A Dragon Feast and a Tsundere Disciple

“I’ve eaten so much, I feel a little bloated.” Feiluo gently rubbed her full stomach, her expression a curious blend of contentment and vexation.

“I told you eating too much would leave you feeling stuffed.” Moxi, having finished tidying the dishes, approached Feiluo and began to gently smooth her somewhat disheveled hair.

The sensation of Moxi’s gentle fingers untangling her previously matted hair elicited a soft, comfortable hum from Feiluo. Her face, utterly lost in pleasure, resembled that of a small kitten reveling in its owner’s chin scratches.

It wasn’t until Moxi had finished styling her hair into twin ponytails that Feiluo snapped back to reality, as if jolted from a dream. She suddenly wondered how she had so readily accepted Moxi’s proximity and her attentive ‘grooming service.’

Feiluo instinctively leaned back, attempting to distance herself from Moxi, only to nearly topple over with her chair from the sudden movement. Thankfully, Moxi swiftly caught the armrest, preventing Feiluo’s head from once again encountering an unpleasant fate.

Despite Moxi having just saved her from another bump, Feiluo offered no thanks. Instead, she fixed Moxi with a wary gaze and declared, “Don’t come so close to me! We’re supposed to be enemies! Don’t be so intimate!”

“…My dear disciple, have you begun to dislike your master?” At her words, Moxi lowered her head, her features twisting into an expression of profound sadness, her voice laden with sorrow. Witnessing Moxi’s ‘heartbroken’ expression, it seemed as though tears were poised to fall from her eyes.

Feiluo instantly panicked, at a loss for what to do. She wanted to rush forward and comfort Moxi, yet the thought that they were enemies, and such a sight should ideally bring her joy, flashed through her mind. However, not a single shred of happiness bloomed within her; instead, her heart was filled with an equally poignant sense of grief.

Finally, she resolved herself, casting aside all other considerations. She embraced Moxi, patting her back gently as she murmured soothingly, “No, no, how could I ever dislike Master? I could never dislike Master, no matter who else I might!”

“Really?” Within Feiluo’s embrace, Moxi’s expression subtly shifted. The former sadness vanished, her eyes narrowing slightly, and a faint curve played at the corner of her lips, as if she were struggling to suppress a smile. Yet, her voice remained steeped in sorrow.

“Of course it’s true!” Unaware of Moxi’s shifting expression, Feiluo continued to gently soothe her. “I like Master the most!”

“Then, my dear disciple, will you still want me to keep my distance?” A hint of laughter had already begun to creep into Moxi’s voice.

“No, I won’t.” Feiluo sensed a subtle shift, but the profound sense of relief from having spoken her heart’s truth empowered her to continue speaking with unwavering conviction.

“You’re not deceiving me, are you?” Moxi could no longer conceal the burgeoning smile at the corner of her lips, her voice now utterly brimming with mirth.

“No—” Feiluo was about to press on when her gaze landed on Moxi’s mischievous, upturned grin. How could she not realize that Moxi had been feigning her sadness all this time?

“Hmph! You tricked me!” She released Moxi, crossed her arms over her chest, let out a soft huff, and turned her head away, speaking with an indignant pout.

“But my dear disciple wasn’t saying that just a moment ago, was she?” Moxi’s smile remained unwavering as she extended a finger to poke Feiluo’s puffed-up cheeks, which resembled those of a tiny pufferfish.

“Pfft~” It was the sound of her anger deflating.

Feiluo glared at the grinning Moxi, then shuffled her chair, turning her back to her. Yet Moxi remained relentless, wrapping her arms around Feiluo’s shoulders from behind and pressing her face against Feiluo’s. “Your Master, you see, also likes her dear disciple the most~”

“…Hmph, how saccharine!” Feiluo huffed once more and averted her head again, but Moxi could clearly discern the uncontrollable smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

The two remained like that, quietly pressed together for a while, savoring each other’s presence.

Suddenly, Moxi released her embrace.

When the arms wrapped around her neck abruptly loosened, Feiluo was surprised to find herself feeling a pang of disappointment. She turned back, a bewildered expression on her face, eager to know why her Master had let go.

Before her, Moxi stood holding several books, which she then offered to Feiluo.

Feiluo tilted her head in confusion, silently questioning Moxi with her eyes, ‘What is this for?’

Moxi, of course, understood Feiluo’s unspoken query. “My dear disciple,” she began, “you haven’t forgotten, have you? You’re supposed to attend your World Awareness class today.” She displayed the covers of the books she held to Feiluo.

The titles read: Even Monkeys Can Easily Grasp This World, Prerequisite to Unsolved World Mysteries: A Guide to World Awareness, What Happened on This Day in History, and Three Minutes to Effortless Understanding of Everything.

“Class?” Feiluo glanced at the current date on the calendar, did a quick mental calculation, and realized that yes, today was indeed her World Awareness class. Yet, she still pouted, her face etched with disdain. “I’m not going to any class! You can go yourself!”

“If you go, I’ll cook you a magnificent feast tonight~” Moxi enticed.

“Hmph! I’m not a child! I couldn’t care less about grand feasts or anything of the sort.” Feiluo felt a flicker of temptation, but to avoid letting Moxi win, she stubbornly maintained her facade.

Moxi cast a quick glance towards the kitchen, where the dishes had already been tidied. Every last morsel of food had been devoured, and the eight stacked plates formed a small mountain. She nodded. “My dear disciple is certainly not a child,” she conceded, “but wouldn’t my dear disciple like to hear what grand feast awaits tonight?”

“What is there?” Feiluo asked, almost instinctively.

“Tonight, we have Steamed Dragon Claw, Braised Dragon Tail, Chopped Chili Dragon Head, Sweet and Sour Dragon Slices, Dry-fried Dragon Meat…” Moxi rattled off a string of over a dozen dish names, each one causing Feiluo’s mouth to water profusely, her appetite instantly piqued. Her already full stomach seemed to stir with a faint, renewed sense of hunger.

“…In short, it’s a Dragon Feast!” Moxi paused her recitation, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she gazed at Feiluo.

At this point, Feiluo’s eyes were practically gleaming, her face alight with eager anticipation. She yearned for dinner to arrive instantly so she could feast. “I’ll go to class! This Dragon Feast is mine!”

“Ahem!” Having uttered her enthusiastic declaration, she realized her reaction had been a little too fervent. She cleared her throat, suppressing the overt excitement and anticipation on her face, and stated calmly, “I mean, this is all for reconnaissance, to observe if there are any particularly threatening disciples among the new generation of the Demonic Sect. Yes, that’s right, that’s precisely it!”

“Reconnaissance, you say~” Moxi deliberately drew out the last word, causing a faint blush to creep onto Feiluo’s cheeks.

“Hmph! Naturally! I am the Head Disciple of the Holy Land; wouldn’t reconnaissance be perfectly reasonable?” Feiluo snatched the books from Moxi’s grasp and sprinted away in a flash.

Only Moxi remained standing in the room. Watching Feiluo’s figure gradually recede into the distance, she smiled. “My tsundere dear disciple certainly has her own unique charm.”

“La~ la la la~ la la la~ la…”

Feiluo lightly hummed a cheerful tune, a wide smile gracing her lips as she skipped towards the classroom, her buoyant mood undeniably apparent.

A grand feast awaited her tonight! The mere thought of that fragrant Dragon Feast made Feiluo feel as though time was crawling at an agonizingly slow pace.

‘Why couldn’t it simply be evening already?’ Feiluo mused inwardly.

“Eh, Junior Sister Feiluo?” A somewhat familiar voice drifted to her ears, causing Feiluo’s joyful steps to falter and then cease.