Chapter 12: Cutting Bamboo? Or Slicing Tofu?

Qiao Yitong’s reply was airy, her expression and movements radiating complete indifference.

Her attitude made Lu Cheng a little worried.

He was, after all, someone who had “been there,” and he knew exactly how difficult it was to cut that bamboo.

Given the bamboo’s natural resilience, if one lacked experience, a poorly aimed strike could cause the machete to bounce back and injure the person swinging it.

They didn’t have a first-aid kit here. If she really got hurt, he wouldn’t know how to treat it.

Consequently, as Qiao Yitong walked toward the bamboo grove, Lu Cheng followed her with a furrowed brow.

He desperately wanted her to realize the difficulty and back down, but he didn’t want her to get hurt.

Qiao Yitong glanced at the trailing Lu Cheng but said nothing.

She reached the edge of the grove.

The bamboo was crisp and dense. Upon stepping closer, the refreshing fragrance of the forest wafted toward her.

The vibrant vitality radiating from the emerald stalks made Qiao Yitong feel invigorated.

She took a deep breath. Stimulated by the environment, the two drops of spiritual power in her Sea of Consciousness began to rotate at high speed, swirling up mists of energy around her. It felt as though a third drop might condense at any moment.

This world really is a wonderful place for cultivation, Qiao Yitong mused once again.

She hefted the machete, feeling its weight and estimating its sharpness. Then, she swung her hand, striking the bamboo at a slanted angle.

The force she used was exactly right, not a fraction too much or too little.

The bamboo that Lu Cheng had described as so tough it took thirty minutes to cut two stalks felt like soft tofu in her hands. It was severed cleanly near the base.

The cut was incredibly smooth, without a single splinter or jagged edge.

Looking back at Qiao Yitong, her breathing was steady and her expression remained calm.

She held the machete loosely. Her arm didn’t tremble, and she showed no signs of discomfort.

Was it really… like slicing tofu?

Lu Cheng’s gaze shifted back to the two bamboo stalks he had just exhausted himself to cut.

Then his eyes darted back to the stalk Qiao Yitong had felled with such effortless ease.

Lu Cheng swallowed hard.

Could it be… that his luck was just terrible earlier, and the two he picked happened to be exceptionally tough and hard to cut?

Qiao Yitong seemed to see through the restless urge in his eyes. She reached out and handed him the machete. “Want to try again?”

Lu Cheng nodded and took the tool back.

This time, he specifically chose a stalk that looked even greener and more vibrant. He focused his mind and steadied his breathing.

He replayed the scene of Qiao Yitong cutting the bamboo in his mind. He raised his hand, mimicking her exact angle, and struck with the same casual, light force.

Thud!

The bamboo swayed slightly, shaking loose several leaves.

One of them landed right on Lu Cheng’s head. Looking at the bamboo he had struck…

Well…

He’d barely scratched the skin.

A wave of awkwardness rose from the soles of Lu Cheng’s feet.

His ears turned red, and he started to stutter. “Sister Tong, I… I’ll go dig the holes for the water.”

“Mm,” Qiao Yitong grunted in response, taking the machete back without a change in expression.

There was no mockery, no comfort. She remained as calm as if she had expected this result all along, having already judged Lu Cheng’s capabilities.

Lu Cheng felt like crying.

He felt it would have been better if Sister Tong had mocked him. This silence made him feel like she never had any expectations for him from the start, treating him purely like a “pretty useless” companion.

Wait, that wasn’t right. He wasn’t even as pretty as Sister Tong.

That just left him with “useless.”

As Lu Cheng grumbled internally, he looked up to see Qiao Yitong raising the machete again.

The same machete, the same movement.

In his hands, it had been a mere massage for the bamboo.

In Qiao Yitong’s hands, the blade fell with a smooth, tofu-slicing fluidity. The bamboo was severed exactly at the mark Lu Cheng had made, without a millimeter of error.

Lu Cheng was speechless.

Fine, he really was just useless. There was no arguing with that.

Once he accepted this fact, he obediently returned to the spot Qiao Yitong had marked for the holes. He picked up his handmade wooden shovel and began to dig.

It’s fine. Even if I’m useless, I’ll be a slightly valuable useless person, Lu Cheng told himself.

The afternoon passed with one person digging and the other cutting bamboo.

The video of Qiao Yitong cutting bamboo was even adopted by some viewers as a “stress relief” video.

Naturally, following the previous incident of her cracking coconuts with a shell, the number of people insulting her in the comments dropped even further once the bamboo-cutting video aired.

After all, everyone knew the truth.

Their own spines were definitely not as tough as that bamboo.

Lu Cheng, having witnessed it firsthand, was now completely won over by Qiao Yitong.

No wonder Sister Tong said they would build a Bamboo House. Clearly, she only made the suggestion because she had the confidence and the strength to back it up.

He had been too subjective, using his own “useless” standards to misjudge her.

However, to avoid being so useless that Sister Tong would despise him, he worked like his life depended on it, pouring every ounce of strength into digging the holes.

By the time half the day had passed, his throat was parched and his stamina had plummeted.

Just as he looked up, feeling a wave of dizziness, two coconuts were held out to him. “Take a break. You’ve hit your limit.”

Lu Cheng looked up, his body swaying slightly.

Only after Qiao Yitong’s reminder did he realize he was so exhausted he could barely stand straight.

“Thanks, Sister Tong,” Lu Cheng replied weakly.

He opened a coconut with practiced ease and gulped it down, feeling himself come back to life.

“Rest for a bit,” Qiao Yitong said, pointing toward the beach.

Lu Cheng hesitated, looking at the half-finished hole.

She was right; this wasn’t something that could be finished in a few minutes. There was no need to push himself too hard. If he actually collapsed, he would only be more of a burden to her.

He nodded, clutching the coconut as he followed Qiao Yitong back to the beach.

Qiao Yitong sat down, her gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.

She had remained quiet throughout, her occasional lapses into dazed contemplation carrying a mysterious air that was impossible to read.

Due to the subtle, lingering sense of intimidation she radiated, Lu Cheng felt an instinctive urge to look up to her. It was a feeling tinged with enough fear that he didn’t dare sit too close.

Qiao Yitong glanced at him and casually tossed several items his way.

Lu Cheng scrambled to catch them.

He found a few types of fruit he didn’t recognize, along with a grey fruit roughly the size of a coconut.

“Sister Tong, these are…” Lu Cheng had already guessed what they were.

Qiao Yitong’s expression remained neutral. “No time to prepare anything proper. These will have to do.”

They were indeed food for him.

She must have gone looking for them while he was busy digging the hole.

A wave of gratitude for being looked after surged in his heart. Lu Cheng gripped the food tightly, lowered his eyes, and said with sincere earnestness, “Sister Tong, thank you.”