“Master, this river is very shallow. Even if you jumped in, you’d only smash your head bloody. It’s very far from your wish to drown in vast azure waves. This disciple advises you—if you want to jump, first buy a fine horse, gallop east for eight hundred li, then find a place with beautiful scenery, azure seawater, and very high cliffs before jumping down. First, only then would you actually die; second, only then would it match Master’s romantic elegance and status as beloved by thousands…” Someone suddenly spoke from behind. Fang Pingzhai had somehow finished playing a tune and was standing leisurely behind him.

Liu Yan remained unmoved. He was long accustomed to Fang Pingzhai’s nonsensical chatter, but as soon as Fang Pingzhai spoke, he suddenly realized his mind had wandered very far. What he’d been thinking about was already very distant from the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills antidote. He had deviated from his direction again. If only he had A’Li’s willpower, but he didn’t.

“Master—Master—” Fang Pingzhai circled around him twice. “Tonight do you want to eat roasted chicken or roasted fish? There’s rice in the house, but with just us two big men, cooking with firewood is too troublesome. And your good disciple’s roasting skills are absolutely peerless and unrivaled…”

“Shut up!” Liu Yan said impatiently. After a while, he asked flatly, “What do you want to eat?”

“Master, do you have the patience to make fish porridge? Haha, the taste of the fish porridge you made last time was truly mesmerizing.” Fang Pingzhai had a red feather fan stuck behind his neck and drumsticks in his hands. Hearing this, he spun the drumsticks around his wrists a few times, knowing Liu Yan planned to cook tonight. Though this master’s face was ugly and cold, and his temper gloomy and harsh, he was actually kind-hearted. As long as you pestered him with demands, saying them once, twice, three times, four times, no matter what the request, he would eventually agree.

Master is a good person…

Fang Pingzhai hummed a little tune, sitting by the stream fishing. If there were no Zhu Yan in this world, if Master became a beautiful woman, this kind of life could continue forever, until his sons bore sons and grandsons bore grandsons…

Liu Yan lit the firewood in the house. He was never good at this kind of work. Every time he lit a fire, he created thick smoke that filled the entire room. Today was no exception. By the time Fang Pingzhai caught his fourth fish, he finally got the fire lit and discovered that the reason it wouldn’t light was that Fang Pingzhai had stuffed ice and snow-laden branches into the stove together. The melted snow soaked the firewood, so it wouldn’t light and produced thick smoke. He was somewhat annoyed, unsure if Fang Pingzhai had done it intentionally, but after being angry for a while, his anger dissipated on its own.

Fang Pingzhai wasn’t bad to him. Though he only wanted to learn sound-killing techniques, at least this was someone who rarely troubled him and didn’t get angry even when frequently subjected to his displaced anger.

He set up the clay pot, added the soaked rice, and while standing by the stove, spent most of his time in a daze.

When A’Shui entered Jihe Manor, what she saw was a house full of white smoke. Fang Pingzhai was happily fishing by the stream while waves of half-black, half-white cooking smoke drifted from the house’s window cracks, chimney, and main door. She was startled. Yu Tuan’er’s eyes widened. When they rushed into the kitchen together, they saw Liu Yan cooking porridge.

He didn’t care that the fire under the stove wasn’t burning vigorously, nor did he care about the black and white smoke filling the room. He just stood by the stove, gazing at a pot of gently bubbling rice grains.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Yu Tuan’er laughed and rushed over to grab his hand. “Is it done yet? I’m hungry.” Liu Yan was startled and turned around to see A’Shui holding Fengfeng standing in the doorway, while Yu Tuan’er smiled at him. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

Fengfeng was choking on the smoke-filled room, coughing continuously. Her tiny fingers pointed at Liu Yan as she glared and called out “Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad…” A’Shui couldn’t help but smile. “Let me handle this.” She handed Fengfeng to Yu Tuan’er and said gently, “You two go for a walk. I’ll call you when the porridge is ready.”

Liu Yan’s expression was unclear, but his eyes shifted between joy and anger. Suddenly he said coldly, “Did Tang Lici send you here?”

Yu Tuan’er cheered, “Yes! I originally thought he was a bad person! But it turns out he’s a good person. He had Brother Yu bring us here!” She looked at the pot of half-cooked porridge. “What are you making? You can cook too?” She held Fengfeng and moved toward the pot. Fengfeng kept coughing, and Liu Yan suddenly threw down the ladle and walked outside with his crutch.

Yu Tuan’er immediately followed behind him. Liu Yan limped along while she supported him with one hand and held Fengfeng with the other, her steps light and swift as a swallow.

They went into the forest outside the door.

A’Shui pulled out the damp firewood and scooped some water from the water jar to soak the smoking wood. The kitchen’s smoke lessened considerably, and when it cleared, everything around suddenly seemed spacious. She stoked the fire higher, covered the pot, and looked around. The kitchen had not a single vegetable, no eggs or onions and ginger. A bottle of salt and a jug of oil sat forlornly on the counter, salt spilled everywhere, oil covering most of the stove.

She suddenly felt very warm, wanting to laugh, but only raised her eyebrows slightly. After a while, that urge to laugh transformed into faint sorrow. She remembered Liu Yan’s original face, his commanding arrogance and willful cruelty at Fengliu Shop. He had been adored and admired by countless young women. His qin, his xiao, his pipa, his poetic and artistic talents…

He had once been only one step away from ruling the jianghu.

Now he was disfigured and disabled, his martial arts completely lost. He stood by the stove cooking porridge, yet harbored no resentment.

The flame’s temperature under the stove slowly rose. She felt warm again, and memories deeply buried in her heart seemed to be drawn out strand by strand with this warmth. The fierce and arrogant Liu Yan imprinted in her memory gradually faded, and that cold child deeply hidden in her heart also seemed gradually forgettable. He… could make people feel even warmer than Tang Lici, though perhaps he himself didn’t know it.

The porridge in the pot bubbled and jumped. She lifted the lid and stirred slowly with a ladle. Fang Pingzhai brought in a string of live fish. She smiled slightly at him, and Fang Pingzhai smiled back. “Beauty, beauty…” He scaled and gutted the fish by himself. “I caught seven live fish. Roast the big ones, use the small ones for porridge. What do you think?”

A’Shui laughed. “If you don’t mind, we could also make fish soup. Leave it, Brother Fang. I’ll handle it.”

Fang Pingzhai chuckled. “Actually, when Master cooks personally, the food tastes quite good. I thought you’d be happy seeing him in the kitchen.”

A’Shui was startled. “Happy?”

Fang Pingzhai laughed heartily. “Don’t women like watching men cook? It shows the man is loving and patient, tender and romantic.”

A’Shui said quietly, “Tender and romantic?” She smiled at Fang Pingzhai. “Actually, I’ve never had expectations about what men should be like.”

“Haha, men…” Fang Pingzhai smiled back. “Really, someone like Master isn’t bad—an overly good person with no schemes, only gets angry at himself. Though he often wants to jump into the sea, he’s constrained by unfinished duties and doesn’t dare…” Before he finished speaking, A’Shui laughed again. “Brother Fang is always so insightful.” She sighed slightly. “I used to think Liu Yan wasn’t good. He was too willful, disregarding others’ thoughts, sometimes seeming not to care about anyone’s life or death. When he commanded those white-robed servants and red-robed servants, he was so cold it was as if those women weren’t risking their lives for him. He should have been a very callous person.” After a pause, she said quietly, “But actually he’s not. I think he just wanted to learn Young Master Tang’s skill at manipulating the winds and clouds, wanted to learn his ruthlessness, but… he only ended up harming himself and others.”

“Haha,” Fang Pingzhai circled halfway around her, facing the door. “Others harmed by him merely die, but he harms himself yet doesn’t even dare to die.”

He walked away just like that.

A’Shui watched his retreating figure. Brother Fang was a mysterious person. Though his martial arts couldn’t be called invincible, both Yu Konghou and Gui Mudan hoped he would join Fengliu Shop.

Why was that? Brother Fang was clearly gentle with people. Perhaps he had other purposes for many things, but he bore no ill will toward anyone.

Why did Yu Konghou and Gui Mudan insist that such a person join Fengliu Shop?