Learning To Live As A Cultivator

Chapter Thirty One - I cook, clean and create pills

Leon returned to the hut not too long after Jin Li failed to steal from the stewing vegetables in the pot. The older man said nothing, simply glanced at the boy with an unhappy expression. Leon tilted his head, wondering why Jin Li was upset, but shook the thought aside. As if he could ever fathom what was running through that man's mind.

He placed the herbs onto the work surface in the hut before moving to the fire pit to relight the fire and continue cooking the vegetables. He sneaked in an additional ingredient, which he had obtained when visiting Mino to ask for his help to return to town. The young man had agreed on condition that he receive more mushrooms once they returned to the school. Leon had paused, now knowing the value of those mushrooms, he had thought to keep them for emergencies, so Mino had convinced him by giving him several extra incentives. Leon thought that he must really love those mushrooms.

Leon sorted the herbs in order to make best use of what he had and settled down to make more improved one heart pills. He had so far made ten of these and five improved blood pills. The latter required more ingredients and the Herb Hall were less free with these hence why he could only make so many. He also needed to make more stock of ordinary pills to exchange for more herbs once they had returned to the school. He created two more one heart pills, before the scent of the food tantalised his nose and caused his stomach to grumble.

Jin Li also was quick to notice that change in the smell, his mouth watered and he sidled up behind Leon as the boy used the rag to lift the lid. The aromatic steam hit them both and soft moans spilled from both their hungry throats. Jin Li did not need to be asked to grab bowls and spoons as he hurried into the hut for them, before greedily thrusting one into Leon's view. The boy bit down upon a growing smile and dished his suddenly ravenous roommate a hearty portion.

"What is this?" the man prodded the unknown ingredient hopefully.

"S-Smoked b-boar meat," Leon advised him, no sooner had he did the man begin to sweep the food with his chopsticks into his mouth, groaning as the fatty meat's flavour burst onto his tongue. Mino had bribed him with a whole half belly of a boar who must have been a sizeable beast.  Only a small portion had been added to the pot, the rest packet in linen and tucked away in his interspatial bag.  Leon had just dished his own bowl full and moved to sit down, when Jin Li shamelessly asked for more. Quietly, Leon provided him with a second serving before enjoying his own stew.

Following their meal, Leon set a kettle above the fire to brew tea to drink and took the dirty dishes to the bucket to wash them in. Jin Li had eaten a third portion before he was satisfied and now lazed about the fire. "W-will you b-be returning to town w-w-with me, t-tomorrow?" Leon asked him.

"Mmm," Jin Li returned with a slight nod. Leon smiled to himself and set the plates to dry upon another rag, thinking he should get some more cloth to patch things when necessary or turn into rags. Admittedly, he had never sewn before, but how hard could it be?

Speaking of things he had never done before, he withdrew a diary and skimmed through it to find the Soft Ice Pill. He had managed to obtain a small amount of the two main ingredients, so he wished to try the formula. This one would take a little longer to create, for he needed to slowly dry the leafy herbs in his cauldron until they crumbled into a powder before adding crushed snow berries. These were sticky and would help form the pills with a small but consistent stream of spiritual energy. Leo had recommended adding the crushed seed of a herb that he happened to be growing, the edible one with the peppery taste. It was aptly named the Winter Warming herb, however it was not flowering so there were no seeds for the improved form. Leon hoped that he could still sell them when it came to it.

Having practiced making pills on low heats before, Leon caught the gist of the first step with ease. The three-leaf ice fern and the silver nettle tea leaves dried and crumbled nicely. Adding the berries, which he had crushed with use of the pestle and mortar, caused the powder to stick together, but knowing the correct amounts of spiritual energy to use was far more difficult. Too much and the resulting pills crumbled on touch, too little and the pot held nothing but a sticky mess. On his third attempt, he was successful. But he ran out of energy, so could not create any more that day.

Tomorrow, they would leave for town, so Leon had to make do with his small number of pills. Both men decided to spend the night cultivating, both feeling a lack within themselves and wanting to change that.