Qin Wanyuan rarely cooked. Not because she was clueless, but because in her past life, Lin Que had pampered her so much that he personally cooked nearly every meal.
Before entering the Sword Seeking Sect, she and her younger sister prepared their own meals, mostly boiling wild vegetables they foraged.
After joining the sect, she became too busy cultivating to learn more, and then she ended up with Lin Que, survived the extermination of the Sword Seeking Sect, and wandered from place to place…
She let out a small sigh and patted her cheeks, reminding herself not to dwell on the sorrows of her past life. The most important thing now was not to repeat the same mistakes in this life.
Taking out a recipe book from her storage ring, she began following its proportions and ingredients to get started. First, she headed to the storeroom next to the kitchen where food supplies were kept.
Lin Que cared deeply about this storeroom. He had set up two small formations around it to ward off pests, and inside was a temperature-control array to keep everything fresh. Occasionally, he even stored fruit wines and cold drinks there.
Entering the storeroom, Qin Wanyuan couldn’t help but admire how neatly everything was organized.
“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe that Lin Lang, who once cared nothing about food, is now so particular about it.”
She recalled how he used to chew on dry military rations every day as a youth, and the memory made her smile. Unconsciously, she gathered a few extra ingredients. She wanted him to eat more.
A cultivator at the Core Formation stage learns quickly. As long as the dish didn’t require special spiritual cooking techniques, even regular food could be perfectly prepared just by following a recipe.
Before long, a table full of delicious dishes was ready.
There was no need to call them. Drawn by the aroma, Lin Que and Qin Qian’er soon arrived in the courtyard. The three of them sat around the table, enjoying the meal Qin Wanyuan had carefully prepared.
Qin Wanyuan didn’t eat much herself; instead, she kept picking dishes and placing them into Lin Que and Qin Qian’er’s bowls, mostly the more expensive meat dishes.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s delicious,” Lin Que nodded repeatedly, finishing everything Qin Wanyuan had given him.
“It’s a familiar taste I haven’t had in a long time,” Qin Qian’er smiled as she swallowed her food.
She ate with the elegance of a noble lady, savoring every bite with care. She was chewing slowly and quietly without making a single sound.
Resting her chin in her hands, Qin Wanyuan watched them with happiness in her eyes. Just watching this scene made her feel full, even if she didn’t eat.
To protect this little home, she felt like she could do anything.
With that thought, something came to mind. She opened the system interface to check Jiang Moqing’s affection level toward Lin Que.
Last time, Jiang Moqing’s affection had surged to 70 after a brief moment alone with him. Now that another scene from the past had appeared in a dream, it was bound to have increased again.
Sure enough, in the interface, Jiang Moqing’s affection had risen another level. It rose to 80, which was already at the level of ordinary lovers.
By contrast, Lin Que’s affection toward Jiang Moqing hadn’t changed much. It was still hovering in the low thirties, with the status “slightly wary”.
So it’s just a slight decrease in wariness… Lin Lang really is a tough nut to crack.
Qin Wanyuan blinked. She hadn’t expected the hardest person to win over wasn’t herself or Jiang Moqing…but Lin Que.
But on second thought, the fact that Lin Que was so hard to sway meant he was loyal and wouldn’t be easily taken back by his ex. That realization made Qin Wanyuan feel a lot better.
After the meal, Qin Wanyuan got up and walked over to Qin Qian’er. She spoke gently, “Qian’er, do you have time later? Come out with me for a bit.”
“Mm… Where does Sister want to go? But your injuries haven’t fully healed yet. If it’s not urgent, how about waiting a few days?” Qin Qian’er asked with concern.
“It’s something important. I plan to transfer you to a new class. We won’t be attending the Eight Elder’s lectures anymore,” Qin Wanyuan said.
What she had seen and heard in Lin Que’s memory dream last night had severely lowered her impression of the Eight Elder. Naturally, she couldn’t bear the thought of letting her younger sister continue cultivating under him.
Cultivation is not something to take lightly. If he ever bore an old grudge and secretly sabotaged her sister’s path, it would be disastrous.
Qin Wanyuan had always been cautious with outsiders. After all, it was this very wariness that allowed her to survive with her sister through the hardships of her past life.
“Eh?” Qin Qian’er froze for a moment, surprised.
“I’ll go with you,” Lin Que offered at the right moment.
“Mm… Then I’ll trouble you, Lin Lang,” Qin Wanyuan replied without refusing his kindness, affectionately hooking her arm around his.
“There’s no need for such formality between family,” Lin Que said with a smile, gently stroking Qin Wanyuan’s head.
Qin Qian’er, standing to the side, was briefly lost in thought as she watched the affectionate scene between the two. It wasn’t until Qin Wanyuan called her to head out together that she snapped out of it.
The three of them each rode their swords through the air, with Qin Qian’er taking up the rear and speaking little along the way.
“Qian’er, don’t you want to transfer to another teacher?” Qin Wanyuan asked curiously.
Judging by appearances alone, the Eight Elder indeed seemed like a kind, respected elder. Qin Wanyuan herself had once been fooled by his demeanor.
However, after seeing the Eight Elder in Lin Que’s memories within the dream, she came to realize that the old man was nothing more than a smiling tiger. He was ruthless beneath the surface.
Just recalling how he had come to confront Lin Que with accusations made her feel sick with disgust at his hypocrisy.
“I’ll go along with whatever you decide, Sister,” Qin Qian’er replied, shaking her head. She didn’t ask why her sister wanted her to transfer, clearly unconcerned about the details.
“Good sister.” Qin Wanyuan glanced back at her with a smile, feeling comforted. This was unconditional trust and it warmed her heart.
The three of them soon arrived at the inner gate of the sect.
The Sword Seeking Sect was divided into outer and inner gates. The outer gate focused only on basic foundational teachings, and only those who passed the assessment could enter the inner gate.
The curriculum of the inner gate included the cultivation methods stored in the Swor Seeking Sect’s library. As for the elders’ secret techniques, only personal disciples were allowed to learn them.
Though there are countless paths in the Dao of cultivation, they can generally be divided into two main types.
One is the Path of Enlightenment, which involves sensing the heavens and earth and deducing the changes of all things. The other is more straightforward. It was the Path of Battle, where one proves the Dao through deeds.
The former encompasses arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. It requires long-term accumulation and deep insight to achieve the Dao.
The latter is comparatively more forceful. It focused on combat, in warfare, and proving the Dao through Battle and breaking through with power.
Lin Que and Qin Wanyuan belonged to the latter. They were followers of the Path of Battle centered around combat. Qin Qian’er, on the other hand, was more skilled in deduction and thus followed the Path of Enlightenment.
Generally speaking, disciples would begin by studying both paths for a period to achieve a balance of knowledge and practice.
Only after discovering their own strengths would they formally choose a specialization. The Eight Elder was in charge of the general studies curriculum, so both Qin Qian’er and Qin Wanyuan had spent time under his tutelage.
As for Lin Que? He had already committed to the sword cultivator’s path of combat before even entering the sect and directly became a disciple under An Xiaoyao.
When they arrived at the general studies lecture hall, the Eight Elder had just finished his lecture. He was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion with his eyes closed in rest. Sensing someone approaching, he slowly opened his eyes.
Upon seeing Qin Wanyuan and Qin Qian’er, his reaction was calm. But when his eyes landed on Lin Que, they lit up. He immediately stepped off the cushion, dusted off his robes, and came forward to greet him.
“Chief Lin, what brings you to this humble hall of mine today?”
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