Steamed Bear Paw, the Ultimate Indulgence

After Yibao reforged the clay pot with Merit Power, it truly gained the ability to grow and shrink under Little Moon Spirit's magical control.

Wu Chu looked at Yibao with admiration. Yibao planted her hands on her hips, tilted up her little head, and blew at the strand of golden hair hanging over her forehead, looking absurdly proud of herself.

Seeing this, Wu Chu reached out and ruffled her hair, messing up her lovely locks. "Amazing, Yibao. You actually succeeded in reforging it! Tell me, what other impressive abilities do you have? Let me be happy for you."

"Hehe, you want to know? I'm not telling!"

"..."

Wu Chu gave a light cough and turned to Little Moon Spirit. "Yueling, start boiling water. Once it boils, put that bear's front paw in and blanch it to remove the blood, then skin it..."

Little Moon Spirit had not removed the bear skin from the paw earlier, so she now needed to carefully clean the bear fur from the paw, as well as the skin covering the pad in its center.

At that, Yibao glared at Wu Chu as if to say: Annoying! Keep asking! Ask me one more time and I'll tell you!

Unfortunately, Wu Chu had no intention of indulging that bad habit and immediately discarded her after getting what he wanted.

Little Moon Spirit transformed into a tiny chef and swiftly began preparing the enormous bear paw under Wu Chu's instructions. Before her, the huge paw seemed remarkably light rather than cumbersome as she casually turned it over.

Once the bear paw had been cleaned, Wu Chu had Little Moon Spirit use a kitchen knife to score neat cuts across its surface and tuck thin shreds of ginger into them.

The bear paw was enormous and required quite a lot of ginger, but Wu Chu did not dare use too much in case they could not find any later. Then they put the paw into the pot to steam, propping it up on several split pieces of bamboo at the bottom.

"Brother A Chu, is this enough?"

"Not even close!" Wu Chu said with a smile. "Steam the bear paw until it's cooked first, then we'll brush honey over it. You can prepare that ginseng now."

"How should I prepare it?"

"Wash it clean and slice it."

"How long will this bear paw need to steam?"

"How long? I don't know either. This bear paw is so huge..."

After the ginseng had been washed, the two waited beside the stove. With nothing else to do, they started playing Go again. Wu Chu had already taught Little Moon Spirit how to play.

Unfortunately, Little Moon Spirit's talent for Go was rather heartwarming. Wu Chu effortlessly slaughtered her army. Wu Chu had originally thought his own Go skills were somewhat... Well, he had never won when playing against Yibao.

Yet before Little Moon Spirit, Wu Chu still carried himself like a master.

"Brother A Chu, is it not ready yet?" Yueling asked, looking at the clay pot.

"Is the meat cooked?"

"Not yet!"

"Then keep adding firewood."

After all, it was an ingredient from the Primordial World. It was understandable that it would take longer to cook.

More than three hours later, they finally took it out. The aroma of bear meat was already detectable. Then they brushed a layer of honey over the surface of the bear paw and deep-fried it until golden.

"Brother A Chu, what now?"

"Put that bamboo basin into the clay pot, then put the bear paw inside. Add water, tuck the ginseng slices into the cuts on the surface of the paw, and keep steaming it... We don't have any other seasonings or starch, so this is all we can do. Keep it simple! Seasonings may add embellishment, but high-end ingredients often need only the simplest cooking methods to draw out their flavor. That is an essential skill for a great chef."

"Mm-hmm, I shall remember Brother A Chu's teachings!"

The tiny chef accepted his instruction humbly, with an exceptionally earnest attitude. Yibao secretly curled her lip at the sight: Silly little Moon Spirit! She had been completely fooled and did not even know it!

Yet self-proclaimed clever Yibao did not know that Wu Chu liked this kind of adorably silly girl.

"Come on, come on, let's battle for another three hundred rounds."

Wu Chu called over Little Moon Spirit, that lousy Go player, and continued their fierce match. Since he could not find a sense of accomplishment from Yibao, he could only rely on adorable Little Moon Spirit!

Two terrible Go players!

Watching the two play with great enthusiasm, Yibao rolled her eyes listlessly from the side.

At some point, the little wolf A Qiu had moved from the corner to their side. Its wolf eyes kept glancing at the clay pot, its dog-like mouth hanging open as drool continuously dripped down.

The rich aroma could no longer be contained and drifted out from the clay pot. The innate spiritual energy in the steam lingered within it like dense mist. Gentle splashing sounds rose from the distant lake, where shadowy figures watched from afar.

Yueling glanced back at the lake, then calmly turned around again and licked her lips. "Brother A Chu, is it about ready? Can we eat now?"

"Then let's eat!"

He had already waited several hours for this steamed bear paw. But it was a creature from the Primordial World, and such a huge one at that, so it was normal for it to be difficult to steam.

At Little Moon Spirit's word, she waved her small hand and opened the lid. Fragrance and spiritual mist surged forth, while the scent of ginseng had already overwhelmed the bear paw's original aroma.

"Though I only used a small piece of ginseng, it seems I may still have used too much." Wu Chu frowned slightly, then shook his head. "I wonder whether this body of mine can withstand the medicinal potency of that ginseng. I should eat less."

"It should be fine. When Brother A Chu ate that lingzhi before, nothing much happened! Although this ginseng is better than that lingzhi, Brother A Chu's physique has improved greatly since then too!" Yueling blinked as she spoke, serving Wu Chu a bowl of bear paw meat. "By the way, Brother A Chu, if you keep eating these foods, will your body fully recover? And then, will your magical power recover as well?"

Wu Chu took a spoonful of soup from the bamboo basin and lightly tasted it. "I suppose all the ginseng juice has run into the soup." Then he froze slightly. "What did you say? Recover fully?"

"Yes! Brother A Chu, rest assured. I am not one to gossip. I will not speak carelessly."

Wu Chu could not help laughing. "Little Moon Spirit, you misunderstood. I..."

"Mm-hmm, I misunderstood. Heehee..."

Heehee, my ass!

Wu Chu reached out and tapped her little head, knowing that she was overthinking things again.

He inserted his chopsticks into the bear paw and gently stirred it. The meat was soft, glutinous, and tender, seemingly even a little springy. Wu Chu had not expected that. He had assumed this bear paw would be like the other bear meat. After all, such a thing had existed only in legend to him.

He took a gentle bite. It did not quite melt in his mouth, but it came close. The ginseng flavor covered any gaminess the bear paw might have had. Wu Chu could not help narrowing his eyes and tilting up his head as he softly exhaled, looking utterly blissful: This was the ultimate indulgence!

Little Moon Spirit copied Wu Chu, her eyes curving into crescents as she sighed inwardly: So bear paw could be cooked like this. Before... what a waste of a heavenly treasure!