Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter 24 Teasing
Xue Yao blinked several times, hoping she was imagining things, but no matter how many times she looked, the sight before her remained exactly the same. More and more wolf guards gathered outside her cell, their noses twitching continuously as they stared at the bubbling rabbit soup with eyes that almost glowed. Some swallowed audibly, while others quietly wiped away the drool gathering at the corners of their mouths, yet none of them seemed willing to move even a single step away.
"..."
"..."
For a long while, nobody spoke. Finally, one of the younger wolf guards with brown hair cleared his throat. "Human."
Xue Yao immediately became vigilant. "What?"
He glanced at the pot before looking away awkwardly. "What... are you cooking?"
Xue Yao narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Soup."
The wolf guard’s nose twitched again. "We know it is soup."
"Then why are you asking?"
"I meant... how did you make it smell like this?"
Xue Yao looked at him as though he had asked the world’s most idiotic question, she arched one brow before answering. "By cooking it."
The wolf guard nearly choked, of course he knew she was cooking it. Several wolves behind him covered their mouths, trying very hard not to laugh.
Another older wolf guard with dark grey hair stepped forward, his light brown eyes fixed firmly on the pot. "Rabbit soup shouldn’t smell like that."
"It does if you know how to cook." Xue Yao shrugged her shoulders before lifting the lid slightly. ’Interesting... they really came because of the smell. If I play this well, perhaps I can slowly make them lower their guard and get useful information from them... maybe they can even become my little minions... not bad, not bad Xue Yao.’
A thick white steam immediately escaped into the corridor, carrying an even richer fragrance along with it.
The wolf men inhaled deeply.
Grrrr...
Their growls rumbled deep within their chests as they instinctively sniffed the air. Confusion gradually spread across their faces because they had eaten rabbit countless times before, yet none of them had ever smelled anything like this.
Xue Yao looked from one wolf to another before slowly lowering the lid again. ’Hehehe... they really said food is the way to a man’s heart... I guess beasts are no exception either. Hehehe...’ She thought inwardly.
"...Have none of you ever eaten proper food before?" She feigned ignorance.
The older wolf frowned. "We have."
"Then why are you looking at my soup like starving ghosts?"
The wolves exchanged embarrassed glances.
After a moment, another wolf scratched the back of his head. "Our food... doesn’t smell like that."
Xue Yao raised an eyebrow. "What do you usually eat?"
The wolves answered almost at the same time.
"Roasted meat."
"Boiled meat."
"Raw meat."
"Dried meat."
"Steamed meat."
"..."
Xue Yao suddenly understood. She placed a hand over her forehead and sighed deeply. "You people really have no future."
The wolves frowned. "What does that mean?" One of them asked.
"It means all of you have wasted perfectly good meat." She looked toward the pot again before shaking her head in disappointment. "No wonder."
"No wonder what?" one wolf hurriedly asked.
"No wonder you all are standing here like this." She waved her spoon at them.
’The first step to make them fall is to tease them. The thing that is close by but they can’t have, always makes people desperate. Hehehe.’ She thought inwardly.
Several wolves immediately looked offended. "Our chefs are the best!"
"The best?" Xue Yao laughed. "If that is the best, then I feel sorry for your entire clan."
The moment those words left her mouth, several wolves growled.
One of them took a step forward. "Our chefs have cooked for the Alpha himself."
"So?" She asked with a nonchalant tone.
"So?" The wolf puffed out his chest proudly. "They are the greatest chefs in the White Moon Wolf Clan."
Xue Yao looked completely unimpressed. "I’ve seen rats cook better."
"..."
The corridor fell completely silent.
Even Tian Lan slowly turned her head to look at Xue Yao. ’She really isn’t afraid of offending people.’ Tian Lan thought inwardly.
The wolves, however, looked as though they had suffered a devastating blow.
One young guard clenched his fists. "Impossible. Rats don’t cook."
Xue Yao casually stirred the soup with a wooden spoon before scooping up a little. She blew on it gently at them, teasingly before she took a sip.
A satisfied smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Mmm..." She nodded repeatedly. "The salt is just right. The ginger removed the gamey smell... the herbs blended nicely, and the rabbit meat is tender and juicy."
She looked at the wolves outside the cell before smiling brightly. "It is delicious."
Several wolf men unconsciously swallowed, but their pride and loyalty made them stand there, staring at the pot of soup.
Seeing no reaction from them, Xue Yao turned towards them. "The name of the rat is ratatouille." She winked at them.
"Ratatouille, there is no such rat beast in this world." The older wolf man frowned. He had been living for centuries now, and he hadn’t heard of such a name. If there was a beast so talented at cooking, every beast clan would have done their best to get him.
His eyes narrowed at Xue Yao. ’This human girl is cunning, I must not let the others fall for her tricks.’ He thought inwardly.
"Everyone, don’t embarrass the clan." He said through a mind link to them.
"Don’t forget your principles!" Another added through the mindlink while gulping his spit.
"Stand properly!"
"But it smells really good..." One of them replied with a desperate voice.
One particularly young wolf guard raised his hand. "Can... can I taste it?" He said without thinking about what was said through the mindlink a second ago.
The moment he spoke, every wolf turned to stare at him with a disappointed look.
The poor wolf’s ears immediately drooped. "I-I was only asking..."
"Why should I give you some of my soup when you all treat me like a prisoner?" She asked with misty eyes.
"I-I am just curious how it will taste, if it smells so good." The young wolf boy replied with wide sparkling eyes.
Xue Yao let the silence between them grow thicker. The silence stretched between them as the aroma continued drifting through the corridor. More drool gathered at the corners of several wolves’ mouths, while their eyes remained fixed on the steaming bowl as though nothing else in the world existed.
Xue Yao opened the lid and kept on stirring so the aroma would become stronger in the air.
Xue Yao slowly picked up the bowl, fetching some soup in it before adding some chunks of meat, and every wolf’s eyes followed it.
She stood up lazily, bringing it toward the bars... the guards pushed themselves forward to take a sniff of the soup.
... she immediately pulled it back before they could catch a sniff.
"Actually..." She smiled.
"Why should I feed people who hates me?"
