"Mage... Young Master Gu!"
Gu Zhao had barely walked out of the forest when he saw the Silk Embroideress waiting at the village entrance, craning her neck in anticipation.
Upon seeing Gu Zhao, the Silk Embroideress's eyes lit up. She stood on her tiptoes, waved at him, and then came over at a trot. Panting, she ran to his side, pulled out an egg, and offered it to him.
Gu Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Where did this egg come from?"
The Silk Embroideress said happily, "Aunt Li gave it to me. She raises a few old hens. Young Master, you should eat it while it's still warm. We've also saved you a meal at home."
"Alright!" Gu Zhao didn't stand on ceremony. After spending half the day experimenting in the forest, he was indeed hungry.
Reaching out for the egg, Gu Zhao asked subconsciously, "Have you eaten?"
The Silk Embroideress paused and nodded repeatedly, but before she could speak, her stomach let out a RUMBLE.
The Silk Embroideress's face flushed red. She hurriedly said, "I really did eat earlier. I was just about to go back for dinner."
Gu Zhao was taken aback. "How many meals do you eat a day?"
"Two," the Silk Embroideress said in a small voice. "Neither Grandfather nor I work in the fields, so a morning meal and an evening meal are enough for us."
Gu Zhao fell silent for a moment. With a gentle squeeze, he cracked the egg, which was still warm and carried the girl's faint, clean scent. He then peeled the shell and ate it bite by bite. "It's delicious."
The Silk Embroideress's small face instantly lit up. She then pulled Gu Zhao toward her home, even breaking into a little skip.
As Gu Zhao entered the village, he found that peace had been restored. The dozens of bandit corpses had been cleared away. It was nearing dusk, and smoke was already rising from the chimneys of many houses.
"Lord Mage!"
"Young... Young Master Gu!"
Seeing Gu Zhao enter the village, the villagers—who had already heard from Elder He that he would be staying for a while—greeted him enthusiastically. Their eyes held a mixture of warmth and awe, and they looked at the Silk Embroideress with a hint of envy.
Gu Zhao nodded in response and soon arrived at Elder He's home, just in time to see three or four young boys burst out of the courtyard, laughing and roughhousing.
They had just come out when they nearly bumped into Gu Zhao. Looking up and seeing his face clearly, they all jumped in fright. They quickly stood at attention, momentarily unsure of how to react.
Gu Zhao waved his hand. "Go on, go play."
"Okay!"
Hearing Gu Zhao give them permission, the children let out a huge sigh of relief and fled as if they had wings.
Seeing Gu Zhao, Elder He, who had come out behind them, also breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced fondly at the Silk Embroideress before explaining to Gu Zhao, "They finished their farm chores and came to me to learn a few characters."
Learning to read...
'Oh, right. This is an ancient era. There's no nine-year compulsory education here. Many people go their whole lives without learning how to read or do arithmetic.'
"Li Erping brought over some cured meat during the day, and this old man has steamed some flatbreads. Young Master, please, come inside." Elder He quickly ushered Gu Zhao in.
Gu Zhao walked into the courtyard and saw a low table placed under an old tree. On it were two porcelain bowls and a bamboo basket.
One bowl held a small portion of cured meat, and the other contained some kind of black, unidentifiable pickled vegetables. In the basket were five or six palm-sized, dark-yellow steamed flatbreads.
"Please have a seat, Young Master. There's some porridge warming in the pot. I'll go get you a bowl," said Elder He.
"I'll get it!" the Silk Embroideress interjected. She then moved past Elder He, ran into the adjacent kitchen, and quickly came out holding a bowl of porridge with both hands, placing it in front of Gu Zhao.
A moment later, Gu Zhao looked at the bowl of millet porridge in front of him, which was clearly thicker and more plentiful than Elder He's and the Silk Embroideress's, and fell silent.
'Yesterday I was in too much of a hurry. My mind was filled with the excitement and fear of first arriving in this Otherworld, consumed by thoughts of Ghosts, Cultivation, and exploration. I paid little attention to my surroundings, and even when I did, it was only superficial.'
'Today, after spending half the day experimenting with Magic in the forest, I felt more secure. With my mind at ease, I finally remembered yesterday's promise and decided to return to the village to check on them.'
Life in an ancient mountain village was a far cry from what Gu Zhao had previously imagined.
The old, dilapidated village houses, the patched old clothes, the simple food, the crude utensils... They did indeed have food to eat, but it seemed that was all they had.
Noticing Gu Zhao's silence, the Silk Embroideress looked down timidly, a sense of inadequacy on her face. Elder He's lips moved a few times before he explained in a low voice, "Please forgive us, Young Master. We don't have much to offer in the mountains. Please make do for today. Tomorrow, I'll have someone go to the county to buy some meat, vegetables, and fruit."
Gu Zhao snapped out of it. Seeing the expressions on their faces, he quickly waved his hands and said with a cheerful smile, "Elder He, you misunderstand. I was just thinking that the Silk Embroideress gave me too much porridge. If I can't finish it, I'll feel I've failed to appreciate her kindness."
The Silk Embroideress let out a little laugh and couldn't help but look up. With a mix of shyness and playfulness, she said, "Young Master is a Grand Mage. Your Cultivation must be mentally taxing, and you haven't eaten in a long time today. How could you not even finish a single bowl of porridge?"
"To be honest with you, I actually had a very big lunch today. I'm not hungry at all right now," Gu Zhao said with a smile.
'He had gone to the City God Temple and the Yuanfa Palace in the morning. Although he was in a hurry to come here and experiment, he still had a meal of pig's trotter rice for lunch and even ordered an extra half-portion of roasted goose. He was indeed quite full.'
The Silk Embroideress couldn't help but giggle. "Did the Young Master perhaps hunt a big wild boar in the mountains?"
Gu Zhao shook his head and said, "Wild boar meat is gamy and tough. It doesn't taste good at all."
"But it's delicious, isn't it?" The Silk Embroideress subconsciously glanced at the porcelain bowl on the table, which contained the very cured meat made from a large wild boar hunted by the village's hunter, Li Erping.
'Li Erping had given them cured meat before, and she remembered it being delicious. She would savor the memory of its taste for a long time after each meal. Although she hadn't eaten today's portion yet, it looked quite tasty, didn't it?'
"That's true, too. It's not like you get to eat game like this every day," Gu Zhao nodded.
'Back in modern society, wild boars are on the protected species list. It's illegal for most people to hunt them, let alone eat the meat. Does this count as my first taste of forbidden meat in the Otherworld?'
At this thought, Gu Zhao cheered up again. He picked up his bowl and poured half of his porridge into the Silk Embroideress's and Elder He's bowls. Only then did he pick up a steamed flatbread, grab a piece of cured meat with his chopsticks, and say, "Come on, let's eat."
...
Gu Zhao didn't eat much. Because of what had just happened, Elder He didn't dare press him. He simply watched as Gu Zhao urged the Silk Embroideress to eat more, and a familiar glint returned to his eyes.
After the evening meal, the Silk Embroideress brought a book out from the main house and sat in the courtyard to read, making use of the last rays of the setting sun.
Elder He came to Gu Zhao's side and began to probe carefully. "When this old man was young, I worked as an accountant in Xiuyue County. After the Silk Embroideress's parents died, I started teaching the village children to read, do arithmetic, and manage a household. While the Silk Embroideress weaves bamboo to supplement our income during the day, she listens in and learns. She can be considered literate and well-mannered now."
Gu Zhao nodded upon hearing this, but his eyes wandered, and he seemed distracted. "She should try to read during the day in the future. The light is too dim; it's bad for her eyes."
Elder He was left speechless.
Elder He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but after a moment's thought, he remained silent.
Gu Zhao glanced at the Silk Embroideress's book. The shape and style of the characters were very similar to the traditional characters of ancient Blue Star. After reading a couple of lines, he lost interest. He took a quick look around the kitchen, asked not to be disturbed, and then returned to his room to rest.
'I remember Granny Jin's fresh food market is open until eleven at night, right?'