Chapter 305 - Nurturing the World Tree with Chicken Soup
The magic potion shop was a little dim as there was only a single oil lamp lit in the corner. Within the spacious hall, there were shelves upon shelves of all types of magic potions, and a layer of black cloth had been draped over the birdcage outside the door. It appeared that Black Coal and Green Pea were already asleep.
“Master Urien, I’m here to bring them some chicken soup,” Mag said to Urien, who was mixing magic potions in front of the counter, as he carried the platter in his hands.
“Come on in,” Urien said without even raising his head. His voice was still quite low and husky.
Amy trailed along behind Mag. Smiling, she asked Urien, “Master Turtle, we’re having a late dinner tonight. Would you like to join us?”
“Late dinner?” Urien’s nostrils stirred slightly as he caught a whiff of the alluring aroma of the chicken soup. He swallowed involuntarily, and his gaze fell on the chicken soup in Mag’s hands.
“This is for them. If you don’t mind, please come and join us for some food at the restaurant. You’ve been working hard tonight, so you must be hungry,” Mag hurriedly said.
“Go on. They’ll probably go to sleep soon.” Urien withdrew his gaze, and continued to swirl the long-necked crystal vial in his hand. The blue liquid and purple liquid within gradually merged together as he did so.
Mag carried the platter with chicken soup and walked through the door behind the counter. He arrived in a small room; on the wide shelves that were usually reserved for magic medicinal ointments, there were instead two figures lying there. There was a lit oil lamp in the corner, illuminating their pale faces and hands, which were tightly latched onto one another’s.
“Mag…” Xixi turned toward the door upon hearing that voice, and her gaze fell on the bowl of chicken soup. Her nose twitched slightly, and her eyes instantly lit up. Even though she was feeling quite weak, she was still filled with anticipation as she asked, “Could it be… that you’ve brought food for us?”
“We sure have. Big Sister Xixi, Father says you’re both too weak, and haven’t had any dinner, so he brought over some food for you and Big Bear. You can only sleep well after you fill your stomachs,” Amy, who strode in through the door, answered in Mag’s stead.
“I made you some chicken soup.” Mag placed the platter onto the table with a smile on his face. He lifted the lid on the bowl, and the alluring scent of chicken soup immediately wafted throughout the entire room.
“It smells so good! I love the braised chicken and rice. Mag, you’re the best!” Xixi’s eyes immediately lit up as she attempted to struggle into a sitting position.
“Be careful.” Yabemiya rushed over and helped her up. After being treated by Sally, the wound on her lower abdomen was essentially healed, but she was still very weak from excessive blood loss.
“I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to eat anything, so I only cooked some chicken soup; not quite the braised chicken and rice you were referring to.” Mag poured two bowls of clear transparent chicken soup, and carried them over to the makeshift bed. He passed one bowl to Yabemiya, and kept the other. Lulu was riddled with wounds, so it appeared that he would have to be fed.
“Mag, you’re such a good person.” Xixi was very touched, but her eyes were already drawn to the chicken soup in Yabemiya’s hands. She turned to look at Lulu, and asked in a beseeching voice, “Can you feed Lulu some soup first? He bled a lot, so he must be very thirsty now.”
“No… You drink first. I’m not thirsty. As long as I can watch you drink, I won’t feel thirsty at all.” Lulu shook his head, and looked at Xixi with a gentle light in his eyes.
“No need to sacrifice yourself for the other. You can both drink at once.” Mag was only there to deliver some chicken soup, but they were still stuffing dog food down his gullet 1 !
The chicken soup that he had cooked on that occasion was less intense in flavor when compared to the chicken soup used for the braised chicken. Yabemiya scooped up a spoonful, and blew on it gently before feeding it to Xixi.
“Such delicious chicken soup! It’s not as rich as the braised chicken’s soup, but its savoriness has not been diluted at all. It doesn’t have many ingredients in it, but that only makes the taste of the chicken soup purer.” Xixi’s eyes immediately lit up.
The delectable chicken soup flowed down her throat and into her stomach in a warm stream. Her feebleness instantly diminished significantly as a result, and she could sense that the shriveled World Tree was absorbing that peculiar energy. It was as if rain had finally fallen after a prolonged drought, and she was struck by a sense of elation.
Her throbbing wound had become warm and a little numb, while the pain was quickly receding.
Using chicken soup to nurture the World Tree… Will the World Tree grow up to be a little strange as a result? Xixi could sense that the World Tree within her body was absorbing the energy within the chicken soup with elation, but she was slightly concerned.
On the other side, Mag was also feeding Lulu spoonfuls of chicken soup. Compared to Xixi, who had the World Tree to protect her, Lulu’s injuries were clearly not going to recover anywhere near as quickly.
However, after swallowing his first mouthful of chicken soup, his raspy throat was immediately soothed, and a warm sensation spread throughout his entire body. His pain had also been drastically alleviated, and his tightly furrowed brows began to relax. The chicken soup was even more effective than the pain-killing magic potions that Urien had given him.
The two small bowls of chicken soup were quickly devoured, and Mag stood up to pour more soup for them.
“Mag, can I have some meat?” Xixi asked with a pitiable expression. She was staring at the bowl on the table with yearning in her eyes.
“Are you sure you can eat meat?” Mag was a little taken aback as he turned toward Xixi. She was struggling to even move just a moment ago, but was requesting to eat meat all of a sudden.
“Of course!” Xixi’s eyes instantly lit up. Her mood seemed to have been lifted significantly, and she nodded in confirmation.
“Alright, then.” Xixi’s condition really appeared to have improved quite a bit after drinking the bowl of chicken soup, so he ladled a few chunks of chicken into her bowl. He then passed the bowl to Yabemiya before preparing to fill another bowl for Lulu.
Lulu shook his head with a grateful expression as he said determinedly, “I’m full now. Give the rest to her, thank you.”
“Alright.” Mag wasn’t going to try and dissuade Lulu as he withdrew the bowl in his hand. He was quite appreciative of Lulu’s doting love for his lover.
After all, there were countless smooth-talking men in the world, but a man who was actually willing to give up his life was very praiseworthy.
“Help me up! I can drink a third bowl!” After finishing the second bowl of chicken soup, Xixi had recovered some of her mobility. She swallowed the chicken she was chewing, and her expression lit up with excitement. The World Tree was constantly healing her body and replenishing her energy, thereby giving her an extremely high rate of recovery.
“Big Sister Xixi, you’re a white kitty, so what’s your baby going to look like if you have one with Big Bear?” Amy asked Xixi with a curious expression as the latter was preparing to tuck into her third bowl of soup.