Introduction

My master is personally cooking for me?

That night, as Xǔ Tiānlí lay in his own bed, his mind was still replaying the events of the day.

The scene where Mù Qīngyǔ made that promise to him, in particular, kept looping in his mind.

Xǔ Tiānlí was no stranger to Mù Qīngyǔ’s cooking; he had tasted her porridge when he first awoke from his coma.

However, a single bowl of porridge offered little insight into the true depth of one’s culinary skill.

Just how delicious would his master’s cooking be, when she personally prepared it?

Xǔ Tiānlí scratched his cheek, gazing at the ceiling.

He wasn’t concerned that Mù Qīngyǔ’s cooking would be terrible; in truth, he didn’t consider his own culinary skills exceptional, merely proficient enough to prepare everyday meals.

Present him with a slightly more complex recipe, and Xǔ Tiānlí would find himself utterly bewildered just trying to decipher the steps.

It seemed that for someone untalented like him, extraordinary effort was always required, no matter the endeavor.

With that thought, Xǔ Tiānlí sat up and glanced at the secret manual resting on his bedside table.

If asked about his anticipation, it was undoubtedly immense.

Master Qín Yuè had uttered such encouraging words to motivate a ‘good-for-nothing’ like him, and he couldn’t possibly wallow in despondency now.

He mustn’t betray his master’s kind intentions.

‘Master Qín Yuè has lived alone for so long; her cooking skills must be extraordinary, right?’

Xǔ Tiānlí simply couldn’t imagine Qín Yuè eating a pre-made meal.

The image was too comical, instantly transforming the mysterious, reclusive expert into an aging homebody.

Given that she could live in seclusion in the deep mountains, she must be able to overcome any difficulty with a smile.

“Time to sleep; tomorrow I must work hard.”

As Xǔ Tiānlí settled back down, a smile gracing his lips as he drifted into slumber, Mù Qīngyǔ was in a hotel in another part of Wufeng City.

“No, why has the price gone up again?!”

Mù Qīngyǔ took a bite of her fried chicken burger, then a sip of ice-cold cola.

Only when she was paying did she discover that the pre-made meal she frequently ordered had increased in price yet again, now reaching double digits!

“What a bunch of profiteers!”

“Are they trying to make life impossible?”

Indignant, Mù Qīngyǔ took another forceful bite of her fried chicken burger, her crimson eyes blazing with fury.

“Without pre-made meals, aren’t they just depriving miserable wage-slaves of their right to survive?”

During her most impoverished times in her previous life, Mù Qīngyǔ had relied on those pre-made meals from delivery platforms to get by.

Though she was now a wealthy young lady, she couldn’t forget the companionship of those meals; they were her loyal, righteous comrades.

But now, her comrades had changed.

Their hearts had changed, and their value had soared.

After finishing an entire burger, the silver-haired girl still didn’t forget to suck her fingers.

Although the price was higher, at least the quality hadn’t fluctuated much—or had it?

Grumble~ Grumble~

“Oh no, I didn’t get food poisoning, did I?”

Mù Qīngyǔ’s expression twisted instantly.

She scrambled out of bed, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and dashed barefoot into the bathroom.

After a grueling half-hour battle, the girl finally emerged, leaning against the wall, her trembling legs seemingly unable to close after being forcibly pried apart.

She collapsed onto the bed, taking a deep breath.

“Life is truly getting harder and harder.”

Grumble~ Grumble~

“Again?!”

This night was destined to be a difficult one for Mù Qīngyǔ.

The next day.

Xǔ Tiānlí continued to pore over the secret manual in his free time, then practiced his blade work by mimicking the illustrations.

Although he now harbored expectations of success, fate seemed unwilling to favor him.

He quickly became drenched in sweat, only stopping when his arms grew numb with exhaustion.

He was relieved that Qín Yuè hadn’t arrived at the orphanage yet; if she had seen him in such a state, he would have been mortified.

‘How strange.’

‘Master usually arrives punctually.’

‘Why is she still nowhere to be seen, even though it’s past time?’

‘Did something happen?’

‘Impossible.’ Xǔ Tiānlí had absolute faith in Qín Yuè’s strength.

Who could possibly harm her?

‘Could she have gotten an upset stomach and couldn’t sleep all night?’

Xǔ Tiānlí himself didn’t believe these words as he uttered them.

How could Qín Yuè fail to resolve such a minor issue?

She was a reclusive master, after all.

Shaking off the jumbled thoughts, Xǔ Tiānlí re-evaluated his current situation.

‘What exactly went wrong?’

Just as Xǔ Tiānlí sat down, a child ran up, wanting him to play.

Though he wanted to refuse, seeing the child’s anxious gaze made him suddenly realize he hadn’t spent time with these little ones for several days.

It wasn’t just the child in front of him; in the distance, pairs of eyes watched, seemingly awaiting the outcome.

Xǔ Tiānlí sighed softly, then offered a kind smile.

“Come on, I’ll play with you for a while.”

“Yay!”

The children immediately cheered.

As they played, one child, curious about the secret manual Xǔ Tiānlí had been reading for days, stepped forward to examine it.

“A sword technique that uses up all your strength for just one strike, how strange.”

“Why must you use all your strength?”

“Brother Xǔ is trying so hard, isn’t he putting his own life on the line?”

To hear such familiar words from the mouths of children made Xǔ Tiānlí feel a sudden flush of embarrassment.

‘Have I fallen so far that I’m being lectured by people younger than me?’

Indeed, unleashing a single strike with all his might was akin to risking his life.

But wasn’t that the essence of this sword technique?

‘Could it be possible without expending all my strength?’

Xǔ Tiānlí suddenly thought of something and abruptly sat upright.

“That’s right, Master seemed to hint at this too.”

“Could it be…!”

He quickly picked up his wooden sword and once again flipped through the secret manual.

This time, he didn’t exert himself as before.

Instead, he closed his eyes, slowly concentrating all his attention on the wooden sword in his hand.

If he used ten-tenths of his strength, he would only end up in a mutually destructive fight with the enemy, which was hardly a favorable outcome.

What if he attacked with seven-tenths of his strength, reserving three-tenths for himself?

Xǔ Tiānlí found an opportunity from an entirely different perspective, and suddenly, clarity dawned upon him.

‘So that’s how it is, Master!’

‘I understand!’

Xǔ Tiānlí gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, raised the sword, and then forcefully swung it forward.

The blade sliced through the air, and at the moment it connected with the ground—

Bang!!

The children behind him were startled by the commotion.

The strike had kicked up a massive cloud of dust upon impact, and cracks spread outwards from that point, like an expanding spiderweb.

The children’s eyes widened, and even Director Wang inside the room rushed over, clearly terrified.

“So that’s what it was all about.”

Xǔ Tiānlí lifted the wooden sword again, only to find that its blade had broken, unable to withstand the force he had just exerted.

“I didn’t expect this secret manual to be playing word games.”

The first page clearly stated a warning: ‘There is nothing in this world that one strike cannot solve. If there is, then run.’

But if he truly practiced according to the subsequent content, he would exhaust all his abilities and have no strength left to escape.

Therefore, the nameless author of this manual deliberately used misleading information to guide people toward an entirely incorrect practice path.

“What a mischievous fellow.”

“If not for Master’s guidance, I truly would never have grasped this sword technique in my entire life.”

As Xǔ Tiānlí muttered this, a scene suddenly unfolded in his mind.

It was a pair of eyes burning with fire, opening as if interested in him, and glancing his way.

Snapping back to reality, Xǔ Tiānlí turned his head to look behind him, but there were no burning eyes to be found.

‘How strange.’

‘Am I too tired, experiencing hallucinations?’

With the first step of the technique mastered, Xǔ Tiānlí sat down to rest.

Not long after, a familiar figure appeared at the orphanage’s entrance.

“What happened to the ground?”

Stepping inside with still somewhat sore long legs, Mù Qīngyǔ immediately noticed the messy ground.

Upon seeing her, Xǔ Tiānlí immediately smiled and stepped forward.

“Thank you for all your help, Master.”

“Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

“Ah, oh.”

Mù Qīngyǔ didn’t quite understand why he was suddenly thanking her.

‘Does he know he hasn’t succeeded in training, and is deliberately trying to curry favor, hoping I won’t abandon him?’

‘Even if you didn’t do this, I wouldn’t just leave, alright?’

‘I’m more worried about you being led astray by others.’

‘That crack on the ground was probably accidentally caused by an exasperated Xǔ Tiānlí.’

‘It’s normal for young people to vent their frustrations.’

‘Just don’t vent them on me.’

No longer able to simply respond with words, Mù Qīngyǔ raised her hand and patted his head.

“You’ve done very well.”

“Keep up the good work.”

“Understood, Master!”

“It’s about time.”

“I should head to the kitchen now.”

Although Xǔ Tiānlí still hadn’t mastered the sword technique, she decided to honor her promise and personally cook him a meal.

While Mù Qīngyǔ often ate pre-made meals, she had cooked for herself plenty in her previous life, so she still had some skill.

She couldn’t make top-tier delicacies, but everyday dishes were certainly within her ability.

Mù Qīngyǔ’s late arrival was partly due to sleeping in after a late night, inadvertently oversleeping by several hours.

On the other hand, she had also made a trip to the market to buy fresh ingredients.

However, one thing puzzled Mù Qīngyǔ.

‘Xǔ Tiānlí clearly hasn’t mastered the sword technique, so why does he look so happy when he hears I’m going to the kitchen?’

‘Could this kid have known all along that he wouldn’t succeed and guessed that I would soften?’

If that were the case, Mù Qīngyǔ would have to seize the opportunity to give him a stern talking-to.

‘You can take advantage of anyone else, but never me.’

‘Unless I willingly give it to you, no one else should even think of snatching it.’

Listening to his master’s earnest words, Xǔ Tiānlí nodded vigorously, his heart filled with emotion.

‘Thankfully, I’ve already grasped the sword technique; otherwise, I would truly be an unfilial disciple taking advantage of my master.’

‘If that were the case, it would truly be a sin.’ Xǔ Tiānlí himself felt incredibly bad about taking advantage of his master.