Enluke awoke from his daze, not knowing what had just happened, but he knew he must have missed something, because there was another person in the room, the very same strange man he had seen outside. The thing on the man's head was actually a Crow, and he had just overheard the Crow talking.
"Tofu brain?" Enluke didn't quite understand what these words meant, so he started thinking about them, forgetting the dangerous situation he was in.
This word clearly also piqued Itjenetjer Ay's interest.
The Crow explained, "Well, it's a really delicious food, it's a shame you haven't tried it. How should I explain it to you? Caw... It's the solidified substance after gypsum is added to soy milk... Oh no, that explanation is too simplistic and doesn't align with the principles of gastronomy. I'll just show it to you directly, young man. As for you—a zombie—I can't influence your maggot-infested brain, you'll have to figure it out yourself, caw!"
As soon as the Crow finished speaking, Enluke saw something amazing. A milky white, square object appeared in the void in front of him, somewhat like cheese or frozen milk, but much more moist.
Itjenetjer looked at Enluke, his withered nose twitching.
The Crow saw this and said, "Don't bother smelling it; it only smells good when it's cooked. You can add some minced meat while cooking, and most importantly, don't forget the chili sauce and Sichuan peppercorns, otherwise it won't be chewy enough! If you want to smell it... there's another way to cook it, it's especially fragrant, quack!"
You need to put it in a ceramic jar, using the power of certain microorganisms to change its internal structure and color. Remember to put special brine in the jar, and definitely don't put shit in it, although the effect might be the same.
When the time is right, open the jar and you'll smell a rich aroma! Like this--"
The piece of white, tender tofu in Enluke's eyes had disappeared, replaced by a plate of small, piled-up pieces of yellowish-grayish-brown, wet mud-like substance.
The Crow said, "In China it's called 'Choutofu,' you can call it 'stinky tofu,' or 'strong-smelling preserved bean curd,' caw caw caw!"
Upon hearing this, Enluke unconsciously took a sniff. A strong, pungent odor, like Venomous Snake, burrowed into his nostrils and penetrated his internal organs. A wave of acid rose in his stomach, churning up and down in his esophagus.
"Don't rush, quack!" the Crow said again. "Good ingredients always need to be cooked by a master to become truly delicious. This stuff can be steamed, stir-fried, pan-fried, deep-fried... Remember to add chili, chili, chili, I'll say it three times! Of course, if none of these flavors satisfy you, you can also—eat it raw!"
When the Crow finished saying "eat raw," Enluke finally couldn't hold back and spat it out.
Itjenetjer Ay, standing next to him, also frowned deeply, his mouth twisted in a crooked way, as if he had just swallowed a fly that had crawled out of a cesspool.
The Crow raised its neck Guagua Guagua in laughter.
Itjenetjer stared at the Crow, a decaying voice emanating from its throat. "Ugh... Pet of the Holy Land! You should not leave your lair, just as a cat should not leave the Pharaoh's tomb!"
"Uh..." The Crow paused, "What did you say? What cat? You mean... ooh..." It rolled its eyes, "That... Guagua... I'm curious, how can a the Mummy from three thousand years ago speak English?"
" The Children of Gaia is all-powerful!" said Itjenetjer.
"Caw, bragging!" the Crow said dismissively, then looked down at Qingmu. "Hey, hey, that nickname he's using sounds just like your old one, 'Caw!' Look at him, he's shouting his slogans Guagua, while you're just a quiet blockhead!"
Qingmu said, "How have I been well-behaved?"
The Crow said, "Aren't you being honest? If you're not honest, the Ruhua babies will have a whole litter! Then there will be so many heads for me to perch on, and I can jump from one head to another... Guagua, I'll have several houses too!"
Qingmu said, "Don't you know there are purchase restrictions now?"
"Purchase restrictions? No, no, this takes up very little space, extremely small!"
Crow and Qingmu chatted casually in Chinese, completely ignoring everyone else.
Itjenetjer looked toward the kitchen; the child was already asleep on his mother's lap, while the Indian woman stared wide-eyed in terror, barely daring to breathe.
He smacked his lips, licked them with his black tongue, then stood up and said to the man in black at the door, "Business is important, let's go."
Qingmu said, "Are you just leaving like that?"
The Crow chimed in, "Yeah, aren't you going to eat before you leave? There's no stinky tofu here, but there's frozen pork knuckle that you can't chew."
"Thank you for your kindness, but I don't need it." Itjenetjer said, then suddenly became alert. "I know, you did it on purpose. You deliberately let this bird talk nonsense there to buy time, to stop me from catching up with them before the lunar eclipse!"
Qingmu shook his head and said, "I'm not here to stop you. I'm here for revenge."
"Revenge?" Itjenetjer seemed to be pondering. "You are a descendant of the Eastern Gods, the guardian of the Sacred Land of Wood. You cannot be a descendant of the Tutankhamun family. So, for whom do you seek revenge?"
" Selina, that woman who talks on TV," Qingmu said.
"Oh!" Itjenetjer exclaimed, suddenly realizing, "Who are you to her?"
"Similar."
"Similar?"
"Yes."
"That's all?"
That's all.
"Ah, so how do you plan to avenge her?"
"Of course, I'll kill you."
"Kill me?"
Itjenetjer burst into laughter, but whether it was due to overly stiff muscles or a different physiological structure, his chin seemed to detach and drop vertically by two or three centimeters when he laughed, a thin, long black tongue drooped down, his entire shoulder shrugged, and a rattling sound came from his throat.
" The Children of Gaia cannot be killed, even if you were once the Children of Gaia! Besides, you are no longer one."
The Crow lowered its head and whispered in Qingmu's ear, "What he said might be true, otherwise how did you survive?"
Qingmu remained silent.
Itjenetjer said, "Alright, you can't kill me, and it won't be easy for me to kill you either. Besides, as a former Children of Gaia, I have no intention of killing you. When Gaia descends, you will return to know the great Gaia and return to her embrace. This is better than letting the power Gaia bestowed upon you dissipate into the universe."
As he spoke, he raised his withered hand and waved it lightly. The group of men in black, also wearing cloaks, who had been sitting silently beside him, stood up at the same time and quickly spread out to form a circle, surrounding Qingmu in the middle.
"Stop him," Itjenetjer ordered, then turned to Qingmu and said, "They may not be your match, but breaking through won't be easy for you either. Feel the curse from the ancient Ennead priests! I hope you can get out of this room before the lunar eclipse. If you can also find the right path up the mountain, then congratulations, you might witness the moment I welcome Gaia's arrival."
After he finished speaking, he walked around to the side, reached the door, and left the house with the man in black at the door. Their figures quickly disappeared into the fading daylight of Alaska.
The Mount Denali in the distance blocked out the last ray of sunlight, and the wind, snow, and night fell almost simultaneously.
Qingmu did not stop Itjenetjer Ay, because he found that the group of men in black in front of him were indeed a bit difficult to deal with. The individual Mental Power of these people may not be particularly strong, but their Mental Power intertwined to form a net.
The Crow twisted its neck and looked around, then began to count seriously. "One, two, three... eight, nine, caw! There really are nine people. What are these guys up to?"
" Group Dream Realm, a combined spiritual force!" Qingmu said. "Feel it carefully, doesn't this Mental Power Field generated by collective consciousness seem familiar? It seems that the priests of Ancient Egypt and the Itza People of Ramla were indeed related!"