73: Chapter 73 Senior Sister, I'm Going on a Business Trip

Zhao Ruoan respectfully bowed and retreated from the grand hall.

The heavy hall doors closed behind him, cutting off that chill capable of freezing a person to the Soul.

Zhao Ruoan let out a long breath, feeling as though he had repeatedly jumped back and forth in front of the Ghost Gate just now.

Acting cool is momentarily satisfying, but the consequences are unthinkable.

As he walked toward his small courtyard, he pondered the exhausted tone of Revered Master at the end.

Could this Immortal Emperor Revered Master have been completely baffled by him?

"Revered Master, when will this Disciple depart for the Spirit Stone mine?" Remembering this important matter, he quickly turned around and respectfully asked using the Sound Transmission technique.

A moment later, the cold voice of Yun Qinghan mixed with fatigue resounded in his mind.

"Tomorrow."

Zhao Ruoan acknowledged with a "Yes", not daring to disturb further.

Leaving tomorrow?

His footsteps paused, and his heart skipped a beat.

This is bad. He had just bragged to Third Senior Sister that they would study culinary arts together, only to turn around and have to go on a business trip for a month.

Is this considered making empty promises?

If Senior Sister finds out, she will likely chase him down with a spatula.

Harboring guilt toward Third Senior Sister, he returned to his small courtyard.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Zhao Ruoan was Cultivating in the courtyard.

What he was practicing was not some peerless Cultivation Technique, but rather the common goods issued by the Sect—Cloud Tracking Step.

This was originally an Entry-Level movement technique, with its advantage being simplicity and ease of learning.

Yet under the automatic optimization of the Great Dao Scripture, this mediocre movement technique evolved countless profound mysteries under the feet of Zhao Ruoan.

His figure in the courtyard was sometimes clear and sometimes blurry, dragging out trails of lifelike afterimages.

One moment he was under the peach tree in the east of the courtyard, and the next step he appeared beside the stone table in the west of the courtyard, with the intermediate process completely untraceable.

"You... Young Lord, what kind of movement technique is this?" The maid opened her mouth wide, and the broom in her hand dropped to the ground.

Xiamo also wore a look of disbelief.

"I have also practiced this Cloud Tracking Step, why is it completely different from when the Young Lord uses it?"

In their cognition, the Cloud Tracking Step at most allowed one to run a bit faster than ordinary people and have a slightly more agile physique.

But the movement of the Young Lord was almost catching up to teleportation.

Where is this Cloud Tracking Step? This is simply Ghost Tracking Step!

Just as the two maids were numbed by shock from the endless methods of their Young Lord, a brisk and lively shout came from outside the courtyard.

"Junior Brother! I am here!"

Before the words faded, a fiery red figure bounded into the courtyard.

It was Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling.

Today she had changed into a neat martial outfit, her long hair tied up high, her face brimming with a brilliant smile, and her entire person exuding an aura called "happy".

"Let us go, Junior Brother, let us go make lunch!" She grabbed the arm of Zhao Ruoan and spoke enthusiastically.

"Today I will let you witness the ultimate hidden skills of Senior Sister!"

"Just yesterday I obtained a piece of top-grade Grade 5 Dragon tendon, and a few freshly picked 'Cloud-Top Frost Flower Mushrooms', so today I will teach you how to process these Advanced ingredients!"

Looking at her eager appearance, Zhao Ruoan swallowed back the words that had reached his lips.

Forget it, they could talk after eating.

He could not let down the enthusiasm of Senior Sister.

Several people came to the exclusive kitchen of Qinghan Peak.

This place was a hundred times larger than the small kitchen of Zhao Ruoan, fully equipped with all kinds of kitchen utensils, and even had an ice cellar specially used to lock in the Spiritual Qi of ingredients.

Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling solemnly took out the cyan-gold kitchenware set given by Zhao Ruoan, gently stroking it and finding it too precious to put down.

Afterwards, she took things out one by one from her Storage Ring, just like presenting treasures.

The crystal-clear Dragon tendon radiated a massive amount of water-type spiritual power.

The mushroom was snow-white all over, with its cap seemingly condensed with a layer of frost.

There was also the spirit pepper, red as fire, whose spicy scent could be smelled from far away...

Every single one was a top-grade Heaven And Earth Treasure that was hard to find for a thousand gold outside, yet at this moment they were placed on a table like ordinary ingredients.

"Watch closely, Junior Brother." Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling picked up a cyan-gold knife as thin as the wing of a cicada, her expression focused.

"When processing this Dragon tendon, the cut must follow its grain, and Spiritual Qi must be evenly attached to the edge of the blade. Only in this way can you lock in the Spiritual Qi inside to the maximum extent without destroying its structure."

As she spoke, she demonstrated with clean and neat movements, full of a unique aesthetic.

Zhao Ruoan watched from the side; the key points explained by Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling were understood the moment he heard them and mastered the moment he saw them.

This was the overbearing nature of an immortal-grade Genius.

"Senior Sister, is it like this?" He picked up another knife, imitated the technique of Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling, and slashed across another piece of Dragon tendon.

The blade fell silently, and the Dragon tendon snapped in response. The cut was as smooth as a mirror, with no leakage of Spiritual Qi at all.

Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling poked her head to look, and her entire person froze.

Perfect!

Even more perfect than what she cut herself!

"You... are you really processing this kind of ingredient for the first time?" She found it somewhat hard to believe her own eyes.

Zhao Ruoan nodded honestly.

Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling fell silent; she felt that her title as a culinary Genius was a bit lacking in front of her Junior Brother.

However, she felt no jealousy at all; instead, she became even more excited.

"Great! Junior Brother, you really are cut out for this!"

In the following time, a wonderful teaching session played out in the kitchen.

Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling taught him everything she had, imparting her insights and unique secret skills accumulated over a dozen years to Zhao Ruoan without reservation.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruoan displayed astonishing learning capability; he could perfectly replicate any complex technique after a single try, even drawing inferences about other cases from one instance.

The two maids on the side listened with rapt attention, feeling that they too had learned quite a lot.

As dish after dish was cooked and completed, the entire kitchen was enveloped by a rich Spiritual Qi.

That Spiritual Qi was pure and majestic; taking a single breath made one feel that their Cultivation had progressed.

Lunch was quickly prepared.

Three dishes and one soup were laid out on the table, with every single one shimmering with colorful light and emitting an exotic, enticing fragrance.

"Quick, try this, stir-fried Dragon tendon. I added nine different Spirit Medicines for seasoning; it is extremely nourishing!" Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling picked up a large chopstick-full of Dragon tendon and put it into the bowl of Zhao Ruoan.

Zhao Ruoan also picked up a frost flower mushroom and brought it to the edge of her bowl.

"Senior Sister, eat as well. The heat for this 'frost mushroom stewed spirit chicken' is just right."

The two smiled at each other, the atmosphere warm and harmonious.

As they ate, the conversational floodgates of Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling opened.

She sipped her soup in small mouthfuls and said in a somewhat downcast voice: "Junior Brother, you know, when I was little, my Family was extremely poor. My parents died early, and I could not even get enough to eat by myself."

"At that time, my biggest wish was just to be able to eat a full meal."

"Later, people in the Family discovered that I had a culinary Genius, so I was taken back, and life started to get better. Therefore, in this lifetime, I view food as more important than anything else."

When she spoke of these past events, there was not much sadness on her face, only a calmness after experiencing the vicissitudes of life.

Zhao Ruoan listened quietly.

From these simple words, he could feel her past loneliness and helplessness.

"I understand," he said softly: "I am also an orphan, raised by an old hunter, and I have also tasted the feeling of having the next meal uncertain after finishing the last."

The movements of Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling paused. She raised her head, showing some surprise on her originally calm face.

She had not expected that this Junior Brother, held in the palm of Revered Master's hand and showered with thousands of favors, would actually have a past similar to her own.

An emotion of mutual sympathy spontaneously arose in her heart.

"So... so we are the same," she murmured to herself.

She looked at the profile of Zhao Ruoan, feeling that the distance between them had suddenly been drawn closer by countless times.

"That is great."

A smile bloomed on her face once more.

"Junior Brother, from now on, as long as I have a bite to eat, I will never let you starve! Let us do it this way: cook together every day and study new dishes together, alright?"

She looked forward with all her heart to the days of spending mornings and evenings together in the future.

However, the next words of Zhao Ruoan were like a basin of ice water poured straight down over her head.

"Senior Sister," he put down his chopsticks with a hint of apology in his tone, "There is something I need to tell you."

"The Sect has arranged a task for me to go station at the Number 3 Spirit Stone mine."

"I will probably... be gone for a month."

The smile on the face of Third Senior Sister Mo Hongling froze.