Why didn't I see this from the beginning? That bastard!" I thought while fuming with anger as I made my way out of the premises to look for an empty room to change my robe.
I soon came across an empty room that had no name hung on the wall. I hurriedly entered to change my robe and was glad I found no one inside, only for the room to be empty and covered in dust.
"It's an abandoned room after all," I thought with a smile.
"But why is he the only one not practicing swordsmanship? Others are already in the training group. Such a lazy man," I muttered at the thought of Zhang Han.
"Are you senior disciple Zhang Han's new disciple?" asked the voice that appeared in front of me, making me tremble in fear. I looked around and saw that she was an old woman.
"Yes, ma'am," I replied with a smile as I was already fully dressed in my purple robe.
"Hurry up and stop slacking. Follow me now," she ordered with seriousness in her tone.
Damn! Why is she so mean? And can't I just get a single damn moment of privacy in this quarter? I thought, making my way out of the room as I followed her steadily.
"The senior disciple never accepts more than one disciple every year. You're lucky to be the chosen one," said the old lady.
Lucky my foot! I thought as I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
"This is the last test to determine if you're really worthy of being his disciple. But looking at you, I don't think you have the stamina to pass it. I don't think you can even last two days," said the old lady, now gazing at me seriously.
"We can never tell unless we try," I said optimistically.
"Really, I'd like to see what you can do," she said as she continued her journey until we both arrived at the kitchen.
What the hell are we doing here? I thought with confusion written all over my face.
"You're supposed to serve the senior disciple until the trial is over. There are lots of food ingredients here. Cook something delicious as it is time for the senior disciple to have lunch," said the old lady, after ordering all the chefs out of the kitchen.
"What? I... I can't cook. How am I supposed to cook when I have no idea what to put together?" I was surprised by the fact that I had to cook, as it all seemed strange to me.
"Who are you exactly? A daughter from a rich family? You better cook something nice, but you might not, that's if you're ready to be kicked out even before the trial is over," she threatened.
Who's this old lady? The evil stepmother? Why is she trying to make life unbearable for me on the first day? What am I supposed to cook here? I've never learned how to cook even in the modern world. I place orders whenever I'm hungry. Can someone kindly explain that to this lady?... I complained in my mind.
"Alright, get to work. Go to the senior disciple's quarters as soon as you're done, and you better hurry because you still have lots of work waiting for you," she said, after which she made an exit.
I stood in front of a table full of different foods and ingredients with confusion written all over my face.
I should have just learned this from my mom sooner, I thought sadly as I held a potato in my hand.
"I should start with you," I said, now placing the potato on the table with a knife to cut it, but later gave up on it.
I should do this instead, I thought, as I started to pluck the vegetables.
Luckily, the old lady and I met the chefs cooking on our arrival before they left while we were talking. The firewood was already burning with a big pot placed on it, which saved me the trouble of starting a fire.
I wonder what they were cooking, I thought, moving closer to the big pot, and gently opening it with a cloth only to see water in the pot.
Yes!
I screamed happily as I grabbed the potatoes and veggies, poured them all into the boiling water with some meat that I saw the chefs slicing earlier.
Isn't the water too much? I thought, with my hand placed on my chin.
"It would do, but how much salt should I really add? I don't even care, I'll just pour according to my mood," I muttered while grinning, as I poured the whole salt into the cooking pot, and also some spice. A spoonful of red pepper was also added to the meal while I waited patiently for it to be done.
After some minutes, the meal was finally done. I dished it into a bowl, placed it on a tray, and carried it with care all the way to Zhang Han's quarters.
At Zhang Han's quarters, he could be seen seated on a chair in his well-decorated room, holding a book in his hand which he was totally focused on.
I cleared my throat to announce my presence, after which he dropped the book to give me an audience. I placed the bowl of porridge on the table in front of him as I passed him the chopsticks, which he collected with a smirk on his face.
He put a spoonful in his mouth while looking at me. "Yucks!" screamed Zhang Han after taking a bite from the porridge, as he spat it all on the floor.
"Do you want to kill me? Did you use ocean water in preparing this food? And the spice, do you plan to burn my tongue away?" he yelled angrily as he stood up to me.
"What do you mean by that? I prepared your lunch perfectly," I said innocently with confusion written all over my face.
"Really? Perfectly! Did you taste the food you prepared?" he asked, still fuming with anger.
I didn't taste the food, but with Zhang Han's expression, the food must be really bad, I thought.
"Here, have a bite," he said, as he took a spoonful of the porridge and handed it over to me authoritatively.
"Senior brother, I'm really a bad cook, and I told that old lady, but she still insisted I cook. I'm so sorry for whatever you're going through right now," I said with a bow.
"Don't you ever attempt cooking again," he said angrily.
"Never! I won't ever again," I promised, now carrying the plate of porridge on the table, ready to make an exit.
"And where do you think you're going?"