Chapter 665: Five-Step Hand Washing Method

"Sizzle, sizzle!"

The soup base in the pot boiled, and the fish slices tumbled over and over.

The rich aroma of the fish soup enticed every one of Qin Jian's taste buds.

He was almost drooling...

Having not eaten for a whole month, although he wouldn't starve, that kind of desire was like not having "that" for a long time; it would only grow more intense.

This kind of thing should be called the desire to chew.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Qin Jian couldn't see at all what Poseixi had thrown into the pot; he only knew that the fragrance of the fish slice soup was becoming increasingly rich, and the only remaining trace of fishiness had completely vanished.

"Don't be impatient, it tastes better if you let it boil a little longer," Poseixi said, as if she knew Qin Jian could barely hold back, and comforted him: "This variety of sea fish is extremely resilient; it needs to boil for the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn to reach the best texture."

"Alright, I'm not impatient, I'm not impatient..."

Qin Jian silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "Gulp."

"Pfft..."

Poseixi couldn't help but chuckle, then turned back and reached out to touch his cheek: "You are a Title Douluo, yet you're this greedy after only a month without eating?"

The cool, soft hand pressed against his cheek felt very comfortable.

Qin Jian pouted and said: "Ever since I took human form, I have never gone this long without eating."

"It is merely a desire of the mouth and belly; we Title Douluo do not need to derive energy from it. Once you see this clearly, you will realize that whether you eat or not is actually of no consequence," Poseixi said, lowering her hand.

"Why would I want to realize that?"

Qin Jian crossed his arms: "To personally strangle joy? Why would I want to do that?"

"Personally strangle joy?"

The gentle smile on Poseixi's face faltered slightly: "Have I personally strangled the joy of eating?"

Qin Jian smiled and said: "Isn't life built upon these little joys? If you do nothing but meditate now, what meaning is there left?"

"I thought," Poseixi said softly, "I thought that would save a lot of time and allow me to cultivate faster."

"Putting the cart before the horse."

Qin Jian delivered the critique without mercy.

"Why do you say that?" Poseixi looked at him curiously.

"Let me give you an example," Qin Jian held up a finger and shook it: "We all know that to live a prosperous life, hard currency like Soul Coins is indispensable, so many ordinary people go on to pursue Soul Coins, endlessly pursuing more and more Soul Coins..."

"But think about it, Soul Coins were originally just a medium; pursuing Soul Coins was for a better life, for living more happily, but why is it that in the end, many people treat the medium of Soul Coins as their sole pursuit?"

He smiled slightly: "I believe that, setting aside its function to exchange for the things we want, the Soul Coin itself cannot directly bring happiness; on the contrary, it brings anxiety."

"You mean," Poseixi said thoughtfully, "that our cultivation as Spirit Masters is not the ultimate pursuit, and the power brought by cultivation serves other goals? If I give up the joy that should have come from cultivation for the sake of cultivation itself, that is putting the cart before the horse."

"Yes, for me, cultivation is for happiness and freedom, so, of course, I would not give up happiness and freedom for the sake of cultivation; in fact, as long as those two points are guaranteed, I could stop cultivating entirely..."

Qin Jian looked at Poseixi: "What about you? What is your cultivation for? Have you ever given up things you originally wanted to obtain through cultivation for the sake of cultivation itself?"

"Me?"

Poseixi looked at her own hands: "I cultivate to maintain my youthful appearance, so that I can wait for the day you arrive. So, I wouldn't say I'm putting the cart before the horse, I've just given up some small pleasures..."

Qin Jian held his forehead, heartbroken: "Then what have we been doing for the past month?"

Poseixi glanced at him: "Wasn't it you who said? If you don't know what to do, just do what I usually do."

"And it ended up being a month of sitting there dully..."

Qin Jian looked up at the sky, speechless and choked with emotion: "It was truly too painful..."

Just at this moment, he suddenly lowered his head and couldn't help but sniff lightly: "This smell... is it ready?!"

Following the rich aroma of the fish soup, Qin Jian immediately became excited.

Poseixi turned back, calmly extinguished the fire, took the pot off, and then ladled the fish slice soup into a large bowl that had been prepared in advance.

"Sizzle..."

One could even see high-temperature steam rising from the rim of the bowl.

Qin Jian reached out to grab the chopsticks.

"Slap."

Poseixi immediately slapped his paw away and said crossly: "Did you wash your hands?"

Qin Jian's cheek twitched: "We are both Title Douluo, do we still need to wash our hands?"

Poseixi picked up the bowl and placed it on the small table under the tree in the courtyard.

This was a large tree with pale pink flowers and leaves; if it weren't twenty or thirty meters tall, Qin Jian would definitely have mistaken it for a cherry blossom tree.

"Eating is a ritual of a peaceful life, and so is washing one's hands. Go on."

Poseixi pushed Qin Jian.

Qin Jian watched her small gesture of pushing him and suddenly smiled: "Alright, but I want you to wash them for me."

Poseixi: "???"

"How old are you?" she glanced at him.

Qin Jian chuckled: "Just Ten Thousand Year plus twenty years old; if you round it off, that's just twelve."

This shameless person...

Poseixi pushed Qin Jian to the water basin, gestured with her hand, and clear water appeared out of thin air, splashing to fill the basin.

She grabbed Qin Jian's hands and submerged them in the water, subconsciously rubbing them, but then immediately paused.

Washing a man's hands... this felt a bit strange...

"Done."

Poseixi stopped decisively and pulled Qin Jian's hands straight out.

"That's it?"

Qin Jian had a lot of objections: "Hey, hey, do you need me to teach you the five-step handwashing method?"

Poseixi turned and walked away: "It's not like I really need to wash them, it's just for show."

Qin Jian immediately pulled her back: "Come, I'll teach you."

He took Poseixi's hands and submerged them in the water, first washing the palms, wetting both hands with the flowing water, palms facing each other, fingers together, rubbing against each other.

Washing the backs and finger gaps, his palms rubbed against the backs of Poseixi's hands along the finger gaps, performing the Exchange with both hands.

"You..."

As the sensation of rubbing came from her hands, Poseixi's face slowly began to burn.

She had never experienced this kind of subtle ambiguity before...

Next was washing the palm-side finger gaps; Qin Jian placed his palms against hers, fingers interlaced and rubbing along the gaps, which was no different from holding hands.

Washing the backs of the fingers, he bent the finger joints, letting her half-clench her fists and place the backs of her fingers in his palms to rotate and rub.

Finally, washing the thumbs, Qin Jian held her thumb with one hand to rotate and rub, performing the Exchange with both hands...

It was called rubbing, but in reality, where was there any friction? It was more like simple caressing.

Poseixi looked at Qin Jian's profile again and again, finally certain that the man before her was a master of ambiguity, and she was like a toddler just learning to walk in front of him...

"Alright, it's your turn to wash mine..."

Qin Jian stretched his hands out as a matter of course, as if he were really just washing his hands.

What else could Poseixi do? She had no choice but to follow his lead and wash her hands using the five steps...

(End of chapter)