Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Before he could investigate further, he saw Liu Ye already pushing the door open.

Left with no choice, Baolong followed him inside.

As soon as they entered the room, they were greeted by a massive statue towering before them.

The idol had a crimson face and bared fangs. Its entire body was covered in tentacles, and each tentacle was studded with eyes.

Baolong took just one look, and his mind instantly fell into a trance. Countless whispers flooded his head, a deluge of information that nearly made his skull explode. A sharp pain tore through his brain, and blood began to seep from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

“The Lofty Lord!”

These words were seared clearly into Baolong’s mind. Following that, an impression seemed to take hold-that the Lofty Lord was the Master of the World, and as long as one believed in him, they would…

“Holy crap, a wild boar!”

*BANG!*

A single gunshot snapped his thoughts back to reality. The moment he regained consciousness, he saw Liu Ye excitedly holding up a large mass of the unnamable.

Baolong blinked, recalling the image in his mind, and then looked at what Liu Ye was holding…

They were exactly the same!!!

The Lofty Lord had been taken out by a single gunshot!!!

Suddenly, the Lofty Lord extended a tentacle, reaching out toward Baolong with a tremble.

Baolong instinctively reached out his hand, but Liu Ye’s knife fell like a flash, hacking the tentacle in two.

Baolong immediately retracted his hand and stood there obediently.

“I knew it. How could Steward Wang not be prepared? Look at this wild boar; there’s more than enough food for tonight!”

*I think Steward Wang has had more than enough of you, too.*

Baolong couldn’t help but complain inwardly. He looked toward the previous statue, which was now smashed to pieces. Beneath the wreckage of the statue lay a letter.

Baolong’s expression shifted, and he immediately went over to pick it up.

Before he had a chance to read it, he heard Liu Ye calling out.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and let’s go! We’re running out of time!”

Hearing this, Baolong immediately followed Liu Ye out.

On their way back, it was as if gods and ghosts alike were clearing the path. Every servant they encountered was pressed against the floor, trembling in fear.

Back in the kitchen, the Chef grew excited the moment he saw Liu Ye and his companion.

He turned to the Burly Man beside him and said, “Big brother, that’s him! He’s the one who bullied your favorite little brother!”

“Damn, it’s this kid, right? Come on, brothers, get him!”

Ghostly energy billowed from the Burly Man, proving he was an old ghost. These beings had acted tyrannically in the manor for so many years; when had they ever suffered such a slight? Behind him stood a crowd of lackeys who had died in gruesome ways, all letting out strange shrieks and clamoring to give Liu Ye a piece of their minds.

“Big brother, that’s the one!” the Chef said.

The Burly Man gave a cold snort and stepped forward.

“Kid, so you’re the one who bullied my brother…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Liu Ye approaching, carrying the Lofty Lord over his shoulder.

The moment the Fiends stepped out and saw the scene before them, that aura of Terror instantly turned their legs to jelly. In perfect unison, they all dropped to their knees.

Liu Ye looked at this scene, a bit bewildered.

“Wait, what’s this for? Why are you being so polite?”

Then, seeing their eyes fixed intently on the wild boar, he had an epiphany.

“Oh, it’s just a wild boar Steward Wang got. I have to say, there’s a reason he’s the steward; he was prepared well in advance.”

The Fiends: “…”

Steward Wang sure has a lot of face.

“Don’t just stay kneeling. Give me a hand! Hurry up and decide if we’re stewing the meat or what. Didn’t the Chef say there was no main course? Well, now we have one.”

Inside the kitchen, the Chef held a knife, staring blankly at the writhing tentacles on the cutting board.

Even though he was a chef, and a chef with over two hundred years of experience at that, this was the first time he had ever had to process an ingredient like this.

“Brother… how am I supposed to cook this?”
The Burly Man covered his face, not daring to look at the pixelated mess on the cutting board.

“Just… just whip something up.”

“But I’ve never done this before!” the Chef protested.

“What kind of question is that? It’s not like I’ve done it either! Just… do it like you used to. Didn’t Big Bro say to stew it? Just stew it.”

“Fine, fine.” Left with no choice, the Chef put the meat into the pot to stew.

After watching the Chef finish preparing the meat, Liu Ye stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Hey, do you guys think one dish is a bit too little?”

All the Fiends shouted in unison, “It’s enough! It’s enough! It’s plenty!”

Then, they turned to Baolong with pleading eyes.

Baolong froze for a moment, then cautiously raised his hand. “Olé, olé, olé!”

The Fiends: “…”

What the hell was with the “Olé, olé, olé”?

Then, they watched as Liu Ye’s gaze landed on the dogs they had brought with them.

“Wait, Big Bro! Dog meat isn’t fit for a formal banquet!” the Burly Man cried out, quickly shielding his beloved pet.

“Oh, come on. The main thing is you don’t even have a banquet right now. We can’t afford to be picky at a time like this.”

As he spoke, Liu Ye marched over, brandishing his iron wok.

The dogs froze for a second before their fur stood on end. They began to scramble away like mad.

They weren’t actual dogs, after all, but Fiends that took the form of dogs.

Liu Ye wasn’t about to let them escape. With a few swift swings of his wok, the Fiends’ eyes rolled back into their heads, and they collapsed onto the ground.

“Erzhuang…”

With tears welling in his eyes, the Burly Man reached out, wanting to touch the dear brother who had accompanied him for over two hundred years.

“Oh? You want to handle the preparation? Sure, I’ll leave it to you then.”

Liu Ye unceremoniously dumped the dog into the Burly Man’s arms.

The Burly Man held the dog, speechless.

“This is killing the Fiend and destroying his heart!” the Burly Man thought, gritting his teeth. He thought back to every moment he had shared with his brother over the last two hundred years. Those nostalgic memories refused to fade; even as a Fiend, they were his most precious treasures!

And now, they were all being ruined by this bastard in front of him.

“Argh!!! You!!!”

“What?”

Liu Ye turned around, looking surprised as he held his Old Hunting Rifle.

“Do you have any green onions? It’s not authentic to eat dog meat without green onions,” the Burly Man said with a bright smile.

“You folded way too fast!” the other Fiends roared from the sidelines.

“Oh, I actually have some of those.”

Liu Ye quickly pulled some home-grown green onions from his bundle and handed them to the Burly Man.

The Burly Man began to butcher his brother, tears streaming down his face the entire time.

“Hey, don’t you guys think we’re still missing something?”

The Fiends shook their heads violently, then stared death daggers at Baolong.

Being stared down by so many Fiends gave Baolong a fright. He blurted out instinctively, “Bro, are we missing some vegetables?”

The Fiends’ eyes lit up. Vegetables were great! Vegetables weren’t dangerous! They all looked at Xu Fei with newfound appreciation.

Liu Ye clapped his hands. “You’re right! These are all heavy meat dishes. Even though they’re substantial, it’s easy to get greasy without some greens to balance it out.”

“Do we have any vegetables here?” Liu Ye asked.

“Uh…”

The Chef looked at the pile of rotten leaves nearby. He felt that if he brought those out, Liu Ye would probably beat him to death.

Liu Ye knew the answer just by looking at the man’s face.

“We could really use some!” Liu Ye said, looking pained.

“We… we really don’t have any,” the Fiends replied, also looking pained.

“Honestly, I can’t count on you guys for anything.”

Liu Ye pointed at them, looking like a disappointed teacher dealing with hopeless students. He scanned the area, and suddenly, his eyes lit up.