One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

The night breeze on Cuiwei Mountain carries a touch of the damp coolness unique to early autumn, blowing through the pine forests that cover the mountains and fields, bringing with it the soft rustling of leaves.

The ivy on the wall of Shouyi Temple had long since faded, with a few withered yellow vines hanging on the top of the wall, the edges of the leaves curled up, like thin sheets of paper worn by the years.

The cool moonlight poured down like water, covering the bluestone slabs in the courtyard with a thin layer of silver frost.

In the very center of the courtyard stood an old locust tree, its bark mottled, as if etched with deep and shallow lines by the passage of time. Occasionally, a leaf or two would be blown down by the wind, swirling and falling into the bronze cauldron in front of the main hall, which was filled with rainwater, creating extremely fine ripples.

Two dim lanterns hung under the eaves outside the main hall, bearing the characters "Shouyi," which, judging from the handwriting, were likely written by Grandpa himself. The bulbs were low-wattage and swayed gently in the night breeze. Although the light was not very bright, it emitted a warm glow, illuminating the steps of the corridor in front of the main hall with a soft light.

The shadows cast by the swaying lanterns on the mottled walls resembled those of the stubborn old man in his tattered Taoist robe, silently guarding this tranquil little Taoist temple.

……

The bamboo grove in the backyard rustled in the night breeze.

Beside the ancient well, Jiang Shou was bending over, pulling water up with both hands by the well rope.

The clear well water shimmered under the moonlight overhead. As the bucket was lifted onto the well platform, a few water droplets dripped down the edge of the wooden bucket and hit the moss-covered well platform, making a series of soft, crisp sounds.

Jiang Shou poured water into a stainless steel basin. He scooped rice, rinsed it, and picked vegetables, his movements fluid and unhurried, exuding a highly skilled and practiced air.

The well water was icy cold, and the white rice grains rolled around in it.

Jiang Shou's mother passed away early, and his grandfather spent most of his life at Shouyi Temple, leaving only him and his father to depend on each other at the old house. Jiang's father was engaged in aquaculture, working from dawn till dusk, with many complicated and demanding tasks, often neglecting his family.

This forced Jiang Shou to start cooking on the stove before he was even twelve years old, taking charge of his and his father's three meals a day.

I dare not boast about anything else, but over the years, Jiang Shouna has definitely honed his skills in cooking home-style dishes to an exceptional degree.

The gas cylinder in the kitchen had been empty for a long time; he tried turning it twice but no gas came out. Jiang Shou didn't mind. He found a rag, wiped the dusty old induction cooker next to him clean, and plugged it in.

With a "beep," the induction cooker lit up with a red light, and a slight buzzing sound quickly came from the bottom of the pot.

Pour in the oil and add it to the pan. As soon as the oil gets hot, add the chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and thinly sliced ​​fatty pork belly.

"Sizzle—" A rich, overpowering aroma, a blend of oil and spices, exploded in the small kitchen, wafting straight into people's noses.

Just as Jiang Shou was stirring the iron wok...

Suddenly, a very faint "thump" sound came from the kitchen doorway.

Jiang Shou stopped using the spatula and looked back.

The fat orange cat named Fat Tiger had somehow moved from the threshold of the main hall to the threshold of the kitchen.

Its plump, orange-yellow body, illuminated by the overhead incandescent light, appeared round and plump on the ground, like an inflated ball.

Fat Tiger's eyes remained half-open, mocking and lifeless, but its thick tail swayed subtly from side to side in mid-air, betraying its true feelings.

"Oh..." Jiang Shou raised an eyebrow, a suppressed smile playing on his lips, "You came because you smelled it?"

This fat cat, indeed, every ounce of its flesh is not innocent.

However, Jiang Shou was secretly excited. Loves to eat? That's a great thing!

For someone with advanced culinary skills, the worst thing is this "newbie guide NPC" who is unyielding and aloof.

As long as you have a weakness, even if you're just a cat, I can still feed you like one of my own.

Jiang Shou chuckled, picked up a small piece of sizzling, fragrant cured pork from the pot with his chopsticks, and gently placed it in a porcelain bowl on the edge of the stove: "Here, Fatty Tiger. Try what I made."

Fat Tiger squatted on the threshold, still maintaining that aloof and disdainful look towards the human in front of him, even tilting his head arrogantly to the side.

But just two seconds later, its pink, wet little nose twitched violently twice uncontrollably.

In the end, it seems that I still couldn't resist the damn aroma of carbohydrates and fats.

"Whoosh!" In the blink of an eye, an orange lightning bolt streaked across the sky. Fat Tiger, with a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its obese size, snatched the piece of cured meat from the edge of the bowl and landed back on the ground.

He chewed and swallowed in two bites. Fat Tiger licked the oil from his lips and looked up at Jiang Shou again.

This time, his eyes were no longer filled with disdain and arrogance as before; instead, they held a clear... expectation.

"What's the rush?" Jiang Shou grinned, turned around and picked up the spatula. "Go stand aside and wait for me to finish cooking. Then I'll show you the skills of Master Jiang the Little Immortal."

Fat Tiger seemed not to hear, yet also seemed to understand. It obediently retreated to the eaves of the backyard, tucked its two front paws into its arms, and quietly lay down on the ground to wait.

……

Half an hour later.

In the pavilion in the backyard, the moonlight illuminated the ground. Inside the pavilion stood an old, square wooden table and two long, peeling benches.

Jiang Shou carried a tray and placed the four freshly cooked dishes on the table: a plate of stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork, a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables.

In the very center, there is a small crucian carp that has been fried in hot oil until golden brown on both sides, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

By this time, Fat Tiger had already jumped onto the wooden table with practiced ease.

Its round body sat upright, its tail obediently coiled beside its paws, and its pair of cat eyes, shining in the night, stared intently at the fried fish in the center of the table.

To Jiang Shou's surprise, this gluttonous cat was surprisingly well-behaved.

It was practically drooling, but it didn't even reach out a paw to touch it. It just sat there quietly, seemingly waiting for Jiang Shou to sit down and start the meal together.

"She's quite polite."

Jiang Shou grinned, went back to the kitchen and filled himself a large bowl with white rice, then grabbed a clean little shallow dish.

He walked through the corridor and placed the small shallow dish on the table in front of Fatty Tiger. Then, Jiang Shou plopped down on the bench, picked up his chopsticks, looked at Fatty Tiger sitting opposite him, and said with a smile, "Alright, Fatty Tiger, let's start eating."

The voice just fell.

"Whoosh—!" Upon hearing this, Fat Tiger suddenly stretched his neck forward, moving so fast that Jiang Shou only saw an orange afterimage.

When he looked closely, the plate in the center of the table was empty. Fat Tiger, with a crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside golden fried fish in his mouth, nimbly jumped off the table and disappeared into the shadows of the corner of the pavilion to feast on it.

"Holy shit!" Jiang Shou froze in mid-air, chopsticks in hand, his eyes twitching wildly. He couldn't help but curse, "You didn't even hold back at all! I'm supposed to be the abbot, and you didn't even leave me a fish tail?!"

From the corner came the crisp sound of crunching fish bones. Fat Tiger didn't even turn his head, expressing his highest praise for Jiang Shou's cooking skills with his actions.

Jiang Shou shook his head helplessly, picked up a piece of garlic sprouts stir-fried with cured pork and stuffed it into his mouth, then shoveled a big mouthful of white rice into his mouth.

There were no neon lights or hustle and bustle of the city, only the occasional chirping of insects and calls of birds.

A gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo grove, and the pines whispered in the breeze. Under the bright moonlight, a man and a cat quietly ate their dinner in this dilapidated pavilion.

The nights at Shouyi Temple are so peaceful that it feels like living here for a lifetime would be an extremely wonderful thing.