Bear Meat

"Sss..."

Pushing aside the grass in front of him, a small path leading down the mountain appeared before Zhao Ke. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and vaguely saw what looked like a village or town below.

Looking at the sky, he estimated he should be able to reach the town before nightfall.

He wasn't in a hurry to return to reality. He had ten days left anyway. Rather than going back in a daze, he might as well go down the mountain and see what kind of world this was.

As for the extended mission to protect Zhou Shun down the mountain, it had already been marked as failed when he killed Zhou Shun.

But Zhao Ke didn't care. Compared to having a liability who could cause trouble at any moment, he preferred being alone and free.

He reached out and grabbed, and a water bottle appeared in Zhao Ke's hand.

"Slurp."

Warm tea flowed from the spout. This tea was made from broken leaves he found at Xiong Er's place. It didn't taste great, but it was very thirst-quenching.

"Transform!"

Zhao Ke's mind moved, and the water bottle in his hand immediately turned back into a stamp and returned to the post album.

Although he had been studying it the whole way, Zhao Ke couldn't help but show a hint of joy. The more he studied it, the more interesting he found it.

After an item was transformed into a stamp, everything seemed to freeze in time. Both the temperature and the taste remained as they were at the moment of transformation, and would not change no matter how long passed.

For a chef, this was simply a divine artifact. No matter where he went, he would have all his cooking utensils, and it was like carrying a vacuum-sealed freezer with him.

Moreover, unless he allowed it, no one else could see what was inside his post album. And for him, there was an even more important ability: destroying evidence!

However, the post album didn't seem to be omnipotent. When he tried to transform a large boulder, four meters high, into a stamp, he received a prompt stating that his permission was insufficient.

When he was going down the mountain, he encountered a snake and tried to put it in, but he still received the "permission insufficient" prompt. In the end, he could only turn the snake into a corpse before putting it into the post album.

Clearly, in some aspects, he couldn't transform everything into stamps. This made Zhao Ke a little unhappy, but fortunately, most of the items he wanted to transform were not a problem.

For example, the corpses of Xiong Er and the old woman. Although the old woman's corpse was just a pile of bones, it was still good material for soup. As for Xiong Er, he was a rare, high-quality ingredient.

He had previously regretted only being able to take two bear paws. But now... the entire bear corpse was stuffed into the post album.

After eating some roasted bear meat, Zhao Ke continued on his way. As it was getting dark, he finally arrived at the town at the foot of the mountain.

It was called a town, but in Zhao Ke's eyes, it was more like a village. Grass huts and wooden houses were everywhere, and various strange smells permeated the streets.

There were pigsties, sheep dung, and... the rotten, sour smell. The moment he stepped into the town, Zhao Ke was almost choked by the smell and had to stuff cloth into his nostrils.

Looking at the attire of the pedestrians on the street, they were like commoners in historical dramas, wearing clothes and shoes made of coarse cloth, which made Zhao Ke wonder if he had transmigrated.

As Zhou Shun had said, this year was a year of disaster. Zhao Ke saw many people huddled in corners along the way, emaciated from hunger.

When Zhao Ke passed a small alley, he could sense some unfriendly eyes sizing him up, as if they were not very welcoming to him, a stranger in strange attire.

"Sir! Please, have mercy, spare a bite of food."

A beggar with disheveled hair, whose face couldn't be seen clearly, lunged at Zhao Ke as he walked by.

Zhao Ke frowned. Before the beggar could get close, he shifted his body, raised his leg, and kicked the beggar. The kick sent the beggar flying.

This kick didn't use much force, but with the enhancement of the special stamp, the Bear Coat, the force was certainly not light.

With a "bang!", the beggar's body hit the wall beside him. He twitched a few times and then fainted. The kick didn't hit a vital spot, but given the beggar's physique, he probably wouldn't live for many more days.

Seeing this, the other beggars' faces changed. Their legs, which had already stood up, immediately and obediently squatted back down. They all lowered their heads, not daring to look at the unconscious beggar.

Zhao Ke saw the expressions of the beggars around him and sneered coldly.

He walked to the unconscious beggar, covered his nose with his hand, and used his toe to flick open the beggar's hand. He saw that under the tattered long sleeves, a triangular iron spike was hidden.

There is a saying that pitiful people have hateful aspects.

He was not a soft-hearted person like Qi Liang. If they had really pestered him, he would have been the one lying on the ground the next second.

After glancing at these beggars, Zhao Ke walked forward. After Zhao Ke left the alley, the beggars around exchanged glances and slowly stood up, gathering around the unconscious beggar on the ground.

A sinister look gradually appeared on their stained faces. After exchanging glances, they silently took out cleavers from their waists.

Although the town was desolate and the environment was mediocre, it was still a town after all. Zhao Ke found a relatively clean inn. After throwing a piece of silver, he was arranged to stay in the best room.

After all, travel was inconvenient during this era. Most of the guests in the inn were laborers, staying in the chicken feather bunks in the backyard (also called dormitories, but covered with chicken feathers) for one cent a day. Zhao Ke's piece of silver was worth at least half a month's revenue.

The accommodation was not bad, but the taste of the food... Zhao Ke really couldn't compliment it. Coupled with the exorbitant price, Zhao Ke was astonished. He estimated that the broken silver he found at Xiong Er's place wouldn't last two days if he ate three meals a day here.

Fortunately, he wasn't short of ingredients. He discussed with the innkeeper about cooking himself, and the innkeeper readily agreed. After staying for two or three days, he had explored almost the entire town and found nothing special. However, every time the innkeeper saw Zhao Ke, his face bloomed like a flower, wishing Zhao Ke could stay for a few more days.

It was because the food Zhao Ke cooked was too fragrant. There were no range hoods in this era. Zhao Ke cooked in the kitchen, and the entire street behind could smell the rich aroma, making passersby drool.

However, Zhao Ke was not the inn's chef. The innkeeper could only bring a pot of good wine each time and try to get close to him. Over time, the two became familiar.

"Little brother, you've been here for a few days. If you're bored, you can go to Zhuangyuan Tower on the north slope to have some fun. That place... hehe."

Seeing Zhao Ke come down from upstairs, the innkeeper greeted him enthusiastically. He had seen Zhao Ke was bored these past few days, so he suggested it to him.

"Zhuangyuan Tower??" Zhao Ke was stunned.

Then the innkeeper grinned, revealing a knowing look that men understood, and whispered slyly, "There are many fun things there. If you don't go, you'll regret it."

"Brothel?"

Seeing the innkeeper's expression, Zhao Ke understood, and his eyes lit up.

He wasn't interested in the brothel itself, nor the services it offered.

There were plenty of services available in reality, and this was nothing special.

But what were brothels like in this era? According to books, they were divided into different classes.

As he was contemplating this, Several figures entered from outside the door.

"Hey! Bring us whatever food you have quickly, and a pot of wine!"

A group of people walked in from outside. Judging by their appearance, they were all street thugs with no proper jobs. They must have gotten some money from somewhere and came to this establishment to eat.

Zhao Ke didn't pay them much attention at first and was about to get up and check out Zhuangyuan Tower, as the shopkeeper had mentioned. However, after only a couple of steps, He suddenly stopped, lifted his nose slightly, and caught a very familiar scent. It made Zhao Ke's eyebrows twitch, and his gaze shifted back to the thugs.

Glancing around, he saw that among the thugs, a young man who looked to be in his early thirties was sitting in the center. He had a rather refined appearance, but his eyes exuded a sinister aura through and through.

Most importantly, this person carried a faint, fishy stench, identical to the scent on Xiong Er and the old woman.

Zhao Ke sat down calmly to the side, listening as the other man lowered his voice and spoke quietly to a few thugs: "My information is absolutely correct. That family lives on the mountain to the east. There are only two of them, an old one and a young one. Their ancestors were officials, and they made a fortune. I heard they've hidden a lot of valuable treasures..."

The thugs' eyes widened as they listened, looking at each other, their minds racing.

"Then..." one of them began, wanting to ask for more details. The young man raised his hand, signaling that there were too many people around and it wasn't convenient to say more.

Seeing this, the thugs nodded in agreement and quickly urged the waiter to serve the dishes.

"It really is you!"

Zhao Ke, with his back to them, understood the young man's identity after hearing his words. Just as he had suspected, someone was deliberately spreading rumors to lure people up the mountain to their deaths.

Combined with the familiar scent on the man, Zhao Ke had already determined his identity. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he stood up, heading straight for the kitchen in the back.

"Hurry up! Why is the food taking so long?"

After a while, when the dishes still hadn't arrived, the thugs at the table couldn't help but urge them on. Soon, however, they smelled a very special aroma. They couldn't quite identify the meat, but the smell was distinctive. Not only the thugs, but even the shopkeeper couldn't help but swallow and crane his neck to look towards the kitchen.

"Coming!"

As the kitchen door opened, Zhao Ke emerged carrying a pot of stewed meat soup and placed it in front of the thugs. The soup in the pot was golden yellow, the meat chunks were bright red and translucent, and it was sprinkled with chopped scallions.

Not only the thugs, but even the shopkeeper followed behind, drooling.

"This smells amazing."

Seeing this, the thugs didn't stand on ceremony. They picked up their bowls and chopsticks and began to eat heartily. The meat melted in their mouths, soft as fermented tofu when held in the mouth. With a bite, the thick marrow squeezed out from between the bones, making them wish they could swallow the bones too.

The men ate until their faces were greasy, even fighting over the soup. In the blink of an eye, the entire pot of meat was gone.

"Waiter, what kind of meat is this? It's so fragrant! Do you have any more? Bring another pot."

Someone smacked their lips, feeling unsatisfied, and called out to the waiter to inquire.

"This..."

The waiter's expression became troubled. He shook his head and said, "Gentlemen, this dish wasn't made by our cook. It was made by a guest staying here. That guest said that he passed by the east mountain a few days ago and saw a house. He didn't know who killed two bears inside, but he thought the meat was a waste, so he cut some off and brought it down. This is bear meat. We don't have any..."

"CRASH!"

As the waiter finished speaking, the young man sitting at the table suddenly turned pale. His eyes were fixed on the pile of bones on the table, his lips turning purple. He shot up from his seat and screamed, "Mother! Brother!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Alas, time spares no one. Ever since I got married, my body has been weaker day by day. Now I can't even cultivate immortality, so I can only wake up early in the morning to write, reminiscing about the days when I could cultivate all night.