Chicken Soup

It was to that kind of scene that Sir Yi came back to; his master fuming and grumbling but decidedly fine and energetic while Shu Shu was giggling madly on the other side of the room.

"Your chicken," the man said as he handed one whole chicken.

Shu Shu was kind of glad it was already plucked and cleaned, only waiting to be cooked. "Where did you get it from?" she remembered it was hard to come across wild pheasant in the mountain and the city was half a day journey from the village.

Sir Yi didn't answer, merely staring at her as if urging her to cook immediately.

"Fine, fine," she huffed but she did move to cook.

Sir Yi went to attend his master, they were whispering lowly and Xu Yun Tian seemed to be telling him to do something.

Shu Shu averted her eyes to focus on the chicken instead. She'd rather not be involved in whatever it was those two were embroiled in. She'd give shelter until Xu Yun Tian's stitches could be taken, maybe one more day of rest after just to be sure, but after that she expect them gone.

"What are those?"

Just like yesterday, Sir Yi came close and questioned everything she did. But unlike yesterday, he didn't startle her an even the question was less harsh even though it still contained a tinge of suspicion.

"It's my special recipe of chicken soup," Shu Shu replied softly and a bit stiffly. What could she do? Fear didn't disappear in just one night.

"What are those?" Sir Yi repeated the question, this time with furrowed eyebrows and sterner tone.

Shu Shu sighed. This man was such a hassle.

She understood he was just trying to make sure his master was not harmed, but after her help yesterday, why did he still suspect her? If she wanted to harm them, she could just slip a poison as she treated their wound and left them to die in the mountain.

"These are Astragalus roots and Codonopsis roots. Astragalus is good for human body to de-stress while Codonopsis root help energize tired body and digestive system. These are Goji berries, to improve eyesight, and Longan, to promote restful sleep. Finally, these are ginger for body aches and red dates to protect your liver."

She explained one by one the ingredients she prepared for the chicken soup.

Shu Shu then began to cook. She used to cook this back when she herself was sick. She wasn't sure if this combination was common here in this era, but she very glad that the ingredients was easily obtained.

She cut the chicken in huge chunks, boiling them in hot water to get some of the grease out. While waiting the water to boil, she rinse and soak all the dry ingredients.

"Sir Yi, could I trouble you to remove the water and rinse the chicken? Please boil another pot of water too," she said. Shu Shu was seemingly calm on the outside, but inside her heartbeat was thudding fast as if she had just run a marathon.

Unexpectedly—or maybe as expected, it was for Xu Yun Tian after all—Sir Yi went to do exactly what Shu Shu asked.

Once everything was prepared and water was boiling again, she put in all the ingredients.

About a cup of tea time later, Shu Shu opened the cover and delicious fragrant of chicken soup filled the area.

"Not done yet?" Xu Yun Tian finally asked from where he was sitting up on the straw pile bed.

Shu Shu shook her head. "No, still need to wait another sichen for the chicken meat to fall apart," she said with confidence before turning to the two other people in the hut. "I need to go back for now. The old man I'm living with will be suspicious if I'm not back soon. Watch the fire, don't let it go out nor get too big."

After imparting the instructions, the little girl then gathered her basket of herbs she harvested before coming to visit and started her trek down the mountain back to Lu Tai Hu's house. That morning one of the villager fell from the rooftop—what he was doing there she had no clue—and Lu Tai Hu was rushed in.

Usually, she would be helping Lu Tai Hu as his assistant, but their herb stock was thinning. Thus, she was sent herb gathering on her own.

"Oh you're back," Lu Tai Hu's voice greeted her as she walked through the gate. "You're taking your time today," he remarked offhandedly.

"En. Some of the herbs hadn't grown back, so I was searching in different areas," Shu Shu answered without missing a beat. That was also the truth. There were some herbs that Lu Tai Hu was requesting her to harvest and some of them hadn't grown into maturity yet.

"Good then," the old man replied with a smile.

The two of them worked in silence and occasional playful banter as usual. When it was nearing a sichen and no patient in sight, she went to Lu Tai Hu for permission.

"Teacher, I'd like to visit my hut today," she said casually as if discussing the weather.

Lu Tai Hu looked at the sky before humming his agreement. "Be careful and don't be too late," he advised before letting her go.

She didn't tell her teacher about her two guests. She had a feeling that the less people know the better it was for the two of them.

Arriving at the hut again, she found Sir Yi diligently tending to the fire. She sauntered in and checked the soup. En, it was ready to be eaten now.

Shu Shu fetched two bowl and poured the soup into the two of them, making sure at least one chunk of chicken meat was in the bowl.

"Here you are, be careful, it's hot," she gave them to Sir Yi who was waiting nearby.

The man dutifully brought the piping hot soup to his master and waited upon him.

Shu Shu shook her head at their act before ladling another bowl—smaller one—for her portion. It's not that she didn't want to taste her cooking, she was after all quite confident it'd taste good. It was just that she thought it was prudent to leave as much as she could for the patient.

Besides, she was going to eat dinner with Lu Tai Hu at home too.

"How is it? Good right?" she smiled blindingly at Xu Yun Tian.

"…en," the boy grunted as if reluctant to admit. However, he gulped down the soup as fast as he could even though it was still piping hot. Sir Yi, seeing his master so eager to eat, started cooling down his bowl so Xu Yun Tian could eat it in cooler temperature as soon as he was done with his bowl.

Such dedicated servant, Shu Shu couldn't help but thought.

"Don't eat too fast or you'll choke. There are still more, if you want more. Just need to heat it again if you want to eat later," she said with a cheery smile.

Xu Yun Tian glanced at her from over his bowl. His obsidian orbs glinted in the weakening sunlight and Shu Shu felt it was beautiful. Such a pity those eyes were so cold, how pretty would it look with warmth instead?

Shaking her head, Shu Shu finished her bowl and went to rinse it before putting it back where it belonged. Then, so as not to feel like lying, she went about cleaning the hut. She obviously avoided the backroom where Xu Yun Tian was residing, but she made sure the front was as clean as it could be.

"Sir Yi," she greeted when the man walked out with two empty bowl. "Here, I'll wash those. After that I will go back."

Sir Yi gave the bowls silently and nodded. "Won't be escorting you out," he said in his low voice before disappearing again. Shu Shu jerked back. It was the second time that day and this time she could feel clearly the life energy in front of her. She could also see the shadow flitting to the trees and disappearing into the darkness.

"Hai, I'm not sure I want to know," she mumbled after a while, heading to wash the bowls.