Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 54: Chilli Dumpling Noodles

To avoid arousing suspicion and unwanted attention from the villagers, Yan Ping lowered her altitude and landed about half a mile from the village entrance. They had to walk a little before they reached, but Anji was secretly thankful for the chance to stretch her legs. Sitting on the flying wooden stick for half an hour had made her thighs numb. Having the wind on her face the whole trip also made her eyes dry.

As they made their way to the village, Anji’s heart quickened with anticipation. And there, in the distance, stood two figures that she knew all too well, waiting by the village entrance.

"Lizi? Gu Ying? What are you doing here?" Anji toddled over quickly, pulling her shifu along the dirt path.

Wisely, Yan Ping feigned ignorance about the arrangement and let the maid do the explaining.

"I’m here to run an errand on behalf of Doctor He. Gu Ying is accompanying me. What are you doing here, young miss?"

Unsuspecting of anything, Anji grinned widely. "I’m accompanying shifu to check on the village repairs and eat chili dumpling noodles! Have you eaten lunch yet?"

Gu Ying shook her head. She was technically still on guard duty when she was dragged away by Lizi, who received an urgent order from the Madam to head down the mountain. Neither of them had lunch before they left the sect. However, they were given a pouch full of silver to pay for lunch and buy the things Anji liked from the village.

The village was quite big. When Anji heard there was a village settled near the foot of the Celestial Dragon Mountain, she assumed it would have no more than twenty houses. However, this village had over two hundred houses, many shops near the village centre and several paved roads that horses and carts could travel on inside the town.

"It’s a very big village," Anji commented. "There are so many people!"

Grinning, Lizi explained how the village was originally small, with mostly old folks. However, ever since the Celestial Dragon Sect opened the martial school for anyone to attend, many travellers would stop by the village for food and a place to stay overnight before ascending the mountain.

"It takes non-cultivators about half a day for the fitter ones to climb this mountain. For people like Doctor He, it would take him at least six to eight hours to reach the sect’s main gate because he has to rest multiple times on the way up. This is the only village at the halfway mark between the closest town and the Celestial Dragon Sect. As a result, many merchants and businessmen saw it as an opportunity to expand the village to what it is today."

The old couple who made those chilli dumpling noodles that Zhao Wanting liked were the only remaining members of the original village. They were old when the Celestial Dragon Sect was founded. Now, they were even older. However, they were still the same as before. Their handmade dumpling noodles tasted the same as they did thirty years ago. However, as they had no children or successors of their own, the recipe would be buried with them in the grave. Many members of the Celestial Dragon Sect patronised their business whenever they left the mountain. Today, the old couple would finally meet the youngest princess of the prestigious sect.

Passing by the shops that sold incense, herbs, clothing and even meat, Lizi made a turn on the second street into an alley. Gu Ying did not seem surprised that the old couple’s noodle shop was tucked away in such a quiet location.

Compared to the lively main street of the village, the old couple’s house looked dilapidated. The couplet hung by their main door was faded, and even the roof had holes in it. The condition of the house was poor, and only two shaky wooden tables were placed outside. They looked as if they had weathered through numerous rainy days. The noodle shop could only sit up to four people at once. Anyone else who wanted to eat here had to either wait or dine standing.

Thankfully, nobody else was dining at the rundown shop.

"Auntie and Uncle Wang! Lizi is here with the person you’ve been wanting to see for a while now!"

Gu Ying remained expressionless, opting to stand at the back, guarding the young mistress from the back as Lizi took the initiative to greet the elderly couple.

A hunchbacked old lady and her husband, who looked like wrinkled prunes, appeared from within the house. Anji took a peek and realised that this was not a restaurant. It was actually the old couple’s abode.

"Oh," the weathered grandpa greeted with a raspy voice that sounded like it was full of phlegm. "It’s Lizi! Who have you brought with you today? Come, take a seat."

Grandpa Wang had a pale complexion and coughed in between his words, wheezing whenever he did. Although Anji was not a full-fledged physician like Doctor He, she recognised these signs as symptoms of qi deficiency, specifically related to the lungs and blood. There were many causes for it, but it was common for older people to fall ill from qi deficiency as the body was unable to recover as quickly as younger people.

Grandma Wang hobbled to fetch them chopsticks while serving them some water. The couple didn’t have tea leaves, so Lizi did not order any tea. She still thanked them for the water and ushered everyone else to take a seat while the old man stroked the stove to prepare their lunch.

"This must be the little princess," Grandma Wang chuckled, patting Anji’s head. "How old are you this year?"

Politely, Anji answered that she would turn four near winter. The old lady seemed to be suffering from chronic pain in her joints, particularly her lower hip, when she walked. The hunched back and awkward posture must be a result of too much yin energy and dampness in her body accumulated over the years from overworking.

Grandma Wang quickly excused herself after ensuring her customers were as comfortable as they could be before joining her husband in the kitchen to prepare three bowls of chilli dumpling noodles. Yan Ping politely declined any food and only accepted boiled water. Grandma Wang did not question it and smiled politely. She heard of cultivators who do not need to eat. Apart from the esteemed sect leader of the Celestial Dragon Sect, she did not know many other cultivators who did not need to eat. Whoever this veiled lady was, she must be very powerful as well.

After Grandma Wang left, Anji tugged at Gu Ying’s sleeve.

"How long has Grandma and Grandpa Wang been sick? Are they too poor to see a doctor?"

After accompanying Anji for a while, Gu Ying was no longer surprised by her young mistress’ keen observation skills. Moreover, the four-year-old studied under one of the best doctors. It was obvious Anji would be able to identify what sort of ailments riddled the elderly couple.

"They’re not too poor," Lizi explained. "Many of our sect disciples patronise them and pay them well. However, it’s just that elderly people with no cultivation often suffer from prolonged ailments like this. It’s not something medicine can cure. If you cure one thing, two other ailments occur. Most old folks choose to leave it like this and continue their daily lives for as many days as possible."

Looking at the broken roof and wobbly tables, Anji wondered if that was true. Having consumed more medicine than the ordinary person has in their lifetime, Anji knew how painful it was to be sick. Grandma and Grandpa Wang looked like kind people. They were clearly in a lot of pain and discomfort. Yet, they continued making noodles with a smile for the rare visitors who came. Was there nothing else the sect could do for them?

"The noodles are here," Grandpa Wang announced with a cough. "Please eat it while it is hot."

Thanking the elderly man, Lizi and Gu Ying quickly dug in. Anji struggled with eating because the bowl reached her nose, and she was too short to eat from the stool.

Seeing her struggle, Grandma Wang whispered to her husband, who ducked into their house and returned with a few extra pillows for Anji.

"This should be slightly better for you," Grandpa Wang smiled as he helped Anji place the pillows on her stool before lifting her onto it. "Feel free to let me or granny know if you want more."

Touched by their hospitality, Anji thanked them and looked at her steaming bowl of chilli dumpling noodles. It wasn’t anything fancy like what the cooks in the sect made. However, when she bit into the handmade dumpling, it warmed her heart right away. Anji understood now why her mother liked their noodles.

’It’s delicious," she declared. "Lizi, we should come back here again whenever I can leave the mountain."

Exchanging glances with Gu Ying, Lizi nodded. Yan Ping remained silent throughout the meal, her expression hidden behind the white veil. However, Lizi and Gu Ying already knew how she felt. They made the right decision, supporting Yan Ping’s suggestion to bring Anji down the mountain. As the sheltered youngest daughter of the Celestial Dragon Sect, Anji lacked many experiences. Zhao Mingfeng and Zhao Wanting do not have parents alive in this world. As such, none of their children knew their grandparents.

Compared to the wacky sect leaders Anji met in the Rainbow Alliance Meeting, the old Wang couple were better suited as grandparents with their down-to-earth and kind hearts. All disciples of the Celestial Dragon Sect treated them like their own grandparents. Even if the food was made a little clumsily, every bowl of noodles they sold was made with love.