>to pay attention to<

The nearest town was a few days away worth a walk and there was no village in between for them to seek shelter thus, the newly formed duo had to spend the nights in the forest. For days, the earth was their bed and the sky was their ceiling.

Despite that, thanks to Bai BingLu’s thorough preparation, their days in the forest were very comfortable. Ji Shen was able to have three meals a day, with a proper bowl of rice and 2 dishes. He could still remember what the Bai’s young lady had said when he offered to roast the fishes they caught.

"Just because we sleep in the forest, doesn't mean we should eat like animals too."

Bai BingLu even gagged at his suggestion. Apparently just simply roasting it was not enough for her. The fishes were later cleaned properly with lime to remove the smell and then cook with spices in a wok Bai BingLu brought out of her storage. 

That was how Ji Shen discovered that food was very important to the members of Bai Jia. It was to the point they would bring spices and cooking utensils everywhere. Delicious food was essential to them.  It heals their worn soul, keeping their humanity intact. 

So as long as they were camping away from civilization, Bai BingLu was in charge of cooking. Ji Shen only had to watch the rice cooking and chew on the candies that Bai BingLu gave to him. It was neither sweet nor bitter; it suited his taste just right.

The last night before they reached the town was the same. Bai BingLu was beating herself to cook 3 different dishes for the two of them in the forest. Two of the dishes had a mild and soft taste, a taste that she was not so fond of but would eat to clean her bowl. If it was up to her, she would rather not have such a mild meal but Ji Shen’s tastebud and stomach could not bear the strong taste that she liked. So as an adult who was in charge of the child’s wellbeing, she had to cater to him. 

There was no talking during eating, that was one rule Ji Shen learnt. Concentrate on the food, chew and savour the taste. Enjoy the blood, sweat and tears of the farmer to provide them with the ingredients. Appreciate the hard work of the chef who turned the valuable ingredients into wonderful food that supply them with spirits and energy.

They ate in silence, with only the sounds of cicadas and the occasional wind blowing serving as the white noises in the background. 

It was the last night they would camp outside. 

There was a small feeling of joy when one is expecting to enter civilization after being surrounded with trees and animals. But there was a small worry in Ji Shen’s child brain.

Would Bai BingLu still cook even when they are not camping?

The answer was no.

As soon as they reached the town, Bai BingLu’s wok disappeared from Ji Shen’s sight. Instead, they ate at the restaurant near their inn. Ji Shen was not satisfied.

“It’s not as good as Lu-jie’s cooking.”

Bai BingLu’s chopstick stopped digging into the meat. Sure, the food was more inferior than what she can produce but she got a reason to visit the restaurant.

“Restaurant isn’t just good for its food.”

Bai BingLu had read a lot of novels during her ‘closed-door cultivation’, she knew that restaurant was the place where every major plot point happened. Usually, it was where a character could overhear or eavesdropped to discover important information. The lady was hoping to get some juicy gossip about the cultivation world, just to satisfy her needs to be a bit of a busybody. But then, it didn’t harm her to be updated about the society she belonged to.

Particularly, she was interested in the group of men that were talking spiritedly with each other like gossiping aunties. Bai BingLu leaned toward the boy and whispered, “Pay attention.”

“Did you hear that Yu Yan caught a Xiangliu? Wah, that guy is too impressive!”

“Wait, he caught it alive? That thing is so wild, how???”

“I bet he used some backhanded method! I heard that the village near the hunting ground disappeared completely!”

“Eh… Sounds like he sacrificed them to get the beast.”

“Exactly!”

“Damn, so heartless. Just as expected from a top cultivator….”

“Speaking about that, did you know that Tu Huo Long’s disciple went rogue?”

Ji Shen almost choked on his dumpling. Those guys really changed their topic fast!

“What went rogue, he became a devil cultivator!”

“It was rare enough that Tu Huo Long accepted an outsider, yet he went into that path? Wah, so damn grateful!” 

“I heard that was not the first time an outsider entered Tu Jia and became a devil, you know?” 

“There’s another one aside from Ji -”

“Devil that, devil this! Have you guys got nothing else to talk about than bad-mouthing others!”

Before one of the guys could even finish his sentence, someone yelled. 

a/n: I have a short hiatus because of the new semester had just started. Just realised how much I hate studying after months of internship lel