Marked by the Four Beast Lords After Transmigration

Sera’s message had come the previous evening.

There would be enough ridge milk after the young animals were fed for a small household portion to come down in the morning. No more than that, and the dairy workers wanted the containers collected early before the day warmed.

Shen had gone down before first bell and returned with a stoppered clay bottle tucked inside the same padded carrier they had used for earlier milk.

By the time Nia finished washing, the bottle was already standing in the cool-water basin.

After breakfast, she carried the older watergrain sack to the preparation board.

“I want another try at the sweet milk-and-grain dish.”

Shen gathered their bowls from the table. “Now that you know how the watergrain behaves?”

“Yes. I think it will give me the texture the coarse grain would not.”

The first sweet milk-and-grain pot had been edible, but the texture had annoyed her. The coarse grain had refused to soften into the milk, and the egg had tightened while she waited for the grain to improve. The whole thing had ended up loose in one place and grainy in another.

This time she had watergrain.

She also had sunbell.

Shen carried the breakfast bowls toward the washing area. “Are you leaving the egg out?”

“Yes. I want enough time for the grain to soften properly.”

“The milk will still change as it cooks.”

“I know. I am going to keep the heat lower.”

Shen rinsed the bowls while Nia measured a small portion of watergrain. Ridge milk remained uncertain, and the grain still cost too much for a large dessert, so she kept the batch small enough for the three of them.

She washed the grains until the water ran clearer, then covered them for a short soak.

The sunbell packet came down next.

Its pale gold petals had curled even tighter since the market, but the scent escaped as soon as she loosened the tie: floral, warm, and gently woody beneath the sweetness.

Nia took a very small pinch.

Shen finished drying the breakfast bowls and came beside her.

“You are only using that much?”

“The trader said too much turns bitter at the back of the mouth.”

“I remember.”

“I paid enough for these flowers that I remember too.”

Shen reached for the milk bottle.

He checked the seal and smelled the milk after opening it.

“The milk is still good.”

Nia poured part of it into the small clay pot, reserving the rest in the cool basin.

She warmed the milk slowly and added the sunbell petals before the heat rose too far.

The scent changed first.

What had been dry and almost woody in the packet softened once it met the milk. The floral note spread without becoming perfumed, and Nia leaned closer to catch it.

Shen put two fingers against her shoulder and eased her back from the steam.

“You can smell it without leaning over the pot.”

Nia straightened.

Shen reached for the fine straining cloth.

Once the milk had taken enough scent, Nia poured it through the cloth into a clean bowl. The damp petals stayed behind.

She tasted a drop from the spoon. The sunbell was light but clear, leaving the milk itself at the front of the flavor.

She returned the scented milk to the pot.

The soaked watergrain went in next.

Shen watched the milk level against the grain.

“You are starting with less liquid than you used for the savory pot.”

“I can add more if it thickens too quickly. I want it soft and creamy, but I do not want so much milk that the grain stays suspended in it.”

“And the lower heat should help keep the bottom from catching.”

“Yes.”

Nia brought the pot up slowly.

She did not cover it completely. The lid sat slightly offset so steam could escape while the milk remained protected from stray ash.

The first part required little beyond steady attention. Nia stirred around the bottom, waited, stirred again, and watched the grains swell.

Shen cleaned the sunbell cloth before the milk residue could dry into the weave. Afterward, he returned to the preparation board and began sorting dried herbs from a packet that needed two bruised stems removed before storage.

The room stayed quiet around them.

Outside, someone was repairing a roof edge farther down the slope. Every so often a wooden mallet struck twice, paused, then struck again. A woman called up that one of the bindings had twisted. The answer came back too faintly for Nia to make out.

The milk slowly thickened.

Nia dragged the spoon along the bottom of the pot.

Nothing stuck.

She stirred again.

The watergrain had begun to lose the distinct separate texture she had wanted in the savory dish. Here, that was useful. The grains softened farther into the milk, releasing enough starch to give it body without disappearing completely.

Shen came closer after finishing with the herb packet.

He looked into the pot for several seconds.

Nia kept stirring.

“It is smoother than the first sweet,” he said.

“The grain is doing what the coarse meal would not.”

“The milk is reducing more evenly too.”

Nia scraped the spoon around the edge. “Without the egg, I can give the grain the time it needs.”

Shen brought the honey jar closer to her elbow.

Nia waited until the grain was almost fully tender before adding it.

She used only enough honey to round the milk. The sunbell still needed room to show through instead of disappearing beneath sweetness.

After stirring, she tasted from the spoon.

“It needs a pinch of plain salt, not more honey.”

Shen passed her the small salt jar.

Nia added a little, stirred, and tasted again.

The sweetness settled more fully across her tongue without becoming stronger.

She lowered the heat again and continued stirring.

The first dessert had forced her to choose between giving the coarse grain more time and letting the egg tighten further. This pot had no such deadline. The watergrain kept softening while the milk reduced around it, and Nia could wait for both to reach the texture she wanted.

When she drew the spoon through the center, the gap stayed open for a moment before slowly closing.

She lifted a spoonful and let it fall back.

The mixture had become soft and creamy enough to coat the grain instead of separating around it. The grains themselves gave beneath her tongue without turning to paste.

Nia tasted again.

The sunbell reached her after the milk and honey, gentle enough that she noticed it more as warmth and fragrance than as a separate flavor.

Shen had gone completely still beside her.

Nia looked over.

His attention was on the spoon.

“Do you want to taste it?”

“Yes.”

She handed him a clean spoon.

Shen took a small amount from the edge of the pot and waited long enough for the steam to ease before tasting.

He did not speak immediately.

Nia turned the heat off beneath the pot and moved it onto the resting stone.

Shen took another small spoonful.

This time he pressed the grain lightly against his tongue before swallowing.

“There is no hard center left.”

“It softened all the way.”

“The grain still has enough shape that you know it is there.”

“Yes.”

“And the milk coats it instead of sitting around it.”

Nia watched him take another careful taste.

“The flower is stronger after you swallow,” he said.

“Is the sunbell too strong?”

“No.”

He tasted again.

Nia reached for the serving cups.

She divided three small portions between them, leaving several spoonfuls in the bottom of the pot.

Shen carried his cup to the table while Nia set Kael’s place and brought her own portion over.

The dessert thickened slightly as it cooled, enough that the spoon left a shallow path across the surface before the milk settled back.

Nia tasted again.

It was softer than anything she had managed with the mountain grain, and the sunbell gave it the missing aroma she had wanted in the failed version. The honey stayed restrained. There was no tight egg texture to fight and no hard grain scattered through the milk.

Across from her, Shen ate more slowly than his usual careful pace, pausing between spoonfuls as the dessert cooled.

Kael came in before they finished.

He had been on the western side since morning checking drainage after yesterday’s rain. Damp darkened the lower edge of his trousers, and a streak of drying mud crossed one forearm.

He washed before coming to the table.

Nia pushed the third cup toward him.

“I finally fixed the dessert.”

Kael sat and tasted it.

“It is better than the first one.”

“Yes.”

“The grain is softer.”

“That was what I wanted.”

Kael continued eating.

By the time Nia looked across the table again, Shen’s cup was empty.

He stood and carried it toward the washing area.

On the way, he stopped beside the pot.

Several spoonfuls remained at the bottom.

Shen lifted the lid and looked toward Nia.

“May I finish this?”

Nia smiled.

“Yes. You can finish it.”

Shen brought the pot to the table rather than dirtying another cup.

He took another spoonful, giving the cooled dessert the same attention he had given the first taste.

“The texture is better at this temperature too.”

Nia rested her spoon against the edge of her cup. “You like the texture better after it cools?”

“A little. It sits more softly on the tongue.”

“Would you change anything?”

Shen considered the question while eating another bite.

“The sunbell amount is right. More would cover the milk.” He looked into the pot. “I would like to see what happens if the grain is cooked a little slower from the beginning, but I would not change this batch.”

Nia nodded and finished her own dessert.

Kael emptied his cup and stood.

“I need to go back to the western drainage before evening meal.”

“All right.”

He touched Nia’s shoulder as he passed, then left for the upper path.

Shen remained at the table with the pot.

He scraped the last soft grains from the bottom, then gathered the thin coating of sweet milk left along one side with his spoon.

Nia watched him finish it.

When she stood, she took both cups while Shen reached for the empty pot.

They carried the dishes to the washing side together.

Nia rinsed her spoon while Shen washed the pot, running the cloth carefully along the inner curve where the sweet milk had thickened.

When he finished, he dried his hands and looked toward the watergrain shelf.

“Will you make it again the next time milk comes down?”

Nia turned toward him.

“Yes.”

Shen nodded once and reached for the drying cloth.

Nia smiled and handed it to him.

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