Chapter 124: Follow to call "Grandfather"
Regarding the remarkable person who arranged for the entire safe zone to be one large barrier, Huo Zaiyuan is extremely interested. If there ever is an opportunity to do so, he would like to have a good, long chat with them.
Standing on the balcony, he slowly begins to calculate according to the safe zone"s array. Although his speed is pretty slow, it is accurate. As he counts, he is amazed by another discovery. Not only has this mysterious master arranged the entire zone into a Five Elements Eight Trigrams formation, a harmonious Yin-Yang Taoist array has also been concealed within the bagua, allowing the guards of the safe zone to be stronger, steadier and more energised.
"Is this the work of the ‘School of Taoism’? Very interesting…" Mumbling to himself, Huo Zaiyuan finally turns around and returns to the room.
With Qin Jun and Li Qing acc.u.mulating so much tiredness throughout the long journey, the pair is now deep asleep. Therefore, he doesn"t want to disturb their rest and make them accompany him for a stroll outside…Besides, they will be remaining here indefinitely now that they have reached their destination so there will be ample opportunities to explore A City"s base.
Thus, he eventually decides to return to his s.p.a.ce and mediate. In a flash of silver light, Huo Zaiyuan disappears from the room.
The little tree spirit who is watering the crops with water taken from the little brook immediately drops what it is doing and flies towards the bamboo house the moment it senses Huo Zaiyuan entering the s.p.a.ce.
"Cheep…(Master)." Throwing itself at Huo Zaiyuan, who is sitting cross-legged on the floor, it lands on its human"s shoulder. Giving Huo Zaiyuan a customary greeting kiss, it proceeds to rub its cheek against the youth"s.
"It"s been hard on you." Huo Zaiyuan says fondly. He really loves this hardworking little spirit.
Ever since he permitted the small creature to stay in the s.p.a.ce, everything has become very neat and orderly. Also, the fact that he is able to break through to the fourth level this quickly is all thanks to the little guy conscientiously watering the peach tree every day.
Because of the tree spirit"s effort, the peach trees in the first, second and third array will all bear fruit approximately every ten days. Each time they do, Huo Zaiyuan will reward the hardworking being with one peach and uses the rest to make peach juice.
Now every time he enters the s.p.a.ce to cultivate, he will always drink a sip of juice before. The results from this is great, allowing him to achieve twice the effect by using only half the effort. Half a day"s cultivation is comparable to three or four days" work.
After playing with the spirit for a while, he drinks a sip of peach juice and begins to meditate. With every inhale, rich spiritual energy seeps into his body, becoming denser every pa.s.sing moment. He can feel it circulating through his veins and arteries before settling into the sphere of warmth at his abdomen.
Before the world was turned upside down in his previous life, Huo Zaiyuan has read more than a few xianxia novels with Immortals and cultivation lores. He has played a few similar games too, so he is aware that in the bodies of fictional cultivators, there lies a core within. However, real life cultivation is different from games. From the first level to the fourth level, besides having abundant internal energy, he doesn"t have a core …
Therefore, he suspects his cultivation method is different from those, which he reckons is a good thing…
After meditating in the s.p.a.ce for quite a long period, when Huo Zaiyuan appears in the room, the sky outside has already become a sea of red and orange.
Silence permeates the entire unit, clearly indicating Long Zhanye has yet to return. As this is the highest floor of the building, the interior is not dim yet thanks to the still-setting sun. a.s.sessing the situation for a few seconds more, he eventually decides to shower and cook dinner.
Since there are power sockets in the house, the rice cooker Huo Zaiyuan found in X City"s shopping mall can finally be put to good use. After giving the rice a rinse and putting it to cook, he takes out some fish, meat and vegetables.
Ever since the four of them formed a party from Z City all the way to A City, as long as circ.u.mstances permitted him to cook, the four always had warm meals and good food. Adding together the supplies in his interdimensional s.p.a.ce and Li Qing"s storage ring, they have everything they can possibly need. Even after cooking for so long, according to Huo Zaiyuan"s estimation, they can still afford to have a feast every day for eight or nine years. Of course, they wouldn"t eat so much in one day, so the length of time between now and when they will run out of food is probably more than a decade. Also, even if all the meat finishes, he still has fresh fruit and vegetable crops planted in his s.p.a.ce that will never run out.
Looking at the kitchen alone, it is plain as day that Long Zhanye is someone who cannot cook to save his life. Besides a few brand new pots, pans, ladles and other kitchen utensils, there isn"t even a stove here.
Therefore, Huo Zaiyuan also retrieves a stove and a bottle of gas, placing it on the kitchen counter before washing the vegetables and cutting up the meat.
He doesn"t know if Long Zhanye will want to have dinner after returning from his meeting, but after the two became a couple, Huo Zaiyuan got into the habit of making meals for two. In any case, his s.p.a.ce is even better than a fridge so if Long Zhanye has yet to return after he finishes cooking, he will simply store it in the s.p.a.ce.
Now, Huo Zaiyuan abstains from consuming meat. At most, he only drinks a few mouthfuls of soup under Long Zhanye"s shameless compelling. But Long Zhanye, on the other hand, is someone who likes having meat at every meal. The soldier also like spicy and savoury foods, which is the complete opposite of Huo Zaiyuan. Hence, he always prepares five dishes: two meat, two vegetables and a soup. As for Li Qing and Qin Jun, their preferences are not too different from Long Zhanye"s, which is why cooking for those three is no pressure.
Speaking of Li Qing and Qin Jun, he is also unsure if those two will awaken in time to have dinner together.
Today, Huo Zaiyuan prepares s.h.i.take mushroom in duck stock soup and spicy stir-fried duck. Chopping both the duck and mushrooms to sizeable pieces, he puts it all into a pot of water and brings it to a boil. Once the duck meat is cooked, he removes it from the pot and places it into a heated pan. Adding red pepper, scallion, onion and ginger to the meat, he fries it all together for a while before serving it up on a plate, scattering a few pinches of sesame seed on top. The other meat dish is braised pork and Chinese pickled mustard. Stir-fried tofu and a mix of black fungus, s.h.i.take mushrooms and Chinese cabbages make up the two vegetable dishes. Just as Huo Zaiyuan is nearly done with cooking, the front door opens, indicating Long Zhanye"s return.
"Grandfather, listen to me, actually…"
"Don"t say anymore. I will definitely not agree to it!"
Another person enters the door after Long Zhanye. With one word of "grandfather" from the soldier"s mouth, it is enough to let Huo Zaiyuan know the ident.i.ty of this stranger. Commander-in-chief Long, Long Haotian.
Overhearing the snippet of conversation between grandfather and grandson, it seems they are caught up in a debate over some matter. Huo Zaiyuan is silently wondering if he should go out and ask if everything is all right when the conversation topic shifts.
"But I…"
"No need to explain. Oh? How fragrant…"
Grandfather Long"s solemn tone abruptly changes. At the sound of frantic slapping of shoes on the tiles as someone runs over, Huo Zaiyuan glances up while carrying a pot of soup over to the table only to freeze, dumbstruck. For at the doorway of the room stands a majestic-looking elderly with a head full of white hair, clad in a black military uniform, sparkling eyes fixed on the youth.
"Eh…"
"What dish did you cook? Smells nice, really fragrant! Can I have a taste?" The imposing and regal Commander-in-chief Long has been reduced to a greedy kid before the few aromatic dishes laid out on the table.
Faced with the Long Haotian he had heard so much about but hasn"t met yet, Huo Zaiyuan feels a little anxious and nervous. Now, however, the tension in his body loosens as the Commander-in-chief"s current appearance is not so intimidating.
Mouth curving up into a smile, Huo Zaiyuan offers a pair of chopsticks to Long Haotian. "Long…Commander-in-chief Long, please help yourself."
Since this is their first meeting, the two of them are not at all familiar. Calling this elderly "grandfather" would be too intimate and inappropriate, which will leave the opposite party with a bad impression. Thus, with this in mind, he settles on addressing Long Haotian by his military rank.
Taking the offered chopsticks, Long Haotian targets the spicy duck first. The hot sauce numbs his mouth and spreads across his taste buds. Right, right, it is exactly this flavour! Really too delicious! With another snap of his chopsticks, he picks up a piece of braised pork.
When Long Zhanye enters the kitchen with concern written all over his face, the sight of his grandfather who was grumbling with displeasure just moments ago now standing before the table, stealing bites from this dish and that plate like a child causes him to be momentarily speechless.
How come he wasn"t aware his grandfather has such a gluttonous side?
"Grandfather, we haven"t finished discussing the matter."
"Weren"t you referring to this child?" Popping yet another piece of duck meat into his mouth, Long Haotian points at Huo Zaiyuan with the end of his chopsticks.
"Yes."
"Un, not bad, not bad. Do whatever you like. Affairs of youngsters are not something this old man will pry into."
Long Zhanye"s handsome face brightens joyfully as soon as his grandfather said those words, his heart thumping as though a thousand horses are racing across. Still…
Oi, he talked and persuaded from afternoon to evening, until his saliva has all but dried. This old man bore a stoic face through it all with no intention of giving way. Now in the face of a few delicious dishes, he agrees so easily…
Was grandfather pulling his leg all along?
"Grandfather, didn"t you say you will definitely not agree to it?"
"When you first contacted me, you said you couldn"t find this "Huo Zaiyuan". I thought since you can"t find the person, I"ll find a woman to take care of you. But now you said you like a young man. How could a youngster take good care of you? Of course I didn"t want to agree. However, now I know this child is a skilled cook, and is pretty good-looking too…he is pleasing to this old man"s eye, so I changed my mind." Long Haotian"s expression turns serious again, eyeing this treasured grandson who tore apart his desk this afternoon.
Tsk, this brat really cannot get through a day without bickering with this old man.
"Grandfather, thank you," Long Zhanye says with a dazzling smile as he hugs Long Haotian.
"Hmph, go away, go away. You don"t cherish your grandfather even a little. I raised you and worried about you in vain," Long Haotian grumbles, shaking off his precious grandson before walking up to Huo Zaiyuan and staring at him.
Startling a little at being subjected to Long Haotian"s intense scrutiny, a trace of nervousness surfaces in his heart again.
"Commander-in-chief Long, may I ask…is something the matter?"
"Nothing. Hmm…very good. No need to call me Commander-in-chief. Follow Zhanye and directly call me grandfather." Long Haotian nods in satisfaction. However, his next words almost cause Long Zhanye and Huo Zaiyuan to faint in embarra.s.sment. "I say, precious grandson, no matter how I look, this child should be no more than fifteen or sixteen. Can you really bring yourself to lay hands on him?"
"Grand - grandfather…I"ve already past my eighteenth birthday…" Huo Zaiyuan corrects with a face full of black lines.
Does he really look that young?
"Really can"t tell ah. Then…what"s your name?"
"Huo Zaiyuan."
Clang -
The chopsticks in Grandfather Long’s hand falls to the ground as he stares at Huo Zaiyuan in astonishment.