Chapter 81: Running into a Fool at the Stall
Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Running into a Fool at the Stall
The evening wind howled.
It was already autumn in the Green Origin Realm, but with her body protected by Spiritual Power, Lu Wu wasn’t afraid of the cold.
As the cold wind blew, she gazed down the empty street, where only gusts of wind stirred. Having not made a single sale, Lu Wu rubbed her hands together and then patted her stomach.
She was getting a little hungry.
’No customers? Guess I’ll just have to serve myself.’
"You two want some?"
She asked, looking at the bird and the dog, and unsurprisingly received an affirmative answer.
Lu Wu placed a few meat skewers into the spicy red chili oil broth to cook. The meat, which often carried a hint of a raw, bloody aroma, was perfectly suited for the intensely flavored and seasoned spicy red chili oil base.
As for the fresh vegetables, Lu Wu placed them in the clear broth base.
This method allowed the food to retain its essence, preserving its original flavor.
The bright red, spicy beef had been marinated by Lu Wu in advance. The rosy meat, coated in chili, trembled delicately on its bamboo skewer.
You had to pay close attention to the cooking time for beef. Too long, and it would get tough and chewy.
She had sliced it thin, so it would absorb the flavors more easily.
After dipping the skewer in and out of the broth a few times, the beef began to change color and was cooked through in moments.
She pulled it out. The aroma was incredible.
Lu Wu was just about to pull the meat off the skewer to make it easier for her animals to eat when she saw Huohuo clutching the bamboo stick with its claws, its beak slowly pecking at the beef. Dahuang, on the other hand, simply bit down and tore, ripping the slice of meat clean off.
’Well, guess they don’t need my help.’
Lu Wu was happy to let them be.
She also mixed up a dipping sauce for herself.
Chopped scallions, minced garlic, cilantro, millet chilis, sesame oil, fragrant vinegar, and light soy sauce—all mixed together, this was the so-called "all-purpose dipping sauce." You couldn’t go wrong with it.
"HSSS..."
The spicy beef was made with Lu Wu’s own homemade chili powder, a blend of various peppers with off-the-charts heat. With a single bite, she felt her entire body catch fire.
A wave of heat washed over Lu Wu. She panted, breathing out hot air, but refused to let go of the skewer in her hand.
’Spicy, but delicious.’
The spicier it was, the more addictive it became.
Her lips were a little red and swollen. Hissing from the heat, Lu Wu picked up a skewer of duck intestines.
To be honest, Lu Wu was quite fond of offal.
Duck intestines, duck gizzards—whenever she had skewers or hot pot in the past, these were always must-order items.
The duck intestines, threaded onto the skewer, were wonderfully chewy.
The unique flavor of the intestines, infused with the heat of the spices and coated in a layer of dipping sauce, was so good that as Lu Wu devoured it, her scalp tingled with satisfaction.
The aroma washed over her like a tidal wave. Even as its creator, Lu Wu couldn’t resist the numbing, spicy, and savory flavor.
Such was the magic of skewers.
Night Fragrance, true to its name, was truly fragrant.
After satisfying her craving for spice, Lu Wu fished out the vegetable skewers from the clear broth.
She bit into a large chunk of corn. It was sweet, crisp, and tender, the juices bursting in her mouth, making her devour several more pieces.
The potato slices, thin as a cicada’s wing, and the lotus root, white as jade, were both saturated with broth. Eaten together, one was soft and starchy, the other refreshingly crisp.
In that moment, a symphony of life danced on the tip of Lu Wu’s tongue.
CHIRP! CHIRP!
WOOF! WOOF!
The two little demon beasts were once again in awe of their master’s culinary skills.
Focused solely on filling her stomach, Lu Wu didn’t notice the door to the gambling den creak open.
A figure drifted out like a ghost and stood before her stall, watching as Lu Wu squatted on the ground, feasting alongside her two demon beasts.
At first, the man’s face was devoid of expression.
His eyes, full of vigilance, were fixed on Lu Wu. His cold, sinister gaze scanned her, as if searching for the perfect spot to strike.
He concealed his killing intent well, but his expression soon began to change.
Perhaps it was because the smell of the skewers was simply too enticing. It drifted over in waves, drilling straight into his nostrils until his whole body went limp, unable to even think of resisting.
His killing intent vanished. The man, his eyes now clear, looked at the oblivious Lu Wu. He was just about to speak when he realized his mouth was full.
It was full of saliva, an instinctive reaction from his body.
As a result, the moment he opened his mouth, a long trail of drool dripped from the corner.
It was at this exact moment that Lu Wu, having just finished her skewer and wanting another, looked up.
"Huh?"
She looked up and saw a middle-aged man who had appeared out of nowhere. He was standing in front of her stall with a dazed expression, a trickle of drool running down the corner of his mouth.
’From the looks of it, he’s a simpleton.’
’Though, judging by the simpleton’s clothes, he must come from a good family. They’re very clean and well-kept.’
Their eyes met. Lu Wu was perfectly calm, while the man, on the other hand, was mortified.
It took all his self-control to resist the urge to kill her to silence the witness. Faced with Lu Wu’s pitying gaze, the man wanted to open his mouth and explain.
Then, inspiration struck. He decided to play along. He broke into a wide, foolish grin and let out a goofy laugh at Lu Wu.
"Hehe, eat, eat..."
He pointed at the skewers, slurring his words.
’I’m acting like a simpleton. Isn’t it perfectly normal for a simpleton to drool at the sight of good food?’
’As long as I don’t say anything, no one will ever know my true identity.’
Pleased with his quick thinking, the man continued to smile foolishly at Lu Wu.
"Do you have any money? Spirit Stones, I mean."
Lu Wu wiped the broth from the corners of her own mouth with a handkerchief before getting up to ask.
’I don’t mind if my customer is a simpleton, but the whole point of this stall is to make money. I’m not giving anything away for free.’
’Not even for a simpleton.’
"Have... have some."
The man mimicked the speech of a simpleton and fumbled around in his clothes for a while, though in reality, he was rummaging through his Storage Space.
’Low-grade spirit stones... How long has it been since I’ve used these?’
After searching every nook and cranny, he finally managed to dig out a few of the required Spirit Stones.
He promptly tossed them onto the counter of the stall.
’A simpleton wouldn’t bother counting them.’
A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of the man, who was quite proud of his performance.
In truth, he had noticed Lu Wu the moment she appeared on the street. As the person in charge of the casino, his first reaction upon seeing a stranger acting secretively was that someone was planning to make a move on his establishment.
So, he had come out to eliminate the potential threat beforehand.
But who would have thought that the woman would set up a stall right in front of the casino?
The casino was his, but the street outside wasn’t. He couldn’t very well stop her from doing business.
Then, he watched as the woman, after waiting a short while, started eating herself.
She didn’t have a single customer, yet she was eating with great relish.
This made him even more certain that the woman was up to something, so he decided to come out and confront her.
But who could have known? The moment he opened the door, the aroma of the skewers hit him full in the face. The force of it was like a brutal slap from a Mahayana cultivator, stunning him senseless.
Seeing the way the human, the bird, and the dog were eating, he knew these skewers had to be genuinely delicious.
Smelling that aroma, his mouth began to water uncontrollably.
His years of self-discipline suddenly felt like a joke.
’But now, I’m actually glad I’m being mistaken for a simpleton.’
’Under normal circumstances, I’d be too proud to eat at a roadside stall like this.’
’After all, my daily meals are prepared by top-tier chefs, but none of their food has ever looked more tempting than this.’
’Could it be? Is there something in it that shouldn’t be there, something specifically targeting me?’
For a moment, he fell into a spiral of conspiracy theories.
’But I’m confident in my own power. Ordinary substances can’t harm my body.’
’So, I must test it myself to find out what’s going on.’
’Yes, I’m just that adventurous.’