Chapter 34: Stir-Fried Pork Intestines

The orcs of the tribe never touched internal organs or offal, considering them filthy and fit only to be discarded.

To think she was actually using these to make a meal? And for herself, at that…

Bai Qi felt a wave of nausea, his gaze upon her complex and difficult to describe. Su Xiyue could not read his inner thoughts, but she could guess a thing or two from his expression. Unbothered, she smiled and explained, "Bai Qi, don't let the stench of these pig intestines fool you. As long as they are cleaned properly, they turn out incredibly delicious. I guarantee you'll be craving more once you’ve had a bite."

Bai Qi’s mouth twitched again. He found it impossible to imagine how such foul-smelling offal could taste good. He remained skeptical. As a fox-kin, his sense of smell was naturally keen, making him highly sensitive to all sorts of odors. How could he possibly stomach something that reeked like this? In the past, he would have walked away without a second thought, not deigning to waste a word on her.

Yet, over the last two days, he had discovered that this female had truly changed. She had become something of an enigma, and instead of wanting to walk away, he felt a flicker of anticipation. He wanted to see just how she would transform this malodorous offal into a delicious meal.

Seeing that he did not object, Su Xiyue began her preparations with enthusiasm. She asked Bai Qi to fashion a wooden spatula for her—how else was she supposed to stir-fry? Bai Qi did not refuse; after asking for the desired design, he promptly left.

Once he was gone, she scrubbed the marinated pig intestines clean and cut them into small pieces using a bone knife. She prepared some minced garlic, ginger, and scallions, and gathered a pile of dry firewood from the surroundings.

Just as she finished preparing the ingredients, Bai Qi returned. He held a wooden spatula he had polished until smooth, handing it to her. "I made it according to the shape you described. Does this work?"

Su Xiyue took it and gave it a trial run, finding it quite comfortable to hold. "It’s perfect, thank you." She thanked him happily and began to build the fire to stir-fry the intestines.

As the temperature rose, the fat rendered out of the intestines, releasing an enticing aroma. She tossed the garlic, ginger, and scallions into the stone pot; the fragrance exploded instantly. Then, she added the intestines, tossing them vigorously. She seasoned the dish with salt and a variety of wild herbs she had collected from the forest, stir-frying them over high heat. Her movements were extremely deft.

Bai Qi watched from the sidelines, dumbfounded. He had truly never seen such a technique. He sniffed the air cautiously; there was no trace of the original stench. Instead, his nostrils were filled with a rich, mouth-watering fragrance that made his stomach growl. His nine fluffy, snow-white tails appeared involuntarily, swaying back and forth behind him, sweeping the ground clean. This was a nervous habit of his when excited.

Su Xiyue noticed this and smiled inwardly. This fox really couldn't hide his feelings. She pretended not to see, continuing to stir-fry. The aroma grew increasingly intense, enough to make anyone drool.

The scent soon drifted out, catching the attention of the other orcs in the tribe.

"What a wonderful smell! Where is it coming from?"
"It seems to be coming from Su Xiyue’s cave. I wonder what she's doing."
"Su Xiyue? That lazy, gluttonous, ugly female? What is she making that smells so good—it’s making my mouth water!"
"Let’s go see."

The tribespeople chattered, drawn in by the fragrance. It was simply too tempting to ignore. Even the sisters Mia and Miyao came over, curious to see what Su Xiyue was up to. As the scent intensified, a crowd of orcs and females gathered around her cave, staring at the sizzling contents of the stone pot and swallowing hard.

"What… what is this? Why does it smell so good?" an orc asked.

Su Xiyue paused and looked at him. She recognized him as Cang Yuan, one of Shiman’s mates—a fourth-rank orc with considerable strength.

"This is stir-fried pig intestines," she said with a smile. "It’s delicious."

Upon hearing the words "pig intestines," Cang Yuan froze, his expression turning bizarre. Stir-fried intestines? How could one eat such foul-smelling things? Wait—he couldn't smell any stench at all; it was, in fact, quite fragrant. He looked on in disbelief, struggling to reconcile the foul offal with the delicious aroma.

Mia, squeezed into the crowd, felt a surge of jealousy. When had this ugly creature learned to cook? She had truly underestimated her. Then, a thought occurred to her, and a look of malicious glee crossed her face. This ugly girl would surely eat all these intestines herself. If she gorged herself on that much, she might end up with such a bad stomach ache that she’d wither away—or better yet, die from it.

Miyao, meanwhile, watched the scene with a flicker of thought in her eyes.

Ye Ling, Mo Lin, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming were also drawn by the smell. Ye Ling’s silver eyes flashed—what was that fat woman up to now? How could she produce such a delicious scent? He pushed through the crowd into the cave and saw Su Xiyue busy at the entrance. She had set up a makeshift stone counter with a strange-looking stone pot in the middle, filled with something golden-brown.

Ye Ling’s gaze dropped to her waist. He realized that the layers of greasy, repulsive fat were gone, replaced by a hint of a curve. He was stunned; he distinctly remembered last night that her waist was draped in rolls of fat that hung down to her hips. How could they have vanished so quickly? Even if she were dieting, it shouldn't be this fast, and specifically concentrated on her waist. He was utterly bewildered.

Mo Lin, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming also noticed the change, their expressions filled with shock. The surrounding females whispered among themselves, equally surprised, though they felt no envy. Even after losing weight, Su Xiyue was still twice the size of any of them.

Su Xiyue ignored the chatter. She had finished cooking and scooped some of the stir-fry into a stone bowl. There was plenty left in the pot, the fragrance still wafting through the air. She extinguished the fire and picked up a pair of chopsticks—which she had fashioned from twigs the night before and polished with her bone knife—to take a taste. They were even in length and quite handy to use.