While lamenting, she once again affirmed in her heart that not only can appearance not be used as food, but sometimes it can also drive people crazy and stupid—it's truly harmful without any benefit!
Ranran didn't think she would make any great achievements in the path of immortal cultivation; she was just seeking to eliminate diseases and disasters. In the future, when she becomes healthy, she will go down the mountain to reunite with her parents and marry an honest and upright husband.
The husband she is looking for is probably a sturdy and honest man. Someone as handsome as her Shifu, she can't have him, she doesn't dare to! Otherwise, she would have to worry about getting her face slashed, and she wouldn't even be at ease to enjoy eating anymore!
Ranran may be greedy for food, but she never reaches out to ask for food from others. Since her Shifu is like a peach offering on the immortal's table, she naturally won't even consider it since she can't even touch the peach fuzz.
However, even though he is out of her league, it's still a pleasure to have a look now and then…
While she was lost in thought staring at her Shifu's face, she absentmindedly picked up the little cat on the table that was showing off its prowess to her, and started to stroke its fur.
Although the cat was unwilling, the feeling of being kneaded on its chin and belly was too heavenly, and it gradually stopped meowing, just raising its paws and enjoying itself with squinted eyes.
Su Yishui didn't remind his little disciple of her impropriety. After letting her stare at his face for a while, using his long finger, he gently pushed a cup of dark tea to her and said mildly, "Drink it."
Ranran suddenly came back to her senses and picked up the tea cup with some embarrassment. However, as soon as she took a sip, the taste that was a hundred times more sour and astringent than medicinal soup rushed straight to her scalp from her taste buds.
She instinctively wanted to spit it out but Su Yishui elegantly tapped her neck lightly with his long fingers.
Ranran couldn't control herself and swallowed the weird-tasting tea with a gulp.
Being a girl who has always valued eating, even when she was starving, she would never eat something bad tasting. After all, even simple ingredients can still taste good and delicious after careful preparation.
Radishes and green vegetables can also be enjoyed in eight different ways!
But what was that tea she just drank? Was it scooped out from a cesspool?
Ranran wanted to vomit, but she couldn't. She just opened her eyes wide, and her aggrieved tears came running down, causing the cat in her arms to start licking her tears.
However, after licking for a while, the cat also seemed to be overwhelmed by the medicinal smell as well and quickly ran away with a meow.
Su Yishui knew that the tea would be hard to drink, but he didn't expect her to be so picky that she would be upset enough to cry.
Although he once charmed women all over the world, it was obvious that the Immortal Su had no skills whatsoever in coaxing women. After frowning at her for a moment, he got up, picked an orange from the citrus tree beside him and handed it to his weeping disciple.
Ranran, although good-tempered, really couldn't bear it right now. She didn't take the orange, but choked out between sobs, "What did you give me to drink?"
Su Yishui's hand froze there. He frowned, then slowly peeled the orange for her and handed the pieces of fruit back to her, "It contains a few herbs. As for what they are, it's better for you not to know."
Ranran's imagination ran wild, thinking of all kinds of beetles, snakes, lizards, and even spiders and bugs. She became even more frightened and anxious, and said timidly, "Shifu, are you angry that my pill disrupted your three years of abstinence from food, so you are punishing me?"
Su Yishui slowly brought the piece of orange to her mouth and stuffed the fruit in. He tranquilly said, "This medicinal soup is beneficial to you, so it can't be considered a punishment."
The tea she drank just now had contained dried molt from a thousand-year-old Black Scaled Dragon—a Scaled dragon is a deep-sea water beast with a strong fishy smell. Drinking water boiled with the molt of this mythical beast can conceal five-element spiritual energy.
She is a spirit child who fell from the Reincarnation Tree. Even though her adoptive parents had deliberately obscured facts and reported her birth year incorrectly, anyone who has a connection with the Reincarnation Tree would recognize the wood spiritual energy on her.
By drinking this cup of Black Scaled Dragon brew, this early-fallen fruit can blend in with ordinary people without being recognized.
Unfortunately, the side effect of this medicinal water are quite strong. For example, at the beginning, there will be a lingering fishy smell on the body. At this very moment, Xue Ranran feels that the smell on her body is unbearable.
Su Yishui didn't seem to shun her. He even sat beside her and continued to feed her pieces of orange without batting an eye.
Ranran came back to her senses, refusing his feeding, but she accepted the orange even though she had no appetite.
"What... were you thinking about when you were making that Qingxin Pill?" Su Yishui suddenly asked.
After overcoming the initial fishy smell, Ranran finally managed to calm down and said, "…I was thinking about meat buns…"
"And what else?"
Xue Ranran thought for a moment, and found that she couldn't help but reveal her inner thoughts under his clear and water-like gaze, "I was also thinking… what does Shifu really look like, whether you are as good-looking as your bearing…"
Hearing this, Su Yishui didn't reprimand her for being frivolous, but just asked quietly, "Are you satisfied with my appearance?"
Ranran shyly nodded her head—how could she just be satisfied? Having such a beautifully ethereal immortal as a Shifu is truly a blessing of three lifetimes!
Su Yishui seemed pleased. He also nodded and said to her, "Remember what I told you, don't mention to anyone about me regaining my appearance and don't talk about what I asked you to do on the mountain top."
Ranran had already gotten used to her Shifu's mysterious ways and just obediently acknowledged his instructions.
Although Shifu did not admit that he was punishing her, the fact remained that it definitely seemed like a punishment. Since coming down from the top of Xishan, the usually optimistic and cheerful Ranran had never felt so depressed.
Why did the delicious red bean cake taste like raw fish scales when it entered her mouth?
Afraid that the smell on her body would bother her senior brothers, Xue Ranran simply took sick leave and hid in her room without coming out.
But it wasn't long before Gao Cang, Qiu Xier themselves couldn't stand it anymore.
Qiu Xier said through the window to Ranran, who was hiding in her blanket, "Little junior sister, if you don't come out to cook soon, we are all going to die on the path to immortality. Do you know? The Second Uncle Master has been feeding us radishes for three meals in a row. Those radishes are all burnt with a bitter taste, we really can't take it anymore!"
Ranran replied in a muffled voice, "There are ingredients in the kitchen. If Second Uncle Master's cooking is bad, you can cook for the senior brothers!"
Qiu Xi thought of Ranran's braised meatballs and stir-fried sweet beets with almonds, and she couldn't help but swallow her saliva. She couldn't admit that her cooking skills were even worse than their second uncle Master, could she?
Fortunately, when Ranran woke up three days later, she suddenly found that the strange smell on her body had dissipated. She took out some dried sweet potatoes from her snack jar and ate a handful with relish, then sighed regretfully.
It is said that after forming a golden core and ascending after attaining a nascent soul, one can no longer distinguish the flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy. What was so great about immortality without any desires?
She couldn't taste delicious foods on her tongue for just three days and already felt like dying. Would those immortal beings feel regret looking at the worldly pleasures when they see them?
But Ranran's days of slacking off were over. Her Shifu finally came down from the top of the mountain. He ended his seclusion early and headed to Jueshan.
It seems that the commotion of the three major sects was useful after all. Su Yishui decided to take matters into his own hands and meet Wei Jiu in Jueshan.
Jueshan was Ranran's hometown, so it was nice to go back and have a look. Before leaving, she even took the time to go down the mountain to see her parents.
Although it was just a brief meeting in a thatched resting shed at the foot of the mountain, it was all the more precious.
Qiaolian and her husband, Xue Liangui, had rented a shop in a nearby town. They sold beancurd for breakfast every morning. Carpenter Xue helped grind beans and tended the stove in the morning, and during the day, he went around to take on some odd jobs of repairing wooden utensils.
Although it was hard work, they earned more than when they were in Juefeng Village. Qiaolian could only see her daughter once a month, so the several packages she brought were always stuffed full.
Newly made flower jackets, quilts with new cotton wadding, all kinds of candied fruits and dried meat snacks, homemade salted vegetable shreds stir-fried with meat, plus salty duck eggs oozing with golden oils. If the food was not good, one can finish two bowls of rice with these.
Since she didn't know what the meals were like on the mountain, Qiaolian was afraid her darling daughter would be hungry there.
When she heard that Ranran was going to Jueshan with Master Su, Qiaolian and her husband also wanted to go.
However, Ranran said that her Shifu was also going to teach them the technique of riding the wind on this trip, so they would be walking all the way, which would probably be very exhausting.
Moreover, with so many young disciples of the same age from the sect, if she is the only one bringing her parents, it might make her seniors feel resentful.
Hearing this, Qiaolian felt a pang of heartache again. If it weren't for seeing her daughter looking like a sprout nourished by immortal dew, with her cheeks becoming plump and growing much taller, she really wanted to take her daughter home immediately.
Qiaolian secretly instructed her daughter not to take cultivating and learning the way of the Tao too seriously. After all, Ranran would still have to leave the sect to get married in the future. If she was tired, she should plead with her Shifu and pay for a donkey with her own money to rest her feet.
Saying this, she also stuffed the three taels of silver that her daughter had specifically received from the second uncle master back into her arms, telling her not to make herself suffer when she was away from home.
Ranran naturally refused to take it back, but Qiaolian was somewhat annoyed, "Your father and I have hands and feet and we earn enough money now. As the old saying goes, 'A family should be frugal but bring more money on a journey!' If you have more silver on you, your father and I can be more at ease!"
Thus, Ranran could only keep it, but she wouldn't spend it. She wanted to save money to build a big house for her parents.
The carpenter couple couldn't enter the mountain, so Ranran had to carry the things back by herself. The packages were too heavy. Her steps up the mountain gradually slowed down.
Fortunately, her senior brothers Gao Cang and Bai Baishan "just happened" to go down the mountain for a stroll and helped their junior sister carry things.
When young men and women are together, even if there is no exchange of glances, some feelings of affection and ambiguity will arise.
Apart from the stingy second uncle master on the mountain, there were only two girls, Qiu Xier and Xue Ranran. Although Qiu Xier was not ugly, she had a chronic heart disease, her lips were slightly purple and her figure was not very graceful.
Ranran, who had recovered a bit, had red lips and white teeth and her bright eyes were full of charm. Such a graceful young girl, wouldn't every gentleman would want to try to pursue her?
Gao Cang was still naive and only knows that he feels very happy when he saw his junior sister, and his voice unconsciously raised when he spoke.
The second senior brother Bai Baishan, who was well-versed in human affairs, although he joked with Qiu Xier, he would also specially look at Xue Ranran to see if she looked at him with adoring eyes after he showed off his knowledge of immortal history and legends.
Now that he had the opportunity to show off in front of his junior sister, both senior brothers were very diligent.
Gao Cang rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong and firm muscles. He carried all the packages on his body like a strutting rooster, walking briskly in front of Ranran.
Bai Baishan was beside his junior sister, from time to time telling her about some comical moments from their cultivation practice, making Ranran smile in delight.
The scene of two young men and a young girl frolicking and chasing each other in the mountains was indeed pleasing to the eye.
At least to Yu Tong, who was standing halfway up the mountain, felt as if she had returned to twenty years ago when Lingxi Palace had been full of handsome young men.
Feeling nostalgic, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Xishan has been quiet for too long, even the birds haven't heard such hearty laughter for a long time…"
Her Master, who was standing in front of her, was also looking down the mountain—the considerate female disciple was taking out her handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her senior brother's forehead!Gao Cang rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong and firm muscles. He carried all the packages on his body like a strutting rooster, walking briskly in front of Ranran.
Bai Baishan was beside his junior sister, from time to time telling her about some comical moments from their cultivation practice, making Ranran smile in delight.
The scene of two young men and a young girl frolicking and chasing each other in the mountains was indeed pleasing to the eye.
At least to Yu Tong, who was standing halfway up the mountain, felt as if she had returned to twenty years ago when Lingxi Palace had been full of handsome young men.
Feeling nostalgic, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Xishan has been quiet for too long, even the birds haven't heard such hearty laughter for a long time…"
Her Master, who was standing in front of her, was also looking down the mountain—the considerate female disciple was taking out her handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her senior brother's forehead!