Snapping off a branch, Huo Yuhao used the White Tiger Blade to trim the tip. The blade, emitting a faint green glow, sliced through the wood as if it were tofu, meeting no resistance at all. In a few quick strokes, the end of the branch was sharpened to a fine point.
Huo Yuhao slipped the White Tiger Blade back into its scabbard and tucked it against his lower back, then walked over to the small stream carrying the branch.
Taking a slight breath, his eyes instantly brightened. The crystal-clear stream water magnified in his vision down to the finest detail. The subtle ripples of the water, and even the tiny shrimp nestled in the cracks of the stones at the riverbed, escaped no notice from the Spirit Eye. Moreover, everything around him slowed down.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao struck like lightning, thrusting the branch swiftly into the stream.
"Splotch—" With a lift of his hand and a flick of his wrist, he speared a half-foot-long green fish.
Though pierced by the branch, the fish retained its tenacious vitality, its powerful tail thrashing back and forth. Huo Yuhao gripped the branch tightly, feeling the fierce final release of life as it faded away.
Pulling the fish from the branch, he pinched its head between his forefinger and thumb, exerting force simultaneously. In the next moment, the poor fish stopped moving entirely. Repeating the process a few times, within a short while Huo Yuhao had speared over a dozen green fish, ranging from half a foot to a foot in length, bringing a genuine, heartfelt smile to the corners of his lips.
After scouting the surrounding area once more to ensure no Soul Beasts were approaching to harass him, Huo Yuhao squatted beside the stream to gut the fish.
Skilfully scooping out the viscera and casting them aside, he used the razor-sharp White Tiger Blade to easily scrape away the scales. Soon, all dozen-plus fish were cleaned.
He gathered some withered large leaves from the woods, rinsed them in the stream, and laid the washed fish upon them. Finding some dry twigs for firewood, Huo Yuhao plucked a few nearly fallen, withered pinecones from nearby pine trees.
These oil-rich pinecones made natural tinder. Retrieving a fire-starter from his Storage Soul Tool, he flipped open the cap and blew gently. A small flame leaped out, and within moments, a small campfire crackled to life by the stream.
Huo Yuhao's peripheral vision swept over the pile of fish entrails he had left by the bank. They showed no signs of being missing or gnawed upon, and no claw marks marred the ground nearby, which set his mind considerably at ease.
The banks of streams often drew a variety of animals—some simply for a drink, others to quench their thirst while securing their next meal. Thus, despite the stream's clear, ethereal appearance of immaculate purity, the next moment could see rolling blood instantly stain the seemingly pristine waters.
Scoring diamond patterns into the sides of the fish, Huo Yuhao separated the flesh along the bone while keeping the back intact. He rubbed a pinch of salt onto the fish, stuffed a few torn perilla leaves into their bellies, and then produced from his Storage Soul Tool a jar of secret sauce he had recently developed, brushing a light layer over them.
Huo Yuhao's entire sequence of movements was smooth and fluid, accomplished in a single breath. There was no mystery to it: this grilled fish was his capital for making a living when he went to Shrek to do business. Its flavor had received unanimous praise from everyone in Ashina, and even the usually taciturn Sculptor "Orangutan" had ended up speaking quite a few more words at one go.
"I haven't had grilled fish this delicious in so long. The last time I had fish like this, it was grilled by Kawasemi."
"Next time you bring wine, remember to grill a fish as well, kid."
And that had been made with mere salt and perilla. With Huo Yun's help, Huo Yuhao had used spices he spent the last three years collecting to concoct several secret sauces with distinct flavor profiles, earning repeated nods of approval from Huo Yun'er herself.
Before long, a distinctive aroma began to diffuse above the fire—rich and possessing a unique temptation of its own. As Huo Yuhao slowly turned them, the green fish gradually transformed into a golden hue, pairing with the heavy fragrance to look exceptionally appetizing.
Huo Yuhao only grilled two fish for now, leaving the rest prepared. Grilling too many at once made controlling the heat difficult. The wealthy citizens of Shrek City paid for sophistication and cared nothing for the scarcity of food; on the contrary, the scarcer the food, the better it reflected the nobility of their social stratum. Therefore, whenever Huo Yuhao trained himself in culinary arts, he always pursued perfection.
"Shit Aotian, is my nose broken? Did you smell a very special aroma? The kind that's completely different from what we eat inside the sect?"
In the dense forest not far from Huo Yuhao, an old man and a youth were walking side by side through the woods. Suddenly, the old man flared his nostrils and spoke in earnest to the young man beside him.
A look of helplessness crossed the face of the youth called Aotian, his rugged features forced to maintain a strained expression of agreement.
"Yes, Master. That's the fourth time you've said that today. I told you before, there's no problem with me hunting Soul Beasts by myself. How nice it would be if you stayed in the sect to enjoy your twilight years."
As soon as the youth finished speaking, he received a sharp knock on the head from the old man.
"What do you mean, enjoy my twilight years? I'm only a little over a hundred years old; I'm still young compared to those old immortals. Even if I stayed in the sect, I'd be holding down the fort—what damned twilight years? Besides, I'm not joking around this time. I really smelled a very special aroma..."
"Right, right, right. Master, you're right. If you want to eat something good, just turn thirty li to the left and go straight to the nearby gathering point. There's bound to be someone doing business where those minor Soul Masters rest and prepare. I can hunt the Soul Beasts myself."
Aotian's tone was earnest, but the perfunctory air in his words was about to overflow.
"You unfilial disciple, I'm really not lying to you this time. It really has that kind of fragrant, very special scent—the kind that exists only in heaven and never on earth, something that shouldn't appear in the mortal world..."
"Pfft."
An untimely chuckle broke out between them. The old man's previously animated face instantly darkened. But when he looked up, the youth's expression remained entirely earnest, as if listening intently to his description and nodding thoughtfully from time to time.
"I repeat, I am not joking. That scent really is fragrant—truly of a very special kind!"
"Right, right, right—pfft!"
Long Aotian tried his utmost to maintain an expression of listening seriously to the explanation, but finally couldn't help it and let out a snort of laughter, lowering his head while his shoulders shook incessantly as if trying desperately to hold something back.
The old man finally lost his temper, jumping up and waving his arms.
"Unfilial disciple, you've been laughing this whole time! You haven't stopped once!"