Chapter 309
A row of large pots, towering two people high, was bubbling with boiling water, surrounded by countless barbecue grills already set over the charcoal fire.
Ah, the aroma of human life could even make the heavens squint; no wonder it wasn’t snowing today.
“Let’s start cooking the dumplings!”
With a commanding shout, Qu Sheng took charge.
Stacks of plump, white dumplings were tossed into the pot, and moments later, they were forcefully jolted up by the powerful energy of the surroundings, flying into bowls one after another, ready to be sent to various camps.
“Commander Qu, you’ve been busy all day; you should eat too.”
Huang Donglai brought over a steaming bowl.
“Alright, let me see how it tastes.”
Qu Sheng cradled the bowl, pinching one dumpling between his fingers. His brow relaxed as he murmured:
“It really has a hint of... home flavor?”
As he spoke, he took another bite, trying to confirm if this was the taste of his hometown that he had blurred over decades.
Suddenly, Qu Sheng froze in place.
Huang Donglai nudged his chin toward a figure not far away.
Following his gaze, Qu Sheng spotted Li Mo, who was sitting on a weapons rack with a bowl of dumplings, smiling at him. His lips seemed to form the words:
“Happy Winter Solstice, Commander Qu.”
“Happy Winter Solstice.”
Qu Sheng nodded and vanished from sight.
Li Mo let out a sigh of relief, and at that moment, a crisp and pleasant notification chimed in his ears.
[Congratulations, host! Successfully invested in Qu Sheng, extending his lifespan by sixty years.]
[Investment feedback: Kongming Wanse Tower (空明万色塔).]
[Kongming Wanse Tower]: “Divided into thirty-six layers, each layer represents a color, capable of absorbing the power of all beings and refining it, eliminating the mixed thoughts of beings, rendering it pure and harmless for storage.”
“Note: The loss is significant; only one-tenth of the refined power remains.”
“!”
Isn’t this a case of a nap arriving just when you need a pillow?
Li Mo increasingly felt that Commander Qu was a genuinely good person.
Even the rewards from the investment were so thoughtful.
Now, he just needed to figure out how to collect some power from beings, but the specifics would require careful planning.
“What’s wrong?”
“Commander Qu... is kind.”
Before long, the dumplings made by Bing Tuozi were also ready. Li Mo held the bowl and looked down.
A bowl of noodle soup with meat.
It was still dark and murky.
Little Li was taken aback as he picked up one of Bing Tuozi’s uncooked creations. He finally noticed that the edges of the dumpling skins had a thin layer of ice.
So, Bing Tuozi had directly used true essence to gather ice, freezing the edges of the dumpling skins?
No wonder the movements were so quick!
Little Li covered his face, but after all, this was Bing Tuozi’s first attempt at making dumplings. Since there were dumpling skins and fillings, calling it a bowl of dumplings was reasonable.
“So what about the soup...”
“Didn’t they say you have to eat dumplings with vinegar?”
“How much vinegar did you add to the soup?”
“Do we still need the soup?”
Ying Bing tilted her head, her deep eyes, veiled by a layer of smoke, appeared somewhat hazy.
As if to say:
“I made this especially for you; aren’t you going to try it?”
She seemed eager to see Li Mo eat the dumplings and praise them.
But Li Mo remembered the last time she made spicy stir-fried meat and tomato scrambled eggs, her expression was filled with seriousness and an air of disbelief that she could do anything wrong.
Now, there seemed to be an added... hint of expectation?
“Can I at least get a taste of the sweetness...”
“No way.”
Ying Bing indicated that he was dreaming; sweetness wasn’t something you could just casually enjoy.
But then she glanced down at her own Taiyin Liuxian dress.
And softly added:
“But there’s something else...”
“What is it?”
“It’s Happy Winter Solstice.”
“Ah?”
Ying Bing pressed her lips together, scooping a spoonful of vinegar-soaked dumpling filling soup, and as Little Li opened his mouth in confusion, she quickly fed it to him.
The painful Piggy Hero was back in action.
........
P.S.: School has started, and my little side project’s traffic is plummeting. Are you sure you don’t want to support me a bit? (Bing Tuozi with a serious face)
---
Chapter 336: The Warriors Skilled in Pictographic Martial Arts
Outside Qingmu City.
“Monsters, monsters!”
A scout clad in vine armor was surrounded by a group of transformed demon kings, looking weak, helpless, and pitiful.
“Shut your mouth! Which of your eyes sees me as a monster?”
A burly middle-aged man, towering two heads taller than the scout, with arms as thick as a waist and horns like forged iron on his head, grumbled.
“Yeah, where do we look like monsters?”
Manbo frowned, stroking her chin, sparks of electricity flickering.
She had no idea how she had been exposed.
“Old Guo, we finally caught a tongue; don’t scare him to death.”
Wu Qing signaled with her eyes, then turned to the tightly bound scout.
She cleared her throat and said:
“We’re just practicing... pictographic martial arts, human warriors. You don’t need to be afraid.”
Thunder rumbled—
The clouds thickened, flashing with lightning, as if it were about to rain.
“...”
The scout shrank back, feeling even more terrified.
“Demon kings, let’s clarify the situation first.”
A bald young man in golden robes spoke seriously.
The demons were here to help.
Through the contact with Shang Qinqing, when Li Mo and Ying Bing returned to Qingmu City, they had all helped fend off high-grade disaster beasts.
Setting aside the hope that the unparalleled Tianjiao and the divine maiden Qingluan could lead the demon race to revival.
No normal demon would want to see the Celestial Jade fall into the hands of disaster beasts.
Once the Celestial Jade was controlled by disaster beasts, normal demons would have only two choices: join or perish.
That’s why Li Mo and Ying Bing hadn’t encountered any high-grade disaster beasts on their way back.
Until later, when the Qianlong List was announced.
All the demon races learned of the two’s human identities.
But after some discussion, they still felt the need to help; at least the unparalleled Tianjiao had a strong character, and as a human, he was willing to share the Celestial Jade with them.
Better than letting it be snatched by disaster beasts.
Thus, many demon kings transformed into ordinary people who had practiced pictographic martial arts...
But just as they were about to secretly support Qingmu City, they found something was off.
The battle was already over?!
“What happened?”
The bald Peng Lingyuan asked sternly.
“We... lost. The head of Han was killed, which led to our complete rout...”
The scout was on the verge of tears.
He had merely stopped to relieve himself in the bushes during his escape and had been inexplicably captured.
He would never dare to relieve himself in public again.
“Hmm? Even now, you dare to deceive demons?”
A giant whale demon glared, capable of silencing a child’s cries.
“I’ll... give him a taste of my methods.”
“I swear what I said is true! That Li Mo is simply not human!”
Manbo was about to use electric therapy to make the scout more compliant when the latter’s eyes widened in terror.
“Hmm...”
The demon kings nodded.
Indeed.
So, under the threat of electric shocks, the scout recounted the entire process in detail.
“He led a cavalry charge, breaking through the hundred-square military formation, and charged straight to the head of Han’s palace, using that hammer that shattered several statues to smash the head of Han.”
“Oh, and that woman—she could command the military formation while also transforming it into a battlefield. The two clan elders who came with us were both killed by her.”
The mountaintop fell silent.
The demon kings were buzzing in their heads, filled with disbelief.
But this didn’t sound like a lie.
With the scout’s imagination, he probably couldn’t come up with such an outrageous story.
Just as they were lost in silence.
A small bird made of jade flew through the midday smoke of the city, over the ravaged battlefield, and landed on a small hill a hundred miles outside Qingmu City, transforming into human form.
“Clan Leader Shang, why did you take so long to return?”
“How is Qingmu City?”
Wu Qing, seeing that she bore no signs of having fought, finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked:
“Just took care of a little matter.”
Shang Qinqing put away her smile and said:
“Don’t worry, everyone; they’re eating dumplings in Qingmu City.”
The expressions of the demon kings were complex.
They had rushed here, fearing that Qingmu City would fall in just a few days.
They never expected the opposite to be true.
“Looks like we’re off the hook; shall we... head back?”
“What do the dumplings taste like?”
“Paired with vinegar, it’s simply authentic!”
“Since we’re here, we might as well stay.”
.....
The atmosphere in the Qingmu camp remained lively.
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