Chapter 55: The Hundred Flowers Wanderer’s Life of Toil

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The Hundred Flowers Wanderer’s Life of Toil

Chu Fan caught a mountain muntjac in the forest and gathered some wild grasses and flowers that Yan Ying couldn’t name.

Chu Fan used his True Qi to grind the wild grasses and flowers into a fine powder. He mixed it with salt and water and fed it to the muntjac.

Because it was so salty, the muntjac was completely unwilling to drink. But somehow, he managed to make it obediently drink an entire large basin of the mixture.

After that, Chu Fan started walking the muntjac until it was exhausted to the point of collapse. Only then did he bleed and slaughter it.

After slaughtering it, he didn’t gut it, skin it, or chop it into pieces. Instead, he mixed wine with mud and coated the entire muntjac in a thick layer.

He used his Long Sword to dig a pit oven on a slope, then gathered firewood and started a fire.

The fire wasn’t strong enough, so Chu Fan directly used his True Qi to fuel the flames.

Yan Ying watched this scene, sighing and shaking her head. "You’re probably the first person in history to ever use True Qi like this."

Over an hour later, Chu Fan removed the mud-caked muntjac from the pit oven. As he broke away the mud, the animal’s fur came off with it, leaving it completely clean.

Only then did he begin to gut it, immediately discarding the offal. He found a few honeycombs and slathered a thick layer of honey all over the muntjac meat, inside and out. He propped it up with two Long Swords and continued to roast it over a bonfire below.

During the roasting process, worried that the uneven heat would scorch the meat, Chu Fan stood to the side and manipulated his True Qi to ensure the flames cooked the muntjac evenly.

Gradually, a fragrant aroma began to fill the air. Yan Ying couldn’t help but swallow as she smelled it.

Watching the skin slowly turn a honey-gold and crispy, Yan Ying wished she could just tear off a piece and devour it right then and there.

After another hour, Chu Fan shouted, "It’s done!"

Chu Fan began to carve the muntjac meat with a dagger, explaining as he worked.

"The water I fed it earlier was just salt and spices. I walked it afterward so the spices would circulate throughout its body via the meridians. Ordinary chefs either add spices during steaming or boiling, or they marinate the meat beforehand. But with either method, some of the freshness is lost, or the flavor of the spices just sits on the surface."

"This way, the fragrance of the spices and the saltiness of the base flavor come from the inside out. By immediately encasing it in mud after slaughter, you lose as little of its unique, fresh flavor as possible."

"Then why did you coat it in honey and roast it again afterward?"

"Ah, this is the part you don’t get. Roasting it in the mud right after slaughter was to preserve the original freshness of the meat. Muntjac has a gamy taste. By removing the organs when it’s half-cooked, you get rid of most of that gaminess. The honey helps neutralize any remaining gamy flavor, and roasting it with a honey glaze makes the skin crispy and prevents it from burning. Here, try a piece of the skin first."

As he spoke, Chu Fan handed her a piece of the crispy, honey-gold skin.

Yan Ying took a small bite, and her eyes instantly lit up. She quickly finished the rest with a series of crunches, eating so fast she nearly bit her tongue.

"How is it?"

"Quick, quick, let me try the meat!" Yan Ying said impatiently.

Chu Fan carved a piece of meat and handed it to her.

She ate until her mouth was slick with grease, completely disregarding her image.

"I never expected you to have the potential to be a chef! If you ever give up Cultivation, you should open a restaurant. You’d have an endless stream of customers," Yan Ying praised loudly.

"The meat comes out so fresh and delicious. It’s infused with the fragrance of the spices, but they don’t overpower the original flavor of the ingredients. And when you roast it this way, the meat is tender, not tough at all..."

GURGLE! A faint sound from the woods immediately put Chu Fan and Yan Ying on alert.

They were both at Level 17 in Spiritual Power now, and not the slightest disturbance within a three-mile radius could escape their detection.

That "GURGLE" sound had clearly come from a person’s stomach.

For someone to approach them so silently, it could only mean their Spiritual Power was even higher than theirs.

"This disgraceful stomach... couldn’t keep the gluttony worm inside quiet. To think it gave me away. Sigh!" A short, plainly dressed old man walked out of the woods, muttering to himself as he went.

The old man was five feet tall at most, but his salt-and-pepper hair and beard were neatly groomed. The most peculiar things about him were his unusually large rosacea nose and the equally large gourd hanging from his waist.

His rosacea nose was at least twice the size of a normal person’s, giving him a rather ugly appearance.

The gourd at his waist was about a foot long, and it looked rather out of place hanging on his frame.

"Young man, my mouth was watering just listening to you talk. How about you let this old man have a taste? You two kids can’t eat this much anyway."

The old man walked closer, his eyes fixed on the muntjac meat in front of Chu Fan.

Yan Ying frowned slightly, sizing up the old man.

Chu Fan couldn’t see through the old man’s Cultivation at all, which meant he was definitely a master. It was just a piece of meat, so naturally, he wasn’t reluctant to share.

Even if it weren’t an old man with unfathomable Cultivation—even if it were just a stranger passing by—Chu Fan wouldn’t have been so stingy, as long as there was no hostility.

He immediately carved a large piece of meat and offered it to the old man.

"This old man doesn’t take things for free." The old man accepted the meat, first holding it to his nose to smell it. Then he uncorked the gourd at his waist and said, "Open your mouths."

Chu Fan quickly waved his hands. "Senior, it’s just a piece of meat. There’s no need, really."

"Enough nonsense. This old man never takes advantage of anyone. Now, open up."

"Senior, really, there’s no need. Besides, I don’t drink."

"You little brat, so timid." As the old man spoke, he gave a light wave with the hand holding the meat.

Chu Fan and Yan Ying found they were completely unable to move.

Not only that, but their mouths also opened against their will.

Then, a jet of liquid shot out from the gourd at the old man’s waist, split into two streams in mid-air, and landed perfectly in the mouths of Chu Fan and Yan Ying.

They didn’t even need to swallow. Once it entered their mouths, it flowed directly into their stomachs without the slightest feeling of nausea or discomfort.

They could only sense that the liquor was sweet and incredibly fragrant, filled with the aroma of fruits and flowers.

The stream continued for a good thirty minutes, as if the gourd at the old man’s waist held an endless supply. It was only when he finished the muntjac meat in his hand that he remembered, waving a hand to plug the gourd. If he hadn’t, the liquor probably would have kept flowing for another half hour without running dry.

"Aiya, aiya, serves you right for being so greedy, serves you right. I’ve taken a loss this time." The old man lightly slapped his own mouth with his greasy hand.

Then, with a somewhat fawning expression, the old man turned to Chu Fan and said, "Kid, this old man gave you a bit too much liquor by mistake and took a loss. How about I eat another piece of meat to make up for it?"

He was a strange man, operating on his own set of bizarre rules.

By this time, Chu Fan could move again. He picked up his dagger to carve more meat but suddenly felt as if his entire body was being incinerated by a raging fire.

"Senior, this liquor..." Chu Fan asked.

"It’s fine, it’s fine. Liquor is a good thing. It can wash away a hundred sorrows and cure a hundred ills. You’ll be alright after you sleep it off," the old man said, waving his hand dismissively.

At this point, Yan Ying’s face was already flushed. She exclaimed in shock, "You’re the senior, the Hundred Flowers Wanderer?"

The old man looked at Yan Ying in surprise. "Eh? You, a little girl, know this old man?"

With rare reverence, Yan Ying bowed to the old man and said, "My master is Master Yunchen of the Celestial Dao Palace."

"That old coot Yunchen sure is lucky to have found a good disciple like you." The old man snorted, then turned his gaze to Chu Fan. "And you, kid? Whose disciple are you?"