Chapter 29 Sharing Taste

Chi Li believed that inner transparency was the ultimate form of soul resonance.

Until she was at a palace banquet, looking at the incredibly tempting "Millennial Honey-Brewed Lotus Root" in front of her, she subconsciously thought, "It looks good, I wonder if it's sweet..."

Tang Lu, who was engrossed in eating the spirit fruit, suddenly looked up.

She sniffed hard through her little nose, her eyes lit up, and she stared intently at the plate of iced lotus root, her mouth practically watering.

"Lili! That! Those white pieces! They smell so sweet! Tanglu wants to eat them!"

Chi Li's hand holding the jade chopsticks froze again.

She glanced at the plate of lotus root in her mind, then at Tang Lu's drooling, purposeful eyes, and an even more outrageous guess came to mind.

No way... Could it be...?

She tentatively imagined in her mind the extremely spicy taste of the "fiery pepper-infused" liqueur next to her, which she occasionally used to refresh herself.

Almost simultaneously, Tang Lu cried out "Wah!", her little face scrunched up, she stuck out her little tongue and frantically fanned herself with her hands, looking at Chi Li with teary eyes:

"Ugh... Lili! My mouth is so spicy! It feels like it's on fire! You naughty Lili!"

Chili: "..."

It's confirmed.

Soul resonance has been upgraded to taste sharing!!!

Life is getting more and more exciting.

She can't even think about anything while eating anymore?!

Otherwise, wouldn't that be equivalent to "virtually feeding" this little tyrant next to you?!

His Majesty the Demon King felt that his demonic life was racing headlong in an uncontrollable and extremely noisy direction.

However, after the collapse, Chi Li's mind, honed by political affairs and battles for ten thousand years, began to work at a rapid pace.

Crises are often accompanied by opportunities.

This "taste sharing"... seems... somewhat useful?

For example, she can finally feed the animals accurately.

In the past, feeding Tanglu relied entirely on guesswork and observation.

Now, she only needs to "taste" it in her mind to know whether Tang Lu will like it, whether she will be allergic, or even whether she will get burned.

This is simply a revolutionary advancement in the history of tree cultivation!

On this day, the eunuch presented a plate of newly presented "Thunder Pattern Fruit," which was shaped like a purple lightning bolt.

It is said to have a unique flavor, but details are unclear.

Chi Li picked up one, but instead of giving it to Tang Lu directly, she carefully "simulated" the taste in her mind...

Um……

The outer layer is slightly crispy, the inside is soft and juicy...

It had a slight, tingling, electric-like sensation...

It's moderately sweet, and the aftertaste is a bit like... roasted pine nuts?

She had just finished "tasting" it when Tang Lu next to her, like a kitten that had smelled fish, clung to her arm, stood on tiptoe, and stared longingly at the plate of thunder-patterned fruit.

"Lili! This! This is delicious! Tanglu wants to eat that dancing fruit! (referring to the electric shock sensation)"

Chi Li smiled with satisfaction and handed her the fruit.

Tang Lu took a big bite, her eyes squinting as she ate, happily shaking her head; she clearly loved it.

The cook tried making a new dessert called "Hundred-Flavor Thousand-Layer Pastry", which uses a variety of ingredients.

Akari habitually "tests" the product in her mind first...

First layer, sweet aroma... Second layer, slightly sour... Third layer...

Wait! This extremely faint bitterness and chilling aura is... 'Netherworld Moss'?

This substance is extremely cold in nature, and those with a Wood Spirit constitution will find it difficult to digest.

Before she could even speak, Tang Lu clutched her tummy, her face contorted in pain.

"Ugh... Lili, my stomach feels a little cold and uncomfortable... I don't want to eat this pastry anymore..."

Chi Li immediately moved the pastry away and ordered that Nethermoss be forbidden from being used in Tang Lu's meals from now on.

A potential gastrointestinal upset was successfully avoided!

One day, Akari was feeling tired from reviewing memorials when she noticed a plate of seemingly ordinary green pastries on the table.

She picked up a piece at random, and in a wicked way, imagined that it had been soaked in super-concentrated Coptis chinensis juice.

"vomit--"

Tang Lu, who was standing next to her, gagged instantly, her little face scrunched up like a bun from the bitterness, and she looked at Chi Li accusingly: "Li Li! You're mean! It's so bitter! It's a million times more bitter than the bitterest medicine!"

Seeing the little guy's exaggerated reaction, Chi Li couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Hmm... It's actually quite fun to be a little mischievous sometimes?

Tang Lu: ? ? ?

Of course, this ability also has moments that leave Akari both amused and exasperated.

For example, when she takes medicine.

To suppress her old injuries, she occasionally needed to take some potent medicinal soups, the taste of which... was absolutely horrific.

She used to down her drinks without batting an eye, but now...

She had just picked up the bowl of medicine, her mind not even beginning to think about the taste, the thought of "it's time to drink the medicine" just flashing through her mind...

"Ugh—it's so bitter!!!"

Tang Lu was already one step ahead of her, and was so frightened by the bitter signal that was transmitted through resonance—that it was merely a "reserve" signal—that she burst into tears.

She clung to her leg, refusing to let her drink, "Lili, don't drink it! It's bad! It's bitter! Throw it away, throw it away!"

Looking at the little tree spirit clinging to her lap, crying so earnestly, and then at the bowl of medicine she had to drink in her hand, Chi Li felt a helpless warmth in her heart.

Finally, she often had to coax Tanglu to sleep first, or use a little bit of divine power to temporarily block her sense of taste, before she could secretly drink the medicine.

In conclusion, Akari discovered that this "taste sharing" ability was a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it enabled her to take care of Tanglu at an unprecedented level of meticulousness, basically eliminating the possibility of accidental ingestion or dislike, and achieving a 100% success rate in feeding her!

On the other hand, it also deprived her of the freedom to taste the "sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy" flavors on her own, especially the "bitter" and "spicy" flavors, which almost became prohibited items that needed to be blocked.

But seeing Tang Lu's bubbly little face every day because she could always eat food that suited her taste, Chi Li felt that this little bit of "lack of freedom" didn't seem like... anything at all.

Even when she eats something particularly delicious, she subconsciously and actively savors it in her mind, then contentedly "hears" Tang Lu's humming sounds of enjoyment beside her, and a soft voice saying:

"Lili, this is so delicious! Tanglu likes it just as much as you do!"

This synchronized joy seems to amplify the deliciousness twice over.

Today, Your Majesty the Demon King has reached the pinnacle of the art of "feeding" through the wondrous experience of "shared taste."

She may have lost some privacy regarding food, but she gained a perfectly satisfied, sweet-smiling little tree spirit.