I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 59

He was a chef, but not quite, because in addition to his culinary skills, Grandpa was also highly accomplished in painting and playing musical instruments. Moreover, although he had a rugged appearance, his overall demeanor was refined and elegant, with occasional hints of cynicism.

To understand how his grandfather could have cultivated such a personality and knowledge, Yue Zhengling guessed that his grandfather's past life must have been very exciting, but he never asked, and his grandfather never told him.

Judging by the timeline, when his grandfather brought him to Japan, the great Eastern power across the strait was going through a very dark and special period. Le Zhengling also realized that those who ran away during that time all had special family backgrounds and must have had unpleasant experiences, so he wisely never asked about them.

Moreover, he has no memory of his parents in this life, and he has no memory of his grandfather in his previous life either, so it's okay to substitute his grandfather in this life. As for his biological parents in this life... he can only apologize.

Getting back to the main point, Grandpa seemed to have a sudden urge to stir up some news today. As his grandson, he should have silently endured it. However, when it came to matters of common sense, Le Zhengling was a bit stubborn. He felt that as a historian with normal values, he couldn't joke about something as fundamental as the course of history, which is an integral part of Chinese culture. The origin of rice was not something to be taken lightly.

"Grandpa, do we have a grain mill?" Le Zhengling crossed his arms and looked up at his grandfather intently.

Grandpa raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms like Yue Zhengling, lowered his head to look into his grandson's eyes, and said in a serious tone, "No!"

"If there's no husk, how are we supposed to remove it? And then how are we supposed to remove the skin?" Le Zhengling glared at the old man who had started acting irresponsibly, pointing at the pile of grain. "It's already midday! Don't tell me you're planning to slowly grind it in the stone mortar in the backyard! How long would that take? Besides, I'm not strong enough! Labor should be done according to basic principles!"

Le Zhengtu gave his grandson a strange look. "Oh my, I didn't expect you to know so much, kid?"

Le Zhengling didn't catch the meaning in his tone and kept rambling on, "Besides, it's just a simple New Year's Eve dinner, why make it so complicated? And even if you use these millet grains to make rice, if it's not processed, the taste will definitely be terrible!"

"Hmph!" Le Zhengtu snorted, looking at his grandson with disdain. "You're young and have limited knowledge. Today I'll show you just how big the world really is!"

As he spoke, Le Zhengtu carefully picked up the millet, spread it flat in his right palm, then covered it with his left hand and rubbed it, before letting go and placing his right hand in front of Le Zhengling's eyes.

A miraculous thing happened: grains of unhulled rice appeared in Grandpa's palm. Stunned by this, Le Zhengling exclaimed in his heart that this was unscientific. Then, he looked at Grandpa's hands with a strange look and carefully reached out his finger to move the unhulled rice in his palm.

"Isn't that amazing?" Grandpa looked at his grandson's surprised expression with a smug smile. "Don't say something is impossible if you haven't tried it. You've learned something, haven't you!"

"No, I'm more curious about how you used your hands instead of tools to process the grains, Grandpa. How many years does it take to develop that kind of hand strength?" Le Zhengling noticed that the coarse rice was already in its complete form, and judging from its color and shape, it was the best kind.

In fact, the nutritional value of brown rice is much higher than that of refined rice, which is commonly consumed.

It is rice that retains the bran, germ, and endosperm. It is difficult for general production processes to retain most of the bran, aleurone layer, and germ of rice at the same time. Therefore, the processing requirements for unpolished rice are higher than those for regular polished rice.

Because the bran, aleurone layer, and germ contain a large amount of vitamins, trace elements, dietary fiber, and unsaturated fatty acids, regular consumption of brown rice is beneficial to human metabolism and endocrine function.

Grandpa clearly understood what Yue Zhengling meant. Without saying a word, he clenched his fist and punched Yue Zhengling on the head. "You little devil! I told you to pay attention to the method I just used! Now it's your turn to do it! Did you watch carefully?"

Le Zhengling rolled her eyes in annoyance. "How could I possibly do that! Your strength, honed by years of experience, would make it possible for me to become a magician even if I remained single for another twenty years."

"You're talking nonsense again. I've told you not to watch those late-night cartoons, but you never listen! Instead of wasting your time, go to the study and read some books, learn some music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to cultivate your character! Back in my day, I was able to roam the world of women and charm countless young girls because I had many skills!"

"Oh ho~ How disrespectful of your elders! Do you know what kind of bad ideas you are instilling in my lovely and innocent grandson right now?" Le Zheng looked at his proud grandfather with disdain and said in a contemptuous tone.

"Bullshit! I admit you're cute, but your innocence is debatable! Besides, you're the only son of the Yuezheng family! We need to start having children as soon as possible! I'm giving you this advice based on my own experience!"

Chapter 137 Grandpa, Rice, and [Me] (Part 2)

Grandpa's disappointed expression and heartbroken tone made Le Zhengling give him a thumbs up, "You really are my grandfather!"

"Alright, for the sake of this New Year's Eve dinner, you'd better hurry up and get this pile of stuff ready!" Grandpa didn't understand what Yue Zhengling meant. He took out a small sieve and a basin and poured the coarse rice and bran in his hands into it.

"Pour it in after each grinder, and finally shake the rice bran and coarse rice apart. What we eat tonight is up to you." Then this frivolous old man took out a large palm leaf fan, lay down on the rocking chair in the shop, and acted as if "this has nothing to do with me anymore."

Le Zhengling looked at the bag of millet with a pained expression. In the end, he could only imitate his grandfather, scooping up a handful in his small hands, flattening it, and then rubbing it vigorously.

As a result, nothing happened, of course. This wasn't a scene from a martial arts novel. Apart from a slight pain in her delicate hands and a few grains of rice bursting open, the grains in her hands remained completely unchanged.

"Think, recall, and observe carefully." Grandpa fanned himself, looking at Yue Zhengling slowly and leisurely like a lazy man.

Le Zhengling originally wanted to ask his grandfather what the trick was, but his words had already shut him down. He couldn't help but mutter, "Damn it, having a grandfather like you is the worst thing that ever happened to me!"

For the next half hour, Le Zhengling tried again and again, just like his grandfather, but failed time and time again. When he put down the grain in his hand and looked at his red and hot palms, he was a little distressed.

But looking at his grandfather, who had closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep, Yue Zhengling opened his mouth several times, but in the end he did not wake him up. Since his grandfather could do it and did not explain the secret, then it should be something that he could do as well.

Driven by a mix of pride and inferiority, he ignored his grandfather and focused intently on continuing. However, even as blisters formed on his hands, he still hadn't succeeded. Nevertheless, he persevered.

An hour and a half later, as he rubbed hard again, a pair of rough, large hands pressed down on his wrist, and his grandfather's deep voice suddenly appeared: "Enough."

Lost in his stubbornness, Yue Zhengling looked up blankly at his grandfather, who had appeared beside him at some point, seemingly not understanding what had happened.

"Why didn't you wake me up and ask me?" Grandpa brushed the grains from Yue Zhengling's hands, looked at the hands that were already somewhat unsightly, and said in a somewhat cold voice.

Le Zhengling was startled by his stern gaze, and then lowered her head somewhat timidly.

"Ling, do you know why we named you 'Ling' back then?" Le Zhengling didn't raise his head, so he couldn't see his grandfather's expression, but his tone contained an indescribable will.

“Ling means to listen. We want you to listen carefully to the sounds of this world.” As he said this, Grandpa covered Le Zhengling’s ears with his warm hands, making him raise his head, and his lips moved as he spoke something.

But because his ears were covered, Yue Zhengling could only look at him in confusion. Seeing this, his grandfather shook his head in disappointment and then let him go.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand now. I hope you will understand someday. You are my grandson, our irreplaceable treasure. I hope you remember that.” As Grandpa said this, he deliberately turned around, his voice filled with sighs and vicissitudes, and his once robust body showed signs of decay.

Seeing his grandfather like this, Le Zhengling felt a pang of sadness. Although he didn't understand why this was happening, he still stepped forward and gently placed his hand in the old man's.

"Grandpa, then please teach me."

"Heh, alright then. After all, you're my grandson. My skills can't just be buried like this." The old man turned his head to look at Le Zhengling, smiled with relief, and then went to the stove again. "This time, let me do it. But next time, it'll be your turn."

Le Zhengling nodded, watching his grandfather's actions with utmost attention, and secretly resolved to make sure his grandfather was satisfied next time.

"Ling, do you know why you failed?" Grandpa picked up a handful of millet and spread it flat in his palm.

"Because I don't know the trick?" Yue Zhengling replied uncertainly.

“Wrong, the reason is that you don’t believe you can do it.” After saying this, Grandpa rubbed his hands together again, and the millet was once again ground into bran and coarse rice.

"If you don't believe you can achieve this with your own two hands, then you have no chance of succeeding. No matter how stubbornly you try, no matter how much you want to succeed, if you don't truly believe what's happening in front of you is reality, no matter how many times you try, the result will be the same."

Pour the rice bran and coarse rice into the sieve. "The so-called ordinary people are those who have been conquered and tamed by the established food. Even if the facts are placed in front of them, they will choose to ignore them."

At this point, Grandpa picked up a grain of millet and placed it in front of Le Zhengling. “People are like this grain of millet, wrapped in what the world calls reality. If you don’t remove the outer shell, you can’t see yourself clearly.”

"So this grain of coarse rice is yourself?" Yue Zhengling felt that her grandfather's words seemed to have a hidden meaning.

"No, if the rice bran represents how the outside world perceives you, then the coarse rice wrapped around you represents you within your family environment, the you protected by your family, the you bound by your clan."

Grandpa's tone was elusive, but even someone with an adult mind could tell what Grandpa was talking about.

But then, Grandpa pinched the coarse rice and rubbed it between two fingers, and the coarse rice turned into pure white refined rice. "And then, stripping away everything that comes with birth, this is what you consider to be yours."

Le Zhengling picked up the grain of rice and seemed to be deep in thought.

"So, do you think this is 'you'?" Grandpa looked at Yue Zhengling, seemingly eager for his answer.

“…, probably.” Yue Zhengling hesitated for a moment, then said in a conflicted tone.

"Hehe, is it rare to be confused?" Grandpa didn't press further, but simply patted Le Zhengling's head twice.

"Alright, let me take care of the rest. You just need to help wash the rice and cook it." After saying that, Grandpa ignored him and quickly ground the remaining millet into coarse rice.

Le Zhengling looked at the grain of rice in his hand, walked back to his room, and held the grain of rice thoughtfully. Then, he pinched the grain of rice between his index finger and thumb and gently rubbed it. The translucent surface of the rice was crushed, revealing the snow-white rice core.

The "rice heart" is the snow-white core of the rice. Just like taking off clothes, rice needs to be rubbed away layer by layer to get the milky white core.

As Yue Zhengling placed the rice grain on the red envelope containing the New Year's money his grandfather had given him, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Like grains of millet, after being peeled away layer by layer, is what is ultimately left of a person—themselves?

What exactly was Grandpa trying to tell me this time? Did he know something? But we've known each other for ten years, and Grandpa has never shown anything strange, and I don't think I've shown anything strange either. So was this a coincidence or was there something more to it?

At that moment, he was unaware of the strange sensation caused by his earlier rubbing.

After putting Mi Xin down, Le Zhengling put the thought from her mind and went downstairs to help her grandfather prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.

Although Grandpa said that all he had to do was wash the rice and cook it, he was still responsible for separating the coarse rice from the bran after Grandpa finished grinding the coarse rice. After washing the coarse rice, he was about to add water to cook the rice, but Grandpa stopped him.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Holding the pot of washed rice, Le Zhengling asked, puzzled.

"Hmm, after thinking about it, since it's the New Year's Eve dinner, let's eat it in a more refined way." After saying that, under Le Zhengling's gaze, Grandpa took away the washed coarse rice, washed his hands again, and repeated the action of crushing it.

Then, the polished rice they usually ate came out. But before Yue Zhengling could say anything, Grandpa crushed the rice again, leaving only the rice kernels, and handed them to Yue Zhengling, saying, "Here, use this to cook..."

Looking at the familiar rice grains, Yue Zhengling's eyes twitched. This stuff is used to brew wine, okay? And even if it's cooked, each person can only have a bowl at most!

On this day, the grandfather and grandson set up a sumptuous reunion dinner in the courtyard and lit two strings of red lanterns, which were hung on the pillars of the corridor.

Looking at the fish, chicken, braised pork, rice bran cakes, white porridge, and bok choy on the table, Yue Zhengling hugged her small bowl, looking somewhat sullenly at the tiny rice in it.

This was the first time in his two lifetimes that he had cooked with rice flour, and looking at the bowl of food, he found it a little hard to swallow.

"What? Can't you eat?" Grandpa looked at him but didn't touch his chopsticks.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you today?" Looking at the rice bran cakes, rice porridge made from a mixture of coarse and fine rice grains on the table, and the rice in the bowl, Le Zhengling felt a little uneasy.

Grandpa grinned, revealing an expression that Le Zhengling recognized very well. Seeing this expression, he unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Grandpa's behavior today was too strange, making him feel at a loss.

"Grandson, you're ten years old now. Grandpa won't be able to stay with you for many more years. There are some things I can't say outright, and I don't want to say outright. So I'll have to test your observation skills. After all, you'll be walking this road alone from now on. If you're not careful, it might be very tough for you."

Le Zhengling blinked, puzzled, looking at the unfathomable old man.

The old man paused for a moment, looking at the moon overhead. "I'm a person who knows how to be content. Although my life has been full of hardships, I've been happy enough. The only thing I can't let go of is probably you."

“Ling, no matter what the future holds, remember to be yourself. Don’t let rice bran, coarse rice, or even refined rice control you. But I don’t want you to be a rice heart either, because that won’t bring happiness.”

At this moment, Yue Zhengling looked up as if sensing something, gazing at the full moon above, just like her grandfather. "So, what should I do to achieve happiness?"

Grandpa chuckled softly, "Hmm, how about making a hollow valley?"

Like a joke, or perhaps a warning, the grandfather and grandson began to eat their strange New Year's Eve dinner in silence after their conversation.

Chapter 138 Atlas, Operation

"Gone?" Suddenly, Lavinia opened her eyes and looked at Yue Zhengling in front of her. Although she could still see his presence, her senses told her that the person in front of her had disappeared.

She clenched her fingers slightly. The touch of Yue Zhengling was still there, but without her breath, it felt empty. Logically speaking, in this starry sky that belonged to her, no existence could escape. However, she didn't know how this person had faded away.

What she had left in front of her was an empty shell so convincingly realistic that anyone could be fooled if it weren't for her.

"He didn't go there either..." Lavinia used the spatial link to sense the whole world and found that Yue Zhengling's consciousness had not descended to Arthur's side, and Yue Zhengling on the other side was also in a state of disconnection.

"Consciousness, unified? And the planet's aura, was just scared away?" Lavinia's gaze traversed time and space, reading everything that had just happened in Akasha's records. Although she couldn't find where Yue Zhengling's consciousness was, she discovered that the planet's will had intervened earlier, but was now scared away by something unknown.

Lavinia shrank back, and some of the stars surrounding them began to destroy, while others began to glow. "Indeed, you are very interesting. Let's stay a little longer, and after the other you arrives, we'll leave together."

Lavinia's will slowly faded, and the gaze of the alien god began to eagerly descend.

However, at this moment, Yue Zhengling, who was standing there, tightened his fingers, and the backs of their hands, which were clasped together, clamped tightly together.

"So, that's where it is. Don't be afraid. It's a promise then. I'll wait a little longer." He made a new promise with Yue Zhengling, who was somewhere, and closed his eyes again.

The woman who had been watching them murmured, "An alien realm, discontinuous spacetime, everything is random, distorted physical laws, no matter how tightly they are intertwined, they can never be entangled. The gray treasure chest of science, what people gained in return, what they lost was a vast amount of life, and the true starry sky, and then, madness began..."

"Calculation error, identified as a hostile individual, plan to correct, to seal the Sanctuary and cut space - denial, the other party is a space-specialized individual. Activate the fourth world-destroying weapon - Black Barrel, denial, cannot affect the other party's mode of existence. Activate the seventh world-destroying weapon - Slay the Emperor, denial, the requirements for the user are too high, Rani at eighty is not qualified."

"As a result, we temporarily abandoned the plan, stored the record in Logos React, used the Philosopher's Stone as the intelligence body, and requested a reenactment—" Just as this person was muttering to himself, a huge alarm sounded in the Atlas Institute, and thirty-three windows appeared around the woman, replaying the scene of Rani's disappearance in front of her without any blind spots.

"Alarm lifted. Track the location of the Fifth Truth Element, focusing on the fluctuations of its heart, Hermes—target identified..." The woman calmly watched the changing window, finally discovering that Rani had appeared in London, where the battle had taken place previously.

"Calculation, conclusion, dispatch the Divine Beast Force to retrieve Rani VIII, eliminate obstructing individuals, re-mark surviving individuals in the Clock Tower as hostile, elimination begins."

Under this person's will, the Sphinx army lurking in the desert rose from the sand dunes once more, their gazes piercing through the sandstorm, fixed on the direction of London, and then spread their wings and flew at high speed toward their destination.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Grey were utterly shocked to see the little Indian girl who suddenly appeared and was holding the Holy Lance.

"Yard!" Gray, who had seen the Holy Lance in its complete form, rushed over with an incredulous expression and snatched the Holy Lance from Rani's hand, but no matter how she called out, the Holy Lance did not respond.

Startled, Rani looked around. When she saw Le Zhengling in the wheelchair, she wisely didn't show anything. Finally, she looked at Grey and said in a calm tone, "The surface personality of Holy Lance has been recovered. As the price of the deal, I hope you will treat me well. On the premise of ensuring my safety, in exchange, I will tell you how to restore it."

Everyone who hadn't paid much attention to Rani suddenly focused their attention on her. Orange admired the calmness of this girl who looked even younger than Yue Zhengling, while Arthur saw a resemblance to Ayaka Sajo in her. Gray, however, didn't care about any of that and simply subdued her.

"Tell me everything you know!" Gray, who had been told that she had already removed Ad from the Holy Lance, had no time to grieve. She was now extremely panicked after losing Ad, but she had not lost her mind.

Since the other party calmly laid out the bargaining chips as soon as they appeared, it means that there is still hope for Yad. She must obtain all the information as soon as possible before taking any action.

“Rani VIII, a magician from the Atlas Institute, and Gray, from the Clock Tower, I request to speak with your superior, Lord El-Melloi II. Please note, and to reiterate, that our personal safety is paramount; any hostile intent will hinder our communication.”

Watching Rani finish speaking mechanically, Gray, holding the Holy Lance, knew that there was no point in saying anything now. The other party's way of acting was obviously similar to a program. She had seen this kind of person before when she followed her master to handle various cases.

If they don't want to speak or communicate by following the other person's behavioral patterns, the other person won't say a word even if they die.

Left with no other choice, Grey had to reopen the communication system, calling out to Lord Barthezmello while also explaining the situation to her mentor, Lord El-Melloi II.

Two minutes later, Lord Barthemello returned to the scene, staring intently at Rani while listening to Gray's report to Webber, his heart filled with excitement.

The magician in front of them was a member of the Atlas Academy. In other words, Rani possessed information that they did not know. Judging from her appearance, she held a high position in the Atlas Academy, as her clothes bore the insignia of the next dean of the Atlas Academy.

"You say you're a magician from the Atlas Academy, what proof do you have?" Barthezello walked up to Rani and asked in a serious tone.

“Bartholomew Loreleia, Lord of the Clock Tower Forensics Department, I extend my greetings on behalf of my master, Sion Eltnam Atlasia.” Rani bowed politely to Bartholomew and then uttered words that confused those who knew the identity of the person she was referring to.

"You said your master is the current Dean of the Atlas Academy!" Weber, far away in the Clock Tower, certainly hadn't forgotten the name of the successor in the Atlas Academy's dean succession ceremony back then, but that's precisely why he was so surprised!