“Is that He Qiu and Ranran?”
As a deer spirit who had taken human form, Yun Qing inherited the extraordinary eyesight of a spiritual deer.
Though not as powerful as true clairvoyance, she could still see distant objects with the clarity and precision of a telescope.
She narrowed her eyes, channeling spiritual energy into them, and stared at the streak of light in the distance for a long time.
She saw a man and a woman flying through the air on a sword.
The silver-haired woman seemed to be gently explaining something to the white-robed youth…
From the looks of it, their training was going well.
An Lingran was following the plan to win over He Qiu properly.
“As expected of Ranran. She’s got He Qiu completely wrapped around her finger~”
Yun Qing smiled in satisfaction, put away the kitchen utensils, and went outside to take a look.
Just as she pushed open the door, a flying sword descended swiftly yet steadily before her.
An Lingran and He Qiu jumped off the sword and landed in front of Yun Qing.
“Yun Qing, why are you wearing an apron…?”
As the spirit master who knew Yun Qing well, An Lingran immediately noticed something unusual.
Yun Qing puffed out her chest proudly, the two long deer antlers atop her head shimmering with golden light.
“Because I cooked lunch today~”
“You… you cooked…”
An Lingran’s expression instantly darkened, as if there was something unspeakable she couldn’t bring up.
Behind her, He Qiu, who didn’t know the truth, looked at her in surprise.
“Sister Yun Qing, you can cook?”
“Of course!”
The antlered girl, holding a large ladle, looked smug.
He Qiu glanced at Yun Qing’s smiling face, then at Senior Sister An Lingran’s troubled expression, and seemed to sense something unspeakable.
Honestly, he kind of wanted to run away…
But just then, Yun Qing dashed over and grabbed He Qiu’s arm with a smile.
“Little brother He Qiu is so well-behaved and understanding—surely you won’t hold any prejudice against your big sister, right? You wouldn’t want to let down someone’s kind intentions, would you?”
“I didn’t…”
“Come! Follow Sister Yun Qing inside! Let big sister treat you to something delicious~”
With that, the golden-haired girl puffed out her cheeks like a sulking little girlfriend, took He Qiu’s hand, and turned to lead him into the house.
To be honest, although Yun Qing wasn’t tall, she was incredibly strong.
He Qiu couldn’t resist and was pulled straight into the house by the antlered girl.
The scene was a bit strange.
Having no choice, He Qiu stopped being awkward and followed her in. An Lingran sighed and trailed behind.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the second-floor living room of the pavilion, where Yun Qing had already set out the lunch she had prepared that morning.
Mushroom stew, stir-fried greens, seaweed soup, shredded potatoes, white bamboo shoots…
It seemed to be all vegetarian.
Although each dish looked exquisite and appetizing, they gave off a peculiar aroma that made one question the ingredients of the seasoning.
He Qiu initially found it strange, but after seeing the antlers on Yun Qing’s head, he stopped wondering.
After all, she was a maiden who had transformed from a spiritual deer—her tastes were bound to be unique.
“How is it?”
Yun Qing sat down, her clear eyes blinking as she looked at He Qiu, her guest, with eager anticipation.
Beside her, An Lingran sat upright, silent, occasionally casting sympathetic glances at her junior brother.
Although He Qiu felt a bit uneasy, he still picked up a piece of bamboo shoot with his chopsticks and tasted it carefully.
After a moment, the youth’s face turned pale.
His whole body trembled, as if he might keel over at any moment.
Finally, He Qiu forced himself to swallow the dark cuisine, his smile stiff as he praised her.
“It’s… good.”
“Just that?”
“Very good…”
“Just very good?”
“Super good. So good I want my mom…”
“Mm, that’s more like it~”
Yun Qing was satisfied.
Her smile was adorable.
She picked up a piece of greenery with her chopsticks, stood up, and personally fed it to He Qiu’s lips, making a cute pout and an ah sound.
“Come on, since it’s good, eat more!”
The antlered girl’s smile was incredibly sweet, full of healing warmth—but the herbal smell of that green vegetable was truly hard to swallow.
Yun Qing really didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with her cooking.
A choice had arrived: accept a cute girl’s kindness, or not?
A. Don’t accept. Tell her straight up, “Sister Yun Qing, your cooking is terrible—not even dogs would eat it,” then stand up and leave in style.
(Yun Qing’s affinity decreases by 20%. The deer spirit is disappointed and develops an inferiority complex. She becomes reluctant to interact with you.)
(An Lingran’s evaluation of you decreases by 10%. Senior Sister thinks you spoke too harshly.)
B. Accept. Be a kind, good-natured person. Wear a pained expression, force down three big bowls with tears in your eyes.
(Yun Qing’s affinity increases by 15%. The deer spirit thinks you have good taste and likes playing with you even more.)
(An Lingran’s evaluation of you increases by 5%. Senior Sister thinks you are a polite and brave warrior.)
(Poison Resistance +1. Taste Resistance +1…)
C. Shout in panic, “Oh no, my wife is about to give birth!” then run away immediately. “Nigerundayo!”
(Yun Qing and An Lingran’s impression of you as cool and handsome decreases by 5%. They don’t understand what you’re saying and might just think your junior brother has a screw loose.)
…
Honestly, He Qiu wanted to pick C.
Of course, he wouldn’t actually say his wife was giving birth—that would be social suicide.
He just wanted to make up some excuse to escape.
But even though that was what he thought, when the words of refusal reached his lips, he saw the look of eager anticipation in Yun Qing’s eyes.
Combined with the antlered girl’s soft golden hair and cute round face, his conscience couldn’t bear it.
He couldn’t bring himself to refuse her kindness.
Damn it, fine, I’ll eat.
It’ll even increase my poison resistance—just consider it part of my training!
With a pained face and tears in his eyes, he forced down three big bowls.
Truly a hero.
[Ding! Yun Qing’s affinity +15%! You left a second good impression on the deer spirit. She likes you more and more.]
[Ding! An Lingran’s affinity +5%! You left a good impression on your senior sister. She respects you more than before.]
[Ding! Poison Resistance +1. Taste Resistance +1…]
Not long after, He Qiu felt a numbness.
As he ate, he no longer found Yun Qing’s dishes unpleasant.
Was this the so-called taste resistance?
Pretty strong…
Besides that, the discomfort he had felt earlier also lessened.
He even felt his stomach digesting some sort of spiritual energy.
“Sister Yun Qing, where did all these ingredients come from…?”
As he finished eating, He Qiu asked casually.
Beside him, the golden-haired girl smiled proudly.
“I stole them from An Daosheng’s vegetable garden. Uh, I mean—between family, how can you call it stealing? Let’s just say I borrowed them without giving a heads up! I borrowed some fresh spiritual vegetables from your master~”
“As expected, it’s Master’s garden…”
An Lingran’s mouth twitched.
She could already imagine her father coming home at night, discovering his garden had been ransacked, and looking heartbroken.
An Daosheng, the Grand Elder, had disciples like Luo Qianning, An Lingran, and He Qiu—all exceptionally talented and self-taught.
He rarely had to teach, so he was known throughout the Longyin Sect for being idle.
Like someone retired, the old man liked to spend his time gardening and playing with bonsai…
Elder Xueyin’s garden had plants that took ten to a hundred years per growth cycle.
They were rare spiritual vegetables from the entire Spirit Cultivation Realm, each one priceless, and only professional spiritual chefs were qualified to cook them.
He only hired a few famous spiritual chefs during festivals and holidays to prepare a feast for guests.
And now, Yun Qing had just stolen An Daosheng’s vegetables…
Oh well, in the end, the food all went into Junior Brother He Qiu’s stomach.
It could be considered as treating her future brother-in-law—no waste, no loss.
Comforting herself with that thought, An Lingran mentally prepared herself on behalf of her father.
But come to think of it, had Yun Qing been a little too enthusiastic and forward toward Junior Brother He Qiu lately?
Pushing aside the matter of her father’s garden, An Lingran suddenly noticed a new, more subtle problem.
She felt like Yun Qing might have not only stolen her father’s vegetables but also taken something from her…
Probably just overthinking it.
…
Longyin Sect, Elder Pavilion
Achoo!
An Daosheng, who was playing chess with Elder Yude, suddenly sneezed.
“Daosheng, you look a little pale.”
“I don’t know. I feel like someone’s backstabbing me…”
“Huh? An assassin dared to infiltrate our sect?”
“Ah, this ‘backstabbing’ isn’t that kind of backstabbing.”
“?” Yude’s face was full of question marks.
“See, old man, you’re out of touch. You just don’t get it, do you~”
Shaking off his recent unease, An Daosheng leisurely put on an air of profundity.
He loved messing with people when he had nothing better to do.