The sun fully emerged from the horizon, painting the world in a breathtaking tapestry of colors and casting golden rays across the sky.
Li Yao stepped out of her room, stretching her limbs.
"Today's cultivation felt great," she thought.
A mischievous smirk bloomed across her face, and in a flash, her body suddenly blurred. One moment, she was standing outside her quarters; the next, she reappeared at her senior brother's window, her face pressed against the cool glass, and her eyes scanning the humble interior.
"That's weird," she murmured, genuine puzzlement replacing her usual playfulness. "He's not here."
Li Yao's brow furrowed in confusion.
It didn't make sense.
Her senior brother was many things, but he wasn't exactly known for his early-rising tendencies; rather, it was quite the opposite. The empty room defied all established patterns she knew of his behavior. Where could he have possibly gone at this hour?
Then, a memory flashed through her mind, the image of him training diligently the previous night, swinging his practice blade with dedication until darkness had fully enveloped the mountain.
A seed of worry took root in her heart. Had he pushed himself too far? Had he collapsed from exhaustion somewhere in the forest? Had he spent the entire night exposed to the elements?
The mischievous sparkle in her eyes faded, replaced by worry.
"I need to check on him," she thought, springing into action without hesitating for another moment.
She bounded across the mountainside, leaping from tree to tree effortlessly. When she finally reached the training clearing, she stopped abruptly, her eyes widening in astonishment.
There stood her senior brother, still practicing. His knife sliced through the air with, his face full of determination, sweat glistened on his brow despite the morning chill, clear evidence that he had been at it for quite a while now.
"Has he been here all night?" she wondered silently, noting the desperation etched across his face as he executed each movement.
Li Yao contemplated while approaching him, her hand half-raised in greeting before she slowly lowered it again. After a few heartbeats of indecision, she shook her head and retreated as silently as she had come, leaping back into the forest canopy and disappearing quietly.
Below, completely unaware of his brief visitor, Xiang Yu continued his relentless practice. His movements, while still imperfect, flowed more naturally today, each swing of the knife more refined and controlled than the previous day's clumsy attempts.
He paused for a moment to wipe sweat from his brow, a small flicker of satisfaction lighting his expression.
"I'm starting to get the hang of this," he thought. But a vague sense of unease tugged at him, he felt as though he was forgetting something.
"Probably not that important," he concluded, brushing the thought aside.
Oh, he couldn't have been more wrong.
Xiang Yu found himself flat on his back, staring dazedly at the sky, with no memory of how he'd gotten there. Confusion clouded his thoughts as he struggled to make sense of his sudden change in perspective.
Had he fainted? Tripped over his own feet?
As his senses slowly recovered, a sweet, alluring fragrance wafted through the air, teasing his nostrils with its tantalizing fragrance. His stomach responded immediately with a furious growl.
With considerable effort, Xiang Yu pushed himself upright, swaying slightly as he stood on his feet. Like a starving man chasing a dream, he followed the scent until he stumbled through the forest and emerged into another clearing.
"Senior brother, you're here!" Li Yao's delighted voice greeted him as she looked up from her task. "I was just about to come get you!"
Xiang Yu's gaze remained fixed on the scene before him: a wild boar was being roasted by Li Yao over the crackling flames as she rotated the meat on a makeshift spit. The crackling fire and the rich aroma made his knees go weak.
Then the realization hit him: in his frenzied dedication to training, he had completely forgotten to eat. Not a single morsel had passed his lips since… when? Yesterday morning?
Unlike powerful cultivators who could sustain themselves on spiritual energy alone, his pathetic mortal body still required mundane nourishment. If not for his junior sister's thoughtfulness, he might have become the first transmigrator in history to die not from a cultivation calamity but from simple starvation.
He joined her quickly. Li Yao offered him a generous portion, watching with wide-eyed curiosity as tears streamed down his cheeks while he devoured the food.
"Does senior brother truly enjoy my cooking that much?" she wondered, her heart swelling with warmth at the thought that her simple gesture had evoked such an emotion from him. She wondered if she should cook more. She didn't really like cooking much but if senior brother liked it…
The truth, however, couldn't have been further from her interpretation. Xiang Yu's tears weren't born from joy or gratitude, but from sheer culinary suffering.
The meat tasted overwhelmingly smoky, bitter with ash, and carried an unpleasant charred aftertaste that lingered on his tongue. Still, he was too hungry to care. Driven by necessity, he forced down bite after bite until his stomach finally stopped threatening rebellion.
When he had eaten his fill of the barely edible meal, Xiang Yu solemnly placed his hands on Li Yao's shoulders, meeting her expectant gaze with grave seriousness.
"Junior sister," he began, choosing his words carefully, she looked up at him, wondering if he wanted more, was he so impressed with her that he wanted to take her as his wife and have her cook for him everyday? I mean, if he really wanted…
"From now on… please leave the cooking to me."
"Oh"