Early the next morning, Gustave approached Ning Caichen with a casual air.
"Brother Ning, which county were you planning to visit next for your debt collection? How about we set off after breakfast?"
The scholar froze at these words. He hadn't expected Gustave and his companions to leave so quickly. There was a dangerous tree demon lurking in Lanruo Temple - shouldn't they help Yan Chixia eliminate the threat before departing?
"Brother Ning? Brother Ning?" Gustave's voice snapped him out of his stunned silence.
"Oh! Brother Gustave, please give me a moment." Ning Caichen forced a smile. "Let me check my account ledger and I'll let you know."
"Take your time, Brother Ning. I'll go prepare breakfast." With that, Gustave headed toward their makeshift kitchen area.
Ning Caichen watched him leave, his mind churning with conflicted thoughts. After a long moment, he sighed heavily and wandered outside the temple grounds alone. His feet seemed to carry him of their own accord toward the place where he'd encountered that mysterious woman the night before.
But when he arrived at the site of the Water Residence, Ning Caichen felt his heart sink. The stone lions were now covered in thick moss, the wooden bridge he'd crossed was broken and rotting, and the elegant pavilion had collapsed into the murky water. Aquatic weeds choked the pond's surface.
"Was it all just a dream?" he murmured, staring at the ruins.
But deep in his heart, he knew it hadn't been a dream. The memory was too vivid, too real. After several minutes of contemplation, something seemed to crystallize in his mind. His expression grew resolute, and he turned back toward Lanruo Temple.
Meanwhile, Gustave was working at their temporary cooking area, using the pot and rice that Yan Chixia had provided. Shanks had somehow procured a plump pheasant and several fresh eggs during his morning wanderings.
First, Gustave placed the whole bird into the pot with water and began cooking it thoroughly. As it simmered, he prepared his other ingredients with practiced efficiency. Once the pheasant was perfectly tender, he removed it from the pot and began using the rich, golden broth as the base for porridge.
The fragrant chicken stock would infuse every grain of rice with deep, savory flavor. While the porridge cooked slowly, Gustave shredded the tender meat from the cooked pheasant, setting it aside. When the rice had absorbed most of the liquid and achieved the proper consistency, he stirred in the shredded chicken for a final few minutes of simmering.
Just as he was adding the meat to the pot, Ning Caichen approached.
"Brother Gustave!"
"Brother Ning, perfect timing! Just let me finish this porridge and fry a few eggs, then we can all eat together." Gustave continued stirring without looking up.
Ning Caichen started to turn away, not wanting to interrupt the cooking process, but the memory of the woman from last night strengthened his resolve. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage.
"Brother Gustave, could we perhaps help Brother Yan eliminate the tree demon from Lanruo Temple first?"
Gustave paused his stirring and turned to study the young scholar's face. "Brother Ning, why do you suddenly suggest this?"
"Brother Gustave, I want to help that woman from last night. Brother Yan explained that she's being controlled by the tree demon. I want to save her."
"But you don't even know her name."
"Brother Gustave, please!" Ning Caichen's eyes blazed with determination. He clasped his hands together, raised them above his head, and bowed deeply. "Please help that woman!"
"Brother Ning, what are you doing? I never said I wouldn't help!" Gustave quickly helped him straighten up.
His morning suggestion about leaving had been intentional - a test to gauge Ning Caichen's true feelings. He hadn't expected the scholar to make such a firm decision after only one encounter with a woman whose name he didn't even know. Their destiny together truly seemed written in the stars.
"Brother Gustave, thank you so much!" Ning Caichen's face lit up with joy and relief.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Brother Ning. Dealing with this tree demon won't be easy. We'll need to plan carefully."
The previous night, Gustave had extended his Observation Haki across dozens of kilometers without detecting anything unusual. Even Fahai had been unable to sense the demon's presence. This thousand-year-old tree demon possessed concealment abilities that rivaled Tu Shanyan's.
"Brother Gustave, I understand the difficulties involved. We can take as much time as needed." As long as Gustave had agreed to help, Ning Caichen's goal was achieved.
Gustave smiled and shook his head. This Ning Caichen was truly a kindhearted and romantically devoted soul.
"Brother Gustave, your culinary skills remain unmatched!" Yan Chixia praised between spoonfuls of the fragrant chicken porridge. "I've been living at Lanruo Temple for so long, trying to cook for myself for who knows how many years. Compared to you, I'm absolutely hopeless!"
"Brother Yan, you should know that Gustave makes his living as a chef. Of course his skills are exceptional. If he had proper ingredients and equipment, the dishes he could create would be absolutely miraculous!" Shanks added enthusiastically.
"Finish eating first," Gustave said, accepting their compliments with his usual confidence. "Then let's put our heads together and figure out how to catch this thousand-year-old turtle of a tree demon."
"It's incredibly difficult!" Yan Chixia drained his bowl in one go and set it down with a frustrated sigh. "I've been at Lanruo Temple for so long, but I still haven't managed to locate her lair. Every tracking method I've tried proves useless against her."
"I also surveyed the surrounding area last night but found nothing unusual," Shanks added. When he'd eliminated Xiahou's reanimated corpse with his flying slash, he'd used his Observation Haki to search for the culprit but came up empty.
"This tree demon has extremely acute perception," Yan Chixia continued thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, she must have sent her minion to kill Xiahou as a way to test our strength. Brother Shanks's display of power last night probably frightened her, and now she's hiding even deeper."
"So what can we do?" Gustave wondered if he should summon Tu Shanyan. As a fellow demon with exceptional concealment abilities, the fox spirit would likely know how to locate the tree demon.
"Um, everyone?" Ning Caichen raised his hand tentatively. "I have an idea."
"Please, Brother Ning, share your thoughts!" Gustave encouraged.
"Brother Yan, and all of you - you've said this tree demon grandmother has extremely keen perception. She must be aware of your strength and doesn't dare show herself directly."
The others nodded, following his logic.
"But Master Yan also mentioned that she sends her ghost servants to drain energy from passing travelers. I'm just an ordinary person. If I pretended to be a lone traveler, she would surely target me. Once she makes her move, you could track her back to her lair."
Ning Caichen had proposed using himself as bait to draw the snake from its hole.
"Absolutely not. It's far too dangerous," Fahai stood up immediately. "Besides, one of the tree demon's servants already encountered you last night, Brother Ning. This plan is unlikely to succeed."
" Brother Fahai, I believe that woman was acting against her will last night. She won't betray me to the tree demon grandmother."
For reasons he couldn't fully explain, Ning Caichen felt an inexplicable trust in Xiaoqian despite having met her only once. He was absolutely certain she wouldn't harm him.
"Brother Ning, are you truly willing to take such a risk?" Gustave studied him intently.
"Brother Gustave, even though I'm just an ordinary person, I have my own sense of justice!" Ning Caichen rose to his feet, his voice ringing with conviction. "This tree demon is terrorizing innocent people. If there's a chance to eliminate her, I'll do everything in my power to help!"
"Very well. Since Brother Ning is so determined, we'll follow your plan." Gustave stood as well, his decision made.
"Agreed!" Yan Chixia and the others rose in unison, ready to support Ning Caichen's brave proposal.