Eating for a Lifetime

The night deepened, and a gentle breeze brushed against the sea-crystal lamps of the Cloud-Treading Pavilion, casting a soft glow.

Qin Yuzhi, wearing an eye mask on her forehead, yawned as she descended the stairs, only to find the table empty. Ying Bing sat there sipping tea, occasionally glancing outside. Across from her, Shang Qinqing cracked melon seeds between her teeth.

"Where’s Li Mo?"

"He went to the Southern Commandery Prince’s residence," Shang Qinqing replied.

"The Prince’s residence? What’s he doing there? He didn’t even come back to cook."

Qin Yuzhi’s tone carried a hint of morning grumpiness.

She spent her days running errands for Li Mo in her dreams—without pay, no less—and now he couldn’t even be bothered to make dinner.

"Normally, he should’ve returned by now. But he hasn’t. And yesterday, he offended one of the Great Yu’s noble elites."

Shang Qinqing’s sidelong glance landed on Ying Bing.

Noting how the woman sat like a stone statue waiting for her husband, she narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice.

"Is it possible he was secretly arrested the moment he stepped into the Prince’s residence?"

"!"

Ying Bing’s expression remained icy, but she couldn’t help looking outside again.

"Serves him right if he’s arrested."

Qin Yuzhi snorted. "Once I restore the Demon-Summoning Sect to its original name—the Divine-Summoning Sect—and make it stronger than ever, I’ll lock Li Mo in a dark room, whip him with a little leather strap, and starve him."

"Hmm?"

Ying Bing slowly turned her frosty face toward her.

"Fine, fine, no whipping then."

"And you can’t starve him either."

Ying Bing spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Right now, I’m still waiting for him to cook for me."

Qin Yuzhi sniffled, feeling rather aggrieved.

Li Mo was probably feasting at the Prince’s residence while she went hungry. And now she couldn’t even vent without being scolded. Was there no justice left?

Shang Qinqing studied Qin Yuzhi for a long moment before suddenly raising an eyebrow in realization.

"You’re Qin Yuzhi, the one who vanished with the Divine-Summoning Sect’s Cloud-Dream Hall?"

"You know me?"

Qin Yuzhi was stunned. None of the current Demon-Summoning Sect members remembered her. How could someone recognize her?

"I’m Shang Qinqing, a pure-blooded azure phoenix born three hundred years after your disappearance. I oversee human marriages and have met the sect’s leader." Finally, she confirmed it. "It really is you."

"So you know of me. It seems my legend lived on even after I fell asleep."

Qin Yuzhi struck a pose, hands on hips, and sighed with the air of an elder.

It felt like a reunion of long-lost kin, enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.

Shang Qinqing’s expression turned complicated. "I’ve indeed heard the stories..."

"Wait a minute."

Qin Yuzhi suddenly frowned. "I specifically ordered the sect’s elders to wake me every three hundred years. If the Great Shang still stands after three centuries, why did no one come for me? Did something happen to the sect?"

"Not exactly." Shang Qinqing shook her head, hesitating.

But seeing Qin Yuzhi’s burning curiosity, she relented.

"The sect’s higher-ups unanimously decided... not to wake you."

"It’s a long story. At first, I heard from others that your slumber was tied to an unspeakable horror. They said you must never be disturbed, or else ‘that existence’ would awaken and plunge the world into eternal sleep."

Ying Bing listened quietly, her lashes lowered.

Even she had never heard these secrets from the Great Shang era.

"They weren’t wrong... but that’s not the point!"

Qin Yuzhi scowled. "That’s exactly why I ordered them to check on me periodically—to find a way to seal the Cloud-Dream Ancestral God and free me!"

"Don’t rush. Let me finish."

"Right, right..."

Shang Qinqing continued,

"Later, I discovered another reason they refused to wake you."

"For example, the elder of the Storm-Calling Serpent Clan was on the verge of fading due to insufficient faith from mortals."

"On his deathbed, he confessed to me that he’d hidden a trove of gold, silver, and coral treasures in a secret vault. And the location of that vault..."

"Only you knew."

Qin Yuzhi: "?"

So they left her asleep... to keep their secret stashes safe?

"Then there was the Heavenly Steed Clan’s leader. He had a few... ‘companions’ outside his marriage. And again, only you knew."

"??"

"The Luwu Clan’s chief secretly enjoyed wearing human women’s clothing. The legendary ‘Jade Scholar,’ the Great Shang’s most handsome man, suffered from hemorrhoids. And the revered poet Young Master Shaoyun—a paragon of virtue—had a particular fondness for women’s feet..."

"......"

Ying Bing lowered her head slightly and squeezed the plush doll in her hands.

"So they abandoned me just to keep their dirty little secrets? How could they?"

Qin Yuzhi was furious—and even more wronged.

It wasn’t like she’d exploited those secrets much. Only three, four... maybe five or six times at most.

Shang Qinqing sighed. "As they say, you never truly know a person. Who’d have guessed that the noble, flawless Young Master Shaoyun... had a foot fetish?"

When she first learned these truths, even she was shocked.

If those elders hadn’t been on their deathbeds, she might’ve milked those secrets seven or eight times herself...

"Oi, Little Ice, your tea’s about to spill!"

"..."

Ying Bing stared at the swaying sea-crystal lamp, the warm light leaving her gaze distant.

"Little Ice, you think they’re awful too, right?"

"Li Mo probably wouldn’t agree."

"???"

Qin Yuzhi couldn’t fathom what Li Mo had to do with this.

And more importantly... why wasn’t that brat back yet?

"Guess I’ll have to work on an empty stomach tonight."

"Sect Leader Qin, wait for me."

Though generations apart, Shang Qinqing and Qin Yuzhi were still sect sisters with much to discuss.

Before leaving, Qin Yuzhi turned back once more.

"Little Ice, he might not come back tonight. You should rest early too."

"I know. I’ll just finish my tea."

"Alright."

Shang Qinqing pursed her lips. She’d heard that excuse before.

The plush doll’s forehead had been rubbed so much it was practically gleaming.

The two women headed upstairs.

The hall fell silent.

Ying Bing wondered if she should use their shared moonlit connection to check on him.

But last time, the lunar resonance had lit up while Li Mo was in the middle of something critical. And at this hour... what could she even ask?

"Want to sleep together?"

......

Meanwhile.

Atop the Cloud-Treading Pavilion, in Ying Bing’s ice-cold room.

"Where’s the ice block?"

Li Mo had returned on his somersault cloud.

Normally, Ying Bing would’ve just finished her training around this time—perfect timing.

If she were in the pavilion, she should’ve been back in her room by now.

"When did she leave?"

He decided to ask the innkeeper downstairs.

Upon reaching the hall, he found most lamps extinguished, leaving the space dim.

At their usual table, under the glow of a lone lamp, sat Ying Bing.

The flickering light softened her features, though her knitted brows betrayed some unspoken worry.