Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 579 New Year’s Eve
Pei Ye leaned on the roof of the library with his legs crossed. A light snow drifted by overnight, and the stone paths that had been swept were covered with a soft and shallow layer. Only when it snowed heavily would the snow be thick. When it was light, they were just loosely piled up, like tiny and quiet dandelions. A light touch with the fingertips would produce a fluffy layer.

"Yin'er, doesn't he see snow often in the sect?" Pei Ye looked at the girl next to him. She was holding up a finger in front of her eyes, staring at the sparkling layer on it slowly sinking and melting.

"It's not uncommon, it's completely new." Jiang Yin'er sat with her knees hugged, much straighter than him, and smiled, "There's no snow in the southwest. There's only spring rain, summer rain, autumn rain and winter rain."

"I quite like rain - it snowed the other day, did you build a snowman?"

"No, it was the Winter Sword Festival at that time, and I was practicing sword skills diligently." Jiang Yin'er felt a little regretful, "That was the first time I saw snow, and I didn't expect it to be so heavy, and I didn't expect it to be the Fourth Prince's weapon."

"That was an unfair victory for him."

Jiang Yin'er smiled and said seriously, "No, it's just that I'm not good enough in my skills, so I admit defeat sincerely."

She looked down. It was windless today. The old house with a light snow had the charm of Chang'an City. In the snow, Miss Cui and Doctor Qu were sitting at the same stone table in the courtyard. Miss Cui talked freely and Doctor Qu nodded calmly. In the other courtyard, Mr. Xu was leaning on a chair with a heater in his arms, reading some unknown book. Although it was New Year's Eve, it was still early in the morning. There were only a few of them in the courtyard, and everyone was quietly doing their own things.

Jiang Yin'er suddenly turned around and said, "Hey, there's still a lot of snow in the yard. Can we go make a snowman now?"

Pei Ye shook his head and said, "That's all old snow, dirty and hard, it's not good material."

The girl was a little disappointed. She didn't care about that much. She just wanted to try out a scenario that was often mentioned in northern vernacular novels.

Pei Ye smiled and pointed to the sky: "Don't worry, the clouds are still thick, and the snow will get heavier. We can use the snow to make a snowman."

"Ah, good!" Jiang Yiner clapped her hands.

The two of them sat and looked at the snow for a while, and Pei Ye asked, "Is this the first time that Yin'er has left the sect to celebrate the New Year?"

"Ah."

Pei Ye placed his hands on his knees and tilted his head to ask, "Does that person in Shenjing miss the mountain gate?"

"Well... a little, but it's okay." Jiang Yin'er smiled, "Master sent me a letter yesterday. It's not so lonely when someone cares about me. Didn't Brother Shi also receive the letter?"

"Ah... yes. Um, what did your master say in the letter?"

"He asked about my food, clothing, housing and transportation, and praised my performance in the Winter Sword Gathering."

"I also heard that you were able to beat Yang Zhenbing."

"That was very lucky. Fellow cultivator Yang studied sword skills and took the path of accumulating strength before making a breakthrough. I don't care about my foundation. I just try my best to climb up first, climb for a while and then go back to repair my foundation... Anyway, my sword skills are very messy, so it's not surprising that I can occasionally beat him."

These were all humble words. Pei Ye was already familiar with the strict manner in which this well-educated younger sister treated others. In the past month, he and she had always played sword games. It was obvious that this beloved disciple of the Taoist leader of Shenxiao could not be someone with a shallow foundation and a messy way of playing. She came from an orthodox family and her sword skills were perfect. It was just that she had extremely strong spiritual energy and could often leap several levels. She had her own understanding and perspective on the sword.

Simply put, Pei Ye was often no match for her and was often amazed and impressed by her swordplay.

And if it comes to a real fight, the [Mind's Eye] is as powerful as a god or ghost. This gift cannot read everyone's mind, but it can catch the thoughts that concern her. In a fight, how can the enemy's mind not be on her? That is the way to death.

"You snatched all my words to be humble, what can I say in the future?" Pei Ye smiled.

"Ah..." Jiang Yin'er then realized that this brother was the one with a shallow foundation. He was like a flying ping in the clouds, which really made her look quite hypocritical. She smiled shyly twice.

"Brother, your way of practicing swordsmanship is truly rare in the world." Jiang Yin'er said seriously, "From the beginning, you directly established the state of mind that the world strives for, and then used it as a starting point to extend to both sides, while you turned back to build the leaking foundation, and at the same time you were still able to climb to an even higher peak. I don't know where you get the strength from when there is nothing under your feet."

Pei Ye smiled: "Is it so strange?"

"Of course, even though our methods, paths, and speeds are different, we are all climbing the mountain of swordsmanship, while Brother Shi is flying up and down beside us, as if he had wings."

"...In fact, I discovered my sword talent slowly." Pei Ye looked up at the sky and said, "When I was young, I practiced both fist and sword. Although I was the first in both, it was a small town after all. Grandpa Yue taught me sword skills, but I practiced for more than two years but still couldn't get the hang of it. I really didn't think I had much comprehension... But after I left Bowang, I felt that things were getting smoother and smoother. There was almost no real threshold to learning sword skills, and I became more and more confident in the 'sword' thing."

"'Flying Goose on a Snowy Night' is the best sword in the world!"

"Haha." Pei Ye changed the subject, "Come to think of it, do people in the southwest also have community operas during the New Year?"

"Yes, even if it's not the New Year, people in Lishui County love to sing opera. I often go down the mountain to listen." Jiang Yin'er's eyes light up when talking about this. "But I listen to a lot. They are slow to edit. I haven't heard a new script for a long time."

"There are many new plays at the Shenjing Theater. Let's go and listen to them tomorrow." Pei Ye smiled. "When we first met, I saw you wearing a mask. I wondered what play it was. I haven't seen it since."

Jiang Yin'er was a little embarrassed: "That's a toy I made myself. It's not a play. I just like it."

"Do you like drama?"

"Yes, a new play has a new look, but I have watched the Lishui play several times, and I haven't seen any new plays for a long time."

"So you really want a new role?"

"Oh, yes."

"Here you go." Pei Ye smiled and handed a unique light blue mask to the girl. The fine lines on it were like scales, and the cold blue was like water, just like a fairy orchid in the rain in the mountains.

“……” Jiang Yiner stared at him with wide eyes.

"Hehe." Pei Ye touched his head, "Well... this is a New Year's gift for you. Yesterday I saw someone buying a play mask on Leyouyuan, and I thought you might like it, so I asked for a blank one to draw - you must have never seen this costume, it's from Shaolong Xiangzhou, called "White Snake Love", a pretty good play."

"...Thank you, Brother Shi." "You're welcome." Jiang Yin'er held the noodles in her hands, and Pei Ye also tilted his head to look at them. "My painting is okay, right? I imprinted this look in [Que Shou] and traced it accordingly."

"It's so beautiful." Jiang Yin'er said seriously.

"Hey hey hey."

……

The end of the year is always the two most relaxing and enjoyable days of the year, when relatives and friends get together and all matters can be put aside for two days - it would be difficult to calm down if you put aside these chores by yourself, but if the atmosphere of the entire Shenjing City is like this, then you can really relax and enjoy yourself.

The toys that Pei Ye bought from Leyouyuan came in handy this afternoon. The most popular ones were the colorful firecrackers. The boy ran around in the yard, making noise in every corner with Jiang Yin'er. He stuffed the firecrackers into the snow pile swept by Qu Xin while the girl stared at him and waved her hands, completely forgetting about the mature image of Shixiong.

Jiang Yin'er followed him, covering her ears, pursing her lips and shaking her head, not taking the firecrackers he handed over. She just followed him with red cheeks and bright eyes. However, this true disciple of Shenxiao was still serious and disciplined. Even today, when the time came, he still practiced sword for two hours and read books for another hour.

In the afternoon, several friends who had been arranged to meet came, including Xing Zhi, Qi Zhaohua, and Fang Jidao, all of whom were lonely guests in the capital. Xu Chuo invited all of them to come. In fact, the one who rarely showed up was the owner of the Enjun Pavilion, who let people drink and chat in the house. Or, as Pei Ye himself discovered, when she was around, the few people were always not as relaxed as usual.

The people who were in charge of the banquet were Qi Zhaohua and Xing Zhi. The wine and food were all prepared by the two of them. It was a snowy night with lanterns hanging high. Several people stood or sat in the yard and had a leisurely New Year's Eve dinner.

"Xing Zishou is busy with a case, and he still has the leisure to come here. If the culprit is found in the future, it will be difficult to explain." Qi Zhaohua said with a smile.

"Then how can we find out? There is no Lingxuan, no Zhenqi, and even Danqingshou can't find any clues." Xing Zhi was still wearing a purple ribbon, and it was obvious that he came from the government office. He sat at the table and drank wine, saying, "Master Qi, do you know that when investigating a case, we are not afraid of the murderer's meticulous mind and strict design, because no matter how complicated the clues are, there will always be a time to figure them out, and everything in the world is like a wave. Unless the Heavenly Dao takes action personally, who can guarantee that there will be no clues? What I am most afraid of is the kind of murder that is done on impulse, without any plan, and there is no grudge. They just run into each other on the street and kill them in a few breaths. Before the onlookers can react, he has disappeared without a trace - how do you say you are going to investigate this kind of thing?"

Qi Zhaohua nodded: "That makes sense."

"If Officer Xie were here, he would definitely feel the same way as I do." Xing Zhi sighed and drank the wine in the glass.

Pei Ye swallowed two hot dumplings beside him, tilted his head and said vaguely: "This one with mushroom filling is really delicious, who made it?"

Xing Zhi smiled and said, "If you like, I'll teach you later."

"Row!"

Fang Jidao sat on the other side of Pei Ye. The scholar looked a little listless and pale, but he seemed to have been cleansed by the Tianliyuan. His eyes and temperament became more profound. At this time, he was wearing a simple black warm cloak, tilted his head and smiled gently: "Young Master Pei, this is not flower mushroom, but shiitake mushroom. The so-called 'the most delicious mushroom is the mushroom of Yueluo' refers to this kind. The "Mountain Vegetable Book" of the previous dynasty recorded: 'The people of Yongjia cut trees in the moldy month, placed them in the deep forest, chopped them closely, and steamed them into mushrooms, commonly known as shiitake mushrooms. There are two kinds, winter and spring, and winter mushrooms are the best.' Xing Zishou selected this mushroom in winter, exactly..."

Pei Ye moved sideways to stop him from speaking: "Good senior brother, I will go to your place for classes after the New Year."

"..."

The meal lasted more than an hour, and there was more talking and laughing than eating. Although there was enough food, there was still not enough wine. Taking advantage of the snowy night, a few people took out a set of tossing pots to play.

Pei Ye did not accept the invitation. He left the warm and lively courtyard and came to the quiet old book building alone. He lit a small lamp, accompanied by the sound of firecrackers outside the building and the snow reflected in the window, and took out the blue envelope that Qu Xin gave him.

It's been a long time since I last saw the graceful and beautiful handwriting of a girl. It seems like a lifetime ago.

It was not just one letter, but several thick stacks. It would be more accurate to say that it was a letter from Bowang rather than a letter from Li Piaoqing.

Feng Huai's letter was wrapped separately, with the cover having the familiar handwriting of County Magistrate Chang. It was hard for the small town deep in the mountains to know what thrilling experiences the young man had experienced outside. In fact, everyone lacked knowledge of the outside world. Being able to make a name for himself in Bowang Prefecture City was already a success.

"...Xiaoye, Master Li said that you went to the capital. The mountains are high and the roads are long, so it's hard to get news. I'm afraid that if you're ill, I won't know immediately. It would be best if you could get a letter like this back every other month to report that you're safe. You won the first place in the Golden Autumn Martial Arts Competition, which is really an honor. The children are still talking about you all the time. At the end of this year, to celebrate your achievements, the city held another martial arts competition, and we saw many good talents. Master Li even picked two of them to go..."

The letters from County Magistrate Chang, Master Huang, Meng Jiao's widow Cheng Feng's parents, and the chattering of the apprentices in the martial arts school, all the memories and attachments about Feng Huai are carried in this stack of family letters.

Next in line was the friend from Bowang, or rather, it was Zhang Dingyun. The fat boy naturally didn't know that the young man had made many friends in the capital, and was afraid that this country boy would be looked down upon and have a miserable year, so he wrote many words of comfort to him in his letter.

And he very honestly sent him five taels of silver.

Then there were the letters from Yufei Mountain. Several disciples he met that day all sent him letters. To be honest, Pei Ye hadn't thought of these old faces for a long time, but they still remembered him, a traveler far away from his hometown.

And further down, the thin envelope at the bottom must have been written by the girl.

Pei Ye held it in his hand for a while, then unsealed and opened it... At this moment, the door knocked twice, and Pei Ye was slightly startled. The door creaked open slightly, and half of his body leaned in.

"Brother Shi... don't you want to play pitch pot? You will definitely hit the target accurately." Jiang Yin'er said in a low voice.

Pei Ye smiled in astonishment: "No... I have something to do."

Jiang Yin'er insisted, and said seriously: "Let's go, Master said that we should stay up together on New Year's Eve, so that we can have a good year next year."

"It's not time yet." Pei Ye was at a loss, "You guys go play first, I'll come when the time comes."

Jiang Yin'er remained silent. She stood at the door looking somewhat embarrassed but refused to leave.

"..." Pei Ye suddenly reacted and said with a smile, "Did you come to call me because you saw that I was lonely?"

Jiang Yin'er's thoughts were exposed, and she lowered her head in embarrassment, but she still whispered seriously: "This is the first time I spend the New Year away from home, and I miss Master. Brother Shi is also the first time to spend the New Year alone in Shenjing. I think Brother Shi can't help but miss his hometown..."

"..." Pei Ye smiled and whispered, "I'm not lonely. I'm also reading letters from my relatives and friends. If you don't want to play with them, why don't you sit next to me?"

(End of this chapter)