Chapter 145: Shizun Has a Meal Companion Now

As the colours of the trees dyed through, the busy farming season was over.

The villagers of Yuliang Village prepared a number of bags, big and small,

packed with meat jerkies, rice cakes, species, coarse fabric, and the sort, and were stuffing them vigorously into Chu Wanning and Mo Ran's arms.

While Sisheng Peak did not lack for sustenance and utilities, this bore the hearts of the villagers, so it'd actually be poor form not to take them. Thus, the two didn't decline, and helped the village chief in filling the sacks.

Ling-er had come too, with a bamboo basket hugged in her arms, and the basket was covered by a cloth in the colour of various shades of blue. When the cloth was lifted, the basket was revealed to be carrying freshly steamed sandwich buns[5] and over a dozen green-shelled eggs[6] that were already cooked.   She came in front of Mo Ran, her black and bright eyes dodging and hiding,

wanting to look at him, but then felt embarrassed when she remembered her audacious confession that day whilst half drunk. She shuffled around for a bit before finally dragging herself over, balancing the basket on top of her head, and said to the handsome man who had already mounted his horse, "Mo-xianjun, I…

I made this this morning. Take it with you, and eat it on the road with Chuxianjun." Mo Ran couldn't tell what her intentions were with this gesture so he hesitated, not knowing whether to decline or take it.

Ling-er however, understood his concern, and looked up. While she was blushing, her eyes were a little stubborn and a little hurt.

She might have done her everything to attempt winning the connection of an extraordinary xianjun, but she wasn't a girl who had no dignity and would keep clinging on when rejected.

She said, "Relax, xianjun. Ling-er doesn't mean anything by this. I just want to thank xianjun for taking care of Yuliang Village for almost a month."   Only then did Mo Ran take the basket. Sitting there on horseback, he lowered his gaze and replied sincerely, "Many thanks, miss." "Xianjun is most welcome." Mo Ran felt somewhat touched seeing how she was able to take it so easily,

so he asked after her a bit, "What plans do Miss have for the future?" "Why does xianjun ask?" "I just think Miss isn't someone who wants to live in villages for long." Ling-er smiled at this, the fight coming back to her eyes, "I want to go check out the Upper Cultivation World. I hear the zongzhu of Rufeng Sect is kind and is willing to assist talents with meager backgrounds all over the world. For us from the Lower Cultivation World, as long as we can find work to do at Lingyi, they won't chase us out. My needlework is pretty good, and I know how to cook too,

so I should be able to get around." Of course, she didn't tell him the most important thing——The Rufeng Sect had the most disciples among the ten great sects, and the territory of the sect was vast with a total of seventy-two walled cities, big and small. Moreover, Lingyi was the metropolis of the immortal sects; five out of ten people walking on the streets were cultivators, and it'd be much easier to find herself a good husband there.

Chu Wanning didn't know about her intentions, so when he heard she was headed to Lingyi, he furrowed his brows slightly, "The waters of the Rufeng Sect is deep, they're not as simple as Miss thinks. If Miss only wants to settle in the Upper Cultivation World, then perhaps consider Linling Island of Yangzhou Prefecture instead." "It's impossible to live in Yangzhou, the cost of living is too high." Ling-er said, "Thanks so much for xianjun's good intentions, but Ling-er has her own considerations." With her having said so much, Chu Wanning knew it'd be useless for him to say much more, so he let it go.

With their sacks filled to the brim, the two spurred their horses on. When they passed by Butterfly Town, Chu Wanning paid extra close attention to the barrier there, but thankfully the spiritual current was plentiful and everything was stable. Thus, the horses kept on, and by noon they had finally returned to Sisheng Peak.

Chu Wanning went off to report in with Xue Zhengyong to brief him on how things went, and with nothing to do, Mo Ran he strolled about leisurely, bumping into someone as he came to Naihe Bridge, scrubbing the stone lions on the bridge columns.

Wonder who committed wrongs this time and got punished to do hard labour here this time, Mo Ran thought.

The ones being punished usually looked a little embarrassed, so Mo Ran hadn't planned on crossing the bridge. But just as he was turning around, he suddenly heard that person call after him from not far in the distance.

"A-Ran!" "..." On a closer look, turns out the one scrubbing the lions wasn't anyone else but Shi Mei. Mo Ran was taken aback for a moment, feeling indescribably weirded out.

One, he was weirded out that there were actually occasions where someone who followed the rules like Shi Mei got punished.

Two, he was weirded out by Shi Mei's current appearance.

Thinking of it, a long time had transpired since he last saw a fully-grown Shi Mei. However, he had never familiarized himself with his present looks and figure, so instead, with the passing of time, they were growing further and further apart, to the point where Mo Ran surprisingly didn't recognize him at first glance at the bridge.   "Why are you here? Did something wrong?" Mo Ran walked over to him and asked.

Shi Mei looked a little ill at ease, "Mn… together with the young master." "Meng Meng?" Mo Ran paused for a moment, then started to laugh.

Well there was nothing to feel weird about then, it wasn't anything new for Xue Meng to do wrongs.

"What did he drag you into this time?" "He said he wanted to go to the forbidden grounds at the back mountains to catch a few ghosts for training purposes." "..." "And ended up almost stabbing apart the crack in the barrier shizun sealed before he left." Mo Ran didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Does he think ghosts are cats and dogs to be caught and kept as he wants? You too, don't follow along with him when he's messing around, why didn't you try to talk him out of it?" Shi Mei sighed, his expression filled with resigned helplessness, "Of course I tried to talk him out of it, but it was no use. I was scared he'll get himself into something, so I had to go with him… Nevermind, drop it. Thankfully no trouble was caused. A-Ran, let's talk about you. You and shizun went to Yuliang Village to help with the harvest a while back, right?" "Mn." "How was it? Did everything go smoothly?"

"Yea, it was pretty good." The two chatted banally for another little while, and after bidding farewell to Shi Mei, Mo Ran silently walked down a small, tree-lined path. With his heart laid bare and looking back now, he could sense more vividly the feeling he had for Shi Mei was more of an obsession, a habit, and not the love he thought it was.

He once believed that when he looked at Shi Mei's appearance and thought him beautiful, thought him divinely ethereal, thought it comforting, that that was desire. But it was not.

Humans had always appreciated things that were beautiful. He appreciated Shi Mei's appearance, but upon closer inspection, this appreciation had never carried any sense of impudent intimacy.

He enjoyed looking at him the same way he enjoyed looking at the mountains covered with red leaves in the autumn, ponds filled with lotus blossoms in the summer, and in these years, there were rarely any depraved fancies.

He still cherished Shi Mei, felt tender affection for him, the same as before.

Yet it was also not the same as before. The Mo Ran now finally understood what love was all about. He was no saint, his love should be hot and wet accompanied by the need to conquer, accompanied by the clashing of bodies,

accompanied by the coursing of hot blood and the gushing of thick fluids.

He was a wolf that knew how to sniff roses.

But his teeth were ferocious, and if he really opened his mouth, what he ate would naturally not be flowers and grass, but blood and flesh.

 By dinner time, Xue Meng finally finished organizing the books in the second classics section of the library. He sighed and whined in exhaustion, spreading himself over the table at Mengpo Hall complaining nonstop, and even his usual favourite spicy diced chicken couldn't coax him into a better mood.

Just as he was playing with the chopsticks in boredom, he suddenly spotted Chu Wanning entering the dining hall, and it finally gave him an energy boost as he straightened up and called out, "SHIZUN!" Chu Wanning looked over and gave him a nod.

Mo Ran was sitting beside Xue Meng; he, Xue Meng, and Shi Mei had always eaten together, but when Chu Wanning walked in today, Mo Ran pushed all the dishes and bowls at the table a spot over, opening up a large space.

"What are you doing?" Mo Ran didn't respond however, and only threw Xue Meng a grin before he stood up and waved at Chu Wanning, "Shizun, come sit here." Xue Meng, "..." Shi Mei, "..." Respect was one thing, but eating together was another thing altogether.

Those who could frequently sit together at the same table and munch on bones usually wouldn't be too constrained, at the very least they had to be used to the other smacking their lips and be able to withstanding the other's horrid eating manners or the occasional slip in behaviour.

Judging by the look on Xue Meng and Shi Mei's faces, even though Chu Wanning's eating manners had always been calm and distant, they still wouldn't be used to it, and wouldn't be able to accept having meals together with him.

To them, the occasional meal together with shizun was like a business social, and both parties had to keep a straight face, be polite, and after the meal, their backs would often be stiffened through and they wouldn't have registered what they ate.

Chu Wanning understood this as well, so after he gave Mo Ran a surprised look, he shook his head and still went straight to his usual spot, carrying some plain vegetable dishes.

He hadn't taken a meal in Mengpo Hall in five years, and the moment he sat down, Chu Wanning noticed there was a small, ornamented copper plate nailed in the corner of the table, and the words "Yuheng Elder's Special Table" were carved on it.

"..."  Does Xue Zhengyong have problems???

The wooden tray was set down heavily on the table, and Chu Wanning took his seat in dark gloom. However, before he had taken a bite, someone suddenly pulled out the wooden chair across from him, sitting down at "Yuheng Elder's Special Table". The tray brought over was placed next to Chu Wanning's plate,

pressed very close, almost touching.

Chu Wanning looked up, "...Why did you come over?" "It's too crammed over there," Mo Ran said, grinning happily as he picked up his rice bowl, "So I've moved over to eat with shizun." Chu Wanning peered over to where Xue Meng and Shi Mei were, and felt a little baffled. How was it crammed?

Nevermind him feeling baffled, even the other two Mo Ran had deserted were looking rather complicated, and they watched Chu Wanning and Mo Ran's table secretly.

Xue Meng mumbled, "Is that dog thing out of his mind?" Shi Mei, "..." Mo Ran didn't care too much however. He was already feeling uneasy earlier when he peeked at Chu Wanning getting his dishes. This Chu Wanning was someone who was picky, particularly melodramatic when it came to eating and drinking, and oftentimes, it was either this made him queasy or that made him feel disgusted. Mo Ran didn't think that's good for Chu Wanning, it'll cause him issues when he's older.

In the past, he couldn't care less what Chu Wanning ate, but things were different now. Likes and dislikes aside, even if shizun spoke for himself, Mo Ran still had to properly feed his shizun.

But feeding Chu Wanning was a form of art in itself. Like feeding a cat, you couldn't just shove the food down their throats; if shizun didn't want it, he couldn't force it.

So an idea came to Mo Ran, and he picked up a piece of braised pork that was neither too fat nor too lean, and placed it in Chu Wanning's bowl.

"Shizun, try this." Just as expected, Chu Wanning frowned, "I don't like pork belly, take it away." Mo Ran was already prepared, and he smiled, "I hear it's done sweet in Jiangnan's style." "The way Jiangnan cooks meat isn't like this." Chu Wanning said.

"How would you know if you don't try it?" "I can tell by the looks of it." "But the cook said it's Jiangnan style." Mo Ran cast the net, waiting for the cat to get baited, and he smiled, "Mengpo Hall's cook is an old chef, how can he be wrong? It must be shizun who's left home for too long and forgot what braised pork looks like from your hometown." "...Nonsense. How can I possibly get this wrong?" Chu Wanning countered.

Mo Ran ate a piece himself, and looked as if he seriously tasted it in his mouth, then said earnestly, "I think it really is shizun who's wrong. This meat is really sweet, why don't you try a piece if you don't believe me?" Chu Wanning did not notice Mo Ran's ulterior motive at all, he was feeling a little indignant, so he picked up the braised pork in his bowl with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

"What do you think?" Mo Ran held back his laugh, watching this big, white cat who got baited.

Chu Wanning frowned solemnly and replied, "It's not it, the taste of star anise and fennel is too strong. I'm going to go tell the cook, this isn't how you make Jiangnan's braised pork." "Wait wait——" Mo Ran immediately pulled him to a stop, and couldn't help but feel a little speechless. Who would've thought this guy would take this so seriously? If Chu Wanning really did go argue with the cook, wouldn't he be exposed? He quickly said, "Don't be in such a rush, shizun, the cook must be busy right now. Since shizun says it's not right after trying it, then it definitely isn't. I'll go and tell him in a bit, let's worry about finishing our meal first." Chu Wanning thought about it and realized that's true, so he sat back down,

and continued to eat away quietly.

And so Mo Ran began to scheme and schmooze him again, picking up a piece of fish this time.

Chu Wanning's chopsticks faltered for a moment. "Shad fish?" "En." "No. Take it away." "Why not?" "Don't like it." Mo Ran laughed at the answer, "Is it because it's full of bones?" "...No." "But every time shizun eats fish, it's always the ones without bones, or ones with larger bones that are easy to pick. No way shizun won't eat it because it's a small-boned fish, right? Hahaha." He was very familiar with the weaknesses in Chu Wanning's personality,

grasped it extremely well, and sure enough, Chu Wanning was food again. He was slightly furious and said, "How ridiculous." Then he picked up the piece of shad fish Mo Ran had given him and ate it, proving with his actions that it wasn't that he wouldn't eat fish with a lot of bones.

And just like that, under Mo Ran's cajoling, Chu Wanning unwittingly ate way more dishes than he usually did, and almost every category of vegetables and meat was touched at least once. What would've been a meal that could be finished really fast if he was alone dragged on for almost a good two hours in a mess of confusion before the meal was over.

By the time they cleaned up their bowls and chopsticks and exited, Xue Meng and Shi Mei were already gone a long time ago, and there were only a couple of disciples left inside Mengpo Hall. Mo Ran accompanied Chu Wanning down the tree-lined small path to return to the Red Lotus Pavilion as the sun rolled obliquely towards evening, and twilight merged into complete darkness.

As the night breeze blew, Mo Ran strolled languidly with his arms pillowed behind his head, and all of a sudden, he smiled.

"Shizun."

"What?" "Nothing, I just want to call you." "...I think you've stuffed yourself tonight." Mo Ran's smile grew softer, "Yea, so stuffed. Shizun, can I keep eating with you in the future?" Even though he knew Mo Ran didn't mean anything by it, Chu Wanning's heart still couldn't help but skip a beat. Thank goodness his eyes were still calm and quiet.

"Why? Are you fighting with Xue Meng?" "No no," Mo Ran waved his hand and smiled, "It's just, I haven't eaten with them in too long, it's been five years, so sitting together again feels a little awkward. But if shizun thinks I'm an eyesore, then I'll go find another spot to eat by myself, it's fine." "..." Of course he couldn't say "I think it's very sad you eat alone", and he couldn't say "I want to feed you more dishes" either. Mo Ran knew none of that would work before he even needed to say it, so he could only act weak, making it sound like he was the one who's pitiful, that he needed someone to keep him company. Chu Wanning had always been kind, he wouldn't reject him.

Mo Ran could practically see the wavering in Chu Wanning's eyes, he just needed one last push.

So he added, "But truth be told, I really don't want to eat alone." "Why's that?" Mo Ran lowered his soft lashes; half of the emotions in his smile were real,

and the other half were born for the sake of coaxing Chu Wanning. "Shizun,

someone who so casually eats by themselves is simply satisfying hunger, don't you think?" He paused for a moment, and amidst the splendid red glow of dusk, he brushed aside the loose strands of hair that had been blown to his forehead by the breeze, his dimples deep as he gazed deeply at the other.

"If two people were to eat together, chat, make some conversation, and there's flavour in your mouth when you eat, it's warm in your stomach when the food goes down, then that's what having a meal is all about." "..." "Shizun, can I still eat with you tomorrow?" No one could combat it when the little wolf pup really worked his warm,

sweet-talking.

Mo Ran was determined to move him, so he said:

"Shizun, I spent five years out there all alone. Now that you're awake, I'll always eat with you." "Without you, I won't be comfortable." "I won't eat rabbit heads, I won't eat duck necks either, okay~" He pfft-ed and laughed at the end, going over to tug on Chu Wanning's sleeve shamelessly, "I'll eat tofu with sprinkled scallion and sweet osmanthus lotus roots with you, so won't you say yes?" It would've been good if he hadn't brought this up, but now that he had, Chu Wanning was suddenly reminded of old scores from the past, and his face fell as he snorted, "It's fine, but you have to eat exactly what I eat in the mornings." Mo Ran agreed before his head was able to wrap around what Chu Wanning said, "Sure, and what's that?" "Salted tofu pudding." Chu Wanning replied cruelly, "With seaweed." Mo Ran, "..." Was he bringing up the old grievances he kept score of when they had hotpot together while he was Xia Sini!

Chu Wanning gritted his teeth and enunciated word by word, "And. Dried.

Shrimp."

[5] PIC - It's commonly known in North America as the bao bun, to make a Chinese Hamburger. I refuse to use those terms in this text.

[6] PIC