The morning light filtered through the thick oiled paper pasted on the windows, casting a few hazy patches of light on the floor inside the room.
Jiu Baiyun’s eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.
Although he had been up late into the night, thanks to his robust constitution, most of the fatigue had already dissipated.
He let out a long, drawn-out groan, struggling to sit up from the creaking wooden plank bed.
“Yaaaaawn—”
A big stretch unfolded, a series of faint pops sounding from his joints.
Rubbing the sleep from the corners of his eyes, his gaze instinctively swept toward the inconspicuous little partitioned room in the corner.
The wooden door was still tightly shut, not even a crack visible.
“Tsk…”
Jiu Baiyun clicked his tongue, grumbling internally.
‘This girl is quite vigilant. Did she really meditate all night? Hope she didn’t pass out from exhaustion in there…’
Thinking this, Jiu Baiyun rolled out of bed, deftly smoothing out the slightly wrinkled folds of his robe.
He then walked over to the partition door and leaned in to listen.
It was extremely quiet inside.
“Hey,” Jiu Baiyun raised his hand, rapping his knuckles against the rough wooden door with moderate force.
“Su Zhiyun? Still alive? It’s morning.”
The wooden door emitted a dry creak as it was pulled inward, opening a crack.
The moment Su Zhiyun’s figure appeared in the doorway, Jiu Baiyun was momentarily taken aback.
The Su Zhiyun before him now sported a pair of incredibly heavy dark circles under her eyes, as if she’d been punched twice, making her originally pale little face look even more haggard.
A few strands of her dark gold hair were messily plastered to her temples.
Her eyes were dull and lifeless, looking as if she could fall asleep standing up at any second.
She looked completely wilted, swaying unsteadily, only managing to stay upright by leaning heavily on the doorframe.
Looking at her clearly exhausted, all-nighter-with-nothing-to-show-for-it state, the corner of Jiu Baiyun’s mouth twitched, and he nearly laughed out loud.
Forcing back his amusement, Jiu Baiyun looked her up and down, a hint of laughter in his voice.
“What’s this? Did you burn the midnight oil straight through to dawn?”
Su Zhiyun weakly lifted her eyelids and shot Jiu Baiyun a fierce glare.
Unfortunately, the look held no real menace and, coupled with her exhaustion, just looked rather pitiful.
She opened her mouth to retort, but a huge yawn escaped first, bringing a bit of reflexive tears to the corners of her eyes.
“Huff… Less… less of your nonsense!”
While she still felt some resentment toward Jiu Baiyun, she couldn’t deny that he hadn’t lied to her, at least.
And after the system’s verification, cultivating immortality really didn’t seem to have any issues.
The breathing technique Jiu Baiyun had given her was also perfectly normal, even rated as ‘Purple’ by the system.
Maybe he really does want to teach me how to cultivate?
Once this thought popped into her head, Su Zhiyun decisively shook it.
He wasn’t the ‘big sister’!
The system had said a fair-skinned, beautiful big sister would come to teach her!
After thinking for a moment, Su Zhiyun vigorously shook her head again, trying to fling out the tangled thoughts along with her drowsiness.
The motion was too forceful.
Her vision suddenly went dark, and she nearly pitched forward, only just managing to catch herself on the doorframe.
“Huff…”
She panted, also feeling a pang of hunger, and then looked at Jiu Baiyun.
“Hey, got any food?”
Jiu Baiyun crossed his arms, his eyelids lifting just slightly as he stated the obvious.
“Nope.”
The moment Jiu Baiyun’s “Nope” left his lips, he saw Su Zhiyun’s previously wilted expression instantly change.
In those bloodshot eyes from staying up all night, there was no trace of disappointment.
Instead, a flash of “just as I thought” cunning appeared, and the corner of her mouth even hooked up in a slightly smug curve.
“Knew I couldn’t count on you!”
She muttered under her breath, the words soft but clearly reaching Jiu Baiyun’s ears.
Immediately after, before Jiu Baiyun could even process what her expression meant, Su Zhiyun darted past him through the gap beside his arm.
“Hey! You…”
Jiu Baiyun instinctively reached out to grab her but caught only air.
Seeing Su Zhiyun had no intention of stopping, Jiu Baiyun hurried after her out the door.
But the moment he stepped into the courtyard, his footsteps halted abruptly, and his whole body froze in place.
“No way?!”
In the center of the small courtyard, a simple yet remarkably standard metal grill was already set up stably.
Underneath, in the small charcoal stove, a small flame had even been kindled, emitting a faint crackling sound.
“Hold on, where did you pull this one out from?!”
Jiu Baiyun pointed at the grill, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.
But Su Zhiyun was squatting by the charcoal stove, carefully tending to the newly lit flame.
Hearing him, she didn’t even look up, just rolled her eyes.
“I’m a transmigrator, can’t I have a little cheat system?!”
Her completely justified tone left Jiu Baiyun momentarily at a loss for words.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
They were both transmigrators; having some sort of cheat system wasn’t that surprising.
But Jiu Baiyun had no intention of asking what her cheat was.
Everyone had their own secrets, let alone something like a cheat system.
While Jiu Baiyun was still processing this, she flicked her wrist.
A salt jar, spice bottles, an oil-basting brush… an assortment of seasonings and tools were produced.
Jiu Baiyun’s eyelid gave a fierce jump.
Wow, she’s got the whole barbecue set complete…
Next, various ingredients were brought out, and soon, the aroma of grilling filled the air.
“You want some?”
Noticing Jiu Baiyun’s gaze, Su Zhiyun smiled slightly and then extended a few skewers toward him.
Jiu Baiyun started to shake his head, intending to refuse.
But looking at the sizzling, oil-glazed, and fragrant skewers in Su Zhiyun’s hand, his stomach let out an uncooperative growl.
He shrugged, giving a helpless smile, and walked over to accept the skewers she offered.
“Not bad skills.”
Jiu Baiyun took a bite.
The meat was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, mixed with just the right amount of spices—definitely much better than dry rations.
But… that girl A Ran probably only had breakfast.
These skewers taste good, maybe bring her some?
Jiu Baiyun was just about to open his mouth and ask Su Zhiyun “could you grill a bit more?”
When, before the words could leave his lips, his movements halted.
He hadn’t even reacted before Su Zhiyun had already put everything away.
However, she was now holding a small package, neatly wrapped in clean oiled paper.
The oiled paper was slightly stained with grease spots.
Inside, it was bulging, clearly containing freshly grilled skewers, still faintly steaming.
Jiu Baiyun stared blankly for a second, raising one eyebrow, his eyes filled with clear surprise and inquiry.
“Huh? What’s this for?”
Su Zhiyun shook the oiled paper package in her hand, her expression neutral.
“You said someone lives over at the ancestral hall, right? I figured you’d probably head over there to keep watch later, so I just made an extra portion for her.”
Hearing this, Jiu Baiyun was first taken aback, then looked Su Zhiyun up and down.
This girl… seems wary and prickly, but she’s quite thoughtful and has strong initiative.
A bit unexpected.