"Eat these."
The woman smiled. "They're freshly made."
"Still steaming hot."
The Young Scholar lowered his eyes.
He felt a little uncomfortable.
Someone from a family like his had only ever had too little to eat. How could he waste food?
This time, he had actually left so much uneaten...
The Young Scholar felt a bit regretful.
If he had come to his senses sooner, he would definitely have finished all of it.
"What are you spacing out for?"
The woodcutter reached out and patted the Young Scholar on the shoulder.
"Weren't you hungry?"
"Why aren't you eating?"
The Young Scholar nodded instinctively.
He would eat.
But after picking up his chopsticks, the Young Scholar paused.
He pressed his lips together.
He had to save this food to lure the Black Monster out...
The Black Monster wouldn't come out unless there was a rabbit to catch.
Without enough food to lure it, it wouldn't appear.
The woodcutter and the woman both looked puzzled.
"Little brother, why aren't you eating?"
"Don't you like it?"
"Then what do you like to eat?"
"Tell your sister-in-law."
"I'll make it for you."
The Young Scholar immediately shook his head.
"No, sister-in-law."
"I like everything you make."
He wasn't picky.
He didn't have the right to be picky, either.
"Then why—"
A flash of inspiration crossed the woman's mind.
Ah!
She'd figured it out!
"Are you saving all this for the Black Monster to eat?"
The woman blurted out.
The woodcutter immediately frowned.
"I want to use it to lure the Black Monster out," the Young Scholar corrected her.
Don't make it sound as if he and that Black Monster were close or anything.
"Huh? Oh."
After a brief moment of surprise, the woman nodded.