Xin Xiu was a person who loved lively atmospheres. No matter where she went, she was always surrounded by many people. She used to have lots of friends and often gathered with them, and these gatherings invariably involved hot pot and barbecue. Hot pot and barbecue were quite similar, both exuding a bustling and boisterous air of everyday life. Xin Xiu often felt that this kind of atmosphere was the most human.
She had influenced almost all of her childhood friends, classmates, roommates, and colleagues to enjoy hot pot and barbecue. Even her most reclusive friends and laziest roommates were willing to join her for food and drinks. Now, far from home, the hot pot and barbecue she ate were different from before, and the friends around her were different too, but the feeling remained the same.
After all, as long as there were people around to keep her company, those feelings of homesickness and separation could be washed away with the aroma of good food, whether in a pot or on a skewer.
"Big sis, why can't I make that spicy sauce taste the same as yours?"
"Big sis, come quick! The Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers are ready, and the garlic is peeled too~"
Xin Xiu noticed The Fourth's eyes were red-rimmed nearby, looking as if he might cry at the sight of so many familiar faces. Knowing he'd probably feel awkward if he actually cried, she gave him a light smack on the back of his head. "Go wash your face quickly, then come help out. No work, no food!"
With that said, she rolled up her sleeves and walked over to where The Second and The Third were.
Shuling Mountain was a blessed place, rich in resources. The boundaries between the four seasons blurred here, and the spices and ingredients she wanted could always be found if she searched the mountains thoroughly. She could find substitutes or even stumble upon unexpected delights.
The aroma of fried garlic and the pungent smell of chili peppers frying in oil were a bit harsh on the nose, but they also stimulated saliva production. Nearby, a senior brother who had volunteered to cut meat was sniffing appreciatively, his meat-cutting becoming even more vigorous.
"This meat needs to be sliced thinly, very thin. When the pot is boiling, you dip it in quickly, soak it in the spicy oil, then dip it in the small bowl of green onion and spicy sauce. The taste is exquisite!"
"This vegetable is good, tender and fresh, but it's not suitable for the spicy pot. When you put these green leaves in, they'll absorb too much water, and when you fish them out, they'll be covered in Sichuan peppercorns and chili flakes. Such a strong flavor will overpower the natural taste of these fresh vegetables. Not good, not good. It's better to cook them in the clear soup pot."
"I think these crisp and tender greens taste better in the spicy pot. Otherwise, the flavor is too bland."
Before they even started eating, Uncle Master Jingchengzi and his disciples had already begun arguing about the merits of the clear soup pot versus the spicy pot. The result of the debate was to prepare an additional clear soup pot for comparison.
"Why don't we make a milky fish soup? This fish is excellent, with no muddy taste and only a mild fishy flavor. We could make a creamy white fish soup and add some yam and goji berries." One health-conscious senior brother suggested.
"Hey, this fish has no bones and is just the right size. It would be a waste to use it for fish soup. It would be best to make spicy oil-braised fish. I've had Sister Xiu's spicy oil-braised fish before - a whole fish fried until crispy, leaving a lingering fragrance in your mouth. I've been craving it for a long time."
No matter how reserved the senior brothers and sisters were initially, when it came to food, they all had plenty to say. Only The Third's chubby senior brother was the most straightforward, repeating the same question over and over: "Can we eat yet?"
Without anyone formally announcing the start of the meal, they just began eating. After all, they were all cultivators over a hundred years old, even if they looked young. It wouldn't be right to compete with the few actual children present. So The Second and the others sat down to eat heartily, while Xin Xiu also had her fill first. After eating, she wanted to try some grilled mountain delicacies, so she went to the barbecue grill to skewer some mushrooms.
Wherever she went, the younger ones followed, knowing that following the eldest would lead them to the most delicious food. Little Ninth held a small bowl, skillfully following behind his brothers and sisters, and everyone would turn back to add food to his bowl.
Many of the mountain delicacies were brought by Little Ninth. Being only a few years old, he certainly wouldn't know about these things, so it must have been his master, Elder Master Han Fangzi, who prepared the gift box for him to join the feast. When The Seventh and Old Eighth arrived, they also brought a basket of grapes, said to be personally grown by Uncle Bai Fei.
Uncle Master Jingchengzi, caught up in the excitement of the meal, drank wine boldly and went around trying to get his disciples and junior fellow disciples to drink with him. When he found his young disciple Ai Cao and attempted to get him to drink as well, he was immediately restrained by several of his older disciples.
Xin Xiu was interested in drinking. She had drunk alcohol before, but this was her first time experiencing the wine of the immortal cultivation world. Unfortunately, as soon as she expressed her desire to drink, she was also held back by her older senior brothers and sisters.
After eating her fill of meat and feeling a bit greasy, and not being allowed to drink wine, Xin Xiu could only go and squeeze some grape juice to share. Actually, given her body's age, having a little alcohol wouldn't have been a problem, but her older senior brothers and sisters were all looking after her, speaking to her as if she were a three-year-old child. In their eyes, her teenage body was probably equivalent to that of a toddler.
As the feast ended, everyone departed in high spirits, promising to gather again soon.
Only Xin Xiu didn't leave. She sat in the courtyard to aid digestion, while also waiting for The Fourth to wake up so she could send him back. This younger brother had fallen into a drowsy sleep right after eating his fill, with an unfinished piece of barbecued meat still clutched in his hand. Xin Xiu had thought he might have gotten drunk on grape juice, but upon closer inspection, she realized he had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion.
The Fifth, being the filial son, had brought out their master's rocking chair for The Fourth to lie on. He slept soundly, undisturbed by the noise of everyone eating and drinking.
The dutiful Fifth son took on the task of cleaning up the area without complaint. After finishing, he brought over a pot of tea and poured a cup for her, saying, "It's mint tea made from the mint growing in front of the house."
Xin Xiu lazily whiled away the entire afternoon, waiting until sunset for The Fourth to wake up. He stretched drowsily and gazed absently at the horizon.
"Are you unhappy at Senior Uncle Tian Gong's place?" she asked.
Hearing his big sister's voice, he turned to look at her sitting nearby. He sat up, shaking his head, somewhat embarrassed. "No... I am happy. I've learned many things that make me feel useful. It's just very tiring, and there are still many things that my senior brothers know that I don't." His voice trailed off, sounding dejected again.
Xin Xiu replied, "Even if you were truly stupid, which you're not, you'd learn everything in a hundred years. Come on, I'll take you back. I should be heading home too."
As the sun set, the twilight glow over Shuling Mountain was brilliantly colorful, often not clearly visible from secluded places like Secluded Bamboo Mountain. Only by flying up into the sky could one see the various colors of clouds layered together.
She escorted The Fourth back, noticing his hesitant manner. It almost reminded her of a young cousin of hers from her previous life. That child, when his parents had to take him out unexpectedly, causing him to miss a few classes, absolutely refused to go back to school alone. He insisted that his parents accompany him to explain things clearly to the teacher.
So Xin Xiu accompanied The Fourth, like a primary school student, to find Senior Uncle Tian Gong. This uncle, disheveled and muttering to himself, was busy working on a mechanical model. It wasn't clear if he had heard her speak; he didn't even look up, just waving his hand as if shooing away flies. Xin Xiu maintained her composure, assuming he had understood.
"Alright, I've spoken to him. Remember what I said: when you're very tired, it's not a terrible sin to take a break."
"Okay, I'll come see you again in a few days."
She rode her flying sword back to Secluded Bamboo Mountain. The stars had already come out in the sky, and she was like a bird flying back to its nest, descending into the lush bamboo forest.
Under the ever-blooming purple rhododendron tree, a lantern hung there. As if guiding her way, it floated in front of her, leading her along the bamboo path with its protruding joints, back to the small building. From afar, she could see the building, and the lanterns hanging on it lit up one by one.
Her master wouldn't specifically come out to wait for her, but these automatically lit lanterns seemed like someone was waiting for her return.
"Master, I'm back," she called out as she entered the courtyard.
Sure enough, her master's voice came from somewhere unknown.
He said, "Mm."
Xin Xiu asked, "Did you eat the cake I left for you? Was it good?"
"It was good."
Xin Xiu said no more and ran upstairs. The last time she had found bathing inconvenient, she had asked her master about it. He had given her the smallest "world in a bowl," which contained a hot spring. She kept it in her room and could soak in it whenever she wanted to use it.
She suspected that her master had been obsessed with making these "mini landscapes" for a while. There were all sorts of microscopic sceneries inside, and he had many of these small bowls. At first glance, they all looked like the same jade bowls and plates, and one might mistake them for a cabinet full of kitchenware.
After soaking away the smell of hot pot and barbecue, she lay on her bed with her hair loose, falling asleep to the sounds of birds singing in the deep forest and the rustling of bamboo outside.
Every morning upon waking, Xin Xiu would run through the bamboo forest, a process to expel the impure air from her body, before finding a spot to attend lessons. She would casually choose a rock or tree branch to sit on while listening to her senior and junior masters lecture through the teaching pearl. She had already heard explanations of various "laws," which were essentially the rules governing heaven and earth.
She needed to study the ways of metal and fire, to memorize books - a great many books that she had to know by heart. Memorizing texts before cultivating immortality was, in a sense, truly scientific.
Once she became familiar with these "laws," she could attempt to mobilize more spiritual energy, and then learn "techniques" to utilize that energy.
Her master never inquired about her study progress, nor did he urge her to practice diligently. If it were someone lazy, like her former sluggish roommate, they probably wouldn't cultivate beyond the mortal realm in a lifetime. However, Xin Xiu was self-motivated, reasonably arranging her time and generally completing her planned tasks on schedule.
In her schedule, two hours each day were specifically allocated for petting pandas, though unfortunately, pandas weren't found every day. The mother panda seemed to play hide-and-seek with her, requiring her to search everywhere before possibly finding it in some nook. Perhaps this was a game it enjoyed playing, and Xin Xiu found it amusing too, like a treasure hunt.
Shentu Yu, however, did not find it amusing.
No matter where he hid, his disciple always managed to find him.
His resignation was evident even through the black-ringed eyes of his panda form. Once again, Xin Xiu caught him, happily stroking his fur and even reaching to touch his ears with an expression that said, "We're so close now."
The giant panda tilted his head back slightly, as if trying to dodge, but when Xin Xiu attempted to touch him again, he didn't resist. He lay there with an exhausted expression as Xin Xiu indulged in petting him to her heart's content. The ears had a different texture, not as purely soft as the fleshy belly, but equally wonderful. The round ears were incredibly cute.
After his disciple left, the giant panda sat up, leaning against a tree, and sighed worriedly.
He began to seriously consider whether he should go to the back mountain now to find an Iron-Eating Spirit Beast for his disciple to raise. However, the back mountain was a special place where Master LingZhao Immortal was currently residing, and it wouldn't be good to disturb him. He decided to wait until he could ask his master's opinion before taking his disciple there.
Before Shentu Yu had the chance to meet with LingZhao Immortal, Xin Xiu had already entered the back mountain. This time, she truly hadn't done it on purpose.
Ever since her younger brothers and sisters had seen her motorcycle, they all wanted to try riding it. The younger ones also wanted to go for rides, so when Xin Xiu went out for a spin, she would take a few of them along to cruise in the sky.
The motorcycle was large, and given their sizes, it could seat up to four people. On this day, she had gone to see The Fourth and taken him for a ride, along with The Third and The Fifth. Unexpectedly, The Second saw them and insisted on joining, so five people ended up on the bike.
Overloading can lead to accidents - modern traffic education does not lie.
At the time, because the four in the back were sitting very cramped, The Second was making a fuss about wanting to drive. He had a brief argument with The Third, and just then, they encountered a flock of stupid birds flying straight into the flying motorcycle. As a result, they were knocked off course by the bird flock and plunged headfirst into the forbidden area of the back mountain, attracting the Senior Uncle Bamboo Poles who guarded the back mountain to surround them.
It turned out there were more than three Senior Uncle Bamboo Poles, as this time Xin Xiu saw seven similar-looking Senior Uncle Bamboo Poles.
Xin Xiu said, "Senior Uncles, if I tell you we crashed in here by accident, would you believe us?"
Evidently, they didn't believe her. All five of them, not one left behind, were picked up and made to sit in a row on bamboo segments, waiting for their master to come and collect them.
