The rabbit meat had originally been reserved for the three little beasts, but who would have thought they’d turn up their noses at it?
Having grown accustomed to cooked food, they no longer cared for bloody raw meat.
Civilized beasts don’t eat first-hand meat.
“Hehe, rabbits are so cute. Of course they need extra spicy seasoning!”
This time, Lu Wu had already prepared the perfect slogan:
“Rabbits are so cute, how could you eat rabbits?”
A cutesy voice automatically played in her mind.
Eh?
Had she just exposed something?
The System replied: You exposed my innocence.
Preparing rabbit heads was a bit troublesome. First came removing the fur, then the skin, then the little buck teeth, followed by the throat. After that, what remained was a rabbit head worthy of being censored.
Each one was only palm-sized, yet surprisingly heavy.
The feng shui of the Qingyuan Realm truly favored rabbits—they all had remarkably meaty heads.
Lu Wu soaked them in water to remove the blood, changing the water several times along the way. The process took quite a while.
The three little beasts had brought back three rabbits in total.
As for their hunting abilities, Lu Wu expressed some doubt.
In response, the trio claimed they were worried she wouldn’t have enough food.
Touching!
Still, deep in these remote mountains, Lu Wu couldn’t imagine running into many customers. Making too much food would only go unsold.
She had achieved a state of Buddhist calm.
The rabbit bodies weren’t wasted either. She planned to store them and make spicy rabbit meat later.
Slurp.
Looking through recipes, Lu Wu started drooling. Her mouth felt sour.
Only rabbit could cure it.
When the water finally became mostly clear, Lu Wu removed the rabbit heads.
At that moment, she narrowed her eyes toward a nearby patch of bushes.
The three little beasts looked over as well.
Not good.
There’s demonic energy—
No, wait.
There’s a foxy smell.
Foxes: Please stop insulting us.
“Honey, why do I feel like we’ve been discovered?”
The vixen stroked her belly anxiously and looked toward Lu Wu’s campsite with regret.
She hadn’t expected that tiger beast to actually have an owner. After living here for so long, this was the first human they’d ever seen.
Fortunately, the human’s gaze only swept casually in their direction before moving on.
“Let’s keep watching.”
The male fox hesitated before speaking.
Since they’d already come this far, he doubted he’d have the courage to return.
“Do you know what that human is holding?”
The vixen lowered her voice, unable to hide the horror in it.
No matter how she looked at it, that thing resembled the head of one of those evil rabbits.
Humans were truly terrifying.
Lu Wu had noticed the fox couple immediately.
However, she didn’t chase them away.
Out here, they might become future customers.
One must never be rough with customers.
Keeping that principle firmly in mind, she dropped the rabbit heads into clean water for blanching.
To remove the gamey smell, ginger slices and scallions were essential.
There was also white liquor.
And a little salt.
The rich aroma of alcohol drifted through the air. Even the slightest hint was intoxicating.
As the water heated up, the rabbit heads gradually changed color, turning into the brown shade of cooked meat.
The censorship effect disappeared.
Once they were half-cooked, Lu Wu removed them and drained the excess water.
Now came the most important step in making spicy rabbit heads:
Preparing the spicy base sauce.
If the rabbit heads were going to taste good, this step had to be executed perfectly.
Freshly pressed rapeseed oil carried a natural fragrance of its own.
She’d heard some people loved the smell of rapeseed oil.
Hot wok.
Cold oil.
And plenty of it.
Then in went the holy trinity of aromatics—scallions, ginger, and garlic—to release their fragrance.
Stimulated by the hot oil, the aroma spread rapidly.
The foxes, who had never entered human society before, twitched their noses.
As they inhaled the scent, their eyes began to glaze over.
Wow.
This really got a beast high.
Lu Wu worked quickly.
The sauce had already released a bright red chili oil at the bottom of the wok.
Next came the stars of the show:
Chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.
The more, the better.
The Glass Flame rolled beneath the wok, constantly adjusting its intensity according to Lu Wu’s will.
Once the spices were fully fragrant, she tossed the rabbit heads into the wok and stir-fried them.
The foxes had never encountered chili peppers before.
The vixen’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Honey… I can’t hold it in anymore.”
Her voice sounded muffled.
“Hold what in?” the male fox asked while enduring the assault of the chilies.
He was beginning to suspect humans used this stuff to poison foxes.
“I…”
“Achoo! Achoo!”
Before she could finish speaking, sneezes burst out one after another.
They were so loud that Lu Wu couldn’t pretend not to hear them.
The hand holding the spatula paused.
She waved toward the bushes.
“Stop hiding. Come out.”
After speaking, she ignored the foxes’ terror and continued cooking.
Soy sauce and various seasonings were added one after another.
Boiling water submerged the rabbit heads.
The next step was simmering.
Time would elevate the flavor to perfection.
Amid the rising steam, Lu Wu lowered her eyes.
She looked like a compassionate bodhisattva descending to save the world.
“Honey, what do we do?”
The vixen was at a complete loss.
It was all her fault.
If only she’d held in that sneeze a little longer.
Looking down at her swollen belly, worry covered her charming fox face.
She wasn’t afraid of dying.
But her children hadn’t even been born yet.
“I don’t think that human means us any harm.”
The male fox managed to stay calm.
He analyzed the situation carefully.
Then he noticed the three little beasts looking at him.
Although the great tiger had transformed into a kitten, its markings and scent still revealed its identity.
Betting his life on that judgment, the male fox wrapped his tail around the vixen and stepped out of the bushes with her.
To improve the lighting, Lu Wu had trimmed away part of the forest canopy overhead.
Now sunlight streamed through the woods.
Bathed in the bright rays, the red foxes’ fur shimmered brilliantly.
“Very beautiful foxes.”
That was Lu Wu’s evaluation.
The foxes smiled upon receiving praise from a human, though they remained cautious.
The rabbit heads still needed time to cook.
Lu Wu squatted on the ground, propping up her chin as she watched the pair.
Her gaze lingered briefly on the vixen’s belly.
That slight pause alone made the vixen tense up.
Maternal instinct truly was powerful.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
Foxes weren’t on her menu.
At least not yet.
“I’d like to ask about these rabbits.”
She pulled out several cute little rabbits that no longer had heads.
Rabbits: Do you have any manners at all?
With the rabbits dead, the black aura surrounding them had already dispersed.
The male fox stepped forward, shielding the vixen behind him.
His eyes drifted toward Mimi.
“Meow~”
Mimi licked a paw while lazily wrapping its tail around Lu Wu’s wrist.
“Go ahead and talk. Why are you looking at the cat?”
With Tiger… no, Cat’s permission, the male fox forced himself to speak despite his trembling body.
To Lu Wu, the sounds automatically translated themselves.
It turned out that a month ago, a crack had appeared somewhere deep in the forest.
A large amount of black mist seeped out from it.
Unfortunately, that area happened to be the rabbit clan’s habitat.
The rabbits were slow-witted and sensed no danger.
So they ignored it.
As time passed, however, the rabbits absorbed the black mist.
Their temperaments changed drastically.
Their bodies underwent mutations as well.
They stopped eating grass.
Instead, they started eating meat.
More importantly, the black mist made them significantly stronger.
Darkening had granted the rabbits power.
Wearing smokey eye makeup, they turned around and began hunting the very species that once preyed upon rabbits.
And thus, chaos began.
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