Chapter 44

Stir-fried cauliflower with cured sausage, truly fragrant!
When this dish was served, Su Ling’s mind was filled with only that thought.
She had used half a head of cauliflower, and while washing it during the cooking process, she couldn’t resist popping a piece into her mouth. To her surprise, it tasted delicious even raw!
Su Ling didn’t quite understand what was happening to her. She suspected it might be spiritual energy, but the problem was, had she drawn in spiritual energy without any guidance? Could she really condense spiritual energy just like that?
Was that even possible?
Su Ling found it hard to believe and wondered if she had some kind of special ability. Or perhaps it was the spiritual energy from the jade pendant Yi Heng had given her?
But none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was that she had discovered this ingredient made dishes so delicious that just the aroma alone made her mouth water.
Thinking it might be Yi Heng’s doing, Su Ling went to him after preparing the meal and asked, "Would you like to eat together? It tastes really good."
Yi Heng didn’t open his eyes, but his slightly recovered spiritual sense could act as his eyes. Though he couldn’t perceive everything within a thousand miles as he used to, the small courtyard was no problem.
At that moment, he "looked" at Su Ling with a complicated expression. For the first time, he realized that someone who had gained spiritual energy would think not of becoming a cultivator or seeking cultivation techniques, but of eating?
Recalling how she had rushed to the vegetable patch the moment she condensed her spiritual energy, so urgently and instinctively, without a single thought for anything else, he was bewildered.
So when Su Ling asked, Yi Heng, after a brief moment of complexity, nodded and said, "Alright."
Su Ling beamed with joy. Her shoulders no longer ached, her back didn't feel sore, she was utterly comfortable and about to enjoy delicious food. She couldn't be happier.
Since Yi Heng was willing to eat, she brought the only dish into the room, then went to scoop two bowls of rice. With a cheerful smile, she introduced, "This is all good rice, soft, sticky, and with a hint of sweetness. It's absolutely delicious!"
Helping Yi Heng sit up and lean against the bed, she watched as he scanned the steaming food with his spiritual sense. A strange emotion suddenly stirred in his heart.
From the moment he was born, he had never eaten ordinary food. He had been nourished with immortal dew, and as he grew older and gained the ability, he had tasted spiritual foods himself. They were delicious, yes, but he could never truly develop an attachment to them.
After achieving the state of fasting from grains, Yi Heng had never touched such things again.
Now, this was his first time eating the grains of the mortal world.
"Mm, I know."
Su Ling didn't mind his aloofness, her voice still light and cheerful. "You can open your eyes. I don't mind. I was startled before because it was my first time seeing you, but I'll get used to it after a while."
Yi Heng's eyelashes fluttered as he slowly shook his head.
Su Ling shrugged helplessly. She had said her piece, and if he still wasn't willing, then so be it. Picking up Yi Heng's bowl, she mixed a piece of cauliflower with rice and brought it to his lips, asking expectantly, "How does it taste?"
Yi Heng's lips moved slightly as he carefully savored the food in his mouth.
In terms of pure deliciousness, it couldn't compare to the spiritual foods he had tasted before. After all, his sensitive palate detected impurities in the rice. The cauliflower had been grown with a trace of spiritual energy, but it was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Yet, as Yi Heng ate, he found it delicious. The warm meal, prepared with care, had just the right balance of saltiness, a generous amount of oil, and a hint of some unusual seasoning that added flavor to the dish. Mixed with the rice, it filled his stomach with warmth, and the lingering taste on his tongue made him instinctively want to take another bite.
"Very delicious," Yi Heng nodded, just as Su Ling thought she wouldn't get a response. His jade-like face, with its pale, thin lips now glistening with oil, seemed to lose much of its usual aloofness.
Su Ling raised an eyebrow proudly. "Of course! My cooking skills are excellent."
This was the only dignity she had as an overworked office worker. During her busiest, most frantic times, only good food could soothe her soul. Even if she had to stay up until one or two in the morning, Su Ling would always spare half an hour to cook herself a warm meal.
Though simple, it brought her peace.
As an ordinary person struggling to make a living in a big city, fighting to pay off her mortgage, she often felt like a robot. Only when she ate did she feel human!
Naturally, her cooking skills were top-notch!
Yi Heng nodded as if agreeing with her, while continuing to eat without pause. He opened his mouth to accept a slice of cured sausage.
The sausage was a bit salty and tough, but the more he chewed, the more flavorful it became. Just as he felt it was getting too salty, a mouthful of rice was offered, perfectly balancing the saltiness and making everything just right.
In a short time, he finished a whole bowl of rice and even felt a twinge of regret that it was over.
As he hesitated about whether to ask for more, Su Ling, who had been feeding him, shook her slightly sore arm and frowned slightly. He swallowed the words and said softly, "Thank you. It was delicious."
"You're welcome." Su Ling smiled and waved her hand, then carried the dish outside. It wouldn’t be polite to eat in front of others, would it? That would be too awkward.
But after holding back for so long, Su Ling had already swallowed her saliva several times before even taking a bite. So she moved with extra speed, quickly making her way to the main room and starting to eat her rice.
She hadn’t added any extra salt, the savory flavor of the cured sausage had melded into the cauliflower, which had been stir-fried until soft and tender. Eating it now was absolutely delicious to the extreme.
After just one bite, Su Ling let out a satisfied sigh, her little head swaying gently and her slender legs dangling in the air, swinging happily back and forth. Even while eating lunch, she was already looking forward to the next meal.
The two puppies, with their even more sensitive noses, had long been drooling over the aroma. They ran to Su Ling’s feet, yapping eagerly, their dark, shiny eyes fixed on her in unison, with suspicious liquid dripping from the corners of their mouths.

Waking up from her nap, Su Ling finished washing up and rubbed her slightly hungry stomach. She watched the morning sunlight spill into the courtyard, casting a golden glow that was incredibly beautiful.
It also stirred something in her mind, reminding her of the cauliflower she had accelerated yesterday.
It was the first time she had done something that defied her previous understanding of the world, but instead of the fear she had worried about, she accepted it quite well. So she remained calm and unfazed, if there were benefits, she would simply embrace them. Since she could accelerate plant growth, her focus naturally fell on food.
One cauliflower could last for several meals, so there was no need to grow a second one just yet. Su Ling turned her attention to lettuce.
Following the same method, she closed her eyes, cleared her thoughts, and focused on nothing but sensing the world around her.
At first, she couldn’t quite get into the right state and didn’t feel anything. But after a while, Su Ling could distinctly sense threads of energy rushing eagerly from the air into her body.
The only catch was that these energies were extremely subtle. If she hadn’t fully immersed herself, emptying her mind and merging with the world, she probably wouldn’t have noticed them at all.
As Su Ling absorbed this energy, she felt as if she had become one with the universe. Everything around her felt incredibly familiar and intimate. She could even sense the emotions of a little bird that had casually landed in her courtyard.
At that moment, it was chirping: [Tweet, so hungry I want to eat worms.]
And then there were the chicks she was raising, scrambling to eat the last bits of leftover rice. One chick was particularly possessive of its food. When it noticed another chick trying to snatch the food near its beak, it chirped angrily several times: [Don’t eat mine! Don’t you have your own?]
[Sorry!] The scolded chick, good-naturedly, rubbed its neck against the other and moved aside a little.
The other chicks continued eating on their own, their minds filled with nothing but: [So tasty, so tasty]
Su Ling's two little dogs were lounging lazily on the ground, basking in the sun with their eyes half-closed, occasionally letting out low growls from their throats.
It sounded like they were just making noise unintentionally, but at this moment, Su Ling could understand what they were saying: [The meat yesterday was so delicious, our owner is the best!]
[I want more, I wonder if our owner will make it again tonight.]
Su Ling was also influenced, reminiscing about last night's stir-fried preserved meat with cauliflower, and couldn't help but salivate a little. With that, she snapped out of her immersive state.
The moment she opened her eyes, she looked at her hands and, sure enough, she was holding two small, faint energy clusters in each palm. For a moment, she was astonished.
This was quite a bit more than yesterday.
However, Su Ling's surprise was nothing compared to Yi Heng's. As a cultivator, he knew better than anyone how beneficial the state of meditation was for a practitioner. While in that state, one could gain insights, and the bottlenecks on the path of cultivation would lessen significantly. It was a rare and sought-after state in the cultivation world.
Yet, in just two days, Su Ling had easily entered this state twice.
Yi Heng, sensing this with his spiritual awareness, felt a lingering shock in his dark eyes and couldn't help but form an idea.

After a brief moment of astonishment, Su Ling cupped the two faint energy clusters in her hands. These were what she had gathered during her recent meditative state. These energies surged chaotically within her body, helping to repair some of her hidden injuries and improving her overall condition, but there was an excess.
Su Ling had a feeling that if she didn't find a place to store them, they would go to waste. So, she decisively chose to hold them in her hands.
The energy clusters were faint, after all, this was the mortal world, where spiritual energy had long been depleted by humans, leaving only a thin layer barely sustaining life. No matter how talented she was, she could only accumulate this much.
Su Ling returned to the small vegetable patch in the courtyard, placing her hands on the newly sprouted lettuce, one cluster per plant.
Just like before, the moment the faint energy clusters touched the lettuce, the plants began to grow rapidly, as if fast-forwarded dozens of times.
In just a few breaths, the energy clusters were used up, but two heads of lettuce had fully grown. Their tender green leaves seemed to glow in the sunlight, and though it hadn't rained, tiny droplets adorned the lettuce leaves, making them appear even more fresh and succulent.
Even without tasting it, Su Ling could sense its sweetness.
Swallowing her saliva, she glanced at the sky, plucked one head of lettuce, used half of it for noodles, and set the rest aside.
Before making the noodles, she asked Yi Heng if he wanted some.
After a long period of recovery, Yi Heng was now in much better condition than the day before. He could even sit up on his own, and a hint of color had returned to his once deathly pale face. However, his eyes remained closed. Hearing her question, he nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
His voice was clear and gentle. Looking at him, Su Ling felt a momentary illusion that he wasn't a pursued demon lord but a polite young master from a noble family.

The ordinary noodles were elevated by the addition of the lettuce, instantly enhancing their flavor. Su Ling also mixed in a bit of chili oil. After finishing her meal, she was sweating profusely but felt immensely satisfied.
The only downside was that the household supplies were running low. There was no refrigerator here, and since it was only September, the weather wasn't particularly cold yet. They couldn't stock up on too many perishable items, or they would spoil. So, Su Ling needed to go to the market.
Before leaving, she said goodbye to Yi Heng: "I'm going to the town to buy some things. Do you need anything?"
Yi Heng shook his head: "No, but buy a little extra. It's about to rain, and we won't be able to go out for a while."
"Alright." Su Ling nodded, slung a basket over her back, instructed the two dogs to guard the house, and sprinkled some medicinal powder at the door to prevent theft before heading out.
The pale gray long skirt she wore had been modified by the original owner, the originally impractical wide sleeves were altered to narrow ones, the skirt was shortened considerably, and paired with long boots and a basket on her back, she moved with remarkable agility.
But this time, she had only taken a few steps away from the cool shade of the forest and into the warmth of the sunlight when Su Ling suddenly heard a faint groan of pain.