Chapter 22: You Think That’s Possible?

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: You Think That’s Possible?

"I’m in awe of your rapid progress, Senior Brother."

At the dining table, Ye Linglong gazed at the Bamboo Shoots. They were exquisite in color, fragrance, and flavor, and even emitted a faint glow. She was stunned. If it had happened once, it might have been a coincidence, but for it to happen every time proved that he had completely mastered the Skills she had guided him on just yesterday.

Such progress was truly humbling.

"This is all thanks to you, Junior Sister."

Liu Chen smiled faintly. To this day, he still didn’t understand why Ye Linglong had wanted to get close to him in the first place. Or more precisely, he didn’t know why she was so determined to become a Spirit Chef.

If it were merely about her own culinary ability, she likely wouldn’t have been so desperate at the beginning. And unlike the carefree Ji Suyao, Liu Chen could clearly sense that something was weighing on her mind.

"You’re too kind, Senior Brother..."

Ye Linglong shook her head. If it had taken a dozen lessons, she might feel she had actually contributed. But after only two or three sessions, he had already surpassed her. She simply couldn’t take the credit.

"Can we eat now?"

Ji Suyao, who was sitting to the side, fixed her gaze on the Bamboo Shoots. She really didn’t want to listen to Linglong and their Senior Brother trade courtesies. Neither of them was normally like this, but as soon as Spirit Chef Skills came up, they fell into a pattern she couldn’t comprehend.

One would say Senior Brother had great Talent, and the other would say Linglong was a great teacher.

’It’s enough to give me a headache.’

"Of course."

Liu Chen nodded and picked up his chopsticks. ’Since Junior Sister Ye doesn’t want to talk about it, I’ll just let things be. Maybe she’ll open up on her own one day.’

’If it’s a big problem, I’ll naturally go to Master and Mistress for help. If I can handle it myself, there’s no need to bother them. Still, since they accepted Junior Sister Ye, the two of them must have made some preparations, more or less.’

’I don’t need to worry about that for now.’

After lunch, Liu Chen used his free time—a sort of lunch break—to complete his third Body Tempering session for the day.

Once his body and Spiritual Power had mostly recovered, Liu Chen appeared at the edge of the bamboo grove and resumed construction on the bamboo house.

While his previous work was just about building a bamboo house, now he could also practice his Artifact Manipulation Technique in the process.

After an hour of hard work, using a combination of his Artifact Manipulation Technique and a shovel, Liu Chen finally managed to dig four deep pits for the foundation in the relatively soft earth.

Just then, Ji Suyao and Ye Linglong finally arrived. Judging by their condition, they must have just finished their Body Tempering.

Liu Chen felt his two junior sisters were having a much tougher time than he did. Before he’d even reached the Beginner stage, he could only manage Body Tempering once a day. But for the past few days, they had been doing it twice daily. Setting their Talent aside, their perseverance alone was enough to move him.

The consequence of such intense Body Tempering, however, was that they could only handle the most basic tasks, like sketching a rough floor plan for the bamboo house and daydreaming about how magnificent it would look when finished. Essentially, they were the morale team.

The two of them hadn’t learned the Artifact Manipulation Technique yet. And if he made them do manual labor without Magic, at a mortal’s pace, Liu Chen figured he’d probably have to spoon-feed them by tomorrow.

After another hour of work, with Liu Chen using a combination of his Artifact Manipulation Technique and his own two hands, the bamboo house at last had a complete foundation.

According to their plan, there would be three bamboo houses on the west side: one for each of the junior sisters to live in, plus one to be used as a bathhouse. These were the most basic facilities; beyond that, they also planned for a courtyard and other features.

The east side would be Liu Chen’s living area, which just meant one less bamboo house than the junior sisters’ side. At their current pace, a workload like this would take about half a year to complete. Finishing all the other amenities would likely take an entire year.

’Since this isn’t a job that can be finished quickly, I won’t disrupt my own schedule for it.’

"Let’s dig up some Bamboo Shoots and head back to cook."

Seeing that it was about time, Liu Chen spoke to his two junior sisters. Ji Suyao leaped to her feet, but her expression contorted the instant she landed. It was clear that, having not yet reached the Beginner stage of Body Tempering, she still had to endure the lingering pain. Her excitement had clearly turned to misery.

"Oh, you..."

Ye Linglong shook her head. After slowly getting to her feet, she made sure to help up Ji Suyao, who was grimacing in pain.

Liu Chen shook his head at the sight. ’This is what it means to be a Cultivator. It hurts, but at least it doesn’t make walking impossible. Otherwise, I’d have to get them a pair of crutches to tide them over this awkward phase.’

’Still, my junior sisters’ progress with Body Tempering is a bit slow. It’s been several days, and forget reaching the Beginner stage, they can’t even circulate the Cultivation Technique for a single full cycle.’

Dinner was uneventful. The food container sent over by Master and Mistress via the Artifact Manipulation Technique didn’t contain any new Magic or anything of the sort. Everything was back to normal.

"Senior Brother, could you possibly heat some water for us?"

After the dishes were cleared, Ji Suyao asked hesitantly. Beside her, Ye Linglong also looked a little uncomfortable.

"Of course."

Liu Chen agreed without a second thought. ’I still have to catch up on today’s cultivation anyway, so training near the kitchen shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, I don’t have any Magic for heating water at the moment, so I’ll have to use the most basic method regardless.’

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

The two of them gave their thanks and slowly departed. Liu Chen waited quietly in the kitchen.

Half an hour later, a total of five buckets of hot water were delivered to Ji Suyao’s Bamboo Garden. There was already a bathhouse there, but the space inside was now extremely cramped. With two tubs placed inside, the aisle between them was only wide enough for a single person to pass through.

Liu Chen poured the hot water into the wooden tubs and left. His junior sisters’ Purification Technique wasn’t yet strong enough to clean their bodies, and using cold water while they were still suffering the aftereffects of Body Tempering would just be making a bad situation worse.

The hot water wasn’t exactly a godsend, but it would at least provide some relief.

"Senior Brother’s Purification Technique must be at the Beginner level already. If only he could give us a hand..."

After Liu Chen left, Ji Suyao emerged slowly, hugging a pile of things that included towels and bath slippers. She couldn’t help but grumble, ’If my Purification Technique were at the Beginner level, I’d just have to stand in the tub and cast the Magic.’

Walking behind her, Ye Linglong couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ’A nice thought, but unless you actually get together with Senior Brother, you’re just daydreaming.’

’It’s only because he’s always training on the back mountain. If he ever showed his face a few more times on the front mountain, his Talent, his looks, or even just his status as a Spirit Chef would be more than enough to attract droves of senior and junior sisters. They’d probably be blocking his door before dawn every day, trying to stage some "chance encounter."’

"Do you really think that’s possible? Instead of entertaining those thoughts, you’d be better off focusing on practicing your Purification Technique so you can reach the Beginner stage sooner."

Ye Linglong shook her head. ’Bathing by myself when my whole body is aching is pure torture.’ But they performed Body Tempering daily, and the impurities expelled from their bodies built up, creating a noticeable odor.

Usually, a quick wipe-down was enough, but the effects of today’s Body Tempering were especially potent. They couldn’t get away with being lazy this time. And since they couldn’t bear the ordeal of using cold water, their only option was to turn to their Senior Brother for help.