Chapter 111: Study, Eat and Sleep Well
Feeling refreshed after Anji’s treatment, Bai Dajin looked five years younger and smelled infinitely better. However, the neglected state of his room made it unsuitable to host a dinner gathering. Hence, Mingshen organised for the manager of Golden Halo Hotel to book them a private dining room.
"It’s been a while," Mingshen greeted. "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to accompany my younger sister to the Mystical Qilin Sect. Our father wishes for me to convey his gratitude."
Scoffing at the rigid etiquette unfitting of someone as boorish as him, Bai Dajin brushed past Mingshen and made a beeline to the table full of amazing appetisers. Anji noticed the extravagant use of mushrooms in the stuffed spring rolls. Even the dipping sauce had little chopped mushrooms inside.
"Is mushroom a speciality of Eternal Night Valley?" she asked. "It looks good!"
Feeling proud of his younger sister’s knowledge, Mingshen confirmed that the townspeople often pick wild edible mushrooms that were abundant in the valley. They grew easily in little nooks that nobody noticed. Even without a dedicated farming shed, mushrooms quickly became a staple ingredient used in food, one that was rarely lacking in this gloomy place.
After everyone was seated at the round table, Mingshen poured herbal tea and served it while Bai Dajin looked through the restaurant menu. Unlike other regions he had been to, the cuisine here lacked spice. They had many cold and pickled dishes, but the few warm dishes were mostly soups and salty clay pots he had grown sick of eating in the past week.
"You decide," Bai Dajin tossed the menu at Gu Ying. "I’ll eat anything that has meat and alcohol."
Frowning with disapproval, Anji advised the stubborn White Tiger Sect Leader to forego the wine for one night.
"Although you feel better after I administered acupuncture, your body still requires some time to balance itself. How about some herbal tea instead?"
Begrudgingly, Bai Dajin relented. He wasn’t about to contest with a doctor, even if she was only six.