Instantly, Su Pan’er’s tense mood softened, and she smiled as she stepped into the dicine Hut!
"Elder, it’s been a long ti!"
"If we’re talking a long ti, the last ti we t was only half a year ago. But if we’re talking about not so long, it’s been quite a few years since we last saw each other, and I’ve really missed you, girl! Co on, co in and sit down. Where have you been? Tell about it!"
Elder Wu was easily more than twenty years younger than Su Pan’er’s Master. He looked like a next-door big brother in his thirties!
However, since Su Pan’er was a little girl, over the years, she had grown from a scruffy child into a graceful young lady, yet Elder Wu still looked the sa as he did now.
Strictly speaking, Jun Ruochen did bear so resemblance to Elder Wu—not in appearance, but in that approachable, friendly, big brother vibe!
"Elder, what are you talking about? I don’t understand what you’re saying," Pan’er said, sowhat puzzled as she took a seat across from him with a smile.
As Elder Wu was engrossed in his dicinal ingredients, he abruptly lifted his head at her words. Not until he t Su Pan’er’s bright eyes did he smack his forehead!
Annoyed, he said, "Look at my mory! Your Master told you’d forgotten so things, and it seems to be true indeed!"
"Elder, what did my Master say I’ve forgotten? I can’t seem to rember," she responded.
"..."
Elder Wu rolled his eyes in secret, swiftly diverting the topic: "How long do you plan to stay at the sect this ti? You’re not going to stay just one night and leave again, are you? I’ve taken on a new apprentice recently. You haven’t t him yet, have you? Why don’t you stay a few days longer, and I’ll send him a ssage to co back?"
"Congratulations, Elder, on acquiring a worthy disciple! But is your new apprentice a junior brother or a junior sister?"
Su Pan’er teased him with a waggle of her eyebrows.
"You girl... Just now I thought you had changed, but now, tsk tsk!"
Elder Wu shook his head, amused: "He’s your junior brother, but he’s a few years older than you."
As he spoke about his new apprentice, the smile on Elder Wu’s face deepened.
"Oh! Elder, you’re actually making fun of ? Watch ..."
Su Pan’er looked left and right, glancing at the small kitchen behind the dicine Hut: "I’m not leaving tonight! Not only will I eat, but I’ll also take all the leftovers with ! Hmph!"
Elder Wu was known for his excellent cooking, and this was why Su Pan’er would always frequent his place back in the day.
"You little glutton!"
Instead of getting angry, Elder Wu burst into hearty laughter after hearing her: "Alright! After you’ve finished eating, I’ll pack you a portion of gold and silver strands rolls to take with you. How’s that?"
Gold and silver strands rolls, in reality, are similar to stead twisted rolls, but they’re more complex to make and require the maker’s ticulous care. Only then do these rolls taste delicious. The gold and silver strands rolls made by Elder Wu were especially tied to Su Pan’er’s childhood mories. Rather than saying she liked to eat them, it was more that she cherished the warmth she felt when she first tasted them.
"Good, two portions then! Elder, do you know why I like to eat gold and silver strands rolls?"
Su Pan’er’s eyes narrowed slightly as she reminisced with Elder Wu about the first ti she tasted the food: "I rember, the first ti I ate gold and silver strands rolls was during a particularly rebellious phase. I got into a big fight with several fellow apprentices and was punished by my Master. Furious, I snuck out and stumbled in here. Seeing the freshly stead gold and silver strands rolls in the kitchen, I sneakily took a few... They were the sweetest, most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my life!"
"I rember too; you were gobbling them down when I ca in and saw you, so I got a few more for you to eat," Elder Wu said, his face full of affection. "Back then, you were like a prickly hedgehog, poking anyone who ca close! Fortunately, over the years, you’ve llowed quite a bit."
Talking about Su Pan’er’s childhood escapades, Elder Wu opened up.
The two chatted about old and new topics for half the day, but after dinner, she lingered at Elder Wu’s place, unwilling to leave.
Unexpectedly, Master had sent a ssage, so Su Pan’er had to bid farewell to Elder Wu with her gold and silver strands rolls in tow.
"Hold on!"
Once she stepped out the door, Elder Wu, for the first ti, rushed out of the dicine Hut and stuffed sothing into Su Pan’er’s hands, "This is a small token of appreciation from the elder, a parting gift. Take good care of it, and... take care of yourself!"
He cautioned her carefully, his eyes holding a reluctance that Su Pan’er couldn’t comprehend.
Su Pan’er waved her hands nonchalantly!
"Alright! I’ll keep it safe. But, it’s just that Master has called over, why do you look like we’re parting forever? Don’t worry, as soon as I have so free ti, I’ll co back to see you!"
Elder Wu’s lips moved as if he wanted to say sothing but ultimately remained silent, "Good, good... It’s a sha that you couldn’t et my newly accepted apprentice. Go now! Let the village chief watch you leave!"
Su Pan’er tilted her head, a bit puzzled, but nodded anyway, "When I return to the sect next ti, maybe I’ll get to et him! Village Chief, I’m leaving now. Next ti I’ll co for your gold and silver strands rolls!"
As she spoke, she waved at Elder Wu and briskly entered the Formation ahead.
"Perhaps, there will be no next ti..."
Elder Wu stood still, silently watching the direction in which Su Pan’er disappeared, not moving for a long ti.
Carrying two portions of gold and silver strands rolls, Su Pan’er happily returned to Master’s residence, only to discover to her surprise that her senior sister Liu i had gone up the mountain carrying her physical body.
Senior sister’s eyes were red as if she had cried.
Su Pan’er paid her respects to Master and then looked at Liu i, "Senior sister, what’s wrong?" Why have you cried!
"It’s nothing..."
Liu i coughed twice, her voice sowhat choked up, and suddenly she stepped forward and hugged Su Pan’er, "I, your senior sister, am just worried about you. You little rascal, you’ve scared your senior sister to death..."
So she was worried about her!
Su Pan’er felt a bit embarrassed and stuck out her tongue, "Don’t worry, with Master here, everything will be alright!"
"Yes, that’s right, there won’t be any problems!"
Liu i nodded vigorously, but she couldn’t finish her words.
Even if Su Pan’er was careless, she sensed that sothing was amiss at this mont. After all, she had always been soone with a rough exterior but a delicate heart!
She looked up at Master and noticed that he too had a concerned expression.
"Master, senior sister, what’s wrong? Has sothing happened?"
Liu i turned her head away, unable to look directly into Su Pan’er’s eyes.
Master, still in a ditative pose, finally opened his eyes after a long while, "Pan’er, you foolish child, can you really not rember?"
Rember what?
Su Pan’er was sowhat hesitant, "Master..."
"Sigh! Foolish child, look inside your Inner Heart, you will rember!"
Master stood up, looked down at Su Pan’er with eyes full of a reluctance to part, and just as Su Pan’er opened her mouth to speak, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed at her Brow Heart!
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