Piao gestured towards the bowl in front of Feng Qishi.
In the heavenly realm, the old gentleman always told Feng Qishi that wasting food was shameful. Even the worst-tasting food was a treasure in the eyes of the poor.
Therefore, wasting food was forbidden.
Remembering the old gentleman's words, Feng Qishi braced himself and began to eat the terribly bitter porridge and bland, tasteless vegetables.
Piao shivered and continued watering the flowers.
Mu Anxiao had also heard from Zhang Yan about the old gentleman's teachings to his disciples, so she wasn't worried that Feng Qishi would waste the porridge and vegetables.
Instead, she wondered why a devilish figure like Shen Xian would be injured by a monster.
Logically, wasn't he very powerful?
However, she was also quite relieved that her porridge and vegetables hadn't been sent to Shen Xian. If Shen Xian had eaten them, he probably would have been furious!
With that thought, she returned to the kitchen.
Seeing Mu Anxiao return and noticing her empty hands, Xiang Nang asked, "Where are those things?"
"Fed to the pigs."
"Fed to the pigs?" Xiang Nang repeated, frowning. "Are there pigs here?"
"Yes, they were just let out from the woodshed."
Listening to Mu Anxiao's reply, Xiang Nang intuitively understood who the pigs in Mu Anxiao's words referred to.
Then, she said nervously, "You went to find Feng Qishi again."
"I didn't look for him, we just met."
"You can't interact with him anymore, do you understand?"
"I know. Speaking of which, why are you so nervous?"
"If I'm not nervous, I'd be a ghost. Shen Xian just left."
"And then?"
"He asked where you went."
"Oh."
"Why aren't you nervous?"
"Why should I be nervous?"
"..." Xiang Nang didn't know how to talk to Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao couldn't be bothered to argue with Xiang Nang about these issues, so she walked to the stove, looked down at the pots, bowls, and basins that Xiang Nang had cleaned, and asked, "Did you seriously make this breakfast?" As she spoke, she turned to look at Xiang Nang.
Hearing this, Xiang Nang turned to Mu Anxiao and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing specific, I just wanted to say... that..." Mu Anxiao gave a dry laugh, "the taste was a bit strange."
"You tasted it?"
Mu Anxiao didn't want to admit to sneaking a taste, but seeing Xiang Nang's nervous expression, she grudgingly said, "Uh-huh, I just took a bite."
"You..."
"If it had tasted good, I wouldn't have..." Mu Anxiao didn't know why, but she wanted to laugh, "fed it to the pigs!"
"....." Seeing Mu Anxiao's silly expression, Xiang Nang couldn't help but smile.
Mu Anxiao asked, "What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing, I just felt like smiling."
These recipes were all made by Gu An for Shen Xian.
At that time, Shen Xian had told Gu An that he had no sense of taste. She didn't believe him, so she casually made a simple breakfast.
That first breakfast was porridge and vegetables.
That day, to expose Shen Xian's lie, she deliberately burnt the congee and stir-fried some vegetables very roughly, forgetting to add salt.
Despite such a dish, Shen Xian ate it with great relish.
Watching him eat, Gu An was dumbfounded. She then snatched the rice bowl from Shen Xian's hand and drank the last mouthful of porridge in one go.
At that moment, she believed his words.
Mu Anxiao looked at the slight curve of Xiang Nang's lips and asked, "Are you remembering... your master?"
Xiang Nang felt there was no need to hide anything and nodded, "Yes, I remembered my master."
"Your master," Mu Anxiao guessed based on Xiang Nang's smile, "didn't also taste that porridge, did she?"
"She did."
"Did she spit it out?"
"No, because she said she couldn't waste food," Xiang Nang said, recalling Gu An's bitter expression at the time, and smiled. "She forced herself to swallow that porridge."
"What was Shen Xian's reaction?"
"Shen Xian," Xiang Nang withdrew her smile and lowered her gaze, saying, "He had no sense of taste."
"....." Mu Anxiao froze for a moment and repeated, "No sense of taste?"
"Master didn't believe him, which is why she tasted it. From then on, Master began to try every possible method to help him recover, but," Xiang Nang shook her head slightly, "it was all useless."
"Useless!"
Listening to Xiang Nang's words, Mu Anxiao inexplicably felt a pang of sadness.
In the rear garden, Feng Qishi had just finished the dreadful food. Suddenly, his head began to ache intensely. Lowering his gaze slightly, a young boy suddenly appeared in his mind.
The boy was fair-skinned and clean, looking very much like... Shen Xian!
Afterward, Shen Yan's childhood also appeared.
In his memory, they played and roughhoused together.
The boy said he had no sense of taste and could eat anything.
He didn't believe it.
The boy then said he could eat the most bitter immortal pills without any change in his expression.
He still didn't believe it.
Later, to prove his words, the boy ran to the alchemy furnace, used magic to extract an immortal pill, and then ate it in front of him.
As Feng Qishi recalled that scene, sweat began to break out on his forehead.
Seeing this, Piao was startled and asked, "What's wrong?"
As he was about to step forward, Shen Xian suddenly appeared behind him, "Don't come any closer."
Hearing this, Piao stopped, turned to look at Shen Xian, and asked, "Did you poison him?"
"I don't have the inclination for that." Saying that, Shen Xian focused his gaze on the back of Feng Qishi's head.
Feng Qishi, however, did not notice Shen Xian's presence. Gradually, the boy reappeared in his mind.
Only this time, the boy collapsed.
He was terrified at the time and squatted beside the boy, crying.
Finally, the master saved the boy.
The boy admitted that the immortal pill he had eaten tasted sweet.
Because of his deception, the boy truly lost his sense of taste from then on.
The outcome was always so sad.
Feng Qishi clenched his fists and, at the same time, sensed Shen Xian, asking, "That boy, was it you?"
Shen Xian said, "Because of the blood lantern, you finally remembered me."
"....."
Feng Qishi couldn't believe that Shen Xian had been so close to him back then.
At this moment, he began to wonder what had happened between Shen Xian and his master.
Immediately, Shen Xian stepped forward and squatted behind Feng Qishi. "Junior brother, I'm sorry for deceiving you back then." He placed his hand on Feng Qishi's shoulder.
Feng Qishi: "....."
Piao looked at Shen Xian and Feng Qishi, completely bewildered, and said, "Shen Xian, is this real or fake?"
After yesterday's events, Piao didn't believe Shen Xian would be kind to Feng Qishi, so he spoke out for Feng Qishi's safety.
Then, Shen Xian pushed himself up on his knees and said, "You don't understand our affairs." After speaking, he glanced at Piao, stepped forward, and brushed past him as he walked away.
Feng Qishi relaxed his clenched fists and looked down at the tray, saying, "I never thought I'd remember that past event because of a bowl of bitter white porridge." He then gave a bitter laugh.