The empire of Yan Shun(赝舜) seemingly shines as a gem next to all others. This empire lies along a great river, Long Yanlei(龙眼泪) which is said to hold the remnants of a great dragon blessing the people with great spirit. While all people hold spirit...
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The next morning, Wanglei got up with little enthusiasm. He made his way over to the kitchen with the same bored expressionless face. The kitchen was fairly empty now, considering most had left for their patrol duty or training, yet Wanglei stood there by himself, waiting for his job to start. How could Lijie assign him such a mediocre job?
He was about to head back to bed to pass the next few hours until an old lady came out from the pantry room.
"Ah, I thought I had served everyone. I'm sorry for making you wait. Please sit down, sit down. I will start a special dish just for you, young man."
Sitting down near the kitchen fire, Wanglei looked around the dining room while he waited. The kitchen was less impressive in comparison to the rest of the house, but it was very obviously the kitchen of a noble family. Wanglei couldn't remember the last time he had sat in a working kitchen. The old woman brought out ingredients and began cooking while attempting conversation.
" What brought you in so late? Did you sleep in or have night patrol?"
" I am guarding the eldest daughter."
"Oh, Huang Huixin! How lucky. She often stops by to have my personal cooking so you know it is good. I see her as my own granddaughter," the old lady said, whispering the last part.
Wanglei continued to sit there barely listening.
"I hope you take great care of her, she is quite... delicate."
"I will do my job." Wanglei responded. Perhaps he should have skipped breakfast.
"Well then, I hope you are good at it. Here is your dish, be sure to eat it while it is hot," the old lady said while handing a simple porridge over.
Wanglei took the dish and was about to dig in but couldn't ignore the old lady's eyes on him. Even after catching her gaze, the old lady didn't break her gaze from him.
"...Thank you... for the food." He said, hoping she would leave him to eat in peace.
"Oh don't be bothered by me. I just enjoy knowing my food is to people's liking, please eat," She urged.
Easier said than done Wanglei thought as he began to eat.
"Well, what do you think? Do you like my cooking?" The old lady questioned.
It all tastes the same, Wanglei thought, food is food. "It is good" was what Wanglei settled on.
"Ah, just say nothing if you aren't going to mean what you say, your face tells me everything," the old lady said in annoyance while scanning over the other.
Would you leave me alone if I stopped answering, Wanglei thought.
"You know, if you try so hard to show no reaction, you will eventually lose all reactions," she advised.
