Chapter 64: Logic Gates
Returning with not one but two pheasants, Yan Ping wondered if she had overdone it. The bamboo basket was overflowing with food, and the only mouth to feed was a little girl who ate no more than a chicken. This food could easily last Anji a whole week with some preservation spells. She might have overdone it, but it was better than having Anji risk an injury while foraging.
With only about an hour left to spare, the blind cultivator got to work immediately. Tossing the pheasants into a crate with a functional preservation spell, Yan Ping started preparing them. It was dangerous to leave raw meat out for more than a day, so she needed to prepare it thoroughly before putting it in the preservation crate.
After boiling some water in the pot and draining the pheasants of their blood in the back garden, Yan Ping used the hot water to help pluck their feathers off. Then, she carefully removed the innards and de-boned the two birds until there were enough portions of meat to last until the end of the week. There would still be some leftovers, which would be handy if Anji ever needed a quick bite.
After putting everything else she did not need for dinner in the preservation crate, Yan Ping started preparing the ingredients for soup. Boiling it over low heat could take a few hours, so starting earlier rather than later was best.
Thirty minutes later, the soup was boiling in the pot. Yan Ping took a few minutes to wash up and tidy her appearance. It was difficult to know if she had any blood stains from earlier. She could still smell the scent of iron on her even after washing, unsure if it was the remnants from the backyard or something from her imagination. However, for safety reasons, Yan Ping decided to change her clothes. She would do the laundry later and teach Anji how to do it. Unfortunately, laundry was the only chore she did not manage to create a spell for and had to be done by hand.
"Anji," Yan Ping gently shook the child. "It’s time to wake up."
Unlike other children who were deep sleepers, Anji woke up almost immediately without fuss. Rubbing her eyes, she quickly remembered what she was supposed to do.
Yan Ping gave her student time to make the bed and waited for her in the sitting room. On the table were several daily items that she engraved with spells. These were simple spells that only required one element to activate.
After five minutes, Anji clambered onto the stool and looked at the items on the table. These were the items she noticed earlier when exploring the hut. The objects on the right were the only items with simple seals that she recognised, using only one element for activation. However, objects with more complicated seals were on the left, and Anji became nervous. Was Yan Ping going to quiz her about them? She had only finished reading the first part of the beginner’s guidebook when she left to forage for lunch. Not to mention, there wasn’t much time until the sun went down. Apart from white rice and plain water, there was nothing else to eat if she did not leave now! However, Yan Ping did not seem to be in a hurry. Was this her teacher’s way of instilling discipline? Feeling slightly gloomy at the idea of a tasteless dinner, Anji resigned to fate. It was still infinitely better than starving. She should pay attention to the lesson and make up for her shortcomings tomorrow.
"I’m ready for lessons, shifu."