Cooking with one arm is as hard as it sounds. Not only was Yin Na a cripple, he had never really taken the art of cooking seriously. As a cultivator, the majority of his diet consisted of sustenance on pills and the nourishing qi he obtained through mere breathing during cultivation. After rebirth, he roasted wild game and herbs over fire, with barely any additional flavor.

To put it simply: Yin Na did the bare minimum when it came to cooking.

It was fortunate that Yin Na got to witness the art of cooking as his first auxiliary skill in the Jiang Hu. This was what Yin Na originally was seeking for in restarting his cultivation journey as a martial artist! The fine motor skills such as the speed and precision of the knives and folding of dumpling creases, and the larger gross motor ones such as pounding the dough all gave passive benefits to his learning speed as well as aptitude for weapons and other sorts of cultivation skills.

“It’s really hard for you to hold a vegetable in place with just one arm…” Song Ying Jie said. “Why not just let me handle it?”

“No worries!” Yin Na insisted. He had to cut the carrot perfectly with the knife, otherwise the carrot would roll. Yin Na was certain that this would help with weapons such as sharp swords or broad blades!

“...” Song Ying Jie put down what he was doing and held the carrot for Yin Na.

Yin Na was not embarrassed, as he let Song Ying Jie hold the vegetables for him to cut.

“You could have been a good cook if you still had another arm,” said Song Ying Jie. “May I ask what happened to Daoist’s right arm?”

“It’s a long story,” Yin Na brushed it off. “We’ll talk once supper is prepared.”

After the vegetables were prepared, Song Ying Jie announced:

“Okay, now for the protein. Our normal preserved meat won’t do! For this special occasion, I’m going to finally go hunt One Eye down.”

Grandma Peng Ling became really animated: “Don’t play with your life!”

“It’s okay, grandma,” Song Ying Jie assured. “I’ve been tracking One Eye for months now. I know him better than he knows himself! Know your enemy and you need not fear the result of a thousand battles!”

“What is ‘One Eye?’” Yin Na asked.

“He’s the bear that’s been roaming the forest since last Summer,” Grandma Peng Ling said, as if she herself was the one who discovered him. “He’s got one eye, and Xiao Jie Jie here’s been wanting to kill him since he’s first spotted him.”

“And you know I can, Grandma!” Song Ying Jie said. “You were just waiting for the right time, right?”

Yin Na expected more resistance from the Grandmother; this was the strangest conversation he had ever imagined taking place in a mortal peasant’s hut.

Grandma Peng Ling sulked. “Hmph, showing off for the Daoist. Very well, but be quick.”

“Killing for one’s food,” Yin Na said. “That meat will be incredibly fresh! I admire this resourcefulness and commitment deeply. I must accompany the young hero!”

“You’ve already been troubled enough, Daoist Wayseeker Crow,” Song Ying Jie said. “Do not worry, I will be fast.”

“No, I will not get in your way,” Yin Na said.

“...okay,” Song Ying Jie said. “Do you need me to carry you piggyback again?”

“What? Of course not!”

Within the time it took for an incense stick to burn…

Song Ying Jie jumped across the trees as if he were a Daoist skipping on water. It was actually quite hard for Yin Na to keep up!

“There he is!” Song Ying Jie shouted.

Yin Na saw the big bear digging naughtily into a hole in the trunk of a tree which nested a hive of bees. Before he could react, Song Ying Jie immediately dived towards the bear like a hawk for its prey.

The bear was startled, as it was kicked in the skull by Song Ying Jie’s sandal.

“C’mon, One Eye!” Song Ying Jie teased the bear. “Let us have our match! Daoist, I request that you please stay out of our battle!”

Yin Na said, “Okay,” as he stood on the top of a towering tree overlooking the scene.

He wanted to see how a martial artist of Song Ying Jie’s skill fared against a wild bear. It was the stuff of common folk tales and legend, of mortal men killing fierce kings of the forests, tundra or jungle with nothing but their bare hands. If they learned of the existence of Spirit Beasts, they’d have no chance, but Song Ying Jie was a martial artist with an untold number of unlocked meridians. This should make facing a bear quite easy in comparison.

“That bear looks rather reluctant to fight,” thought Yin Na. “Ah well, dinner is dinner.”

Song Ying Jie was rather peeved that One Eye seemed to lack the characteristic aggression of bears. Eager to put on a show, however, he shouted up to Yin Na: “No worries, I will beat him nice and tender so that he will taste better!”

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It was a one-sided beating. Song Ying Jie’s Bladed Palm Wind was a little overkill on a dying bear, as the bear was knocked unconscious with a final chop to the neck by the youth’s forearm.

“Okay,” Song Ying Jie laughed. “You can come down now, Daoist!”

Yin Na jumped down from the tree, and walked over slowly to Song Ying Jie.

“Now comes the hard part,” laughed Song Ying Jie. “We gotta drag him all the way back to my house!”

“...” Yin Na was silent.

“We’ll kill him in front of my doorstep, it’ll make the meat taste that much fresher! Trust me, it makes a difference.”

“...Is this young man stupid?” Yin Na thought. “Not only is this a terribly inefficient way to hunt, but earlier I had observed two nearby cubs. I thought peasants were supposed to be gifted with an aptitude in nature which extends to the biology of regional animals too… Does Song Ying Jie not see the milkers on that bear?”

Sometimes, it’s best to withhold information. Jiang Hu was full of well-intending idiots like Song Ying Jie. Yin Na decided to keep silent and save Song Ying Jie both face and guilt.

Song Ying Jie began to haul the entire carcass of bear by himself, dragging it by handfuls of fur. Yin Na occasionally helped by lifting the haunches of the bear over slopes of rock or impeding roots.

Yin Na took one last look around his surroundings, before catching the mournful glint of the two cubs’ eyes staring back at him in the darkness of the setting sun.

Yin Na thought, “I’ve been where you were before. That’s just how life is, sometimes.”

…

“To be honest, I had no idea I had it in me to confront another figure of the Jiang Hu” laughed Song Ying Jie. “All my life I’ve lived within the confines of the village, and I had pictured the day when I would fight my first opponent in the Jiang Hu, so vividly!”

Song Ying Jie was eating heartily, while talking in between mouthfuls of bear stew.

Yin Na wasn’t sure how he viewed Song Ying Jie anymore. He was impressed at his appetite, at the rate with which he was eating he’d devour half the bear before the night was over. Perhaps martial artists’ protein intake corresponded with their strength and idiocy. At the same time, he was wondering how devastated the young man would be if he revealed that the Bear they ate was a female, and not a male.

“Strange, Song Ying Jie didn’t seem to react at all when he saw the teats on that bear,” Yin Na thought. “Just how stupid is he?”

“Is there any method I can take a quick glance at those martial art manuals you’ve mentioned earlier, Song Ying Jie?” Yin Na asked politely while he was being served.

“Grandma gifted me those from dad, I don’t have the right to say,” Song Ying Jie said.

When Yin Na looked to the Grandmother, she also said, “Oh, Song Ying Jie you can make your own decisions, you’re an adult now.”

Yin Na immediately understood that he was being refused with as much tact as peasants could manage, and didn’t probe any further.

After a few stories about Song Ying Jie’s upbringing, Grandma Peng Ling changed the subject: “Sir Daoist, may I ask, where is your family? What happened to your other arm?”

Yin Na put down his bowl of stew.

Eating a meal that has been prepared as closely from the Earth and with one’s own hands was a mental finisher that perfectly summarized his cooking training. He felt the loosely connected mini-lessons of chopping the vegetables, slicing the marbled ligaments of the bear meat, and stirring the pot were tied together the moment he began sipping the broth. He gave the dining experience four stars out of five.

“I come from the Western Desert,” Yin Na said. “I have no recollection of my family, and was only picked by chance by a kind Daoist from the Southern region who wandered in the region by coincidence. He taught me, on top of martial arts, the gentlemanly activities of calligraphy, playing Go, archery, playing the zither, and the art of the deal.

“My arm was lost rather recently, just a few months ago I had a life-or-death battle with a Demonic martial artist who saw not only fit to permanently maim me for life but also to disfigure my face, hence the bandages.”

“How horrible!” Grandma Peng Ling said. While eating, Yin Na had to peel the bandages hiding his disfigured mouth, and neither of his two hosts said anything. Grandma Peng Ling appeared to take notice of his nearly toothless mouth for the first time.

“Who is that scoundrel who hurt sir Daoist?” Song Ying Jie shouted with his mouth full. “I will avenge sir Daoist as soon as you give the word!”

Grandma Peng Ling shushed him, then asked: “Yes, and after you answer that, what was that about ‘the art of the deal?’”

Yin Na’s eyes glittered with meaning beneath his bandages. “That scorned foe’s name was Overseer Ten Moths. And the ‘art of the deal’ concerns the art of divination involving economics to the smallest coin.”

Grandma Peng Ling appeared confused, but nodded anyway.

“Sir Daoist, since you seem experienced in the art of foresight and divination, I’d like to humbly ask you for advice regarding my grandson’s future.”

Yin Na nodded. “What is it you seek to clarify?”

“My grandson here has become a young man, he wishes to marry Wang Jin Lian from the Wang family across the other end of the village. Do you view their pairing as auspicious?”

Yin Na suddenly felt he was being tested, or probed with this question. Nonchalantly sipping his tea, Yin Na said, “I will need a little more information. What is her family like? What date of the Lunar calendar was she born? Are her eyes far apart or are they narrow and close together? Does she have strong legs? In fact, it’s probably best that I meet her and her family in person.”

“The Wang family has three sons and three daughters, including Wang Jin Lian. One of their sons is testing for the imperial exam, and another one is even a martial artist in the Purple Robes Sect. Wang Jin Lian’s sign is that of the Rooster, she was born during the 2nd month of the Lunar Calandar, and she has hips wider than a pregnant mare’s.”

Grandma Peng Ling stated these facts so straightforwardly that Song Ying Jie stopped mid-bite for a second, looking at his Grandma oddly for a second. Then he resumed his meal.

Yin Na thought, “So the Wang Family is financially well off in comparison to most of the villagers here. I’ve never heard of this ‘Purple Robes Sect,’ but if it’s true then this no-name Sect and Wang family can potentially benefit in having another strong martial artist like Song Ying Jie join them.”

Yin Na spoke slowly: “This Wang Jin Lian sounds like she comes from a good family, and is a good candidate to be a mother. But the most accurate reading takes time, and comes with a price.”

At the perfect timing, an owl flew through the opened door of the Hut, and landed in the palm of Yin Na’s left hand. It silently flew away, leaving behind a heavy bundle of taels.

Even though she was near-sighted, Grandma Peng Ling’s eyes bulged at the sight.

“Is this the aforementioned ‘art of the deal?’” she thought. “Excellent, if it’s a price the Daoist wants, then I shall abide!”