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The Stone Knife whistled through the air, stopping just a finger's breadth from the Gold-Patterned Jade Egg.

The green light in Shi Hou's eyes was practically spilling out. His mind was filled with visions of his Blood Qi Value skyrocketing.

[Ding!]

A crisp chime rang out-not the sound of an eggshell breaking, but a system notification inside his head.

Time seemed to freeze.

The enormous gray Stone Knife stopped dead in midair, as though an invisible hand had seized it in an iron grip. It did not budge.

A line of bold, bright red text shot straight onto Shi Hou's retinas, carrying a merciless sneer.

[Warning: insufficient Blood Qi Value. Unable to activate cooking mode.]

[Target ingredient: Green-Scaled Eagle egg · atavistic.]

[Vitality required for cooking: 10,000.]

[Current vitality: 66.]

Shi Hou stared at that string of zeros in "10,000," then looked at his own pitiful "66."

A surge of blood rushed straight to the crown of his head.

Ten thousand?

An atavistic egg that cost nearly five thousand vitality to hammer into existence, and now I had to fork over another ten thousand just to eat it?

What kind of heartless loan-shark system was this?!

"You've gone... too far..."

Shi Hou's lips trembled. The Stone Knife fell from his hand with a clang, his eyes rolled back, and his body toppled stiffly backward.

"Skinny Monkey!"

"Son!"

Lin Yun's piercing scream shattered the peace at the village entrance.

Shi Shoushan reacted swiftly, catching Shi Hou as he collapsed. Even his fingers were trembling. "Chief! Come take a look!"

The villagers, who had been cheering moments earlier, instantly descended into chaos.

Shi Hao still held the little pink pig in his hands. He stared blankly at Shi Hou on the ground, tears welling in his eyes.

"Everyone, back off! Don't crowd him!"

The old chief, Shi Yunfeng, struck the ground hard with his cane, pushed through the crowd, and placed his fingers on Shi Hou's wrist.

A moment later, the old chief's tightly knitted brows relaxed, and his expression turned rather strange.

"Chief, how is he?" Lin Yun asked through tear-filled eyes.

"He won't die." Shi Yunfeng withdrew his hand and gave the unconscious Shi Hou an irritated glare. "His vitality is badly depleted, and on top of that... anger overwhelmed his heart. Simply put, he's weak, and he got worked up."

Worked up?

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.

"Carry him home and get some liquid food into him." Shi Yunfeng pointed at the three divine eggs on the ground, his expression grave. "These three treasures contain too much vital essence. Leaving them out here will attract covetous fierce beasts. Move them beneath the Willow Deity first, and borrow the Sacrificial Spirit's aura to suppress it."

Several burly men carefully lifted the three enormous eggs glowing with golden light and placed them as offerings beneath the charred lightning-struck wood.

The willow branch swayed gently, scattering a green radiance that enveloped the enormous eggs.

The sky darkened, and the night wind of the Great Wilderness carried a chill.

Shi Hou had a dream.

In it, he had turned into a wok, and the Green-Scaled Eagle held him in its beak, searching everywhere for firewood so it could stew him.

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out, and the ground shook violently.

Shi Hou's eyes snapped open. The familiar stone ceiling of his home greeted him, while a faint aroma of meat lingered beneath his nose.

"You're awake? Good, you're awake!"

A rough hand immediately reached over and felt his forehead. Shi Shoushan's resolute face leaned closer, his eyes bloodshot. Clearly, he had kept watch for hours.

His mother, Lin Yun, hurried over with an earthenware bowl, her eyes still red. "Here, have some meat porridge. It's freshly cooked."

At the sight, a little warmth seeped into the frustration in Shi Hou's heart.

So this was the love of family.

"Dad, Mom, I'm fine." Shi Hou propped himself up. He was still weak, but that feeling of his soul leaving his body had gone. "Just a little... hungry."

He had barely finished speaking.

A sudden flurry of footsteps came from outside, accompanied by the children's excited cries.

"Skinny Monkey! Is Skinny Monkey awake?"

"Come out! The big bird brought food!"

Bang!

The door was shoved open, and Shi Hao charged inside like a little cannonball, followed by Dazhuang and Ermeng. All their faces were flushed with excitement.

"The big bird?" Shi Hou paused.

"The Green-Scaled Eagle!" Shi Hao gestured wildly. "That big bird came back! It dropped a fierce beast from the sky, right at the village entrance!"

Shi Hou's eyes lit up instantly.

He bolted upright from his deathbed, his food-loving soul snapping straight back into place.

He threw off the beast-hide blanket and ran outside barefoot, not even bothering to put on his shoes.

At the clearing by the village entrance.

The carcass of a fairly small fierce beast lay there.

It was only the size of a goat, covered in black scales, with two spiraling pointed horns on its head. A gruesome bloody hole pierced its neck. Clearly, it had been killed in a single strike.

The enormous Green-Scaled Eagle did not land. It circled once high overhead, let out a resounding cry, then beat its wings and vanished into the night.

"That bird... is incredible." Shi Linhu held a broadsword, his face full of amazement. "Is it thanking Shi Hou by bringing food especially to help him recover?"

Shi Hou said nothing. He strode up to the fierce beast and pressed his hand against its cold scales.

[Ding!]

[Ingredient detected: tier-one fierce beast, "Black-Scaled Goat" juvenile.]

[Condition: highly intact.]

[Blood Qi Value cost for cooking: 50 points.]

[Current Blood Qi Value: 66 points.]

[Cooking available.]

At the sight of those green words, "Cooking available," Shi Hou nearly burst into tears on the spot.

Fifty points.

Just under the limit.

If it had asked for even a little more, today's cooking would have gone down the drain.

"At least you know how to behave."

Shi Hou glanced up in the direction where the Green-Scaled Eagle had vanished, and his mood instantly improved.

It was only a tier-one fierce beast, nowhere near comparable to those three atavistic eggs, but this was an entire beast!

"Skinny Monkey?" Shi Hao came over clutching his stomach, his large eyes blinking. "Are you better now? Can you cook?"

On his shoulder, the little pink pig, Kang, also gave an "oink," drool dripping down.

Shi Hou ruffled Shi Hao's hair. "Right away."

"Nonsense!"

Lin Yun hurried over carrying his shoes and grabbed him. "You've only just recovered! How can you perform that sacrificial dance again?"

"Mom, I can handle it. I can't waste today's use!" Shi Hou wore an expression of righteous resolve.

"Good boy, don't push yourself!" The village chief's eyes grew moist.

One of the aunties even shouted at the top of her lungs, "Husband, I've decided! We're betrothing our Hu Niu to Skinny Monkey!"

"Yes, I agree!"

As the conversations around him grew increasingly outrageous, Shi Hou quickly interrupted them. "Sorry for the trouble, aunties, but please help me prepare the ingredients!"

The village women scattered, and soon all the seasonings and accompaniments were ready.

Without further hesitation, Shi Hou summoned the Knife-Wok.

Silence fell instantly.

Every villager, young and old alike, held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on him.

As though awaiting the descent of a miracle.

Shi Hou took a deep breath. A mysterious power coursed through his body once again, and fifty points of vitality were instantly drained away.

Inside his head, the opening bars of the BGM blasted out right on cue, the drumbeats rapid and relentless.

Shi Hou's expression grew solemn. His legs involuntarily spread apart in an instant, and his body sank.

He struck an opening pose that was utterly humiliating, yet incomparably sacred in everyone else's eyes.