114:

  Xiao Feng had brewed many cups of masala chai since arriving on the continent of Tian, but there was something special about this one.

  Lianhua was seated crosslegged to his side, at ease in her private alchemy vault as she watched him arrange the ingredients needed to brew the second iteration of his masala chai recipe.

  Her expression was one of gentle eagerness, as drinking chai after a tutoring session had become something of a ritual that they shared and she was well aware that he had yet to start working on a new recipe given how caught up he had been in between practice and trying to get the beast egg to hatch.

  But Nova on the other hand, had eyes as wide as saucers as she sniffed and glared at every new ingredient she was introduced to, clearly finding interest in the unfamiliar textures, hues and shapes that Xiao Feng had arranged, bouncing from one end of the alchemy vault to the other with an effortless grace that belonged to a natural-born predator.

  Okay Nova. I’m going to start boiling the spring water now, so I need you to sit still. It’s hot and I don’t want you to injure yourself, Xiao Feng communicated through their bond, focusing only his thoughts in her general direction.

  “But I wanna move around, my human. It feels good to stretch my limbs!” Nova protested.

  I’ll take you for a walk afterwards, Xiao Feng began with an offer. But if you want to see what I’m making here, you need to come and sit next to me like a good er… void fox.

  “If I listen to you, does that make me good, my human?” Nova curiously asked.

  Uhhh, well, do you think that I have your best interests in mind?

  “Yes!” Nova eagerly replied.

  Then yes, it makes you good.

  “Nova wants to be good!” Nova cheerfully replied, so eager that she forgot to add the ‘my human’ at the end like she usually did.

  That took care of the hyperactive void fox, who was now eagerly sitting next to Xiao Feng and pawing the padded cushioning of the alchemy vault’s floor with her baby claws.

  Xiao Feng reached for the jar of firedust diamonds and unstoppered it, letting its strong, spicy aroma fill the air.

  “It’s fiery, my human. I like this aroma!” Nova commented as Xiao Feng added one and a half diamonds to the spring water.

  You like it? Hm, it’s spicy though.

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  “I understand what the word spicy means, my human, but I don’t quite know how to imagine it,” Nova replied, her tone sounding a little stressed by that realization.

  It’ll burn your tongue, Xiao Feng replied, deciding intentionally to sound menacing.

  “Really? Add more.”

  Uhh, what?

  “My instincts tell me that it’ll taste good. And the day a predator stops following their instincts is the day their trail goes cold. So add more, my human!”

  I’ll add half a diamond more. Any more than that and it’ll be too overwhelming for me and Senior Sister Lianhua.

  “Is that what the human sitting next to you is called?”

  Her name is Lianhua, yes. Be nice to her, she helped me when I first arrived in this world and she’s been helping me since. She’s a very good person, Xiao Feng earnestly replied.

  “Is she your mate?” Nova innocently asked.

  A coughing fit suddenly claimed Xiao Feng, alarming Lianhua who asked, “Are you okay? Drink some spring water.”

  “No…,” He croaked out. “I’m fine, sorry,” He offered, making a show of clearing his throat once before returning to the task at hand.

  Uhh, no Nova. She’s not my…erm, mate. We’re just friends, Xiao Feng thought as he reached for the jar containing diced humus root.

  “A new scent!” Nova declared, easily distracted from her previous line of questioning. “It smells a little like the earth, but it’s so bright and vibrant that it’s almost unbearable.”

  Huh, well this is probably closer to what earth is supposed to smell like. The place where you lived, well, I know that this is rich coming from an otherworlder, but the landscape there wasn’t exactly normal. It looked devoid of life, as if someone had sucked all the vitality out of the land, Xiao Feng thought, not hiding his true thoughts from Nova.

  “I want to explore this new earth, my human!” Nova eagerly declared.

  Sure, we’ll go later. I promise.

  Xiao Feng continued brewing his masala chai, finding himself entertained by Nova’s reactions to each new ingredient he used. She found the refined mystic palm flakes that he had left over from a previous refinement that Lianhua had done for him to be bitter and offensive to her sense of smell, so much so that she retreated a few steps. Only after convincing her that the aroma and strength of the flakes would mellow after steeping in water did he continue.

  She found the aroma of the bi-horn milk to be rich and creamy, so much so that she asked if she could drink it directly and much to her satisfaction, Xiao Feng offered her a sample in a bowl that she quickly lapped up.

  When it came to the emberfruit gems, Xiao Feng expected Nova to be eager, but she instead complained about the saccharine scent that was assaulting her senses. He ended up using one gem less than he normally would have, knowing that the decadent sweetness he was going for would elude him this time.

  Then, as he was adding the pureflow gel for its citrusy kick, he expected another protest, but instead Nova called it a unique scent that she couldn’t quite place and told him that she was eager to experience it.

  After the flavours had steeped in, Xiao Feng cut the heat and served the masala chai in two cups and one large bowl.

  “Oh, it’s spicier today,” Lianhua remarked, but that didn’t stop her from taking a second sip. “And less sweet. Did you try a new combination today? It’s warm and fiery and it’s forcing me to take smaller sips, but it’s certainly burned a little exhaustion out of me.”

  “It’s not as bitter as I thought it would be, my human! But it is bland, I feel no thrill from consuming it. Can you add one more of that fiery diamond?”

  Caught between the juxtaposition in their reviews, Xiao Feng couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped his lips.

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