Free Web NovelInside the room, which was a converted cave formed by a branch of an underground river.
Bai Kai sat quietly on a wide stone chair covered with animal skin, observing his surroundings.
Although the cave was a bit simple, it was neatly organized. Against the wall on the east side, there was a stone platform slightly raised from the ground, with a bed on it. Half of the simple cabinet held clothes, and the other half was filled with books, all very old, with yellowed pages.
The types of books ranged from children's literature to encyclopedias and various novels, with a wide span of content. Even more were a jumble of magazines.
Looking at those books, Bai Kai's sense of guilt towards Fragrant Basil increased slightly.
He had once told Fragrant Basil that to be different from her brutal compatriots, she must learn more knowledge. Knowledge might not make her and her Tribe stronger, but it could give them more choices.
The existence of those books proved that Fragrant Basil had listened to him carefully and had diligently persevered over the past two decades.
One should know that the Half-Guitan Tribes on the Gobi Desert rarely interacted with humans. Even when they did, it was usually a hunter-prey relationship. In an era when the internet was not so developed, ten or twenty years ago, it was very difficult for a Half-Guitan to collect so many books without harming anyone.
Moreover, acquiring knowledge is a slow process with little immediate return. When Fragrant Basil painstakingly collected these books, she must have faced incomprehension from her Tribe members. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
If possible, Bai Kai really didn't want to harm Fragrant Basil, but he had to enter Yumen Pass.
Lu Ming had told him that the one who tied the bell must untie it. To completely get rid of the “Spell” of Yumen Pass on their Yumen Sand Sea lineage, they could only go deep into Yumen Pass and solve the problem at its source.
Judging by some things Lu Ming had glimpsed when he successfully got rid of the “Spell,” to solve the problem at its root, one must either become the Lord of Yumen Pass or become a part of Yumen Pass.
This matter might be difficult for him to accomplish alone, but with the help of that scoundrel Lord Bing, it should be achievable.
“Creak—!”
Just as Bai Kai was staring blankly at the books, the wooden door of the cave was pushed open, letting out a groan.
Seeing Fragrant Basil enter from outside, he immediately put away his bitter expression and smiled, opening his arms and leaning back on the stone chair, so that when Fragrant Basil came over and sat down, she could naturally lean into his embrace.
His days as a male escort had taught him one thing—every woman is like a natural snowflake; perhaps their appearance might be similar, but there cannot be completely identical patterns.
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to figure out the temperament of all women and then prescribe the right remedy according to their temperaments!
The simplest method is to hold them in your palm, embrace them, and let them melt.
While the patterns of each snowflake are indeed different, the similarity of each drop of water is much higher.
However, at first, his understanding of this realization was somewhat insufficient; he always actually made the guests 'wet'...
Fragrant Basil returned to the cave and, seeing Bai Kai sitting on the wide stone chair, smiled sweetly, walked over and sat down, then naturally leaned her head on his shoulder.
Bai Kai lowered his head and glanced at her, saying softly, “Are you done with your work? What was that all about just now? You rushed out in such a hurry and wouldn't let me follow.”
Fragrant Basil looked up at Bai Kai, pouting, “Just a transaction with the Gu Na Tribe. The people below just brought the goods back, so I went to check on the situation.”
“Transaction?” Bai Kai frowned.
The Gu Na Tribe does not have a good reputation among the many Half-Guitan Tribes.
A bunch of guys who always dig up ancestral graves, how good can their reputation and character be?
What's there to trade with those guys?
“Don't overthink it, it's not some shady deal,” Fragrant Basil explained. “It's just that those guys from the Gu Na Tribe recently got a large batch of supplies from somewhere. The quantity is so large that they can't consume it all themselves, so they're trading it with other Tribes.” freeweɓnøvel.com
“Oh, is that so?” Bai Kai nodded thoughtfully.
Although he knew with his toes that the Gu Na Tribe's supplies must have come from an illicit source, they were still much better than the things they dug out of graves.
Moreover, for a declining Half-Guitan Tribe like the Zhanfu Tribe, purchasing from other Tribes was already considered a very legitimate means of acquiring supplies.
After a brief exchange, both fell silent.
The difference was that Bai Kai was secretly calculating how to subtly extract information.
Fragrant Basil, however, was simply enjoying this hard-won moment of tenderness.
Neither of them noticed that a pair of eyes was secretly observing through the crack in the door...
————
Underground Devil City, inside the cage.
It had been a long time since mealtime, and no one had brought lunch. Gu Qianqian felt her hunger gradually intensify.
Although she could always take some food out of the Bamboo Scroll Illusion, since she was here as a hostage, how could she not eat their food?
If she didn't eat their food, it would be too easy on them!
If she didn't get her hands on something obtained for free, she would always feel like a huge loss.
After a long time, just as Gu Qianqian was finally about to lose her temper and express her dissatisfaction to the Half-Guitan guarding the cage, warning that Half-Guitan that if they didn't serve food soon, she would take matters into her own hands, that Half-Guitan suddenly left.
Five minutes later, that Half-Guitan returned, holding a large iron bucket and a dirty large iron basin.
That Half-Guitan walked directly to the cage, placed the iron basin on the ground, and with a “whoosh,” poured the contents of the iron bucket into the basin, then pushed it through the gap beneath the cage into the cage.
Awesome, finally time to eat! Gu Qianqian's heart lit up with joy, and she eagerly went forward. But as soon as she glanced at the contents of the basin, she almost threw up the roasted bun and oil tea soup she had eaten in the morning.
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The basin was filled with a thick paste, vaguely discernible were some blackened vegetable leaves, animal organ scraps, and some strangely shaped insects. On the murky soup, there was also a layer of lumpy mold formed after cooking.
These things were mixed together haphazardly, and after being cooked, they emitted a nauseating, strong, peculiar smell.
Although Gu Qianqian had rummaged through trash cans for food when she was homeless, and had eaten plenty of other people's leftovers, her acceptance of this kind of evil god-like thick soup was still zero.
Waiting half a day for lunch, only to get this kind of thing, it was like spending a lot of money to pre-order a game, only to find out when it arrived that the plot was unfinished, the game came with bugs, and the developers were force-feeding you garbage. It was simply unbearable!
Her brows furrowed, and her fists unconsciously clenched; Gu Qianqian was truly angry.
However, just as she was about to erupt, the figures behind her rushed forward quickly, scrambling to the iron basin, grabbing the scalding paste with their hands, bringing it to their mouths, and devouring it ravenously.
Seeing this, Gu Qianqian was instantly stunned, her eyes wide, her stomach churning.
How could they eat this stuff?
Were they crazy?
She didn't understand!
Eating, for her, was undoubtedly one of the most important things in the world.
This basin of stuff, more disgusting than swill, was a desecration of ingredients and an insult to the eater.
What if the ingredients were cooked separately?
This wasn't being finicky. Gu Qianqian, a Miss who had dug out termites from termite nests and tried to pick up roasted pig trotters from muddy water, what was she being finicky about?
Gu Qianqian even detected a trace of Spiritual Energy fluctuation similar to an Alchemy potion in that basin of paste.
What did this mean?
This meant that those Half-Guitan were doing it on purpose; they were poisoning them!
So mean!
In Gu Qianqian's view, under suitable conditions, one should at least maintain basic respect for food.
“Respecting food is also respecting yourself.” This was what an old scavenger told Gu Qianqian when she was homeless.
Yes, before meeting the system, Gu Qianqian didn't only encounter bad people who wanted to get her drunk with fake alcohol and do unspeakable things, but accidentally poisoned themselves; there were also some kind-hearted people.
That old scavenger was one of them.
In fact, a series of survival skills such as fishing, growing vegetables, and luring pigeons from the square to lay eggs at home were taught to Gu Qianqian by that old man.
Although that old man lived a very difficult life, he tried his best to maintain his dignity as a human being.
That old man also told her, “To survive, it's understandable to eat all sorts of messy things when absolutely necessary, but if you compromise again and again to eat things that only wild beasts would eat, over time, you might forget that you are still human.”
Gu Qianqian herself might not even know that sometimes, when she devoured the core of a urban legend entity and was being eroded, it was the subtle influence of that old man that pulled her back on track.
And people throughout history, precisely because of this dignity, have been able to create a rich and diverse array of amazing specialty snacks and dishes using relatively simple ingredients and their wisdom.
“Don't eat! You're not allowed to eat!”
After a brief silence, Gu Qianqian finally erupted.
As she spoke, she rushed forward in a few steps and kicked over the iron basin.
With a “bang!”, the iron basin under Gu Qianqian's foot seemed to instantly turn into a cannonball, smashing through the cage and flying out, landing on the ground with a “clatter,” spilling the paste all over the floor.
Then, she turned around and saw the terrifying eyes of those prisoners.
Some say that the desire to harm someone cannot be hidden in their eyes. She was very sure that every one of her cellmates now wanted to kill her.
She even vaguely sensed that those cellmates who had lost their food seemed to want to turn her into a grand meal.
When unnecessary, a cellmate is just a cellmate. When necessary, a cellmate can also be an ingredient!
In fact, these prisoners, when Gu Qianqian was locked in, originally regarded her as emergency reserve food.
After all, even that terrible food wasn't available every day here.
And Gu Qianqian, with her delicate skin and tender flesh, seemed not too smart, so she probably wouldn't live long.
Gu Qianqian was scared back a step or two by the terrifying cellmates until her back touched the cage bars, and her body trembled slightly.
Watching her cellmates closing in, Gu Qianqian's clever little brain spun rapidly. Then she suddenly turned around, grabbed the bars, and pulled them apart. With a flash of electricity, she effortlessly tore the bars, which were inscribed with simple solidified Spells, to shreds.
“I'm sorry, I'll go find you some food right now! Wait for me to come back!”
With that, she bolted towards the depths of the underground cave, under the astonished gazes of her cellmates. Any Half-Guitan who rushed over upon # Nоvеlight # hearing the commotion were all sent flying with a single punch from her.
From a distance, she looked like a rampaging bull crashing through a cornfield, knocking down a large area with each charge.
“???”
What's going on? Is this... the ingredient fighting back?
