226

It must be said that Jing Nan and Feng Gui know how to keep time. Du Heng finished making the noodles, and the two of them came out of the woods. Their lips were rosy, which made Du Heng look at them twice.

Feng Gui was holding a few pheasants in his hands. The feathers on the pheasants' buttocks were three feet long. "Let's catch some pheasants and have them tonight, shall we?"

Du Heng held the bowl seriously and said, "Let's not talk about the chicken, let's be civilized." Feng Gui was confused: "Huh?"

Jing Nan walked to the chopping board and took something out of his sleeves: "I found something delicious, here you go." He put a dozen fist-sized yellow-skinned fruits on the chopping board. The fruits were very round and the skin looked very smooth.

Xuan Yu took a look and said, "Eight Treasure Fruit?"

Jing Nan picked up a bowl of noodles and stirred it: "Well, this thing is rare now. The few plants I planted in the yard only grew leaves but no flowers. It made me so angry." He slurped a mouthful of noodles: "Hmm! Delicious!"

Feng Gui threw the chicken in front of the stove. He picked up a bowl of noodles and scooped two tablespoons of chili oil onto the noodles. After stirring, he slurped the noodles and said, "Eight Treasure Fruit is delicious. One can buy tens of thousands of spirit stones outside. Mm!! This noodles is delicious!"

Du Heng picked up the Eight Treasures Fruit and took a look at it. The fruit felt quite solid in his hand.

Xuan Yu said, "Eat the fruit after dinner, otherwise the noodles will become clumpy." Du Heng thought what Xuan Yu said made sense, so he put down the fruit and stirred the noodles.

The noodles used this time are alkaline noodles, which are particularly chewy. The noodles are covered with soup. You can sip the soup and the noodles will flow smoothly into your mouth.

Du Heng added a few drops of chili oil to his bowl, and the noodle soup was slightly spicy. This level of spiciness warmed his body in a short while. He hadn't eaten small noodles for a long time. In his hometown, there was a province where people would have a bowl of small noodles every morning. After eating two taels of noodles, they would have energy for the whole day.

Feng Gui's noodles were bright red. He kindly picked up two noodles and gave them to Jing Nan: "Lao Nan, try it. This chili oil is very fragrant and not spicy at all. You see Du Heng can eat it. Try it. I'm not lying to you!"

Jing Nan looked at Feng Gui doubtfully. He sniffed the noodles. The aroma of the chili oil was too deceptive. Feng Gui's noodles smelled better than his own. Jing Nan opened his mouth, slurped the noodles, and then he passed out.

Seeing Jing Nan banging his head against a tree because of the spiciness, Feng Gui laughed loudly. The next second, Jing Nan picked up the chopping board and slapped Feng Gui on the face. Feng Gui's laughter stopped abruptly, and Jing Nan slapped her nose so hard that she bled.

Du Heng added a braised egg to Xiao Xiao's bowl and asked, "Is it delicious?" Xiao Xiao drank all the soup. He sighed happily and showed the bowl to Du Heng: "Look! It's all gone! I want another bowl."

While Jing Nan and Feng Gui were arguing, Du Heng had already put in the second pot of noodles. He looked at the two people who were still arguing and said, "Don't fight while eating. It's bad for your stomach."

The two of them were obedient. After hearing what Du Heng said, they quietly started to eat noodles. When Du Heng's noodles were cooked, they had just finished slurping up the noodles in their bowls.

Feng Gui praised the noodles highly: "How about we eat this tomorrow morning?"

Du Heng looked at the sky and said, "It depends on the weather. If it rains, we can only eat dry food."

Jing Nan added: "Dry food tastes good too." As long as Feng Gui doesn't eat spicy food, he can drink it even if he drinks plain water.

After finishing the noodles, Xuan Yu cleaned up the mess, while Du Heng looked at the eight-treasure fruit next to him and asked, "How do I eat this?" Do I need to peel it? Or should I just eat it?

Jing Nan said: "Just chew it directly, it tastes very good, you will know after you eat one."

Du Heng was about to put the Eight Treasures Fruit into the water to wash it, but Xuan Yu stopped him: "The Eight Treasures Fruit will melt when it comes into contact with water, so you can just eat it directly."

Du Heng held the Eight Treasures Fruit in his hand. This was a fruit he had never eaten before. He wondered what it tasted like. Was it soft or sweet and crispy? No matter what, he would know after taking a bite!

Du Heng took a bite and saw the ruddy flesh under the yellow skin. The sweet flesh tasted crisp, like winter dates and apples, but it was crisper than winter dates. This fruit was really delicious! Du Heng ate one in a snap. After eating it, he felt a warm feeling spreading in his stomach.

He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt that his skin seemed to be whiter.

Jing Nan held up a water mirror in front of Du Heng: "The Eight Treasures Fruit has another name, the Youth-Preserving Fruit. Eating this fruit can make one's lips red, teeth white, and skin smooth. It is precisely because of this that the Eight Treasures Fruit is now hard to find in the world of cultivation. Take a look, do you think you look better now?"

Du Heng looked at the water mirror, and saw a surprised face in it. This was the first time he looked at his face seriously. Without being modest, Du Heng's appearance was still very good. Although not as bright and beautiful as Feng Gui, he could still make people's eyes light up when he walked out.

The young man in the mirror had eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like stars, and a nose like a hanging gallbladder... He really looked very energetic. Especially his lips, which were much redder than before, and he looked very healthy.

Du Heng touched his chin: "No wonder..." No wonder Jing Nan and Feng Gui had rosy lips when they came back. Du Heng thought something happened to them, it turned out that they had eaten the Eight Treasure Fruit!

This fruit is really effective, but I wonder how long one fruit can last after eating it?

Du Heng glanced at Feng Gui and Jing Nan. They were always good-looking. After eating the fruit, only their lip color changed. But after a meal, their lip color returned to normal. Du Heng was relieved. It seemed that a fruit could not last long.

Du Heng pointed at the eight-treasure fruit and said, "Jingnan, collect these fruits."

Jing Nan waved his hand: "You keep it. After all, among us, you are the only one who needs it."

Du Heng: ...feeling offended.

After lunch, the carriage moved slowly towards the west. The speed of the carriage was not fast, much slower than flying a sword or sprinting. But it was much faster than walking normally.

Du Heng was also busy on the road. He poured half a basin of peas into the wooden basin and soaked them in water. The space in the car was small, and they all squeezed under the seats on both sides of the car and lay down. Du Heng pushed the wooden basin under his feet so that it would not affect everyone.

Seeing the peas soaking in the wooden basin, Feng Gui thought of something: "There was something crispy in the noodles I ate at noon today. Could it be made of this?"

Du Heng nodded: "Yes, those are fried peas. I made them as a snack for Xiaoxiao."

As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Gui picked up Xiao Xiao who was dozing off beside Du Heng. Xiao Xiao only had time to make a puzzled chirp before her uncle pressed her against his thigh and rubbed her: "Feng Lin, you are so good, you eat all the delicious food by yourself!"

Xiaoxiao's fur exploded from being tickled by his uncle, and he chirped in resistance, but how could Fenggui allow him to escape? After being tickled for a while, Xiaoxiao was so exhausted that he could only look at Du Heng, who was crying for help.

Du Heng couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he snatched Xiaoxiao back and said, "I'll do it for you again, don't torture the child."

Xiaoxiao huddled in Du Heng's arms and panted. Du Heng ruffled his hair and said, "There are still a lot of beans in my storage bag. If you like, I'll make more."

Jing Nan squinted his eyes and leaned against the bicycle frame. When he heard Du Heng say this, he asked, "Compared to beans, where is the roasted pigeon you promised?"

Jing Nan couldn't get along with the roast pigeon, and Du Heng knew that if he didn't cook a chicken tonight, he might not get along either.

In the evening, the car stopped by the roadside. This time, Du Heng did not take out the stove. He dug a hole under the phoenix tree and lit a bonfire. They were going to camp today because there was no place nearby that could accommodate his cave.

Fortunately, Xuan Yu was there, so Du Heng was not afraid at all. He was busy stringing the ingredients on bamboo sticks, and then placed them next to the campfire. Soon, a circle of bamboo sticks was densely packed next to the campfire, with plump and tender mutton skewers, peach blossom fish brought from the village, fresh mushrooms, and green beans...

It was like a barbecue party, and of course, the person in charge of the barbecue was Du Heng. Du Heng was busy brushing the sauce he had prepared onto the ingredients with a small brush. All he could hear was the sound of the sauce mixed with oil or juice falling, and then evaporating with a sizzling sound due to the heat of the charcoal fire.

The tempting aroma drifted far away, and a group of people sat on the ground, waiting for the ingredients to be cooked before eating them. Xiao Wonton and the others were behind them, and Du Heng had already taken out a few roasted peach blossom fish for them to eat first.

Xuan Yu's grilled fish was really delicious. Du Heng felt that the fish he had painted with so many sauces was not as good as the fish Xuan Yu had only sprinkled with fine salt. He accidentally ate two of them. However, he couldn't eat more, he had to save his stomach for other delicious food.

The mutton skewers were tender and juicy, the mushrooms were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside...both the meat and the vegetables were delicious. After everyone had eaten two rounds, the main event officially began.

Everyone was looking forward to the delicious food under the bonfire. They would move the bonfire away as soon as Du Heng gave the order. Du Heng looked at the sky. It was already this hour, so it should be almost done. He nodded to Xuan Yu: "Almost done."

Everyone stood up immediately. Jing Nan was impatient. A golden light flowed out of his hand, dragging the bonfire and slowly rising. In the charcoal ash under the bonfire, there were six oval mud balls one foot long and more than three inches in diameter. This was the beggar's chicken roasted by Du Heng!

Jing Nan moved the beggar chicken out of the charcoal fire pit and placed it in a row next to it, then put the bonfire back in place. He said impatiently, "Open it and take a look!"

Du Heng was a little nervous. In fact, this was his first time making beggar's chicken, and he didn't know whether it would be successful or not.

Feng Gui saw that Du Heng was a little hesitant, so he picked up the nearest chicken and said, "Let me do it."

The beggar's chicken was covered with a layer of yellow mud, which Xuan Yu had dug from the forest. After an hour of roasting, the outer shell of the yellow mud had changed from soft yellow to hard black, and you could hear a tapping sound when you tapped it gently.

Feng Gui smashed the shell with a light blow, revealing the roasted and slightly yellowed lotus leaves. After peeling off the surface layer of lotus leaves, the lotus leaves inside were moist, and oil kept oozing out. A strong fragrance wafted out from the lotus leaves, and Du Heng felt relieved when he smelled it.

Feng Gui quickly peeled the chicken out of the lotus leaf and placed it on the lotus leaf. The chicken curled up in the lotus leaf with a yellow-brown skin. The chicken was still hot, but Jing Nan didn't care whether it was hot or not. He reached out and grabbed the chicken leg. The chicken was already roasted very soft, and with a slight pull, he pulled off a whole chicken leg.

Jing Nan took a deep sniff of the chicken leg: "It smells so good~ It tastes different from the lotus leaf chicken." He took a big bite of the meat: "It's delicious, fresh and tender! Come and try it!"

Du Heng's heart was finally at peace. For this beggar's chicken, he spent an entire afternoon marinating the chicken and even asked Xuan Yu to find some yellow mud. Xuan Yu pulled a chicken wing for him, and Du Heng took a bite and was so moved that he wanted to cry.

Success! The chicken is plump, juicy and tender, with no residue in the mouth. What's even better is that the fragrance of the lotus leaves has penetrated into the meat. The bones of the tender chicken are roasted until crispy, and you can swallow it with just a chew.

Du Heng was originally worried that the roasted chicken would not be as delicious as the stewed one, but once he put it in his mouth he was relieved that his worries were unnecessary.

The chicken is not dry at all. I think it is the lotus leaves and mud that have wrapped the moisture in the chicken that makes it so delicious. Although only simple seasonings are used, the roasted beggar's chicken is no less delicious than other chickens. Beggar's chicken is indeed unique in that it can make Jing Nan, who loves chicken, love it so much.

227

Although chicken doesn't taste bad if it's properly seasoned and cooked, this is Du Heng's first time making beggar's chicken. Du Heng's fascination with beggar's chicken dates back to his childhood, when he watched TV and saw heroes living outdoors, drinking and eating meat.

Whenever Du Heng saw the heroes slapping mud and tearing off the lotus leaves to tear off the fat and tender chicken legs, he would drool. He always thought that if he had the chance in the future, he would definitely eat a whole beggar chicken. However, there was no yellow mud in his hometown, so he had no chance to camp outside like the heroes.

The chicken he ate was carefully stewed, fried and then eaten. This was his first time trying such a simple and rough cooking method. However, the effect was not bad, Du Heng was very satisfied, and everyone's expectations were not disappointed.

God knows how enthusiastic everyone's eyes were when Du Heng was marinating the beggar's chicken and smearing mud on the chicken.

The limbs of a chicken were quickly shared and eaten by everyone. Since Xiaoxiao had no hands, he only got a chicken shell.

These adults didn't know how to take care of children. Xiaoxiao gnawed the meat on the chicken's belly and consoled himself, at least he got the biggest portion! The meat was the most! Just as Xiaoxiao was turning over the chicken shell and gnawing on the cartilage, something fell out of the chicken's belly!

The lotus leaf chicken was stuffed with the magical rice prepared by Du Heng, and there was something else inside the beggar chicken. Du Heng stuffed a baby pigeon inside the chicken!

The flexible little pigeon lay on the lotus leaf with its eyes full of fat. Xiaoxiao laughed twice and then held the pigeon in his mouth.

Jing Nan's eyes curved: "You really are a pigeon." Du Heng said embarrassedly: "I always feel that if I don't put something in it, it will feel empty and I will be sorry for the chicken."

Everyone blinked. It was the first time they heard of the expression "sorry to the chicken". Then why not say "sorry to the pigeon"?

Du Heng reminded Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, there is something in the pigeon's stomach."

Hearing this, Xiaoxiao put the pigeon in his mouth on the lotus leaf again, and tilted his head to look at the pigeon's belly. He saw a quail egg in the pigeon's belly!

Xiaoxiao let out a trembling chirp in surprise. He really liked this magical dish. There were so many tricks in one dish!

Du Heng said: "There is a very famous dish next door to my hometown, roasted camel. When roasting a camel, there will be a sheep in the camel's stomach, a chicken in the sheep's stomach, a pigeon or quail in the chicken's stomach, and an egg in the innermost ingredient's stomach..."

Feng Gui asked expectantly, "Can you do it?"

Du Heng was stunned for a moment: "Ah?"

Feng Gui asked, "Can you make roasted camel?"

Du Heng shook his head regretfully: "Sorry, I can't." Because he didn't have a camel, and he didn't know how to roast a camel.

Jing Nan was very calm. He squatted down and knocked on the second beggar's chicken: "This dish is interesting. When you have the chance to go to the north in the future, Du Heng, you can try it."

Du Heng shook his head frantically. No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t!

Six beggar chickens were roasted, and three were eaten by everyone. If they hadn't eaten so many skewers before, Du Heng thought that all six chickens could be eaten by everyone. But it didn't matter if they were all eaten. He still had a lot of chickens, ducks, and geese in the refrigerator, so it wasn't a big deal to make this, and he would make it often when he had time in the future.

When they went to sleep at night, Jing Nan and the others began to divide the work. Feng Gui said to Xuan Yu, "I'll guard the first half of the night, and you guard the second half." Xuan Yu said slowly, "You can leave it to me."

Feng Gui shook his head: "No, from now on we have to adapt to the behavior habits of human cultivators and not be too ostentatious. By the way, Jing Nan, get up and suppress your cultivation."

Jing Nan chuckled: "I have suppressed it. Now I am a cultivator in the early stage of Jindan, the same level as our Du Heng."

Du Heng was puzzled: "Why do you want to suppress your cultivation?" Feng Gui and the others should have reached the level of Out-of-Body, right? Why do you want to suppress yourself and become a Golden Core cultivator?

Xuan Yu said: "In the world of human cultivation nowadays, there are no more than ten strong people above the out-of-body state. The more low-key we are, the better." As he spoke, the spiritual energy around Xuan Yu and the others suddenly changed. Du Heng was shocked to find that he could actually see the cultivation level of Xuan Yu and the others!

With a probe of his spiritual sense, he felt that Xuan Yu and the others had the same cultivation level as him. So this was the cultivation suppression in fantasy novels? High-level cultivators could always put on a vest and pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger. Du Heng didn't know what to say.

After suppressing his cultivation, Feng Gui smiled and said, "Golden Core cultivators are not worth much in Dongji Mountain. The monsters will attack at any time. Xuan Yu and I will guard the night today, and Jing Nan and I will come tomorrow."

Xuan Yu shook his head: "Du Heng and I are in a group, and you and Jing Nan are in a group. Since we are a family, we shouldn't favor one over the other."

Du Heng quickly said: "Yes, yes, I am also a Jindan cultivator, I can also keep watch."

Feng Gui smiled brightly under the bonfire: "Okay. Then Jing Nan and I will guard it today, and you and Xuan Yu will guard it tomorrow until we leave Dongji Mountain."

Xuan Yu used the wood-guiding talisman to make a simple wooden house. The length and width of the wooden house were just ten feet and could be stuck on the road. There was a small porch in front, where the night watchman could sit under the porch and observe the surrounding situation. Xuan Yu stayed outside and whispered something to Jing Nan and the others.

The wooden house was lit up with night pearls, and it could accommodate two or three people to lie down and sleep. Du Heng spread out the quilt on the ground, and Xiaoxiao got into it first. Outside the quilt, Niannian Suisui and Xiao Wonton Ciba had already laid down.

Through the thin windows of the wooden house, he could hear the three people talking quietly outside. The environment was simple, but with family and friends around him, Du Heng felt particularly safe.

He crawled into the bed and hugged Xiaoxiao, listening to the whispering voices outside. He didn't know when he fell asleep.

The next few days were calm, and everyone was on their way slowly every day. When they came across treasures, they would stop to pick one or two. Du Heng even dug up a few 100-year-old ginsengs. For his poor life, this was a considerable fortune!

On the sixth day of the journey, the road conditions became worse. The Luan trees on both sides of the road were damaged for some unknown reason, and the vines from the mountains climbed onto the road and blocked it.

It was not until then that Du Heng realized that the phoenix tree was a spiritual tree. Wherever it was, poisonous insects and weeds dared not approach. If there was any place in the mountains that could be considered safe, it must be around the phoenix tree.

The vines blocking the road were none other than the blood-sucking vines that Du Heng loved and hated. The blood-sucking vines here were blue-gray in color and had barbs. When they rustled and crawled, Du Heng's scalp went numb.

With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he found that the road was several miles long, and wherever his spiritual sense reached, there were vines as thick as wrists.

Feng Gui said: "A blood-sucking vine with four vines. Ha, this is not something a Jindan cultivator can deal with. Let's take a detour." Feng Gui didn't want to be discovered by someone with ulterior motives after he burned the blood-sucking vine with a flame.

Jing Nan put his hands in his pockets and said, "Let's take a detour. I looked and found that although the mountains to the south are steep, there are no blood-sucking vines. It may take us an extra day to take a detour from here. But it's okay, we have plenty of time."

Xuan Yu nodded: "Then go from the south."

Feng Gui raised his hand to close the car. He and Jing Nan walked in front, Du Heng carried Xiao Xiao and Nianniansuisui in the middle, and Xuan Yu walked at the end. As for Ciba and Wonton, they followed Du Heng closely.

After leaving the main road, the road became difficult to walk. There were no small paths in the mountains, so Feng Gui had to make a path as he walked. Fortunately, they were strong and could easily cross mountains and ridges. At almost noon, they crossed a mountain and saw a turbulent river in front of them.

The river was more than a hundred feet wide. Feng Gui released his spiritual sword, which circled on the river and returned to Feng Gui's waist. "There is a ban. It looks like we have to wade through the water."

When you are in the mountains, don't think that you have a high level of cultivation and fly the sword foolishly. If you meet an unreasonable powerful person who has built a cave in Dongji Mountain, your flying sword may hit the restriction and you may die.

An incident once happened on the human cultivator side. Eighteen inner disciples of the Sword Sect entered the ruins of Dongji Mountain for training. It turned out that the team leader was inexperienced and wanted to save trouble, so he flew on his sword. The eighteen sword cultivators crashed into the restriction and blood splattered on the spot.

It would be fine if you hit the restriction and died on the spot, but if you encounter a monster in the mountains while half-dead, it would be worse than death.

Just as Feng Gui was about to wade into the water, a huge whirlpool appeared in the water. Jing Nan grabbed Feng Gui and said, "Wait a minute, there is a monster in the water, and its cultivation is not low."

The two of them looked at Xuan Yu at the same time, and Xuan Yu took a step forward: "I'll go take care of it."

However, Feng Gui reminded him in a low voice: "Don't reveal your identity. There are tens of thousands of monsters in the mountains, and there will inevitably be spies. Now we are out of the range of Yun Zheng and his men, don't make trouble, if it doesn't work, we will retreat."

Hearing that they had to go back, Du Heng felt helpless. After working so hard for most of the day, he had to go back again? Du Heng was not willing to do so.

He hesitated: "Is there any other way to cross the river?"

At this time, everyone heard a male voice: "Do you want to cross the river, fellow Taoists?"

Du Heng and his companions looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a young man with a silver spear on his back standing among the reeds thirty feet south of the river bank where they were standing. The young man was wearing black armor and he bowed to Du Heng and his companions and said, "I am Shi Jun, a monk from Zhenhuang Mountain."

Seeing Shi Jun, Jing Nan was surprised: "Oh, there is someone here. I just checked with my spiritual sense and didn't find anyone nearby." As soon as he heard Jing Nan's tone, he knew he was talking nonsense again. Although his cultivation was sealed, he could still tell whether there was anyone around.

Shi Jun said cheerfully, "I have the Demon-Free Jade on me, so it's normal that you didn't notice it. Do you want to cross the river?"

Feng Gui put his hands in his pockets and smiled: "Yes. But the water seems to be not peaceful. It doesn't give me a good feeling."

Shi Jun said, "There is an evil mermaid in the Nascent Soul stage in the water. You can't get through it with your current cultivation level. If you take a detour, there is a blood-sucking vine with four vines blocking the road to the northern gate. The situation further south is not much better."

Jing Nan suddenly realized: "Oh~ I see, could it be that fellow Daoist was also stopped here by the evil shark?"

Shi Jun said: "That's right. If you fellow Taoists want to cross the river, we can think of a solution together."