Chapter 771: You Are Enough |
His smile grew even bigger as he wiped his hands clean with a towel.
"Hahaha, thank you! Thank you!" he said to her, "It truly is a joyous occasion! I'm so happy that you came!"
Elder Fei continued to cook with a grin, checking the various posts and moving his cookware around. Ming Yue just watched from the side, seeing the flames billowing out. He moved with grace and expertise, seemingly knowing which dishes needed what ingredients, whether they were lacking in seasoning, or if they needed time to cook.
"You've become quite the expert, cooking so many things at once" she pointed out to him.
The man just chuckled as he continued with his cooking.
"I've always been in the kitchen. Even before opening the tea shop, I grew a fondness for cooking. Even if I lost my cultivation, I never lost that experience. Who knew that all that time battling criminals and beasts alike culminated into this?" he said.
He moved a pan out of the way, replacing it with a pot.
"Sometimes it's more difficult than fighting."
"You've seen them right? Fei Xing and Fei Yang?"
Ming Yue nodded.
"Yes, I have. They look so... small and fragile."
The man laughed.
"Of course, they do. They've just been born after all. It does make you wonder just how delicate we can be. You didn't have that with Hongyu?" he asked.
She looked at him with a blank expression before looking back at the stoves.
"No, I didn't."
Elder Fei's face changed slightly, becoming more serious.
"Right, the two of you had to survive out in the wilderness of the Beast Continent. I can't imagine how rough that would've been."
Ming Yue seemed somewhat stony when she responded.
"When I first found her, I needed her to be strong, not fragile. If not, she wouldn't have survived, even with my help. But now, we're doing quite well for ourselves."
She said nothing more, going silent before Elder Fei asked her something.
"Of course, of course... well then, since you're here early, would you like to help us? There shouldn't be too much to do, just a few finishing touches around the tea shop!" he suggested.
The woman smiled once more and nodded.
"I'll ask Aunt Cui what needs to be done."
She turned around and walked out of the kitchen, allowing the Elder to finish his work. Stepping outside, she saw Fei Xian and his wife still looking inside the baby carriage. Hongyu at the other beasts were there as well, surrounding the carriage with looks of interest. Looking at them from the kitchen entrance, she couldn't help but notice a cane beside Fei Xian.
"Your leg..."
She couldn't help but point it out, grabbing their attention.
Fei Xian looked at her before glancing at his leg and the cane. He then grabbed it and stood up, walking with a slight limp.
Making his way towards her, he looked over his shoulder, checking the carriage and smiling at his wife.
"Right, the Ascetic nearly crippled me but I was very lucky. I may not be able to walk as well as before but... I'm happy that I'm able to walk as well", he told her.
"You know, I can search for the right medicine. There must be something that can fix this", she replied.
He sighed, looking down at the floor and tapping his cane.
"That's what Rou'er has been doing. Most if not all of her experiential training is spent searching for that very thing. I'm grateful but I've come to terms with this. Besides, I can still cultivate!"
He told her this with quite a happy voice but Ming Yue only looked at him with sadness.
"Let me see, maybe I can fix it", she said.
Despite her words, Fei Xian shook it off, waving his other hand at her.
"Stop it, there's no point in offering this. My family has already tried multiple doctors and they've all said the same thing. The damage is done, while severe, we were able to reduce most of it. you didn't see it before but I was much worse. But I persevered and now I have this."
He held his cane up before grabbing the top of it with his other hand. For just a moment, he opened it and closed it right back up, revealing a hidden sword.
"Though I may not be able to fight the same way as before, I found manuals for fighting with a limp leg. I studied and researched, using the Eonic Stance as a base. It took quite a while to develop but it's been good to me."
"A new sword style?" she asked, looking at him with interest.
Fei Xian nodded.
"I've grown fond of it and now I really don't need some treasure to 'fix' me", he answered.
"I see."
Ming Yue no longer pushed it, seeing that he truly did not want this anymore.
"Where's Aunt Cui?" she asked.
Fei Xian perked up, looking around the shop before pointing at the courtyard.
"She's probably there, adding more decor to the back."
Ming Yue turned around, looking into the courtyard, and headed towards it. Walking outside into the little area, she found Aunt Cui on a stool, trying to place something up on the pillars around it. It was a small bouquet of flowers and there were dozens more surrounding her. Waving her hand, the young cultivator floated up while bringing all of the bouquets to her side.
Aunt Cui didn't even notice until Ming Yue was right beside her, helping her secure the bouquet onto the top.
"Is there anything else other than the bouquets?" she asked her.
Aunt Cui smiled before answering.
"Well, we just have to finish up decorating the courtyard and putting some tables and chairs out here too."
"Alright then."
Together, they placed flowers everywhere and even hung up a small banner that said, "Long Life and Prosperity" on it. Everything was red for good fortune and Aunt Cui spared no effort making sure that everything looked pretty.
By the time, they finished, others started to arrive, bearing gifts for the two couples. The first was Rou'er who had come with a few others from the Eternal Blade Sect. Then there were a few courtesans and even the head of the brothel that Aunt Cui used to work at, had come. People from the neighborhood, friends, and family, all of them came with smiles and bearing gifts.
And of course, the one that noticed first was Ming Yue, who continued to watch the pile of presents grow.
She then looked at the two couples who were busy greeting everyone else. Standing in the back with Hongyu and the others, she just watched from afar. Soon enough, Rou'er would come around to talk.
"Something wrong?" she asked her.
Ming Yue looked at her before turning back to the presents.
"I didn't come with a gift."
The girl looked at her with slight slight disbelief before laughing.
"Ahahaha, I don't think it matters for you", she told her.
The cultivator furrowed her brows.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
But Rou'er only gave a vague answer.
"You'll know soon enough."
Suddenly, there was a tapping sound echoing through the shop as the two couples along with their babies stood in front of everyone. Once all eyes were on them, Elder Fei stopped tapping, setting the teacup and chopsticks aside.
There was a smile and joy on his face, genuine happiness.
"We want to thank you all for coming here and celebrating this occasion with us. It means a lot for you to have come here. And I'd like to especially thank Ming Yue, if not for her, none of this would have happened."
He looked at her and beckoned her to come as did the others. She looked shocked, not expecting something like this but walked to their side.
"She has impacted all of our lives and for the better! Saving us time and time again! None of us knew how to pay her back until now, she is going to be the godmother of these two little ones."
His words were followed by clapping and words of encouragement while Ming Yue just looked at them in surprise.
"But... I don't deserve something like this", she muttered to them.
Aunt Cui only shook her head and held out Xing'er for her to carry.
"Listen, you didn't need to bring a gift at all. You are enough", she told her.
Ming Yue just froze up finally looking at the small baby and she slowly reached out, carefully wrapping her arms around the child and carrying her as gently as possible. She turned around and saw Fei Xian, who smiled and nodded.
"These are your god-children."
