One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Chapter 298 Boiling Meatballs and Sparring

"Yunyun," she put down her needlework, walked over, took the ceramic bowl containing the "rainbow dumplings" from Xiaoyun's hand, looked at it carefully, and then said, "Dumplings, you have to cook them. Raw ones are not good."

"Cook?" Xiaoyun tilted her head, her big, golden-red eyes full of doubt.

"Mm." Chen Duo nodded, pointing to the small, dark charcoal stove in the corner of the yard that was usually used to boil water (thankfully it wasn't a bronze octagonal stove!), "Use fire, boil it."

"Fire! Burn!" Xiaoyun's eyes lit up instantly, showing great interest in the new "cooking" step. She immediately dropped the earthenware pot and branches, ran to the charcoal stove, squatted down, stared curiously at the dark stove, and reached out her little hand to touch the still-warm stove wall.

"Careful, it's hot!" Nie Lingfeng was startled and quickly stepped forward to grab her restless little hand.

"Fire! Yunyun, light the fire!" Xiaoyun struggled, filled with longing for the magical stove that could "cook meatballs".

"This... we can't just pick it up randomly..." Nie Lingfeng had a headache. Explaining "danger" and "don't play with fire" to a three-year-old girl who was full of energy and overflowing with curiosity was no less difficult than asking her to understand calculus.

"You can light it." Chen Duo spoke again. Under Nie Lingfeng's surprised gaze, she walked to the charcoal stove, picked up a small piece of spare charcoal, and took out a small, old-fashioned tinderbox from her small cloth bag (Nie Lingfeng still didn't know what was in that bag). With a gentle blow, a small flame leaped up. She skillfully ignited the remaining charcoal in the stove, and soon, a weak flame rose in the hearth.

Nie Lingfeng was dumbfounded. He wasn't surprised that Chen Duo could start a fire... but she actually offered to help Xiao Yun "cook meatballs"? This... isn't this a bit off? (⊙ˍ⊙)

Xiaoyun didn't care about anything else. Seeing the flames, she clapped her hands excitedly: "Fire! Fire! Jiejie is awesome!"

Chen Duo's face remained expressionless, but a faint, almost imperceptible gentleness seemed to flash in her emerald eyes. She carefully picked up a "rainbow dumpling" (Nie Lingfeng's stomach twitched again) with a clean twig and placed it above the charcoal stove, a distance from the flames.

"Like this, bake it," Chen Duo explained calmly, "not boil it. But, it's the same."

Xiaoyun nodded as if she understood, her eyes fixed on the mud ball slowly baking above the charcoal fire, her little face full of curiosity and anticipation.

Nie Lingfeng rubbed his forehead, feeling like he couldn't keep up with their train of thought. Oh well, roasting mud balls is fine, it's safer than playing with the Old Master's purple copper eight-trigram furnace, and better than being forced to eat them. Resignedly, he moved a small stool over and sat down beside them, rubbing his still-throbbing bruises while watching this bizarre yet strangely harmonious scene.

The charcoal fire crackled softly, its tiny flames dancing and illuminating Chen Duo's calm profile and Xiao Yun's excited face. The colorful mud ball, baked by the charcoal fire, slowly changed color, its surface turning charred black, and emitting a strange, mixed smell of burnt earth and carbonized plants.

"Jie Jie! Is it done yet?" Xiao Yun looked on expectantly.

"Wait a little longer," Chen Duo said patiently.

After a while, Chen Duo used a twig to take out the hard, dark "meatball" and placed it on a clean stone to dry.

"Okay," she said.

Xiaoyun immediately reached out her little hand to grab it.

"It's hot." Chen Duo gently slapped her hand away and poked at the black bump with a twig. "It can only be taken out when it's cooled down."

Xiaoyun had no choice but to suppress her eagerness, squatting in front of the stone slab, waiting anxiously for her "masterpiece" to cool down.

Looking at the black lump that smelled and looked like an "epic disaster," and then at Xiaoyun's expectant face and Chen Duo's serious expression, Nie Lingfeng suddenly realized that his previous worries about the purple copper octagonal furnace didn't seem so important after all. The daily life of raising a child is indeed full of "surprises" (or shocks). ( ´▽｀)

In the end, Xiaoyun treasured the rock-hard mud ball as a "treasure," carefully placing it in her small cloth bag filled with all sorts of "rare treasures" (stones, leaves, small sticks, etc.). As for "tasting" it... she finally gave up after being "persuaded" by Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo (mainly Chen Duo successfully intimidated Xiaoyun by saying that "eating it will cause a stomachache and you'll have to drink very bitter medicine").

After this experience, Nie Lingfeng felt that his heart's endurance and his ability to deal with "sudden childish creativity" had been significantly improved. At least, when he stood on the cliff face behind the mountain three days later, feeling refreshed (relatively speaking), and faced the Old Master, his mindset was much more peaceful (numb).

"His temperament has become more composed." The old Celestial Master observed Nie Lingfeng, immediately noticing the subtle change in him, and stroked his beard with a smile. "It seems you've gained quite a bit these past three days?"

Nie Lingfeng's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. Images flashed through his mind: Xiaoyun trying to make a "nest" for a hedgehog that had wandered into the yard using his trouser leg, and Chen Duo expressionlessly using silver needles (yes, sewing needles!) to "persuade" the bristling hedgehog to leave the yard. He chuckled dryly, "Thanks to the Old Master, I've gained... a lot." Especially in the section on "how to remain **calm** in all sorts of unbelievable unexpected situations." (；一_一)

"That's good." The old master didn't point it out, and said with a smile, "Today, I won't use my palm or my fist, I'll only use this whisk." He had a rather ordinary-looking gray whisk in his hand at some point, the whisk hairs hanging down smoothly, looking completely powerless.

But Nie Lingfeng dared not be careless in the slightest. At the level of the Old Celestial Master, even grass, trees, bamboo, and stones could be used as weapons. A seemingly ordinary whisk in his hands might be no less powerful than a divine weapon!

"Please enlighten me, Master!" Nie Lingfeng composed himself, his inner power slowly circulating, and a crimson-gold light flickered on his body.

"Be careful." The old master had barely finished speaking when he lightly flicked his whisk!

Whoosh!

A faint, almost inaudible whooshing sound rang out! Nie Lingfeng only saw a gray shadow flash before his eyes, and a sharp gust of wind was already rushing towards his face! The speed and the angle were far more tricky than any previous attack!

"So fast!" Nie Lingfeng was startled. He instinctively used the Wind God Leg technique, his body moving like a willow catkin in the wind, retreating to the side and back! At the same time, his right hand formed a knife-like shape with his fingers, and a crimson-gold light gathered at his fingertips. He delivered a hand chop with a scorching wind, slashing at the incoming whisk!

"laugh!"

The hand blade touched the whisk's silk, producing a soft hissing sound. Nie Lingfeng felt as if he had struck an incredibly flexible steel wire; not only had he failed to cut it, but a subtle, yin-like force traveled through his fingertips, penetrating his meridians! He groaned and quickly withdrew his attack, his fingertips tingling with numbness!

"The whisk is a soft object, yet it contains strength within its softness, a perfect balance of softness and strength." The old master's voice was calm as he moved the whisk in his hand again! This time, it was no longer a simple straight thrust, but transformed into a sky full of gray shadows, like a vast net, covering Nie Lingfeng from all directions! Every strand of the whisk seemed to come alive, transforming into the most agile and dangerous venomous snake, devouring Nie Lingfeng's vital points from all sorts of unbelievable angles!

"Cloud-Dispelling Palm - Parting Clouds and Embracing the Moon!" Nie Lingfeng dared not take the attack head-on. He unleashed his palm technique, creating a dense web of palm shadows that protected his entire body, like swirling clouds and mist! At the same time, his footwork shifted, attempting to find an opening within this intricate web of whisks!

However, the old master's whisk techniques were simply too exquisite! The seemingly gentle whisk threads were sometimes as sharp as steel needles, sometimes as winding as ropes, and sometimes transformed into countless afterimages, dazzling the eye and impossible to defend against! Although Nie Lingfeng's Cloud-Dispelling Palm was dense, it was still struggling against this omnipresent and all-pervasive whisk attack, constantly finding himself in dire straits! In just a few breaths, his black clothes were torn in several places by the whisk threads, revealing the skin underneath that shimmered with a reddish-gold luster. Although he wasn't actually injured, the sharp, stinging pain was very real!

"Though clouds are ever-changing, they disperse when the wind blows. Offense is worse than defense!" The old Celestial Master's voice rang out again, like a sudden awakening!

A glint flashed in Nie Lingfeng's eyes! That's right! Blindly defending will only lead to a passive position! Although this whisk technique is intricate and unpredictable, its essence is still to overcome hardness with softness and to break through force with skill! To break the deadlock, one must use greater force and faster speed to disrupt its rhythm!

"Roar! Wind God Leg - Torrential Rain and Gale!" Nie Lingfeng roared, no longer blindly dodging and blocking, his inner power erupting! His body spun rapidly, his legs transforming into countless crimson-gold shadows, like a raging storm, sweeping wildly outwards from him! The leg winds howled, the energy radiating in all directions, stirring up the rubble on the ground, forming a small tornado!

"Offense as defense? Not bad!" The old master praised, his whisk suddenly increasing in speed! The gray shadows were no longer a large net, but transformed into countless nimble streams, weaving through the raging storm of leg shadows! Using softness to overcome hardness, skill to break through force! Those seemingly weak whisk threads always managed to strike the weak points of Nie Lingfeng's leg techniques at the last second, or use the force against him, guiding his fierce attacks to the side!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A dense barrage of air explosions rang out like popping beans! Crimson-gold leg shadows and gray whisk threads collided and intertwined continuously! Nie Lingfeng pushed the speed and ferocity of his Wind God Leg to the extreme, his leg shadows multiplying, almost forming a crimson-gold light curtain! But the Old Celestial Master's whisk was like a leech, or mercury seeping into the ground, penetrating everywhere, always finding an opening in his attack to deliver a fierce counterattack!

"Not enough! Go faster! Condense your power!" Nie Lingfeng roared inwardly, activating the power of his Qilin bloodline. The scorching aura merged into his leg strikes, greatly increasing the power of each kick! But even so, he still felt as if he were trapped in an invisible net, the more he struggled, the tighter the net became!

"Steel cannot last, nor can softness hold. Only by combining strength and softness can one find the right path." The old Celestial Master spoke again, his whisk's movements changing from agile and unpredictable to heavy and solid! The countless gray shadows suddenly converged, transforming into a single beam, like a gray spear, carrying an aura as heavy as a mountain, piercing straight into the center of Nie Lingfeng's leg shadow storm!