The Ever Spring Mistress and the Saintess watched as Lin Mu and Little Shrubby whipped up a whole meal.
From stews of different meats meant for Lin Mu and Little Shrubby, all the way to stir fried Immortal vegetables and herbs, mixed with spicy immortal peppers, to even a few Immortal fruit puddings that were made with the milk of a Eight Horn Grand Prairie Cow.
All of the dishes were something that perhaps only the Emperor might get to eat regularly. And yet, here they were, being made by a man and his beast in the middle of a courtyard. It was safe to say, a tantalizing fragrance filled the entire courtyard along with dense immortal Qi that looked like swaying mist in the air.
"Is it ready?!" The Ever Spring Mistress asked, feeling excited.
"It's all ready, yep." Lin Mu replied. "I also made some meat dishes, if you want to try them." He offered.
"Sure, they look too good to give up!" The Ever Spring Mistress was already feeling her mouth water.
As a Celestial, she didn't really eat much, and even if she did, it was mostly elixirs or top quality fruits. Of course, it didn't mean that she couldn't eat; it was just that they often lost the need to eat.
She only ate as a formality at the gatherings of her organization, where they would discuss various matters.
Other than that, the only other major time she would eat or look forward to it was the gatherings of the Celestial court. The celestial court wouldn't spare any expense in setting up the gathering, as such the food was topnotch too.
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM~" And sure enough, the Ever Spring Mistress felt like this was even better than that. "How can— Munch~ this be… ~CRUNCH~ SO GOOD!~" She said while stuffing her face.
The crunchy stir fried vegetables mixed with toasted immortal nuts were perfect for her, especially with the kick from the immortal peppers.
"I guess you like it," Lin Mu said with a smile and served some food to the Saintess too. "Would you also like some wine, Saintess?" He asked.
"Sure," The Saintess replied and let Lin Mu pour a cup for her.
"OOO! GIMME SOME TOO!" The Ever Spring Mistress asked.
"Of course," Lin Mu poured another cup for the Ever Spring Mistress. "Did you make this too?" She inquired.
"I did yes." Lin Mu nodded his head. "Though it might not be the best. It was one of my novice attempts. I do have a better batch being brewed. Though it'll take a while for it to be ready." He explained.
"I'll taste it still." The Ever Spring Mistress said. "If I like it, I might give you some of my own wine too."
"Oh? You make wine too?" Lin Mu asked.
"The Ever Spring Mistress is good at making both Tea and Wine." The Saintess chimed in.
"Though my specialty is tea." The Ever Spring Mistress replied.
"Oh? Tea is nice too. Can I try some?" Lin Mu asked, wondering what kind of tea a celestial could make.
"You can't." The Ever Spring Mistress shook her head. "Unless you want to have your Nascent soul blasted apart, haha~" She chuckled.
Lin Mu was taken aback by it and wondered if she was joking.
"The Ever Spring Mistress isn't just good with tea, she is highly proficient in the Dao of Tea… At the level of a Celestial." The Saintess clarified. "Her tea is basically the same as an elixir for a Celestial. An immortal consuming it will be a death sentence." "Ah… I understand." Lin Mu hadn't expected her tea was of that level. "I think this is the first time I'm meeting someone who's gone that far on the path of tea. To even touch upon the Dao of Tea." He couldn't help but feel impressed.
~sip~
By now, the Ever Spring Mistress had already finished the cup of wine that Lin Mu had made.
"Mmmhmm, not bad." The Ever Spring Mistress said. "Not as good as your cooking, but definitely not the worst thing I've had." She added.
"I'm happy it's not horrible." Lin Mu said with a slight smile, taking it as a compliment.
The Ever Spring Mistress then tried the other dishes, while Lin Mu and Little Shrubby ate as well. The Saintess ate from time to time, but didn't consume as much as before. Perhaps because the Ever Spring Mistress was here, she seemed to be a bit reserved.
After the meal was finished though, the Ever Spring Mistress had several words to say.
"Have you thought about treading on the path of cooking?" The Ever Spring Mistress asked. "You might be able to make a Dao Embryo for the Dao of cooking." She added.
"While I'm tempted, as I like food. I don't think I will," Lin Mu replied. "Because I got Little Shrubby for that." He gestured to the giant cat licking the cauldrons of stew and polishing them clean.
"Oh?" The Ever Spring Mistress showed interest in the beast. She had seen him cook too and was surprised at the beast's proficiency. "Seems like you'll be living a good life, haha~" The Ever Spring Mistress chuckled.
She then leaned next to the Saintess's ears and whispered. "If you don't want him, I'll take him. Just him cooking will be quite nice." "Don't even think about it." The Saintess said through her teeth.
"Hehe~" The Ever Spring Mistress giggled and focused on finishing the pudding.
After a while, the food was all cleared out, and the Ever Spring Mistress decided to fulfill her promise.
"As I said before, you can try some of my wine." The Ever Spring Mistress said and took out a tiny vial.
It looked so small that perhaps less than ten milliliters of liquid would fit in it. Lin Mu looked at it with intrigue, knowing that it was at least an immortal tool. The Ever Spring Mistress opened the cork of the vial, causing a cloud of intoxicating mist to rise from it!
~SHUA~
The mist was dense and shone in a rainbow hue due to the light refracting from it.
"Huuup~" Just a single breath was enough to rock Lin Mu's head. "That is… quite something." "Of course. While I'm not as good at with the Dao of Wine, I can still make stuff that'll knock out immortals at least." The Ever Spring Mistress said with a cheeky smile. "Just a few drops might be enough for you." She said before pouring it into a cup.
Lin Mu looked at the minuscule amount of liquid at the bottom.
If anyone else were to see it, they would think that it was the leftover wine after one had already downed a cup. It was such a small amount.
And yet, the intoxicating scent coming from it might knock out a hundred adult men in mere seconds. "Here you go." The Ever Spring Mistress said. "Brace yourself, though." She warned.
"Alright." Lin Mu said and brought the cup to his lips.
As soon as his lips touched the wine, a cooling sensation numbed them. This made him not realize it when the wine had already reached his tongue where the sweet taste coated it.
"Oh!?" Lin Mu felt a rather exquisite sweetness coming from the wine, which he couldn't exactly describe.
It was a sweetness unlike any fruit he had eaten and didn't really seem like wine at first.
"WHOA!" But a couple of moments later, the heat of the wine rushed down his throat.
It was like he had swallowed a fireball as the wine heat up his belly. Lin Mu's stomach rapidly absorbed the wine and extracted the rich energy that was present in it.
'So much Immortal Qi in that?' Lin Mu was surprised. 'This is almost the same as using an entire High Grade Immortal stone… and it was condensed in just a few drops?' He couldn't imagine how it was done.
The level of condensation was not something that could be easily done. After all, the volume of the liquid was less than that of a High Grade immortal stone. But this was just the start. Once the flavor of the wine mellowed out, its effects finally spread.
"Uhh…" Lin Mu's head swayed as the wine finally reached his brain.
His heart sped up, while his face flushed within seconds. It was a foreign feeling to him, and he had never experienced it before.
"Look at him, so red~" The Ever Spring Mistress spoke in the Saintess's ears. "I wanna pinch his cheeks."
But the Saintess narrowed her eyes.
"What wine did you give him?" She asked in a straight tone.
"Just a little bit of my Ichor Essence Wine, hehe~" The Ever Spring Mistress answered.
"You gave him Ichor Essence wine!?" The Saintess's eyes went wide. "Even Transcendent Immortals get drunk in a few drops with that!" She said out loud.
Thankfully for her, Lin Mu was no longer paying attention as the intoxication deepened for him.
