Medicinal Cuisine Cures Illness

The entire cooking process had been as smooth as flowing clouds and running water.

The sight left Wei Ming and the other three completely dumbfounded. They had never imagined that Du En's medicinal cuisine had already reached such heights.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Ning Caize's coughing woke them from their daze.

Du En had already picked up the pot of porridge and headed inside, leaving the four of them staring at one another where they stood.

Their hearts itched. They wanted another look, wanted to get closer and see what the stewed Strange Owl looked like now.

However, after looking at one another, they ultimately remained rooted to the spot in silence.

At least they no longer had to worry about Old Ning. Judging from what Boss Du had just done, they could tell that he was steady as a rock!

Inside the house.

Ning Caize had coughed himself awake. It took him quite some time to barely calm down, and he looked even more aged, his face deathly pale. The Spirit-Expelling Soup he had been forced to drink earlier had all been coughed back up just now.

The liquid was now mixed with a muddy, foul stench, and the sight made his expression turn bleak.

"Ugh... I celebrated too soon. I was blindly happy halfway through, and now look at me—I brought this suffering on myself..."

As he berated himself, he saw Du En enter and continued, "I've troubled you again this time. Don't bother wasting your time buying any pills. The illness has already entered my meridians. Even if you force a cure, I'll be useless. Rather than waste spirit stones on me and expose your wealth, you might as well keep them for yourself. Just don't bury me in that patch of ground, and on festivals, give me..."

Listening to his endless rambling, Du En did not answer at all. He walked straight over, pinched his mouth open, and cut him off. Under Ning Caize's stunned gaze, he poured the steaming-hot medicinal porridge down his throat.

"Wait, hot, cough, oh, it's burning..." Ning Caize kept letting out short, clipped sounds.

"You really talk too much. Say less. Your mouth's practically been enlightened."

Du En's attitude remained calm. He merely made sure Ning Caize did not choke, never stopping the flow of porridge.

By the time it was all poured in, Ning Caize's belly was puffed up, and he felt as though his mouth and esophagus had been cooked through.

However, the Cuisine Power of this First-tier Low Grade medicinal porridge was more than sufficient for him.

As soon as it entered his stomach, a fierce, searing heat burst forth and spread through him. It began wrestling with the lingering Watery Yin Cold Evil, quickly overwhelming the opponent that was like Rootless Wood.

"Hiss..."

Ning Caize held up his scalding, swollen belly and kept sucking in hot air. His entire face turned bright red, and sweat poured from his body, mixed with some filth.

Du En silently retreated several steps. After observing his condition, he nodded and concluded, "This should restore you by at least eighty or ninety percent. As for the remaining minor problems, you'll have to grind them away yourself."

With that, he turned to leave.

You're leaving just like that?

Ning Caize froze. Enduring the various sensations of numbness and pain, he called out, "Wait—hic!"

"What is it?"

"Cough! Did you really... manage to make spirit cuisine?"

"Yes."

What was that "yes" supposed to mean?

Looking at Du En's usual calm expression, Ning Caize could only force a stiff, bitter smile. He was deeply astonished.

Although he had vaguely sensed it, now that it had been truly confirmed, he was still bound to be shocked.

That was spirit cuisine!

According to the rumors, only the stewards had the leisure to tinker with it, and only they could figure out anything worthwhile!

It was completely beyond the reach of lowly laborers like them. So couldn't Du En at least show some smugness or some other unusual expression?

Seeing his conflicted and astonished expression, Du En paused before saying blandly, "Perhaps it's because I have good comprehension."

"...That makes sense."

Ning Caize could only squeeze out those three words.

After all, Du En had not hidden anything from them. He had started experimenting with spirit cuisine right under their eyes, and he had produced results in such a short time. That did indeed qualify as having good comprehension.

It also explained why he had later overtaken Ning Caize, whose cultivation had now been surpassed by Du En's, allowing him to help expel some of the cold Evil that had entered his body.

Seeing that Ning Caize had come to terms with it and had no more questions, Du En really did turn and leave.

Back in the courtyard.

The moment he raised his eyes, he was met by four pairs of eyes brimming with curiosity.

The conversation inside had been completely unguarded, so naturally they had heard it too.

"Boss, what grade is this spirit cuisine?"

"Which one are you asking about?"

"Hiss! There's more than one grade!?"

"That's awesome, Chief!"

"Haha, well, Boss Du, could you, cough..."

They fidgeted awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

They knew how precious this thing was, so even with their thick skin, they did not dare say it outright.

Du En did not mind. He nodded and said, "Today is New Year's Eve. I specifically went and caught a fat one. It must weigh over thirty pounds, so let's count it as our New Year's Eve dinner."

He had made preparations long ago.

Everyone cried out in celebration.

However, Du En then said bluntly, "Of course, if you want to eat it in the future, you'll have to do it yourselves. I'll only offer a little guidance from the side. Also, go take a bath first."

That was only reasonable.

However, as they obediently went into action, they still had no idea how difficult this would be. For now, they were simply brimming with excitement and joy.

With free spirit cuisine to eat, wouldn't they be soaring into the heavens in the future?

Life really was becoming more and more promising!

After everyone had lined up and finished bathing, they no longer felt any resistance toward the stewed Strange Owl. Du En portioned it into bowls, and they dug in without hesitation.

They ate with great relish, but each person only had one bowl, roughly half a pound.

Then, clutching their swollen, feverish bellies, they hurried back to their own rooms.

Time to cultivate!

Du En was not surprised by this sight.

For them, a First-tier Mid Grade spirit cuisine could not be eaten in large quantities. It was easy to stuff themselves.

Thus, the remaining nearly twenty pounds of pure meat, along with the soup and medicinal dregs, all ended up in Du En's stomach.

After feasting to his heart's content, the year also came to an end.

With the beginning of a new year, he continued diligently with his Liver Training as usual.

Night passed, and daylight arrived.

On the first day of the new year, the low-level cultivators in the Shack District still had to continue laboring.

Ning Caize was left at home to recuperate. Unlike Du En, who had been able to work the day after his injury, he was still extremely weak, coughing and gasping at the slightest movement.

An old chronic illness combined with fresh lingering damage—this was the result.

However, if he drank more Spirit-Expelling Water and cultivated more, he should be fine after a few days.

As for the corpse-burying work, the number of bodies today had decreased again. There were only a little over thirty, so even with one fewer person, they finished quickly.

After setting down their shovels, the few of them all turned their gazes toward the Strange Owls.

The ones who had originally coveted them were now coveted in return.

These carrion-eating birds had yet to realize how dire the situation was when they saw four people charging at them like wolves and tigers.

Catch the big owls, stew the big owls!

The sand flew, and chaos erupted.

After a good bout of commotion, the four of them each carried an old and weak Strange Owl. Looking at one another's bedraggled appearances, they all smiled knowingly.

"Stop grinning stupidly. We still need to find medicinal herbs."

Du En had somehow already taken advantage of the chaos to catch a suitably large Strange Owl. Now, he reminded them of the task.

The sky had still been fairly bright earlier, but after all that commotion, the sun was already setting.

They hurriedly followed his example, and in the end, everyone returned with a full load.

After that came a stench that filled the heavens and earth.

"Cough, cough, cough... You bunch of idiots, take it easy! Cough, cough, cough..."

"Ugh! The taste is so strange!"

"Hiss! Oh no, that memory I'd almost forgotten has come back!"

"Blegh!"

"Boss, save us!"

As expected, their first attempt ended in failure across the board.

Amid the clamor, Du En merely calmly stewed his own Strange Owl.