Chapter Text
Jiang Yanli sighed at the Pork lotus root soup that was boiling over the cauldron, occasionally stirring and adding spices as she goes. She scooped a small amount of broth with her wooden ladle, blew it over before tasting it. She blinked at the rich flavor that was dancing on her tongue, staring at the kitchen tool in surprise.
“Oh wow, that was good.” She mumbled. As Shen Yuan, she lived off her life by consuming an unholy amount of instant noodles, and not by choice, hospital food. Heck, she died because of food poisoning, which really doesn’t help her case. As Shen Qingqiu, she ate whatever her disciples laid at her table, and later on, what Luo Binghe laid at her table. Luo Binghe was a Cook™ that could probably win his way through Master Chef if he existed in the modern times. Shen Yuan or Shen Qingqiu? Was definitely not. And now, as Jiang Yanli, who was blessed with a good family background, above than average beauty, fate that she didn’t want to ever consider happening to her future, and golden hands of a master cook that was said to have made every single one within the Yunmeng Jiang admit that the daughter of the fearsome Madam Yu and benevolent Jiang Fengmian was indeed talented--- she was as good as Luo Binghe now. She could probably make her own (reverse) harem with her talent alone.
Jiang Yanli felt very smug for the first time since she was transmigrated all over the place.
She decided that it (her newfound talent) will become a good weapon that she can brandish when the time comes. She should probably use it against the Wen sect (the evil ones). Serve it up to them and poison them to death. That seemed incredibly like what Sha Hualing would do, but no one could slap copyright on her face, could they? After all, Sha Hualing doesn’t exist in this novel.
Speaking of, did the original Jiang Yanli already cook for that peacock, Jin Zixuan? Did that disaster about the misunderstanding between the female servant, her, and Jin Zixuan already happen? How the fuck should she even face Jin Zixuan? Run away at first glance? Look down at the ground while they converse? Damn, if only these people believed in diaries, she wouldn’t have so much trouble.
Using a small burst of energy on the tip of her finger, she flicked it over the flames that was licking the underside of the cauldron, manipulating its blaze into low-heat. The act was familiar for the body, so the original Jiang Yanli mus have done it a lot of times. Ahhh, what she’d do to get a stove. No wonder eating a delicacy in these period and before it was such a big thing-- everything had to be done manually, and a good food has to be made with exact temperature, exact amount of ingredients, and eternal patience. The only good thing was that she was a cultivator, so she could live her life more comfortably than the rest of the masses. Living as a non-cultivator in this period must have been such a pain in the ass.
She washed the ladle and gingerly wiped it with a white towel before putting it back in its rightful place, along with the other kitchen tools. The white cloth was dropped on a small rack to dry. She then headed out of the kitchen, letting the dish boil over on its own. She made it so that the flames will die when the dish was amply and perfectly cooked.
She was about to return to her room to dress up for the occasion that was showing her face to the Carp Tower and probably dying because of the amount of points she will be about to lose due to the dastardly Frozen OOC Function when a series of enthusiastic loud footsteps that was gradually making its way over to hear made its presence known, along with an ecstatic shout of a drawn out “Shijie!~”
【A wild Wei Wuxian has appeared! Σ(°ロ°)】
Jiang Yanli tried not to have a panic attack on the spot. System, what I said about meeting Jin Zixuan first before Wei Wuxian was a joke. I actually didn’t want to meet Wei Wuxian first!
Reminiscent to what she did when she first met Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli slowly turned around and willed herself not to suddenly break down before her shidi or bolt to her room to avoid the confrontation. With a soft smile that she practiced over and over again while cooking earlier, Jiang Yanli turned to face the excited face of one Wei Wuxian down the hall, who was enthusiastically waving an arm overhead in greeting, running over to her and shouting at the same time. The actions reminded her much of Luo Binghe, who can multitask due to excitement. This was giving her extreme anxiety for her life.
“A-Xian! Good morning. Where’s A-Cheng?” She greeted and asked at the same time, unconsciously opening her fan to cover half of her facial expression, like she always did as Shen Qingqiu.
Wei Wuxian blinked adorably, tilting his head and intently looking at the fan, “When did Shijie purchase or been given a paper fan?”
Oh fuck.
【OOC Alert! For acting out of character before the main character of this novel, you will lose -20 kudos. (つω`｡)】
System, you faker! If you truly sympathized with me, I wouldn’t be losing points or even have the OOC Function frozen at all! Jiang Yanli’s fear was overtaken by her anger, but her facial expression still looked impeccably serene.
“Just this morning. It helps me a lot when working in the kitchen. I have already cooked a rather large batch of Pork lotus root soup because mother had said that we will be heading to Carp Tower today. I might not be back for a day or two, so you can just reheat the soup when you feel like eating it, okay?” She instructed kindly, watching the several shift of emotions on Wei Wuxian’s face. First confusion, then happiness, and lastly a tinge of irritation.
“Ehhh, Shijie will be gone for a day or two?” He pouted, his eyes pleading, “Let me and Jiang Cheng come too! What if that peacock bullies you again?!”
Jiang Yanli inwardly stumbled. So that thing with the maidservant already happened? Jin Zixuan already made the original Jiang Yanli cry?
A nervous laugh was produced by her throat without her permission, lightly waving her fan to cool the downpour of sweat that was beginning to bead from the top of her head, ”It’s okay, A-Xian. Don’t worry to much, okay? And mother explicitly implied that the only ones going would be the two of us.”
Wei Wuxian obnoxiously sighed, his eyebrows pitched downwards in extreme disagreement,”Doesn’t mean that I like it. Just tell me if he makes you cry again, Shijie! I will personally beat his ass when I see him again!” He held out a fist in demonstration, which touched Jiang Yanli’s heart but ultimately, the worry won out.
“Okay, A-Xian. As you say.” Jiang Yanli complied, patting Wei Wuxian’s head fondly like she did Jiang Cheng’s earlier. “Don’t cause to much trouble when I’m gone, okay?”
A large playful grin stretched over Wei Wuxian’s face, pushing his head up to feel more of Jiang Yanli’s comforting touch, “I can’t promise that, Shijie!”
Jiang Yanli smiled at her Shidi’s antics, “Oh really? Then, no gifts for you from Lanling then? Ahh, what a shame, I was thinking of bringing back some pastries and sweets. I guess now I will come back empty-handed.” She snapped her fan close and crossed her arms in a mock harrumph.
Wei Wuxian’s composure broke and he dramatically whined, clinging at Jiang Yanli with teary eyes,”No, Shijie, I take it back! I will be good! Please bring back sweets and spicy pastries!”
Jiang Yanli chuckled,”I will be asking around if you behaved or not. Don’t think that you can get away with it too!”
Wei Wuxian looked like he had been very offended at her words,”Shijie doesn’t trust this shidi? I will show you then that even I, can behave in a day!”
Jiang Yanli, “Or two.”
Wei Wuxian paused, firmly pursing his lips and stared at Jiang Yanli. Jiang Yanli stared back at him.
“Or two, okay. I can do two days too!” Wei Wuxian allowed, and Jiang Yanli’s chuckles turned into a soft laugh that penetrated the sect’s wooden walls.
Jiang Yanli only stooped laughing when she realized that one of her questions went unanswered, “Where’s A-Cheng, A-Xian? Weren’t both of you together?”
Wei Wuxian shifted his eyes to look elsewhere than at his Shijie, clearly guilty of something that was related to Jiang Cheng. No wonder Jiang Cheng had a whole collection of memes in MeiLiShuo*. Jiang Yanli waited patiently for Wei Wuxian’s answer, and just as Wei Wuxian was about to open his mouth, a voice full of rage reached them.
“WEI WUXIANNN--” That was Jiang Cheng rounding the corner, looking very pissed as proven by the countless veins popping over his head and red face. Jiang Yanli had the first seat as to how Wei Wuxian was gripped by panic, his legs already running before he could even say “Good bye”.
Jiang Cheng was a purple blur when he passed through Jiang Yanli, and Jiang Yanli looked at the two boys chasing and being chased respectively at a distance, the smile still not diminishing from her face. She would properly hear about what happened when she returns back, she decided.
【Congratulations on properly meeting the main character!~ As a reward, you will be given 50 kudos! And 1 for your bond with Wei Wuxian! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆】
Jiang Yanli stared incomprehensibly at the blue screen, rubbing her eyes after two seconds. Was she either dreaming or hallucinating, or did the system suddenly become kind in giving points? But wait--
“ 1 for the bond with Wei Wuxian? Why didn’t I receive a plus for Jiang Cheng’s earlier?” She asked in perplex. Despite being her brother, Jiang Cheng still played a major role in MDZS. Was the bond only applicable for Wei Wuxian?
【Jiang Cheng’s bond will be unlocked when he reaches Thirteen years old.】
Jiang Yanli was struck speechless. What the fuck was with the specific age again? Did something happen to Jiang Cheng when he was thirteen? Jiang Yanli can’t remember anything major happening when he was thirteen. And he was supposed to be her brother! His bond should have been unlocked immediately after she transmigrated! What’s the meaning of this, System?
【To know the reason behind Jiang Cheng’s locked bond, you will need 2000 Badass points.】
She would like to take back her appreciation about the system that she unwittingly voiced out loud in her head. The System was still greedy. Yup, no changes. Jiang Yanli sighed, trudging over to her bedroom, burying her curiosity. The unit isn’t even in kudos! That only implies that she could only afford her question when she properly unfreezes the OOC Function and become so badass. That means its something big, but she couldn’t remember anything happening to Jiang Cheng when he was thirteen, only that he was fifteen when they trained in Gusu Lan.
She absently slid the door to her room open and went inside. She removed her outer robes and delicately placed them on her bed before walking to her dresser and picking the standard purple robe of Yunmeng Jiang that fitted her, with extra designs than the usual that represented formality. She folded a few more robes, her body moving as how it remembers, without the full participation of her brain, because her brain was busy thinking of another more critical subject.
The original Jiang Yanli was skittish and very nervous when around Jin Zixuan because of the Incident, and was already shy even before that when she sneaked out her cooking for Jin Zixuan to enjoy instead of directly giving it to him. But did it really happen so early? She thought that her body was twelve years old, but from the System’s confidence warning, she wasn’t twelve yet. A year younger maybe? She hoped that it was only months or days younger. She couldn’t bear a whole year of acting like she was a delicate flower that should be protected at all times. Shen Qingqiu was confidence personified and the sudden switch of bodies made it hard for her to adapt well.
She only realized the extent of her absent-mindedness when the cushion that she was sitting on jumped, jolting her back to the reality. She was met with her mother’s graceful countenance, staring past the window of a carriage? Wait, when did she get on a carriage? The scenery passed by idly-- trees, wooden structures and people alike. She briefly remembered the sound of water and floating, several lotuses-- did she and Madam Yu already rode a canoe from the Lotus Pier direct to the land before Lanling? But it didn’t seem to her that that much time passed…
Did Madam Yu strike a conversation with her only to be inadvertently ignored by her?
She paled, shakily gripping the fan that had been in her lap all along and not dared to open it lest be questioned by a query that she couldn’t answer. She sneaked a glance towards her mother again, and met her eyes evenly, which made her the more nervous.
“I see that you’re back from awareness.” Madam Yu commented offhandedly. It was still sharp, but there was a hint of softness in her tone that only she could probably hear. Jiang Yanli blushed and stiffened.
“This one apologizes for not paying attention to her surroundings.”She blurted out, noticing how formal her apology was after she completely uttered it. Madam Yu’s face was still stern, but Jiang Yanli could see that her shoulders had minutely relaxed.
“I understand that you are nervous and weary. You have every right to be, however, do not display such unbecoming actions when facing Madam Jin and Jin Zixuan, do you understand?”
“Y-yes, mother.” Jiang Yanli answered abashedly, fiddling with her fan.
There was silence afterwards the warning, and Jiang Yanli tried to remember what happened on the way. She was like this too when she was Shen Qingqiu. She got lost in her head, but despite that, she still had the general awareness of her surroundings. She knew when people spoke to her and when she should quip back-- such was the advantage of a higher cultivation level. Why couldn’t she do the same as Jiang Yanli when she had the same core as before? Is it one of Jiang Yanli’s traits? To get lost in her own head to the point of ignoring direct conversation or actions towards her?
【For figuring out one of Jiang Yanli’s traits, you will receive 1 kudos! (⌒▽⌒)☆】
Okay, so it is a trait of Jiang Yanli. She probably have to rectify that when she unfreezes the OOC Function-- it wasn’t good for her safety, or reputation if she decided to care. She probably have to go in seclusion at some point to break her level and go beyond. Like at the point when the Wen sect rears their true motives to the world and burn some places like Gusu Lan’s library pavillion or the entirety of Yunmeng.
Fuck, she had to get stronger.
Still, she had to thank whatever higher deity out there that the people of this world weren’t terribly overpowered like in Proud Immortal Demon Way. By all rights, Shen Qingqiu was powerful-- he was one of Cang Qiong sect’s Twelve Peak Lords after all, second only to Yue Qingyuan. Her position was well deserved for the level of her cultivation. But then, there was Luo Binghe, and Mobei Jun and Tianlang Jun who set the standard way up the sky. Even Liu Qingge was a mighty force on his own, but the demons were simply too OP. Having compared MDZS and Proud Immortal Demon Way only made her opinion of Airplane bro sink down the abyss due to how worthless his stallion novel is. It shouldn’t be compared at all.
Still, her fan was a good weapon, but it had too many limitations. She had to up her points to retrieve Xiu Ya back. By her estimate, she would probably be sixteen by the time the war between the Wens and the four other major sects erupts, so she still had five years at her disposal to unlock her sword, get stronger, and probably join the war or at the least, defend Yunmeng Jiang. She had to think about marrying Jin Zixuan and bearing Jin Ling in her womb too.
Oh god. Get pregnant with a child at sixteen or seventeen? Why isn’t the underage law yet to be practiced in this era? She mentally apologized to Jin Ling, because he probably won’t be born until she was mentally prepared, because hello? She was originally a man. Never once in her life did she worry about getting pregnant and raising a kid at such a young age. She didn’t want to become a teenage mom-- the responsibility was too heavy.
She noted that the carriage slowed down, and the town that they were in were clearly degrees much richer than their humble Lotus Pier. Just by that, she knew that they have arrived at Lanling Jin.
She sucked in a much needed oxygen to keep herself calm. If she could survive this encounter, she could survive anything.
Probably.