Chapter 396: Theater Dinner

When Chen Ling opened his eyes again, the sky outside the window had already darkened. He glanced at the clock on the wall and slowly sat up.

He walked into the courtyard and saw wisps of cooking smoke rising from his Third Senior Brother Wen Renyou's house, drifting into the air with the evening breeze of the starry night.

"Time to go mooch a meal, isn't it...?"

Chen Ling found bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen and walked directly towards his Third Senior Brother's house.

The place where they lived resembled a plateau, almost entirely free of pollution. The starry sky above was like sparkling dust scattered by God, stretching to the ends of the heavens. In the distance, the outline of snow-capped mountains appeared vast, majestic, sacred, and grand.

Chen Ling felt this place was somewhat like Tibet, though he had never been there himself. Before his transmigration, like most people, he had dreamed of visiting such a place one day to find meaning in life. Unfortunately, endless studying in his youth and endless work in his adulthood had suffocated that dream in its cradle.

A red robe fluttered in the cold evening wind, yet Chen Ling didn't feel the biting chill. Instead, he experienced a profound sense of relaxation, as if his mind had been emptied. Here, the calamities, the fate of humanity, the realms, and the Nine Sovereigns all seemed to be temporarily cast aside.

Here, Chen Ling was simply Chen Ling.

The houses were not far apart, and Chen Ling's house was in the very center, making it the closest to any of his senior brothers' or sisters' homes. After just two or three minutes of walking, he arrived at his Third Senior Brother's doorstep.

Chen Ling was about to raise his hand to knock, but he suddenly hesitated...

"Is it really okay to just mooch a meal like this...?"

After all, Chen Ling had experienced the "social etiquette" of his life before transmigration. In that era, one always brought something when going to someone else's house for a meal, didn't they? Especially since they weren't particularly close yet—even just a bag of fruit would have been good.

But in this place, where could he buy such things?

Just as Chen Ling was pondering this, a voice came from behind him:

"Junior Brother, why aren't you going in?"

Chen Ling turned around and saw his Eldest Senior Brother Ning Ruyu walking from his own house, also holding a bowl and chopsticks, and looking at Chen Ling with some confusion.

Chen Ling saw the rice bowl in Ning Ruyu's hand, a full size larger than his own, and suddenly paused.

"Eldest Senior Brother, why is your bowl so big?"

"Oh, I usually eat a lot. Plus, Third Brother is really stingy; if I take a small bowl, he serves less and doesn't offer seconds... so I might as well just take a bigger bowl directly."

Chen Ling: ...

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment before asking, "Eldest Senior Brother, I just joined the sect, and I'm already bringing my bowl to mooch a meal... Don't I need to bring you some kind of gift?"

Ning Ruyu raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of bewilderment as he looked at Chen Ling.

"Junior Brother, what are you talking about?"

Chen Ling opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain the concept of "social etiquette" to Ning Ruyu. It seemed that these people from the Ancient Treasury of Drama truly didn't understand this aspect.

Without waiting for Chen Ling to say more, Ning Ruyu simply pushed open the main door and strode inside.

In the center of Third Senior Brother's house, a solid wood eight-immortals table was set up. Mojiao was already sitting at the edge with his bowl and chopsticks, his head bowed as if he had merged with the table and chairs; Chen Ling almost didn't see him.

Across from him, Luan Mei sat quietly. She nodded in acknowledgment when she saw Chen Ling and Ning Ruyu approaching.

Ning Ruyu sat down beside her, and Chen Ling also took a seat on the other side.

Seeing him arrive, Mojiao smiled and asked:

"Junior Brother, was that bed comfortable to sleep in?"

Chen Ling paused for a moment, immediately recalling the neatly made bed with its arranged sheets and duvet cover. He spoke sincerely, "Yes, very comfortable. Thank you, Senior Brother."

Four sets of bowls and chopsticks were placed on the table. Luan Mei's, Mojiao's, and Chen Ling's bowls were all the same size, but Ning Ruyu's was a full size larger, looking particularly conspicuous.

Just then, another figure happily walked in.

It was their master, who had transformed into a handsome young man, carrying a rice pot the size of a washbasin. The chopsticks inside the pot clattered with his steps, making him look as though a beggar had just walked in from outside.

"Third Brother! Your master is here!" he said with a grin.

Third Senior Brother, a tall figure, walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron. When he saw the rice pot in the master's hand, his expression hardened, and veins bulged on the back of the hand clutching the spatula.

He let out a cold snort, silently turned back to the kitchen, and soon after, the sound of rice being washed could be heard.

*Thud* —

The young master placed the rice pot on the table with a sharp thud.

Looking at the small bowl in front of Chen Ling, he couldn't help but say, "Sixth Brother, your bowl is too small. Even if it's not like Fifth Brother's, you should at least use a basin like your master."

"..." Chen Ling said, forcing himself to speak, "No, thank you, I can't eat that much..."

Ning Ruyu seemed to recall something.

"Master, where is Fifth Brother?"

"Oh, him? He has something to take care of, so he won't be joining us for dinner today."

Ning Ruyu paused for a moment but didn't press further, simply nodding in silence.

Chen Ling looked at his Third Senior Brother, who was busy in the kitchen, and asked curiously:

"Doesn't the Ancient Treasury of Drama have the ability to materialize virtual things? If so, why do you still cook yourselves?"

When he first arrived at the Ancient Treasury of Drama, Ning Ruyu had taken him into the movie "Chef" for a French steak. The Ancient Treasury of Drama must contain countless food-themed films, so they should be able to conjure up any kind of dish with just a thought.

The young master looked at Chen Ling and answered unhurriedly:

"Drama is drama, and life is life. The closer one gets to 'the Way of Drama' itself, the more one must maintain a distance from it... Otherwise, drama and reality will become indistinguishable."

"Usually, Third Brother does the cooking," Ning Ruyu added. "But if we get tired of it, we occasionally go into a drama to improve our meals."

As everyone was talking, Wen Renyou emerged from the kitchen carrying several dishes, which he then placed one by one in front of everyone.

To Chen Ling's surprise, the dishes weren't as luxurious as he had imagined. They were, at a glance, simple, home-cooked meals that were easy to prepare and tasted good, some of which Chen Ling even knew how to cook himself. If there was anything special to note, it was that the portions were very large, certainly enough to fill everyone up.

Wen Renyou took the young master's rice pot, filled it with a generous amount of rice, and then placed it back on the table. He did the same for the other senior brothers...

"Give me your bowl," the tall Wen Renyou said calmly, extending his hand to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling handed over his bowl, and in a moment, a full portion of rice was placed in front of him.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Chen Ling said.

Wen Renyou took his own bowl and chopsticks and sat down at the table, and everyone began to eat. Chen Ling took a few bites of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and the shredded potatoes with green peppers; the taste was indeed much better than what he could make himself.

The young master, sitting across from Chen Ling, grabbed his chopsticks and began shoveling rice into his mouth like a spatula, eating with extreme wildness.

Chen Ling's mouth twitched slightly. After silently eating most of the food in his bowl, he tentatively asked:

"Master... when can I learn the secret techniques of the Way of Drama?"