Shen Ci nodded, then mysteriously lowered her voice, “By the way, Senior Brother, the Spiritual Qi at the Sect’s Back Mountain is incredibly dense.”
“What? You went to the Back Mountain?!”
Bu Ranchen immediately set Shen Ci down and crouched to meet her eye level: “Little! One!”
He pinched her cheeks and pulled them outward: “Didn’t Senior Brother tell you the Back Mountain is forbidden territory?”
Shen Ci: ??
Had Senior Brother said that?
Her eyes widened in terror, “What should I do, Senior Brother? You won’t expel me from the Sect, will you?”
Bu Ranchen’s eyes shifted cunningly as he put on a stern face: “We will!”
Shi Zhouzhou burst out laughing and smacked Bu Ranchen’s head, “Are you trying to die? You’ll scare my little junior sister away.”
He crouched down and ruffled Shen Ci’s hair, “Don’t listen to your Little Bu Senior Brother’s nonsense, little junior sister. Strangely enough, since we joined the Sect, there’s only been one rule: disciples are forbidden from entering the Back Mountain.”
“But the rules don’t specify any punishment for going there.”
Shen Ci’s eyes lit up as she eagerly pressed, “So you’ve sneaked in too, Senior Brothers?”
Shi Zhouzhou: “No, we haven’t.”
“Oh.”
Bu Ranchen suddenly straightened up: “Wait, A-Ci, what did you just say? The Back Mountain has dense Spiritual Qi?”
Shen Ci nodded again.
The two exchanged puzzled glances.
Shi Zhouzhou stroked his chin and muttered, “How come we never sensed any Spiritual Qi there?”
“Exactly. If that were true, why would we need to travel all over to borrow other Sects’ Spiritual Qi for cultivation?”
Bu Ranchen tapped her head: “Did you misperceive it, little one?”
“Eh?” Shen Ci scratched her head. That couldn’t be right – such thick Spiritual Qi, how could her senior brothers not sense it?
She tilted her head and carefully studied their expressions. They didn’t seem to be joking, and when Brother Xiao was mentioned, they appeared equally clueless. Could it be that the entire Sect was unaware several powerful figures resided in the Back Mountain?
Shen Ci shook her head, deciding not to dwell on these uncertainties. She beamed brightly: “Senior Brothers, why don’t you sit and rest for a while? A-Ci will make you something delicious!”
As she turned to run toward the kitchen, her collar suddenly tightened as Shi Zhouzhou lifted her back like a kitten.
Shi Zhouzhou pointed at Bu Ranchen in dismay, “Little Bu! How could you and Tao Yaoyao act as senior brother and sister? Letting a little kid cook?”
Bu Ranchen looked utterly confused: “???”
Shen Ci stomped her feet anxiously, tugging at Shi Zhouzhou’s sleeve: “Zhouzhou Senior Brother, you’re blaming the wrong person! I enjoy cooking myself!”
“Besides, A-Ci is already eight years old – I’m not a child anymore!”
Shi Zhouzhou looked down at the little girl who barely reached his waist, his lips twitching: “Is eight years old that grown up?”
Bu Ranchen finally snapped out of it and added with suppressed laughter: “Yeah, you still need to stand on a stool to reach the counter, don’t you?”
How annoying.
Shen Ci rolled up her sleeves, “I’ll just have to show you what I can do today.”
After much persuasion, the two finally convinced Shen Ci to let them assist. Bu Ranchen and Shen Ci crouched together washing vegetables while Shi Zhouzhou sat by the stove tending the fire.
He seemed somewhat dazed: “The last time I cooked like this feels like so long ago.”
Shen Ci skillfully chopped vegetables and asked curiously: “Have you senior brothers also achieved inedia?”
Bu Ranchen shook the water droplets off his hands and smiled wryly, “With our Qi Refining cultivation, what’s the point of fasting? We’ve just been constantly traveling outside, so when we get hungry, we casually nibble on some dry rations to get by.”
Shi Zhouzhou stuffed another log into the stove, “That’s right, little junior sister.”
Shen Ci pressed her lips together in thought for a moment before suddenly clenching her small fists, her eyes shining with determination: “Senior brothers, don’t worry! A-Ci will definitely earn lots and lots of Spirit Stones and make our Sect beautiful and prosperous!”
“This way… this way you won’t have to travel around so much.” Her voice carried a note of heartfelt concern.
“Pfft.”
Bu Ranchen felt warmth in his heart and couldn’t resist ruffling her little head: “Silly girl…”
He had just noticed the tidy courtyard around them, every corner neatly maintained and decorated with numerous flowers and plants. It was hard to imagine how much effort this little one had put into it.
His eyes were filled with tender affection.
Shi Zhouzhou also came over and pinched her chubby cheeks: “Exactly! Even if we have to eat dirt, we’ll make sure our little junior sister grows up plump and fair!”
Shen Ci pouted. She knew they didn’t believe her. Just wait until she finished cooking – then they’d see she wasn’t joking!
No sooner said than done. Shen Ci swiftly set up two pots, stir-frying vibrant hotpot base in the left one while brewing fragrant milk tea in the right. Soon, rich aromas filled the entire kitchen.
“Achoo!”
Shi Zhouzhou sneezed violently, his nose twitching, “Heavens, what is this amazing smell?”
Bu Ranchen also leaned in, his eyes bright: “A-Ci, what are you making? Why does it smell so incredible?”
Shen Ci blinked mysteriously, her little face full of pride: “This is our secret weapon to get rich!”
The two men looked at each other and simultaneously swallowed their saliva.
For the rest of the time, they watched eagerly as Shen Ci worked with the pots. Shen Ci instructed: “Senior brothers, keep an eye on the pots and maintain the heat like this.”
She jumped off the stool and ran outside to pick a few Moon Glow Flowers, bringing them to her nose for a sniff. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but these Moon Glow Flowers from her courtyard seemed to contain more concentrated Spiritual Qi than those she’d previously grown at Shangyun Sect, with even thicker petals.
She turned back to the kitchen and tossed two handfuls of Moon Glow Flowers into the pots.
“Ahhh, little junior sister!”
Shi Zhouzhou’s wail suddenly rang out, “Those are Moon Glow Flowers!”
By then, Shen Ci had already deftly thrown two handfuls of petals into the pots, where they were instantly swallowed by the bright red broth and milk tea.
Shi Zhouzhou clutched his chest as if in agony: “Each one could sell for five low-grade Spirit Stones…”
Bu Ranchen rolled his eyes, “Those were planted by my A-Ci. She can do whatever she wants with them. Get lost, you fatso.”
Shi Zhouzhou looked heartbroken at the Moon Glow Flowers dissolving in the pots, “You’re so extravagant…”
Shen Ci stood on her toes and patted his arm, speaking with mock maturity: “Senior brother, nothing ventured, nothing gained. You’ll understand once you taste it later.”
Actually, she had her own calculations. Though she’d eaten so many delicacies from the attic recently and even upgraded her Food Talisman, her cultivation hadn’t budged at all.
And now, two ready taste-testers had delivered themselves to her doorstep… hehe.
“Senior brothers, bring those prepared ingredients to the courtyard – it’s time to eat!”
“Right away!”
They answered in unison, moving faster than rabbits.
Shi Zhouzhou asked while serving the dishes, “Little junior sister, why do we have to eat in the courtyard?”
The young girl turned around with a brilliantly radiant smile, sunlight dancing at the tips of her hair. “There’s a small stream outside the courtyard, along with flowers and plants—how delightful!”
As she spoke, she pointed at the newly installed stone table. “Look, I even specially prepared this~”
Bu Ranchen teased, “Oh, our little junior sister is quite particular about elegance.”
Shen Ci, holding a fruit platter, added, “A-Ci came from the mortal world—she understands the joys of life best.”
Suddenly, Shi Zhouzhou pinched his throat and mimicked her tone, “Understands the joys of life best…”
This caused Bu Ranchen to spit out his tea: “You fatso, how disgusting!”
“Hahaha.”