Chapter 272 – Bought it for Him?
After sending Shopkeeper Wan away, Yan Xiaosi returned to the shop and closed the doors.
The Wan Family Grain Merchant shop was quite spacious, with a basement level below the store.
Except for some miscellaneous items, the basement was completely empty.
This was exactly what Yan Xiaosi wanted.
The basement was large enough to store all the grain from her Portable Space.
In the dark basement, she concentrated, using her mental power to extract all the grain from her space.
All the grain quickly filled what had been a very empty basement.
Having completed her task, she was so exhausted that beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
With her current level of cultivation, she could barely manage to put external objects into her space and take things out from it. Just now, having continuously extracted so much grain, her mental power was excessively depleted, leaving her quite fatigued.
In the dim light, looking at the mountains of grain, she heaved a deep sigh of relief.
With this much grain, plus what Shopkeeper Wan had, it should make up for the half of the military supplies that Long Yu had lost.
By the time she locked the shop door and left the Wan Family Grain Merchants, it was already noon.
Whether from hunger or the intense midday sun, her head felt somewhat dizzy.
“Zha jiang noodles! Fragrant zha jiang noodles!”
A street vendor was calling out his wares. She took a few breaths, smelled the aroma of the noodles, and her stomach growled loudly. She led her chestnut horse toward the vendor.
So it was hunger making her dizzy.
The vendor took the cloth from his shoulder, wiped a wooden stool for her, and greeted her warmly: “Young man, would you like some zha jiang noodles?”
Yan Xiaosi felt her flat stomach and waved at the vendor: “Two bowls of zha jiang noodles, please.”
Having depleted so much mental power, she needed to eat to replenish her energy.
The vendor looked at her small frame with surprise but didn’t say anything.
Soon, the vendor placed two steaming bowls of zha jiang noodles in front of Yan Xiaosi.
Feeling extremely hungry, she wolfed down one bowl. With her stomach full, she looked at the other bowl and awkwardly asked the vendor: “Sir, could I take this to go?”
The vendor smiled helplessly and directly handed her the bowl containing the noodles, kindly reminding her: “Young man, next time order only as much as you can eat. These noodles won’t taste good if you take them home.”
The vendor’s thoughtfulness made Yan Xiaosi feel somewhat ashamed.
“Sir, how much for two bowls of zha jiang noodles?”
“Eight coppers per bowl, sixteen coppers for two.”
Yan Xiaosi took twenty coppers from her pocket and handed them over. Without waiting for the vendor to say anything, she mounted her horse with the bowl of noodles in hand and rode away.
On the way back to Tongluo Plain military camp, she had to control her horse with one hand while holding the bowl with the other, which was quite difficult for her.
As a result, though she left Daxing Town at noon, she didn’t reach Tongluo Plain until sunset.
The guards at the gate had changed shifts, but when they saw the chestnut horse she was riding, they sensibly made way.
Yan Xiaosi returned to the camp with swagger, took her chestnut horse to the stable, and headed straight for the commander’s tent.
Now that the military supplies issue was resolved, she was eager to inform Long Yu.
Long Yi, who was guarding the tent entrance, opened the curtain for her.
“Young Master Yan is back. The master has been waiting for you.”
Yan Xiaosi nodded slightly, bending to enter.
The War King was sitting straight at his desk, writing rapidly as he reviewed documents.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, what recovery power!
Hearing footsteps, Long Yu knew who had entered without having to look up.
He put down his brush and raised an eyebrow, secretly relieved to see Yan Xiaosi return from her trip with all limbs intact.
His gaze shifted slightly, noticing that Yan Xiaosi was holding a bowl of something. His eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.
Is this for him?
“You’re back.”
“Yes, I pay my respects to Your Highness the War King.”
“No need for formalities. How did things go?”
Yan Xiaosi smiled and stood up straight.
“Mission accomplished. Tomorrow at noon, please send someone to Wan Family Grain Merchants in Daxing Town to collect the grain.”
Long Yu’s brow, which had been furrowed all day, finally relaxed.
“Well done. Why are you carrying a bowl of noodles?”
Yan Xiaosi caught the War King’s clearly covetous gaze and, after a moment’s hesitation, offered him the now cold, clumped-together zha jiang noodles.
“I bought these zha jiang noodles from a street vendor. They’re quite tasty. Would the War King like to eat them?”
Long Yu’s eyes sparkled brightly, unable to conceal the smile at the corners of his mouth.
So it was really bought for him.
“Yes.”
Yan Xiaosi had actually been hoping he would say, “Such lowly food is unworthy of entering this king’s noble mouth.” Alas, she was disappointed—her dinner was gone.
Watching her dinner disappear into the War King’s stomach, her feelings were quite complex.
“War King, how is your injury? Did you have Military Doctor Murong examine it today?”
Having eaten a bowl of cold zha jiang noodles, Long Yu was in a very good mood.
“Military Doctor Murong examined it for me, applied medicine, and said it’s not serious. With a few days of rest, the wound should heal.”
With that, Yan Xiaosi had nothing more to worry about. She yawned and said, “Since the War King’s injury isn’t serious, I’ll return to my tent to rest.”
The bowl of zha jiang noodles she had eaten at noon had not been enough to replenish her depleted mental power. She was now very tired and wanted to sleep.
“Return to your tent to sleep? Which tent would that be?”
Yan Xiaosi thought he had simply forgotten, and reminded him through continuous yawns: “War King, I share a tent with Commander Wu, Commander Wang, and Commander Zhao.”
Long Yu instantly recalled the previous night when Yan Xiaosi had been laughing and chatting happily with Wu Bin and the others, their relationship exceedingly harmonious. His expression changed immediately.
“You are my attendant. Move to my tent so you can attend to my needs at any time.”
Yan Xiaosi was extremely annoyed.
Moving to the commander’s tent, being watched by this man, she would have no freedom at all. How could she secretly enter her Portable Space to cultivate in the future?
“War King, I am first and foremost a military doctor, and only secondarily your attendant.”
“I am currently injured. As a military doctor who also serves as my attendant, you should all the more move to my tent to provide close care.”
This reasoning seemed flawless.
Yan Xiaosi racked her brains for a moment but couldn’t think of any reason to refuse. She could only meekly respond: “…Then allow me to return briefly to gather my belongings.”
“Hmm, come back quickly.”
Watching the small figure leave, Long Yu’s expression softened, a pleasant smile hanging at the corners of his mouth.
Wu Bin and the other two finished their drills, went to the mess hall for food, and kept a portion with the most meat waiting for Yan Xiaosi’s return.
Finally, they saw Yan Xiaosi glumly lift the curtain and enter. Their faces lit up with joy.
Wu Bin waved and said, “Xiaosi, you’re back! We saved you some food. It’s still warm, come eat quickly.”
Yan Xiaosi’s heart was heavy, and she had no appetite.
“I’m not very hungry. You three brothers can share it.”
The zha jiang noodles at noon had been substantial, so she truly wasn’t very hungry. Besides, moving to the War King’s tent, she wouldn’t lack for food.
Wu Bin and the others noticed her kneeling on the bedding, silently packing her things, and had a sense of foreboding.
“Xiaosi, are you moving out?”
The three asked in unison.
Yan Xiaosi folded her clothes, bundling them up while answering: “I’m moving to the War King’s tent. Take care, brothers.”
