Feast of Skewers
Feast of Skewers
"Hah, I need to clean this up", she muttered to herself but her shoulders were a bit slumped
After using such a move, even Ming Yue felt a bit tired from it. Still, she couldn't just leave such a big mess behind her. She quickly came down waving her hand around. Gusts of wind came and picked up the sliced trees pilling them together while the dead beasts were in another pile.
Fortunately, none of them had been flattened to a bloody mess but some certainly had a few broken bones. With these two piles, she transported them into her spatial ring and took a moment to rest afterwards.
"With all this, I guess I don't have to worry about running out of food or wood", she thought to herself.
Moments later, a little smile formed on her face as a sense of fulfillment came from killing the Aureate Koi.
"Ah, I caught it."
Those few words satisfied her. After all, not even this cultivator could endure the Aureate Koi's provocations. Not to mention, she had spent a day searching for something that just returned to the same spot. Its bulging eyes and blank look just added insult to injury but that didn't matter now.
Ming Yue killed it.
The Aureate Koi was dead and she had just one thing in mind.
"I wonder what it tastes like."
With that, she flew off and returned home, leaving this space.
Not long after, several groups of beast-kin made their appearance, revealing shocked looks at the scene.
"This... is this what the Phantom of the North can do?" one of them asked aloud.
Before them was the lake, turning a faint red from the blood that flowed in. But more shocking were the trees or rather, what remained. They were just mere stumps, hundreds of stumps.
Every tree or, everything within twenty meters from the edge of the lake had been cut cleanly.
This was a feat none of them could fathom.
"Was it... was it sending a warning to us? Did it sense the scout groups?"
"That can't be possible, can it? This was just a preliminary search! We just started two days ago! We aren't even that far in yet. How can this phantom already notice us?"
"No, we have to go back and report this to the council. We absolutely cannot enter the North yet."
With that, they retreated but unbeknownst to them, there was another group that had been following these scout groups while in hiding. As they finally emerged from the shadows, they revealed themselves as lion-kin, specifically, members of the Ruishi Tribe.
They had grim looks on their faces while surveying the area.
Everyone shared looks with each other.
"Do you think that what they said is true? The Phantom of the North knows that we are here?" one of them asked, looking toward the leader who shook their head.
"It could be but for a warning, this is certainly strange. Was it just showing off its power?"
This was already an ominous sign for them and now it was a choice as to whether they listened or ignored it. It didn't take seconds for that choice to be made as the leader of the group looked at everyone else.
"Warning or not, we have orders from the tribe leader. If we return without some result, then you can imagine what will happen to us. Punishment", he said
Everyone else was silent, their eyes revealed a trace of fear. Some nodded at this.
"Right, besides, it might not have noticed us even. After all, not even the other scout groups could notice us."
They steeled themselves with this thought, believing that this warning was not meant for them. It seemed that venturing into this land of danger was better than whatever punishment awaited them.
"Spread apart but keep moving further north. If any of you find something let us know."
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded and split apart, moving under the cover of the night.
Meanwhile, Hongyu and the other beasts roused from their nap. The little girl rubbed her eyes, looking around before sniffing the air. There was a smell wafting into her nose, a very delicious scent.
She heard the crackling of the fire and the sizzling of fat dripping into the flames.
It didn't take more than a second for this groggy group to be wide awake. They all saw Ming Yue tending to a fire where skewers of fish meat hovered above. The cultivator twirled her finger about, making the skewers spin.
The smell of it was enticing, full of fatty goodness imbued with the smell of an ocean. It wasn't overpowering in the slightest but more mild and mellow. Noticing their eyes, she gestured for them to come further before revealing a plate beside her, holding a stacked pile of already cooked skewers.
"Come on, I can't exactly eat all of this by myself", she said to them.
A collective growl came out of their stomachs before they all went up and stood around the fire. Hongyu took one and began blowing on it. As for the others, Ming Yue divided between them all, taking the meat off the skewers and placing them on different dishes.
Xiao Yin had the same amount as Hei Yue while Liang Wei, the biggest of the trio, had a mountain of grilled fish meat on their plate.
All of them stared at it with open jaws and drool coming out of their mouths.
Without wasting another second, they all dug in, eating to their heart's delight. Ming Yue looked at them all, gleefully eating away with a smile. A warm feeling filled her chest as she broke into a little smile as well.
Her eyes then went back to the skewers over the fire which looked nearly finished. Looking at them all, she curled her finger, bringing one of them up to her mouth.
"I wonder what it tastes like."
The smell filled her nose as she looked at it, bringing it closer. It was steaming, fresh off of the fire and the flaky, white flesh glistened with fat. Ming Yue blew on it a few times before taking a bite, chewing, and letting the flesh melt in her mouth.
She gulped down before breathing out.
"It tastes just like it smells, fatty but still mellow... it's delicious."
Taking another bite, she slowly savored the taste, refilling everyone's plates with a second round of skewers. But there were more of them waiting to be cooked, over a hundred to be exact. All that was left of the Aureate Koi was its head and its bones, something she could use for soup.
Ming Yue ate a few more skewers before showing a rather disappointed expression on her face.
"It's only delicious. In terms of cultivation, the Aureate Koi only gives me a bit more energy, saved about a week or two of cultivating", she thought.
Checking her cultivation inwardly, the first few clouds overlooking her inner world grew just a bit. It was very faint but there was an improvement. Even then, it wasn't with the trouble.
But that story was different with Hongyu and the trio of beasts.
Checking them each, the child's aura grew several times over but the energy wasn't running wild at all. in fact, her body was slowly refining the energy and absorbing it. But compared to Xiao Yin and the others, her improvement was the smallest.
The three beasts continued to devour the fish skewers as their strength practically skyrocketed. And if that wasn't enough of a sign, wisps of golden light floated up from their bodies, giving off an ethereal glow.
Ming Yue looked on with interest.
"So this is the kind of effect a Beast God has on them."