Hua Jiu'er's Happy Times

The stone chamber behind the waterfall.

Hua Qiang and Hua Jiu'er are doing something bad.

The two sat facing each other, with a "small mountain" of tender, cubed meat piled up in front of them.

The red meat is tender, with an enticing sheen between its marbling lines, and the fat glistens slightly in the sunlight.

Beside it, neatly stacked, sharpened bamboo skewers resembled soldiers waiting to go into battle.

With a smile in his eyes, Hua Qiang picked up a bamboo skewer and began to teach Hua Jiu'er how to skewer meat.

"Jiu'er, like this, carefully skewer the piece of meat into the skewer, being careful not to prick your hand."

His technique was skillful; the bamboo skewers moved nimbly between the pieces of meat, and in the blink of an eye, he had skewered a whole bunch and set them aside.

Hua Jiu'er learned quite well, though she was a little clumsy at first, but soon she got the hang of it.

The meat skewers were plump and firm, and although not as succulent as those from Hua Qiang, they were still quite neat.

He leaned closer to the specially made barbecue grill—a treasure he had brought up from the Lower Realm, carrying countless memories of his past barbecues.

With a flick of the fingertip, a cluster of blazing charcoal embers rises and falls steadily into the rack, sparks flying everywhere, like Mars stars in the dark night.

The charcoal fire crackled and popped, casting a red glow on their faces.

Hua Qiang arranged the meat skewers one by one on the grill.

The flames greedily licked the meat skewers, the oil sizzling as it heated up, instantly turning into glistening beads that slowly slid down the meat's texture.

A drop of hot coals is added, creating even thicker smoke and releasing a fragrant aroma.

The fragrance was domineering yet alluring, initially like a light veil brushing against the face, delicate and subtle, but in the blink of an eye, it surged and dominated the entire nasal cavity.

Hua Jiu'er was still focused on skewering the meat, but at this moment she was captivated by the aroma of the meat, and her skewering movements became more and more impatient.

Bamboo skewers danced in his hand, while saliva dripped uncontrollably from his mouth.

At this moment, they didn't care about their refined image. While skewering the meat, they drooled and stared intently at the meat skewers, full of longing.

Seeing the meat skewers turn an enticing brown color, Hua Qiang quickly pulled out a few skewers, picked up a brush, and dipped them in the carefully prepared sauce—the sauce was thick, bright in color, and had a rich aroma that went straight to the heart.

Lightly dab and sweep the skewer with the sauce to coat it evenly, making the skewers look even more tempting.

He handed two skewers to Hua Jiu'er and said with a smile, "Try them and see how they taste."

Hua Jiu'er couldn't wait any longer. She took it with both hands as if snatching a treasure, blew on it a few times haphazardly, and then couldn't wait to put it in her mouth.

The moment it entered her mouth, the scalding temperature made her groan and her tongue go numb, but she couldn't bear to spit it out. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed with all her might, her face full of stubbornness.

After swallowing the minced meat, she exhaled a large breath of hot air, her eyes reddening, and exclaimed, "Wow! It's burning me, but I have to eat it, I have to eat it!"

"Eldest Brother, I've never tasted such delicious meat before! How did you come up with this method? I've never even heard of it!"

Seeing her wolfing down her food with a happy and satisfied expression, Hua Qiang felt a great sense of accomplishment and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"This was created by my Eldest Brother!"

"Really? Eldest Brother, you're amazing! I want more!" Hua Jiu'er's eyes lit up as she began to whine.

"Alright, all you can eat today, eat your fill!" Hua Qiang waved his hand, showing his generosity.

"Oh, oh, oh, my Eldest Brother is so good to Jiu'er!"

Hua Jiu'er was enjoying her meal and didn't forget to pass the skewers to Hua Qiang's mouth.

"Eldest Brother, you should eat too."

Hua Qiang took a bite, and the aroma of the meat exploded between his teeth.

He kept working non-stop, flipping the skewers and brushing on the sauce, but because Hua Jiu'er was eating so quickly, he couldn't keep up with the skewers.

"Eat slowly, don't choke. Nobody's going to take it from you." Hua Qiang scolded playfully, but his eyes were full of doting affection.

Hua Jiu'er responded vaguely, her mouth never stopping, completely oblivious to the sauce smeared all over her face and the oil stains splashed on her skirt, utterly immersed in the world of food.

Hua Qiang shook his head helplessly, his hands moving quickly as the meat skewers sizzled and rolled on the grill, their aroma filling the mountains and lingering with the two men's laughter.

As the sunlight slanted downwards, the afterglow gilded the mountains with gold.

The charcoal fire gradually died down, leaving only a few scattered embers.

Hua Jiu'er slumped to the side, rubbing her round belly, letting out a satisfied burp.

"Eldest Brother, Jiu'er is so lucky. Will she ever be able to eat such delicious meat skewers again?"

Hua Qiang put away the barbecue grill and rubbed her head. "Of course, whenever you want to eat, your Eldest Brother will grill it for you anytime."

Hua Jiu'er grinned happily, her eyes sparkling, as if she was already looking forward to the next delicious feast.

As dusk settled, the afterglow, like torn shimmering gold gauze, scattered sparsely across the sect's bluestone path.

Hua Qiang straightened up, patted the dust off his backside, took Hua Jiu'er's hand, and strode out of the waterfall curtain.

Water droplets splashed, resembling tiny diamonds scattered in the setting sun, disappearing in an instant.

The two strolled leisurely away from their lodging, accompanying each other in silence, the only sound being the rhythmic clatter of their footsteps.

Stepping into the sect square, the place was like a pot of boiling porridge, with shouts of practitioners and chatter of idle people all mixed together.

Someone with sharp eyes spotted Hua Qiang and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Junior Brother!"

In an instant, as if a huge boulder had been thrown down, the crowd surged forward, completely surrounding Hua Qiang.

"Junior brother, where did you go today? Someone's looking for you!" The one who spoke was a lean young man with a strange glint in his eyes.

Hua Qiang raised an eyebrow, full of doubt.

He had only been in the sect for a few days and had no contact with others except for the Saintess Huo Qingtong, his wife. Who did he know?

"Is someone else looking for me?"

He scratched his head and asked, "Who is it? What do they want?"

The young man smirked, revealing a hint of schadenfreude. "Junior brother, you've probably offended someone."

Seeing Hua Qiang's unfriendly gaze, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Alright, just say it. Inner Sect member Du Tianming is looking for you!"

"Du Tianming?"

Hua Qiang was speechless. He hadn't even gotten to know the outer sect yet, how did he get mixed up with the inner sect?

What does he want from me?

The people around him whispered among themselves, their eyes seemingly glued to Hua Qiang, a mix of pity, mockery, and amusement all surfacing at once.

Someone couldn't help but sneer, "I challenge you to a duel!"

"A duel?" Hua Qiang raised his voice, his face full of disbelief.

"Is he overeating or has he gone mad? I don't even know him, what kind of fight is this!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, and someone sarcastically remarked, "Oh, you stole someone's woman, do you think he'll let you off the hook?"

Hua Qiang frowned, his anger rising suddenly, and just as he was about to lash out, a Gale howled past.

Du Tianming appeared as if by ghost, landing with a cloud of dust in his wake.

He was tall and strong, exuding a strong aura of ferocity, and his eyes were fixed on Hua Qiang like those of a hungry wolf.

He coldly said, "So you're Hua Qiang? I challenge you to a life-or-death challenge!"

In an instant, the square fell silent. Everyone held their breath and turned their gazes to Hua Qiang, as if waiting for a good show to begin.

Hua Qiang looked at Du Tianming and suddenly grinned. "You're really courting death!"