Chapter 50

Compared to Mr. Yue's gentle and harmonious demeanor, Li Yi appeared extremely serious and respectful. Li Yi always wore a tall ancient hat, and he was meticulous in everything he did. His favorite thing was to talk about various etiquettes, and his favorite opening line was, "Every move and action should be conducted with propriety." If Mr. Yue cared about the mood behind doing something, then Li Yi would certainly focus on how to do it.

Just like Mr. Yue, Li Yi once said to Lu Zheng, "What is propriety? Heaven and earth, all things, have their own propriety, so every move and action should be conducted with propriety. Look at the flowers, trees, and plants growing in the soil, fish living in water, and birds flying in the sky. This is how all things find their place. All things can find a suitable place to live, so people should also have the propriety of living in their place.

Among all things, animals and plants, those that can run run, those that can fly fly; some dig holes to hide, some build nests to avoid harm; those in nests know when the wind will blow, and those in caves know when it will rain. They seek benefits and avoid harm, coexisting with each other. All things have their own way of dealing with the world, so people should also have the propriety of dealing with others."

... In short, within three months, Lu Zheng was thoroughly washed from head to toe with Li Yi's propriety.

Starting from the disciple's propriety on the first day of class and the dining propriety during meals, there was the propriety of living, teaching Lu Zheng how to dress, how to groom himself, and how to behave when alone. There was the propriety of cleaning, teaching Lu Zheng how to clean his body and his room; the propriety of dealing with others, teaching Lu Zheng how to address and respond to different people in different situations; the propriety of handling affairs, teaching Lu Zheng how to view different matters and how to act; and the propriety of dealing with impropriety, teaching Lu Zheng how to handle situations where propriety cannot be observed...

There was even the propriety of using the toilet, warning Lu Zheng not to read books while in the restroom... In short, it covered all kinds of details in life, and in a nutshell, it was still Li Yi's often repeated phrase: "Every move and action should be conducted with propriety!"

Of course, it's worth mentioning that during Lu Zheng's learning of these complex etiquettes, Li Yi's戒方 (disciplinary rod) played a huge and significant role in Lu Zheng's progress!

In contrast to Mr. Yue's love for dressing, Li Yi's greatest passion in life was—eating!

Li Yi not only loved to eat, knew how to eat, and could eat a lot, but he was also said to be very skilled at cooking. Lu Zheng had never seen him cook, but it was said that Mr. Yue had tasted his cooking a few times. However, the teacher's love for food always made Lu Zheng think of the Taotie, a mythical beast recorded in the book "All Things." According to the book, the most prominent characteristic of the Taotie was its insatiable appetite, an incredible and astonishing greed for food. Privately, Lu Zheng thought that his teacher Li Yi was very much like the Taotie in this aspect!

Li Yi insisted that every dish must be perfect in color, aroma, taste, shape, and vessel. If any one of these was lacking, he would choose not to eat it. For example, a bowl of braised pork, if the meat was evenly marbled, bright red, and delicious, but the pieces were of different sizes and haphazardly piled in the bowl, he would not eat it. And if the pieces were evenly cut and beautifully arranged, but the serving dish was inappropriate, using a rough iron basin instead of a white porcelain bowl, he would not eat it, because he felt that the braised pork lacked propriety!

Li Yi once said, "If the meat is not cut properly, I will not eat it."

Among all the delicious foods, what made Li Yi's appetite surge the most was—fish!

Li Yi's favorite food was fish, and only fish. He loved to eat all kinds of fish and enjoyed various ways of preparing them. During the three months Lu Zheng spent at the Sun and Moon Cottage, fish would appear on the table almost every few days. Not only were the types of fish varied, but the cooking methods were also diverse, sometimes steamed, sometimes braised, sometimes stir-fried with vinegar... The methods were endless.

Once, Mr. Yue chased him around with a piece of clothing he had made, and Li Yi, as a teacher, felt that Mr. Yue had made him lose face in front of the students. Therefore, he ignored Mr. Yue for several days, and his attitude towards the two students became even worse, often punishing them by making them copy books. According to Lu Zheng's private comments to Xin'er, the teacher's face during those days was not made of stone, but of cast iron. Of course, Lu Zheng's verbal satisfaction came at the cost of physical punishment with the戒方 (disciplinary rod).

In short, those days were filled with a sense of impending doom, making everyone uneasy. Finally, Mr. Yue had no choice but to leave the cottage for half a day, reportedly to catch four Ice Muscle Jade Bone Fish from a forbidden place in the cultivation world—the Fire Eye Ice Pool. Only then did Li Yi's face return to its usual stony expression.

If the sword dance that day had shown Lu Zheng a different, elegant, and passionate side of his strict teacher, then the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Fish marked the beginning of Lu Zheng's profound admiration and respect for his teacher.

According to Teacher Li Yi, the Fire Eye Ice Pool was a place where water and fire coexisted. The underground had ten-thousand-year-old lava, and the surface had ten-thousand-year-old ice. The "Fire Eye" was a natural vent where the ten-thousand-year-old lava spewed out from the ground. The ice near this vent was melted by the lava, forming a lake, the Ice Pool. This created a unique natural phenomenon where the surroundings were bitterly cold, but the center of the lake was boiling with lava, and the water had been boiling for a thousand years without drying up. The repeated attack of water and fire created a delicate balance, hence the name "Water and Fire Coexistence."

It was easy to imagine that fish living in such a lake must be extraordinary. This was evident from the way Li Yi's eyes sparkled when he saw the four Ice Muscle Jade Bone Fish. His stony face melted, and he even smiled.

After Li Yi talked at length about the growth environment of the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Fish, he pointed to the four fish and asked Lu Zheng and Xin'er, "Why are they called Ice Muscle Jade Bone Fish?"

Lu Zheng and Xin'er knew that Li Yi hated guessing when they didn't know something. He preferred honesty—knowing when they knew and not knowing when they didn't. Therefore, they never dared to speak casually in front of him, not even to give vague answers or make unclear guesses, as that would invite punishment with the戒方 (disciplinary rod). So they both shook their heads in confusion.

But this time, Li Yi answered his own question. After asking, he continued, "This fish is entirely white, without scales, and its meat is the freshest and most tender of all fish, hence the name 'Ice Muscle.' Additionally, its body is transparent, and the bones are green, hence the name 'Jade Bone.' Why are the bones green? Because they grow in boiling water..."

Lu Zheng, curious, asked, "Teacher, since this fish grows in boiling water, how do you cook it?" He asked a very practical question but immediately regretted it, as interrupting the teacher was a violation of disciple's propriety and would invite punishment with the戒方 (disciplinary rod)!

To his surprise, Li Yi actually smiled at Lu Zheng, seemingly not noticing the interruption. He stroked his beard and said with a slight curl of his lips, "Ha, good question! This fish is different from ordinary fish, so the cooking method is also different. The head and tail of the fish are not edible because the head retains the heat from the lava, making it toxic and causing the bones to turn green. The tail has spines, which are not suitable for eating and affect the texture, so only the body is used. After the fish dies, it must be sliced into paper-thin pieces within half a moment and then immersed in strong liquor, preferably new liquor made from the current year's grains. Aged liquor is too strong and would overpower the fish's natural flavor.

After soaking in the liquor for half a moment, the slices must be immediately taken out and eaten with jade or porcelain chopsticks, not bamboo or any other material, to avoid affecting the taste. Only then can you fully enjoy the fish's freshness! Everything has its own way, and how to deal with the different properties of things is propriety! That's why I often say, everything has its way, and every move and action should be conducted with propriety..."

The teacher's habit was to turn any conversation into a lesson for Lu Zheng, even when talking about his favorite fish. According to Xin'er, since Lu Zheng's arrival, the teacher had given nine-tenths of his strictness to Lu Zheng, leaving only one-tenth for her, making her feel that Lu Zheng was truly a good person!

The chopsticks must be made of jade, not bamboo, iron, or any other material! Lu Zheng remembered that once, when eating a steamed fish, Li Yi insisted on using bamboo chopsticks because they had a natural fragrance that enhanced the flavor of the steamed fish. The fact that he could detect such subtle differences in taste made Lu Zheng marvel at the teacher's tongue. In contrast, he felt like a bull chewing on a peony, not appreciating the subtleties at all!

Fortunately, Mr. Yue's efforts were not in vain. The four Ice Muscle Jade Bone Fish finally calmed Li Yi's anger, and he even personally prepared the fish for everyone to taste. However, he did not let them see the preparation process, not to protect his cooking secrets, but because propriety dictated that a gentleman should not enter the kitchen. This was something Li Yi could never do, so he rarely cooked himself and certainly did not want his students to see him do it!

The four fish were sliced into paper-thin pieces, piled like snow in four green porcelain bowls, making everyone's mouths water just by looking at them. This was the first time Lu Zheng had tasted Li Yi's cooking, but Mr. Yue, standing beside him, kept saying with a sour tone that Lu Zheng was lucky, as he had only tasted Li Yi's cooking a few times in all the years they had known each other, and Lu Zheng had such good fortune after just a few days!

As for the taste of the fish, since Lu Zheng and Xin'er were too young to drink, Li Yi used a different fruit wine as a substitute. According to Li Yi, this only allowed them to taste about 40-50% of the fish's flavor. Even so, it was so delicious that Lu Zheng almost bit his tongue several times.

Remarkably, biting his tongue while eating, which would normally invite punishment with the戒方 (disciplinary rod), was ignored this time. The teacher even closed his eyes and slowly savored the fish's flavor, looking completely entranced!

Mr. Yue was only given three paper-thin slices of fish, as Li Yi believed that since the fish was brought as an apology, Mr. Yue should not eat it, as enjoying such a delicious meal would be taking advantage of the situation. Being given three slices was already a great leniency. Mr. Yue did not dare to argue, watching the three of them eat the fish with envy, even smacking his lips afterward!

However, Lu Zheng noticed that Xin'er secretly passed her fish to Mr. Yue. Seeing how delicious the fish was, Xin'er could still give it away, making Lu Zheng blush. He quickly passed his fish to Mr. Yue as well. Mr. Yue's eyes were full of gratitude, and he glanced at Li Yi, who seemed to notice but did not say anything, and then he picked up the fish and ate it with large bites!

By giving half of his portion to Mr. Yue, Lu Zheng, while chewing the fish, suddenly thought, "If my brother Jiu were here, it would be so much better to share this delicious meal with him." Thinking of this, a wave of sadness washed over him, and the fish lost its flavor.

After eating this fish, Lu Zheng, in addition to learning music from Mr. Yue, gradually started learning to eat from his teacher! After each meal, Li Yi would discuss with Lu Zheng which dishes were the best, which flavors were too strong, which dishes needed more cooking time, and which cooking methods could be improved, adding or removing certain ingredients... The discussions were lively, and Lu Zheng's taste buds gradually became more sensitive. Li Yi, in these discussions, also could not resist cooking a few dishes himself, much to Mr. Yue's delight!

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