"Hahahaha..."
Rant Valo laughed dryly and pretended like he didn't notice the holes on the fish's heads. He sneaked a peek at Floriana Sabina.
When Floriana Sabina saw Rant Valo looking at her, she raised an eyebrow. Rant Valo straightened his back when he saw her do that.
"Now that the fishes are clean, we can start gutting them"
Rant Valo pulled out a kitchen knife from his bag and inserted it inside the fish's gills.
"Look at what I'm about to do"
Rant Valo reminded Floriana Sabina. When he was sure that she was looking he started to remove the gills of the fish.
"Push deep and push the gills out in an angle like this"
Rant Valo stabbed the gills deeper and moved the knife at an angle. When the tip of the knife was revealed, it came together with the gills.
"Now repeat it to the other side"
Rant Valo did the same on the other side.
"Got it?"
Rant Valo asked Floriana Sabina. Floriana Sabina simulated what he did with her mind and only then did she nod.
"Now try it"
Rant Valo gave the knife to Floriana Sabina. She grabbed the knife and picked up a fish. She inserted the knife into its gills and pushed it out at an angle.
Nothing came out when the tip of the knife revealed itself.
"Huh?"
Floriana Sabina looked at Rant Valo in puzzlement. It was similar to what happened when she tried to copy what he did yesterday.
"You didn't push hard enough"
Rant Valo had experience in the subject so he knew what she did wrong. He motioned for her to start again with his hands.
"Alright. I'll try to push harder this time"
Floriana Sabina grabbed the knife and started to remove the gills of the fish.
Flingggg~
The head of the fish was sliced cleanly in half.
Rant Valo gulped when he saw that. Was she trying to tell him something..? Gulp! No way, right!?
"Oops"
Floriana Sabina's brows furrowed when she realized that removing the gills of a fish was not as easy as she thought. She couldn't but admire Rant Valo a little.
When Rant Valo saw Floriana Sabina furrow her eyebrows, his body shivered. And when he saw her smile of admiration he thought that he saw the grim reaper.
"I'm dead..."
Rant Valo murmured to himself. He prayed silently that she will not torture him.
"Dead? You mean the fish?"
Floriana Sabina heard what he said with her sensitive ears. As a cultivator, her senses were magnified. She can even hear a pin drop from miles away if she focuses.
"N-nothing"
Rant Valo was nervous all over. Floriana Sabina just said that she will kill him just like the fish! He slowly moved away in fear of her doing the same to him.
"Disciple, where are you going?"
Floriana Sabina noticed Rant Valo slowly moving away. She thought that it was her imagination at first but when he was 10 steps away she knew that it wasn't her imagination anymore.
"Uhh..."
Rant Valo tried to think of an excuse but nothing came to his mind. He looked up trying to feign ignorance.
"Tch. Was I that bad so you're running away?"
Floriana Sabina thought that Rant Valo was running away since she was not easy to teach.
"N-No! No! No! No! You're very good!"
Rant Valo forced a smile on his face. His smile was not convincing at all to Floriana Sabina.
She thought that Rant Valo was just making up an excuse to appease her.
"Hmph! Just teach me, okay?"
Floriana Sabina's confidence took a hit when Rant Valo kept being like that. She was never good at cooking so having realized that she was not talented at it took her confidence down a notch.
When Rant Valo saw her pitiful face, he realized that she was genuinely feeling down. It dawned on him that he might have misunderstood her.
"Alright"
Rant Valo helped Floriana Sabina remove the gills of another fish. Rant Valo held her hand and *plop*. The gills were removed.
"It worked!"
Floriana Sabina excitedly called out. Rant Valo realized that as a cultivator, she does not have excellent control over her strength. So he guided her hands with his hands and applied the appropriate strength to remove the gills of the fish.
"Yeah!"
Rant Valo also felt hyped after succeeding to teach her something. It was a new feeling that he never felt in his life in the village.
"Have you gotten the correct strength?"
Rant Valo asked her so he can decide if he will still guide her using his hands.
"Hmmm... I think not yet"
Floriana Sabina did the hand motions earlier with her hands but she didn't feel that it was right.
"Alright, I'll get another fish"
Rant Valo grabbed another fish and started to guide Floriana Sabina again. He grabbed her hands and moved them gracefully. He applied what he learned over the years to her hands.
After removing the gills of almost all the fishes, Floriana Sabina was finally confident that she could do it herself. So she grabbed a fish and tried to remove its gills.
Plop
The gill was removed successfully.
"Yes! I did it, Disciple!"
Floriana Sabina was excited. With this, she can start to slowly relive that memory of her mother.
"I'm gonna cook the most delicious Spirit Fish, Mother..."
Floriana Sabina murmured to the air. She gazed out into the distance remembering the silhouette of her mother.
"What happened?"
Rant Valo also looked into the distance but he saw nothing. He asked Floriana Sabina in curiosity.
"Nothing!"
Floriana Sabina replied grumpily. This guy is really awful at times.
"Now that I remember it. I haven't asked your name yet, Disciple?"
Floriana Sabina has been with Rant Valo since yesterday but she never seemed to have asked for his name yet. She only calls him Disciple this, Disciple that.
"My name?"
Rant Valo was surprised that she even remembered to ask his name. He thought that he'll spend a few years without her ever knowing his name since she was never interested in asking about it.