Chapter 39: Dumplings

Woke up early in the morning.

Continued using Soul Power to solidify the Runes of the Thousand Machine Art within my Spirit Sea; once I felt exhausted, I stopped immediately, read for a while, and felt bored. I scrolled through short videos for a bit, then felt it was a pity to waste such good time on unreachable young ladies. Caught in this dilemma, I simply took out the Protective Divine Light I had obtained earlier to optimize it.

An average person learning a Spell just learns that Spell, but if one has higher requirements, one must also adjust the Spell.

Everyone's personal situation is different.

Not only are the Spirit Sea and Spirit Power different, but the habits of using Spells are also different; adjusting a Spell can make it better fit one's own Spirit Sea environment and usage habits.

Chen Shu had not adjusted it before because this Spell was eventually to be merged into the Thousand Machine Art, and he hadn't seen what the new version of the Thousand Machine Art looked like at the time. Now, he took the opportunity to modify and optimize the Spell, eliminating the flaws left behind previously.

For example, the automatic activation aspect was not done well at the time.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Chen Shu and Meng Chunqiu arrived at the 3rd Martial Cultivation Hall.

This Meng Chunqiu, he is naturally feminine in appearance, and he even keeps long hair. That's fine, but the clothes he wears also make it hard to tell if he is male or female; looking from afar, others would think Chen Shu is walking with a quiet, gentle girl.

In fact, he is neither quiet nor a girl.

"Sigh..."

Chen Shu repeatedly wanted to speak but stopped.

Finally entered the Martial Cultivation Hall.

The 3rd Martial Cultivation Hall is different from Martial Cultivation Hall No. 2; the first and second are more inclined toward Martial Cultivators, while the third and fourth are inclined toward Martial Artists, as there are more body-tempering and martial arts apparatus and equipment here.

In this day and age, few universities still offer Martial Artist majors; for the average person wanting to practice martial arts, the common channels are the numerous martial arts halls, clubs, and other for-profit institutions in society. Some institutions are even opened by ancient Martial Artist sects.

In Chen Shu's impression, only a few super-awesome universities like Yujing and Ling'an Academy still retain such majors, recruiting the most talented martial students to cultivate the most outstanding Martial Artists for the country.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The sound of strikes inside the Martial Cultivation Hall was incessant, and shouts rose one after another.

From time to time, one could hear the cheers of the onlookers, and it was not hard to tell from this that the proportion of young girls was indeed quite high.

"I'm in this class, excuse me!"

Chen Shu shouted while leading Meng Chunqiu to squeeze toward the very inside.

Meng Chunqiu tidied his clothes and nodded calmly: "Brother Chen, you really have a way..."

Then he looked toward the middle of the field.

Three pairs of people were sparring.

Chen Shu saw the figure of Jiang Lai.

It was hard to tell, but this young man has a baby face, yet his upper body is indeed exceptionally sturdy, with nearly perfect muscles.

Opposite him was a male student taller and bulkier than him, also covered in muscles, and with his whole back covered in Runes; the Runes made his entire body shine with a silvery-gray, hard luster.

Just then, the student opposite kicked out.

There was a faint sound of breaking air!

Jiang Lai dodged it.

But this was just a feint; the second leg after turning was even fiercer, sweeping straight toward Jiang Lai's head.

Jiang Lai stepped back and lowered his waist, still dodging it.

Very easily.

Immediately, he stepped forward with his left foot, raised his back heel, leaned his body forward, and twisted to throw a punch.

"Bang!"

This punch only hit the opponent's shoulder and did not strike a vital point, but it still made a dull impact sound, like a heavy hammer hitting the ground. The opponent immediately retreated two steps; even with the protection of Rune power, he suffered a not-insignificant injury, clutching his shoulder and hunching over, his face twisted in pain.

This round ended.

Meng Chunqiu was somewhat surprised and commented in a low voice: "I didn't expect Brother Jiang to be so domineering!"

"Yeah."

Chen Shu deeply agreed.

Afterward, Jiang Lai did not leave the Arena; the teacher arranged for other students to continue sparring with him, but whether these students were tall or not, or how many Runes were carved on their bodies, they were clearly not on the same level as Jiang Lai—regardless of strength, speed, technique, or experience, they were crushed by Jiang Lai in every aspect.

It could be seen that Jiang Lai is very good at fighting.

Especially good at fighting.

Compared to him, these students were like house pets, lacking both sparring experience and fear of pain.

Those with enough Runes on their bodies were mostly wealthy and could rely on the power bestowed by Cultivators to circle with Jiang Lai for a bit. For those with fewer Runes carved, it depended on Jiang Lai's mood—this kind-hearted young man would often spar with the opponent for a while before knocking them down, and then he would go to help the classmate up, telling them where they were lacking during the process.

At least Fourth Rank, right?

At least...

That is what Chen Shu thought.

After the sparring session ended and they finished stretching, the teacher let the Martial Artist class students rest freely, and only then did Chen Shu and Meng Chunqiu walk over.

Jiang Lai hurriedly put on his clothes, looked at his two roommates embarrassedly, and looked for something to say:

"I saw you guys just now..."

"We've been here for quite a while." Chen Shu nodded at him, "You're fierce."

"N-no..."

"When does class end?"

"The teacher still needs to summarize."

"Are you tired?"

"Today is okay." Jiang Lai wiped his sweat, "Today was mainly sparring; it's most tiring when practicing Physical Fitness, I can't even walk after finishing."

"Then we'll wait for you to finish class."

"Okay."

Chen Shu couldn't help but glance at Meng Chunqiu beside him.

Meng Chunqiu had not spoken just now, and in this situation, others could not tell at all whether he was male or female; Jiang Lai's classmates also frequently cast glances at him.

Ten minutes or so later—

The three of them walked out of the Martial Cultivation Hall. The sky had not yet begun to darken. Chen Shu took out his Mobile Phone to check it, then pointed to another path: "Let's go back this way and tour the campus while we're at it."

"Sure!"

Meng Chunqiu agreed without a second thought: "It is rare for Brother Chen to have such elegant interests; we shall naturally accompany you."

Jiang Lai agreed as well.

Chen Shu pursed his lips, then added: "I have a few packages to pick up along the way."

Meng Chunqiu's smile stiffened.

Only then did they realize that if they turned down this path, it led straight to the express delivery station.

Chen Shu seemed quite surprised: "I didn't expect the 3rd Martial Cultivation Hall to be so close to the express delivery station. Wouldn't it be very convenient for you to pick up packages in the future, Jiang Lai?"

Jiang Lai lowered his head and dared not make a sound.

A few minutes later.

Jiang Lai was still carrying the few heaviest parcels, while Chen Shu and Meng Chunqiu each carried a pile of smaller ones.

"Brother Chen, what did you buy again?" Meng Chunqiu asked while holding the parcels, sighing, "Your talent for architecture must be perfect; it would be a waste of talent not to study architecture."

"I bought a bunch of kitchenware."

"Kitchenware? What did you buy that for?"

"To cook."

"Brother Chen, you know how to cook?"

"Yes." Chen Shu glanced at them, "So don't feel like it's a hardship to help me carry packages; you'll have a treat in store later."

"I didn't feel it was a hardship at all," Meng Chunqiu said indifferently, "I was just idle anyway."

"Me neither," Jiang Lai said immediately.

"Maybe."

"I just feel that Brother Chen, you always love to trick us, and seem to take pleasure in it." Meng Chunqiu voiced Chen Shu's thoughts, but he didn't mind, continuing, "However, I am quite surprised that you know how to cook, Brother Chen. I thought you only knew how to cultivate, read, and work to earn money."

"Then I might know how to enjoy life even more than you imagine..."

"Is that so?"

"There are many forms of enjoying life."

"That is true."

Meng Chunqiu agreed with this point of view.

On the way back, Chen Shu stopped by the school's convenience store to buy some flour, dumpling wrappers, meat, vegetables, and seasonings, hooking them with his little finger without affecting his ability to carry the parcels.

"Brother Chen, what are you going to make?"

"Wrap some Dumplings and make some Mooncake."

"You're making Mooncake yourself?"

"I bought an oven and molds online."

"Brother Chen is impressive."

"It's just because I'm idle."

"I can help with wrapping the Dumplings; I'd quite like to try it," Meng Chunqiu volunteered, "But I don't know how, Brother Chen, you'll have to teach me."

"Sure," Chen Shu nodded, "Then we'll have Dumplings tonight."

"I can help too," Jiang Lai said hurriedly, afraid that there wouldn't be a portion for him when it came time to eat.

"Sure, sure."

The three returned to the Dormitory and began unpacking the boxes. After taking out all the bowls, chopsticks, and kitchenware they had purchased and setting them all up in the kitchen, it looked completely different at once.

Chen Shu busied himself preparing the fillings.

The school convenience store had limited raw materials, so he only prepared two types of fillings for now—

Pork and cabbage;

Pork and shiitake mushroom;

By the time the fillings were finished, Jiang Lai had just finished showering. Chen Shu called the two of them to sit at the dining table, took the dumpling wrappers, brought over the fillings, placed three pairs of chopsticks in the filling basin, and spread a layer of kitchen paper on the table, sprinkling it with flour to place the wrapped Dumplings on.

Chen Shu first demonstrated the wrapping method for them:

"Like this, like this, and then like this..."

"Very simple, right? Just wrap it like this."

"If you don't know how, don't put too much filling in, so you don't end up unable to seal it, which would make them fall apart when boiled."

"It doesn't matter if they don't look good; we're eating them ourselves anyway." Chen Shu paused as he said this, "Oh, right, put the ones you two wrap over here, and put mine over here."

"Why is that?" Meng Chunqiu asked, puzzled.

"Don't ask so many whys," Chen Shu urged, "Wrap quickly, wrap quickly, I'm starving to death."

Jiang Lai's stomach was already rumbling.

The three started working together, chatting as they wrapped.

Chen Shu felt that his individual efficiency surpassed the two of them, but speed was secondary; the main thing was quality—

Jiang Lai wrapped them in a standard way, neither looking good nor ugly.

Meng Chunqiu was very clumsy, as if he had never done this kind of work before. Yet he was completely immersed in it, getting more enthusiastic the more he wrapped. No matter how ugly they looked, every time he finished one, he would hold it up to admire it with Joy, and even took out his Mobile Phone to take several photos, not knowing how many bacteria he had picked up.

Chen Shu, on the other hand, wrapped them in uniform sizes, with every one looking identical, even down to the number of pleats.

He even divided them into two shapes: crescent and willow leaf.

"Brother Chen, do you often cook at home?"

"Isn't it quite common for men to cook in our Yiguo? What is there to be so surprised about?" Chen Shu glanced at him, "Stop taking pictures, the Mobile Phone is dirty."

"Is that so?" Meng Chunqiu was stunned.

"If you don't believe me, ask Jiang Lai," Chen Shu said.

"I don't know either," Jiang Lai said.

"Do you two both live in the palace?" Chen Shu shook his head speechlessly, "Anyway, at my home, both my dad and mom cook, but neither of them is very good at it."

"So that's how it is."

Meng Chunqiu had the tone of someone who had been enlightened.

Jiang Lai remained silent and did not make a sound.

Chen Shu went to wash the pot halfway through and boiled a pot of water. Once the water boiled, he dumped all the Dumplings that Meng Chunqiu and Jiang Lai had wrapped into it and said, "You two keep wrapping, don't stop. Let's deal with these deformed ones you wrapped first tonight. I see that the ones you are wrapping now are looking better and better, so store the ones you wrap later in the refrigerator. Try to fill it up; whoever wants to eat can just boil them."

"Then what about the ones you wrapped, Brother Chen?"

"I'm going to give those away to someone."

"Give them to whom?"

"My older sister, and my girlfriend who I'm not dating."

"To whom?"

"Sigh..."

Chen Shu couldn't be bothered to say more to the two of them; he waved his hand to make them hurry up and work, while he took a moment to slack off.