Chapter 15: Replenishing Elemental Energy with Soup (1/2)
Chapter 15: Replenishing Elemental Energy with Soup
Translator: YHEditor: Pranav
Ai Hui bewilderedly opened his eyes, while his aching body allowed him to take just one breath of the chilly air.
”You’re awake?”
Lou Lan pushed the door open and entered the room with a steaming bowl of soup in his hands. Despite being quite a distance away, Ai Hui could smell the alluring scent that wafted towards him, unintentionally causing his stomach to let out an embarrassing, loud growl. Making a conscious effort to swallow his saliva, he weakly asked, ”What time is it?”
”It’s eight in the morning,” Lou Lan replied, as he carefully handed the soup over to Ai Hui.
The moment he laid his eager hands on the bowl, Ai Hui momentarily forgot about his aches and immediately wolfed down the heavenly, delicious soup.
”What time did last night’s practice end?” he asked indistinctly.
Not long into last night's session, his consciousness had started to fade, which rendered him unable to recollect anything about what had subsequently happened.
”Five in the morning,” stated Lou Lan.
Five…
Ai Hui's reaction was a bit sluggish, but then his expression suddenly stiffened. He finally realized the reason why his entire body was throbbing with aches and why even moving a single finger had become a painful ordeal. His cheeks twitched in disbelief, as he asked, ”You were beating me up the whole time till five in the morning?”
Ai Hui immediately felt uneasy when he thought of his unconscious self being violently beaten up like a punching bag. ”I'm very sorry,” Lou Lan sincerely apologized. ”Although you didn't ask me to stop, I had to end the practice at five to prepare breakfast for Master Shao. But now I have already completed this morning's tasks and can continue practicing with you. Shall we begin?”
Feeling sorry for thrashing him 'only' until five in the morning, though…
Ai Hui shook his head firmly and hurriedly cried out, ”No thanks!”
With last night’s tragic experience still vivid in his mind, Ai Hui could not muster up the courage.
When Ai Hui noticed that Lou Lan seemed to be a bit down, he coughed, and remarked, ”This soup tastes pretty good.”
Ai Hui had no idea what soup it was; he was only cognizant of the fact that the soup was incredibly delicious and that it was undoubtedly the best that he had ever consumed. Furthermore, after drinking the soup, a pleasant feeling of heat had gently washed over his body, flowing through every nook and cranny of his being and leaving him feeling comfortably warm.
Lou Lan, having just been praised, perked up quite a bit. ”Ai Hui, your training places great strain on the body. To prevent deficiencies that could further develop into internal injuries, you must timely replenish and nourish your body,” he quipped.
”You are really amazing!” Ai Hui could not help but exclaim. ”No wonder I feel my body heating up, it's just like when I had previously tried some elemental soup. Now, that was a perfect dish, one that even had elemental energy!”
Lou Lan’s tone rose slightly. ”This soup also replenishes elemental energy.”
”This soup? Elemental food?” Ai Hui was momentarily stunned. Elemental food was incomparably more expensive than average meals. The school provided such food as well, but even though it could be considered cheaper than what was available outside, it still carried a hefty price tag.
An ominous premonition rose up in Ai Hui’s chest. He slowly began, ”The ingredients for this soup...”
”They were found in your bag, Ai Hui,” Lou Lan replied matter-of-factly. ”Although they were just scraps, the ingredients were of decent quality and were suitable for brewing soup. While a standard recipe wasn’t followed, please rest assured that at least seventy percent of the elemental energy was utilized.”
Ai Hui felt as though he was forcefully hit by an iron rod. ”Just…just how much did you use?” he asked, stupefied.
”Don’t worry, I have used up everything. I can guarantee that there was absolutely no wastage,” Lou Lan wholeheartedly pledged.