Xu Qi'an rarely had the experience of cooking noodles because, first, the noodles produced from the assembly line were not tasty, and second, it was actually difficult to cook delicious noodles even though anyone could cook them.

Ninety-nine percent of people can't cook good noodles.

"At least the noodles I hand-pulled have enough strength..."

In the kitchen, Xu Qi'an kneaded, rubbed, and pinched the dough with concentration and seriousness.

After kneading the noodles, he put them aside, fried some pork belly to make oil residue, and put it on a plate. Then he used the fried lard to fry a pouch-shaped egg.

He threw the pulled noodles into boiling water and took out a porcelain bottle from his arms, pouring a crude version of chicken essence into the boiling broth.

The rich fragrance filled the whole kitchen, making people salivate. Xu Qi'an himself hadn't eaten yet and swallowed his saliva.

On the other side, Chu Caiwei and Princess Huai Qing walked down the stairs side by side. The long princess, whose skirt was dragging on the stairs, glanced at Chu Caiwei and casually asked, "How did you find that haunted house?"

Chu Caiwei was stunned for a moment, then understood what the long princess meant and said lightly, "Xu Ningyan wanted to buy a house, so I went with him to look at the feng shui."

"I know that. I'm asking how you found that house," the long princess asked.

"Princess, that's a strange question. The old broker helped us find it," Chu Caiwei said.

The old broker? A glimmer of light flashed in the long princess's beautiful eyes, and she thought of many things in an instant. She asked tentatively, "What's so special about that old broker?"

"He's quite conscientious." Chu Caiwei took out a pastry from her deerskin waist pouch and put it in the white and tender palm, handing it to the long princess.

"Conscientious?" The long princess waved her hand, indicating that she didn't want it, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Xu Qi'an thinks the haunted house is cheap, and he kept trying to stop us, fearing that something might go wrong." Chu Caiwei happily stuffed the pastry into her mouth. She liked to be friends with Princess Huai Qing the most because she never competed with her for anything delicious.

If it were Xu Ningyan, the annoying ghost, she might have eaten it if she had flattered him like this.

"..." The long princess remained silent for a long time, sighed, and realized that she was not rational enough to try to get information from this girl's mouth.

It was one thing to get information from her, but trying to be flirtatious was no different from flirting with a blind man.

Thinking of this, Princess Huai Qing frowned lightly and scrutinized her friend, "You've been too close to Xu Ningyan lately."

"Really?" Chu Caiwei was puzzled.

"Do you have such frequent contact with other men?" The long princess added, "Excluding the senior brothers in the Heavenly Masters Observatory."

Chu Caiwei thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "Oh, he always finds ways to come and play with me."Princess Huai Qing pursed her lips, lost in thought. Suddenly, she caught a faint but alluring scent, causing her mouth to water uncontrollably.

"So fragrant... which senior brother bought such delicious food? Mmm, it's so fresh, something I've never tasted before." Chu Caiwei swallowed her saliva, her eyes shining with desire.

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...

"I hold the moon and pluck the stars, there is no one like me in the world."

Suddenly, a deep chanting voice came from the kitchen, startling Xu Qi'an. He turned his head to see a white-robed mage with his back to him.

"Are you crazy? You almost gave me a heart attack..." Xu Qi'an said with a calm face, "You're here."

The plain and low voice sounded like that of an old friend he had known for half his life, as if time had passed by and they were still close.

The white-robed figure paused for a moment before replying in a similarly deep and calm voice, "Yes, I'm here."

He was somewhat curious about how the person behind him would respond.

A long sigh came, with a hoarse voice full of emotion, "I never thought that after twenty years apart, you would still prefer to turn your back on the world."

Turn your back on the world? These simple four words gave the white-robed figure a strong sense of identity, feeling like an invincible and lonely top-tier expert.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Qi'an said calmly, "But even so, I was still attracted to you."

He responded so naturally... this guy is quite something. Xu Qi'an thought for a moment before saying, "I knew it, when the Nine Revolutions Golden Pellet was refined, it was the day you made your move. You still won't let me go."

"Hmph, treasures belong to those who are virtuous."

"Heh, Yang Qian huan, have you ever defeated me?"

Steam rose between the two of them, and the atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly became tense. But just then, a crisp voice broke the tension.

"What are you two doing?" Chu Caiwei stood at the door, looking confusedly at the two of them.

Xu Qi'an immediately lowered his head and stirred the noodles in the pot, trying to conceal his embarrassment.

Yang Qian huan remained unmoved, still standing with his hands behind his back and facing away from everyone. He snorted, "Even if Junior Sister begs for you, I still won't..."

Chu Caiwei asked, "What are you doing in the kitchen, Senior Brother Yang?"

Yang Qian huan replied, "...oh, I'm here to eat noodles."

Chu Caiwei happily ran to the stove, drooling as she stared at the pot of noodles, and said with a smile, "How did you know I haven't eaten yet?"

"Because I came at the exact time I promised to..." Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "I promised to make noodles for you."

Just then, the noodles in the pot were ready. Xu Qi'an turned to the woman in the pink palace dress behind him and asked tentatively, "Princess Chang, would you like a bowl?"The cold Princess Huai Qing hesitated briefly, her eyes uncontrollably falling into the pot before nodding slightly, "Okay."

Considering Chu Caiwei's appetite, Xu Qi'an cooked a lot of noodles, enough for four people to have one bowl each.

He scooped up the noodles and soaked them in cold water, then poured the broth into the four bowls, evenly distributing the noodles and covering them with a fried egg, sprinkled with scallions and oil residue.

"Yang Senior Brother, come and eat with us." Xu Qi'an called out, thinking to himself that he could finally see what Yang Qian huan looked like.

As soon as this idea came to mind, he saw the runes on Yang Qian huan's feet expand, and then he disappeared, taking a bowl of noodles with him.

Chu Caiwei sat at the table with her bowl, ate a piece of oil residue first, nodded in satisfaction, and then eagerly drank a sip of broth.

Her eyes suddenly lit up, feeling her taste buds being hit like never before.

She felt every cell in her body screaming:

Delicious!

Delicious!

Delicious!

For someone who had tasted umami for the first time, this was truly an unforgettable taste... Xu Qi'an smiled proudly and looked at the Princess.

The Princess ate elegantly but quickly, and when she noticed Xu Qi'an looking at her, she stopped eating and looked back expressionlessly.

Xu Qi'an chuckled and lowered his head to eat noodles.

The Princess immediately followed suit and lowered her head, eating her noodles in small bites, seeming to not want to waste a moment or wait.

In the quiet room, Yang Qian huan squatted in the corner with his back to everyone, holding a bowl and slurping his noodles.

This guy is interesting, he knows alchemy, speaks well, and cooks delicious noodles... Thinking of this, Yang Qian huan suddenly stopped, wasn't this the kind of attention he wanted?

This guy... is a formidable opponent.

...

After finishing the noodles, Xu Qi'an looked at Chu Caiwei and asked, "How does it taste?"

"Delicious." Chu Caiwei pecked her head.

"This is my secret recipe, extracted through my unique alchemy." Xu Qi'an said, "This is what I will teach you, the essence of becoming an alchemist."

Princess Huai Qing, who was wiping her rosy lips with a handkerchief, had a flash of surprise in her beautiful eyes and couldn't help but stop.

"Is it difficult?" Chu Caiwei was the first to be concerned about the difficulty of the task.

"It's very difficult, after all, I only have a partial understanding of it." Xu Qi'an said, seeing Chu Caiwei's face immediately fall, he added seriously, "If you can't make it, you won't be able to eat this kind of noodles, or even better things in the future."

The beautiful girl with a goose egg-shaped face widened her eyes and suddenly ignited a strong fighting spirit.

"Did you create this?" Princess Huai Qing asked."Well, it's something I created for Miss Caiwei with all my heart and soul," he said. After speaking, he regretted it. He shouldn't have said such things in front of his wife.

Sure enough, Princess Huaiqing gave him a meaningful look and said with a smile, "You seem to care a lot about Caiwei."

"Caiwei is my benefactor, so of course I care about her," Xu Qianan replied.

"How much do you care?" The beautiful woman with an oval face was quite happy to hear this.

"I will do anything to help her," Xu Qianan said solemnly.

Then he remembered that Princess Huaiqing was also his benefactor and added, "I feel the same way about you, Your Highness."

Princess Huaiqing remained silent.

...

Princess Huaiqing had something to attend to, so she left after a brief chat. Xu Qianan took out the "Alchemy Secret Book" he had prepared, which contained the process of making chicken essence and the concept of monosodium glutamate.

After discussing with Miss Caiwei for a long time, Xu Qianan said, "I want to ask the senior brothers of the Heavenly Observatory for a favor."

He planned to ask the wizards of the Heavenly Observatory to help cure the poor child at the Health Preservation Hall. He didn't want to ask Song Qing for help because he was afraid that the concept of "human and beast" would stimulate Song Qing's crazy nerves.

He might use the excuse of curing the child to study him, but his intention would not be malicious. However, Song Qing's half-baked biological alchemy could mess things up.

It was also possible that he would be stopped by Heng Yuan before he had a chance to experiment, causing an unpleasant incident.

"Hand holding the moon and picking the stars, there is no one like me in the world." Yang Qianhuan's figure appeared, and he said lightly, "What's the matter?"

Xu Qianan looked at the innocent and naive girl, pondered for a moment, and said, "Can we talk in private?"

He and Yang Qianhuan went outside and told him about the poor child. "Brother Yang, that child can't hold on for three days. I want to ask the senior brothers of the Heavenly Observatory for help."

"Okay!" Yang Qianhuan agreed and asked, "Why avoid Sister Caiwei?"

Xu Qianan shook his head. "Why tell her?"

Yang Qianhuan nodded. "You have the same noble quality as me."

...

Late at night, at the Health Preservation Hall.

Heng Yuan, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes and was inspired. He left his room and used his shrinking technique to quickly arrive at the backyard.

The door of the woodshed was open. In the dim moonlight, he could vaguely see a figure in white standing in the darkness inside.

Heng Yuan stopped and listened to the child's steady breathing. When he relaxed his expression, he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

"Hand holding the moon and picking the stars, there is no one like me in the world," the person in white said lightly.

So arrogant... Even Heng Yuan, who was a monk, couldn't help but frown at those words and feel a slight urge to compete with him.The emotion can be described in simple terms: I can't stand the way you act so arrogantly.

The man in white "heh"ed, sneering, "Judging by your attitude, it seems that you don't know me. In the capital, there are people who don't know me."

He seemed to be provoking...this person is not easy to get along with...Heng Yuan frowned.

The man in white sneered disdainfully, his footwork spreading out, suddenly disappearing.

Heng Yuan let out a breath, his tense muscles relaxed, and he walked into the woodshed somewhat dazedly, lit the oil lamp, and checked the child's physical condition.

The breathing was steady, the pulse was normal, and it was much better than during the day. At this moment, under the light of the oil lamp, he noticed a porcelain bottle and a prescription next to the child.

The prescription...the man in white...he is a mage from the Bureau of Heavenly Observations. It wasn't until now that Heng Yuan realized that this guy was here to treat the child.

If you didn't know, you would have thought he was here to cause trouble.

Heng Yuan put away the prescription and porcelain bottle, suddenly realizing that the man in white was a formation mage, a fourth-grade mage.

Mr. Xu was actually able to invite a fourth-grade mage to treat this child...Heng Yuan was slightly moved and greatly shocked.

PS: Recently, I've been stuck on the writing, not because I don't know what to write, but because there's too much to write, and I don't know how to arrange the plot.

I'm a bit hesitant, whether to write more chapters of daily life or to continue pushing the plot. If I write about daily life, there's Huai Qing, there's Lin An, there's Erlang, there are my sisters, so many girls to write about. But in that case, I feel like the plot is dragging. It's not compact enough. So I'm in a dilemma, and I'm anxious, and my typing speed has been affected.