Chapter 696 - Dinner Night
A crescent moon was painted in the sky as clouds floated by. Crimson leaves blew with the wind and a faint fragrance of Hong Lin blossoms could be felt. But along with this fragrance, one could also smell the aroma of something cooking.
In the middle of a forest, a few fires were burning and on top of those fires, several pots and grills. One of the pots was filled with bones to the top and boiled continuously emanating a rich aroma.
The second pot was filled with shredded meat that was cooking with several colorful vegetables. But if one looked at the vegetables, they would realize that they were not normal vegetables at all, but rather spirit herbs and fruits.
In the third pot, a thick stew was brewing. It bubbled, letting out a tantalizing aroma. The aroma was like a seductive lover, pulling one into the bed, asking them to roll in the sheets.
Then there was a large flat grill set on a pile of flaming red coals. On the grill, deboned fillets of fish were being grilled. A nice sear could be seen on the orange-pink meat, which had been drizzled with flavored oils.
Each of the ingredients used in all this were expensive being either spirit beast meat or spirit herbs.
The bones that were boiling in the first pot belonged to the Green tailed howler monkeys that were all at the Core Condensation realm. The second pot filled with the shredded meats contained the mixed flesh from several Beasts that Lin Mu had hunted that spanned all the way from Qi refining realm to the Nascent Soul realm.
The third pot with the thick stew had the spirit herbs from the Tri Cauldron peony sect, along with organ meat from several spirit beasts. And on the grill, the fish meat that was being grilled belonged to the Nascent Soul realm Saw toothed Tuna.
While the flavored oil that was drizzled on it was made from the essence oil extracted from Plume wisp Olives mixed with several spirit flower petals. Then there was the dipping sauce kept at the side with was made with the honey of Iron Sting bees and pollen from spirit flowers.
The entire spread of dishes was something that even an emperor would rarely eat, not to mention an average cultivator. One would think that a spread like this would be found in an exquisite restaurant with gilded tables and golden utensils, or perhaps in the royal palace of an empire.
But it was not so. Rather than all that luxury, this was all being made in the middle of a forest, on fires that were being fueled by Hong Lin wood and that too on top of soil. No matter what way one looked at this, they would find it highly unusual to say the least.
But that was not all, as the one cooking it was even more strange. There were several metal hands floating around that were doing the cooking. Some stirred the pots, some drizzled and sprinkled the condiments, and some flipped the fillets on the grill.
And controlling all these metal hands was a large feline beast that observed each change with a close eye, adjusting the temperature of the flames with a few puffs of breath. Each breath would be like a stream of fire, thin and straight, allowing very precise control of temperature.
The one cooking was none other Little Shrubby of course, and he was doing his best.
'This will be the best meal I've cooked till now. I've got all the ingredients and condiments and master finally got free time… I have to make the best meal he has eaten till now.' Little Shrubby thought to himself with determination.
And while he was doing this, Lin Mu laid on top of a Hong Lin tree while watching the sky. A myriad of thoughts floated through his mind as if they were clouds in the sky mirroring his mind.
An hour passed like this in silence, with only the sound of wind, the fire crackling and the oil sizzling being heard.
"Master, the food is ready!" Little Shrubby called out.
Lin Mu whose eyes were a bit lost finally gained back their focus, and he floated down from the tree.
'Being able to fly is really convenient…' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Upon getting down, he saw all of the dishes ready and an amazing aroma that accompanied them.
Lin Mu couldn't help but gulp his saliva upon seeing all the food. He could almost imagine the taste of it on his tongue and couldn't wait to test it out.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to it," Lin Mu spoke.
"ALRIGHT!" Little Shrubby said before the hands flew out with a whoosh.
They all picked up various utensils like plates and bowls before filling them up with the food and bringing them to Lin Mu, who had just set up a table. At this point, Lin Mu had several sets of furniture in the ring and if he wanted to, he could probably make an entire house out of them.
~thud~thud~thud~
The plates and bowls landed on the table and out came the chopsticks as well.
"Let's begin," Lin Mu said before starting to eat.
Each and every sip and bite filled his mouth with flavor and a warmth that filled his body. The dense spirit Qi and vital energy from the food improved the experience by multiple folds as a wave of pleasure filled him.
The pair of Master and beast didn't even realize when all of the good was emptied out and they were left wanting for more.
Lin Mu looked at Little Shrubby with an awkward smile.
"Do we have more?" Lin Mu questioned.
"More? We have tons!" Little Shrubby answered.
With a smile on his face Lin Mu said, "Cook more then, we're gonna eat all the food we've missed all this time."
And just like that, Lin Mu and Little Shrubby spent the entire night eating food.