Chapter 102: I Want to Eat Braised Pork

Chief Zhang thanked Li Sibai and originally wanted to invite him back to accept the gratitude of the others, but Li Sibai declined. He had already stayed here for many days and had promised Uncle Cai Da to return within half a month. Now that he was able to leave, he did not want to delay any longer.

Taking out the half piece of bamboo from his storage bracelet, Li Sibai and Cai Yao seemed to be drawn by a time-space force. After a moment of dizziness, the scene before their eyes gradually became clear. Li Sibai saw Cai Yao smiling at him, the ancient tree spirit in the distance, and the tourmaline bottle hanging on the branches of the ancient tree spirit.

“So we’ve truly come back!” Li Sibai let out a long breath. His mind was now linked with the bamboo, and whenever he wished, he could enter that bamboo forest again.

He also knew that if Chief Zhang and the others wanted to leave, he would be aware of it. All he needed to do was open a passage.

Thinking about the gains this time, Li Sibai felt especially pleased. Not to mention learning the Spirit Gathering Formation and improving his cultivation, merely obtaining that sea of bamboo was enough to make him proud. Moreover, Cai Yao had also leveled up.

Taking the tourmaline bottle handed over by the ancient tree spirit, Li Sibai examined it carefully once more and found the fine cracks still there, no different from before.

“Senior, what exactly happened? How did we get sucked in?” Li Sibai asked, hoping to get some answers from the ancient tree spirit.

The ancient tree spirit shook his head with a wry smile. “I said before, I only suspected this place was a gateway connecting to another space. Where you went and what you experienced—tell me about that.”

Cai Yao looked at Li Sibai with a mischievous smile. Although she had been with Li Sibai afterward, she did not know about his previous experiences and was curious.

“All right, I’ll tell you,” Li Sibai said, recounting every detail of the past few days without reservation. The ancient tree spirit listened intently, surprised by the twists and turns of their journey.

When he finished, Li Sibai looked at the ancient tree spirit, eager to hear his new thoughts.

The ancient tree spirit nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t expect your experiences to be so full of coincidences and opportunities. These things are unheard of even to me. This is your good fortune—make good use of them.”

Li Sibai’s eyes brightened as he nodded firmly. The ancient tree spirit spoke wisely: with the rise in his strength, greater power would bring greater responsibility. How he would develop in the future required careful consideration.

Li Sibai then asked about the situation in the Dark Forest these days and how long he had been there.

Fortunately, the ancient tree spirit’s account matched Li Sibai’s estimate, indicating that time did not distort after being drawn into the pill bottle.

Calculating the time inside the pill bottle, he realized he had been there for almost half a month. Occasionally, a few disciples from the Xuantian Sword Sect would enter the Dark Forest to complete sect tasks, but no one seemed to have deliberately sought him out.

Still, Li Sibai felt uneasy. Before coming here, he had told Uncle Cai Da that he would return in about half a month.

So he decided to go back to the inner sect of the Xuantian Sword Sect now, settle his student registration, and formally take on a master. Delaying too long might cause unforeseen problems.

Having made up his mind, Li Sibai bid farewell to the ancient tree spirit. Cai Yao decided to accompany him, and the two set off toward the Xuantian Sword Sect.

Along the way, worried about being recognized, Li Sibai asked Cai Yao to use a disguise technique to change his appearance near the edge of the Dark Forest. Though he still wore the sect’s robe, his overall look and aura were completely different—probably unrecognizable even to Uncle Cai Da.

After breaking through the Qinxin Realm, his strength had rapidly advanced; his body had strengthened. Though his cultivation was only at the first level of Qinxin Realm, his power was comparable to an opponent at the third level of Qinxin Realm. Every move exuded the aura of a strong cultivator.

Yet, after so many days, Guo Jian had still made no move. Li Sibai worried that Guo Jian might be waiting to ambush him. He also worried about Uncle Cai Da. After all, he had contacted Uncle Cai Da before leaving, so if anyone knew his whereabouts, it would be Uncle Cai Da alone. If Guo Jian wasn’t foolish, he might suspect this too. Li Sibai hoped he hadn’t troubled Uncle Cai Da.

Anxious, he quickened his pace.

“I hope I’m just worrying over nothing, that Senior Brother Guo Jian isn’t so despicable,” Li Sibai thought.

Cai Yao seemed to sense his worries. He hadn’t spoken much along the way. She didn’t know the details about Guo Jian and didn’t want to judge prematurely, so she hadn’t brought it up.

“Brother, will we get to eat Uncle Da’s braised pork? I haven’t had it for days. You have to save me some,” Cai Yao teased, trying to distract Li Sibai with light conversation.

“All right, I’ll tell Uncle Da when we see him,” Li Sibai promised readily.

Soon, Li Sibai arrived outside the outer gate of the Xuantian Sword Sect. It was lunchtime, and Li Sibai was hungry, so he headed directly to the academy’s dining hall to look for Uncle Cai Da.

Seeing an outer sect disciple helping in the kitchen, whom Li Sibai often teased, he stepped forward and called out:

“Hua Bing, is Chef Cai here?”

Hua Bing, the outer sect disciple, was startled. Although Uncle Cai Da was the chef and often called Chef Cai, people usually respectfully called him Uncle Da. Someone addressing him directly as “Chef” might be trouble.

Hua Bing looked at Li Sibai for a long moment but didn’t recognize him. Considering the many disciples in the outer sect, it was impossible to know them all. Unsure of his intentions, he said, “He’s here, but Chef Da is probably busy now. If you have anything, I can pass it on.”

Li Sibai waved his hand. “No trouble. Just ask him to make me a plate of braised pork.”

So it was an order. Hua Bing glanced at Li Sibai disdainfully. Ordering food and specifying the chef—he hadn’t seen anyone so demanding.

“Hey, Brother, do you know Uncle Da? Ordering from him usually costs a lot.”

Li Sibai pretended to ponder. “Then just tell him that his senior brother is here to test if his cooking skills have improved. Tell him the braised pork should be cut small, with more meat and fewer vegetables, not too sweet or bland. He’ll get it.”

“Senior brother?” Hua Bing sneered, looking at the man who didn’t seem much older than himself, self-proclaiming as Uncle Da’s senior brother. He couldn’t believe it.

Yet he felt the imposing aura radiating from Li Sibai, clearly stronger than himself. Feeling pressured, he dared not be negligent and quickly went to the kitchen to find Uncle Cai Da.