As the sun fully emerged from the horizon, painting the world in a breathtaking tapestry of colors, it cast golden rays across the morning sky.
Li Yao stepped out of her room, stretching her arms overhead with catlike grace, satisfaction evident in her every fluid movement.
"Today's cultivation felt great," she declared to the empty mountain air, her voice bright and carrying a melodic quality that matched the awakening birdsong around her.
A mischievous smirk bloomed across her delicate features—and in a flash, her body suddenly blurred. One moment, she was standing outside her quarters; the next, she reappeared at her senior brother's window, her face pressed against the cool glass, and her eyes scanning the humble interior.
"That's weird," she murmured, genuine puzzlement replacing her usual playfulness. "He's not here."
Li Yao's brow furrowed in confusion.
It didn't make sense.
Her senior brother was many things, but he wasn't exactly known for his early-rising tendencies; rather, it was quite the opposite. The empty room defied all established patterns she knew of his behavior. Where could he have possibly gone at this hour?
Then, a memory flashed through her mind—the image of him training diligently the previous night, swinging his practice blade with unexpected dedication until darkness had fully enveloped the mountain.
A seed of worry took root in her heart. Had he pushed himself too far? Had he collapsed from exhaustion somewhere in the forest? Had he spent the entire night exposed to the elements?
The mischievous sparkle in her eyes faded, replaced by something quieter, heavier. Worry.
"I need to check on him," she decided firmly, springing into action without hesitating for another moment.
She bounded across the mountainside, leaping from tree to tree with effortless agility. Branches barely whispered at her passing, her movements so fluid they hardly left the morning stillness untouched. When she finally reached the training clearing, she stopped abruptly, her eyes widening in quiet astonishment.
There stood her senior brother, still practicing. His knife sliced through the air with determined precision, sweat glistened on his brow despite the morning chill—clear evidence that he had been at it for hours.
"Has he been here all night?" she wondered silently, noting the desperate intensity etched across his features as he executed each movement.
Li Yao contemplated while approaching him, her hand half-raised in greeting before she slowly lowered it again. After a few heartbeats of indecision, she shook her head and retreated as silently as she had come, leaping back into the forest canopy and disappearing quietly.
Below, completely unaware of his brief visitor, Xiang Yu continued his relentless practice. His movements, while still imperfect, flowed more naturally today—each swing of the knife more refined and controlled than the previous day's clumsy attempts. He paused for a moment to wipe sweat from his brow, a small flicker of satisfaction lighting his expression.
"I'm starting to get the hang of this," he thought. But a vague sense of unease tugged at the edges of his consciousness, like something important had slipped through, forgotten or overlooked.
"Probably not that important," he concluded, brushing the thought aside.
Oh, he couldn't have been more wrong.
Without warning, Xiang Yu found himself flat on his back, staring dazedly at the sky, with no memory of how he'd gotten there. Confusion clouded his thoughts as he struggled to make sense of his sudden change in perspective.
Had he fainted? Tripped over his own feet?
As his senses slowly recovered, a sweet, alluring fragrance wafted through the air, teasing his nostrils with its tantalizing promise. His stomach responded immediately with a furious growl that seemed to echo embarrassingly loud through the trees.
With considerable effort, Xiang Yu pushed himself upright, swaying slightly as he stood on his feet. Like a starving man chasing a dream, he followed the scent until he stumbled through the forest and emerged into another clearing.
"Senior brother, you're here!" Li Yao's delighted voice greeted him as she looked up from her task. "I was just about to come get you!"
Xiang Yu's gaze remained fixed on the scene before him: a wild boar was being roasted by Li Yao over the crackling flames as she rotated the meat on a makeshift spit. The crackling fire and the rich aroma made his knees go weak.
Then the realization hit him: in his frenzied dedication to training, he had completely forgotten to eat. Not a single morsel had passed his lips since… when? Yesterday morning?
Unlike powerful cultivators who could sustain themselves on spiritual energy alone, his pathetically mortal body still required mundane nourishment. If not for his junior sister's thoughtfulness, he might have become the first transmigrator in history to die not from a cultivation calamity but from simple starvation.
He joined her quickly. Li Yao offered him a generous portion, watching with wide-eyed curiosity as tears streamed down his cheeks while he devoured the food.
"Does senior brother truly enjoy my cooking that much?" she wondered, her heart swelling with warmth at the thought that her simple gesture had evoked such an emotion from him.
The truth, however, couldn't have been further from her interpretation. Xiang Yu's tears weren't born from joy or gratitude, but from sheer culinary suffering. The meat tasted overwhelmingly smoky, bitter with ash, and carried an unpleasant charred aftertaste that lingered on his tongue like a punishment. Still, he was too hungry to care. Driven by necessity, he forced down bite after terrible bite until his stomach finally stopped threatening rebellion.
When he had eaten his fill of the barely edible meal, Xiang Yu solemnly placed his hands on Li Yao's shoulders, meeting her expectant gaze with grave seriousness.
"Junior sister," he began, choosing his words carefully, "from now on… please leave the cooking to me."