Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 20 Judging Others by Their Own Petty Minds

The clay pot is served, and the aroma fills the entire pot.

Zhui Fengzi took out another pot of wine—this time it was ordinary highland barley wine.

Jiang Mingzhe eagerly took the glass and filled it for both Zhui Fengzi and himself.

"Senior brother, your junior brother respects you!"

"Haha, sit down and have a drink, sit down and have a drink. We're brothers, no need for formalities."

The two glasses clinked together, and he downed the wine in one gulp.

Zhui Fengzi picked up his chopsticks: "Start eating, everyone, don't be shy..."

Before she could finish speaking, Azi had already picked up a chicken leg and was enjoying it immensely.

Zhui Fengzi smiled and didn't say anything more, then buried his head in his food.

Jiang Mingzhe was already starving and didn't care about his table manners anymore.

It must be said that Zhuifengzi's cooking skills are truly excellent.

He chopped off the head and tail of the pheasant, skinned and deboned it, cut it into pieces, blanched the white snake bones and placed them at the bottom of the pot, then added water and brought it to a boil.

Heat lard in a copper pot, then stir-fry snake meat pieces, diced large chicken, and crushed ginger until golden brown. Add sauce and stir-fry for a few more moments, then pour into a clay pot of boiling water. Add a little Rhodiola rosea and Artemisia capillaris as spices, and simmer overnight.

Just before taking it off the heat, add some salt and sprinkle in a handful of goji berries.

Although this "One Dragon, Two Phoenixes" dish lacks many of the seasonings found in later generations, the ingredients are of high quality, the cooking time is perfect, and the aroma, flavor, and texture are so rich that even Jiang Mingzhe, who has tasted countless delicacies, readily gave it a five-star rating.

They enjoyed their meal and then went home.

The third senior brother smiled and saw the guest off. Before leaving, he took Jiang Mingzhe's hand. Jiang Mingzhe felt a hardness in his palm and looked down to see a small wine jar containing Five Treasures Honey Wine.

Jiang Mingzhe was somewhat surprised, he really hadn't expected Zhuifengzi to give him this, and quickly declined: "Third Senior Brother, this wine is too precious, you absolutely mustn't!"

Zhui Fengzi turned his hands behind his back, refusing to accept the gift, but forced a smile and said, "I, your senior brother, am generous and magnanimous, and I dislike such polite refusals. It's a pity there's only this much left, otherwise I would definitely give you a few jin... Well, although it's only a little over two liang, if you drink a little bit before practicing every day, your foundation will be exceptionally solid. You can't refuse anymore; this is your senior brother's heartfelt gift!"

The fat man was heartbroken. He tried to laugh with a generous and heroic air, but the more he laughed, the more ferocious he became.

Azi found it amusing and tightly covered her mouth to avoid laughing out loud.

Seeing that he insisted on giving it to him, Jiang Mingzhe had no choice but to accept it: "Sigh... alright, then I'll accept it without shame. Thank you so much, senior brother."

After saying goodbye to Zhui Fengzi, and turning a corner, A Zi said with a grin, "This Five Treasures Honey Wine is not easy to brew. I thought that treating us to a cup was already generous enough, but I didn't expect that you would be so generous as to give it all to me."

Jiang Mingzhe was also puzzled. He didn't know that A Zi had created the persona of an illegitimate child for him. He only thought that Zhui Fengzi was optimistic about his talent and wanted to use him as a target to attract Zhai Xingzi's attention.

But if that's all there is to it, the investment is far too large. Jiang Mingzhe racked his brains but still couldn't figure it out.

Seeing his suspicion, Azi chuckled inwardly but didn't intend to say anything. Instead, she muttered to herself about the dishes she had just eaten.

"Big Ginger, why is the 'Gaga Chicken' so delicious? If I were Master, I would send my third senior brother to the canteen as the head chef so he could cook 'Gaga Chicken' every day. Then I wouldn't have to cook those awful things every day."

Hearing her tone, Jiang Mingzhe realized that she rarely had any delicious food to eat, so he smiled and said, "Actually, my cooking skills are not bad either. Once I have all the ingredients ready, I will definitely treat you to a good meal."

"You can cook too?" Azi was quite surprised, then her eyes darted around and she said with a grin, "But good food needs good wine too. Would you be willing to treat me to Five Treasures Honey Wine?"

Azi's original intention was to see her junior brother's distressed expression, but Jiang Mingzhe smiled indifferently and handed over the small wine jar: "Senior sister likes to drink, what are you waiting for, let's treat each other."

"Huh?" Before Azi could react, the wine was shoved into her hand. She picked it up and shook it, her expression clearly blank: "Give it all to me?"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded.

"You!" Azi raised her eyebrows, as if Jiang Mingzhe had committed some grave error, and exclaimed excitedly, "You, you, how could you give it all to me? Didn't I tell you where this wine came from? Let me tell you, if it weren't for Master giving us many precious ingredients, Third Senior Brother wouldn't have been able to make this wine on his own, eh!"

Her eyes suddenly brightened, and she frowned, calculating, "Speaking of which, those ingredients for making the liquor won't spoil. Third Senior Brother can just make it again, but the effect will probably be far less than this batch... Hey! Big Ginger, do you think he might have already made it again? What we're drinking is... what we're drinking is..." "Secondhand goods?" Jiang Mingzhe kindly reminded her when he saw that she didn't know how to describe it.

"Yes, it's secondhand stuff! They gave us secondhand stuff to drink!" Azi became more and more certain as she spoke, nodding to herself, "There's no mistake, it must be! Otherwise, how could someone as talented as me only have three acupoints opened after drinking his wine?"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed heartily. It was also his first time drinking this wine, so he couldn't tell the difference between first-hand and second-hand wine. However, Zhui Fengzi's subtle expression of feigned generosity while actually feeling pained was definitely not an act.

Therefore, Azi's guess was mostly based on a petty mind...

Thinking of this, Jiang Mingzhe suddenly realized something was wrong—there were no gentlemen in the Xingxiu Sect!
He nodded gently, understanding Ah Zi's petty intentions.

In this sect, how can one deal with so many petty people if one does not have the mind to see through their petty thoughts?

"Third Senior Brother is so stingy! I knew he couldn't possibly be that generous!"

Ah Zi had completely forgotten the words of gratitude that Sanpangzi had uttered when he poured her the wine, and was now pouting and muttering to herself.

After saying that, he glanced at Jiang Mingzhe, smiled, and said, "Big Ginger is the most generous!"

Jiang Mingzhe found it amusing and reminded her, "I was just using their wine as a gift. This wine actually belonged to my third senior brother. How did it become that he was stingy and I was generous?"

“It’s different.” Azi said seriously and confidently, “Third Senior Brother has kept a lot for himself. Does he think he doesn’t have any? I don’t believe it! But you really only have this much.”

She then lifted the small wine jar high and shook it: "Give me everything you have!"

As she spoke, Azi suddenly became moved, stopped in her tracks, and stared intently at Jiang Mingzhe: "Big Ginger, why are you so good to me?"

Jiang Mingzhe had no choice but to stop, and smiled gently: "You're very good to me too."

"No." Azi was silent for a moment, then said hesitantly, "I wanted Master to poison you before."

Jiang Mingzhe's heart skipped a beat; he hadn't expected her to bring this up on her own initiative.

He looked down at Azi, who gently bit her lip, her eyelids drooping slightly, clearly revealing a trace of guilt and unease.

Is this a confession session for the little girl?
Jiang Mingzhe smiled silently and followed up on her question, "Oh right, we have no grudge against each other, why would you poison me?"

Azi's voice grew softer and softer: "I didn't know you back then, and you were so annoying because you didn't wear clothes... Besides, when Master poisoned others, I could secretly learn his techniques. If he used a very strong poison, I could pester him for some."

Jiang Mingzhe sighed inwardly. He'd noticed this in the past when he read *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*: perhaps because she grew up in the Xingxiu Sect, A'Zi lacked basic respect for life. She truly didn't care about those she didn't care about.
But when it comes to people I care about, I really do care.

Jiang Mingzhe felt a little regretful that he wasn't a psychologist. He was certain that Azi had a very serious psychological problem, but he couldn't diagnose it for her.

He thought for a moment, then decided to skip the topic and said seriously, "Yes, we didn't know each other back then. Later, I became your junior brother, and you were very kind to me. You taught me how to adapt to this place, how to get my master to teach me powerful kung fu, found me a belt, and even ate the belt with me..."

Azi found it amusing and chuckled, "So I really have been good to you, no wonder you're so good to me too!"

As the sky grew brighter, Azi was in high spirits. Suddenly, she turned around, jumped up, and kicked Jiang Mingzhe in the butt: "The sun is about to rise, why aren't you going back to catch up on your sleep!"

As she spoke, she skipped and hopped back home.

As Jiang Mingzhe passed the entrance of Building B1, he stopped and said, "Senior sister, I'll head back now."

"Go back, go back!"

Azi waved dismissively as she walked past, casually tossing the small wine jar behind her: "Catch!"

Jiang Mingzhe's eyes widened suddenly, and he quickly caught it with both hands. He wondered what Azi was thinking, throwing such a precious thing away so casually. Wasn't she afraid that he wouldn't be able to catch it?
"Sister..."

"I was just teasing you, senior sister. I wouldn't even look at secondhand goods. I'm saving them for you to build your foundation!" Azi interrupted him without turning her head.

Watching Azi's figure disappear, Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and smiled, muttering to himself, "Little brat, you ran so fast. I still have things to ask you... Never mind, I'll take a nap and talk about it later."

I stretched and walked into my little house.

(End of this chapter)