Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The Toad Venom Qin Ying provided worked!

Consequently, the city immediately began treating those poisoned by the Fei Yi.

The County Soldiers moving in and out of the streets transferred all the poisoned victims to the Commandery Governor’s Mansion, handing them over to the Old Physician for treatment.

When word spread that the Supreme Deity had appeared just now specifically to bestow medicine, waves of weeping and prayers echoed throughout the city once more.

On the roof of the Commandery Governor’s Mansion, there was a reed mat, a pouch of fresh water, and… a large stack of cakes baked from rice flour.

Han Lie sat upright and stiff, preparing to eat his long-delayed evening meal.

Beside him, a Migu Flower rested on a circular lacquer tray, emitting a cold, white glow.

“What kind of glowing flower is that?”

Hearing Qin Ying’s question, he answered hurriedly, “Reporting to the Supreme Deity-”

“Stop, stop.”

Qin Ying cut off his attempt to stand up and salute. “In this situation, there’s no need for so much etiquette.”

Ever since she learned that Han Lie was only nineteen, Qin Ying subconsciously viewed him through a ‘puppy filter’-even if this puppy was a bit on the large side.

“Relax. Just refer to yourself as ‘I’ when we speak. There’s no need to keep saying ‘this humble one’ all day long.”

Han Lie’s expression shifted, but before he could say another word, Qin Ying laid down the law: “And that’s that!”

He knelt there helplessly. Although she could only see the top of his head, his flustered appearance… made him look even more like a puppy.

If she weren’t afraid that the box would pull her in, she would have reached out a finger to pat his head.

Qin Ying suppressed the upward curve of her lips.

To Han Lie, she was like a ghost clinging to him in the night, her laughter sounding extremely close to his ear.

Han Lie rubbed his hot, itchy ears and replied, “This glowing flower is called a Migu Flower.”

“It is the flower that blooms from the Confusion Tree.”

*Confusion Tree*, Qin Ying noted silently in her mind.

Seeing that Han Lie still wasn’t moving, she said, “Weren’t you going to eat? Go ahead.”

At Qin Ying’s urging, Han Lie lowered his head and began gnawing on the cakes.

These cakes were made from the white rice Qin Ying had dropped down.

Those rice grains, which were half the height of a person, had been split open by stonemasons using chisels, then pounded into smaller pieces by others with wooden mallets.

A small portion was taken to be ground further with a stone mill and boiled into a porridge for the patients.

Another part was sent to the kitchen to be steamed, molded into round, disc-like cakes, and then baked until dry.

They were extremely shelf-stable and filling, but they were also… incredibly dry!

At first, Qin Ying just listened to the sound of Han Lie crunching on the cakes, but the more she heard, the more she felt parched on his behalf.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Is that all you’re eating?”

Her sudden voice nearly caused Han Lie to choke on the dry crumbs in his mouth.

He obeyed everything Qin Ying said, nodding with an honest, simple air. “Reporting to the Supreme Deity, these are enough.”

Qin Ying hummed. “Wait a moment!”

“Supreme Deity?”

Han Lie didn’t know what she intended to do. He called out twice but received no answer.

The wooden bead on his chest also gradually grew cold.

Since Qin Ying told him to wait, he stayed exactly where he was, like a well-behaved puppy following a command.

He didn’t even continue eating his cake.

A short while later, the bead on his chest suddenly grew hot.

A mass of fleshy-pink material appeared silently in the dark sky.

It was a circle larger than Han Lie’s entire body.

The color looked quite suspicious, but Han Lie caught the savory scent of fragrant meat.

“Ham Sausage. I’ll give you a little bit to eat.”

When Qin Ying said ‘a little bit,’ she really meant just a little bit.

She pinched off a piece of Ham Sausage about the size of a pinky joint and used a pair of BBQ tongs to gently place it in front of Han Lie.

“Supreme Deity, may I ask if this Ham Sausage is a type of Tai Sui?”

Han Lie stared at the pink chunk of meat before him, which emitted a concentrated, savory aroma.

The first thing he associated with that color was naturally something like a Tai Sui.

“Uh…”

*Tai Sui? This young man has quite the imagination.*

Qin Ying ate the remaining half of the sausage herself as she explained, “It’s not a Tai Sui. It’s just ordinary food. Eat up!”

“How can you have any strength if you don’t eat meat?”

Unlike her bright and vivid appearance, Qin Ying’s voice carried a hint of coolness.

When she used that slightly cool voice to show concern, Han Lie couldn’t help but rub his thumb again.

“Thank you for your concern, Supreme Deity. I…”
After hesitating for a second, Han Lie finally revealed his greatest secret to Qin Ying.

“I once ate Qilin Meat. My body is very strong.”

He looked down at his palm. When he had taken his oath, he had sliced his palm open with a blade, but the wound had closed into a thin white line by the very next day.

This powerful physique was what the Qilin Meat had given him.

“Qilin?”

Qin Ying was slightly stunned when she heard the word.

In her world’s perspective, the Qilin was an auspicious and powerful divine beast. Was such a divine beast actually a food ingredient in the box world?

The moment the thought occurred to her, a sense of absurdity washed over her.

“Where did you get Qilin Meat?”

Did Han Lie have some other miraculous encounter?

Qin Ying pricked up her ears, expecting a story, but Han Lie honestly confessed, “It was a piece of Dried Qilin Meat passed down through my family.”

Wait a minute.

Qin Ying raised an eyebrow. Could this little wolf-dog she had picked up halfway through her journey have some hidden lineage? Otherwise, what kind of family passes down a piece of Dried Qilin Meat as an heirloom?

Qin Ying wanted to press him for more details, but then she heard a pitter-patter of footsteps.

In the light of the Migu Flower, the scar-faced man, Wang Chang, walked up. “What’s that smell?”

He had a nose like a bloodhound and had caught the scent on the wind.

He rushed straight to the Ham Sausage on the roof, his saliva dripping. “Is this a Tai Sui?”

“What kind of Tai Sui smells this delicious?”

He managed to maintain some shred of reason, knowing that the sudden appearance of a piece of fragrant meat as tall as a person must be related to the Supreme Deity. Therefore, he didn’t dare to touch it or take a bite immediately, but his hands fidgeted with the hem of his clothes so much he nearly tore a hole in them.

Qin Ying could practically hear him gulping.

“Let him eat, this big glutton… of a man.”

Qin Ying’s casual remark made Han Lie smile inwardly. The Supreme Deity was quite amusing, seemingly no different from mortals like himself.

He shook his head and said to Wang Chang, “It is meat bestowed by the Supreme Deity. The Supreme Deity says you may eat.”

Having received permission, Wang Chang lunged forward. He pulled out a palm-length, slightly curved Carving Knife from somewhere and skillfully sliced a piece for himself.

“Thank you, Supreme Deity!”

He swallowed several mouthfuls of spit first and shouted toward the sky. Then, he shoved the fist-sized piece of Ham Sausage into his mouth and devoured it in a few bites.

“Ah, I ate it too fast! I didn’t even catch the flavor!”

He chuckled sheepishly and reached out to cut another piece with a thick-skinned grin.

Han Lie knew his temperament all too well and shook his head helplessly. “Brother Wang, why were you looking for me?”

Wang Chang’s cheeks were bulging with food. Hearing the question, he forced himself to swallow. There was a dull thud from his throat that made even Qin Ying, outside the box, feel like she was choking on his behalf.

After swallowing, Wang Chang thumped his chest and said, “I just wanted to ask if there’s anything I can help with?”

Fainting from the potency of the Toad Venom earlier was truly embarrassing. Although no one mocked him, Wang Chang had been walking around covering his face since he woke up. He had come to find Han Lie, hoping to find some work to redeem himself.

Han Lie didn’t stand on ceremony and said directly, “There are Fei Yi everywhere. I’ll have to trouble Brother Wang to escort the Yunwu County Soldiers to distribute the Snake Repellent and Antidote.”

With a large amount of Toad Venom, the Old Physician and the Medicine Boy were working overtime to produce the repellent and the Antidote. They were just waiting for dawn to send out cavalry to deliver the supplies to every district to ensure the safety of the region.

Aside from being a bit simple-minded, Wang Chang was a very efficient worker. Once he received his orders, he turned and left immediately.

Looking at the top of his head as he departed, Qin Ying remarked, “That big glutton is quite a resilient fellow.”

During the day, he had been chased like a dog by the Fei Yi, then he had gone with Han Lie to the Duan Family Fortress to obtain medicine. Now, even late at night, he was still this energetic. It was impressive.

Han Lie was momentarily stunned. Considering the basic questions Qin Ying had asked before, he realized she truly didn’t know much about this world.

He explained, “By using a Secret Method to assist in consuming a Monstrous Beast, one can strengthen the human body.”

“Anyone who can pass the selection for the Jade Balance Army has consumed a Monstrous Beast. Therefore, the soldiers of the Jade Balance Army possess physical strength far superior to that of ordinary civilians.”