone. Shishu Song’s medicine is really effective. So… could I not drink this medicine?”

Yu Li let out a light laugh: “What do you think, Junior Sister?”

…Alright, looks like there’s no escaping this.

Yu Tao obediently picked up the medicine bowl, blew on it slowly to cool it to a drinkable temperature, and mentally prepared herself. She then gulped down a large mouthful.

“Ugh…” Immediately, her face scrunched up from the bitterness.

Since it’s better to endure short pain than long pain, Yu Tao finished it in one go, then put the bowl down and quickly ran to the door, holding onto the door frame as she fought to hold back the urge to vomit.

Meanwhile, Yu Li had just returned with a bowl of candied pear water, intending for her to drink it alongside the medicine. When he saw the medicine bowl was already empty, he couldn’t help but think:

…Didn’t she say it was bitter? Why did she drink it so fast?

It’s not like he was trying to steal the drink from her.

Clearing his throat a few times, Yu Tao, her eyes still misty with tears, turned around and said, “Little Senior Brother, I’ve finished.”

“My eyes are still fine, I can tell without needing to be that obvious.”

Yu Li, a little helpless, set the pear water bowl down: “Come here.”

Yu Tao walked back, staring blankly at the steaming candied pear water in the small white porcelain bowl.

“For me?”

The young man spoke in a cold tone: “I cooked too much at noon. If you’re not going to drink it, I’ll throw it away.”

“That would be such a waste! Senior Brother, wasting food is shameful.”

Yu Tao picked up a spoon and poked at the few translucent pieces of pear in the bowl. Her eyes curved into a smile. She had been thinking about eating pears yesterday, and now, by chance, she was able to drink the pear water that Senior Brother had made. Her luck was just too good.

“I have something to do the day after tomorrow, and I’ll be out for a while. You should stay in the Huaishui Bamboo Pavilion and not run around.”

Yu Tao took a bite of pear and nodded obediently. “Okay!”

The young man raised his eyes slightly. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m going to do?”

“Eh?”

Yu Tao tilted her head. “Senior Brother must have his own things to take care of. Why would I ask about other people’s private matters? That seems kind of rude…”

Yu Li paused for a moment and said, “Although we’ve made some progress in tracking down the culprit from that day, we can’t be sure it’s not a trick. The person might still be hiding in the Wuchang Sect.”

He emphasized again, “So, don’t go running around while I’m gone these next two days.”

Yu Tao felt a little embarrassed, as if he were referring to her sneaking out earlier that day.

She nodded seriously and promised, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. It won’t happen again. I’ll stay at home and wait for you to come back!”

The young man was momentarily stunned. After realizing something was off with her statement, he silently turned his head away, his ears faintly turning red.

He calmly said, “Mm, then I’m leaving. Remember to take your medicine.”

Senior Brother really cared about her, and Yu Tao felt touched. “I will. Good night, Little Senior Brother.”

Just as Yu Li was about to leave, Yu Tao suddenly remembered something and hurriedly put down the spoon, running over to him.

“Senior Brother, wait a moment!”

The young man stopped and turned around. “Mm?”

Yu Tao handed him a small white jar of ointment, speaking seriously: “This ointment can help with scars. Apply it twice a day, in the morning and evening. Don’t worry, Senior Brother, I know my own teeth well. I struggle to chew sugar cane, so if you use this, you’ll definitely be fine in three days.”

Yu Li: “…”

In some ways, she really did have a strong sense of self-awareness.

The two days after Yu Li left, Yu Tao obediently stayed in the Huaishui Bamboo Pavilion without stepping out once and began her busy preparations.

Brother Hua Lian had told her about Yu Li’s preferences—he liked to eat fish.

Yu Tao had originally planned to go buy fish, but Hua Lian stopped her, saying: “Why go so far when there’s plenty of fish in the lake right here? Don’t worry, those fish were raised just to be eaten.”

The actual situation was like this: When Hua Lian found out that Yu Li’s true form was a cat, he decided to have some fun with him. He purposely released a pair of fish into the otherwise empty lake, hoping to see when Yu Li would finally give in and catch them to eat.

But half a year passed, and not only were the fish alive and well, but they had also multiplied into a whole lake full of descendants. With abundant spiritual energy, the fish had grown so fat that they could barely swim.

Yu Tao hesitated: “But if I cook the fish raised by Little Senior Brother for him to eat, won’t that be too much of a shortcut?”

Hua Lian was very confident: “What’s wrong with that? The apology is about the sentiment, not the gift itself. Besides, if the fish aren’t eaten soon, they’ll become a nuisance and be hard to deal with. You’re actually helping your Senior Brother solve a problem.”

At this moment, Yu Tao crouched by the lake, watching the school of fish that were so numerous they had no space to swim. She found Hua Lian’s words completely believable.

So… she’d be the one to solve this problem for Senior Brother!

Yu Tao took out the full set of cookware she had bought at the foot of the mountain. On the first day, she organized the previously unused little kitchen, carefully listed the recipes, and planned to make a whole fish feast.

Since she didn’t know his exact preferences, Yu Tao wrote down everything she could possibly make.

Yu Tao was good at cooking and considered herself quite skilled. After all, in Haicheng, she had always cooked for herself, and after so many years, even if she wasn’t the best, she’d gotten pretty good at it.

Living by the sea, the most common food was fish and crabs, so cooking fish was her strong suit.

However, since it had been a long time since she had cooked, Yu Tao was worried she might have become a little rusty. So, she thought she’d try the food on someone first.

Her Second Senior Brother, Hua Lian, was undoubtedly the best candidate.

After hearing Yu Tao’s request, he was more than happy to help and immediately ran from Huayue Peak. To show his sincerity, he even brought his own ingredients.

—Freshly dug up from his own garden.

As he eagerly helped Yu Tao prepare the fish, he reassured her: “Don’t worry, Junior Sister, we have plenty of ingredients. No need to stress.”

Hua Lian didn’t have high expectations for Yu Tao’s cooking, thinking it would be average at best. So, he planned to be an emotionless praise machine, simply giving her compliments to boost her confidence.

After all, he was sure Yu Li would never complain about the food, not even for a second.

While scraping the fish scales, Hua Lian thought to himself: ‘By the way, Yu Li is leaving for Xuanyue Sea in just a few days. I wonder why he’s suddenly going to Penglai Island?’

‘There’s nothing there except for the Phoenix Divine Tree. I really don’t get why he’s making the trip all the way out there.’

When it came time for the taste test, Yu Tao blinked and waited nervously for Hua Lian’s reaction.

Hua Lian calmly picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth, just as he was about to display the textbook expressions of shock, amazement, and joy, prepared to convey a mixture of emotions.

But he suddenly froze.

Wait, what???

This taste—oh my goodness!

Yu Tao, sitting beside him, cautiously asked, “Second Senior Brother… How is it? Does it suit your taste?”

She was worried that maybe cultivators and ordinary people had different tastes, and what she thought was delicious might be hard to swallow for her Senior Brother.

Second Senior Brother didn’t say anything.

Instead, he devoured three large bowls of rice.

Then, he gave her a thumbs up and said that if there was another such opportunity, she should definitely call him again.

At this point, Yu Tao finally relaxed her worried heart.

The night before, Yu Tao had asked him: 【Senior Brother, will you be coming back tomorrow?】

She didn’t get a response, probably because he was busy with something. Yu Tao, feeling drowsy from the medicine, slowly drifted to sleep while staring at the Liuli mirror.

The next morning, when she woke up, she found a new message in the chat.

【I’m back.】

With this message, Yu Tao began to get busy. She prepared a table full of fish dishes, making sure not to cook too much—just enough for the two of them to finish. Afterward, she sat at the table waiting for him.

She waited from daylight to nightfall. The moon hung high in the sky, and the early cicadas chirped. Yu Tao was so tired that she couldn’t keep her eyes open and ended up falling asleep at the table.

The Wuchang Sect was located in the northern part of the country, far from Penglai Island.

Once Yu Li had gotten what he needed, he didn’t linger and returned without delay.

As soon as he entered the room, he was taken aback by the sight.

The girl was sleeping lightly, her head resting on her arm. The table was filled with beautifully arranged dishes. Even though she was asleep, her spiritual energy was still actively maintaining the warmth of the food.

At this moment, he finally understood what Hua Lian had meant when, on the way, he had said, “Junior Brother, I envy you so much, boo-hoo!”

The sleeping girl seemed to be woken up by the noise. She slowly stirred, lifted her head, her eyes blurred, and rubbed them.

“Senior Brother, you’re back.”

The young man relaxed his brows and eyes a little: “Mm.”

“Welcome home…” She yawned long, her eyes teary and too tired to open fully. “The food is on the table. It should still be warm. You can try it…”

As she spoke, she buried her head into her arm and went still.

She fell asleep again.

Yu Li: “…” Fool.

It was just a meal. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think she was leaving some final words.

Yu Li sat beside her. Perhaps it was the soft candlelight in the room, but at this moment, the atmosphere was peaceful and serene, giving him a strange illusion of warmth.

Different from countless long, empty, and silent nights, this time, someone had made a meal and was waiting for him to come home.

…Unwelcome emotions.

Yu Li lowered his eyelashes and stopped thinking about it.

The amount of food she made wasn’t much, probably on purpose, but there were quite a few dishes. Yu Li picked up his chopsticks and began eating, one dish after another. After finishing half, he couldn’t eat anymore.

He suddenly recalled her stern words ringing in his ears: “Wasting food is shameful!”

After a pause, Yu Li picked up his chopsticks again.

Slowly, he ate, and the meal took about two to three hours. By the time he was done, it was already morning.

Mm… He felt like he wouldn’t be able to hear the word “fish” for a while.

Yu Tao, who had just woken up, stretched her numb arm and looked at the empty plates. She suddenly remembered what happened before she fell asleep.

She nervously glanced at the young man beside her and asked, “Senior Brother, how did it taste?”

This time, Yu Li didn’t tease her. He simply said, “Mm, it was delicious.”

Yu Tao propped her face up, her eyes sparkling, “So, were you surprised? Do you think the apology gift was okay?”

The young man suddenly raised his eyes to look at her. His beautiful, light golden eyes were unreadable.

His tone was light: “Did you make all this just for that apology?”

Yu Tao was a bit stunned, then hesitantly asked, “Yes… is there something else?”

The young man suddenly fell silent. Yu Tao sensed that his mood didn’t seem very high, so she cautiously asked, “Senior Brother, did I do something to upset you?”

Yu Li’s tone was calm: “No, Junior Sister, you’re overthinking.”

Yu Tao stared at him for a moment and, seeing no sign of anger, she sighed in relief. “Then, Senior Brother, can I go out today?”

To avoid any misunderstandings, Yu Tao honestly explained her plans: “Don’t worry, Little Senior Brother, I won’t go far from Yunjing Peak. I’ll just go to the mountain to find a cat, a new spiritual pet I adopted. It was sick the other day, and I didn’t bring it home.”

The young man’s eyes were clear like the moon, gazing at her for a while, his gaze a little unclear. “You can.”

With permission granted, Yu Tao happily set off to find the cat. She first went to Training Platform, where the cat had stayed the longest, thinking that if it wasn’t there, she would search the peak.

Unexpectedly, just as she arrived at Training Platform, the black cat appeared, nimbly leaping onto the jade platform with an elegant and noble posture. Its light golden cat eyes were lively and beautiful.

Wuwuwu, her Lili was so cute!

Yu Tao walked over, her eyes sparkling: “Lili, where did you suddenly go that day? I went looking for you, but I couldn’t find you.”

She reached out to pinch the cat’s face, but the black cat pushed her away with a paw, clearly resisting her affection.

After two days apart, it had turned back into the aloof Lili.

But there was no need to worry—this time, she had a secret weapon!

Yu Tao took out the food box, which contained the fish she had made the previous day. Since the cat was a bit picky about fish, she had carefully chosen the tender white fish meat.

There were two large plates of fragrant fish meat. Yu Tao smiled and pushed the plate toward the cat. “Here, eat, Lili.”

The black cat: “…”

‘Don’t mind it, I’ll force myself to eat the food my wife made.’