Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 14

Qin Su-liu’s sleeping quarters, the Guanyu Xiaxie (Fish-Watching Pavilion).

Yue Ting-xi knew that what the wealthy aristocratic family called “simple home-style dishes” was just a humble statement.

The maids brought dish after dish, quickly filling the table, and then presented a bowl of clean tea for rinsing mouths and a basin of water for washing hands, serving them for the pre-meal ritual.

When the covered bowls were unveiled one by one, Yue Ting-xi immediately caught a strong fishy smell.

Subconsciously, she looked over and saw a plate of bright red sweet and sour mandarin fish, next to which were steamed crabs, stir-fried assorted seafood, and deep-fried crispy fish. Although there were many vegetarian dishes, the fishy smell still overpowered most of the other aromas.

The fishy smell, along with the red-braised sauce, brought back Yue Ting-xi’s memories from before she died, causing her to frown slightly.

She originally thought that this would make her feel sick and nauseous, or even lose her composure, but to her surprise, her stomach grumbled first. The hunger stirred by the table of good food kept reminding her: no matter what, that was all in her last life.

She had to properly avenge her great enemy, and she also had to eat properly!

So she reached directly for a crab with her chopsticks. Without waiting for the maid to bring the scissors, she “snapped” the crab claws and legs with her bare hands, lifted the shell, removed the inedible internal organs, scooped a spoonful of red vinegar mixed with minced garlic and ginger, and tried a mouthful of the crab roe.

The moment the first bite of crab roe entered her mouth, her eyes lit up before she had even chewed a few times.

Even when she was a puppet, she had eaten many times, but at that time, everything tasted bland. She didn’t know if this was because she was heartbroken, or if it was the effect of the puppet sorcery or the disguise spell.

Now, she could finally taste food!

With the appetizing red vinegar, Yue Ting-xi quickly finished one crab. She licked her lips, still wanting more, and then picked up her chopsticks, hesitating between another crab and the sweet and sour mandarin fish.

She remembered Luo Yan-sha mentioning that people in the area around Xuanjing City cooked fish in a sweet style if it was red-braised, and they even added vinegar. She couldn’t help but swallow, and finally reached for the bright red sauce-covered fish, picked up a large piece, rolled it in the sauce again, and put it into her mouth.

The sauce was sweet and slightly sour, and the fish was tender and delicate. It was indeed delicious!

While Yue Ting-xi was eating with great gusto, Qin Su-liu only had some vegetarian dishes and did not touch the stir-fried bok choy with garlic.

The stir-fried bok choy was sprinkled with a layer of fiery red chili peppers, cut into small segments. The chili peppers, which looked similar to snake tails, made her think of the tail that Yue Ting-xi’s had been severed in her last life.

—She had deliberately asked the chef to prepare more dishes with a strong fishy smell and make them as red as possible. Even the vegetarian dishes had to be paired with more red ingredients. She wanted to use this opportunity to probe what she cared about the most, but when she actually sat at the table, she was so sad that she couldn’t eat.

But if she didn’t touch any of the meat dishes, she was afraid it would make Yue Ting-xi worried… no, more likely, suspicious.

Before Yue Ting-xi noticed her abnormality, Qin Su-liu reached for the stir-fried assorted seafood, which had a milder fishy smell and color, and picked up a shrimp.

However, in her eyes, the curled-up shrimp turned into a bruised and battered Yue Ting-xi curled up in a pool of blood.

She looked away. As she opened her mouth to bite into the soft shrimp, her mind replayed the scene of her personally piercing Yue Ting-xi’s nape with her curved blade.

There wasn’t much of a struggle. The snake demon, who was already on her last breath from the torture of the Demon-Locking Platform, quickly stopped breathing in her arms.

Before the unease and panic could surge up again, Qin Su-liu swallowed the shrimp whole.

Afterward, she wolfed down a lot of meat dishes, and even peeled a crab, numbly imitating Yue Ting-xi’s actions, and ate it all with the fragrant vinegar, pretending to enjoy the meal.

The maid with the scissors wanted to speak several times to remind her—the young mistress usually used scissors to eat crabs—but seeing that her young mistress was uncharacteristically quiet while eating, she assumed that she didn’t want to disturb the distinguished guest’s interest, so she just held the scissors and stood quietly by the side.

After eating half a bowl of Lingmi (Spirit Rice), Yue Ting-xi felt that something was not quite right with the atmosphere.

It was too quiet. Was Young Mistress Qin such a quiet person?

Even when she was performing the acupuncture treatment just now, she would use the isolation spell to block the courtesan’s ears and chat with her intermittently.

But then she remembered the human rule of “no talking while eating, no talking while sleeping” and felt that it was fine to not say a word at the dinner table.

Anyway, Young Mistress Qin had a straightforward personality. Whatever she had to say, whether it was appropriate or not, as long as she was willing to speak, she would probably tell her at the right time.

“Miss Ting-xi, are the dishes to your liking?”

Just as she was pondering this, she heard Young Mistress Qin speak.

Yue Ting-xi immediately used the words she had prepared long ago: “Of course! Your family’s chef must be top-notch. Just smelling the aroma made me greedy, and eating it, it is indeed a delicacy!”

“A delicacy should be paired with fine wine.” Qin Su-liu turned to a maid on the side and handed her a storage bag. “Go and fetch the ‘Xishan Zi’ I buried under the peach tree.”

“Xishan Zi?” Yue Ting-xi was always sensitive to her mountain’s name.

“It’s similar to the ‘Xishan Hongpao’ you drank today,” Qin Su-liu leisurely explained. “The difference is the protagonist of the legend. One is a tea-picker who strayed into Xishan, and the other is a winemaker who strayed into Xishan.”

“…Our Xishan is not that easy to enter.” With no one else around, Yue Ting-xi dared to speak softly about her hometown. “‘Xishan Hongpao’ that can be bought at the Linglong Pavilion is usually from the great demons in the mountain who actively do business with humans.”

She even helped out in one of the great demon’s tea gardens!

“Then before me, have you done business with other humans?” Qin Su-liu asked curiously, following the conversation.

“Almost never. At most, I’d ask Sha-sha to help me sell some freshly picked fruits or mugwort to earn a little money for snacks.” Yue Ting-xi said with certainty.

She always prioritized cultivation. Too much or too little money could easily lead to desires, so enough was sufficient.

The maid quickly returned with the “Xishan Zi.” Qin Su-liu ordered her to retreat, broke the mud seal, and poured a cup for Yue Ting-xi first.

Yue Ting-xi dared to drink realgar wine, so she naturally wouldn’t refuse a little fine wine. She thanked Young Mistress Qin, took the cup, and drained it in one gulp.

As the wine flowed down her throat, she tasted a familiar, light fragrance, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“…This is wine steeped with curry leaf?!” She put down the cup and looked at Qin Su-liu in astonishment.

“Yes. Curry leaf can invigorate qi, relieve pain, and promote blood circulation. When steeped in wine, it’s effective for both internal and external use.” Qin Su-liu nodded.

“But the curry leaf blooms white flowers, so why isn’t it called ‘Xishan Bai’ but ‘Xishan Zi’?” Yue Ting-xi, who loved curry leaf the most, was immediately intrigued.

“This wine was brewed on a clear evening and buried under a peach tree,” Qin Su-liu explained quietly, looking at her. “At that time, the sky was all dyed purple by the sunset, and even Xishan, which is closest to the heavens, was no exception.”

“I see. So humans have to make up a story to sell wine these days!” Yue Ting-xi nodded in understanding.

Qin Su-liu smiled faintly and didn’t tell her that she had brewed the wine herself. She just patted the wine jar. “Since you like it, how about a few more cups?”

“That’s not necessary. When I get drunk, I like to coil my snake tail all over the floor. It would be bad if I were discovered.” Yue Ting-xi quickly declined.

“It’s fine. This is my sleeping quarters. No one can enter without my permission.” Qin Su-liu said as she poured a full cup of wine into Yue Ting-xi’s glass.

“That’s still not good. Don’t you have a problem with my tail?” Yue Ting-xi still felt it was inappropriate and continued to make excuses.

“I have no problem with it, as long as it doesn’t coil around me,” Qin Su-liu retorted.

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