Xenomorph Egg

Xenomorph Egg

The tavern was not very large. After Fate went in, he took it all in with a few glances. There were only six tables inside. Unexpectedly, fine white flannel had actually been laid over the wooden tables, and the clear, gleaming tableware was arranged neat and tidy. Compared to the dining table he had once seen in Baron Hank's home, it was not much worse.

The fat woman from earlier had run off somewhere, and at that moment, there was not a single person in the empty tavern.

"Wait a moment." Without even turning his head, the youth tossed Fate a sentence and walked straight toward the west corner of the tavern. A large pot sat there, and beneath it, rosin wood burned vigorously, crackling as it burst out waves of oily fragrance. The pot was bubbling away. The youth walked to the pot and lifted the lid, and at once, a strange, wonderful aroma spread out.

Smelling that wonderful aroma, Fate's mouth watered. Pretending to be concerned, he hurried over and cried, "Careful, don't burn yourself."

Only when he ran up to the pot did Fate see the thick soup inside rolling merrily, unknown plants churning up and down. As the youth stirred it with the long-handled wooden ladle in his hand, a huge bone came into Fate's view.

"This is the leg bone of a level-four Magic Beast, an Arrow-Quill Porcupine, right?" Fate's eyes shone green as he swallowed his saliva with all his might. His nose flared slightly as he said in wonder, "The meat of an Arrow-Quill Porcupine is coarse and sour. How can it smell this good?"

The youth turned back and smiled at him, but did not speak. He grabbed the strange powders from several bowls beside him and tossed them into the pot. In an instant, the fragrance grew even richer.

"Xiaoshan, hurry up. Guests will be coming in soon." The fat woman appeared from who knew where and walked over to the pot as she spoke. Judging from the frequency with which her nostrils flared and the smile on her face, Fate felt she was also intoxicated by the aroma.

"Who are you?" The fat woman looked at Fate warily and said, "If you're begging for food, come later. This old lady hasn't even opened for business yet, so what are you doing running in here? Looking for a beating?"

Fate choked, both angry and anxious. "Look clearly! Who's a beggar? I am a noble mage."

The fat woman gave a sound of surprise. Only then did she realize that the tattered black robe on Fate was actually a mage robe. But immediately after, her face filled with disdain again. "So what if you're a mage? You're just a black-robed beginner mage. Not even worth a fart."

Fate was so angry he nearly jumped up. He began chanting a magic incantation, and white mist gradually rose around his body.

"Gah..." The obscure magic incantation was only half chanted when Fate was seized by the throat with the fat woman's bear-paw-like right hand and lifted into the air. The water-element vapor he had finally managed to condense scattered in an instant.

At that moment, the youth called Xiaoshan cut in. "Aunt Anna, let him go. Mr. Fate is a guest I invited."

Hearing this, the fat woman Anna finally released Fate's neck and walked toward the door. As she went, she said, "Never mind a beginner mage. Last time, that intermediate mage tried to molest this old lady, and didn't this old lady still slap him flat with one palm?"

Fate raised a hand to rub his thin neck, where finger marks had been squeezed into it, his face flushed crimson. Hearing the fat woman's muttering, he shivered and gave up on the idea of revenge.

"Xiaoshan—eh, could you be the Xiaoshan the Mercenary Guild put a bounty on?" Fate suddenly remembered something and squeezed over beside the youth to ask.

Xiaoshan's face reddened slightly. He smiled, revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth, and said, "That was a misunderstanding. The blacksmith Andri on East Street was only using that method to vent the gloom in his heart."

"Then you're not afraid?"

Xiaoshan smiled and said, "Everyone in Windfire Town treats it as a joke. No one will go accept that mission."

"What is this stuff? How come I've never seen it before? It smells so good." Fate's stomach began to rumble.

"Xiaoshan, the usual. Start with fifty meat skewers, and remember, only beef." A tall youth walked in through the tavern door and shouted at the top of his voice. His short clothes could not hide the explosive muscles all over his body. A huge axe rested on his shoulder, and his messy hair made him look like a savage orc.

"What are you yelling for?" Without raising his head, Xiaoshan said in a crisp voice, "Xilu, Anna has been looking for you for a long time. Pay off what you owed last time first."

"Xilu, I thought you weren't coming back." Anna jumped out and said through gritted teeth, "No one has ever dared owe this old lady money and not pay it back. Last time, you ate two hundred meat skewers and slipped away while this old lady wasn't paying attention. I thought you weren't coming back!"

Xilu chuckled. With a thud, he tossed his axe onto the ground, reached into his clothes, and took out several shining crystal cores. "Boss lady, take a look. Are these enough?"

One was the magic crystal of a level-two Flame Snake, and two were level-three Wind Wolves.

Fate's eyes immediately shone. He looked Xilu over a few times, but did not believe these were Magic Beasts he had hunted himself. To hunt a level-three Wind Wolf's magic crystal, one had to be an intermediate warrior at the very least. Seeing that Xilu was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, Fate naturally did not believe it.

One moment Anna's face was ferocious, and the next it was full of smiles. With a speed utterly at odds with her build, she swept in front of Xilu, stretched out a hand, and rolled the few magic crystals into her own hand.

"Xilu, I said long ago that among the young people of Windfire Town, you're the most amazing. In the future, you'll definitely become the greatest warrior."

Xilu was very pleased to hear it. He leaned back into a chair and sat down. "Aunt Anna, I got these magic crystals all by myself through bitter hardship. They should at least let me eat fifty meals here, right?"

"Thirty meals." Once the magic crystals were tucked into her chest, Anna immediately turned hostile.

"Forty meals." Xilu grew anxious and sprang to his feet.

"Thirty-five meals, absolutely no more. Damn it, your appetite is bigger than a Violent Bear's." Anna relented.

"Deal." Xilu smiled all over his face, as if nothing had happened, and ran over toward Fate. "Xiaoshan, you heard that, right? The boss lady said it. Then scald me a hundred beef skewers first."

Xiaoshan glanced at him, grabbed a big handful of meat chunks strung on bamboo sticks, and tossed them into the pot. Only then did Fate see that a row of bamboo baskets sat beside the pot, filled with all kinds of meat chunks and vegetables, all strung together on bamboo sticks, red and green and very pleasing to the eye.

"You ran off to the Falling Moon Mountains again?"

Xilu scratched his head. "What else could I do if I didn't go? I still have to eat." As he spoke, he leaned mysteriously in front of Xiaoshan and said quietly, "I followed the method you taught me and set up a few traps at the edge of the Falling Moon Mountains, ten miles from town. After waiting a day and a night, I finally snared a small adventurer party. I used the medicinal powder you gave me to knock them out, snatched the magic crystals, and hurried back."

Fate immediately broke out in sweat all over his face. Seeing Xilu glare at him, he tactfully looked into the pot, pretending he had heard nothing.

"What are they eating that's so expensive? Those magic crystals added together could be sold for at least several gold coins." Fate muttered inwardly. He felt this big fellow was a little stupid.

"Why wouldn't you let me rob their weapons and battle armor?" Xilu frowned. "If I brought those back, I could sell them for even more money."

"When I call you stupid, you really are stupid." Xiaoshan cursed. "Windfire Town is only a piss-sized place. If you brought them back, no matter who you sold them to, someone would eventually find out. If those mercenary adventurers have connections with the people in town, then things would get really troublesome."

"No wonder you told me to cover my face when I robbed them." Xilu came to a sudden realization.

"Telling you to cover your face was only for show. With that one-of-a-kind build of yours, you think they can't recognize you? They're wary of your old man and that gang of old fellows in town. Plus, as long as you don't show your face, no matter how much they say it looks like you, they still have no real evidence. Who can do anything to you?"

Xilu chuckled. "Xiaoshan, I don't really understand what you're saying, but I trust you."

Fate stared at the meat skewers rolling in the pot, thinking, Is this really a teenager?

"They're ready." Xiaoshan fished out dozens of meat skewers and handed them to Xilu. "The chili powder and everything else are on the table. Brush on as much as you want."

Xilu had no time to speak and was not afraid of being burned. He stretched out his mouth and stripped four skewers in one go, chewing as he walked away.

"Mr. Fate, these are for you first. There are still plenty over there. See what you want to eat and bring it over as you like." Xiaoshan smiled and handed Fate several meat skewers.

Fate nodded, not daring to open his mouth. He was afraid that once he did, the surging saliva would gush out in a flood. He walked to the side and gently took a bite. At once, a wonderful aroma he had never tasted before blossomed across his tongue.

"Delicious, too delicious," Fate said indistinctly, wishing he could swallow his own tongue.

By then, more customers had come into the tavern, most of them drawn by Xiaoshan's unique meat skewers. Some also ordered the colorful vegetable skewers, though very few.

Fifty skewers for just one silver coin!

Fate ate as he watched, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement. Since it was free anyway, he shamelessly ran over and asked for a few more vegetable skewers. Once he ate them, they really did have a fresh, delicious flavor all their own.

Anna was only responsible for taking the money, smiling so broadly her eyes nearly disappeared. Xiaoshan stood on a stool by the pot the whole time, busy at work, tiny beads of sweat covering his forehead. He worked for quite a while without once crying tired.

Gradually, the crowd thinned. Only Xilu was still sitting at the table with his head buried in his food, a large pile of bamboo sticks in front of him. From time to time, he brushed some red powder onto the chunks of meat, eating until sweat poured down his face.

Just looking at him made Fate feel as if his mouth were burning. He had tried that powder called "Chili" earlier too, and his mouth had felt as though it had caught fire. He had almost spat it out.

"Mr. Fate, are you full?" Xiaoshan wiped his sweat as he walked up to Fate, his little face steamed bright red by the vapor.

"Thank you." Fate looked grateful and hurriedly stood up. "I've never eaten food this good before. What is it called?"

"Malatang." Xiaoshan said a word Fate had never heard before, then added, "Come with me for a moment. There are some things I'd like to ask you about."

"As you wish." Fate followed him to the backyard.

After looking left and right to make sure no one was there, Xiaoshan shut the back door and said, "Take a look. What is this?"

Without any visible movement from him, an egg-shaped object half as tall as a leg appeared in the open space. Its surface was covered in sticky slime, just like the egg of a magic beast.

"He has a Space Ring?"

Fate's heart jolted, but he did not see any jewelry on Xiaoshan's fingers. His eyes were drawn back to the magic beast egg.

"Quick, take a look. Have you seen it before?" Xiaoshan looked extremely nervous, his hands clenching involuntarily.

"Mm, this is definitely a magic beast egg. As for what kind, I can't really say." Fate pondered before saying, "But judging from how sticky the surface is, it should be close to hatching."

As his words fell, the egg began to squirm faintly. The top started splitting into four petals, slowly folding down in all directions.

Fate suddenly felt somewhat tense, and somewhat afraid. He could not understand why he would feel that way. Logically speaking, a newborn magic beast should not possess any offensive ability.

"We'll know what kind of magic beast it is once we see it." Fate involuntarily took several steps back.

"Sigh." Xiaoshan sighed, and the magic beast egg immediately vanished into thin air.

This is a Xenomorph Egg. Believe me, if you saw what it looked like, you would definitely regret it, Xiaoshan said inwardly.