The villagers regarded Yu Su's magical prowess in the duel against the monstrous fish as god-like abilities, filled with awe and reverence.
Even Yu Mang and the others, who had heard Yu Su describe the magical powers, couldn't help but feel awe towards this strength. The look in their eyes towards Yu Su was equally filled with fanatic admiration.
They swarmed towards Yu Su, exclaiming:
"Yu Su, you're amazing."
"That monstrous fish had eaten so many people, yet you dealt with it just like that."
"Is this the power of cultivators? Lord Mountain God above, it's beyond imagination."
The excited crowd surrounded Yu Su, with Lu Yan standing behind him. Lu Yan made sure that the overly excited Yu Mang and the others didn't get too close to Yu Su. Still, his gaze was fervently fixed on Yu Su.
Yu Su's appearance during the battle with the monstrous fish was like a god descending, utterly captivating.
Such power was truly desirable.
He would definitely strive to cultivate and, in the future, stand together with Yu Su, wielding such power in battles!
"Alright, pull the bone fish up." To escape the enthusiastic crowd, Yu Su quickly gave the command.
Yu Mang and the others cheered, shouting and pulling the fish onto the shore.
The large bone fish, over two meters long, had a head and back covered with a menacing, rigid bone shell. The sharp white bone spikes made it look terrifying, and many people dared not approach.
"This fish is truly frightening.""Every year, someone accidentally gets eaten by this monstrous fish. Seeing its bone spikes, I feel frightened."
"Fear not, Lord Yu Su has caught it. It won't eat people anymore."
"But what should we do with such a large monstrous fish?"
"In my opinion, stewing and eating it would be perfect. If it dares to eat people, we'll eat it!"
Hearing the villagers' discussion, Yu Su couldn't help but admire the robust mentality of the primitive people. However, the bone fish was indeed edible; the elf specialist claimed its meat contained a hint of spiritual energy, reducing illnesses.
Since that was the case, not eating it would be a missed opportunity.
Yu Su instructed to gut and divide the fish meat among everyone to escape the enthusiastic crowd.
"Yu Su, you really ate it? Is it not poisonous?"
"Rest assured, not only is it not poisonous, its meat can even reduce illnesses."
Upon hearing Yu Su's words, the villagers who had wanted to eat the fish couldn't contain themselves. They immediately went home, fetched tools, and dismantled the troublesome bone fish into pieces.
They left the most delicious parts of the fish for Yu Su.
Looking at the fish meat, Yu Su had an idea. He went to the mountains, hunted a snow lamb hibernating in the deep mountains, and prepared a dish called "Fish and Lamb Delicacy."
Hearing about Yu Su making this dish, Lu Yan and the others gathered curiously.
First, Yu Su cut the processed lamb into chunks, blanched it to remove the gamey smell, then lightly fried the fish meat. Finally, he stewed both the lamb and fish meat together, sprinkling some seasonings during the process, and stewed for an hour.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The fragrance from the clay pot wafted continuously.
Jian Yunchuan and Yu Zhou couldn't help but inhale deeply; the aroma made their mouths water.
"Xiao Su, is it ready?" Jian Yunchuan asked.
"Almost, just a little longer," Yu Su said. Stewing needed its time; being impatient was like wanting to eat hot tofu.
After stewing for a full hour, Yu Su finally nodded and said, "It's ready."
Jian Yunchuan and the others immediately looked into the clay pot, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Yu Su served a bowl to each person. After taking a sip, the meat was tender, not fishy, and incredibly delicious.
"Ah..."
"So delicious."
After taking a sip of the soup, Jian Yunchuan sighed in satisfaction.
Lu Yan and Yu Zhou also enjoyed the meal.
Yu Su took a sip of the soup, extremely satisfied with his cooking skills. Of course, the two ingredients were crucial. Combined, they brought out the full richness of the word 'delicious.'
Of course, it would be perfect with a sprinkle of green onions and cilantro.
At this moment, snowflakes began to fall outside. A bit of cold wind seeped in through the cracks, but it didn't feel chilly; instead, it became more comfortable.
This winter day was entirely different from the winter days in Lu Yan's memory, where he often went hungry and endured the cold.
He looked at Yu Su, who was leisurely sipping the soup, a warm flow surging in his chest, making his heart warmer.
If Yu Su hadn't picked him up, none of this would have happened.
"Why aren't you eating properly? Why are you staring at me?" Yu Su wasn't a dead person. Being stared at by him, of course, he felt it and gave him a displeased look.
This guy even stared at him while eating. Could he still eat?
Lu Yan didn't know about Yu Su's complaint; if he did, he might have nodded.
Looking at Yu Su, he indeed had a great appetite.
*
After Yu Su's fierce battle with the monstrous fish, his prestige in the village rose another level.
No one in the village called him Yu Su anymore; everyone respectfully addressed him as "Lord Yu Su."
Even Yu Feng and the others followed suit, making Yu Su quite uncomfortable.
"You represent Lord Mountain God and are the new shaman in the village; it's normal to be called that way," Jian Yunchuan said, not finding it strange.
Yu Su glanced at him. "Have you been showing off in the village again?"
Jian Yunchuan choked for a moment, then said unabashedly, "My son is outstanding, so I can show off. Others want to show off but can't."
Jian Yunchuan felt proud, but Yu Su didn't know what to say to him.
As winter deepened, the weather became colder. The river outside the village quickly froze again.
The villagers, who were willing to come out for a stroll a while ago, returned to their houses to hibernate.
However, Yu Su's strengthening training continued.
As long as the snowfall was a bit weaker, he pulled Lu Yan and the others out of the village for training.
He was particularly cunning; he contracted two adult snow wolves, making a makeshift sled.
Then he sat leisurely on the sled, supervising Lu Yan and the others running outside.
"Accelerate! Didn't you have breakfast this morning?"
"Yu Mang, I'm talking about you. Why are you looking around?"
Yu Mang, the one called out, shrank his neck and obediently ran with the team.
Actually, he wasn't looking around; he just thought Yu Su's sled was particularly magical and couldn't help but take a few more glances.
This kind of thing, he saw it for the first time.
How didn't he think of training snow wolves to pull people before?
But in the past, when he encountered snow wolves, there was a high probability that he would become their food, rather than having the ability to tame them.
"Yu Su ge, when can I learn that contract technique?"
"When you can control spiritual power more delicately."
Yu Su didn't not teach; most of the people in the team had learned the contract technique, except for Yu Mang.
This guy liked to output spiritual power in a big way, and making him do delicate work, like controlling spiritual power to draw symbols, was more uncomfortable than killing him. He had been learning for several days and still hadn't mastered it.
Yu Yong and the others couldn't help but make fun of him. "Yu Mang, with your skills, you still want to be the vice team leader?"
Yu Su formed a team for them, and Lu Yan, being the strongest, naturally became the leader. The vice leader was Yu Feng, but Yu Mang also wanted to be one, so he competed with Yu Feng.
However, Yu Feng had already learned the contract technique, while Yu Mang still hadn't.
Yu Mang blushed. "I—I was giving in to Uncle Feng."
Yu Feng said, "I don't need you to give in. If you can beat me, I'll let you be the vice team leader."
Yu Feng and Yu Mang, both Frost Spirit roots, had talents not inferior to each other. Yu Feng was older, had a stable mentality, and wouldn't lose to Yu Mang in a fight.
Yu Mang straightened his neck. "Let's compare. After the training, we'll have a match."
Yu Feng was about to agree, but the two snow wolves pulling the sled suddenly howled.
"There are
people ahead."
In the vast white snow in front, a group of people dressed in fur coats was running frantically towards them, looking like they had escaped from somewhere.
Yu Su stood on the sled and looked around, saying, "Let's go and see."
To make it easier for the sled to run fast, this time they didn't enter the Deer God Mountain for training. Instead, they crossed the frozen river to the other side.
Now they were on the snowy plain on the other side of the river.
The group of people running out turned out to be from Hedong Village.
Yu Su's guess was correct, and the panicked group of people was indeed from Hedong Village.
Led by seven or eight young men, followed by more than twenty women and children, they had escaped from their village.
Their village had been attacked, and the attackers were numerous and brutal. To protect the women and children in the village, the village chief dueled with the attackers. The remaining people guarded the women and children and fled.
When they saw a team in front, they thought they had encountered people coming to intercept them, and they were scared, crying.
The seven or eight young men blocked the women and children behind them, holding sharp spears, and looked at the approaching team warily.
When the two sides approached, Yu Su told the team to stop.
The Hedong villagers, who were initially in a panic, were stunned when they saw Yu Su sitting on the sled.
They had never seen such a clean and delicate person before, wearing a snowy white fox fur, sitting on an unseen strange thing, and even being pulled by two snow wolves!
This ability to control snow wolves was awe-inspiring, like a god or shaman.
Moreover, although the other side had fewer people, each one was exceptionally strong, exuding a compelling force.
It gave them a feeling that these people were more intimidating than those who attacked their village.
"Who are you?" Yu Su asked, standing on the sled.
The people on the opposite side didn't know whether they were scared silly or what, and no one answered.
Frowning, Lu Yan, with a beast-like fierce gaze, swept over the people on the opposite side and said coldly, "Answer."
The momentum emanating from Lu Yan woke up those people. The young man leading them said quickly, "We are from Hedong Village. Who are you?"
"We are from Yu Village. What happened to Hedong Village?" Yu Su asked.
The young man was surprised when he heard that they were from Yu Village. He quickly relaxed his vigilance, and his expression became anxious. He quickly said, "Our village was attacked. The village chief fought with the attackers to protect the village's women and children. The others are here to find the village chief for help."