CH 37.3

Chapter 37 Miniature Zhaozhao Part 3

Ao Yu had a high level of tolerance for Yun Zhao. He gently lifted him up and placed him in the palm of his hand, using the corner of a clean cloth to gently wipe the corners of Yun Zhao's moist eyes.

If it were in the past, Yun Zhao would have taken the cloth to wipe his face himself, and he wouldn't have sat obediently like he did now, letting Ao Yu help him.

After finishing wiping his face, he held onto Ao Yu's finger and sweetly thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Little Dragon!"

"N-Not at all," Ao Yu's heart was instantly struck by something, turning into a puddle of mush.

He put away the cloth and raised the corners of his mouth in a hidden smile, a faint blush spreading across his ears, which felt slightly warm.

He took Yun Zhao with him and pushed open the door, and the courtyard was filled with furry divine beasts squatting around.

Wu Mu yawned and asked, "I'm so hungry. What are we having for dinner?"

Yun Zhao sighed helplessly. He couldn't even reach a pair of chopsticks right now, so cooking was definitely out of the question.

Ao Yu thought for a moment and said calmly, "I'll do it."

"Clang!"

The sound of porcelain breaking made everyone turn their heads. Little Black Rabbit stared wide-eyed at Ao Yu, eyes filled with fear.

"For the sake of everyone living longer, I advise you to withdraw this absurd idea!"

Yun Zhao seemed to recall the power of that "Seafood Congee" and couldn't help but shudder.

Bai Ze instinctively rejected the possibility of letting Ao Yu into the kitchen and suggested, "How about we forget about it? We won't starve to death if we skip a few meals, or we can eat some raw meat."

After all, in the past, he mostly caught and ate his food in the wild. If he got tired of it, he would find a mountain to sleep on.

Bai Ze thought the things in the market were not as good as the taste of raw food!

Wu Mu was the first one to disagree upon hearing that. His mouth had long been spoiled by Yun Zhao. How could he possibly go back to the days of eating raw meat?

The black kitten grumbled unhappily and lay on the ground, starting to act cute.

He flipped over, exposing his soft belly, and unhappily called out, "No, no, I don't want to eat raw food! I saw Lord Ao Yu bring back some lamb! I want to eat roasted lamb leg!"

Xuanming glanced at the tantrum-throwing black cat, perplexed, and turned his head to look at Luo Xue silently, silently asking, "Is he really your elder brother?"

Luo Xue sighed, lifting his front paw to cover his eyes, accepting his fate as he nodded his head.

Ao Yu was feeling annoyed by Wu Mu's antics, but just as his patience was running out, Yun Zhao spoke up with a suggestion, "Why don't you take me to the kitchen?"

"You want to cook?" Ao Yu used his fingertip to hook Yun Zhao's small hand, imagining how Yun Zhao would look holding a spatula and stirring the food. A hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.

Yun Zhao pursed his lips and pointed at himself with a serious expression, saying, "I'll give the orders, and you all can do the cooking."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was taken aback but still nodded in agreement with Yun Zhao's proposal.

They arrived in the kitchen, and Yun Zhao stood in the palm of Ao Yu's hand, hands on his hips, and began assigning tasks, "Bai Ze and Sun Yang, go get the meat. Wu Mu and the little Black rabbit, wash and chop the vegetables."

"Brother Yun Zhao! What about me? What about me?" Luo Xue scratched at the forehead of the black panther, urging, "I want to help too!"

Yun Zhao tilted his head and thought for a moment, saying, "Xuanming, you light the fire, and Luo Xue can supervise Wu Mu and Bai Ze for me, make sure they don't slack off or cause trouble."

Luo Xue mewed obediently and nodded.

"As for Ao Yu..." Yun Zhao turned around, looked up at Ao Yu, and contemplated what to have the little dragon do.

Ao Yu raised an eyebrow and brought Yun Zhao, who was in the palm of his hand, closer, asking, "Any instructions?"

"I've got it!" Yun Zhao smiled and said, "Just hold me like this, it will be convenient for me to give orders!"

Ao Yu chuckled at his words and whispered softly, "You really know how to arrange things."

He simply placed Yun Zhao on his shoulder, just like when he used to curl around the young man's neck when he was still a weak dragon cub.

Yun Zhao carefully sat on Ao Yu's shoulder, holding him close with a strand of his white hair in his arms, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he became confident again. Although everything seemed magnified and a bit terrifying in his eyes, after getting used to it, standing at a high place and taking a look, it didn't feel too bad.

After assigning the tasks, the group of hungry gluttons immediately went to work, bustling around. It didn't take long for all the ingredients to be prepared, and they all looked at Yun Zhao, waiting for his next instructions.

Yun Zhao asked Bai Ze to wash away the blood from the meat and instructed Wu Mu to add water to the pot and put in some spirit herbs for flavor.

He initially wanted Bai Ze to cut the meat, but his knife skills were truly pitiful.

In the end, it was Luo Xue who transformed into a child and raised his head to say, "Lord Bai Ze, why don't you let me do it?"

Bai Ze hesitantly handed over the knife, watching as Luo Xue stood on a small stool and took the knife to start cutting. He couldn't help but worry, "Be careful, don't cut yourself."

"I won't, oh!" Luo Xue explained seriously, "I've seen Yun Zhao cutting meat before."

He pursed his little face, focused and serious, concentrating on the movements of his hands, cutting the meat into evenly sized pieces along the grain.

Ao Yu chuckled when he saw it and taunted Bai Ze, "You're not even as good as a hundred-year-old cat cub."

Bai Ze turned his head in frustration and looked elsewhere, thinking to himself that even you're not better than me!

When Luo Xue finished cutting the meat, the soup had also simmered for a while, so Bai Ze helped put the meat into the pot for slow cooking.

Yun Zhao thought that eating plain stewed lamb was too monotonous, so he suggested roasting a leg of lamb. Wu Mu was naturally delighted and nodded eagerly, volunteering to bring the leg of lamb, his eyes fixed on Yun Zhao.

Ao Yu placed the leg of lamb on the grill, and Xuanming instinctively blew a small spark to ignite the charcoal.

Yun Zhao said, "Let's roast it slowly for now, and later we'll make some sauce to brush on."

As soon as Yun Zhao spoke, the kitchen became bustling again. Except for the rabbits, everyone else was cooking for the first time, but with Yun Zhao directing them, everything went relatively smoothly.

However, Yun Zhao nearly leaned too close to the pot to check the meat broth and almost fell in. Fortunately, Ao Yu reacted quickly and caught him with his hand, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Ao Yu had a stern expression and solemnly deprived Yun Zhao of the privilege of sitting on his shoulder, so he could only obediently squat in Ao Yu's hand.

Yun Zhao patted his chest in lingering fear and did not protest Ao Yu's decision.

When the moon quietly rose, the mountains were silent, with only the flickering lights in the kitchen.

Bai Ze uncovered the pot and added a handful of mushrooms and radishes to cook and stir-fry.

He took a sniff of the rising aroma and was forcefully pushed away by Wu Mu.

The black-clad child stood on the stove, looking disdainful, and said, "Be careful not to drool into it."

Bai Ze snorted coldly, "I know."

He was on edge throughout the meal, afraid that any slight negligence would lead to mistakes. With the task successfully completed, Bai Ze wiped the thin sweat from his forehead and wanted to inform Yun Zhao.

However, when he turned around, he saw Ao Yu sitting at the table, holding a ladle in one hand and using the other hand to hold Yun Zhao, who was placed on the handle of the ladle before Ao Yu let go.

His well-defined hand acted as a guardrail, and the small young man "wah"ed as he slid down from the handle and landed in the center of the ladle.

Yun Zhao was full of excitement, continuously shouting for Ao Yu to do it again.

Bai Ze helplessly rubbed his forehead. "...This couple sure knows how to play."

Luo Xue crouched by the grill, watching the rabbits brush sauce onto the leg of lamb, their fur dripping with a mixture of oil and sauce. It made him meow and meow incessantly.

Xuanming seemed to notice something and patted the little white cat with his beast claw, but unfortunately, the little white cat was captivated by the leg of the lamb and didn't regain his senses.

Yun Zhao was also curious and looked over. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Luo Xue, get away from the fire!"

"Hmm... what's wrong?" Luo Xue finally responded and turned his head with some effort when he felt Xuanming staring at his tail fur.

A section of his snow-white fur had been toasted to a burnt yellow, resembling a nearly burnt marshmallow.

"Wah... my... my fur!"

The long-lost cry of the little white cat echoed through the serene Yuming Mountain.

Wu Mu suppressed a laugh and tried to use magic to restore his little brother, but unfortunately, the fire under the grill was ignited by Xuanming, and it naturally absorbed its spiritual energy. Wu Mu's magic couldn't completely restore the caramel-colored fur.

However, it didn't seem too serious this time, as Luo Xue managed to stop crying and wiped his tears on the black panther's tail quietly.

Xuanming: "..."

With this interruption, both dishes were completely finished.

The stewed lamb soup emitted steam, with pieces of lamb and various vegetables and mushrooms faintly visible in the broth.

Bai Ze quickly scooped some into a bowl and took a sip, surprised, "It's actually not bad."

Yun Zhao smiled. He had instructed them on all the seasonings to add. If they had followed their own ideas, this pot of soup would probably be undrinkable.

The roasted leg of lamb was slightly inferior. It wasn't evenly roasted, and a portion of the outer skin had turned into a black-brown color. Yun Zhao had to instruct them to cut off the burnt part.

The lamb soup was snowy white and delicate, without a trace of gaminess. However, after taking a few sips, the coolness brought by the night was silently dissipated.

Seeing everyone with oily mouths, Yun Zhao couldn't help but rub his stomach, feeling a bit hungry.

He tugged at Ao Yu's hair and tilted his head back, saying, "I'm hungry..."

Ao Yu chuckled, took a small plate, scooped up some lamb ribs, tore them into small pieces, and placed them on the plate.

Yun Zhao looked at the pieces of lamb meat that were almost bigger than his face and exclaimed with satisfaction, "Wow, this is really satisfying."

Unfortunately, they didn't have suitable utensils. Yun Zhao wanted to eat with his hands but didn't want to get greasy, so he could only seek help from Ao Yu with a pleading look.

At this moment, Ao Yu finally understood what Bai Ze meant by "dependency," but he didn't mind this feeling.

He picked up a piece of meat and brought it to Yun Zhao's lips. Yun Zhao could only use three fingers to hold it, taking small bites. After eating a couple of bites, he would glance at Ao Yu, afraid that he might suddenly take the meat away.

Indeed, he had become more delicate.

Ao Yu held his face and patiently watched Yun Zhao eat. He was afraid that Yun Zhao might choke, so he used a spoon to scoop some soup, blew on it a few times, and then brought it closer.

Yun Zhao swallowed the meat in his mouth, turned his head, and took two sips of soup. The soup spoon was too big for him. He had been drinking for a while, but it didn't seem to decrease much, just like a kitten licking water.

When Yun Zhao had eaten enough to have a round belly, he didn't even finish a piece of meat, and there were marks on it as if it had been gnawed by a mouse.

Ao Yu put the food back in the plate and used a corner of a handkerchief to wipe Yun Zhao's mouth. He asked, "Are you full now?"

"Mmm!" Yun Zhao slumped satisfied on the table, rubbing his round belly. The lamb meat was tender and delicious, with a hint of the sweetness from medicinal herbs and vegetables.

Little did he know that his appearance of squinting his eyes and rubbing his belly was incredibly adorable, and he didn't even notice when a few little ones gathered around the table.

Wu Mu wanted to touch the young man with his paw but was stopped by Sun Yang extending his claw.

Wu Mu tilted his head and thought for a moment, then extended his tail in front of Yun Zhao's eyes and started playing with it.

As expected, Yun Zhao was captivated. He used to play with two little cats using a cat teaser wand himself, but he didn't expect to be entertained by a cat today.

How could he resist the fluffy tail flapping right in front of his eyes?

Yun Zhao immediately pounced forward, making sure to catch Wu Mu's tail and burying his face in the fur, rubbing it randomly.

Oh, heaven...

So the rest of the little ones and the bunny took turns playing with Yun Zhao for a while. Although they simply stayed still and let Yun Zhao rub their fur, they were also extremely satisfied.

Seeing that it was getting late, Ao Yu finally grabbed Yun Zhao, who was crazily rubbing against Xuanming's paw pad, and lifted him into his palm.

He urged the others to return to the dormitory and rest, while he took Yun Zhao back to their room.

Ao Yu placed Yun Zhao on the table and watched him rummage through the wardrobe. Curiously, Yun Zhao asked, "Ao Yu, what are you looking for?"

Ao Yu searched for a while with his head buried, and when Yun Zhao raised his voice to ask again, he replied, "I'm looking for clothes for you."

"For me?" Yun Zhao was feeling sleepy after having eaten his fill, and his mind was a bit slow. "Why?"

"I found it." Ao Yu pulled out the softest fabric, examined Yun Zhao's figure, and furrowed his brows as he used magic to transform the fabric in his hand.

A few flashes of white light later, he finally managed to produce a somewhat suitable outer robe.

Ao Yu walked over with a satisfied look, picked up Yun Zhao, and pushed the door open.

Yun Zhao rubbed his slightly drowsy eyes and asked, "Ao Yu, where are we going?"

Ao Yu calmly pushed open the door to the warm spring and replied, "I'm taking you to bathe, you dirty ghost."