At this time, the people waiting anxiously in the hall had grown impatient, and Hei Feng also showed signs of hunger, eager to eat.
Seeing the growing murmurs in the hall, he turned his head and beckoned to a subordinate, instructing him, "Go see what's happening in the kitchen. Why hasn't the food been served yet?"
"Yes."
Immediately, the subordinate rushed to the kitchen. Upon entering, he saw one person washing vegetables, another leisurely watching the fire, and the person in the pot, surprisingly relaxed, even eating an apple.
He deliberately raised his voice and shouted, "What are you doing! The master and the brothers are getting impatient. Why isn't it cooked yet?"
The two heard the commotion and looked up at him blankly. Seeing the催促, I took the initiative to speak to him, saying, "Are they already impatient? But this human flesh is different from other meats. This is divine flesh that can grant immortality. If it's not cooked properly, its efficacy will be lost."
He listened to my words, a look of confusion on his face, thinking: This person must be crazy. Knowing he's about to be eaten, yet he so brazenly offers suggestions. But the master said this human flesh is extremely delicious, unique in heaven and earth. I'm also eager to try it.
As he thought, he couldn't help but get excited, rubbing his hands happily, wiping the saliva about to drip from the corner of his mouth, and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone is impatient. Hurry up and stew it so we can eat the meat."
At this moment, the brother tending the fire supported me, saying, "I think she's right. If you want to eat good meat, you have to stew it slowly. If you cook it quickly, it won't be good meat."
"Then what should we do? Everyone is anxious, and the master is also impatient."
I said, "There are so many brothers who want to eat meat, but I am only one. Look how thin I am, I can only be described as skin and bones. There isn't much meat on me. If we divide the meat, each person can only have two pieces the size of a fingernail. Even then, everyone will still be very hungry. Why don't you make some dishes to tide everyone over first?"
The few people listened and thought it made sense. I volunteered, saying, "I know how to cook. I can help with the cooking."
The three looked at me, bewildered. The young man who was cutting vegetables refused, "No, no, if you cook, how will we cook you?"
I said, "I'm not in a hurry to be eaten. Since you're worried about not eating me, how about this: I'll teach you how to cook a few dishes here. I'll tell you how to do it."
The three thought this was a good idea. This way, they could have more time to cook and also alleviate everyone's restlessness. So they agreed to my suggestion. I floated on the water and slowly raised my finger, saying, "The first dish is fruit. Eating more fruit is good for your health. You guys wash those apples, cut each apple into four pieces, and serve them to everyone."
They started to act according to my words. One washed apples, one cut apples, and one got plates. After the apples were cut, the messenger immediately took them to Hei Feng.
Hei Feng glanced over and saw the younger brother who had delivered the message carefully carrying a plate of cut apples from the stone door and placing it before him. The younger brother explained, "The kitchen said that divine meat like this needs to be stewed slowly to be effective, so they sent some appetizers to tide everyone over first."
Hei Feng thought it made sense and nodded in agreement.
The younger brother then said, "Master, there are many other dishes in the kitchen. Shall I bring some people to help carry them?"
"Alright, pick a few people."
Saying this, he turned and walked down the steps to call a few people to the kitchen.
I slightly raised my eyes to look at the apples arranged in rows on the cutting board, thinking they had cut enough. So I said, "The second dish is called white radish soup. It's made by putting chopped white radishes in a pot to boil, adding a little salt and some fennel."
Following my instructions, they began to busy themselves again. The younger brother also brought people to take away the fruit plates.
Then I said, "For the third dish, cook the sweet potatoes until they are done, then put them on a plate, mash them, and add some honey."
As soon as I finished speaking, they started working again. I looked at the apple cores in my hand and felt I hadn't eaten enough, so I said, "I want to eat another apple. Can someone get it for me?"
The vegetable-washing brother slowly got up, casually picked up an apple, and threw it to me. I took the apple and leisurely ate it while soaking in the water.
I thought, I should stall for time. Once Jin Peng attacks, I can leave.
At the same time, outside Nanshan, in the dense jungle, many civets had already been lurking in secret.
Jin Peng received the news from Ali immediately: the sacrificial ceremony was proceeding smoothly. The attack would commence after nightfall.
According to the plan, Jin Peng would deal with the Mountain God, while the civets would infiltrate the Mountain God's territory and destroy their strongholds.
The civets lurking nearby during the day saw the Mountain God's subordinates carry away the sacrificial offerings. They then informed the village chief. Knowing the plan was proceeding smoothly, the village chief secretly led his men up the mountain.
At night, the village chief broke off a nearby branch and stuck it in a crack in a rock, waiting quietly. When a slight breeze blew, pressing the branch down without it recovering, the village chief knew it was a good time to attack. He decisively created smoke to signal Jin Peng to attack.
Soon, a dark, cloud-like swarm of Jin Peng birds appeared and engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Bears in mid-air. Fire and sparks flew, and bodies, like scattered starlight, were seen falling.
At this moment, the people in the hall also heard the commotion outside the cave. Then, an injured brother ran in from outside, shouting in panic, "Bad news! Bad news! Jin Peng is here! Jin Peng is here!"
Upon hearing this, Hei Feng stood up in surprise and blurted out, "What!"
The brother rushed to Hei Feng and said, "Bad news, bad news, master! Jin Peng has attacked, and most of the Black Bears have been burned to death."
"What! He came at this time?" Although Hei Feng was surprised, he still tried to calm his anger and said to everyone, "Brothers, since he has come to our doorstep, let's take this opportunity to eliminate him. Come out with me."
Everyone stood up and shouted, "Yes!"
A roar of battle cries erupted, "Charge!" A group of small demons suddenly emerged from the dark wilderness, each holding a bow and arrow. They lit their arrows and fired. Soon, the dark sky was illuminated by the flames.
Floating in the pot, I heard the roars from outside and thought that Jin Peng must have started the battle.
The two chefs were trembling with fear, and the fire-tending brother also shivered, saying, "It seems Jin Peng has arrived. It sounds like a lot of people have come this time. Are we finished?"
The vegetable-cutting brother also became scared and replied haphazardly, "Yes, no, no."
Seeing their trembling, I incited them, saying, "Listen to the battle cries. You can guess that Jin Peng is attacking fiercely this time, probably preparing to take down Nanshan in one go. I guess many brothers have already died outside. You two have treated me well, so I advise you to escape quickly. You can come back when the situation stabilizes."
The fire-tending brother wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and worried, "If we sneak away, and the master finds out we're gone, won't he skin us alive?"
"Don't worry, he won't. It's uncertain whether he can survive. Even if he survives, you can say you were misled by my nonsense and ran out. He'll at most give you a few spankings, and you'll be fine."
"Can that really happen?" The vegetable-cutting brother was still a little worried.
"Trust me, it's reliable. If you don't leave now, they'll probably break in. If you're not afraid, go out and fight Jin Peng now."
The two looked at each other, nodded slightly, and felt that what I said made sense. So they said, "Thank you. We'll meet again. We're leaving."
"Okay..."
Before I could say goodbye, they had already disappeared.
Watching them leave, I slowly emerged from the pot. As I extended one foot, someone suddenly entered from outside the door, and I immediately retreated back into the pot.
斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu) entered, limping with his injured leg. He looked around the kitchen, which was quiet, with not a soul in sight, except for me bubbling in the pot. He was instantly filled with anger and said resentfully, "I've been feeding these two useless eaters for nothing. They've all run away. If I catch them, I'll make them pay."
I defended them, saying, "They heard the fighting outside and rushed out to help."
斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu) chuckled and looked at me, saying, "Fortunately, the master had the foresight to ask me to check if you had escaped. Fortunately, I came in time, otherwise, you little girl would have gotten away."
What kind of time is this, and he's still thinking about me. It's truly speechless. This 斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu) is not as easily fooled as those two cooks. I need to find a way.
斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu), injured, felt very aggrieved and muttered to himself, "Damn Jin Peng, why now of all times? The master will destroy them sooner or later. Oh! My leg."
He supported his injured old leg with both hands and slowly walked to the large pot. He picked up the firewood stacked nearby and added it to the fire, sighing occasionally, "I wonder if I'll get to eat human flesh. Alas!"
I thought it would be more straightforward to deal with him, so I took the opportunity to say, "Since you can't eat me, why don't you let me go?"
Hearing my words, he slowly stood up, raised his head, squinted one eye, and his demeanor immediately changed. He put his hands on his hips, crooked his mouth, and questioned, "Who do you think you are? Daring to order me around. I'm going to eat you today."
Why does his speech sound so strange? I retorted, "Actually, you can choose not to eat me."
"Are you telling me what to do?" He raised his head with an arrogant expression.
Saying this, he got up, brought a pile of firewood, and shoved it all into the stove. He didn't fall for the trap. I could only angrily say, "Hey! Letting me go would be a good deed. You've committed quite a few sins, shouldn't you do something good?"
He curled his lips dismissively, "Good deed? I was born to do bad things. You want to tell me what to do? If you're not convinced, come and hit me! Hit me! Hit me! Hahaha."
Seeing his arrogant and despicable demeanor, I was filled with rage and declared, "Fine, let's see if I can beat you to death. If I can't, I'll take your surname."
Saying this, I was about to climb out of the pot. 斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu) suddenly picked up a piece of wood from the ground and hit my hand. It hurt so much that I cried out, "Oh ho ho!" I angrily cursed him, "You have no martial ethics!"
He looked at me with confusion and asked, "What are martial ethics?" Then he laughed mockingly, "You still can't beat me."
Indeed, I am no match for him. This is terrible. Looking at the water that was gradually getting hot, I secretly shed tears.
Suddenly, a piece of wood flew over and hit 斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu) on the head. He cried out in pain, "Aiya!" and swayed from side to side, finally falling to the ground in a heap.
I was wondering what was happening when I saw Ali cautiously walking in from the door.
"Ali, you're finally here." I was overjoyed. It seemed I wouldn't die.
Ali walked to the water vat, scooped up a ladle of water, and extinguished the fire under the pot. Then he picked up a stool and rescued me from the pot.
Afterward, he dragged 斋道狐 (Zhai Dao Hu) outside the cave and then returned to burn down the cave dwelling.
I asked doubtfully, "Don't you want anything?"
"No, we civets don't need those things to remember past suffering. Let them disappear with the flames."
Ali looked at the raging fire, his eyes flashing with a sense of liberation. Then, he showed a satisfied smile and pulled me along, running down the mountain.
The Mountain God was fiercely fighting Jin Peng when he suddenly heard someone behind him shout, "Fire! Fire!" He was distracted for a moment and was stabbed in the left shoulder by Jin Peng's sword. Fortunately, he dodged in time, and only his left shoulder was hit. He looked down, his face filled with rage, and then attacked fiercely, stabbing Jin Peng's left abdomen with his sword and kicking him hard, sending him falling from mid-air.
Then he quickly turned and hurried towards the cave to put out the fire. Unexpectedly, a black net flew out of nowhere and caught him, bringing him to the ground. The one who caught him was none other than the civets he usually oppressed.
Hei Feng looked at the civets surrounding him in disbelief. He then saw Mu Ye and Ali emerge from among the civets and finally understood that this was all our plan.
He looked at me, but there was no resentment in his eyes, only a slight smile, "This was your idea, wasn't it?"
I nodded.
Instead of being angry, he praised, "Quite resourceful. Not bad, I think you're capable of great things."
I snorted proudly, not giving him a good look. The village chief then pushed through the crowd and pointed at Hei Feng, saying, "Hei Feng, you are finished. Prepare to face the judgment of our civet tribe."
Hei Feng smiled coldly and looked at him dismissively, "Old civet, don't think you'll be safe just because you defeated me. I will rise again sooner or later."
The village chief listened to his usual arrogance and looked at this stubborn person. He didn't want to waste any more words with him and directly said, "Take him away!"
"Yes," the civets replied, then stepped forward, grabbed him, and escorted him away.
Hei Feng's subordinates saw their leader being taken away, and without their leader, they knew they couldn't stay here any longer. They descended the mountain and went their separate ways.
At this moment, Jin Peng, seeing that victory was assured, was very happy. A flying bird landed on the ground and helped the injured Jin Peng leader, asking him, "Boss, what should we do next?"
Jin Peng clutched his wound, knowing he was seriously injured. Since they had won Nanshan, it was up to him when to take over. So he said, "Let's go back first. We'll send people to occupy Nanshan in a few days."
"Wouldn't that be too risky? Other mountain territories might target Nanshan."
"In this area, besides Nanshan, no one else can match us. There's no need to worry."
"Yes."
So Jin Peng led his troops back to Jinchuan first, waiting to reclaim Nanshan in a few days. However, they never expected that the civets would protect their homeland themselves.
The net that caught Hei Feng was called the "Tian Qian Di Kun Net," belonging to the third generation elders of the civet tribe.
Tian Qian Di Kun Net:
Legend has it that the Tian Qian Di Kun Net was an artifact of the dragon tribe, belonging to the Dragon King of the South Sea. During the interdimensional war ten thousand years ago, the dragon tribe accidentally lost this item. After several turns, it drifted to the Lonely Snow Sea and was discovered by the Snow Demon. The Snow Demon then gifted it to his friend, the third-generation elder of the civet tribe, Hui Shui.
It is rumored that the Tian Qian Di Kun Net is woven from the wings of the Northern Heavenly Tribe and the grass-binding hemp of the Southern Zhi Niao Tribe, making it very sturdy. Those captured by this net cannot break free using any demonic power without the captor's secret incantation. Its danger index is ★★★, ranking tenth on the list of the top ten demonic artifacts.