"Brother Mu Chen, what use do you have for this bear paw?"
Gu Zi'an was puzzled by Chen Mu's behavior.
Generally speaking, the heart of a demon beast is the most valuable part, as it is used in many alchemy and talisman-making processes. Besides that, there are demon bones, demon teeth, and demon hides, while the limbs are generally not very useful.
"Haha, Young Master Gu, you may not know, but if this bear paw is cooked properly, it can be an absolutely delicious delicacy."
If it's convenient, you can try my cooking tonight!
Chen Mu laughed heartily, carefully wrapped the bear paw, and put it into his storage ring.
"I see, I was so ignorant."
Many people in this world know that bear paws are delicious, but few know how to cook them. The people of the Wilderness usually eat casually, as long as they can fill their stomachs, so even Gu Zi'an doesn't know anything about bear paws.
"Brother Mu Chen, my home is over there, please follow me."
Gu Zi'an led Chen Mu toward the inner city of the Flame Blessing Tribe. Gu Zi'an was clearly well-connected in the Flame Blessing Tribe, and many people recognized him. With his guidance, Chen Mu easily entered the inner city of the Flame Blessing Tribe.
The inner city of the Flame Blessing Tribe is filled with buildings that occupy a large area and are divided into several large areas. Many monsters are kept in the buildings, and their roars can often be heard, making it seem primitive and wild.
Gu Zi'an led Chen Mu to a grand mansion. Above the mansion was a plaque with two large, gilded characters: "Gu Mansion".
The building has a distinctly Central Land style, and its overall design is quite elegant and unique.
It seems that the more powerful a tribe is in this Wilderness, the closer their style will be to that of the Central Land. The Central Land truly deserves to be the center of this world; its prosperity and development always inadvertently inspire other regions to imitate it.
" Uncle Chi, this is my friend Mu Chen."
Arrange a room for him, take good care of him, and don't neglect him.
"Yes, Third Young Master."
"Brother Mu Chen Mu Chen, I'll go rest first, and we'll talk again later."
"Please proceed, Young Master Gu."
Led by the Gu family's steward, Chen Mu arrived at a secluded courtyard. Although it wasn't luxurious, it was very clean and exuded a sense of long history, making people feel very comfortable.
"Young Master Mu, a servant will bring hot water shortly. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Alright, you may leave!"
Inside the study, Gu Hongsheng, the head of the Gu Lineage family, sat at his desk, reading a file.
Outside the door, Steward Chi walked in, bowing slightly.
"Master, the Third Young Master just brought a guest back, and he has already been seated in a guest room."
Gu Hongsheng put down the file and looked at Steward Chi.
"Guest? Do you know who you are?"
"His origins are still unknown, but according to the guards, this guest seems to have saved Young Master Gu and his companion's lives outside."
"Hmm? Are Zi'an and Yun'er injured?"
Gu Hongsheng stood up and asked with concern.
"Please rest assured, sir, the third young master and the second young lady returned without any obvious injuries."
Gu Hongsheng felt relieved, but couldn't help feeling a little resentful.
" Zi'an is too impatient! Although the tribal competition is in three days, if he gets injured at this time, wouldn't that be a loss outweighing the gain?"
"The Third Young Master is trying to force himself to break through by putting pressure on himself; he's really going to great lengths!"
Steward Chi offered words of comfort.
Gu Hongsheng sighed and nodded.
"If we don't achieve a good ranking in this competition, the Gu Lineage's status in the tribe will inevitably decline again. It seems that the three major Lineage of the Flame Blessing Tribe will truly become just Lineage!"
Resource allocation is a topic that no faction can avoid. As the three Lineage belong to the same tribe, they naturally cannot attack and fight each other. Therefore, they agreed on a relatively fair way to allocate resources.
Every ten years, the three major Lineage hold a tribal competition, where outstanding young people under the age of twenty in the tribe compete. The results of the competition will directly affect the distribution of industries in the Flame Blessing Tribe for the next ten years, such as mines, workshops, land, and so on.
In the previous two tribal competitions, the Gu Lineage ranked last and received a pitifully small share of property.
The Gu Lineage has lost its source of income and has been living off its savings for nearly twenty years. Now, things are getting worse year by year. If they don't achieve good results this year, the Gu Lineage may fall to the level of an ordinary Lineage.
As the saying goes, it's hard to go from extravagance to frugality. The Gu Lineage's current status was earned by fighting against tribes back then. If they lose their status as one of the three major Lineage, many enemies will probably not let them go. At that time, the Gu Lineage will not be far from destruction.
Chen Mu hadn't expected to enter the inner city of the Flame Blessing Tribe so easily, and meeting the Gu Lineage siblings was a truly unexpected delight.
After he rested for a while, a maid brought in hot water to bathe and change his clothes.
Chen Mu wasn't used to having others help him change clothes and bathe, so he asked the maid to put down the hot water and did it himself.
Feeling refreshed after his shower, he went to the kitchen with nothing to do and tinkered with some tools, intending to make a dish called "Steamed Bear Paw".
Chen Mu had long been familiar with this ingredient on Earth, but had never had the chance to taste it. Now that he had the opportunity, he naturally didn't want to let it pass him by.
Although Chen Mu had never made this dish before, he could roughly understand its ingredients by scanning it with his Divine Soul. Bear paws have a high fat content and a strong gamey smell. If you don't know how to prepare them, it will be difficult to bring out their deliciousness.
Chen Mu first marinated the bear paw with wine and ginger to remove its gamey smell, and then steamed it to preserve the freshness of the ingredient to the greatest extent.
He then prepared a fragrant sauce using mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and other ingredients, which he poured over the bear paw, instantly filling the air with its aroma.
Chen Mu had just finished preparing the 'Steamed Bear Demon Paw' and was about to take it out when he turned around and found someone suddenly appearing behind him, which startled him.
This was a short, white-haired old man with a gourd of wine hanging from his waist. He stared intently at the 'Steamed Bear Demon Paw' in Chen Mu's hand and swallowed hard.
"Young man, what are you making? It smells delicious!"
Although Chen Mu didn't know where the old man came from, he knew that the man was no ordinary person, as he could approach him so stealthily.
"Senior, I've named this dish 'Steamed Bear Demon Paw.' If you're interested, you're welcome to come with me to try it."
"Okay, let's go!"
As he spoke, the short old man walked out the door, followed closely by Chen Mu, who was carrying a plate.
Just then, Gu Zi'an and Gu Ruoyun came looking for Chen Mu and ran into the short old man who was with Chen Mu.
"Grandmother, why are you back?"
Gu Zi'an quickly bowed to the short, elderly man.
Haha, it's Zi'an!
Come on, sit down and eat together, otherwise the food will get cold and won't taste good.
Chen Mu placed a large dish of 'Steamed Bear Demon Paw' on the stone table, and the four of them sat down around the table.