The small house of Gu Yanshen's was another world.
The pork belly in the clay pot simmered with a "gurgle," and the rich smell of meat mingled with the overpowering scent of star anise and cinnamon, stubbornly occupying every corner of the room.
Lin Wan Yi's face still had a few smudges of ash, like a little cat caught sneaking food. She knocked out the last piece of damp black coal cake from the mold, neatly lining them up by the stove to dry.
Gu Yanshen stood right behind her, his tall figure almost enveloping her. He watched her busy back, watched those coal cakes she shaped into odd forms, without saying a word.
The murderous anger he had seemed to have dissipated at some point. Replacing it was a focus so subtle, even he didn't realize it.
"What are you staring at? Never seen a beauty with coal mud?" Lin Wan Yi didn't turn back as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Gu Yanshen's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't respond.
