Chapter 22 – The Empty Plate (Patreon)

With the influx of gifts and a generous three months’ worth of contribution points—fifty per month—from the administrative hall, Lynn Naya’s finances had grown considerably. She now had over 1,600 contribution points, not to mention the large stash of grain at home.

After counting her savings, Lynn Naya first contributed a portion of her grain to the communal stores. Since she planned on spending most of her days in the herb forest, this grain was her “fine” for shirking her duties.

Next, she paid Xue Yong to make her a large wooden tub for storing the cold pond water.

Finally, she added two more cooking utensils to the kitchen and gathered as many seasonings as she could. From now on, she would bring her lunch to the mountain so she could eat to her heart’s content.

With her preparations complete, Lynn Naya began her daily pilgrimage to the cold pond.

Every day, she would go to the cold pond at three specific times, staying for no more than ten minutes.

She had seen Zhou Feibai—the young boy, she had asked for his name later—once, but from a distance. She didn’t know if he had noticed her, but she couldn’t be too proactive. She had to wait for him to come to her. The nature of being sought out was different from actively seeking someone out. Plus, if possible, she hoped they could meet in private.

In the daily cycle of fetching water, watering plants, and cultivating, Lynn Naya wasn’t expecting to see Zhou Feibai. Instead, a strange person appeared.

This day, Lynn Naya was preparing her lunch.

There was a simple tree hollow and a stove left behind by a previous medicinal farmer. The stove could be used to cook food, even to boil water and make soup.

Today, she brought rice, wild vegetables, and a wild watermelon that was a little bigger than her fist.

The wild vegetables had been mixed with lard. When heated, the lard melted, and a fragrant smell filled the air. She heated the vegetables and then, while they were still hot, she used perilla leaves to roll the vegetables and the freshly cooked bamboo rice into balls. Just as she was about to eat, she froze. A young girl in a red robe had appeared behind her.

The girl looked young, only about fifteen or sixteen. She had no spiritual energy fluctuations, like a mortal, but her robes and accessories were all spirit artifacts, and the spiritual energy fluctuations were very obvious.

Of course, what really put Lynn Naya on alert was that the girl had appeared out of thin air, which was something no ordinary person could do.

While Lynn Naya was still wondering if the girl was a powerful cultivator in disguise, the girl had already walked up to her.

“Hey, how much for your rice ball?” the girl asked, sitting down in front of Lynn Naya. She reached for a rice ball but immediately pulled her hand back, burned. She shook her hand and looked at the chopsticks in Lynn Naya’s hand.

An immortal who is afraid of being burned?

The girl’s actions confused Lynn Naya. She assumed a cultivator wouldn’t be afraid of a little heat.

Lynn Naya, however, was quick to hand the girl the chopsticks. Despite her wariness, she put on a warm, helpful face. “It’s just a meal. If you want it, you can have it. I won’t charge you.”

“No need for that. I don’t take free food.” The girl took the chopsticks, her finger rubbing against a ring on her hand. She threw a shiny stone at Lynn Naya. “Here, this is for the meal.”

Lynn Naya’s heart jumped when she saw the spirit stone. While she was marveling at the girl’s wealth, she played her role and tried to give the stone back. “This is too valuable. I can’t accept it. Please take it back.”

“If I give it to you, you take it.” The girl shoved a rice ball into her mouth impatiently. “My favor is more valuable than this. Don’t bother me while I’m eating!”

Lynn Naya immediately looked intimidated and sat there without saying another word.

The girl didn’t eat gracefully. She was spontaneous and carefree, just like when she had appeared. She wanted to eat, so she came and paid, not caring about what others thought.

The girl finished the entire bamboo rice in less than a quarter of an hour, not even leaving a single wild vegetable leaf behind. She then took the wild watermelon Lynn Naya had brought, gnawing on it as she walked into the depths of the forest, her voice muffled. “I’m full today. I’ll come back next time.”

The girl left as quickly as she came, leaving Lynn Naya bewildered.

If the girl was a powerful cultivator, why was she afraid of being burned? But if she was a mortal, how could she appear out of thin air?

It was a complete contradiction.

Lynn Naya decided not to waste time thinking about it. The girl didn’t seem to have any ill intentions toward her.

After tidying up the stove and cooking utensils, Lynn Naya went into the tree hollow to cultivate. The spirit stone she had just gotten was perfect for her to use since the one she had been using was now gone.

A stone in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Even if the girl or her elders came back for it, she could always say she had sold the pretty stone for a high price in the black market. Since everyone wore masks in the black market, no one would be able to expose her lie.

After half a day, Lynn Naya’s cultivation had improved.

The next day, the girl in the red robe appeared at her usual lunch time.

Lynn Naya just stared at her.

She looked at the girl and then at the baked potato-like vegetable on the bonfire. Lynn Naya was almost certain that the girl was here for her food.

It was puzzling.

The Dao Palace has all kinds of delicacies, so why would a mortal’s food be so appealing?

What Lynn Naya didn’t know was that the Dao Palace disciples didn’t even get to eat real food…

*

Lynn Naya found this out after she finally made contact with Zhou Feibai.

On the third day, when she went to get water, she saw Zhou Feibai cultivating by the side of the creek. He was alone, and it seemed he was waiting for her.

When he heard her approach, Zhou Feibai immediately opened his eyes and leaped in front of her. He looked surprised and happy. “Healer Lynn! It really is you!”

Lynn Naya played her part and looked surprised. “Aren’t you the one who was tested for a spiritual root last year?” She pretended to think and then remembered. “Zhou Feibai?”

Zhou Feibai smiled. “It’s me.”

The boy, who was now twelve or thirteen, had been well-fed. He was no longer a bag of bones and was almost as tall as she was. His teeth were bright and white when he smiled. “I saw you fetching water a few days ago and thought I was seeing things. I came back to cultivate here today and decided to wait a little longer to see if I would run into you again. I can’t believe I actually did.”

“So you were one of the people in the water. I never would have guessed.” Lynn Naya took the opportunity to tell him her schedule. “I’m in charge of the Cold Moon Grass on the mountainside. I come to get water at fixed times every day—just after dawn, at noon, and in the early evening. If you come at those times, you’ll probably see me.”

Then, she steered the conversation in the direction she wanted. “You’re a Dao Palace disciple now. You must need to cultivate, so why are you here?”

“I’m here to cultivate,” Zhou Feibai said. He was still a child, and a little proud. “This cold pond is where we temper our bodies. The closer we get to the source of the pond, the colder the water gets. My senior brother said that when we can stay in the center of the pond, we will have successfully tempered our bodies. It’s been three months, and I can still only stay at the edge.”

“Oh.” Lynn Naya pretended to understand. She was wondering how much water she could take back in her storage bag. “The water is so cold. Won’t it freeze your body? You should be taking medicine to protect your internal organs, or you’ll get an internal injury.”

“No, we can’t take medicine, or it will affect the tempering effect,” Zhou Feibai said. “We are not allowed to be lazy.”

“I see.” No medicine? Even better. Lynn Naya realized she and Zhou Feibai had been talking for a while. She didn’t want to stay too long to avoid any unnecessary trouble. “Then you should continue cultivating. If someone finds out I’m holding you up, I might get into trouble. I’ll be here every day at those three times. If you need anything, you can come and find me then, but it’s best if no one else sees us.”

“Wait!” Zhou Feibai saw that Lynn Naya was about to go get water. He quickly took out a jade bottle and gave it to her. “I wanted to ask you for a favor. This bottle contains Fasting Pills. One pill can keep you from being hungry for a month. Can you please give this to my sister? I wanted to give her other good things, but we don’t have much on the mountain. Spiritual rice is very valuable, and if we eat mortal grain, it will create impurities in our bodies. We can only eat Fasting Pills to keep our bodies pure. This is all I can give her.”

Fasting Pills?

Lynn Naya understood Zhou Feibai’s feelings. She still remembered how skinny he and his sister were.

They had suffered a lot in the past, and now that he was well-fed, he wanted his family to be better off too. He wanted to share the good things he had with them.

They were siblings, the closest people in the world.

However, Lynn Naya didn’t immediately agree. Instead, she asked him, “This is something from the mountain. Won’t you get in trouble if you just give it away?”

“I saved it from my monthly allowance. Even if my senior brother finds out, he probably won’t blame me.” he said, but his voice was not as confident as it was before.

Lynn Naya understood. She took the jade bottle. “Alright, I’ll give it to her, as long as you don’t get punished.” A single warning was enough. She didn’t say anything more. She wasn’t close enough to him to offer more advice yet.

After they finished talking, Lynn Naya picked up her bucket and went to the creek, timing her exit from the cold pond perfectly.

When she finished watering all the Cold Moon Grass, the girl in the red robe appeared at her usual spot.

Since the girl had come the last two days, Lynn Naya had prepared lunch for two.

They ate face to face. The girl wiped her mouth, just as she had the other two days, and left. Lynn Naya cleaned up and began to cultivate.

That night, she didn’t go straight home. She took a detour to the Zhou family’s house.

The Zhou family was doing well now. Because Zhou Feibai had entered the Dao Palace, they now lived in a house with a small courtyard. There was even a pomelo tree in the courtyard, and a passerby could reach out and touch the leaves.

Lynn Naya kind of wanted a courtyard like this too. It was spacious and comfortable. She could raise a cat and a dog, plant some grapes, and transplant her jujube tree to the corner of the courtyard. Imagine picking jujubes while watching the Mid-Autumn moon, or sipping homemade grape wine in the winter—how wonderful that would be.

After a moment of daydreaming in front of the Zhou family’s gate, she heard the two people inside finish their conversation and then knocked on the door.

Soon, the door opened. It was Scarface Qing.