The next day, Feng Yongrui woke up early in the morning with a jolt. The System had been beeping and ringing in his head, forcing him to wake up.
When you are woken up by an alarm clock, you can reach out and hit the snooze button.
But when the alarm is inside your head, and the one making the noise is a certain System, then you can say goodbye to your extra sleep.
"System, you must be looking for a beating, right?" Feng Yongrui gritted his teeth and rubbed his eyes.
"Host, as the protagonist's esteemed Master, you have to set a good example by waking up early and making the most of your day~" The System's smug voice made Feng Yongrui clench his fists.
Feng Yongrui couldn't go back to sleep again, so he got up and decided to have breakfast. A Nascent Soul Cultivator didn't need to eat, but Feng Yongrui was a foodie.
Eating was his means of escaping from reality, even if it was just for a while. Eating made him happy and would satisfy his taste buds.
Of course, this was on the premise that the food tasted good.
And this was when Feng Yongrui found a problem.
He. Could. Not. Cook.
Let's not talk about cooking in ancient times, when you had to make a fire manually and there were no fridges or rice cookers. Feng Yongrui couldn't cook even in the modern era!
Well... to say he couldn't cook would be a bit too much. Feng Yongrui could cook, but the taste would be so terrible that gods and demons would probably run away from it.
Also, it would be a miracle if Feng Yongrui didn't break something or accidentally blow up the kitchen.
If this world was a modern one, Feng Yongrui could probably order takeout, but now...
"System, let me open the System Mall," Feng Yongrui said.
"Understood, Host~" The System's voice was really sweet, probably trying to entice him to spend his points.
"Hmm..." The System Mall was actually quite well organized. You could browse for random items or browse based on a certain theme.
For example, under the "Weapons" section, you could buy swords, bows, and so much more. Under the "Cultivation Manual" section, you could buy cultivation methods, and so on.
Feng Yongrui scrolled to the "Food" section and drooled at the menu. The menu was really diverse, with the food ranging from the extravagant Manchu-Han Imperial Feast to simple omelettes.
Feng Yongrui only had 12 points at the moment, and he gave himself a budget of two points for his breakfast. If worse comes to worst, he just had to forego lunch and dinner!
Feng Yongrui's eyes landed on the cheapest meal on the list: Instant Noodles - 10 packages for 2 points. Feng Yongrui did some math in his head.
He usually needed 3 to 4 packages to satisfy his stomach for one meal, but as a cultivator, he wasn't really in need of eating.
He just wanted to satisfy himself emotionally and give his taste buds a treat.
So... he could eat one package per meal, meaning that he would eat 3 packages a day... and if he shared with his two disciples, giving them one package each, he would need a total of 3 packages per meal.
10 packages meant it was a days' worth of food, with one package left over. And he would be spending only 2 points!
Feng Yongrui convinced himself that it was a good deal and made his purchase.
"Ding~ You have purchased 10 packs of instant noodles. Would you like to receive all of them now?" The System's tone was a bit gloomy, probably because the System had wanted Feng Yongrui to spend more points than this.
"I'll receive three first, please," Feng Yongrui decided. Immediately after he finished his sentence, 3 instant noodles appeared on his bed.
Feng Yongrui actually preferred cup noodles, but the price was slightly more expensive than the instant noodles, so he gave up the idea.
No matter how bad Feng Yongrui was at cooking, he didn't manage to fail in cooking 3 bowls of instant noodles -- one for Ma Bo, one for Hou Renshu, and another for himself.
Feng Yongrui brought two steaming bowls of noodles and knocked on Hou Renshu's room first.
The sound of clattering, falling, and rustling was heard. Feng Yongrui heard hurried footsteps, a thud and a groan.
Hou Renshu must've fallen, Feng Yongrui thought and shook his head helplessly. Did he have to run around so much and hurt himself like this?
A few seconds passed and then the door was opened. Two heads peeked out from behind the door and shocked Feng Yongrui. Why were these two sleeping in the same room?
"M-master?" Ma Bo's red eyes were wide open with obvious question marks written all over his face. "I thought we were supposed to meet Master at noon... Is it noon already?" He asked, slightly disoriented.
Ma Bo's face was slightly pale and he was panting a little because he had been running to and fro. Hou Renshu, on the other hand, stood straight and looked more composed. However he, too, looked at Feng Yongrui questioningly.
Both of them seemed quite sleepy, but Hou Renshu managed to compose himself and greeted Feng Yongrui accordingly.
"Greetings, Master," Hou Renshu said.
"Good morning Xiao Shu*," Feng Yongrui felt strange to be addressed so formally, but let it go. He was a Master now, he had to have dignity!
"It's okay, Bo'er**," Feng Yongrui smiled gently at Ma Bo. "It's not noon yet, don't worry. Right, why are you two sleeping in the same room? Are you worried there aren't enough rooms for you two? I'm telling you, you both can even occupy the entire west wing if you want to..."
Ma Bo's cheeks turned red. "S-sorry, Master. Last night, I was afraid of sleeping alone, so I went to Shu Ge's room... I'll sleep by myself tomorrow!" He said.
Feng Yongrui nodded. It was understandable. The two boys needed time to adjust to the change in environment, and since they were really close, no doubt they had stayed together.
"Alright, anyway, I cooked some breakfast for you two. Here you go," he handed one bowl to each child.
The boys' eyes widened but they accepted the bowl. Hou Renshu and Ma Bo could see the curly wisps of steam rising and disappearing into the air.
A delicious fragrance was emitted from the bowl, wrapping them in a comfortable embrace full of warm, fuzzy joy.
A small smile could be seen in Hou Renshu's eyes. Master was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, meaning he did not need to eat. However, he remembered them and even personally cooked noodles for them. Master was really...
Meanwhile, Ma Bo's red eyes were starting to get teary. "Master... thank you so much," he sniffed.
Except for his Shu Ge, Ma Bo had never been treated this kindly by anyone else. He was used to the cold treatment from the world -- this ugly world that only wanted benefits and did not see him as a person...
Ma Bo and Hou Renshu silently noted down their Master's kindness. They thanked Feng Yongrui and were about to bring the bowls inside their room, when Feng Yongrui thought of something.
"Why don't we eat together?" Feng Yongrui asked.
The boys were instantly stunned. Eat together? Master wanted to eat too?
Feng Yongrui was also slightly surprised. He had said it on the spur of the moment, and slightly regretted it afterwards.
His cool, mature image as their Master would probably be ruined because of this, right? Which elder would sit down and eat breakfast with his disciples, as if they were friends?
While Feng Yongrui wanted to look like an awesome Master, Feng Yongrui also wanted to foster a good relationship with his disciples.
Feng Yongrui felt that eating and talking would be the best way to do so. This would be considered one step closer to the task completion, right?
Not caring about the disciples' stunned expressions, Feng Yongrui told them to meet him in the main hall and eat together. He rushed back to his room, took his bowl and chopsticks, and sat down in the main hall. The disciples were sitting on the available chairs, looking extremely well-behaved.
Feng Yongrui seated himself and took his chopsticks. He started eating and urged the two boys to eat, saying, "Come on and eat before it gets cold." The boys took their chopsticks and began eating.
At first, the three of them were reserved, eating slowly and carefully maintaining their image. However, over time, their chopsticks started moving faster and their eating speed increased.
Ma Bo did not know what was wrong with him. Obviously, he wanted to eat slowly and savor the taste of the noodles his Master, a Nascent Soul Cultivator, had cooked for him.
However, it hadn't even been one minute but he was eating so fast that he almost swallowed his own tongue.
It tastes good! Very good! Master must be a genius in cooking!
System: Pfft... As if.
Even Hou Renshu, who usually acted more mature, was busy chewing and drinking the soup. He even licked his lips from time to time, obviously satisfied.
Feng Yongrui's situation was slightly better. Unlike his two disciples, this was not his first time eating instant noodles, so he managed to exercise some self restraint.
Feng Yongrui noticed, however, that this instant noodle was tastier and more fragrant than the ones back on Earth.
System: Heh, how can you compare the System's products with the ones on Earth?
When the three of them were finished eating, all of their bowls were clean, not even a single drop of soup was left.
Ma Bo let out a small, satisfied burp and blushed. He took a glance at Feng Yongrui and mustered up the courage to ask.
"Master, a Nascent Soul Cultivator does not need to eat anymore, right? So... why...?"
Why do you eat here with us? Don't cultivators look at the mortal world with disdain? These were Ma Bo's unspoken questions.
Hou Renshu also turned his eyes at Feng Yongrui, looking at him with interest.
"Why not?" Feng Yongrui asked back. "Shouldn't good things be shared together? Eating is a form of joy, a form of art. Enjoying food is a part of life. No matter who you are or where you come from, it's good to take a step back from the complicated ways of life and enjoy simple things..."
Feng Yongrui wanted to add more chicken soup, but he was momentarily confused and didn't know what to say. As he was mulling over his words, the System sent a prompt.
"Congratulations, Host. The progress for 'nurturing the protagonist' is now 5%~ Please continue to work hard~"
Feng Yongrui smiled. See? This is the magic of food and the result of eating together...
***
Author: Feng Yongrui is really silly... instead of spending his points for food, he could've just went outside the sect and buy some food from outside, right? Why didn't he think of that?
System: Heh, you don't need to tell him that. Our dear Feng Yongrui knows how to spend money in the right place~~
Author: =_=
***
Notes:
*Xiao Shu = term of endearment for Hou Renshu
**Bo'er = term of endearment for Ma Bo
***
Question: Do you agree that eating food together (with family/friends) brings people closer? And, what is your favorite food?
Comment below~