Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Too Pungent

“Gen, what are Changxia and the others making?” Anbian whispered.

Xifeng hunched his neck, constantly peeking toward the kitchen. Seeing Jie and the others nearby, he waved them over and asked, “Jie, where did you all go just now?”

“We went with Chenrong to Bai Lake to catch fish, and we also caught a few chickens and wild rabbits,” Jie replied.

Come to think of it, it was his first time realizing that chickens, ducks, and wild rabbits could be eaten.

The bear tribe might look a bit slow, but in the Misty Forest, they’re renowned for their strength. Hunting is a breeze for them. Small animals like chickens, ducks, and wild rabbits usually wouldn’t even catch their attention.

“Chickens? Wild rabbits?”

“What are those—?”

Anbian and Xifeng exchanged confused glances. These names were completely new to them.

“Pointy-beaked beasts and long-eared beasts,” Li Li explained.

Jie added, “Chenrong said chicken soup is very fresh and fragrant. As for the wild rabbit, Changxia plans to make spicy cold rabbit.”

Jie was quick to adapt, and even said that calling them ‘chicken’ and ‘wild rabbit’ was much more convenient. If every animal is just called a ‘beast,’ even the beastfolk themselves get confused sometimes.

“Oh!”

Anbian and Xifeng responded absentmindedly. The names didn’t matter. What mattered was that the smell was simply irresistible—it was torture.

“Chenrong, move the tables and chairs from the wooden shed. We’ll eat lunch in the courtyard,” Gen said.

Anbian kept asking about what was being cooked in the kitchen—

Gen rolled his eyes. He was just as curious about what dishes Changxia was making for lunch, but he had no intention of going to the kitchen to ask. That was Changxia’s territory.

“Gen, do you think there’s anything made with white nuts in there?” Anbian asked.

Gen ignored him, so Anbian had no choice but to change the subject.

He figured, if he brought up white nuts, Gen wouldn’t be able to keep pretending not to hear.

Gen hesitated. “There should be.”

He thought he caught a whiff of something like fried nut pancakes. Could it be nut pancakes for lunch, instead of noodles? Either way, Gen liked both nut pancakes and noodles.

“Tell us more—” Xifeng urged.

Gen cleared his throat. “Alright, let me explain. You all know that white nuts are dried and ground into nut flour. Normally, the beastfolk only use the flour to make a kind of porridge. It’s been that way for thousands of years—just eating nut porridge…”

“But Changxia accidentally discovered that if you add some seasoning to the nut porridge, you can fry it into nut pancakes. These pancakes can be eaten with minced meat, bird eggs, and wild vegetables. The crispiness of the pancake, the savory flavor of the meat and eggs, and the crunch and sweetness of the wild veggies—there’s only one word for it: amazing.”

“Besides pancakes, nut flour can also be made into noodles and thin sheets—”

As Gen spoke, he swallowed hard and clutched his stomach, his words slowing down. Anbian, Xifeng, and the others listened, their mouths watering. Even though Gen’s descriptions were a bit dry, it didn’t stop them from craving a taste.

After all, they’d all grown up eating nut porridge. Now that they knew there were other ways to eat white nuts, who could stay calm?

Whenever the beastfolk talked about white nuts, it always brought up complicated feelings.

Chenrong called Li Li, Jie, and the others to help move the tables and chairs. He was thinking, maybe they should build a wooden shed in the courtyard. Compared to eating in the small living room, everyone seemed to prefer dining in the courtyard. Maybe it was a habit from living in beast dens—except during the rainy season, the tribe’s stoves were usually built outside, for open-air grilling or stewing.

“What’s that smell? It’s so pungent!”

“Yeah! My nose is itchy.”

“Chili peppers. That must be the smell of dried chilies.”

As they spoke, a spicy, nose-tingling aroma wafted out from the kitchen. Instantly, everyone started sneezing one after another, filling the air with a chorus of sneezes.

Even Maple Leaf, South Wind, and the others in the kitchen couldn’t stand it—they ran out, looking back at the kitchen with terrified expressions, especially at the stone pot where Changxia was stir-frying.

Once the pancakes were ready, it was time to bake them.

Then, Changxia personally started stir-frying the spicy cold rabbit. The pungent, spicy smell quickly filled the kitchen. Aside from Changxia and Honeydew, everyone else was driven out by the dried chili fumes.

“Muqin—” Gen asked, covering his mouth and nose.

Muqin sneezed twice and explained, “Changxia is making spicy cold rabbit.”

Everyone looked a bit shocked, except for the lionfolk led by Anbian, who actually looked like they were enjoying it. Some even craned their necks, trying to get closer to the kitchen.

“It smells amazing!”

“Our tribe has never made anything this fragrant and spicy before.”

Listening to the conversation of a few people by the riverbank, Gen, Xifeng, and the others looked horrified.

This smell—is it really fragrant?!

Are the people on the riverbank sure there’s nothing wrong with their noses?

“Muqin, is Changxia really okay?” Gen asked nervously.

At this moment, perhaps the smell was just too pungent. Even Su Ye and Bai Qing, who had been resting in their rooms, opened their doors and came out into the courtyard of the cave dwelling.

“What is this—?” Su Ye covered her mouth and nose, asking softly.

Muqin explained, “Changxia is stir-frying spicy rabbit. The smell is a bit strong.”

“You guys just don’t know how to appreciate it. This aroma is amazing—how could it be unpleasant?” Anbian shook his head and retorted. The other lion tribe members chimed in in agreement.

It was obvious.

They all agreed with Anbian.

To them, the smell wasn’t pungent at all—in fact, it was incredibly appetizing.

“Is that… chili?” Su Ye was surprised, full of disbelief. She let go of her hand. At first, the smell was overpowering, but the more she sniffed, the more she realized Anbian was right—it was actually mouthwatering, the kind that made your mouth water.

Bai Qing flared his nostrils and nodded. “It does smell good, and it’s kind of addictive.”

As they spoke, everyone slowly moved closer to the kitchen.

They wanted to see for themselves how Changxia was making this spicy rabbit dish.

Even the lion tribe members had never smelled such a rich, spicy aroma before.

“Is it really that bad?” Changxia poked her head out and said, “Don’t worry, the spicy rabbit will be ready soon.” Without sauces or wine, Changxia had improvised her own version of the dish. Judging by the aroma, it seemed to be working out well.

The dried chili peppers brought by the Heavenly Lion tribe were fantastic!

The more she stir-fried, the better it smelled. Changxia felt like she could eat three bowls of rice with just this spicy rabbit. Unfortunately, the Heluo tribe didn’t have rice, and neither did the lion or bear tribes.

So—

Changxia could only eat it with stuffed flatbreads.

Thinking of this, she felt lucky she had made a few vegetable-stuffed flatbreads earlier.

Eating spicy rabbit with veggie flatbreads should be pretty good too.

“At first, the smell was overwhelming, but the longer I smell it, the better it gets,” Nan Feng said, a little dazed, leaning on the kitchen windowsill, craning her neck to stare at the stone pot in front of Changxia.

Mi Lu said, “I think it smells amazing!”

“Mi Lu, make sure you learn from Changxia. When we get back to the tribe, you’ll have to teach everyone how to make spicy rabbit,” Anbian reminded her.

Changxia was happy to let Mi Lu into the kitchen—she clearly wasn’t trying to keep the recipe secret.

Besides, the beast tribes generally got along well with each other.

They usually exchanged things through trade and shared knowledge.

“Don’t worry, Chief, I’ll learn from Changxia very seriously,” Mi Lu said solemnly. Changxia had just said the same thing earlier.

Changxia continued stir-frying the spicy rabbit.

Honestly, to Changxia, spicy rabbit was pretty much the same as spicy chicken—just one used rabbit, the other chicken.