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The Oni Beast's eyes sparkled with a mysterious light, a half-smile playing on its lips, as its small eyes darted around before finally locking onto Xie Xuan's face.
Xie Xuan sensed something was amiss. He looked cautiously into the shopkeeper's eyes and asked, "What vegetarian dish would you recommend, shopkeeper?"
"Not so fast! Not so fast! The preparation of that vegetarian dish is quite elaborate, and you'll need to wait a bit longer for it," the Oni Beast said, shifting its gaze away from Xie Xuan. "On this table, I have two vegetarian dishes that are quite common in Buddhist cuisine, perfect as appetizers before a grand meal. One of them is called Golden Silk Hanging Gourd." Despite the ordinary name, the ingredients used are exceptional and were sourced from a household deep in the mountains."
The Oni Beast picked up a few yellow bean sprouts with chopsticks. "Here, these are the main ingredients for Golden Silk Hanging Gourd. They may seem like ordinary yellow bean sprouts, but these particular sprouts come from a zombie that has lived for nearly a hundred years. Tsk tsk, these sprouts are rare and hard to find in both the mortal realm and the underworld."
The Oni Beast then popped the bean sprouts into its mouth, revealing a look of satisfaction. After savoring it for a moment, it picked up a piece of tofu. "This is Lotus Flower Tofu. Although this tofu wasn't sourced from that household, the lotus flower was. This is not just any lotus; it is born from the yin energy of zombies and is truly a ghost lotus. Tofu made from this lotus is not only refreshing and delicious but also has an exceptionally sweet flavor. And this accompanying white rice? I found this rare rice in an ancient coffin, making it quite scarce. The silver-inlaid white jade rice made from this kind of rice has an extraordinary taste."
Xie Xuan had been holding his chopsticks when he heard the Oni Beast's words. A wave of nausea surged in his chest, and the piece of goose meat he had just eaten suddenly rolled back up his throat and was expelled with a loud "wow." The Oni Beast's expression changed instantly as it swiftly moved to stand in front of Xie Xuan.
"What’s wrong? Does Lord Xie think my vegetarian dishes are not good?"
The Oni Beast's eyes darkened, mixed with an icy glare that made even someone like Xie Xuan, who often dwelled in darkness, shiver involuntarily and take a step back.
"The shopkeeper misunderstands; I merely caught a chill last night and my stomach isn't feeling well," Xie Xuan said, rubbing his churning chest in an attempt to change the subject. "Was that grand dish you mentioned earlier also made with these precious ingredients?"
"Precious ingredients?" The Oni Beast revealed a hint of malice. "These ingredients may be hard to find but are hardly precious. Have you heard of Mountain Spirit?"
Xie Xuan's face darkened as he forgot about the cold aura emanating from the Oni Beast and met its gaze directly. "What do you mean by that?"
"Mountain Spirits have been known since ancient times as Mountain Deities; they are the most divine creatures in the mountains. They resemble humans but possess unparalleled magical abilities and can adapt better to human society than any other mountain creature. A Mountain Spirit can command two types of spirit beasts: Wen Li and Crimson Leopard. With careful preparation, they can make delicious dishes. However, no matter how tasty Wen Li or Crimson Leopard may be, they cannot compare to the taste of Mountain Spirit itself. The best parts of a Mountain Spirit are its heart and eyes. The eyes of a Mountain Spirit are the most beautiful I've seen among all living beings, while their hearts are the cleanest."
"I was fortunate enough to catch one in the mountains, and it's even a hybrid with a human; this poses a great challenge for my culinary career and my stomach. Therefore, I made a vegetarian dish using the heart of this Mountain Spirit. As for its eyes, I haven't thought of a better way to use them yet; perhaps eating them raw would be a good choice. Right now, I happen to have two pairs; I would be delighted to invite you to enjoy them with me."
With that, the Oni Beast waved its hand and surprisingly lowered its body before retreating slightly. In no time at all, it brought out two dishes. One looked like steamed beef heart made from vegetables, while on another plate lay two pristine eyes—cleanly prepared without any traces of blood or unpleasant odors.
Though lacking their eye sockets for context, those two eyes were still undeniably beautiful.
Xie Xuan recognized those eyes; they were the eyes of Jinse, which had appeared in his dreams many times before. Almost instinctively, he rushed to Madam's side, snatched the plate away, and glared at Oni Beast with reddened eyes, asking, "You, those eyes, are they Jinse's?"
"Jinse! Is she yours?" Oni Beast pointed with a hand. The wall directly in front of Xie Xuan suddenly cracked open, splitting into two halves. This revealed a completely independent room that was very different from the outside. The room was pure white, and even Jinse, who was bound to a pillar, had been forced into a white outfit. From the outside, she seemed to have suffered no torment, except around her eyes. Now, a long strip of white silk was tied around her eye area.
"Fox!" Xing Ruyi gently called out. The fox remained expressionless as it held her hand and communicated through ventriloquism, saying, "That Mountain Spirit is still alive."
Xing Ruyi sighed in relief. When she opened her eyes again, they were in Ghost Eye mode. Her vision pierced through layers of obstruction, and she saw that within Jinse's chest lay a heart—a true human heart. However, Jinse's eyes were indeed gone; now her eye sockets were empty.
"Jinse is the child of a human and a Mountain Spirit, so she has two hearts. One on the left is human, and one on the right is from the Mountain Spirit. Although Oni Beast is delicious, it is not inherently cruel or murderous. Moreover, dead things taste terrible no matter how they are prepared. Therefore, when Jinse lost her eyes, she did not suffer much."
"Even if there was no pain, you can't just take someone else's things! This Oni Beast is too despicable!" Xing Ruyi said as she clenched her fists.
"Don't rush; let's observe further. I feel that Lord Xie is not as simple as he appears!" The fox applied some pressure with its hand to signal Xing Ruyi to hold back for now.
Though Xing Ruyi was somewhat annoyed and wanted to rescue Jinse, she believed the fox's words were likely accurate. Thus, she could only suppress the Eerie Aura that had begun to emanate from her and glared angrily at Oni Beast. Being an ancient beast, Oni Beast naturally sensed that hostility. At this moment, it shifted its gaze to Xing Ruyi while contemplating her and couldn't help but lick its lips.
Damn! It even wants to eat me!
Xing Ruyi recognized Oni Beast's intentions and cursed inwardly.
Meanwhile, while Oni Beast and Xing Ruyi were locked in a stare-down, Xie Xuan had already charged up to Oni Beast and firmly gripped its neck with hands that seemed scholarly. "What have you done to Jinse?!"
"As you can see, I captured her and then took her heart and her eyes to make two delicacies!" Oni Beast replied calmly despite being restrained by Xie Xuan's grip. In anger, Xie Xuan tightened his hold even more; however, in the next moment, his hands grasped nothing but air.
Oni Beast appeared beside Jinse with a smirk and asked, "So you are indeed the one this half-Mountain Spirit has been thinking about. Mountain Spirits are sentimental; it has always been so. And according to rumors, sentimental hearts taste even better."
"Don't hurt him!" Jinse suddenly spoke up, pleading with Oni Beast: "If you want my heart, take it! You can have my liver and spleen and anything else you desire. I only ask that you do not harm Young Master Xie. He is just a mortal; to you, he is neither appetizing nor delicious and has no use whatsoever!"
Oni Beast chuckled, "What I want is certainly not him! What I want is your other heart, the one that is more emotional and weaker, filled with fear than Mountain Spirit. Do you know? The human heart is actually very dirty, but the taste of weakness and fear is quite delicious. You are different; half of you is Mountain Spirit, so your heart must be cleaner than that of an ordinary human, and its flavor is even more unique."
"Let Young Master Xie go! You can take my heart!" Jinse lifted her head, her gaze fixed straight ahead. Unfortunately, having lost her sight, she could only rely on the aura emanating from Xie Xuan to discern his position at that moment: "Young Master Xie, I'm sorry, Jinse has to break her promise! Jinse once promised you that if you returned again, Jinse would leave the mountains with you, never to part from then on. But now, Jinse has to break her promise, not because she doesn't want to, but because she cannot."
"Jinse!" Xie Xuan called out her name and took several steps forward. Just as Xing Ruyi was about to speak up to stop him, a glimmer flashed in the fox's eyes, and it instantly released its grip on Xing Ruyi's hand.
Xing Ruyi turned around in confusion to look at the fox, only to see a hint of amusement in its eyes. Just as she was about to ask, she heard the sound of Xie Xuan drawing his sword and quickly turned back.
Right in front of Jinse, Xie Xuan drew a sword. This sword was unlike any ordinary sword; it was slender and entirely black, almost impossible to notice unless one looked closely.
At that moment, the sword was pressed against Oni Beast's neck. Oni Beast also bore a smile in its eyes—cold and slightly bloodthirsty.
Xie Xuan's voice was icy, like a malevolent spirit just returned from Yin Si. He looked at Oni Beast, enunciating each word: "Let Jinse go!"
"If I let you go, wouldn't that make me lose face?" Oni Beast pushed aside Xie Xuan's sword. Only then did Xing Ruyi notice that part of the sword had already pierced into Oni Beast's skin. At that moment, there was still blood on its fingertips—a strange blood that was bright red with a hint of green. It seemed to be seeing its own blood for the first time; it stared at it in confusion for a while before extending its tongue to lick it.
"Ugh!" After just one lick, Oni Beast spat it out and said somewhat disappointedly, "So it turns out that Oni Beast's blood is the most unpalatable thing in this world!"
"Oni Beast! You are indeed Oni Beast!” Xie Xuan asked repeatedly but showed no surprise; instead, a similarly mysterious smile appeared at the corner of his mouth!
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