Thinking of you, longing for you, my soul is bound to you in my dreams. The fragrant, warm screen glows softly, but how can I bear to wake from my drunken stupor?
— Absolute
Mo Xi read it aloud twice, seemingly understanding something. She flipped through the book again, but found nothing more.
When Mo Xi returned to the living room, she found that Tang Huan had already returned and was reading a book. Mo Xi only caught a glimpse of the words "Place in a dish, dry over a low flame, and remove the dish from the fire when it is almost dry." Tang Huan had already put the book in the drawer of the desk, stood up and smiled, "Would you like to go for a walk? I'll take you for a stroll in the back mountain."
Mo Xi readily agreed.
The back mountain of the Tang Clan is a cemetery for generations of people, and is usually a forbidden area for ordinary people.
So the two of them walked slowly along the riverbank below the cliff. Suddenly, Mo Xi spotted a fledgling eagle, about the size of two rabbits combined, with a pale gray body and a snow-white tail, lying on the sandy riverbank below the cliff, barely alive. He went over and crouched down to examine it closely, and found that most of the bones in its wings had been broken.
Tang Huan said from the side, "This eagle is called the White-tailed Eagle. It is the fastest flying eagle and is known as the King of Flight. It is fierce and good at hunting, and it can endure hunger for more than 45 days. It is named after its wedge-shaped, pure white tail feathers."
Mo Xi nodded and took a step forward. Tang Huan continued, "You understand, Miss. When I was young, I saw a fledgling eagle with a broken wing and took pity on it, so I brought it back to care for and raise it. But later I found that the eagle that was raised and raised could only fly as high as a house before falling down. Its wings, which were more than half a zhang long, had become a burden."
Mo Xi smiled slightly at him and shook her head, saying, "I don't know the reason behind it."
Tang Huan paused slightly, then explained, "A few days after hatching, the eaglets undergo brutal training from their mothers. With their mothers' help, they soon learn to fly independently, but this is only the first step. The second step involves the mother taking them to a high place, such as a treetop or a cliff, and then throwing them off. Some eaglets, out of fear, are killed by the fall. The third step involves those eaglets that manage to fly after being pushed off a cliff by their mothers, facing the final test: most of the bones in their wings are broken by their mothers, and they are then pushed off again. This seemingly 'cruel' final step is crucial in determining whether the eaglets will be able to soar through the skies in the future. Eagles have strong regenerative abilities in their wings, but only by enduring the excruciating pain and continuously flapping their wings after they are broken, allowing the wings to continuously fill with blood, can they heal in a short time. Once healed, the wings are reborn like a phoenix rising from the ashes, becoming even stronger and more powerful. If they cannot overcome this hurdle, the eaglets lose their only chance and will forever be forever deprived of the blue sky."
Mo Xi nodded and said, "I see. The Fourth Young Master saved the fledgling eagle when he was a child simply because they shared the same fate. Now that he's in charge of the Tang Clan, he's soared to great heights." Considering the good food and drink he's provided every day, a few kind words are free. Besides, Tang Huan truly is like an eagle that has endured pain, spread its wings, and been reborn from the ashes.
Tang Huan said, "You flatter me, young lady."
Seeing his indifferent expression, Mo Xi didn't take his praise to heart and continued walking forward.
Taming Eagle
On this day, Tang Huan brought back a large bird, a white-tailed eagle, but it wasn't the one he had seen a few days earlier. This unfortunate bird, having just survived a bloody rebirth and was able to soar through the blue sky, fell into Tang Huan's clutches because of its gluttony. No one knew why this fellow had the idea of taming an eagle.
Thus, they threw themselves into the preliminary work of eagle training with great enthusiasm. Tang Huan, as expected, understood the principle of giving before taking, so he started with sweet treats, feeding the eagles delicious food so they would grow like balloons, becoming plump and strong in just a few days. But this plumpness was superficial; it needed to be removed to become muscle and gain strength. Therefore, the eagles needed to be fattened up further, not only by withholding food but also by having their stomachs pumped.
After washing its stomach, give the eagle a hot bath to make it sweat. When Mo Xi saw that Tang Huan had been splashed with water from head to toe, his hair and clothes soaked, making him look like a drenched handsome man, no longer the dashing figure he once was, he immediately felt smug and watched with great interest, thinking to himself: The benefits of being a bystander are really great.
Seeing her mocking expression and the smile on her lips, Tang Huan laughed angrily, "This eagle is wild, with sharp claws and a pointed beak. I only let you get close because I was considerate of your temporary loss of martial arts skills, and yet you laugh at me."
Mo Xi chuckled and replied, "It's my fault for not recognizing a kind heart."
Tang Huan smiled again when she saw that the slight dejection she had shown due to the pain of acupuncture over the past few days had vanished.
Exhausted from repeated abuse, the eagle spun twice before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. At this moment, Tang Huan, like a jailer dousing a prisoner with cold water during interrogation, scooped up a handful of water and rinsed the eagle's head. Sure enough, it slowly awoke, its eyes rolling back, and involuntarily drank the tea Tang Huan had given it.
After a few days of this ordeal, the non-surgical liposuction was successfully completed. The eagle quickly lost weight, its appearance becoming so gaunt it was practically skin and bones, like someone addicted to opium. Its eyes were dull, its steps unsteady, and it had no energy whatsoever. Tang Huan then casually remarked, "I've been quite busy with sect affairs lately, and since you have nothing else to do, I'll leave the eagle training to you." He naturally passed the task of training the eagle to Mo Xi.
Mo Xi looked at the white-tailed eagle that had finally calmed down, its head drooping, and shed a crocodile tear. "Can you just eat anything Tang Huan feeds you? I was poisoned by him, and I'm still living in fear."
While thinking this, her hands were doing something exactly like Tang Huan's: shaking the stick binding the eagle's feet. If this were modern times, animal rights organizations would definitely be after her; this was a bird of prey, a first-class protected animal, and she was abusing it like this. The hut used for eagle training was very bright, even at night, to prevent the eagle from sleeping. The taming process was extremely inhumane, like interrogating a criminal, a relentless 72-hour ordeal.
Mo Xi took on this inhumane task for three days. The moment she entered, the white-tailed eagle nodded pitifully at her. Seeing that it had finally yielded, Mo Xi chuckled, "You beast, if you'd given in sooner, you'd have saved yourself a beating." So, following Tang Huan's instructions, she carefully tied the sixteen snow feathers on its tail—used for takeoff, braking, gliding, descent, and hunting—with thread, one by one, with just the right tightness. This would allow it to take off while preventing it from escaping in the air. Then, Mo Xi blindfolded it and repeatedly whistled at the same frequency in its ear so it would remember, before taking it out for some fresh air.
Rabbits and pigeons, already tethered with ropes, were ready at the training ground. Seeing that everything was in place, Mo Xi removed the eagle's blindfold and let it hunt. The beast was starving and thrashed about fiercely until its belly was round and full. Then, it half-flew and half-hopped back to Mo Xi's feet, rubbing against her trouser leg as if seeking praise.
For the next few days, Mo Xi allowed the eagle to hunt but not eat, repeating this process many times until it finally succeeded. During this process, she gradually loosened a few feathers until all of them were loosened. After half a month of this training, the eagle could completely distinguish between different whistles and commands such as release, hunting, and recall. And when Mo Xi called it back, the beast would automatically and quickly swoop down from high altitude, eagerly eating the food Mo Xi had prepared for it.
That day, after lunch, Tang Huan and Mo Xi went to release hawks together.
As soon as Mo Xi blew the whistle, it shot into the blue sky like an arrow, circled once, and then flew higher and higher, gradually becoming just a small black dot.
Tang Huan looked at her upturned profile and said gently, "It likes you very much. Now it even puts on airs when I feed it."
"Perhaps I was the fiercest with it." Mo Xi chuckled.
“Take it with you when you leave. If you leave it here, it might become stubborn and starve to death if it refuses to eat or drink.”
Mo Xi did not answer, but said, "Xi'er was entrusted to the Tang Clan for care in Jinling. Judging from the child's speech, she seems to have received some education. I wonder why her family has fallen on hard times and she has become so destitute."
"Luyun will take care of Xi'er's matter. Besides, the Tang Clan has always adopted orphans and nurtured them, so you don't need to worry, Miss. However, she is quite attached to you and would probably prefer to stay with you."
Mo Xi smiled slightly again and shook her head, saying, "I will not bear the burden of any life other than my own in this life."
The teenage girl in front of me stood in the pale golden autumn sunshine, her smile as icy as melting snow, her words as warm as a spring breeze, yet she uttered such a sentence.
This wasn't the first time Tang Huan had seen her smile, but he suddenly felt his heart palpitations, which had been cured for many years, flare up again, a sharp pain suddenly piercing his heart. Mo Xi, however, had already turned and walked forward, naturally not noticing Tang Huan's hands clenched tightly in his sleeves.
What she wanted was a pair of wings to soar through the sky like an eagle, not a warm embrace to shelter a fledgling eagle's feathers.
Releasing lotus lanterns
These past few days, the Tang Clan has been brightly decorated, with servants bustling about, all preparing for the grand ceremony of the sect leader's succession three days later. Invitations have been widely sent to various sects and factions throughout the martial arts world, inviting numerous martial arts masters and outstanding young talents to attend. Therefore, except for acupuncture treatments, Tang Huan is rarely seen during the day. These past few days, the acupuncture and herbal treatments have reached their climax. Besides enduring the daily pain of needle inflammation, Mo Xi has been quite content, spending his time leisurely reading and raising his hawk.
That day, Mo Xi emerged from her usual medicinal bath and changed into her undergarments. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This plain silk is truly exquisite; it seems to soothe her skin, which has been soaked in medicine for days. However, it's difficult to go from luxury to frugality; all the ailments of affluence she'd developed here must be cured after leaving this place.
Mo Xi sighed again during dinner.
Take, for example, the boiled cabbage in this longevity peach and lingzhi covered bowl. The complexity of its preparation and the extravagance of its ingredients are comparable to the braised eggplant of the Jia family.
Boiled cabbage in clear broth is a famous Sichuan dish, but it doesn't follow the spicy and oily route.
Judging from its name and appearance, it is unassuming, yet it reveals superior soup-making skills. The "boiling water" is actually a crystal-clear broth. This broth is made by first removing impurities from ingredients such as old hen, old duck, pork ribs, ham hock, and dried scallops, then simmering them in a boiling pot with cooking wine, scallions, garlic, and other seasonings for at least two hours. Next, chicken breast is minced into a paste, mixed with fresh broth to form a paste, and then added to the pot to absorb impurities. After repeated absorption several times, the originally cloudy broth becomes clear and transparent like boiling water, with a rich and mellow aroma, neither oily nor greasy, and truly refreshing. For the cabbage, select large cabbages that are almost fully ripe, using only the tender, yellowish core leaves. These are briefly blanched, then rinsed in cold water to remove any remaining raw taste, and finally poured over the "boiling water" broth until fully cooked. The broth used to blanch the cabbage is not reused. Finally, the blanched cabbage hearts are placed at the bottom of a serving dish, and the fresh broth is gently poured in to create the finished product.
"Legend has it that the chef who created this dish did so because people generally disparaged Sichuan cuisine as 'only spicy and numbing, vulgar and unsophisticated.' In order to dispel these rumors and prove his innocence, he racked his brains and tried many times before finally creating this dish," Tang Huan said.
Mo Xi nodded and said, "This dish is a divine delicacy, bringing the ultimate in complexity and simplicity to a state of perfection." It does have something in common with martial arts.
After the meal, Tang Huan suggested going for a walk, and Mo Xi naturally agreed.
"I wonder if the young lady still remembers the riddle?"
"Of course I remember."
"Then I will pose the question:"