Grilled Fish
He Li with a cold snort, then turned and left. Yue Qianchou forced an awkward smile, cupped his hands, and said, "Brother He, farewell."
Only after everyone had disappeared from sight did Yue Qianchou's smile fade. He dejectedly wandered to his assigned field and began replenishing the 'Deficient Flame Mysterious Fruit' with Spirit Stone, one by one.
"When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head!" After some self-consolation, he worked while pondering how to deal with He Li. He had originally planned to sneak away to Hundred Charm Demoness to learn about the Cultivation World after knowing Bi Changchun was gone, but now that the Three Flavored True Fire had appeared, he couldn't bear to leave. He knew that the fire element absorbed from the earth fire was already so powerful; if he could extract something from the Samadhi True Fire, he'd be rolling in money. With Bi Changchun gone, and only this fool left, this was a rare opportunity!
"Hidden Green in the Twilight Valley!" For First Company row, Yue Qianchou kept repeating this phrase to himself. He was in a real hurry! If he didn't act now, it would be difficult to catch Bi Changchun back, and who knew when that old Bi Changchun would return. What was most infuriating was that He Li, that idiot, seemed genuinely angry; he hadn't come over for several days, and he couldn't find him even if he wanted to. He was so anxious!
Frustrated, Yue Qianchou wandered aimlessly around the island, occasionally glancing at He Li's assigned fields, but no one was there. He was probably off learning weapon forging again. Hmm! Forging with Azure Flame. The thought of Azure Flame made Yue Qianchou. Unconsciously, he wandered to the westernmost edge of the island, gazing westward with longing. Alas, the lake stretched as far as the eye could see, and the legendary Twilight Valley lay on the other side. That silly bird was probably messing with my Azure Flame again.
He suppressed the urge to rush over and check it out, because he knew that Bi Changchun couldn't have left such an important place undefended; perhaps previous 'Punishment Envoy' had already made preparations. He knew he couldn't possibly get through on his own; he'd need that silly bird to lead the way.
"Alas!" Yue Qianchou stood by the lake and sighed, looking up at the sky. A group of plump fish were leisurely swishing their tails in the lake, as if they were laughing at the people on the shore. As a result, the people on the shore glanced at them, felt very displeased, and kicked a large rock away. With a "bang", water splashed everywhere, and the fish disappeared without a trace.
"Uh..." Yue Qianchou stared blankly at the lake, then after a moment, a lewd smile appeared on his face. He released his Divine Sense to the bottom of the lake and found the group of frightened fish. He flicked two fingers to form a sword incantation, pointed at the lake surface, and whispered, "Go!"
Whoosh! Fifty flying swords darted into the water like lightning, creating a high spray. When the swords resurfaced, each one bore two plump carp embedded in its blade, entering headfirst and exiting tailsecond. Yue Qianchou leaped into the air, carried by a flying sword, leading the swarm of swords straight towards his dwelling place.
Yue Qianchou dragged over two large trees with a whoosh, then wielded his flying sword and hacked away wildly, quickly gathering a large pile of chopped firewood. He stacked the firewood in a circle, carefully surveyed the surroundings, and then unleashed a burst of flames that instantly turned the damp wood into glowing embers. Next, he cast a sword incantation at the fifty flying swords stuck upside down nearby; the swords darted forward, intersecting in pairs and embedding themselves upside down in the burning embers.
Standing in the center of the circle, Yue Qianchou nodded in satisfaction at the grilled fish surrounding him. Grilling a hundred fish at once was quite an achievement. He glanced at the house he had built not far away and a mischievous smile crept across his face. He thought to himself, "This silly bird may have taken human form, but its nature is hard to change. You can tell from its love of living in a bird's nest. It seems the white crane likes to eat fish. He Li, I hope you don't drool."
He casually summoned the condiment tray that had been prepared in Utopia, took a paintbrush as a brush, and carefully spread the sauce over the grilled fish. The red-hot charcoal fire, paired with the plump carp, caused the fish oil to sizzle as it dripped onto the fire, and as the condiments gradually seeped in, an enticing aroma began to waft out.
Yue Qianchou took a deep breath and sighed self-satisfiedly, "Not bad, not bad, it really smells good." As he spoke, his gaze kept glancing towards the western horizon, and he muttered to himself, "It's this late, the silly bird should be back by now! As long as he comes back, I don't believe I can't seduce you."
Sure enough, not long after, He Li, who hadn't shown himself for several days, appeared in the nearby woods, his nostrils flaring as he hesitated, unsure whether to approach. Yue Qianchou, who had been observing his surroundings closely, naturally spotted him. Seeing He Li's demeanor, he almost burst out laughing, thinking to himself that things were looking promising. He quickly waved and greeted him warmly, "Brother He!"
He Li nodded knowingly and walked over with a smile, though the smile was somewhat awkward, clearly indicating that he hadn't forgotten the falling out a few days ago so quickly. As he approached, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he asked knowingly, "Yue Qianchou, what are you doing?"
"Nothing much, I just saw a lot of fat fish in the lake today, and I couldn't resist catching a few to grill." Yue Qianchou replied casually, his hand busy dipping his brush in sauce. Suddenly, he looked up and asked, "Does it smell good?"
"Delicious! Delicious!" He Li nodded repeatedly, glanced at the pile of birds, and saw that there were actually a hundred of them. He swallowed hard and asked, "Brother Yue, are these roasted for us to eat?"
"Of course, why would I bake it if I didn't eat it?" Yue Qianchou said casually, secretly amused that he had finally started calling him Brother Yue. His brush moved deftly, emitting an even more enticing aroma.
"Brother Yue's cultivation should have already Grain Avoidance, so why would he still need to consume such mundane things?" He Li asked.
"Oh dear! It'll be ready to eat in a little while longer." Yue Qianchou didn't answer him. He put the things in his hands on the ground, straightened up, patted the dust off his palms, and smiled at him, "Brother He, have you ever had grilled fish?"
He Li shook his head and honestly replied, "Before I took human form, I often ate raw food, but after that I rarely ate such mundane things. As for roasted food, I've never eaten it."
"That's such a pity. Life is meaningless without food. So no matter what level my cultivation reaches, I can never do without food." Yue Qianchou chuckled and said, "Brother He, you may not know this, but my Yue Family has a unique skill in the world: roasting food. The taste of the roasted food is unmatched by any other family. Anyone who has tasted it will never forget it."
Pointing to the tray on the ground, he said, "Brother He, do you see this? This is my family's secret recipe. Try the grilled fish later, and you'll see I'm not exaggerating."
These words made the grilled fish even more fragrant. He Li swallowed hard again and nodded, saying, "Since it's Brother Yue's family secret recipe, I must try it." After saying that, his eyes were fixed on the fragrant grilled fish, unable to look away.
"Hehe! I certainly won't let Brother He down." Yue Qianchou was laughing so hard he could hardly close his mouth.
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