Roasted bear paw

Early the next morning, Lin Ke appeared outside the Immortal Realm Painting Studio.

He held several sheets of paper and studied them intently, thinking that Li Hanlin should have some results today.

But Lin Ke waited from morning until noon. The Chaoyang Street crowd, the owners of several shops, and Jingang had all arrived, yet there was still no sign of Li Hanlin.

It was nearly past noon when a familiar figure finally appeared outside the Immortal Realm Painting Studio.

Constable Xing!

But when he saw how many people were still gathered at the Immortal Realm Painting Studio, he froze for a moment.

After finally squeezing through the encirclement of the Chaoyang Crowd and into the Painting Studio, he found himself surrounded by everyone inside!

"Come on, tell us what happened!" Jingang demanded.

Constable Xing gave an awkward smile. "They said there aren't any results yet. His lordship sent me to let you know. It might take until this afternoon, but he'll come over as soon as he gets the results."

Everyone scattered at once and returned to their seats.

In an instant, Constable Xing was left standing alone at the entrance, utterly bewildered.

The members of the Chaoyang Crowd near the entrance who had heard him tried to leave, only to discover that they couldn't squeeze their way out.

Meanwhile, those on the outside wanted to know what had happened after Constable Xing went in, while those on the inside were trying to squeeze out...

After a brief discussion, the people inside the Painting Studio decided to leave it until the afternoon!

Then Shopkeeper Tong and the others left!

In the end, only Lin Ke and Wang Lin remained in the Painting Studio, and right on cue, Lin Ke's stomach rumbled in protest.

Wang Lin turned and headed straight for the rear courtyard.

Seeing Wang Lin head toward the backyard, Lin Ke knew it was time for him to leave!

He had just turned around when Wang Lin's voice rang in his ears. "Shut the door and come get ready to eat."

Lin Ke's eyes lit up. He hurried over to close the door now that the entrance was deserted, hanging up the "Closed today" sign while he was at it.

Then he strolled toward the rear courtyard, humming a little tune.

"That night, you hurt..."

But the moment Lin Ke stepped into the courtyard, his singing stopped dead.

Holy shit!

What was Wang Lin holding?

Once he saw what was in her hands, his heart went cold.

A bear paw!

Could it have been Wang Lin?

Wang Lin???

No way, right?

What did she mean by bringing out the bear paw now?

In just a few seconds, countless questions flashed through Lin Ke's mind!

He let out a soft breath, strode forward, and asked directly, "Master, is that the bear's missing front paw?"

Wang Lin saw that Lin Ke was only shocked for a few seconds before quickly regaining his composure.

"You recovered pretty quickly." She narrowed her eyes and nodded.

If he had known what Wang Lin was thinking just then, there was no telling how he would have roasted her!

"You've got a steady temperament." Seeing that Lin Ke was fairly composed and had fallen into thought while staring at the bear paw, Wang Lin nodded in satisfaction.

Then she said, "Actually, when I spotted this bear, he had already smashed through the restaurant wall. I saw him crush that person's skull underfoot in the street, then tear open his chest. After that, Xiong struggled to leave the street,

"but the poison was too potent, so he dropped dead on the spot. As he fell and kicked up a cloud of dust, I chopped off one of his paws, planning to roast it.

"I never expected my dear disciple to fall into those big shots' trap and get stuck in this deadlock."

Lin Ke froze on the spot.

Is your sense of humor really that twisted?

He looked up with a slight frown. "Master, did he just fall over and die? Is this bear paw safe to eat, then? Could it be poisoned?"

Wang Lin shook her head. "I've already checked. There's no poison in this paw. The poison hadn't spread to it yet."

"All right." Lin Ke nodded. "Master, you're sure you aren't the one who killed the little Golden Crow prince, right?"

"Get him over here to prepare the bear paw. If you can't get him to come, don't bother coming back yourself." Wang Lin couldn't be bothered to explain further. She waved him off and looked at him as though he were an idiot. "What are you staring at? Get going!"

Lin Ke nodded and walked toward the door, thinking as he went.

Had he overlooked something?

For instance, Wang Lin had just given him a wake-up call.

Could it have been one of their own?

Could it have been...

Shopkeeper Tong or Bai Zhantang?

At that thought, a sudden chill ran through Lin Ke.

But a moment later, he ruled them out.

By then, he had reached Butcher Zhang's door. Regaining his composure and his smile, he called toward the house, "Brother Zhang! Brother Zhang! Are you in?"

Butcher Zhang immediately opened his door and looked toward the shop. "Young Lin, what brings you here?"

Lin Ke got straight to the point. "I'm here to ask for your help, Brother Zhang. Bring your tools for preparing Demon Beast Meat and come next door to my master's place."

"Preparing meat?" Butcher Zhang laughed. "Got a demon? Sure, wait a moment. I'll fetch my tools."

Lin Ke nodded, while Butcher Zhang jogged toward the cellar in his courtyard.

Seeing this, Lin Ke simply backed up to the entrance to wait.

That cellar held some rather unpleasant memories. Better to keep his distance for now!

Before long, Butcher Zhang came out carrying a large sack on his back, accompanied by a clattering racket.

Lin Ke was speechless at the sight of the huge saber stuffed into the sack, with half its hilt still sticking out!

Brother, are you going to prepare Demon Beast Meat or fight a greater demon to the death?

Still, Lin Ke said nothing and led Butcher Zhang straight into the Painting Studio's courtyard.

"A black bear's paw?" Butcher Zhang was also startled when he saw it.

Blunt as ever, he asked outright, "Isn't this that bear's paw? What's it doing here?"

"Dunno! I dunno either!"

Wang Lin blinked, looking like a complete dimwit. "I dunno either. This thing just turned up in my courtyard out of nowhere, so I sent Lin Ke to fetch you and help figure out what's going on."

Lin Ke watched, dumbstruck.

Amazing. Just amazing.

"Oh, all right." Butcher Zhang didn't give it much thought. He crouched down and examined it for a while, then stood up and declared solemnly, "We can braise it!"

Lin Ke nearly lost his footing and fell over at that. He was speechless.

Was there anyone normal on Chaoyang Street?

Shouldn't they be wondering how the bear paw had ended up here?

Why were they thinking about how to cook it?

Also...

Was braised bear paw really that tasty?

Lin Ke swallowed. In his previous life, eating this would have meant at least three years in prison, with a life sentence at the upper end.

Here, it wasn't a crime, and it was free to boot.

And so, Lin Ke gave in.

He hadn't had much meat since coming here anyway. He was still growing; he needed some nourishment.

In the end, however, they roasted the bear paw.

The reason was that none of the three knew how to braise it. Only Shopkeeper Tong could do that.

But how much meat could one bear paw have? If Shopkeeper Tong came over too, there definitely wouldn't be enough to go around.

So the three decided to do it themselves.

Butcher Zhang prepared the paw, Lin Ke lit the fire, and Butcher Zhang handled the roasting, while Wang Lin sat off to the side munching sunflower seeds!

After demolishing the bear paw, they all reclined in their chairs, chatting idly.

During the conversation, Lin Ke also learned that Butcher Zhang was actually a retired Demon Slayer, which was why he had called himself a Demon Slayer so often.

It was like being given an official post: once you joined the ranks, you were called a Demon Slayer.

After retirement, you were an independent individual, no longer on the official roster, so you were called a Demon Slayer.

Butcher Zhang belonged to the latter category!

A retired Demon Slayer who now made his living selling fake pork.