Rejected by the Cosmic Order

CHAPTER 9: Treasure That Entered the Pan

Zhao Tian did not immediately take the spirit grass. He first made sure of Li Wei and Li Ruyue’s condition. Both of their bodies lay not far from the previous point of impact, their breathing was still there, although unstable. Their chests rose and fell slowly, indicating they had only fainted, not in a critical condition.

“It seemed I had to wait for them to wake up. Both of them were still fast asleep,” he muttered. He lowered his head slightly, making sure there were no visible injuries that looked dangerous, although he himself did not really understand how to check someone’s condition. His hand had lifted for a moment, hesitating whether he needed to shake them or not, but in the end he chose to step back.

Then he walked to take the spirit grass that Fang Changhai wanted. The plant grew not far from where the lion had been guarding earlier, standing upright with a faint aura that made it different from ordinary grass.

“For the sake of grass like this, Li Wei and Li Ruyue even dared to sacrifice themselves. Who exactly was Fang Changhai?” he thought to himself, his sense of wonder had not yet disappeared. He looked around, making sure there were no other threats before approaching.

Zhao Tian took the spirit grass. His hand touched its smooth stem, it felt cold to the touch, as if it held something he did not understand. However, just as he took it, the three-headed lion came back again.

His heart felt a bit horrified. His body stiffened for a moment, his breath held without him realizing it. His instinct said it was dangerous, but his previous memory suddenly appeared. He remembered how this beast had retreated when he stood in front of it. So he pretended to be brave.

“Why did you come again? Was I not allowed to take this grass?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

The lion shook its head. Its movement was slow, even too careful for a wild beast. No fangs were shown, no attacking aura. Its expression looked like a frightened kitten.

That change was very contrasting. Previously, this beast attacked without hesitation, even almost killed Li Ruyue with just one slash. But now, its large body instead looked lowered.

Even when it made a sound, its voice sounded soft. The lion handed many spirit plants to Zhao Tian, dropping them one by one in front of his feet. Its movements were awkward, as if it did not know how to behave in front of Zhao Tian.

Zhao Tian looked at those plants, then looked back at the lion. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“So you came again to give these to me?” Zhao Tian asked.

The lion nodded repeatedly. Not daring to look for too long, it placed those spirit plants, then stepped back several steps. Its body still looked tense, then it turned around and left, disappearing among the trees.

“Strange,” Zhao Tian muttered. He did not chase, nor did he try to stop it. His gaze was still fixed in the direction where the lion disappeared.

He turned his head toward the spirit plants scattered on the ground. His mind began comparing the earlier incident with what he had seen before.

“Earlier… just for one plant, it attacked Li Wei and Li Ruyue without hesitation. It even almost killed them. But now… why did it instead give this many?” he muttered softly, truly not understanding.

He lowered his head, picked up one plant, then looked at the others. “Was it afraid? But… why should it be afraid of me?” he thought again, that confusion found no answer.

Besides being confused by the change in the lion’s attitude, Zhao Tian was also quite curious why Fang Changhai wanted grass like this. Even Li Wei and Li Ruyue were willing to risk their lives for a single stalk of grass.

Zhao Tian took the spirit plants given by the three-headed lion. The number was quite a lot, perhaps no less than a hundred types of spirit grass. Some even had different shapes and colors, some were dark red, some were greenish with thin lines on their surface.

Zhao Tian placed his finger beside his forehead while looking at those plants. “Quite a lot, it seemed this was enough for lunch. Coincidentally, at home there was no more vegetable supply because it had been cooked by Li Wei. Truly a pleasant coincidence,” he muttered.

Zhao Tian took a rope, then tied those spirit plants, then carried them.

“They still had not woken up either. It was better if I brought them home.”

He turned his head toward Li Wei and Li Ruyue who were still lying down. Their faces looked pale, but their breathing had begun to be more stable than before.

His small hands began to move. He carried both of them, one on the left and one on the right, without looking troubled.

Then he ran.

His steps were still very fast. His body shot through the trees, passing large roots without losing balance. He did not look like he was carrying two teenagers whose body sizes were taller than him, but like carrying piles of cotton with light weight.

***

Upon arriving at home, he placed Li Wei and Li Ruyue down slowly. Then he went to the kitchen.

“The grass that Fang Changhai wanted was only one, the rest I would cook,” he muttered.

Zhao Tian sliced the spirit plants with a knife. Then he began stir-frying them. When the stir-fry began to cook, the aroma of the dish began to be smelled.

“From the smell it was very delicious. I became impatient,” he said while playing with the frying pan like a chef.

The noses of Li Wei and Li Ruyue began to twitch when they smelled the aroma of the food. Li Wei’s eyelids moved slowly. His breathing was slightly heavy as his consciousness returned. His vision was still blurry, but he could feel the wooden surface under his body.

“Uh…” Li Wei groaned softly while holding his head. The pain still felt clear.

Beside him, Li Ruyue also began to open her eyes. She immediately sat up quickly, her reflex was far better than Li Wei. Her eyes swept around vigilantly.

“This…” her eyebrows furrowed.

The room was too familiar.

Li Wei also got up, then looked around. “Why were we at the Patriarch Grandfather’s residence?”

The two looked at each other.

Li Wei’s face turned confused. “Who brought us back?” he muttered. He tried to remember the last incident, but what he remembered was only the attack of the three-headed lion and the hard collision afterward.

Li Ruyue also remembered the same thing. “We fainted in the forest. But now we were already here…” she shook her head slowly, clearly not finding an answer.

“Did Patriarch Grandfather return?” Li Wei asked, but he himself knew that possibility was small.

Li Ruyue observed around once again. There were no signs of Ling Yun’s presence.

Then, both of their noses moved at the same time, smelling the aroma of food. Both immediately turned toward the kitchen.

“What smell was this…” Li Wei unconsciously swallowed his saliva. The aroma was not only fragrant, but also carried a strange sensation that made his body feel light.

Li Ruyue did not answer. She had already stood up and walked toward the kitchen with quick steps. Li Wei immediately followed.

When they arrived in front of the kitchen, their steps stopped, both stood still frozen. Zhao Tian stood in front of the stove, holding a frying pan. He focused on stirring the food in front of him.

But that was not what made them silent. What made them freeze was the content of that frying pan.

Bright-colored pieces of spirit plants were mixed inside it. The rising hot steam carried a very thick aroma, even the subtle energy from each ingredient being cooked could be felt.

Li Ruyue’s eyes widened. “That… that…” her voice stopped.

Li Wei could not even speak. His eyes stared at the contents of the frying pan as if seeing something impossible.

“That was Blood Fire Grass,” Li Ruyue muttered softly.

“And that… Dew Jade Leaf,” Li Wei continued, his voice almost inaudible.

Zhao Tian who was still focused on cooking felt their presence. “You had woken up. What a coincidence, we could eat together.”

“Eat? You meant, we would eat what you cooked?” Li Wei asked with a trembling tone.

“Why did your expression look bad? Was it because these vegetables could not be eaten?” Zhao Tian asked in confusion.

“Vegetables?” Li Wei and Li Ruyue shouted together.

Seeing their behavior, Zhao Tian immediately shifted his gaze to every plant being cooked.

“It seemed these were indeed not vegetables. Their size was too small, so it was more suitable to be called grass rather than vegetables,” he muttered.

He immediately looked back at Li Wei and Li Ruyue. “No, these were not vegetables. But grass. However you did not need to worry, it seemed this grass was delicious if eaten.”

“PAAAHHH.”

Both of them almost vomited blood. Spirit plants that could cause Cultivators to kill each other were treated like wild grass.

“Strange people. Maybe they had fainted for too long. So just seeing grass like this was already like seeing a ghost,” he muttered.

“You just wait at the dining table, it would be ready soon. Do not disturb me cooking. Besides, you had just woken up, so just rest calmly,” Zhao Tian said without paying attention to them anymore.