Chapter 1023 What are you eating?

With a "whoosh," Xie Zheng stood up and strode over to Master Han.

Before anyone could react, she knelt down with a thud.

"Master, please accept my bow."

Master Zhang quickly slipped a cup of tea into his hand.

"Master, please have some tea."

"..."

"..."

"..."

This smooth and effortless maneuver left everyone stunned.

Even Master Han was stunned.

But he reacted quickly, turning around to look at Xie Zheng and taking the tea from his hand.

Xie Zheng was somewhat excited. Watching Master Han serve tea, he could no longer hide his smile and turned to look at Song Chunxue.

"What are you doing here? From now on, you are my disciple, and you must focus on cultivation." With that, Master Han drank his tea.

Xie Zheng took the teacup, but instead of getting up immediately, he handed it to Zhang Chengxuan.

"This is my gift to you," Master Han said, as he produced an old-looking wooden box in his hand. "I've been saving this for hundreds of years. I've always wanted to take on a disciple, but I haven't found one I'm satisfied with yet."

“But after knowing you for so many years, you’re quite good, very much to my liking.” Master Han said with a smile, “From now on, I will give you a share of all my good things.”

"Thank you, Master." Xie Zheng cupped his hands and smiled. "When I was young, I never imagined I would become your disciple. Back then, you looked very..."

"Get up." Master Han helped him up, and knowing what he was about to say, he quickly interrupted, "That was a disguise. Now, I am the real Han Qingfeng."

"What was he like back then?" Lord Zhao asked curiously. "You can tell me about it in private."

Xie Zheng smiled but remained silent.

Master Han glanced at him sideways, his expression arrogant and unruly. "He is now my disciple. He won't do anything I forbid."

“Such a domineering and tyrannical master,” Lord Zhao looked at Xie Zheng, “you’re probably in for a rough time.”

Xie Zheng, flattered and overwhelmed, held the heavy box. "Isn't this too much?"

"Put it away." Master Han raised his hand. "Sit down and eat. There's no rush for anything else."

Tu Dan'er stood up. "Is it too late for me to become Master Han's disciple now?"

Zhang Chengxuan threw a pebble from somewhere, hitting him on the forehead.

"You wish! If they wanted you, they would have already had countless students all over the world. Why would they have to wait until today?" Zhang Chengxuan was furious. He stood up, pointed at his forehead, and scolded him, "Besides, your teacher is right here. I haven't been harsh on you, have I? Are you trying to betray your teacher and ancestors so early on?"

Everyone knows that he had a falling out with his former master and nearly died to repay his debt to his mentor.

Tu Dan'er quickly covered his head and ran away, "Master, I didn't mean it that way, I just said it casually, please don't take it to heart. Getting angry is bad, be careful not to get anxious and upset."

It was fine at first, but these words were like adding fuel to the fire, and Zhang Chengxuan turned around and chased after him.

Tu Dan'er sensed something was wrong and jumped over the threshold in the blink of an eye, bumping into the door frame and wincing in pain.

"Master, I was wrong, I was really wrong, please don't hit me. It's not good to hit a child while eating. Can't I just be naughty a little?"

"No way, you stop right there. If you keep torturing me like this every day, I'm going to be tortured to death. I must have owed you something in my past life."

Zhang Chengxuan was furious. "Stand right there! Why did I take you as my disciple in the first place? I also brought Changfeng and Changyun back with me. Look how obedient they are. Who are you like, jumping around like a rabbit!"

Tudan ran outside the door. "Master, calm down. I was just trying to lighten the mood. I spoke too quickly. Please don't take it seriously. I still have to take care of you in your old age."

"..." This time, Zhang Chengxuan was not just angry. He put his hands on his hips and said, "Do I, a cultivator, need you to take care of me in my old age? How have I taught you all this time! Wangchen, you're finished. Go and copy the Tao Te Ching right now, and don't rest until after 5 pm!"

"..." Upon hearing that he had to copy a book, Tu Dan'er froze on the spot, feeling as if he had been struck by lightning.

The others were overjoyed and thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

But such days are ultimately short-lived.

The day after tomorrow, we'll all be going our separate ways.

For two nights in a row, Song Chunxue and Xie Zheng barely slept, chatting until late at night, only falling asleep when they were so sleepy they kept yawning.

The happiest thing in the world is to live a peaceful and ordinary life.

They could chatter on and on, and when they got really into it, they would set up a table late at night, using stools made from apricot wood stakes as tables, placing them on a spacious kang (heated brick bed), sitting cross-legged facing each other, with two candlesticks quietly keeping them company.

Speaking of candlesticks, these were prepared by Xie Zheng. He specially selected them; the exquisitely crafted bronze candlesticks were engraved with mandarin duck patterns, and the red candle sitting on them looked like a piece of delicate red jade.

"The wine is ready. Would you like some snacks to go with it?" As she spoke, Song Chunxue slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed). "Wait for me, it'll be ready soon."

Xie Zheng also slipped downstairs, put on his shoes, and picked up a candlestick. "I'll go with you; the kitchen is too dark."

"Alright." Song Chunxue lowered her voice. "They're all asleep. How long have we been talking? What time is it now?"

Xie Zheng looked up at the position of the Big Dipper, "It should be the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)."

"It's so late, why don't you go to sleep?"

"I want to drink with you, I'm not sleepy," Xie Zheng wanted to talk to her more. "Are you sleepy?"

"I'm not sleepy at all. The wine smells delicious, and I've prepared some snacks to go with it." Song Chunxue loves minced garlic, but her senior brother and Master Han don't eat it much, so they usually cook rather bland food. "I want to eat cold pig's ear salad. I bought a few ears but haven't had a chance to eat them yet."

Although Lord Zhao disliked eating only potatoes at every meal, she prepared different dishes every day in addition to potatoes.

Unfortunately, all he saw were potatoes.

Seriously, they're so hard to please.

Minced garlic, soy sauce, small chili peppers, vinegar, two sprigs of cilantro picked from the field, about the length of a little finger, sprinkled with salt, sesame oil, and two small chopped shallot roots—mmm, it smells delicious.

"Your cooking is really good. I don't crave anything else in the army, but I often think about the taste of your mixed dishes." Xie Zheng couldn't help but swallow twice as he watched her stir the food while holding the candlestick.

"Here, have a bite." Song Chunxue picked up a bite from the plate. "Is it lacking salt?"

"Hmm, it's alright, spicy and delicious. The pickled vegetables they brought out when we had noodles yesterday were pretty good; I don't think I've ever had them before. Adding some in would be nice."

“You have a good eye. When we went to the southwest, we found that the dishes they cooked were even better. They often used various pickled vegetables, mushrooms, peppers and the like in their home cooking. I bought a few jars when I came across them. They had been hidden at the bottom of my suitcase before and I couldn’t find them.”

Speaking of this, Song Chunxue recounted the details with great familiarity.

What are you doing?

Suddenly, a faint voice came from behind.

The two of them were so startled that they turned around abruptly, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

"My mother!"

"Oh my god!"

Master Han stared at the things in their hands. "What are you eating?"

"Yes, what should we eat?"

Then Zhao's head popped up behind Master Han, his eyes fixed on the plate in Song Chunxue's hand. "What delicious food are you stealing for them? You two are eating it all by yourself. That's not fair."