Braised Pork

"A seed sprouting into a tree overnight!"

"Marvelous! Truly marvelous!"

"Master Gu's techniques are nothing short of divine!"

Marquis Lingyou's exclamations filled the air. Gu Ning'an turned back with a smile and said, "I honestly didn't expect it to grow this quickly."

Marquis Lingyou took it as Gu Ning'an's modesty and didn't press further. Seeing that there was nothing more to discuss, Marquis Lingyou clasped his hands and smiled. "I've greatly enjoyed our conversation today. If you ever visit Xiangzhou Prefecture, you must come as my guest."

Hearing the hint that his guest intended to leave, Gu Ning'an returned the gesture. "If the opportunity arises, I will certainly take you up on that, Marquis Lingyou."

"Don't call it an imposition," Marquis Lingyou said with a wave, signaling to the others. "Gentlemen, let's go."

As the group departed, Gu Ning'an escorted them to the courtyard gate, stopping there to see them off with a polite bow. "Safe travels to all of you."

Before long, the City Gods faded from sight, their forms growing transparent until they disappeared at the street's end.

Gu Ning'an shut the gate and returned to the golden kumquat sapling. He studied the miraculous tree that had emerged overnight with great interest.

The entire process, from planting the seed at midnight to watering it until the hour of Mao (5–7 AM), was something Gu Ning'an had replicated from an account in the Path of Dao manual. In the text, a figure encountered a seed dropped by a bird, planted it using the same method, and by the next day, the tree had grown into a towering giant with the appearance of a hundred-year-old specimen. Gu Ning'an had tried it out of curiosity, never expecting it to truly work.

"Dao… Dao…"

"Every method recorded in the path works flawlessly, yet why was it reduced to a mere storybook that no one could cultivate from?"

Sighing at the thought, Gu Ning'an put the matter out of his mind for the time being, washed up briefly, and went to bed.

...

Now, let's turn back to earlier that day!

After parting ways with Gu Ning'an, Zheng De continued running his stall for a while longer. Seeing that there were no more customers at the morning market, he packed up and headed home for a meal.

At home, he found his pregnant wife, Tan Bing, wiping down the wooden table in the dining room with a cloth.

Tan Bing had a pleasant and wholesome appearance. She wore no jewelry, and her clothing was plain and simple.

Seeing his wife busy at work, Zheng De hurried over to take the cloth from her hands. As he wiped the table, he grinned and handed her the day's earnings from his stall. "I've told you before, leave this kind of work for me when I get home."

"All you need to do is eat, drink, relax, and safely bring our baby into the world."

Tan Bing accepted the copper coins with a smile. "Hmph, just look at the mess you've made of this chore!"

"I'll finish it. Once the table's clean, we can eat."

Looking at the unevenly cleaned table—some spots pristine, others still dirty—Zheng De laughed sheepishly. "I just need more practice. Let me handle it, so you can rest."

"Alright, it's yours then." With a smile, Tan Bing counted out ten coins from the handful and slipped them into Zheng De's belt. "You forgot to set aside your storytelling money today, didn't you?"

Hearing this, Zheng De hesitated. "Dear, how about I stop going to the storytelling sessions? Business hasn't been great lately, and we should save up for the baby's arrival."

Tan Bing chuckled softly. "Nonsense. There's no need to skimp on such a small pleasure. You spend all day at the stall; you deserve a little break. I'll bring out the dishes—finish cleaning the table properly."

"Ah!" Watching his wife's retreating figure, Zheng De felt a warm glow in his heart, and his hands quickened as he wiped the table.

Before long, the couple sat down to eat.

On the table were braised pork, stir-fried greens, egg drop soup, and two bowls of coarse rice—a meal that was quite decent by any standard.

During the meal, Zheng De kept picking pieces of braised pork for his wife while he stuck to eating greens and sipping soup.

Seeing this, Tan Bing promptly placed two large pieces of braised pork into Zheng De's bowl and commanded, "Eat the meat! If you don't, it means you're saying my cooking isn't good enough!"

Understanding her concern for him, Zheng De chuckled and responded, "Yes, ma'am!" He then stuffed a piece of braised pork into his mouth.

The moment he bit down, a strong, raw, gamey taste filled his mouth. The texture was strange, almost like uncooked meat.

"How is it? Does it taste good?" Tan Bing asked eagerly.

Gulp!

Zheng De forced the unchewable piece of meat down his throat and gave her a thumbs-up with a grin. "Delicious! My wife's cooking is the best in the world!"

"Sweet talker!" she scolded with a playful glare before popping another piece of braised pork into her mouth, a satisfied look spreading across her face.

Could it be that one piece didn't cook through?

With this thought, Zheng De took another piece from the bowl when his wife wasn't looking. When he pressed down hard with his chopsticks, he saw that the meat was almost entirely raw inside, streaked with blood.

No wonder it tasted so strongly of blood earlier.

The meat's uncooked state had been hidden by the thick layer of sauce coating it.

"Honey, don't you think this meat tastes a bit strange today?" Zheng De asked with a grin.

Tan Bing frowned slightly, still chewing, and mumbled through her mouthful, "Strange? What's strange about it?"

Hearing this, Zheng De took the half-eaten piece of meat from her bowl, quickly stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing as he smiled. "Strangely delicious!"

"Oh, you're impossible!" Tan Bing said helplessly. "There's still so much meat in the bowl, and yet you're taking mine."

"Food tastes better when you're stealing it," Zheng De joked, forcing himself to swallow the bloody meat despite the overwhelming raw taste.

At this point, he realized his wife didn't find anything odd about the nearly raw braised pork—in fact, she seemed to enjoy it!

This strange phenomenon left Zheng De deeply puzzled. But knowing his wife was pregnant, he decided not to bring it up for now to avoid alarming her.

After the meal, as usual, the couple took an afternoon nap.

...

Wah—wah—wah!

The clear cries of a newborn rang out.

A nervous Zheng De leaned against the door, anxiously asking, "Are they safe? Mother and child?"

"Rest assured, both mother and child are safe!" the midwife replied from inside the room.

Before Zheng De could shed tears of joy, the midwife opened the door and stepped out, holding a red swaddling cloth. "Congratulations, Master Zheng, on the birth of a baby girl!"

"I'll go check on my wife first." With that, Zheng De quickly bypassed the midwife and entered the room.

Inside, a thick, gamey smell filled the air. Tan Bing lay on the bed, covered by a heavy cotton quilt.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" Zheng De took her hand in his and asked gently.

"Husband, I'm fine. Go look at the baby," Tan Bing said softly, her voice not sounding too weak.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zheng De noticed the bright red swaddling cloth. He turned to look—and was stunned to find that the baby inside the cloth… had no face.