The last few pieces of meat on the skewer in Dylan's hand never made it into the Fat Wizard's mouth after all. Instead, they were thrown into the Hellfire, sinking into eternal silence along with the Deadwood Branch.
"Was it really that bad?"
Once the skewered meat had truly been wiped out, Jiang Yu actually grew a little interested, as though she were itching to try it.
Xiao Xiao glanced at her and gave a chilly smile.
"I have a skewer set aside for an experiment. Want a piece? I won't need this much for the experiment anyway."
The witch promptly declined.
The Diviner did not press his advantage. Instead, he turned to the others and lectured them. "Hellfire burns karma and sin. A dragon that can be turned into skewered meat must have plenty of both-but once you remove all that karma and sin, what could possibly be left in its meat?"
"Protein, fiber, fat, water-hmm, apparently there's no water left." Much of the blue tinge had faded from the Fat Wizard's face by now, and his mouth had grown defiant again.
Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and gave him a speechless look.
"You just ate a mouthful of soot from the bottom of a pot-did that residue taste the same as the protein, fiber, and fat you normally eat? If you want to experience that flavor, it's everywhere. Why go out of your way to taste yours?"
He nudged a curled flake of rock beneath his feet.
Crack. Beside them, the last wooden core of the Deadwood Branch, long seared by Hellfire, finally collapsed, drawing everyone's attention. White ashes lay in a thick strip on the ground, whiter than snow and finer than bone dust. It rather evoked the saying that a person became a ghost upon death,