Chapter 301: One Step Back, and Another, and Another
Luckily, one thing *could* stop Xiao Hu from sleeping: delicious food.
The aroma of grilled fish slowly wafted through the air. The cumin seeds sprinkled on top popped, their scent mingling with the sweetness of honey-glazed fish and other flavors... The intoxicating fragrance roused Xiao Hu from his sleep.
The little one rubbed his eyes. "Female Mother, is it time to eat?"
"Almost," Yu An replied. She directed Han Li to flip the fish while she brushed on layers of her secret sauce. "Xiao Hu, go get your brothers. We’re about to eat."
In the time it took her to grill the fish, all the Zaizai except for Xiao Hu had disappeared. With Lu Lu watching over them, however, Yu An wasn’t too worried.
Having received his mission, Xiao Hu jumped down and plunged headfirst into the bushes.
The fish was grilled to perfection—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. The skin was so crisp it curled at the edges, the oil SIZZLING as it bubbled to the surface.
The beggar’s chicken that had been buried in the earth was also ready. After cracking open the outer mud shell, the lotus leaves within were revealed.
The chicken, wrapped tightly in the lotus leaves, was so tender it fell off the bone. It was succulent and juicy, infused with the fresh fragrance of the leaves.
Yu An arranged the food, but when she saw the Zaizai still hadn’t returned, she stood up to check on them.
Before she could head in their direction, one, two, three, four, five little heads popped out of the bushes. Lu Lu followed, coiled around an unidentifiable gray wild beast.
Da Hu was the fastest, reaching Yu An first. "Female Mother, look what we caught!"
Puzzled, Yu An walked closer for a look and discovered it was a wild donkey.
The wild donkey was already dead, with three arrows piercing its vitals.
Yu An asked suspiciously, "Zaizai, did you take the bow and arrows out to play?"
’That’s not right. I don’t think they know how to shoot an arrow.’
"No, we didn’t," Xiao Yu explained. "Female Mother, we found this donkey in the woods over there."
Little Serpent continued, "Female Mother, we searched for a long time but couldn’t find the hunter, so we brought it back."
"Female Mother, it’s just as my older brothers said."
Little Wolf asked curiously, "Female Mother, are the donkey meat burgers you mentioned before made with meat from this kind of animal?"
There’s an old saying: "In heaven, there is dragon meat; on earth, there is donkey meat." Since they could never taste dragon meat, when Yu An once mentioned that donkey meat was its earthly equivalent, the Zaizai had been fixated on it ever since.
’What would donkey meat, said to be comparable to Beast Father Ao Wu, taste like?’
"Yes, this is the one."
After asking Lu Lu and confirming that the donkey’s owner was nowhere to be found, Yu An stored it in her dimensional space, planning to make donkey meat burgers the next day.
"Alright, don’t dwell on it. For today, let’s just enjoy the grilled fish and beggar’s chicken, okay?"
The Zaizai all nodded in unison, gathering around the fire, each holding a fish and gnawing away.
’Han Li was such a character. He was so casual about raising the Zaizai, just telling them to "watch out for fish bones" and leaving it at that. But then he’d turn around and meticulously pick the bones out for Yu An.’
Their Female Mother and Beast Father were being so sweet to each other. Xiao Hu tugged on Da Hu. "Big Brother, I get the feeling we’re kind of in the way."
"Yeah," Da Hu agreed, taking a vicious bite of fish. "We shouldn’t be here. We should be in her space."
Xiao Yu giggled. "It’s okay! Annoying Han Li Beast Father is a very useful purpose for us to have!"
Little Serpent and Little Wolf voiced their agreement, then scurried over to Yu An to offer her the fruit they had just picked.
’So they were doing it on purpose!’
’Han Li wished he could give those two a thrashing... no, all five of them. But with Yu An right there, he had no choice but to suppress the impulse.’
’Forget it. I’ll just have to yield again. Otherwise, the one to fall out of favor won’t be the cubs, but the cubs’ father.’
The meal passed in a heartwarming display of fatherly love and filial piety. Since it was still early, the Zaizai clung to Yu An, chattering away. In a fit of pique, Han Li... set up a second tent.
’Fine, I’ll yield yet again. He and his wife would sleep in one tent, and the little brats could sleep in the other.’
Yu An found it hilarious. ’If he took any more steps back, he’d fall right into the river.’
While the atmosphere on their side was harmonious, not far away, a party of people was heading in their direction.
Due to a shared experience many years ago, the four great families—Mo, Han, Feng, and Lan—had become acquainted. They had an agreement to organize a training expedition periodically for the younger members of their clans to test their skills against one another.
This particular expedition was supposed to be for the younger generation to team up and train. However, because both the Tian Family of Tianhuan City and the Yu Family of Earth Geography City had offered a massive bounty for the Snow Flower, the Family Heads of the four families had joined in as well.
Tonight, it was the Feng family’s turn to hunt for food. Patriarch Feng, on a whim, had shot a wild donkey, but the creature was surprisingly tenacious and hadn’t died even after taking three arrows.
A subtle rivalry simmered between the four families. When the other three Family Heads jokingly teased Patriarch Feng about getting old, he flew into a rage and led the Feng family disciples to track down the escaped donkey.
He was a stubborn man, and the other three Family Heads couldn’t dissuade him. Though they were unhappy about traipsing around in the middle of the night for his sake, they had to maintain appearances.
And so, the party, which should have been setting up camp for the night, set out once more to search for a rather insignificant wild donkey.
The younger disciples didn’t dare complain openly, but the whispers among their companions were incessant, causing the faces of the Feng family disciples to burn with humiliation.
Patriarch Feng’s son, Feng Qi, felt particularly humiliated. ’Ever since that bastard offended the Tian Family,’ he thought grimly, ’Father’s moods have become more and more unpredictable.’
Many years ago, Feng Xuan and some others from the Feng family, who had been sent to the Tian Family to cultivate, had joined forces with a young Demon and thrown the Tian Family into chaos. Once the Tian Family recovered, they immediately came to demand an explanation from the Feng family.
Although others had also participated, the most audacious of the group, aside from that young Demon, had been Feng Xuan.
Feng Qi thought of Feng Xuan, whose whereabouts remained unknown to this day, and then glanced at his temperamental father. His heart grew heavy with gloom.
’The Feng family is going downhill. As the Young Master, my future is completely bleak!’
"I’m starving. Does anyone have any rations left?"
"I’m out... I think everyone is. We were all waiting for the roast."
"It’s just a wild donkey. Is all this really necessary?"
With their stomachs empty, the group grew hungrier the more they walked. The complaints, which had started with just a few people, soon spread through the entire party.
Patriarch Feng wasn’t deaf, and he heard the complaints. He was losing face, but he was even more determined not to give up halfway.
’Wouldn’t that be even more humiliating?’
Feng Qi had been hesitant the entire way, but just as he steeled himself to reason with his father, he suddenly smelled a captivating aroma.
It was a scent unlike any he had ever encountered—spicy yet sweet, and within that sweetness was... an indescribable aroma.
Someone sniffed the air. "That’s the smell of grilled fish. There must be someone up ahead. We should take a detour."
"There are so many of us; anyone who sees us might think we’re looking for a fight."
"We’re all starving. If a misunderstanding leads to a fight, we’re sure to be defeated."
"No, that’s not the smell of grilled fish."
Patriarch Feng’s eyes lit up. "I’ve never smelled such a unique fragrance. Brother Mo, Brother Han, Brother Lan, perhaps this scent is from the Snow Flower!"
’In truth, he had no idea what the source of the aroma was. But a moment ago, a brilliant idea had struck him—a way to use this situation to recover his lost pride.’
’No one actually knew what a Snow Flower smelled like, so... what if?’
’And taking a step back, even if it wasn’t the Snow Flower, he was certain that the source of such a unique aroma had to be something extraordinary!’
By the fire, Da Hu, hungry again after all his running and jumping, picked up the cumin shaker. He sprinkled a generous amount over some roasted potatoes, then shared them with his younger brothers, and they all dug in.
’So delicious!’