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Feet moving, he took advantage of the momentum to flip in the air and landed on one knee. He looked up to see the Rattle Snake gradually stop breathing and lie motionless on the ground.
He sat on the ground without any concern for his image, gasping for breath. Feeling that his Dantian was completely void of Phantom Power, Dugu Qianye pursed his lips. The strength of a level six Phantom Warrior was really not enough!
After resting, Dugu Qianye approached the snake, took out a dagger, and nodded in satisfaction as he noticed the blood didn't stick to it. Indeed, it was a fine dagger; it had pierced through the snake's thick skin effortlessly and didn't even get blood on it.
He went to the head of the snake, cracked open its skull, extracted the Demon Crystal, waved his hand, and stored the snake's body into his Spatial Ring before quickly leaving the scene of the battle.
"You wanted to eat me, hmm, I'll make snake soup and snake jelly out of you!"
For the next few days, Dugu Qianye kept training on the outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains, picking fights with lone Spiritual Beasts. Over the course of these days, her strength as a level six Phantom Warrior had stabilized, and she had made considerable progress with her Formless Divine Skill and Ethereal Step Technique. It seemed that training was indeed a good choice.
That day, Dugu Qianye was at the river, cleaning her wounds. She had just battled with a level five Spiritual Ape whose defense and attack were remarkable. It took a lot of effort to kill the Spiritual Ape, and she herself was littered with injuries.
After bandaging her wounds, Dugu Qianye was about to get up when she suddenly spotted a large cluster of plants, about 20–40 centimeters tall, near the riverbank. The whole plant was smooth and hairless, with a petiole about the length of a joint and a narrow lanceolate sheath. The leaves were trifoliate and the fruit was oblong, tapering at both ends, and densely covered with white bristles.
She blinked her eyes and recognized it immediately—wasn't this the essential seasoning cumin for skewers from her previous life?!
In her previous life, as the young miss of an Ancient Martial Family, aside from cultivating and performing tasks, she loved gourmet food the most. She could almost make every famous dish from various major cuisines, Chinese and Western alike, and barbecuing was her favorite pastime. So now, seeing the indispensable seasoning for barbecue, she couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement.
She picked a good amount of the cumin, leaving only a small portion for seeds. Sustainable development, she understood!
After collecting the cumin, she continued to walk further in, and before nightfall, she finally found an open space. The ground had some traces; this place must be frequently visited by people who were training.
She set up her tent with proficiency, then gathered some dry wood nearby to start a fire. On her way back, she noticed that two additional tents had appeared on the adjacent open space, and four people were setting up another. The people looked at Dugu Qianye curiously, but still nodded politely.
Dugu Qianye nodded back at them, then returned to her tent, lit the fire with the branches, and took out a chunk of previously cleaned Rattle Snake meat and an empty plate. She then took out her dagger, and after a blur of afterimages, the snake meat was sliced into pieces on the plate.
She rummaged in her ring, eventually choosing a weapon similar to an iron skewer, took it out, threaded the snake meat onto it piece by piece, and placed it over the fire to roast. She kept turning the meat slices, brushing them with salt, sesame oil, and other seasonings. Before long, the meat began to curl and sizzle with a delicious aroma that wafted through the air, drawing frequent glances from the others.
"Wow, that smells so good!" A tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a figure in bright red emerged, blinking as he approached Dugu Qianye.
"Wow, that smells great! Brother, could you please let me have a taste?" The man circled around the fire, back and forth.
Dugu Qianye glanced at him, noting his golden eyes and stature of one meter eighty. His age around eighteen or nineteen, and he wore a long red robe with a flamboyant audacity.
"Why should I let you have some?" She turned away from him, took out the cumin she had obtained today, and sprinkled it evenly over the meat, immediately releasing a rich fragrance.
"Because delicious food should be shared with others! Your grilled meat is the most fragrant I've ever smelled; it must also be the tastiest I've ever had!" The man was nearly drowning in his drool.
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Dugu Qianye narrowed his eyes as he recalled the first time he had grilled meat for Ruyan, who had said, "Your grilled meat is the most fragrant I've ever smelled, it must also be the most delicious I've ever tasted."
"Here you go." He placed the grilled meat onto another plate and handed it to the man, then bent his head and began to skewer snake meat for grilling.
The man took the plate, grabbed a piece of grilled meat, and stuffed it into his mouth, while eating he said, "This is really delicious! Truly the best grilled meat I've ever tasted! By the way, my name is Dan Jingtian, what's yours?"
Watching Dan Jingtian eat and huffing from the heat, Dugu Qianye suddenly felt like teasing him. After some thought, he said, "I'm a child from the Mud Pellet family on Dot Street in Wuyou Town next to Zixu City."
Dan Jingtian scratched the back of his head and said, "Zixu City, Wuyou Town, how come I've never heard of any of them? And what's this 'mud pellet' about?"
"Pfft"
"Pfft"
"Haha"
Laughter arose as the four individuals he had seen earlier approached. Three men and one woman, all about 20 years of age. The girl was dressed in a purple long dress, with her hair simply tied behind her head, exuding cheer; one of the men wore a deep blue robe with a gentle smile on his face; another was in a black robe, also with a smile; and the last one donned a golden armor, expressionless.
"Hehe, young brother, don't mind him. Jingtian here is just a glutton with a simple mind," the only female spoke up, "My name is Ye Canglan, the one in the deep blue clothes is Mo Ziqing, the one in black is Long Xiang, and Mr. Expressionless in gold is He Yan. Could I try some of your grilled meat?"
Dugu Qianye glanced at them and thought, inviting one person or a crowd was all the same. He handed over the plate of grilled meat to her and bent his head to continue grilling the snake meat.
Dan Jingtian, puzzled by everyone's laughter, said, "What's so funny?"
"Dumb!" Mo Ziqing knocked on Dan Jingtian's head, "Just remove the words 'city' and 'town' and read it again."
"Zixu, Wuyou, Dou, Mud Pellet, uh, a wild goose chase teasing you! No way, brother, you're pulling my leg!"
Seeing Dan Jingtian's sudden realization, everyone laughed even harder. Dugu Qianye couldn't help but smile as well.
"Brother, what did you use on this grilled meat, how come it smells so good?" After finishing his own portion, Dan Jingtian began to vie for some from Ye Canglan and the others.
"This." Dugu Qianye took out a bottle of cumin, "It's called cumin, an essential seasoning for grilling. Not only does it add flavor when you grill, but it also removes the gamey taste of the meat."
Dan Jingtian sniffed the bottle under his nose and commented, "Doesn't smell too strong though." Regardless, he still put the bottle into his Spatial Ring while sneaking a glance at Dugu Qianye.
"If you like it that much, keep it," Dugu Qianye said, trying to conceal his amusement at Dan Jingtian's actions.
"Haha, really? Brother, you're the best, I'm definitely making friends with you," Dan Jingtian laughed heartily. "But brother, what's your real name?"