After sleeping until nightfall, when the lamps were first lit, Li Haimo and Xiao Meng leisurely got up.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw Hei Bai Xuan Jian sitting under their eaves, guarding them with the crystal-clear Great Dao Ephemeral Flower cradled in his hands. Only when he saw them emerge did he nod and return to his own room.
Xue Nu, meanwhile, was once again engrossed in her skill of playing chess against herself with her left and right hands. Dong Jun sat to the side like a aggrieved little wife, and when the two came out, she looked at them with a face full of resentment, startling them both.
"Xue Nu, what did you do to her?" Li Haimo asked.
Xue Nu had a history of driving the Confucian school's three giants crazy, so it wouldn't surprise him if she'd turned Dong Jun into this state, but he was still curious about what she'd done this time.
Xue Nu lifted her head, glanced at Dong Jun, then at Li Haimo and the others, before recounting how Dong Jun had spent the afternoon educating her on common knowledge.
Li Haimo felt a wave of embarrassment—these were indeed basics he should have taught Xue Nu, but he'd completely forgotten. He couldn't admit to Xue Nu that it was his oversight, so he said, "These things are indeed something you should know, but since you're unlikely to encounter them, I never mentioned them."
Xiao Meng saw right through that he'd forgotten and shot him a glare before speaking up: "These are essentials for wandering the jianghu. Every Daoist disciple is briefed on them one by one by the outer affairs hall before descending the mountain."
Xue Nu's eyes widened in a glare, clearly thinking she'd been tricked by her master again. How frustrating—stuck with such an unreliable master. I really want to switch to a new one.
Li Haimo awkwardly scratched his head and changed the subject: "What should we have for dinner?"
"Hot pot!" Xiao Meng suggested. It had been a while since they'd had it, and she missed it. Plus, with the current cold weather, it was perfect for hot pot.
"Hot pot?" Dong Jun asked, puzzled. What was that?
"Alright, you all go buy the ingredients. I'll get things ready," Li Haimo said.
Before long, Xiao Meng and Xue Nu returned with the ingredients and watched as Li Haimo worked in the kitchen.
"Do you need help with anything?" Hei Bai Xuan Jian came into the kitchen to assist, mainly because outside there were three women, and he felt awkward staying there.
"Slice the fish into transparent, peach blossom-shaped thin pieces." Li Haimo demonstrated with his knife.
Hei Bai Xuan Jian nodded, then picked up the kitchen knife. His hands moved with astonishing speed—in less than two minutes, both fish were fully sliced into fillets. And remarkably, the fish heads were still moving.
Li Haimo was stunned. This knife work was far superior to his own. Even the legendary chef Ding wouldn't be this fast, right?
"Have you done this before?" Li Haimo asked.
Hei Bai Xuan Jian nodded, a rare gentle smile appearing at the corner of his mouth as he said, "Qian Qian used to love eating fish, but there were so many bones, so I'd remove them all for her. I got good at it over time."
Li Haimo nodded. As expected, this assassin isn't so cold after all—he's a henpecked husband and a total doting spouse.
"You can't handle the chicken like that! Boning it with a knife ruins the texture!" Hei Bai Xuan Jian added, taking the chicken from Li Haimo's hands. He slapped it a few times with his palms, and astonishingly, he extracted the entire skeleton without even using a knife.
The kitchen then turned into Hei Bai Xuan Jian's personal showcase; there was hardly anything he couldn't do.
"You're a culinary god whose talents were wasted on being an assassin," Li Haimo remarked. If Hei Bai Xuan Jian had become a chef, even Ding would have to step aside.
"I once worked in the back kitchen of an inn for three months. It was called Dong Xiang Chun," Hei Bai Xuan Jian said.
"Dong Xiang Chun? The top inn in Wei State!" Li Haimo was truly stunned. Just how devoted to his wife was he, to go undercover at Dong Xiang Chun to learn their secrets?
"That was the happiest time of my life. Even though I was still killing people, I was happy," Hei Bai Xuan Jian said with a rare smile, his face full of fond memories.
"Your son," Li Haimo brought up, wanting to tell him so he could decide for himself.
"I overheard what you said this afternoon. Let him stay with the Farmer school. My swordsmanship is only for killing—too heavy with killing intent. It's not suitable to teach him," Hei Bai Xuan Jian replied.
"Then come back to Taiyi Mountain with us. It'll help you fuse with the Great Dao Ephemeral Flower faster, and once that's done, you can go see your son," Li Haimo suggested.
Hei Bai Xuan Jian nodded, helping him carry the dishes out. He was also curious about this "hot pot" Li Haimo mentioned.
A stone pot simmered with chicken broth—without chili peppers in this era, they could only make a clear soup base, seasoned with zanthoxylum for a hint of spice.
"So mutton can be eaten like this!"
Dong Jun was impressed too. The thin slices of meat were swished briefly in the pot, dipped in sauce, and popped into the mouth—tender and delicious. The fish fillets were the same: a quick dip and they were ready. No need for separate seating; five people gathered around one table and one stone pot, creating a unique sense of fun.
"Four heaven-man unity experts fighting over meat in one pot—if this got out, no one would believe it," Hei Bai Xuan Jian commented.
Li Haimo and the others paused, then realized it was true. Of the five at the table, four were heaven-man unity masters, clashing chopsticks just to snag a piece of meat.
"It's a shame Zi Lan Xuan is gone; otherwise, pairing this with a cup of their chilled fruit wine would be even better," Li Haimo said with a laugh.
"Fruit wine won't do. I know something else—women love it," Hei Bai Xuan Jian said.
Xiao Meng and the others turned to him. How would an assassin—a top-tier Luo Net heavenly-rank killer—know what women liked to drink? Li Haimo was curious too.
Hei Bai Xuan Jian fetched some cups from the kitchen, along with a plate of red fruits—hawthorns—and some malt sugar. With a shake of his hands, he pitted the hawthorns and pulverized them into a pulp, mixed in the malt sugar, and stirred. Then his hands emitted an icy mist as he churned it further.
"Hawthorn shaved ice!" Li Haimo exclaimed in surprise. Wasn't this like the shaved ice from later eras? Truly a woman's favorite—and with a bit more tweaking, it could become ice cream. He divided it into five cups, one for each, to be eaten with spoons.
"If we used Baiyue's lychees, papayas, or melons, the flavor would be even better," Hei Bai Xuan Jian added.
Li Haimo was thoroughly convinced. You're really a chef whose career was derailed by assassination—you've even maxed out the skill tree for desserts and frozen treats.
Xiao Meng and the other two women scooped a bite into their mouths: icy, sour, and sweet—delicious indeed.
"Eating too much of this can cause stomach pain, so don't overdo it," Hei Bai Xuan Jian warned, with no intention of making more for them.
Dong Jun's current feeling was that everyone here was a martial cultivator like her, yet it seemed like she'd taken the wrong path. The Daoists had invented this hot pot eating method, and even an assassin could whip up such frozen treats. Did I go astray? Otherwise, why am I the weakest among these four heaven-man experts?
"Impressive!" Beyond admiration, Li Haimo didn't know what else to say. Hei Bai Xuan Jian seemed more like a transmigrator—how else could he come up with something like shaved ice?
"Do you know how I achieved harmony with the Dao?" Hei Bai Xuan Jian suddenly asked.
The four of them were taken aback, curious about what Dao Hei Bai Xuan Jian had harmonized with.
Hei Bai Xuan Jian sank into reminiscence and slowly said, "Back then, I was in the prime minister's residence in Wei State's Daliang. She came running to me and said, 'We have a child.' And just like that, I achieved harmony—naturally, without effort."
"No Dao remnants or emperor's nectar?" Xue Nu asked.
Dong Jun and Hei Bai Xuan Jian both looked at her oddly.
"Who told you that Dao harmony comes with Dao remnants and emperor's nectar?" Dong Jun asked.
"My master had them when he harmonized, and so did my uncle-master. Doesn't everyone get them?" Xue Nu replied, looking at them.
"For normal people, harmonizing with the Dao means integrating your own Dao into the Great Dao—there are no heavenly Dao remnants or emperor's nectar," Dong Jun explained.
"Then why did my master and uncle-master have them?" Xue Nu countered.
"Do you think anything about your master and uncle-master is normal?" Dong Jun asked back.
"Probably not," Xue Nu said awkwardly.
"Only if your Dao supplements the Great Dao, establishes a new one, or fulfills a grand vow recognized by heaven will it bestow heavenly Dao remnants and emperor's nectar," Hei Bai Xuan Jian elaborated.
"I see," Xue Nu nodded.
"So you didn't enter via the killing Dao?" Li Haimo asked. Hei Bai Xuan Jian's swords were so laden with killing intent; he'd assumed it was the killing Dao.
"I entered the Dao twice! The first time was through guardianship, into the Dao of utmost emotion," Hei Bai Xuan Jian said.
"Entered twice?" Li Haimo, Xiao Meng, and Dong Jun were all stunned. Could one enter the Dao again after already doing so? They'd never heard of such a thing.
"Yes, twice. Later, I died, the white sword broke, and my Dao shattered, so I died too. But the sword spirit awakened me, and I entered again—this time through vengeance, into the killing Dao," Hei Bai Xuan Jian explained.
"The white sword for guardianship, the black sword for vengeance. Hei Bai Xuan Jian—one for killing, one for protecting. So that's what it means."
Li Haimo began to understand why Hei Bai Xuan Jian was still alive despite having died. With dual Dao entry, the killing Dao preserved his body, while the utmost emotion Dao safeguarded his soul.
"So, if I have a child, could I enter the Dao too?" Xue Nu said, her mind wandering wildly.
"Heh." Li Haimo rolled his eyes at her. If it were that easy, all those experts stuck at half-step heaven-man could just go home and have kids.
"You could have your master help you try it out—maybe it really would work," Dong Jun said with a smile.
"You're not even at half-step heaven-man, and you're dreaming of entering the Dao? You haven't even fully absorbed the heavenly Dao remnants—what are you thinking!" Li Haimo mercilessly shot her down.
"Actually, it really might be possible!" Hei Bai Xuan Jian said. Seeing the others look at him, he added, "I've seen two others who entered the Dao because of having a child. One was the Farmer school's Xia Kui, Tian Guang; the other was Luo Net's Jing Ni."
"The Farmer school's Xia Kui Tian Guang? Luo Net's Jing Ni?" Li Haimo was surprised. There wasn't much known about Xia Kui Tian Guang, but the Farmers were close to Lord Changping and one of the key players in the Azure Dragon Plan.
"Jing Ni had been lurking by Tian Guang's side and became his wife. It was when Jing Ni was pregnant that Tian Guang achieved heaven-man unity, causing our assassination to fail. Then, during the pursuit to kill them both, Jing Ni also achieved heaven-man unity. So two consecutive assassinations failed, and I was gravely injured before I met Qian Qian," Hei Bai Xuan Jian recounted.
"This..." Li Haimo didn't know how to explain it. Once could be coincidence, twice a fluke—but three times? No explanation.
Xue Nu turned her gaze to him, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"What are you thinking? Once you fully absorb the heavenly Dao remnants and integrate with the Human Sect's Dao, it'll happen naturally—no need for external pushes." Li Haimo flicked her forehead directly.
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