Sueños Florales en la Ciudad - Capítulo 31
An old hunter's house.
The house contained some crudely made household utensils, and seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time, with dust and grime everywhere.
Feng Xuese sat cross-legged on a straw mat in the corner of the room and slowly opened her eyes.
The west-facing window was covered by a straw curtain, and the orange-red light filtering through the gaps shone on a dirty figure under the window, who was curled up in a clump of dry grass, dozing off.
It turned out that it was already dusk.
Feng Xuese sized up the filthy person, a slight smile playing on her lips. Suddenly, she raised her sleeve to cover her mouth, coughed lightly, and then her sleeve was stained with dark red blood.
Though the voice was soft, the people in the haystack jumped in alarm: "Damn it! Someone's attacking again!"
Looking around in panic, he saw Feng Xuese looking at him with a smile. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly dropped to a thud. His dirty, dusty face broke into a wide smile, and he scurried over, bowing and scraping with concern: "Great hero, are you alright now?"
Maple Snow Color hummed in agreement.
He possessed profound internal strength. After several hours of internal energy cultivation and treatment, although his injuries were not fully healed, they were no longer a major concern. He had just expelled the stagnant blood from his chest, and now his physical strength and true energy flowed freely without any stagnation. With a few days of recuperation, he would be fully recovered.
Suddenly, I caught a peculiar fragrance, but before I could identify what it was, my stomach rumbled loudly.
Zhu Huihui chuckled.
A slight blush crept onto his fair, maple-colored face as he looked at him somewhat awkwardly: "What's this smell?"
Zhu Huihui beamed, "The meat smells delicious!"
The old man was pretending not to know what it was, but unfortunately his stomach couldn't hold up from the hunger, and he gave himself away!
He chuckled and turned to walk to the door. He dug around in the warm ashes under the stove and pulled out a dark, scalding object. He rolled it on the ground in front of Feng Xuese and said obsequiously, "Great hero, please accept this!" It was supposed to be his own dinner, but considering the old man's injury, he would give it to him first.
Feng Xuese was taken aback, staring at the black ball of matter, and asked, "What is this?"
Zhu Huihui laughed and said, "A roasted pheasant." He squatted down and started peeling the black ball.
Looking down at Fengxuese, the blackened outer layer was a bamboo shoot husk. Peeling it open revealed a fragrant roasted pheasant with its golden-red skin glistening with oil.
"Although there was no salt, I found some sour goji berries, purple catalpa leaves, and lotus seeds outside. I mashed them into juice and smeared it on the chicken. I also stuffed the chicken's cavity with bamboo shoots, pine nuts, and wild bamboo shoots, and roasted it over a low fire for nearly three hours!" Zhu Huihui said with a smile, "Would you please have a meal, hero?"
If you flatter someone now, you might feel a little embarrassed when that old man brandishes a sword at your neck someday.
Feng Xuese's gaze fell on Zhu Huihui's hands, which were covered in gray and black dirt, and she hesitated for a moment: "This chicken looks pretty good..."
But is it edible? Putting aside its black claws, the juice from those strange fruits, leaves, and lotuses—I've never heard of them before. It's hard to say if they're just the common and elegant names for poisonous creatures like "Qianjiang Mushroom" and "Golden Hook Jade Soul"...
"That's right, it tastes even better!" Zhu Huihui said with a beaming smile. "You don't need to be so polite with me, sir!"
Look how generous I am! I've been eating your salted vegetables and rice for days, and I even have a roast chicken!
Maple-colored eyes lingered on his face for a moment before she finally decided to grant him a favor. She got up and walked slowly outside, washed her hands in the mountain spring, and returned. She tore off a chicken leg, sniffed it, and took a small bite. The chicken was tender and juicy, with a slightly sweet and sour taste. A soft and tender aroma lingered on her tongue and quickly filled her mouth.
He couldn't help but praise, "Not bad!" This guy is quite good at cooking!
Zhu Huihui, feeling smug, boasted, "I dare not speak of anything else, but when it comes to cooking, I... cough, I'm an expert! Especially chicken. I've roasted at least eight hundred, if not a thousand. Chickens taste different because of what they eat while alive. Wild chickens usually eat tree seeds and fat insects in the mountains, so their meat has a wild, mountain flavor that's incredibly delicious! It's a pity they're hard to catch. This chicken... I chased it for almost half an hour before it finally died of exhaustion! Ordinary farm chickens are much easier to steal. When no one's around, I sneak up, grab the chicken by the neck, twist its head under its wing, stuff it in a bag, and run away..."
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear, Part Two: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear, Chapter 10 (3)
He spoke animatedly about his signature move, gesturing wildly with his hands and eyes. In his excitement, he momentarily forgot who the old man was and even stood up to give him a live demonstration.
Seeing him becoming increasingly smug, Feng Xuese slowly chewed on the chicken and said calmly, "Very good! You confessed yourself! Eight hundred chickens, that's enough to keep you in jail for three to five years!" I've never seen anyone so stupid! He actually worked himself to death just to hunt a wild pheasant.
Zhu Huihui tightly shut her mouth and squatted back down on the ground.
Feng Xuese's lips curved slightly, then she tore the chicken in half and tossed the other half to Zhu Huihui.
Zhu Huihui happily accepted it, and shamelessly smiled apologetically: "Thank you, hero!" Although the chicken was his own, it seemed that the other person should be the one saying thank you, but he was magnanimous and didn't mind... He squatted down in the corner and started gnawing on the roasted chicken.
Feng Xuese looked at his black hands, and after holding back for a while, she couldn't help but say, "Can't you wash your hands before you eat?"
Zhu Huihui looked at her hands and thought they were unbelievably black, so she casually wiped them on her clothes: "My mother said I don't need to wash them, my hands and feet are clean!"
If your chicken-stealing hands are clean, then there's no one in this world with dirty hands! Feng Xuese took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled: Forget it, even using poison on a snake couldn't kill this guy, maybe it's because he eats with dirty hands every day!
While gnawing on a chicken, Zhu Huihui asked, "Great hero, I have a question that I can't seem to figure out."
"What's the problem?"
"You saved that snake envoy, why don't you ask them who exactly came to kill you?"
Zhu Huihui would rather die than admit that the Twelve Zodiac Envoys came to kill him—however, after his attempt to molest the Snake Envoy and murder him failed, they must be here to kill him! Alas, what bad luck!
Feng Xuese, perhaps feeling indebted to the master, became much more amiable: "The Blood Pavilion takes money and is loyal to its master. Even if you cut off their heads, they won't reveal who their employer is. That's the reputation of an assassin."
Zhu Huihui pondered for a long time, holding her head, unable to understand how there could be such a fool who would rather die than confess. What a load of rubbish! What's a reputation worth anyway? However, clever and opportunistic people like herself are a minority in this world…
Mentioning this, Feng Xuese's face suddenly darkened: "Who told you to kick the Snake Envoy off the bridge?"
His expression turned cold, and Zhu Huihui instinctively felt a chill and shrank back into the corner: "No...nobody..." But nobody stopped her from being kicked off! Besides, she was the one who tried to gouge out her own eyes first!
“You… how could you be so cruel, without a shred of kindness or compassion? If you do such a thing again, I will not forgive you!” Feng Xuese’s voice was extremely stern.
Zhu Huihui didn't dare to talk back and respectfully said, "Yes, hero!" In his heart, he cursed, "He turned his back on me right after I finished eating his food. I should have fed the roast chicken to the dogs instead of giving it to you!"
Feng Xuese stared coldly at Zhu Huihui, then suddenly slapped him on the shoulder, sending him flying.
Zhu Huihui was shocked. He could hear the curses in his mind! Just as he was about to shout, "Great hero, spare my life!" he heard a loud crash, and a huge hole appeared above his head. A giant Ruyi Vajra smashed down, instantly creating a deep crater in the ground.
Zhu Huihui saw the thick, long pestle and his tongue stuck out for a long time. Good heavens! How big must a giant be to be able to use this thing! He had learned his lesson from almost being sat on to death by the pig envoy. As soon as he saw the giant appear, he "whooshed" over a rusty iron pot leaning against the corner of the wall and crawled behind it to protect his chest.