Rong'er's Cooking Proves Its Worth Again!

It was another fine, sunny morning.

Lu Chen and Huang Rong continued their hunt for Bosiqu Snakes.

A spiritual creature like the Bosiqu Snake naturally could not be found all over the mountains and valleys.

The two had caught over a dozen strange snakes in ten days. It had become difficult to find any trace of Bosiqu Snakes in the valley near the wooden hut. They had no idea whether they had caught them all or driven them away, so they could only search the deep mountains they had not yet explored.

Huang Rong carried a bamboo pole over three meters long, using it from time to time to poke through bushes and grass in an attempt to startle snakes out. Lu Chen stood guard at her side with his sword in hand, wary of surprise attacks from the strange snakes.

Unfortunately, their luck was truly poor today. They crossed two mountain peaks and passed through a valley, yet had found nothing by noon.

After midday, the two rested briefly in the shade by a mountain stream, chewing flatbreads with clear spring water.

"Could it be that we've caught all the Bosiqu Snakes?"

Huang Rong took small bites of her egg flatbread, sounding somewhat discouraged.

"Probably not."

Lu Chen did not believe there were so few Bosiqu Snakes.

The Divine Eagle had lived for who knew how many years and fed on snakes. Even by the time Yang Guo lost his arm, it could still feed him strange snake gallbladders every day. This showed that while these strange snakes might not be abundant, they could never be so scarce.

The Divine Eagle might even understand sustainable development, hunting the strange snakes according to a plan and leaving them enough time to reproduce.

So catching a mere dozen or so strange snakes would never drive them to extinction.

After chatting for a few more sentences, Lu Chen's ear suddenly twitched slightly. He had heard something.

He quickly stopped eating, gathered his breath and focused his mind, listening carefully. Faintly, he seemed to hear a chorus of chaotic hissing.

The sound was somewhat familiar. It seemed to be the cries of Bosiqu Snakes.

Delighted, Lu Chen said to Huang Rong, "I hear movement from the strange snakes! There seem to be quite a few of them!"

"Really?"

Huang Rong stopped eating as well and listened carefully for a moment. Her eyes lit up. "There really are many strange snakes hissing. Let's go take a look."

She put away the flatbreads, grabbed her bamboo pole, and jogged toward the source of the sounds.

Lu Chen hurriedly gulped down the rest of the flatbread in his hand in several huge bites, then chased after Huang Rong with his sword.

The two moved swiftly side by side. After rounding a cliff wall at the bottom of the ravine, they saw a depression ahead. Looking into it, their scalps immediately prickled, and they were both startled and delighted.

At the deepest point of the depression, densely packed Bosiqu Snakes were entwined with one another, forming a massive ball of snakes. Strange snakes burrowed in and out of the writhing mass, hissing without pause. At a glance, it was impossible to tell how many there were.

"So many? There must be at least one or two hundred!"

Huang Rong clicked her tongue in amazement. "How are we supposed to catch them?"

Bosiqu Snakes moved like the wind, possessed tremendous strength, and were fiercely venomous. Catching a few scattered strange snakes took little effort, but if one or two hundred of them attacked together, even with Lu Chen's current cultivation and swordsmanship, he would be unable to withstand them.

As Lu Chen looked at the snake ball that made goosebumps rise all over his body, he thought, "Have we come across the Bosiqu Snakes' breeding season?"

Just as he was pondering this, Huang Rong said quietly, "How about we toss small stones over from far away first, and see if we can lure one or two out? If we alarm too many at once, we'll run for it immediately."

Just as Lu Chen was about to speak, a low, imposing cry suddenly rang out.

The two followed the sound and saw a tall black shadow charging toward them from the opposite side.

The shadow was as swift as a galloping horse. Wind howled as it ran, while sand and stones flew around it and dust billowed everywhere, making it look utterly unstoppable.

Huang Rong was initially a little startled, but when she saw through the swirling dust and made out the tall black shadow's appearance, her eyes went wide and her little mouth fell open, leaving her looking adorably blank.

For it was clearly a giant eagle with thick, powerful legs, sparse feathers, a large blood-red fleshy crest atop its head, short wings, and a plump, well-fed body.

It raced along on two massive talons, its short wings flapping furiously and whipping up gusts of wind, creating the spectacle of flying sand and rolling stones. As it ran, it let out cries full of menace, its sharp eyes glaring at Lu Chen and Huang Rong in warning.

Seeing that the newcomer was actually a giant eagle, Huang Rong could not help exclaiming, "It's a huge bird! It's so fat and ugly—and it can't even fly!"

At Huang Rong's words, the giant eagle that had been charging over so aggressively staggered, nearly losing its composure on the spot. Its once-majestic cry turned somewhat exasperated. It pointed a short wing at Huang Rong and squawked several times, its gaze seeming rather angry.

"Eh? Did it understand what I said?"

Huang Rong blinked, her face full of astonishment.

Lu Chen stroked his chin. "Mm... it probably can understand. Rong'er, you called it fat and ugly. It got angry."

"Then it rushed over so fiercely... could it be trying to stop us from catching snakes?"

"Mm. It should be warning us not to disturb the Bosiqu Snakes while they reproduce."

The giant eagle had heard their entire conversation. Hearing Lu Chen's words, it nodded in satisfaction, pointed one short wing at the ball of snakes, then pointed at Lu Chen and Huang Rong, gesturing a few times.

Huang Rong now understood the giant condor's "gestures" as well. It really did seem to be saying they must not touch those strange snakes.

"Wow, this big bird is really intelligent!"

Huang Rong exclaimed.

Lu Chen smiled at the Divine Condor and said:

"Don't worry, Condor Brother. We won't disturb these strange snakes' breeding."

The giant condor cawed twice, then strode over to the edge of the hollow. It suddenly bent down, shot out its iron beak, and plucked up a strange snake that had failed to squeeze into the snake ball and been pushed to its edge. With one peck, it smashed the snake's vital point, then flicked its head and tossed the snake before Lu Chen.

Afterward, it nodded at Lu Chen, shook its head at Huang Rong, and flapped its wings twice in a gesturing motion.

That gesture was somewhat hard to decipher, but both Lu Chen and Huang Rong could guess its meaning. It was probably saying that Lu Chen was sensible, while Huang Rong was not.

After all, Rong'er had called it fat and ugly.

Huang Rong had always been sweet-tongued toward capable "seniors." She immediately changed her tune and said with utmost seriousness:

"I was mistaken just now. This big bird isn't fat and ugly at all. Its appearance is ancient and extraordinary, its bearing majestic and imposing—it truly has the air of an ancient divine beast."

At those words, the Divine Condor immediately puffed out its chest and belly, putting on a stern and imposing air. Its eyes rolled toward Huang Rong, as though urging her to hurry up and praise it some more.

Huang Rong promptly showered it with further praise, tossing out pleasant words as if they cost nothing. The Divine Condor listened until its gaze grew dreamy. It cawed a few times, then pecked out two more strange snakes that could not squeeze into the snake ball and tossed them before Huang Rong and Lu Chen.

Huang Rong thanked it repeatedly, then giggled and said:

"Since Condor Brother likes eating snakes, would you like to try some roasted snake meat?"

Hearing that, Lu Chen thought that birds' taste buds differed from humans'. No matter how good Rong'er's cooking was, the Divine Condor probably would not be able to taste it, right?

He had expected the Divine Condor to refuse, but to his surprise, it nodded vigorously, a distinctly human-like gleam of anticipation appearing in its eyes.

Lu Chen was briefly stunned. Could it be that, when it followed Dugu Qiubai, it had tasted cooked food before? But after Dugu Qiubai passed away, it could only eat raw flesh and drink blood—and now it missed the taste of cooked food?

As he pondered this, Huang Rong gently tugged his sleeve and smiled.

"Come on. Let's make roasted snake for Condor Brother."

As she spoke, she winked at him.

Lu Chen understood. Rong'er wanted to befriend the Divine Condor. In the future, catching snakes might take no effort at all.

He immediately picked up the three Bosiqu Snakes and left the hollow with Huang Rong. Reaching a mountain-stream creek, they beheaded and skinned the snakes, cut them open, and removed their gallbladders.

After washing the snake gallbladders and storing them in a bamboo tube, Lu Chen gathered firewood, built a pile, and lit it with a tinderbox. Huang Rong cleaned the snake meat, skewered each whole snake on a bamboo pole, and began making roasted whole snake.

After placing the three Bosiqu Snakes—beheaded, tailless, and white-fleshed—over the fire, Huang Rong took out the seasonings she carried for outdoor cooking. As she deftly turned the bamboo poles, she evenly sprinkled on all kinds of spices.

Before long, an enticing fragrance wafted from the grill. The Divine Condor came close, staring brightly at the roasting snakes, a faint thread of glistening saliva even trickling from the corner of its beak. It looked utterly ravenous.

When the snake meat was half-cooked, the Divine Condor impatiently cried twice and pointed a short wing at the grill, indicating that the heat was just right.

Huang Rong followed its wishes and removed one bamboo pole, offering it before the Divine Condor.

The Divine Condor seized the snake meat in its beak, shook its head with a swift pull, and stripped the entire roasted snake from the bamboo pole. Yet instead of swallowing it whole, it laid it atop a rock and pecked at it bite by bite, savoring it slowly, its eyes filled with bliss.

Lu Chen was greatly astonished at the sight. Could the Divine Condor really taste the flavor?

On second thought, the Divine Condor was an exotic creature. Perhaps its sense of taste truly possessed some unusual magic.

The Divine Condor savored its food slowly, and before it knew it, it had eaten all three roasted snakes, though it still looked unsatisfied.

However, after turning to glance at the snake ball in the hollow, it restrained its appetite. Tilting its head, it thought for a while, then raised a wing to point at the grill, then at the snake ball, and then at the sun overhead, making several "gestures."

Lu Chen and Huang Rong understood. The Divine Condor was probably telling them to return here tomorrow and roast snakes for it again.

As for payment, naturally, it would be snake gallbladders.

Although Lu Chen and Huang Rong could catch snakes themselves, it took considerable time. During the previous ten days, on unlucky days, they had caught only one snake; even on lucky days, they had managed merely two or three.

If they cooperated with the Divine Condor, not only could they reliably obtain snake gallbladders every day, they could also save a great deal of time for cultivation. More importantly, once they became familiar with Condor Brother, it might even take them to the Dugu Sword Tomb.

Neither Lu Chen nor Huang Rong would refuse such a good arrangement. They immediately nodded readily and reached an agreement with the Divine Condor.

After that, the two came punctually to this mountain stream every day to make roasted whole snake for the Divine Condor.

The Divine Condor's efficiency at catching snakes truly far surpassed theirs.

Even after the snake ball dispersed two days later and the snakes vanished throughout the mountains, the Divine Condor still brought them three Bosiqu Snakes every day.

With a steady supply of snake gallbladders and much more time to cultivate, Lu Chen's true qi steadily deepened, while his swordsmanship improved by the day.

Another ten days passed without notice.

On this day.

After finishing its barbecue, the Divine Condor cooed at the two of them and turned to leave. After taking a few steps, it looked back and cooed again, flapping its wings in a gesture that said, "Follow me."

Lu Chen smiled, knowing that the Divine Condor was taking them to the sword tomb. He immediately took Rong'er's little hand and hurried after the Divine Condor.

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