Majestic Feathers- I’m posting an extra chapter this week thanks to xXLicorneXx, who posted the first review for FBSC on Novelupdates. This made me extremely happy, thank you. I’m a huge fan of sweet ML’s and I recommend trying the other series I’m translating “Saving the Hapless Second Male Lead”. Similar style to Gong Xinwen’s vibe and while I haven’t gotten far in the translation of SHSML at this time, it’s easy to MTL and get about 80% of the story.
When she arrived in the kitchen, the stove was cleaned spotlessly, and the floor had been swept. There was hot water in the pot in the back, but the front stove was empty.
“I don’t know the host’s taste, so I dare not prepare meals without permission. My cooking…is not very good,” Cen Xiaoshan quickly added, “but I learn fast. Just give me a day or two, and I will be able to learn.”
He said this with great confidence, making people feel that as long as he touched the kitchen a few times, he would definitely be able to start cooking.
“No, no, I’ll do it myself.” Mu Xue rolled up her sleeves. “I don’t eat much. It’s okay to eat one meal every few days.”
Although her demand for food wasn’t significant, this child was a mortal and needed three meals a day, Mu Xue reminded herself not to forget.
She had brought someone home, and before his foot had even healed, he had to work hard.
She multi-tasked and controlled things from a distance, washing the spiritual rice with her hands, while the sharp kitchen knife on the cutting board sliced meat in mid-air. The oil in the pot crackled and sizzled while the spatula flipped and cooked fragrant poached eggs.
Finally, she added some scallion oil. Soon, a pot of full-bodied spiritual rice meatball congee was made.
Mu Xue used her magic to carry the hot pot of congee, moving with swift steps. She held two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks in her hands and invited Cen Xiaoshan, “Let’s eat.”
The dining table was not sophisticated and was in the main room. Mu Xue scooped up a bowl of congee for Cen Xiaoshan.
As soon as Mu Xue scooped a meatball, the voice across from her whispered, “I…I don’t eat meat.”
Mu Xue nodded. It was common for some people in this world to love vegetarian dishes while others enjoyed meat. She scooped up a shiny poached egg, and he spoke up again, “I don’t need to eat eggs, either.”
“I don’t need much congee, I eat very little,” Mu Xue replied.
She looked up and finally realized that it was not that he couldn’t eat meat, but that he didn’t want to eat meat. It wasn’t that he did not like eggs and congee; he was just afraid of eating too much and making her unhappy.
The boy stood at the table, wearing rough old clothes on his skinny body, and looked hungry. As soon as she made that observation, his empty stomach growled with hunger.
Cen Xiaoshan pursed his lips and turned his head in embarrassment.
Mu Xue filled his bowl with meatballs again and topped it with two poached eggs, then set it on the table in front of him with a show of force.
“Sit down and eat. Although I’m not wealthy, I’m not poor either. Eat to your heart’s content; it’s on me.”
She served herself and the boy the congee and opened a book called “Essentials of Fire Refining” on the table and read while eating.
She was so engrossed in her book that she didn’t notice when the boy sat down or finished his food slowly while looking down. It was only after a long time someone gently called her name that Mu Xue came out of her trance.
Her own bowl of congee was still half full and cold, while Cen Xiaoshan’s bowl was already empty, with the chopsticks properly placed beside it.
“If you are finished eating, should I clean up?” The boy asked her carefully.
Mu Xue was still lost in her book and absentmindedly replied, “Uh huh.”
The dishes and chopsticks were taken away silently, and after a moment, someone brought her a cup of hot tea and placed it in front of her, reminding her gently.
The cup was filled with snow chrysanthemum tea, with four or five small chrysanthemum flowers blooming in it, a red jujube pressed inside, and perhaps a few pieces of rock sugar. It had the perfect balance of sweetness and was precisely the taste that Mu Xue loved.
Mu Xue looked up in confusion and met Cen Xiaoshan’s curious gaze.
“Strange, how did you know I like to drink this?” She asked.
After deliberating for a moment, Cen Xiaoshan explained honestly, “The tea canisters in the kitchen are all covered in dust, except for the one with snow chrysanthemum. When the host made the meatballs this morning, she added some sugar and scallion oil. So I thought maybe the host’s taste leaned towards sweet and fragrant. I took a chance and tried it. I don’t know if it’s good or not.”
“It’s refreshing, sweet, and eliminates greasiness. Very good,” Mu Xue praised the child.
How could she have thought that this clever child was annoying before?
It was quite comfortable to have such a thoughtful little guy who carefully studied your preferences and took care of your daily life in every possible way.
In the afternoon, Mu Xue was busy at her workstation for a long time. Suddenly, she looked around and asked Cen Xiaoshan, who sat in the Moonlight Array,
“Do you see…” Mu Xue gestured, “A small jar with blue scale powder inside?”
The room immediately echoed with the sound of clacking crutches, and Cen Xiaoshan hobblingly pulled out a small jar from the corner of the floor and showed it to Mu Xue.
“Yes, that’s it. Great.”
Cen Xiaoshan handed her the jar and tentatively asked, “If the host allows it, can I organize the materials in this room properly?”
Mu Xue nodded. She had too many types of refining materials, and sometimes she didn’t even remember what she had bought.
Not only were there shelves on the shelf in this room, but there were also ten or so different-sized Qiankun bags. If calculated, there were at least ten thousand different types, and even though she had sorted them roughly, they were still not easy to find.
Someone willing to organize it was really a godsend.
When this day passed unconsciously, Mu Xue stopped her work, and the entire room had completely changed.
There was no unnecessary clutter on the floor, and the shelves on the walls were classified and neatly arranged with all sorts of refining materials.
On the side of each ladder of the shelf, there were even signs with the names, details, and index lists of the major categories.
Cen Xiaoshan’s eyes were tinged with dark circles, and he pointed apologetically at two floors to show Mu Xue, “These are the materials I don’t recognize and are temporarily placed here. I still need the host’s guidance on them. The materials of sea creatures and birds and beasts have not been subdivided yet, and neither have minerals. But as long as I have a few more days, I should be able to sort them out carefully.”
“It’s already…” Mu Xue was stunned, “It’s already much better, you don’t have to rush so much. You’re a mortal, and you must sleep for a while every day. Don’t follow my schedule. Cultivators have abundant essence and don’t require too much sleep. That’s why I sleep very little. But if you’re tired, just go to sleep.”
To praise Cen Xiaoshan, she sent out her little puppet “Qianji”. The puppet received the order and ran off quickly, returning with small and large packages in his skinny arms after a while.
The packages contained clothes, bedding, gauze, medicines, and all kinds of vegetables and meats.
“I’m sorry, I may not be a good host. I was busy and almost forgot. It took me a day to buy all this for you,” Mu Xue handed Cen Xiaoshan his clothes and pointed to his leg, “Is it better? Shall I give you some medicine?”
Cen Xiaoshan slightly blocked his right leg with his crutch and took the clothes Mu Xue handed him. “Thank you, host. It’s much better now. I can take care of it myself.”
Mu Xue saw that he was moving without problems, and his leg was no longer bleeding, so she didn’t worry about it.
She went to the kitchen to cook some greasy dishes, thinking that it was important to fatten up this skinny little guy.
“Cen Xiaoshan, do you know where the bone powder of Madam Goodfish is?”
After the clacking sounds, the emerald green glass tube was quickly placed on Mu Xue’s workbench.
“Cen Xiaoshan, where is my Eight-Faced Oil Bath Pot?”
“It’s here. I’ll go clean it for you.”
“Can you handle the thorns of the Linglong Flower? Help me with it?”
“If the host demonstrates once, I can try.”
In just two or three days, this room that had always been dull and silent seemed to be different because of the addition of one little person.
This child was busy and diligent with his crutches. In such a short time, Mu Xue felt that it would be quite inconvenient if she were to lose him.
He also began to try and express his small requests to Mu Xue.
“I have only read ‘General Knowledge of Monsters and Beasts.’ Many of the materials here cannot be distinguished, and it still requires the host’s effort to sort them out. I’m really embarrassed.”
“Ah, I have ‘Compendium of Monsters,’ ‘Book of Demons,’ and ‘In-Depth Explanation of Stone Mines,’ if you like, you can take a look.”
“What about the other books on the bookshelf…”
“Whatever you want, you can read them all.”
“Thank you very much, host.”
It turned out that this child had a desire for learning.
Indeed, he was an outstanding child in all aspects. He was so intelligent that as long as something was said and demonstrated once, he could pick it up without making any mistakes or omissions.
If he were to be taken as an apprentice and led onto the path of cultivation, he would surely achieve something and become an even better assistant.
Mu Xue thought like this in her heart and decided to watch him for a while, but before she could begin her observation, an unexpected change occurred.
But on the fourth day since Xiaoshan arrived at her house, the room was unusually quiet.
Mu Xue only realized after coming to her senses that the sound of the crutches, which had been occasionally heard, seemed to have disappeared for a while. The teacup beside her was also unusually empty.
She turned her head and saw that the door was wide open, and the outside was silent, with a pitch-black night sky and heavy snow falling in the courtyard.
“Xiaoshan?” Mu Xue called out strangely.
