CHAPTER 419: CHAPTER 415: THE JOURNEY ENDS

They spent the afternoon wandering around the village. By now, they could comfortably walk hand-in-hand on the road, no longer feeling awkward around their friends.

The only obstacle was Tuanzi.

「Day 6.」

「Itinerary: Yunfeng Mountain.」

This was a famous Taoist mountain. There were temples on the mountain, known as Yunfeng Temple, with palaces distributed at the summit and on the mountainsides. It was said that a few years ago, Yunfeng Temple had been renovated. The chairman of Baoshan City’s Taoist Association and government officials all made appearances at the renovation ceremony, which showed it was almost the beacon of local Taoism.

Influenced by his affinity for Taoism, Zhou Li, besides climbing the mountain to enjoy the scenery and taking photos of Brother Nan, Huai Xu, and Tuanzi, also seriously toured Yunfeng Temple. He visited every accessible place, hoping to encounter a Taoist priest who might develop a rapport with him just like the elder of the observatory, or perhaps to discover if this ancient temple, like Changping Lookout, also had traces left by the Heavenly Master.

Unfortunately, the Taoist priests of Yunfeng Temple seemed too busy to pay him any attention. This was understandable, as they had their own duties, but it still disappointed Zhou Li.

He didn’t find any trace of spiritual power either.

Perhaps Yunfeng Temple’s history wasn’t long enough to have coincided with the heyday of the Heavenly Master. Maybe it was due to over-renovation, or perhaps it was worn away by the years. It might even be that Yunfeng Temple had never had a visit from the Heavenly Master. In any case, Zhou Li was somewhat disappointed.

His mood wasn’t very good, already influenced by the old monster. He had hoped that a Taoist priest could help resolve his inner conflicts, as is often shown on TV, or perhaps he could find something else interesting to distract him. Neither was successful.

「Day 7, early morning.」

Brother Nan had already packed up. Not only was he holding his own luggage, but he was also carrying Zhou Li’s toiletry bag. He stared at Zhou Li without blinking.

"Why are you dawdling like a woman?"

"Just a moment," replied Zhou Li.

"The salted egg yolk pastries from that bakery yesterday were pretty good. Let’s buy some after breakfast and eat them if we get hungry on the road," Brother Nan said, pausing. "It’s rare to find such tasty salted egg yolk pastries offline. Since we didn’t really celebrate Mid-Autumn with mooncakes, let’s pretend they are mooncakes to make up for it."

"Okay."

Zhou Li finished packing, slung his backpack on, and asked Tuanzi to condescend to walk by herself, taking the toiletry bag from Brother Nan’s hand.

Brother Nan let him take the items but didn’t move. Instead, he tilted his head and gazed at him.

"Why have you been lacking enthusiasm these past two days? Tired of playing?"

As he said this, he reached out and pinched Zhou Li’s face, grinning as if trying to cheer him up. This made Zhou Li inexplicably feel like a little child.

"Maybe," Zhou Li didn’t move.

"Or is it because you went to chat with those Taoist priests and they ignored you, and now you feel embarrassed and your pride is hurt?" Brother Nan pushed his face upward, making his eyes squint and causing wrinkles to form on his forehead. "You ugly ghost!"

"...Let’s go."

"Oh."

Only then did they leave, doing as the owner had instructed by leaving the keys on the front desk before departing.

「An hour later.」

Huai Xu’s eyes flickered with an idea. He quickly moved to the front left side of the car and said to Brother Nan, "Zhou Li is tired; you should keep him company! I can drive!"

"Okay, just watch out for traffic police."

"Don’t worry."

Consequently, Brother Nan, carrying the salted egg yolk pastries, sat with Zhou Li in the back seat. He first tossed a few pastries to Zhou Li. "Eat more. They’re high in calories; I’ll fatten you up into a big chubby guy."

"I don’t get fat easily," Zhou Li replied, smiling.

"Show-off!"

"Are these really made with sea duck eggs?" Zhou Li bit into one, chewing lightly.

"They’re fake. That’s just what they say. But it doesn’t matter; as long as they’re tasty, it’s fine." Brother Nan pivoted slightly to face Zhou Li. "I’ll teach you the finer points of appreciating salted egg yolk pastries. See this pastry crust? This layer inside is called snow skin, beyond that is red bean paste, and the egg yolk is right inside. A tasty salted egg yolk pastry must be meticulous about every layer..."

Zhou Li listened attentively, mostly because he enjoyed listening to Brother Nan speak; the topic itself wasn’t very substantial.

The return journey was relatively smoother.

They made a detour to Dali, had a meal, and by the time they reached Chunming, it was just getting dark.

"Are you going back to school?" Zhou Li asked.

"Yes!"

"There are no classes tomorrow. Stay at my place for the night, and go back tomorrow," Zhou Li softly persuaded. "No one’s in the dorm anyway, and there’s not much to eat in the canteen."

"Aren’t there any classes tomorrow?" Brother Nan seemed surprised, then suddenly realized, "Oh! Pushed to the 8th, I totally forgot!"

"So?"

"That works!"

Zhou Li really liked Brother Nan’s decisiveness.

Back at home, Brother Nan casually tossed his bag on the floor, patted his belly, and asked Zhou Li, "Do you have anything to eat at home?"

"Let’s go across the street for some rice noodles."

"Too lazy to go out. It’s annoying going up and down."

"We have noodles and dumplings, or we could order takeout. Or call Huai Xu for takeout."

"Lord Dumpling demands a state banquet!"

"I’m too lazy to order takeout now. After looking for so long, I don’t feel like eating anything." Brother Nan waved his hand. "Just whip up a bowl of noodles. Where are they?"

"In the kitchen cabinet."

"Okay!"

"Lord Dumpling demands a state banquet!"

However, nobody paid Tuanzi any attention; everyone was busy with their own things.

Huai Xu went to check on his bowl lotus and fish, peering into the tank and silently counting how many flowers had bloomed or wilted. Zhou Li also watered his own plants and picked up fallen leaves. The two of them were a bit cramped working near each other.

When they were finished, sizzling sounds were already coming from the kitchen, and the scent of eggs wafted out.

Tuanzi clamored for someone to turn on the TV.

Although the journey had been exhausting, Zhou Li was still very patient. He turned on the TV for her, found "Cat and Mouse" in the viewing history, and then quietly walked to the kitchen doorway.

The Child of Destiny, of all people, was actually in there cooking noodles for him...

He thought Brother Nan, with his back turned, probably hadn’t noticed his arrival, but he had only been standing there for two seconds when he heard Brother Nan’s voice—

"What you’ve got here seems like everything’s complete, but anyone who knows how to cook would take one look and know your kitchen is for show. No lard, no spicy oil, nothing in the fridge but eggs, no onions, no ginger, no garlic... I can only make some simple egg noodles for you. If it’s not tasty, don’t let it reflect badly on Li’s Old Noodle House!"

"We do cook occasionally," Zhou Li weakly retorted.

"Cook what?"

"Boil noodles, make instant noodles, cook dumplings, fry an egg or something..." Zhou Li’s voice grew weaker.

"But that’s no reason to be out of everything!"

Brother Nan’s retort wasn’t from the angle Zhou Li had expected, but it made him feel even more embarrassed, ruthlessly exposing his extreme lack of cooking skills—a big no-no for a man from Yi Province.

Without even turning his head, Brother Nan kept rattling on: "You should get some lard; you can buy it online. Cooking noodles with or without lard makes a big difference in taste. If you’re too lazy to cook a full meal, you can just make lard rice. Also, stock some garlic; it lasts a long time. When you make dumplings, you can add some minced garlic and mix up a sour and spicy soup base. Buy some green onions too. They don’t last long, but since you grow flowers, why not grow a pot of scallions? Scallions are very hardy; if you cut them, they’ll just grow back. Chunming’s climate is also suitable. If you grow a pot, you can use them continuously. Even if you just put some fresh scallions in your instant noodles, the flavor is completely different. I’ve got a pot growing on my dorm balcony..."

Zhou Li silently listened, offering no rebuttal.

Brother Nan kept talking nonstop, almost at the point of teaching him how to grow scallions step-by-step.

Then he started recommending a chopped chili sauce from Sixiang Mountain and which brand of mature spicy oil was good—all things that are great to stock up on at home, but Zhou Li couldn’t remember any of it.

About ten minutes later, the noodles were ready.

Brother Nan hadn’t ruined the reputation of his family’s noodle house. He had made a very plain egg noodle dish, without even scallion garnish and with few seasonings, yet he managed to create a very comforting taste that wasn’t bland at all.

Zhou Li ate while contemplating.

As a man from Yi Province, he had once thought about learning to cook. He had indeed taken some action, but his enthusiasm hadn’t lasted long. When it got tough, he gradually gave up. Sometimes he would bitterly scold himself for his laziness. Other times, he would whimsically resolve to start practicing the very next day, only to forget all about it, and so the cycle continued.

Now he was pondering again—

Should I still learn?

Could I ever compare to Brother Nan?

Could I satisfy Brother Nan’s palate?

Brother Nan already knows how, doesn’t he?

So, someone already knows how to cook, right?

Eh...

Zhou Li seemed to have found an excellent reason and, with a clear conscience, completely gave up on the idea.