Wangyun Peak employed no servants. There were no handmaids waiting on the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples. Their sect practiced modesty and humbleness and thus was encouraged to partake in menial chores between martial training and cultivation.
It was such that disciples were encouraged to cook their own food. Originally, there weren't any hired in the entirety of the manor, but in recent years an exception had been made.
The old auntie at Baiyun Hall had a very short temper, but her food was superb. The Heavenly Sword Sect practiced vegetarianism, thus it was hard to come by food that tasted better than leftover congee, but the Cook Auntie had certainly a special talent.
After one had tasted her food, who would want to cook for themself ever again?
However, there were dozens of disciples that studied at Wangyun Peak, and only one Cook Auntie with no servants to bring out plates of food during mealtime. So if one wanted to eat her cooking, they would have to wait patiently in line and wait for the cranky auntie to shove a plate of food in their hands.
It was rather inconvenient, but the residents of the manor were already used to the arrangement. Unfortunately for Chen Anyue and Yuan Zhang, both them were very surprised and confused when they saw a long line extending from the kitchen while only one person was being served at a time. The two of them were used to having servants that delivered food readily, so the idea of having to wait in line was unthinkable.
Chen Anyue was mildly amused and did not mind so much. Even if her stomach was rumbling, she endured it and stood in line.
Yuan Zhang, however, was bristling with impatience. He'd been in a terrible mood since arriving at Wangyun Peak, and waiting for food while his stomach complained only made things worse.
By the time they were nearing the front of the line, it felt as though a whole shichen had passed already! Yuan Zhang was losing his mind to irritation and hunger. Annoyed, he complained, "I won't be surprised if the food is stale by the time we get to it!"
He had spoken loudly, and Cook Auntie, who had just served the person in front of them, slowed to stop. Her eyes flashed red. "What did you say about my food!?"
Instead of serving them, Cook Auntie started screaming and scolding them. Even though Yuan Zhang and Chen Anyue had finally reached the front of the line, neither of them was able to get their food!
The long line that appeared every day in Baiyun Hall became even longer.
When Liu Sumeng and Xu Hexian arrived at the scene, it was obvious that something was going on. Although people continued to wait, the line wasn't moving at all.
Xu Hexian frowned. "I wonder what's going on?"
Wordlessly, Liu Sumeng walked directly toward the front of the line with wide strides.
"Meng-xiong?" Xu Hexian blinked. "W-wait!" It was harder for his short stature to walk at Liu Sumeng's pace and he had to jog a little to keep up.
At the front of the line, a heated argument took place. Yet no one dared to interfere despite the commotion it was causing.
"That's not what I meant!" Yuan Zhang said hurriedly, stumped about his current situation. "Please stop making presumptions, auntie. Aren't you being unreasonably angry? This is discrimination!" From the pitch of his voice, Liu Sumeng could tell right away that Yuan Zhang was barely keeping his composure together.
Cook Auntie screeched in response, "You're the one who insulted me first! After making rude comments about my food, you dare talk back to me!? Brats these days have no manners!"
Yuan Zhang's face turned from red to black to white. Although his face wasn't as thin as Liu Sumeng's, he also had his limit. "Y-you! You take that back, old auntie!"
From his side, Chen Anyue pleaded as well, "A-Zhang please." She put a hand on his shoulder before speaking softly to the old woman. "Auntie, we're sincerely sorry for our transgressions. A-Zhang hadn't meant any offense, he was just agitated and speaking rashly. But if you're truly unhappy then I, Chen Anyue, will—"
"Shut up!" the auntie roared without giving Chen Anyue the chance to finish her sentence. "Do you really think I care about the name Chen!?"
"…!" Chen Anyue was shocked into silence.
Yuan Zhang was about to blow, his entire body trembled with anger.
Those of the Heavenly Sword Sect were used to the old auntie's temper. But since her food was delicious and many understood her circumstances, no one dared to oppose her. They could only gently tiptoe around her anger and hope that she wouldn't lash out at them. Neither Yuan Zhang nor Chen Anyue were warned of this and ended up getting caught up in this extremely awkward situation.
No one was even trying to help them!
At least not until the air suddenly shifted as the line parted. A proud aura approached and Yuan Zhang found himself holding his breath before he could even turn around to see who it was.
Who other than Baijiansheng?
"Is there a problem here?" Liu Sumeng didn't say many things, so when he did say something, people tended to pay attention.
At least most people would. But this auntie didn't care in the least. The venom in her eyes didn't abate when she turned her gaze at him. "Is that Second Young Master Liu? If you're here to defend these outsiders, then you're wasting your time. Get out of my face! I'm not serving any of you food."
Yuan Zhang was about to lash out at her, but before he could take a step, he was pulled back by his shijie. Liu Sumeng stood in front of them both as if to shield them. His voice was chilling when he said, "Auntie, they've already apologized to you."
"Erm, that's right!" Xu Hexian coughed awkwardly and added. His voice seemed to have startled the auntie a little, for she hadn't noticed his arrival next to Baijiansheng's oppressive presence. Xu Hexian took advantage of her fright and quickly continued, "The Chen Princess and Young Master Yuan have understood their errors and won't do it again." He looked meaningfully at the two people hiding behind Baijiansheng.
Although Chen Anyue had neither done nor said anything rude, she immediately stepped forward and bowed apologetically. "Yes, we won't do it again."
Yuan Zhang was more reluctant. Why did they have to apologize when they were the ones who were wronged? He had almost forgotten about his hunger and wanted to argue more but when he looked up, he accidentally locked eyes with Liu Sumeng.
That frosty gaze chilled his heart. Seriously, this Baijiansheng was too beautiful! Despite feeling cold, why was his pulse speeding up? Yuan Zhang awkwardly stuttered, "Y-yeah."
Liu Sumeng was very pleased with Yuan Zhang's response. Although he was beaming in his heart, his expression didn't change much, and gave the impression of being extremely judgmental.
Cook Auntie was, unfortunately, not placated. "You think an apology is enough!?"
Was this woman always this unreasonable? Liu Sumeng wouldn't know because he never got into disagreements with her and only knew from general gossip that her personality was unpleasant.
(Just like his own.)
His expression fell. "It's enough," Liu Sumeng said darkly, "we've already been waiting for a long time." Liu Suemg was never good with words and always said things that angered others easily. It wasn't that he liked to anger other people, in fact, he disliked it very much. His solution to this problem had always been to keep everyone at a distance so they wouldn't have a chance to get angry at him.
But at that moment, he didn't care if this Cook Auntie was angry at him. He stood there, resolutely defending young Yuan Zhang and Chen Anyue.
Xu Hexian was used to jumping in before someone looked like they were ready to explode, and this auntie was practically leaking smoke out of her ears. He took this as his cue to jump in. "Auntie, please listen to us. These kids have been waiting for food for a long time already, don't you think that's a reasonable punishment for their offense? If you continue any longer, won't that be unfair?"
"You dare talk to me about fairness!?" the auntie shrilled.
Xu Hexian continued to talk, as though undaunted by her screaming, "Auntie, are you forgetting that this man here is Second Young Master Liu? Don't you know there's a good chance that he'll become Sect Leader one day?"
The auntie's face turned dark. "Are you trying to threaten me?"
Xu Hexian dared to put on a light smile, "Huh? Of course not, auntie. How could I threaten you with common knowledge? This matter concerning our Baijiansheng is no secret, after all."
The auntie was enraged beyond her wits. "Scram, the lot of you!"
"Alright!" Xu Hexian replied shamelessly before snatching a plate of food. He indicated for the others to follow him. Liu Sumeng and Yuan Zhang had no qualms about getting their share of food before quickly walking away. Chen Anyue muttered a quiet sorry under her breath before she too, followed the men and took a plate of food, leaving Cook Auntie to fume by herself.