Starting with the flesh-based stimulant

As Master Tian spoke, his eyes became fixed, as if he had seen something. Suddenly, he leaned back, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

Zhou He frowned and looked at Li Ping.

Li Ping scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"That doesn't make sense. I didn't find it that scary at all!"

Zhou He nodded.

Judging from the way Tian Guanshi looked, he had probably been greatly traumatized and then awakened by Li Ping. After recalling the scene he had seen, his brain activated its self-protection mechanism.

But that's strange.

First of all, as Li Ping said, it didn't seem that scary; it was just one person carrying two naked, connected people on his back.

Perhaps the other person's brain filtered out images that were too terrifying?

On the other hand, Zhou He found it even stranger.

According to Master Tian, ​​the only people who saw this scene were himself and his two nephews who were helping out.

But now, the place is full of hundreds of people, all of whom look terrified.

Is it a case of mass panic spreading?

still......

Zhou He's eyes grew clearer and clearer.

Miss Tian, ​​Old Stick Tian.

He thought of someone else.

Tian Jiabao.

It seems there's something strange about this Tian family village.

Standing up straight, Zhou He asked Li Ping:

"Is there any way to calm them down?"

Li Ping casually picked up the pot that had been placed on Tian's head, intending to throw something into it, but then immediately stopped:

"Brother Zhou, shouldn't we just stay out of this?"

Zhou He gave him an inquiring look, while Li Ping, holding the pot in one hand, stroked his chin with the other:

"Look, I did take the deposit from the Tian family, but I'm just a cook. If it were a small matter, I could help out and ask Master Tian for more money, but this doesn't seem that simple... Shall we leave?"

Zhou He remained silent.

His reason told him that Li Ping was right.

Moreover, he is now burdened with a host of unfounded lawsuits: Wild Meat, Yongqiang, the Zhou family, Qiushen, the peddler, Young Master Zhou—one case after another weighs on him, and he can't see clearly what's going on, like looking at flowers through a fog.

Where do you get the energy to meddle in these trivial matters?

If you're rational, you should just leave, find a quiet place to settle down, and stop worrying about all this mess.

If I can really escape it, at least I can live a few more years.

Ignoring the hidden aspects of this world, as long as my identity as a wild prey remains undiscovered, this place is actually a suitable place for me to survive.

She shouldn't even have come to this Mubu Mountain with the cook.

We should have followed the road directly to Xia City, or even gone further.

But Zhou He knew perfectly well that while he could avoid other things, he couldn't avoid Young Master Zhou.

To survive, to satisfy the curiosity about the unknown rooted in your soul, you must constantly and actively approach the truth of this world.

Whether it's improving one's skills in the trade or learning more about the rules and information of the underworld, one must demand of oneself that one cannot truly hide like a coward.

He remembered the peddler saying that people in this trade, when they set out on their journey, are still just going through the first, second, third, and fourth trials, but they are still just going through the motions in the mundane world. Only after passing the fifth trial can one be considered extraordinary and transcend the mundane.

Although he didn't know what level of people he would be facing, Zhou He really didn't want to be just a pawn again, like before.

I don't want to lie on the offering table again, waiting to be cut up and eaten.

Inside the venue, gongs and drums were deafening, and there was a lot of noise. Many people had been shouting for so long that their voices were hoarse, but they were still shouting at the top of their lungs. Towards the end, it was impossible to hear what they were shouting; it was just instinctive screams of panic.

Zhou He's silence didn't last long. When he came to his senses, he saw Li Ping still holding a pot in one hand and resting his chin on the other, looking at him. Zhou He chuckled softly.

He shook his head and said:

"Mr. Li, I'm going to take care of things here."

Li Ping was somewhat anxious:

"This might be a big deal. You all say I'm a fool, but even I, a fool, know to stay away from big trouble. Why did you, a smart person, still walk into it?"

Zhou He smiled warmly. He didn't answer Li Ping's question, but instead first affirmed the other party:

"Mr. Li, you are actually a smart man. This world is not exactly peaceful, and people like you live a long time... but you won't go far this way."

This sentence was like a hook, catching Li Ping's attention.

He mumbled and asked:

"Then how can we go far?"

Zhou He chuckled; the other party was indeed more interested in matters within their industry.

"If you want to go far, you can't avoid things. I don't know much about the cooking profession, but in any profession, it's all about travel expenses and a travel permit, right?"

"There are also other items."

Li Ping raised the pot in his hand.

Zhou He nodded:

"Yes, but travel expenses require money, and acquiring items depends on chance. Travel permits are not easy to obtain. How much travel expenses can you earn by hosting banquets for people in the village?"

Li Ping understood this principle as well, and after a rare moment of silence, he slowly said:

"Well, you need to be alive to do that."

Zhou He shook his head:

"We're all in this business of making a living; if we want to go far, shouldn't we consider our own flesh and blood?"

Li Ping listened but didn't say anything, just stood there with a sullen face.

Zhou He wasn't in a hurry, waiting for him to figure it out himself, while he was secretly planning something.

Not long after, the pot was placed on the ground. Li Ping bent over, picked up a few broken bricks, built a stone stove, went back to the yard, carried out his wooden frame, took a water bag, and added water to the pot on the stone stove.

Then he took out a match, threw it in, and with a "boom," flames roared up.

Li Ping squatted in front of the stove, holding the spatula, took a deep breath, and began to chant, his tone different from anything Zhou He had ever heard:

"Clang, clang, clang, a match to invite the Kitchen God;

The Kitchen God comes and kicks the bottom of the pot, blowing wind and fanning the fire, working diligently.

Spatula, spatula, spatula, the water in the pot is clear;

"The peony blossoms bloom in the boiling water; I'll sprinkle whatever I want, you'll boil whatever you want, and drinking it will keep you safe and sound."

Just as I was muttering to myself, the water in the pot started to boil, the splashing water really did look like peonies blooming in the pot.

Li Ping lay on the ground, gathered some of the loose soil in his hands, and gently blew on it.

The breath was exceptionally long, so long that his ridiculously large belly slowly deflated, as if something had crawled out of his mouth and into the pot in front of him along with that breath.

The liquid in the pot was still clear. Li Ping turned around, nodded to Zhou He, and a determined look appeared on his face:

"Brother Zhou, I'm not very smart, but what you said makes sense, so I'll listen to you."

Zhou He nodded in response. Li Ping didn't say anything more, but pulled up his sleeve, wrapped it around the pot, and swayed as he carried the pot into the crowd.

The soup made from floating soil didn't smell very fragrant to Zhou He, but as soon as Li Ping entered the crowd, it was as if some unseen hook was pulling at everyone who passed by. They all swarmed around him like hungry dogs with their tongues hanging out, drooling.

Zhou He stood there watching, his eyes sharpening.

He saw a familiar figure in the arena.

Old Tian.