Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

When Fanes entered the inner chamber of the cave, he fully expected that even the simplest breakfast in a celestial abode would at least include a few decent hot dishes. However, upon stepping into the elegantly furnished side hall, he stopped abruptly, his expression frozen as if someone had pressed the pause button on his face.

A plain-colored coarse linen cloth was spread on the table, on which several celadon dishes were neatly arranged. One dish contained boiled tender bamboo shoots, another dish contained cold bracken salad, and yet another dish contained stir-fried leafy greens of unknown origin. In the center was a bowl of pale green soup, with a few mint leaves and a few small, unidentified yellow flowers floating on the surface.

Even the staple food was steamed kudzu root chunks, arranged in a small bowl, white and crisp, with a dish of grayish sesame salt on the side. The whole combination looked so healthy that Fanes felt his stomach was already protesting in advance.

Yakoda stood beside him, craning her neck to look around the table, the light in her starry eyes visibly dimming. She leaned close to Fanes' ear, her voice barely audible, carrying a desperate "Is it too late for me to retreat?" tone: "Boss... is it too late for us to go back now?"

Fanes straightened up, his face displaying a calm "I was prepared" demeanor. He patted Jakoda on the shoulder, his tone carrying a sense of righteous generosity.

"Yakoda, I believe you can definitely learn immortal arts! You are exceptionally talented and have outstanding aptitude. Stay here and cultivate diligently under the True Lord; your future achievements will be limitless! I'll go back with Xiao Hei now and come see you again in a few days!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fanes turned around and started walking quickly and decisively, not even giving Jakoda time to refute him.

Little Black peeked out from his shoulder, glanced at Yakoda who was still standing behind him, then looked at his master who was walking faster and faster ahead, and tugged at his collar with his little paws, letting out a confused whimper.

Fanes rushed to the cave entrance in three strides, one hand already on the edge of the wooden door frame, but before his foot could step out the threshold, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed the back of his collar.

The hand was long and strong, with precise force, and the way it lifted him by the back of his collar was so practiced it seemed like he'd done it a thousand times. Fanes was lifted off the ground, his short legs kicking in the air as he turned to look at the person who had come—long, silver-white hair tied back, the strands gleaming coolly in the morning light, his eyes carrying a quiet, detached quality, and his pale pupils showing no expression on his face.

She wore a modified short jacket with a pale blue jade button at the collar. Standing in the morning mist outside the cave, she resembled a winter plum blossom growing above the snow line.

Shen He looked down at the child he was carrying, then turned to look at Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun, who was setting out bowls and chopsticks at the table inside the cave. His voice was clear and even: "Master, is this your newly accepted disciple?"

Fanes swayed twice in mid-air, then quickly protested, "No, no! It wasn't me! It was that little girl inside! I was just passing by! I'll leave right away!"

He pointed to Yakoda, who was still standing in front of the table inside the cave, then pointed to himself, his expression extremely sincere.

Hearing the commotion, Yakoda ran to the door and saw Fanes being held in mid-air by a white-haired woman. She paused for a moment, then a hint of "I knew it" resentment appeared in her starry eyes: "Boss... you just sold me out like that?"

Phanes felt a pang of guilt under her resentful, starry eyes, but he still spoke with unwavering conviction: "No! I'm arranging your future! Think about it, if you cultivate with the True Lord, maybe you'll become an immortal someday! Then the whole of Nordkare will look up to you, how prestigious will that be!"

Yakoda was silent for two seconds, then glanced back at the few dishes of bland green leafy vegetables and kudzu root on the table, then looked back at Fanes, who was being held in mid-air, and added quietly, "Then why don't you stay and become an immortal together?"

Before Fanes could answer, Shen He had already put him down, but the hand did not loosen his collar; it simply changed from "lifting" to "pressing down".

Shen He looked up at Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun, who had just walked out the door, and asked in a calm tone, "Master, did you find these two children yourself?"

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun stood inside the threshold, her pale blue robes fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze. She glanced at Fanes, who was being held down by Shen He, then at Yakoda, who was pouting beside her, before finally looking back at Shen He.

"They found their way up the mountain on their own. They were roasting something on the hillside when the crane came to report it. It's a bit dangerous for the two children to be out there, so let them stay in the cave for a few days first."

Shen He glanced down at the child he was holding, then at the little girl with light blonde hair beside him, and said nothing more, simply releasing his grip.

Fanes was finally freed from her grasp. He quickly took two steps back, rubbing the back of his collar that had been pinched, and silently decided that he would never try to sneak away from the fairy's house again.

Little Black jumped off Fanes's shoulder, squatted on the ground, and looked up at the new environment around it—bluestone slabs, old pine trees, and a few unfamiliar humans—then let out a soft howl in the direction of True Lord Liuyun, as if protesting that it had been ignored for so long.

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun glanced down at the palm-sized baby dragon, his dark eyes flickering slightly: "You're only the size of a palm, what are you yelling about?"

Little Black shrank his neck and buried his head next to Fanes' boot in a wronged manner.

Dejected, Fanes was led back to the table by Shen He. Looking at the few plates of bland green vegetables and the bowl of pale green soup with a few mint leaves floating on it, he felt as if his soul had already floated out of his mouth.

After sitting down, he placed his hands on his knees, looked up at the True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng who had also sat down opposite him, and said in a desperate and sincere tone, "True Lord, I really don't want to eat grass..."

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun took a sip of the green soup and said calmly, "Cultivating oneself in the mountains is based on simplicity. You are still young, so you should eat more light food to nourish your spleen and stomach."

Fanes' face fell, like a house whose foundation had been removed. He turned to look at Shen He sitting next to him. The silver-haired girl was picking up a piece of bracken with her chopsticks and putting it in her mouth. She chewed slowly and calmly, her expression as if she were eating a delicacy.

Looking at her smug expression, Fanes felt that his prejudice against the world had deepened once again.

Shen He seemed to sense his gaze. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she put down her chopsticks and turned her head to look at him. Her light-colored pupils held a serious, focused look, as if she were planning something: "Master, I know how to cure picky eating."

Lord Liuyun Jiefeng put down his soup bowl and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh? You even know how to cure picky eaters?"

Shen He nodded, his tone remaining calm: "Just stuff it all into his mouth. Once his mouth is full, he'll swallow it, and he won't be picky anymore."

Fanes' back stiffened instantly. He looked at Shen He's serious face, then at her hands—long and strong, she hadn't even been out of breath when she dragged him back from outside.

The image of someone pressing the back of my head and stuffing a whole plate of cold bracken salad into my mouth flashed into my mind, and my stomach started churning.

Fanes abruptly raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, his smile more strained than a grimace: "I was just joking! I was just kidding! These dishes look delicious! The bamboo shoots are tender, the ferns are refreshing, and the kudzu root is good for the stomach! I'll eat right now! I'll eat right away!"

He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of steamed kudzu root, and put it in his mouth. After chewing it a couple of times, he realized it wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

The natural sweetness of kudzu root slowly emerges after chewing, and when dipped in sesame salt, the salty and savory flavor balances the blandness, creating a surprisingly pleasant aftertaste.

I picked up another piece of bracken fern and tried it. The slight bitterness was perfectly neutralized by the vinegar dressing, making it crisp and refreshing.

Yakoda sat opposite him, watching him shovel his food into his mouth, and had already picked up her chopsticks to eat. After chewing a bamboo shoot a couple of times, her eyes lit up: "Hey, this is pretty good!"

Fanes chewed on some kudzu root and mumbled a reply, "Hmm...it's alright."