The Root of Ominousness

Over there, Xiezhi did not stand on ceremony with Ji Yuan at all. That line, "Otherwise, I'll eat it all myself," apparently had not been a joke. Ji Yuan had only been gone for a short while, yet when he returned, he found that a noticeable amount of fish had already disappeared. On the face of the manifested man, Xiezhi's mouth within the scroll kept wriggling. The manifested hand picked up another large piece of fish with its chopsticks and stuffed it into the painting in one go.

"Not bad, not bad. It smells fragrant, and it tastes even better. Ji Yuan, your cooking is another astonishing divine ability. A perfectly ordinary fish condensed from the Essence of Water became something miraculous in your hands, turning decay into wonder. What a pity this divine ability cannot take people in, but that is good too, very good indeed! Tsk tsk tsk... mmm..."

Xiezhi praised it without reserve, skillfully controlling the manifested hand to keep picking up fish. He savored each bite in his mouth, then chewed rapidly and swallowed, continually mumbling things like, "delicious, delicious."

Ji Yuan smiled faintly, thinking to himself, Who says the divine ability of cooking dishes cannot take people in?

"As long as you find it delicious. I was afraid my skills would not be fit for the table and that you, Xiezhi, would dislike them. Still, you ought to slow down a little. At least have some table manners..."

"Hahahaha... Who cares about table manners or sitting manners? You, Ji Yuan, are too bound by all those rules and regulations. Why so many conventions?"

The more Ji Yuan spoke, the more diligently Xiezhi used his chopsticks. He would often stuff two or three enormous pieces of fish into his mouth before beginning to chew rapidly, while