"This... this young lady is, of course, full. It's mainly that old woman at home. If I don't bring her something to eat, she'll probably starve to death on the street," Mona said, her face slightly flushed, arms crossed, and without hesitation pushing her master out to take the hit.
Ling Feng couldn't help but cover his face. He almost forgot that Mona and her master were both fools.
It's not that they couldn't afford food, but they were so poor that they spent all their savings on astrology equipment without even solving the problem of basic sustenance. What else could that be but foolishness?
He wondered how these two master and disciple had managed to live for so long.
"Alas." Sighing, Ling Feng suppressed the heartache and took out another bucket of Braised Beef Noodles from his spatial inventory and tossed it to Mona. "How do you do it? I've done it four times. You should have learned by now."
"I know, I know. Thank you, young man. How about I divine the trajectory of your fate star? My astrology is very accurate." Although she hadn't eaten enough, she wasn't lying either. After taking the instant noodles, she stored them back into her divine eye's spatial inventory.
"No need. Just act normally when you appear in the future. Don't be like today, where I thought I'd encountered a ghost." Ling Feng said with lingering fear, remembering something.
Ten minutes ago, Ling Feng and Shenhe had just found a good spot to rest. It was dinnertime then, and to make up for the disappointment of not eating delicious food that day, Ling Feng took out a bucket of Braised Beef Noodles he had treasured in his system's spatial inventory.
Eating instant noodles was a bit of a luxury. He only had twelve buckets left, and once they were gone, they were gone. Whether he could draw more in the future would depend on luck.
He had asked Shenhe if she wanted any, but Shenhe shook her head, saying she was content with Clear Hearts and Glaze Lilies.
Since Shenhe didn't want any, Ling Feng didn't force her. To each their own.
Borrowing a piece of ice from Shenhe, Ling Feng took out his old iron pot, placed the ice inside, and used the lowest temperature of the ground fire to melt the ice into water and bring it to a boil.
He opened the instant noodle box, added the hot water, covered it, and waited for five minutes.
Five minutes later, the instant noodles were ready. Just as Ling Feng was about to take a bite to recall the taste of the past.
Suddenly, a continuous low murmuring sound came from the quiet environment, like someone whispering in his ear. Ling Feng couldn't help but put down the noodle box and listen carefully.
Before he could listen closely, under the illumination of the firelight, a pale, slender hand emerged from the ground in front of him. Immediately after, a bony, emaciated female ghost, still crying out that she was hungry, crawled out of the earth.
A cool breeze also blew around, sending a chill straight to the base of his skull.
Ling Feng had never seen such a terrifying scene. He was so scared that he blurted out, "Holy crap!" thinking he had encountered...
Shenhe was also seeing this for the first time. She didn't act rashly but stood up and retreated a few steps, putting distance between herself and the creature. Disaster Ensues instantly appeared in her hand.
When encountering the unknown, one must remain vigilant, as no one knows what they might be.
After Ling Feng stood up, The Unforged also instantly appeared in his hand. At the same time, he took out a Thundering Wrath Talisman. He feared that physical attacks might be ineffective against ghosts, but the Thundering Wrath Talisman was different. Thundering Wrath was an elemental attack, and theoretically, lightning had a suppressing effect on ghosts.
Neither of them chose to attack immediately. Instead, they decided to observe first and determine what this thing was.
After crawling out of the ground, the "starving ghost" kept crawling towards the Braised Beef Noodles left by Ling Feng. Ling Feng and Shenhe looked at the "starving ghost's" confused behavior, completely bewildered.
Upon reaching the instant noodles, the "starving ghost" sniffed them. Confirming that the aroma was coming from there, it picked up the noodles and began to devour them ravenously.
Shenhe was about to take the opportunity to test the "starving ghost" when Ling Feng stopped her. This was because he recognized who this "starving ghost" was. Or rather, it wasn't a ghost at all but an acquaintance.
This "starving ghost" was none other than Mona, whom they had seen at the Wangshu Inn not long ago. However, because Mona wasn't wearing her witch hat, Ling Feng didn't recognize her immediately, and the events that followed unfolded as they did.
"Indeed. I thought I had encountered a new monster. If my junior brother hadn't stopped me in time, I would have already struck you down. Such behavior..." Shenhe added appropriately.
Her embarrassing secret revealed, Mona's already flushed face turned even redder. She let out a few cries to stop Shenhe from continuing and, at the same time, retorted.
"Ah!!! That was an accident. I was so dizzy from hunger at the time, that's why..."
"Ah! Why am I explaining? I'm not saying anymore. I'm going back now. If I don't leave soon, that old woman will really starve to death on the street."
Mona was so mortified that her toes could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment. She quickly used her Hydro abilities, and instantly, a hemispherical water sphere enveloped Mona.
*Splash!*
After the water sphere burst, Mona inside was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a star-like pattern in her place.
Not long after, Ling Feng had just finished cooking another bucket of Braised Beef Noodles. As he picked up a bite with his chopsticks, Mona suddenly reappeared in his sight, scaring him so much that he sprayed out the noodles.
Seeing Mona, Ling Feng quickly stood up, holding his noodles, and retreated several meters, afraid that Mona would snatch his noodles again. His right hand drew The Unforged, and with the tip of the sword pointed at Mona, he roared angrily.
"Damn it, get lost! Is it that hard for me to eat dinner? Huh! If you dare to suddenly appear again, I swear I'll tie you up and go fishing."
Startled twice, Ling Feng had lost his composure. His dinner had been interrupted twice. Who wouldn't be angry?
Seeing Ling Feng getting agitated, Mona broke out in a cold sweat. She adjusted her recently donned witch hat and waved her hand, saying, "Calm down. I just wanted to tell you that if you need any help in the future, you can come find me. I usually hang out in the tent labeled [Astrology] in the second area of the Liyue Harbor docks."
After saying this, as if worried that Ling Feng would really draw his sword, Mona suddenly vanished from the spot.
Seeing Mona leave, Ling Feng's emotions gradually calmed down.
"Junior brother, shall I take care of her?" Shenhe suggested, seeing Ling Feng's angry expression.
Ling Feng took out a cup of Morning Dew from his inventory and drank a large gulp. Feeling that his anger had subsided by more than half, he waved his hand. "There's no deep hatred. There's no need to do that. Drawing swords and guns isn't ideal."
"Of course, if she pops up again, then I take back what I said."
With that, Ling Feng sat down again and picked up his noodles, eating his first meal of the evening. During this time, Mona did not reappear, and Ling Feng ate with peace of mind.