Shao Cheng was adamant about showing off his cooking skills to his three disciples.
No matter how much Lü Shaoqing and Ji Yan tried to stop him, it was useless.
Lü Shaoqing said, "Master, I just remembered someone invited me out for a meal."
Ji Yan chimed in, "I have plans with someone too."
Shao Cheng glanced at his two disciples, who were clearly trying to come up with excuses to escape. He sneered, "Really? You two have plans?"
"Do you think I'm a fool?"
"Let me tell you something," Shao Cheng glared fiercely at Lü Shaoqing and Ji Yan. "If either of you tries to leave, I'll smack your butts."
Lü Shaoqing turned to Ji Yan, "You're the eldest disciple. You should persuade Master."
"Aren't you always the one badmouthing him the most?"
Ji Yan looked at Lü Shaoqing, "You're the second disciple, known for your cunning. Think of a way to stop him."
"You're the one who always leaves Master speechless with your tricks."
Shao Cheng snorted, "No matter what excuses you come up with, nothing will change my mind."
"Both of you, get in the kitchen and help."
Lü Shaoqing and Ji Yan exchanged a glance, then suddenly bolted in opposite directions.
But before they could get far, Shao Cheng waved his hand, and both of them were trapped, unable to move.
Shao Cheng, now at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, had planned for this. Even Ji Yan, who had just reached the Nascent Soul stage, couldn't escape.
Shao Cheng smirked, clearly expecting this outcome. "You two are so predictable."
"Trying to run? No way!"
He then stared at the two of them threateningly. "Should I spank you both right in front of your junior sister?"
Lü Shaoqing sighed, "Fine, fine, I'll eat if Eldest Brother eats."
Ji Yan, wearing a similarly sour expression, said, "If he eats, I'll eat."
Lü Shaoqing scoffed, "Some big brother you are, can't you show a little leadership?"
"You should say, 'As the eldest, I'll eat for my junior brother.'"
Ji Yan countered, "As the junior brother, shouldn't you eat for me?"
Lü Shaoqing retorted, "I don't respect my elders, and I don't care for the young either."
Watching the two argue as if Master's cooking was a deadly poison, Xiao Yi was thoroughly confused.
"Master is personally cooking for us—it's an honor as disciples," she said, baffled. "Why don't you want to eat?"
"You should be grateful!"
Shao Cheng was pleased with Xiao Yi's words, laughing heartily. "Well said! That's what a disciple should be like."
"You two should be ashamed. Can't even outdo your junior sister."
Xiao Yi, delighted with the praise, beamed with joy. She was thrilled to have done better in this aspect than her senior brothers.
Smiling, Xiao Yi said, "Master, don't worry. Make a lot; the three of us will finish everything."
"Shut up!" Ji Yan and Lü Shaoqing shouted in unison.
Xiao Yi shrank back, puzzled.
She still couldn't understand why her two senior brothers were so against eating.
Shao Cheng led the group into the kitchen, where he began preparing the meal. His three disciples were left to help with the washing and prepping, although, in reality, Xiao Yi was the only one actually doing anything.
Ji Yan and Lü Shaoqing were sitting around looking grim, sighing heavily.
Especially Lü Shaoqing, who would frequently look up at the sky and let out dramatic sighs.
"Sigh…"
Both of them acted as if they were prisoners about to face execution.
Xiao Yi, full of questions, finally spoke up. "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, who is Uncle An?"
She was washing vegetables while eyeing her brothers with curiosity, eager for gossip.
Lü Shaoqing, somehow finding a lounge chair, was lying down lazily, while Ji Yan answered, "Uncle An is Elder An Qianyan of the Shuangyue Valley."
Xiao Yi immediately knew who he was referring to and exclaimed, "You mean the third elder of Shuangyue Valley? I heard she loves gourmet food and is an excellent cook, though very few have had the chance to taste her dishes."
Ji Yan nodded, "Exactly. That's why Master is obsessed with cooking."
"He wants to create something delicious to impress Uncle An."
Hearing this, Xiao Yi's eyes sparkled. "That's so romantic!"
"Romantic?" Ji Yan shook his head. "I don't get you women."
"What's romantic about it? To me, it's just a waste of time."
"If he spent that time cultivating instead, it'd be more worthwhile."
Xiao Yi said, "Eldest Brother, you just don't understand romance."
She pressed on eagerly, "So, did Master and Uncle An ever get together?"
Lü Shaoqing jumped in, "Get together? No way. Uncle An never had any interest; it's all in Master's head."
"She's not interested?"
Xiao Yi was a little disappointed, but then remembered something. "Second Brother, didn't you say Master had an old flame? Were you talking about Uncle An?"
"And was that celestial token from Uncle An?"
Lü Shaoqing nodded, "Yep. Master treated it like a treasure, worshipping it every day."
"But Eldest Brother broke it."
Ji Yan quickly denied it, "You're the one who stole it from Master, and you're the reason it got broken."
Lü Shaoqing retorted, "If you hadn't acted crazy that night, it wouldn't have been destroyed!"
"Besides, I gave Master a chance to save it. He just didn't try hard enough."
"Master has to take some responsibility."
Lü Shaoqing deftly shifted all the blame away from himself.
Ji Yan said, "The whole thing started because of you."
"Who told you to pick a fight with me because you couldn't break through? Aren't you ashamed?"
Seeing the two of them about to argue again, Xiao Yi quickly intervened.
"Senior Brothers, Master's cooking can't be that bad, right?"
"Why do you two act like it's a death sentence?"
"Is it really that awful?"
Ji Yan replied, "It's awful."
Lü Shaoqing added, "Worse than poison."
"That can't be true," Xiao Yi wrinkled her nose in disbelief. "How could food be worse than poison?"
"Second Brother, you're pulling my leg, aren't you?"
"I don't believe it."
To Xiao Yi, no matter how bad someone's cooking was, it couldn't be deadly, right? It's not like they were adding poison to the dishes.
"You don't believe it?"
Xiao Yi shook her head, "Of course not. How could that be possible?"
Lü Shaoqing and Ji Yan exchanged glances and said in unison, "Then you should eat more later."