Chapter 43: Delivering Meals

When Xuanxi returned to the Blacksmith’s Shop, Helasi was busy in the kitchen.

Beef stew bubbled in the pot, the aroma of meat and onions mixing together and filling the entire kitchen. He stood at the stove, using that old spatula to turn the carrots in the frying pan.

“You’re back?” he asked Xuanxi while still watching the carrots.

“Mm.” Xuanxi quietly tucked the money pouch she had hidden behind her back into her pocket, walked over to the stove and peeked.

Beef stew, pan-fried carrots, roasted potatoes, and a large bowl of cream of mushroom soup. “Why are we eating so well today?”

“You rarely come back, after all.” Helasi scooped the fried carrots into a plate and carried it to the dining table. Two sets of utensils were already laid out, with a basket of sliced dark bread on the table and a small pat of butter on the wooden board beside it.

Xuanxi sat down, tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the beef stew’s broth. The beef was braised until tender, falling apart at the touch of a fork.

The broth was rich and savory, slowly spreading across her tongue mingled with the sweetness of onions.

When she was little, her favorite food was Helasi’s beef stew. Unfortunately, back then Helasi couldn’t afford good meat and could only occasionally buy some bony trimmings, stewing a big pot to last for several days.

Now things were a bit better, but he still habitually made stew, and he still scooped the biggest pieces of meat onto Xuanxi’s plate.

Helasi scooped another piece of beef onto her plate.

“That’s enough, that’s enough. You should eat some yourself.”

“I’ve had enough.” Helasi cut a piece of beef and put it in his mouth. He ate very quickly, the fork clinking against the plate. He had always eaten fast, because he needed to finish while the forge fire was still hot and get back to work.

After the meal, Xuanxi stood up and volunteered to clear the dishes. “I’ll wash them.”

“What? Aren’t you going out?” Helasi took the plate from her hands, carried it to the sink and turned on the faucet. Water rushed noisily over the plate.

Xuanxi was startled. “How did you know I was going out?”

“You had an extra bag in your hand when you came back, didn’t you? All bulging.” Helasi’s voice was half drowned out by the water. “Don’t go too far. Just remember to come back before dark.”

“Mm.” She replied, and took some leftovers with her as well.

***

Xuanxi went out the back door and took a path into the forest. She quickened her pace, bent down and crawled into the cave entrance.

Inside the cave, Shen Lingshuang was leaning against the stone wall, her eyes half open. When she saw the food basket in Xuanxi’s hand, she unconsciously swallowed. After running for three days and three nights, it was impossible not to be hungry.

Xuanxi opened the basket. Inside were thick slices of dark bread, a small bowl of beef stew, a few pieces of pan-fried roasted potatoes that were golden and fragrant, and even a small jar of cream of mushroom soup.

Shen Lingshuang took the basket, speared a piece of beef with her fork, put it in her mouth, and chewed a few times.

“Is it good?” Xuanxi crouched down, watching her slightly messy eating manner.

“Mm, delicious!” Shen Lingshuang speared another piece, this time eating more slowly, as if savoring it.

“It really has to be you dragon race—your food is so much more refined than the beast tribe’s cooking. The chefs at Jiaolong Abyss only know how to stew and roast. They can’t do anything else.”

Xuanxi looked at Shen Lingshuang’s right leg. The wound on her calf had healed over halfway, with new scales covering the surface, but the muscle underneath had not fully regrown.

“As long as the bone is fine, a few more days of rest and you’ll be able to walk.” Xuanxi took out a medicine bottle from her pocket and applied the liquid to the calf.

The liquid was cool, with a slight sting; Shen Lingshuang’s muscle tensed, but she endured it and didn’t pull away.

“The Flood Dragon Clan and the dragon race are still different.” Shen Lingshuang stuffed a piece of roasted potato into her mouth, speaking indistinctly.

“After you get injured, wound healing mainly relies on spiritual energy treatment. In comparison, our wound healing mainly depends on the strength of our physique—if it’s strong, the wound naturally heals quickly. Although spiritual energy assistance is useful, we aren’t as dependent on it as you are.”

“Then what do you do when you’re not fighting? You can’t be brawling all the time, right?”

“What do you mean ‘brawling’? It’s clearly training the body’s strength, okay.” Shen Lingshuang swallowed the potato in her mouth.

“Our Jiaolong Abyss doesn’t have a unified academy, and basically every academy has an arena. From the moment a beast tribe child can walk, they have to go into the arena to improve their strength.”

Xuanxi looked at her. It was hard to imagine that this person, who now leaned against the stone wall unable to even stand steadily, had grown up fighting in the arena every day.

“Then as the Eldest Princess, have you ever lost a fight?” Xuanxi asked.

“Of course I’ve lost. I’ve lost several times.” Shen Lingshuang finished the last mouthful of soup from the jar and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“The most memorable time was when I lost to my younger brother. He’s two years younger than me, but he was already half a head taller. The first time he went into the arena, he threw me off the platform, and I couldn’t eat for three days.”

Her tone was nonchalant, but it was clear that it was filled with anger. “Later, I trained for three months, turned defeat into victory, and threw him off the platform instead. From then on, I’ve had the upper hand over him.”

Xuanxi put away the medicine bottle and soup jar and sat down across from her. “So your brother held a grudge and set up an ambush for you?”

Shen Lingshuang didn’t answer immediately. She used the last piece of bread to wipe the plate clean of gravy. “Mm, it was him. Shen Lingye, the eldest son of the Flood Dragon Clan. I’m stronger than him—at least I have been ever since I beat him.”

“But some of the clan’s elders don’t like me because I’m a woman. The Flood Dragon Clan has never had a female chieftain, and they don’t plan to break that precedent.”

Xuanxi said nothing. She recalled that the dragon race had never seemed to be denied because of gender—not in her own Canglong Lineage, nor in Xige’s prominent noble family.

But the Flood Dragon Clan seemed different; the beast tribe’s customs were older and more rigid than the dragon race’s.

“So your brother ambushed you, wanting to eliminate you and then inherit the chieftainship?”

Shen Lingshuang leaned against the stone wall, looking at the ceiling of the cavern. “Yes. As long as I’m dead, he’ll be the sole heir, rightfully and justifiably. If I live, he’ll always have a rival.” She paused.

“Actually, he doesn’t know that I’ve never thought about competing with him. The chieftainship of the Flood Dragon Clan—whoever wants it can have it.”

“Then what do you want to be?” Xuanxi asked.

Shen Lingshuang was silent for a moment. “Actually, I’d rather be a general. Since I was little, I’ve loved fighting, loved deploying troops and formations, loved leading troops into battle.”

“That year after I beat my younger brother in the arena, my father asked me what reward I wanted. I said I wanted to be a general.” She let out a cold laugh. “He shook his head and just said, ‘What a pity you’re a woman.'”

“No, your father was wrong.” Xuanxi’s voice was not loud, but every word struck home. Shen Lingshuang looked up, puzzled.

“You are not his daughter—you are yourself, the individual Shen Lingshuang. If you don’t want to be chieftain, then don’t be one. If you want to be a general, then go be a general.”

“Since the Flood Dragon Clan has never had a woman as a general, then let it start with you. Be the first female Flood Dragon general!”

Shen Lingshuang looked at her, her pupils trembling slightly, as if a pebble had been dropped into a deep pool, causing huge ripples.

“You’re right.” Her voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself. “The Flood Dragon Clan has never had a woman as a general. Then I’ll be the first.”

Xuanxi packed up the food, stood up. “It’s getting late. I’m leaving now. Be careful not to put weight on your right leg. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Shen Lingshuang nodded. The deep chill in her pupils faded considerably, replaced by a brighter light—an anticipation for the future.

Xuanxi packed the basket and turned to leave the stone chamber. Behind her came Shen Lingshuang’s voice.

“See you tomorrow!”

When Xuanxi walked out of the cave, the sun had already begun to sink toward the west. The birdsong in the forest was much sparser than in the afternoon, with only an occasional call or two coming from afar, intermittent, as if urging her to hurry.

She quickened her pace. By the time she reached the Blacksmith’s Shop, the sound of a spatula clattering came from the kitchen—Helasi was already preparing dinner.

Xuanxi stood at the back door, scraped the soles of her shoes on the threshold, pushed the door open, and went inside.