232
The skin of the sarra fish was a bit thick, and when it was cleaned, the skin was rough on the outside and smooth on the inside. Du Heng cut the silver-gray fish skin into palm-sized slices and placed them in a wooden basin, and then poured white wine and ginger water to marinate. After two cups of tea, Du Heng fished out the fish skin and prepared to coat it with starch and put it in the oil pan.
Du Heng was feeling rather nervous. He added starch to the fish skin and said to Xiao Xiao, "I'll fry a piece first. You can taste it for me. If it tastes good, I'll continue frying, okay?"
Du Heng also added pepper powder and five-spice powder to the starch. He thought that fish skin was fishy, and it might taste better if the seasoning was stronger.
After the oil was heated, Du Heng threw a piece of fish skin into the pan. After being fried, the fish skin curled up slightly. It didn't have the fishy smell as expected, but smelled like fried shrimp and crab.
Xiaoxiao squatted on the stove and chirped nostalgically. Xuanyu translated: "Xiaoxiao said that he missed the braised prawns and fried crabs you made."
Du Heng rubbed Xiaoxiao's head and said, "There are some big shrimps and small crabs in the refrigerator. I'll fry them for you after we cross the river, okay? Then I'll put them in your pocket and you can eat them slowly."
Liu Lingling said in surprise: "Friend Du's little pet is just like a child, so cute." Du Heng smiled and said: "That's right, in our eyes, these are all furry children."
The fish skin was quickly fried until both sides were golden brown, with the silver-grey fish skin wrapped in the slightly yellow batter. Du Heng scooped up the fish skin and placed it on a plate, the curled fish skin still squeaked.
After the fish skin cooled down a bit, Du Heng asked Xiao Xiao: "Do you want me to fry it again? That way it will be more crispy."
Feng Gui stretched out a claw and pinched away the fish skin: "No need, I think this is good enough."
Xiaoxiao:!!!
Feng Gui chewed the fish skin with a crunching sound. He said pertinently, "It tastes okay, just like the smell of fried fish skin. If it were a little spicier, it would be even better... Hmm..."
Before Feng Gui could finish his words, Xiaoxiao suddenly jumped up and hit Feng Gui in the belly. Feng Gui was knocked back two steps by Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao, who succeeded, immediately wiped her tears and threw herself into Du Heng's arms to complain about her uncle's behavior: "Chirp chirp..." He didn't want such an uncle anymore. Shameless! Shameless to the extreme! Extremely...extremely shameless!
Feng Gui rubbed his belly and said resentfully: "I ate a piece of your fish skin, and you are so stingy. It's a waste that I treat you so well. Hey... What's the point of raising a bird? It's better to raise a dog."
When Xiao Wonton heard what Feng Gui said, he immediately stood up and shrank into a corner, hoping that the war would not burn on him. There was a lot of noise in the cave, and the cultivators seemed to be watching a play. Wen Tingzhi said with a smile: "I don't know why, but when I saw Fellow Daoist Du and his group, I felt relaxed."
Xu Changge said: "They give me the feeling that they are not busy independent cultivators, but more like a family enjoying the scenery." It must be said that Xu Changge's intuition is very sharp. After he said this, the cultivators looked at Du Heng and his group and felt that they were leisurely.
Jing Nan said with a smile: "As independent cultivators, we don't have the protection of others like the disciples of the big sects. People like us are always in danger. We might die in a disaster. Instead of living in constant fear, it is better to enjoy every day freely."
Mu Qian cupped his hands in admiration and said, "Daoyou Nan Jing is absolutely right."
The uncle and nephew who had fought over a piece of fish skin soon reconciled because Du Heng fried more fish skin. This time he fried it again, and the fish skin tasted even crispier.
The fish skin with five-spice powder and pepper powder is spicy and crispy. It is great for drinking or as a snack, but the fish skin is rough on one side and absorbs too much oil, so eating a few more pieces will make you feel greasy.
The freshly fried fish skin soon reached Ren Xiu's mouth. Liu Lingling and the others refused it at first. It was fine to eat raw fish before, but now they even eat the fish skin. Du Heng and the others really know how to live, don't they? This kind of frugality is scary.
However, when they ate the fish skin, they all loved it.
After the fish skin was ready, Du Heng started to steam the fish. He was already very familiar with steaming fish. He steamed many of the sea fish that Yunyanlou had packed before. He put a casserole on the small stove, and when the water boiled, he put the marinated sarra fish into the pot.
The meat of the sarra fish is tender and does not need to be steamed for too long. It will be ready in just one cup of tea. Du Heng reminded Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, help me watch the casserole. You can call me after one cup of tea."
At this time, the spiritual rice in the pot was already emitting a fragrant aroma. Du Heng sniffed the smell and said, "It's time to make pickled fish."
There was some oil in the pan after frying the fish skin. After the pan was heated, Du Heng added chopped ginger and green onion. He also took out a secret weapon - pickled chili peppers. These chili peppers were yellowish-white when picked, and turned yellow after being soaked. They were placed next to the pickled cabbage without being noticeable.
But when the pickled peppers were thrown into the pot, a pungent sour and spicy taste wafted out.
Jing Nan was immediately frustrated: "If I die one day, it must be because you guys teamed up to screw me over."
Feng Gui chewed the fish skin while strolling to Xuan Yu's side and boasted: "Well, Du Heng is finally nice to me this time."
After the peppers were sautéed, Du Heng pushed the pickled cabbage into the pot and stir-fried it. When the aroma of the pickled cabbage came out, he added enough water to cover the pickled cabbage. Salt was added when the pickled cabbage was made. Du Heng tasted the soup and found that the saltiness was just right in the sour and spicy taste.
At this time, he pushed the fish fillets and fish bones chopped into one-inch lengths into the sauerkraut, and the boiling sauerkraut pot suddenly became quiet. However, it was only quiet for a moment, and the sauerkraut pot began to squeak again.
After the water in the pot boils for a while, Du Heng can put the fish fillets in. The fish fillets cannot be poured into the pot all at once, but need to be slid into the boiling soup piece by piece.
Du Heng waved his hand and said, "Go, Pikachu!" The fish fillets were carried by the spiritual energy and fell into the soup one by one, like flowers scattered by a fairy.
Feng Gui asked Xuan Yu with sweat on his forehead: "What are you kidding?" Xuan Yu shook his head stupidly: "I don't know."
Du Heng said seriously: "It's a cute creature. Seeing it is like being struck by lightning."
Feng Gui, Jing Nan and others began to think seriously: "What kind of thing would make you feel like being struck by lightning when you see it?" However, they could only stare at each other, unable to figure it out.
The fish fillet changed color when it came into contact with boiling water, and the slightly transparent fish fillet turned milky white. After the color changed, Du Heng used a large bowl to put all the vegetables in the pot. He heated a spoonful of hot oil in the pot and put minced garlic, madder, scallion segments and dried chili peppers in the middle of the pickled fish.
He raised his hand and poured the hot oil onto the pickled fish. Du Heng said loudly, "The pickled fish is ready. Xiaoyu, get ready to eat!"
Xuan Yu placed a round table in the middle of the cave, and used a talisman to light up the round table. The dim light of the talisman fell warmly on the table, and in the middle of the table was a large bowl of sour and delicious pickled fish slices.
Feng Gui and the others began to serve the rice. Xuan Yu took out the sausages from the rice cooker and cut them into thin slices and placed them on a large plate. Jing Nan brought the fried fish skin to the table. There was also the sashimi that had not been finished before. In a blink of an eye, four large dishes appeared on the table.
Du Heng was busy sprinkling chopped green onions and sauce on the steamed fish, and of course, a spoonful of hot oil.
Xu Changge and his friends were quite shy at first and were embarrassed to take their seat, but the food tasted so delicious that when they came to their senses, everyone had a bowl in their hands.
Of all the dishes, only sausages and pickled fish were new to them. The sausages were spicy, and one bite would make you ache with a sharp spiciness, and beads of sweat would appear on your forehead. But after eating a piece, your stomach would feel warm, and the flow of your spiritual energy would be much smoother.
Mu Qian and Shi Jun were full of praise for the sausage: "What is this? It's so delicious!"
Jing Nan joked, "This is a secret skill that cannot be passed on to others. Fellow Taoists, please don't tell others after you finish eating it." Du Heng smiled and said, "If it tastes good, everyone can eat more. I steamed a lot."
Wen Tingzhi's eyes fell on the pickled fish. The large bowl was filled with fish slices that were as smooth as jade and soaked in golden soup. If such fish slices were picked up roughly with chopsticks, they would definitely fall apart.
There is a skill to eating this fish. You need to carefully place the chopsticks at an angle and then put the fish fillet into your mouth. The fish fillet melts in your mouth, which is completely different from the taste of raw fish. The soft fish meat becomes even softer after being soaked in the soup. It melts with a sip and breaks into pieces with a touch.
The taste alone is amazing, not to mention the taste of the fish fillet. Although the fish fillet was only soaked in the soup for a short while, it was soaked with the sour, spicy, salty and fresh taste of the soup, making people unable to stop eating. The delicious fish fillet makes people put down their reserve and pride, and just want to forget all the troubles and taste it with big mouthfuls.
There is something else hidden under the fish fillet. The fish fillets and fish bones that were put into the pot earlier than the fish fillet are cooked to perfection. People who like to gnaw bones can bite off the meat on the fish bones with one bite, leaving only the smooth bones.
There is a lot of meat on the saro fish, and Du Heng left a lot of meat on the fish bones and fish fillets when he sliced the fish. They tasted more flavorful when soaked in the soup, and Feng Gui felt that the meat on the fish bones tasted better than the fish fillets.
Jing Nan felt that the most essential part of the whole dish of pickled fish was not the fish fillet or the fish bones, but the pickled cabbage. As someone who couldn't eat spicy food, he reached for the pickled cabbage with his chopsticks.
Du Heng cut the sauerkraut into half-inch wide strips. The sauerkraut leaves were soaked in soup and tasted sour and spicy. The sauerkraut stems were crisp and you could hear a crackling sound when you chewed them.
Jing Nan ate the pickled cabbage with tears in his eyes, his mouth and nose turned red from the spiciness: "It's too irritating, too much." Why is the pickled cabbage so spicy when it's so delicious? But he also knew that the taste of non-spicy pickled cabbage would be a little lacking, just like the noodles he had eaten before.
Feng Gui handed Jing Nan a glass of water: "Eat slowly, no one is trying to snatch it from you, look how messy you are eating." Jing Nan's eyes were red: "Shut up, don't think that from now on I will eat spicy food like you, that's impossible."
Du Heng was not much better. He ate a mouthful of pickled cabbage and a mouthful of steamed fish while eating rice, and he had to sniff his nose from time to time. The pickled cabbage was really delicious, but it was really... too spicy! It was sour and spicy, but it had a kind of magic that made people unable to stop eating.
The cultivators couldn't stop eating, only Xu Changge stared at Xiaoxiao with deep eyes. Xiaoxiao squatted on his special chair, holding the bowl and eating without stopping. When Xu Changge was watching him, Xiaoxiao had already eaten three bowls of rice.
Maybe it was because Xu Changge's gaze was too direct, Xiaoxiao raised her head suspiciously: "Chirp?"
Xu Changge miraculously understood what Xiaoxiao meant. Xiaoxiao was asking him, why are you staring at me when you are not eating?
Xu Changge actually felt that he was seen through by a spirit pet! He looked away awkwardly: "Fellow Daoist Du seems to have a special preference for this spirit pet of yours."
Only Xiaoxiao could squat on the stove to ask for food, and only he could sit among everyone with a swagger. He also had his own special little bowl, and after eating, he would ask Du Heng to help add more rice.
Look at the other spiritual pets on the ground next to them, they don’t have this treatment at all.
Du Heng rubbed Xiaoxiao's head and said, "Yes, Xiaoxiao is our family's favorite. He is different from other pets."
Feng Gui and Jing Nan looked at each other and thought, it seems that Xu Changge has some vision.
233
The steamed sashimi was also very good, fresh and tasty. However, because of the excellent pickled fish, everyone ignored it. Only Du Heng and Jing Nan ate more, while the others only touched their chopsticks politely. The other dishes were almost finished, especially the pickled fish, where even the soup was scooped out to soak the rice.
But it’s okay. If you can’t finish it this time, you can put it in the refrigerator. It will still taste good for the next meal. Du Heng will not waste such good ingredients.
There are two hours between dinner and midnight, during which time everyone is free to move around in the cave.
When Liu Lingling and the others thought about going into the water and facing the snakes, their emotions became tense. This was a matter of life and death, and they could not be careless, so after eating, they immediately closed their eyes and rested. The spiritual energy around them was brighter than the talismans on their heads, and they looked like five light bulbs.
Du Heng was practicing with his wooden barrel. After this period of practice, a new bamboo grew out of the bamboo in the barrel. The new bamboo was thicker and taller than the previous one, but it was far from the height of the bamboo behind Jing Nan's house. The two thin bamboos in the barrel looked like potted plants. Those who didn't know would think that Du Heng was just daydreaming while holding the barrel.
Compared to Du Heng and his group, Jing Nan and the other two were calm and composed. They didn't even think about going into the water to fight the snakes. Jing Nan and Feng Gui were playing chess, and Xiao Xiao was squatting beside the chessboard and taking a nap.
Before midnight, Xuan Yu patted Du Heng's shoulder gently and said, "Du Heng, it's almost time. Let Niannian Suisui enter the spirit beast bag." Du Heng took out the spirit beast bag and said, "Come on, Niannian Suisui wonton ciba, come in."
Wonton took Nian Nian Sui Sui into the spirit beast bag, and Ciba was stuffed into it by Du Heng. Ciba had been sleeping since it took a Pei Yuan Pill during the day. Jing Nan said that it was absorbing the medicinal properties of Pei Yuan Pill and there was no problem, so Du Heng was relieved.
Xiaoxiao didn't want to go into the spirit beast bag, he wanted to go under the water with everyone to see the snake. Fenggui agreed to let Xiaoxiao open his eyes, and he also said that he would watch Xiaoxiao after entering the water.
Du Heng had no choice but to tighten the drawstring of the spirit beast bag. He took off his coat and tied the spirit beast bag tightly around his waist. After making sure the rope was tied tightly, he put on his clothes. If he hung it casually around his waist like Liu Lingling and the others, Du Heng was afraid that the spirit beast bag would fly out if it encountered spiritual fluctuations.
Seeing Du Heng's actions, Wen Tingzhi and the others were extremely impressed. In the world of cultivation, cultivators who raise spirit pets all hope that their spirit pets can block knives for them at critical moments, so the spirit beast bag will be tied in the most convenient place to take action. In order to facilitate the spirit beasts to freely enter and exit the spirit beast bag, many cultivators will not even tie the cuffs.
Du Heng first thought of the safety of his spirit pet, and then his own safety. They thought that if it weren't for his limited cultivation, Du Heng would have wanted to stuff the spirit beast bag into his Dantian Sea of Consciousness.
Feng Gui held Xiao Xiao in his arms, and Xiao Xiao chirped and urged everyone to get ready to set off: "Chirp."
Xuan Yu took the lead: "I will go first, Xifeng and Xiaoxiao will go second, and Nan Jing will go last."
Hearing this, Feng Gui handed Xiao Xiao to Jing Nan and said, "I'll go last. Old Nan is not in good health. I'll finish it."
Jing Nan chuckled: "You look down on me too much, don't you? Who is better between you and me in the water?"
However, Feng Gui handed Xiao Xiao to Jing Nan forcefully and naturally: "Please."
Jing Nan took over Xiao Xiao and said, "Okay, you have to be careful when you walk behind me, don't get lost."
Feng Gui stroked his long hair casually: "Who do you think I am?"
Du Heng was the third one, and when he left the cave, a raindrop fell on his head. Du Heng looked up at the sky, and saw that it was overcast. It was raining! Looking at the dark water surface, the vortex on the water surface had calmed down, but the turbulent water made a sound, which made people feel inexplicably panic.
Xiaoxiao was like a little light bulb in the darkness. He leaned on Jingnan's shoulder and cheered Du Heng up: "Chirp!"
Jing Nan patted Xiao Xiao's butt and said, "Behave yourself. I told you not to move after entering the water, or the snake will eat you."
Xiaoxiao shrank her neck: "Chiu..."
Xuan Yu stood at the front. He turned around and said to the people behind him, "I'm going to go into the water. When you are in the water, a spiritual rope will appear around your waist. Don't panic when you see the rope. I tied it for you. With this rope, you won't get lost. When you are in the water, try to hold your spiritual energy as much as possible."
After Xuan Yu finished speaking, he jumped into the water first, followed by Jing Nan and Xiao Xiao. Soon, the two figures disappeared from the water. Du Heng took a deep breath and jumped into the water. The moment he entered the water, a light blue barrier was formed around him.
The barrier separated the water flow, and Du Heng did not feel the pressure of the water flow. Xuan Yu's breath enveloped him, and he heard Xuan Yu's voice: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
It was pitch black all around, and the water was carrying a lot of mud and sand that was washing away the barrier. The world outside the barrier was blurry, and even when releasing spiritual sense, one could only see Jing Nan's blurry figure.
A green spiritual rope appeared around Du Heng's waist, and a huge dragging force came from the rope, pulling him to an unknown place. He couldn't help but hold the rope, and Xuan Yu's voice came from the rope: Don't be afraid, sink down. "
Du Heng then felt that he was sinking. Strangely, in Du Heng's understanding, the riverbed is usually deep in the middle and shallow on both sides, but it took him a long time to touch the bottom of the riverbed. Du Heng felt that he had fallen at least ten feet! He should have panicked, but it was the rope around his waist and Xuan Yu's voice that gave him strength.
When he stood firm, he found Jing Nan and Xuan Yu standing in front of him. Jing Nan's eyes curved: "I just made a bet with Xiao Yu whether you would cry out of fear. I didn't expect you to be so brave."
Du Heng rolled his eyes. He was not sure if Jing Nan saw it or not. "Am I such a coward?"
After a while, the cultivators also came down. Xuan Yu counted the number of people and his voice came from the rope: "Everyone follow me. If you encounter a snake returning to its nest, don't alarm it."
Xu Changge and the others held their life instruments tightly. They had also dived into the water the last time, and it was pitch black all around. Even with their divine sense, they could not detect the distance of five meters ahead. The undercurrents along the way made it difficult for them to stand. They had barely escaped last time, and now they were standing here again. It was impossible not to be nervous.
After Xuan Yu finished speaking, he turned around and left. The ropes around everyone's waists began to tighten one by one. This time, with Xuan Yu's help, everyone walked steadily under the water.
Du Heng found that when undercurrents appeared, the amount of sand and gravel in the water would increase, and the pulling force of the rope would increase. But after walking for a while, the bottom of the water would become quiet.
Du Heng heard Shi Jun's voice: "Daoyou Yuxuan is good at swimming. He actually led us to avoid the undercurrent!"
It is not easy for one person to avoid undercurrents, let alone lead a group of people to avoid undercurrents. This cannot be summed up in three words: good at swimming.
After the water became quiet, the spiritual consciousness could see very clearly. Everyone saw all kinds of strange things sinking in the mud at the bottom of the water, including animal bones that were washed white by the flowing water, huge river clams that were more than a person tall, strange-looking fish that made nests in the mud and spit mud at each other, and gullies on the bottom of the water that were formed by unknown means.
The cultivator's spiritual sense is very useful. Even if the spiritual sense is blocked underwater, he can still see the scenery within ten feet around him clearly when there is no undercurrent.
Du Heng looked up. He had never seen anything like this before. Above his head was a patch of black with different shades. Some people might laugh at him for saying this. Black is just black. How can there be different shades of black? All colors will be swallowed up by darkness!
But no, the black he saw was different. For example, the long gray-black strip that was passing through his head quickly was an undercurrent. If he was caught by the undercurrent, he would be swept to a place he didn't recognize at all.
For example, the long dark black fish swimming leisurely above his head is a big fish, twice as big as him!
Behind all the black, there was a slightly dark gray-brown color, which was the water surface that was gradually moving away. Du Heng's consciousness was infinitely magnified, and he felt that he could see the raindrops splashing tiny ripples on the water surface, and then the ripples were broken by the more turbulent water flow. Even when he was undergoing the tribulation, the tribulation clouds above his head could not show such rich colors.
He was clearly in the flow, but he felt as if he was still. He could hear his own breathing and heartbeat, and he felt so out of place in the cold water.
He felt that he had felt this feeling before, as if a long time ago, he was quietly staying in the dark, and it was the same at that time, the surroundings were moving, but he was still. The surroundings were cold, but he was hot...
Xuan Yu's voice came: "We are in the ditch where the snakes live ahead. We need to cross the ditch to get to the other side. Everyone follow me and don't act rashly." Xuan Yu's voice came along with the water, making people feel inexplicably at ease.
The cultivators who followed Xuan Yu here felt a little more at ease. Although they still held their natal magic weapons in their hands, they were much more relaxed than at the beginning.
Xuan Yu walked down a relatively gentle gully. Once he entered the gully, everyone was stunned by the dense skeletons at the bottom of the gully. These skeletons included animals, fish, and humans. The white bones were half buried in the mud and half exposed on the water. Maybe the water in the gully flowed slowly, and some of the skeletons had flowers growing on their surfaces.
It was a small black shellfish, only the size of a fingernail, that would stick to the bones and extend its tentacles to look for food. Their tentacles were like trumpets, and at a glance, black trumpet flowers bloomed on the ancient bones, which made people's hair stand on end.
The monks nimbly tapped their toes on the mud. Because of the obstruction of the water flow, they could not rush out more than ten feet like they did on the shore. Their current speed was like that of people walking normally on land, but their demeanor was not so calm.
In order to avoid the undercurrent, Xuan Yu led everyone to take a detour. This detour took them far more than a hundred feet. Naturally, it took much longer than the expected time of one stick of incense.
Xuan Yu's voice came: "It's back, don't move."
As soon as he finished speaking, a school of fish in the sky above the ravine fled like crazy, and in an instant a huge black shadow arrived in front of the ravine where Xuan Yu and the others were!
It was a ferocious-looking snake. It had a snake head, but behind its head were two thin membranes with bone spurs. The diameter of its head alone was four feet long, and its body was a hundred feet long when stretched out! It had a monster in its mouth, but the monster was already dead, and bright red blood spread as the snake swam.
The snake dragon swam in front of everyone, then slowly sank, its head just in front of the gully where everyone was going. When the snake dragon fell, it rolled up the mud on the bottom of the water, and the mud mixed with tiny bones hit the barrier in front of everyone.
At this moment, Du Heng's blood was like river water, so cold that it was almost frozen.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
