Killing Xiong Er

"Roasted Bear Paw??"

Qi Liang's lips twitched slightly. While he had no objection to the words themselves, looking at the dark, clawed appendage made it difficult for him to stomach.

But Zhao Ke didn't care. He was genuinely hungry. After all this commotion, he wasn't made of iron, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger.

"But... isn't there meat on it? I think it tastes pretty good."

Seeing Zhao Ke holding two bloody bear paws, the thought of him eating them made Qi Liang's skin crawl.

He quickly pointed to the large pot on the stove, where chunks of meat were stewing, emitting a rich aroma.

"Ugh!!"

Chen Jing, overhearing Qi Liang, didn't feel any appetite. Instead, her face turned pale, and before she could explain, she rushed to the door and started vomiting again.

Zhao Ke rolled his eyes, unsure if Qi Liang was truly stupid or just naive.

Zhao Ke picked a few pieces of firewood from the woodpile outside, started a fire, and sat alone in the courtyard, preparing the two bear paws in his hands.

Bear paws weren't easy to prepare. If not handled correctly, they could have a fishy, unpleasant odor that made them inedible.

But this was nothing for Zhao Ke.

He skillfully used his knife to remove the tendons and membranes, skin the paws, and debone them. These movements seemed as if he had performed them thousands of times.

"You knew all along?"

At this moment, Chen Jing also came out. The cold wind helped her recover from her nausea. Seeing Zhao Ke sitting by the bonfire, her face turned cold, and she walked up to confront him.

Zhao Ke didn't reply. Instead, he placed the prepared bear paws on the grill to roast.

"I'm talking to you!"

Seeing Zhao Ke's dismissive attitude, Chen Jing became angry. Zhao Ke then placed the bear paws by the bonfire and brushed off imaginary dust from his hands.

Chen Jing saw Zhao Ke put down the bear paws and eagerly awaited his apology. However, Zhao Ke raised his hand.

"Slap!"

A loud smack caught Chen Jing completely off guard. The stinging pain on her face made her mind go completely blank.

"Stupid!"

Zhao Ke stared at Chen Jing and uttered the word coldly. He couldn't help but feel disappointed by her lack of vigilance, especially for a psychologist.

That's right, he had chosen to travel with them, but that didn't mean they were his companions, nor did it mean he had to look after them like a nanny.

On the contrary, Zhao Ke valued their usefulness. If they became a burden or liability, she would be the next female office worker to be left in the bushes.

"You're a psychologist, yet you already agreed with the scar-faced man's words. You should have known this place wasn't some roadside inn.

In the middle of nowhere, with no vegetable gardens or pigpens around, and her cooking such a large pot of meat – even a fool would realize something was wrong. Don't ask me why I didn't warn you. If you don't even value your own life, why blame others? I'm not your father."

From the moment he entered, Zhao Ke had his suspicions, partly due to his strong sense of smell, which detected the masked smell of blood.

But even without his sense of smell, as a chef, Zhao Ke could discern the ingredients, the taste, and what kind of meat was in the bowl at a glance.

"You!"

First, she was slapped inexplicably, and then scolded by Zhao Ke, Chen Jing felt a suffocating pressure in her chest.

But when she looked up and saw the disappointment in Zhao Ke's eyes, Chen Jing's heart suddenly tightened. She quickly realized something, and a chill like ice water poured over her head. Chen Jing shivered involuntarily.

"Ugh!"

At this moment, Qi Liang came scrambling out of the house. He saw the blackened bear paws on the bonfire, their fur scorched, emitting a pungent smell of burning. This made Qi Liang's stomach churn again.

However, the smell of burning was soon replaced by another aroma. Zhao Ke took down the scorched bear paws, found some seasonings in the kitchen, applied them, and continued to roast them over the fire for a while. Golden oil began to drip onto the embers, filling the air with a rich fragrance.

Even though Qi Liang and Chen Jing had no appetite, they couldn't help but stare longingly at the roasted bear paws in Zhao Ke's hands.

"Hoo hoo..."

Zhao Ke blew on them and then tore apart the thick bones and muscles with his hands. He took a bite, and the fatty oil splattered out from the sides.

Perhaps the bear paw was too old, making the meat a bit tough, but for Zhao Ke, who was already starving, it was still delicious.

"Tastes good, just a bit tough."

Zhao Ke nodded. If the meat hadn't been so tough, he believed it would have tasted even better.

Watching Zhao Ke eat with gusto, Qi Liang and Chen Jing could only stare. They had vomited up almost everything they had eaten earlier, and their stomachs were rebelling.

But if they were truly asked to eat it, they wouldn't be able to. Forget about the meat they had eaten before; even without that, just seeing the entire process would have been unbearable. It would be a miracle if they could eat anything at this point.

"Freak!"

Seeing Zhao Ke devour both bear paws in a flash, Chen Jing couldn't help but make a psychological assessment. Her conclusion was that the man in front of her was either an idiot or a freak, though she leaned towards the latter.

"Damn it, how do we get out of this place? Didn't that scar-faced guy say we could leave once we found the key?"

Qi Liang sat on the ground, scratching his messy hair. They had been struggling since morning until night, and still hadn't found the so-called mission. He was getting frantic.

"I'll go take a look."

Chen Jing was also losing patience. She stood up, forcing herself to ignore the nauseating smell of meat, and walked into the room. As soon as she entered, she instinctively looked down at the old woman's corpse. The sight made Chen Jing's heart clench.

"Ah!"

Hearing Chen Jing's scream, Qi Liang was stunned for a moment, then immediately got up and rushed inside. However, his speed was clearly a step too slow. Before he could even get up, Zhao Ke had already rushed into the room.

Zhao Ke, holding a shiny fruit knife in one hand, strode into the room. He saw Chen Jing standing there, pointing at the old woman's corpse on the ground.

"As soon as I came in... I saw those words written in blood on the ground."

Following Chen Jing's finger, Zhao Ke's face stiffened. In front of the old woman's corpse, a line of blood text had appeared at some point.

[Task: Kill Xiong Er!]

[Task Hint: Xiong Er is like his mother, but Xiong Er, in his prime, is even stronger than his mother. Kill him, or... be killed by him.]

It was unclear when this text had appeared, but it was certain that this was the task they were looking for.

"Xiong Er? Who is Xiong Er?"

Qi Liang walked in at this moment and asked in confusion upon seeing the line of text on the ground.

"He's her son. Don't you remember? She mentioned before that she had another son. The task is most likely referring to him," Zhao Ke reminded him.

"But... we have to kill again?"

Upon hearing that they had to kill again, Chen Jing and Qi Liang looked uncomfortable. They wouldn't dare kill a cat or dog normally, let alone a person. Qi Liang had only resorted to hitting the old woman with a stool out of desperation. Now, being told to kill someone, they felt extremely uneasy.

"They aren't human! Have you ever seen someone who can turn into a bear? They're more like monsters."

Although the old woman was far from the powerful, rain-summoning monsters he'd imagined, he was certain she wasn't human.

Zhao Ke then pointed to Li Hongbing in the pickle jar nearby and said, "If you don't want to end up like him, it's best not to harbor any illusions.

"We understand the logic, but what do we do? Don't forget, this old hag almost killed us just now. If her son comes, will the three of us be enough?"

Qi Liang said worriedly. His previous fierce blow, which had shattered the stool, had only made the old woman falter. If her son came, the three of them probably wouldn't even be enough to fill his teeth.

Zhao Ke glanced at the large teapot on the table. He walked over, picked up the teapot, and sniffed it carefully. Then he looked at the old woman's corpse, his eyes lighting up. "Then let's take a gamble."

"Gamble?"

Qi Liang stepped forward, looking confused and wanting Zhao Ke to explain more clearly. He reached out to pat Zhao Ke's shoulder and said, "Explain yourself, how... cough!"

Before he could finish speaking, Qi Liang's eyes widened. He saw the shiny fruit knife in Zhao Ke's hand plunged into his own thigh.