Bai Ye must've returned straight to his room, since I didn't see any sign of him in the garden on my way back. I was slightly relieved. With his sharp observance, he might be able to figure out what I had just read by simply looking at the expression on my face.
I set Twin Stars down on the table in my room and stared at it for a little while, unsure what to think. When I first received the swords from Bai Ye, I had thought of it as nothing more than a generous gift from a master to a disciple. A precious one at that, of course, but I hadn't expected any of these that I would co to learn later. Its ability to compensate for my spiritual root, its bond with my power, its demonic past … And the more I knew, the more mysterious things started to seem.
What else was there that Bai Ye felt so reluctant about telling ? Had Twin Stars really wreaked so kind of havoc in its earlier days?
A knock on the door jolted out of my pensiveness. "Qing-er." Bai Ye's familiar voice rang from beyond the entryway.
I sprang up from my chair, silently cursing the lack of ti to cover up the troubled look on my face. I didn't expect him to show up at lunch hour, and I could only hope that he wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I opened the door and greeted him.
He didn't pay attention to my expression at all though. In fact, he seed a little uneasy himself, lowering his gaze to avoid eting mine. "I … was wondering if you'd like to join for lunch," he said sowhat hesitantly.
I blinked. "Lunch?" That was the last thing I expected him to say. Immortals didn't need to eat, and I had been making my own als ever since I ca to Mount Hua. What was this about?
He looked even more hesitant than before. "I thought so herbal recipes will help you feel better, so I tried a few. At the very least, it'll save you so trouble cooking. But I wasn't sure if … if you'll like them. It's been too long since the last ti I cooked."
My jaw fell to the floor. He made lunch for ? And from the look of him, he seed … nervous about it? The legendary immortal master Bai Ye … was … shy?
"Would you be willing to try it?" he asked. "If it's not to your taste, you can always co back and … make sothing for yourself instead."
Hearing him talk like this was so different, but almost amusing in a strange way, and I couldn't help smiling. The gloomy thoughts about Twin Stars vanished from my mind. "How could it not be?" I said and slipped out of the door, taking his hand in mine. "I'll love anything you make for , and I'm sure it's good."
Relief flashed across his eyes. He gripped my hand. "Just … tell the truth if you don't like it," he said and led to the dining room.
Like the bath chamber, this was another space that was almost left wasted in our hall. Bai Ye never ate, and it was easier for to stay in my kitchen for a quick al. I almost shook my head out of pity when we approached the bright room lined with huge windows, but the mont we stepped across the threshold, my attention was fully on the table.
There were six different dishes, laid out neatly and steaming with bold aroma. "You made all of these? Just for ?" I exclaid. How much ti and effort did it take him?
"I wasn't sure which ones you might like … but they should all help with overcoming the yin power in you." He sat down in the chair and scooped a bowlful of soup for . "Try this first?"
The bowl was warm in my hands, but it was the unmistakable care and slight nervousness in his tone that lted my heart from inside out. "Bai Ye … You … You didn't need to …"
My earlier thoughts about Twin Stars suddenly stabbed . No, I was only imagining things. Soone so gentle and loving like him couldn't be capable of doing those unspeakable deeds with the swords.
"Qing-er," he urged. "It'll get cold."
I smiled, wiping the distracting thoughts away and scooped a heaping spoonful into my mouth.
Bai Ye looked like he was holding his breath. "H-How is it?"
"…"
For a mont, all I did was stare at him. The rich scent of silkie chicken and red sage overwheld . There were no fancy spices or sauces, no special ingredients except the bare basics, and yet … The flavors were incredible. The tenderness of the at, the thickness of the broth, the depth and balance of the few herbs there were …
It tasted impossible.
"Qing-er?"
Not wanting him to mistake my lack of response as disapproval, I swallowed hard, finishing my first bite much faster than I wished. "Were you a chef at the Emperor's palace before you beca immortal?" I asked. "This is … How did you make this? How could sothing like this exist?"
A big smile of relief danced on his face. "I haven't forgotten how to cook then." He let out a deep breath. "I taught myself while at Mount Hua. When I started focusing more on dicine instead of swords, I found that tasting the herbs helps rember them."
I was scooping more soup, and my hand halted at his words. I always thought that he had practiced dicine as a casual interest alongside swordsmanship, since he was most known at Mount Hua for his accomplishnt in swords. But he had actually switched from one to the other, in the direction that was opposite to what I did? What made him make such a decision?
"Want to try sothing different?" He pushed another dish closer to when he noticed my pause.
I nodded, and I went through all the six dishes in no ti. Braised lamb with angelica, congee with hawthorns and longan, dessert drink with ginger and dates … The ingredients were all simple, but even the plain stir-fried vegetables burst with flavor. All of them were unbelievably delicious.
"You never told you could cook like this," I said when he refilled my bowl with a second helping of soup.
"It's been too long, and I was worried that …" He trailed off a little embarrassedly. "But now that I know you like it, I can make more for you every day."
My jaw dropped again. "Every day? But—"
"Herbal supplents in als can work just as well as dicine. It'll be good for your body." He smiled as he brushed off a little smudge of food on my lips with his thumb. "Besides … it makes happy to be able to do sothing for you."
The sparkling love in his eyes dazzled . The soup sloshed a little in my bowl, and before I knew it, my arms were looped around him in a tight embrace.
How could I possibly think that he could ever hurt anyone with Twin Stars?
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