CFSMS -Chapter 73 Wow—Roar of the Hungry Dragon

This was the final night spent in the secret realm.

A campfire burned, sparks popping and scattering into the air.

In such an environment, lighting a fire was like adding heat upon heat. Qin Zhan and the others endured their bodies, already close to melting from the heat, just to keep the fire going—for a single bite of grilled fish.

Qin Zhan still remembered how Old Man Li had once “won them over” with a meal of grilled fish, turning him and Lou Xiaotian into tools for “Boss Lu.”

The crispy, fragrant, tender grilled fish still lingered in his memory.

And now, as the fish was placed on the grill over the fire, Qin Zhan could no longer see anything else in his eyes.

“Brush oil—more oil!”

“Sprinkle seasoning! I want cumin flavor, extra cumin!”

“Hurry, hurry, it’s about to flip—this side is getting overcooked!”

Qin Zhan kept giving instructions to Jiang Yunhe. Since they had been eating food provided by Lu Wu all this time, they wanted to repay her in some way.

Tonight’s grilled fish—they were in charge.

Of course, the marinating of the fish and the seasoning ratios were all prepared solely by Lu Wu.

Even so, Qin Zhan, who simply brought the “ready-made” setup, still wasn’t reassured. He kept standing nearby, bossing things around, trying to control Jiang Yunhe’s grilling progress.

“If you’re so capable, you do it!”

Seeing the fish in his hand starting to blacken at the belly, Jiang Yunhe couldn’t find anyone else to blame—so he seized the opportunity.

Before Qin Zhan could react, he shoved the grilled fish into his hands and backed away from the fire, calling it “getting some air” to cool down.

“You—”

The insult Qin Zhan wanted to spit out got stuck in his throat—neither coming out nor going back down.

He glared at the charred fish, then secretly glanced at Lu Wu. Seeing she wasn’t paying attention, he turned his back and started scraping off the burnt parts with a knife, reapplying oil, and trying to salvage it.

Save it. It should still be edible.

Normally, watching Lu Wu cook was so smooth and effortless that Qin Zhan felt like he could learn just by watching.

But reality proved otherwise.

“Uh, bro… maybe just change the fish?” Lou Xiaotian suggested cautiously.

It was pitch black. Could that even be eaten?

The grilled fish made by Boss Lu was fragrant and perfect—but Qin Zhan’s looked like a disaster.

“Cough… you don’t trust me?” Qin Zhan forced himself to stay calm, though clearly under pressure.

Lou Xiaotian shrank his neck and stopped talking.

As long as he wasn’t the one cooking, that was fine.

Even without looking, Lu Wu could already tell from the smell that their fish had failed.

Fortunately, she had never counted on them in the first place.

She kept working, trying to salvage a bit of Qin Zhan’s dignity, though her hands didn’t slow down at all.

One fish after another was placed by the fire.

The environment was simple and crude, but the special seasoning blend, once heated, released an irresistible spicy aroma that filled the air.

Brush oil, sprinkle seasoning, flip.

The same steps—but in different hands, the result was worlds apart.

The fish skin slowly turned golden and crisp, while the inside remained tender and white.

The roasted aroma enhanced both texture and appearance.

The seasoning seeped into every fiber of the fish, preserving its natural freshness while adding a unique smoky flavor.

Some say the smoke rising from a barbecue is the world’s most earthly warmth.

And this drifting smoke, carried by the wind, floated far away.

Lu Wu’s fish gradually took shape.

Qin Zhan’s fish gradually stopped being fish.

Flip—snap.

A chunk of blackened charcoal fell off the fish and landed in the fire.

Despite using the same heat, Qin Zhan somehow managed to turn a fish into charcoal.

With each touch, more pieces fell off. His hand trembled—and the wooden skewer snapped.

The entire charred fish dropped into the fire, sending up thick smoke.

Caught in the smoke, Qin Zhan began coughing.

“Cough…”

At first just a few coughs, then he couldn’t hold back anymore, turning away and coughing violently while pounding his chest.

“Cough cough cough!”

He nearly choked to death from the smoke.

Splash!

If there was ever a perfect example of “like attracts like,” this was it.

A fool’s teammate is still a fool.

Seeing the smoke billow, Lou Xiaotian hurriedly poured a basin of water onto the fire.

The fire went out—but the smoke got even worse.

Even Lu Wu was almost affected.

Fortunately, she quickly grabbed her own fish and moved away from the disaster zone.

Holding her perfectly grilled fish, she looked at Qin Zhan’s soot-covered face, and her mouth twitched.

“Pfft.”

She couldn’t hold it in and laughed.

“Tch. That’s it?”

Jiang Yunhe snorted and delivered a finishing blow.

Three words—maximum mockery.

The two “talents” stood there, patting ash off themselves, heads lowered, not daring to act up.

But their eyes still kept drifting toward Lu Wu’s fish.

Repaying Boss Lu was clearly impossible now. They had to make up for their mistake if they wanted a share.

Because honestly—it smelled amazing.

Even covered in soot and smoke, they couldn’t mask the rich aroma of grilled fish.

Fortunately, Lu Wu had never expected them to succeed in the first place.

These fish were meant for everyone anyway. Just as she was about to say they could share—

A sudden explosive sound rang out in the air.

Something was moving at extreme speed.

Whoosh!

A black shadow flashed in front of Lu Wu. The moment it appeared, it wrapped itself around the grilled fish in her hand.

Its pitch-black scales looked dull and lifeless, but its long thin body clung tightly, refusing to let go.

It opened its mouth.

A tiny body—but a very large mouth.

One bite—half a fish was gone.

It was a small black snake, about the length of an arm and as thick as a thumb.

Its tail wrapped around Lu Wu’s wrist as it rapidly devoured all the grilled fish.

No bones spat out.

Even the wooden skewer was swallowed along with it.

In a whirlwind of eating speed beyond human comprehension, the snake finished all the fish in moments.

“Hiss—”

Burp.

The dragon was full.

It hadn’t eaten in countless years, trapped under the secret realm’s depths, surviving only on magma—so much that it was about to go insane.

Now that the sealing flames had disappeared, it finally escaped the magma and climbed out.

Knowing it had many enemies, it didn’t dare show itself, planning to hide and recover before returning to the outside world.

Once recovered, it would resume its chaos.

After all—it was a calamity dragon.

A calamity dragon existed to do evil.

But that damned bird still found it, and before it had recovered its full strength, it beat it up severely.

Fortunately, that bird was also weakened. Only then did it manage to escape.

Already starving for ten thousand years and then beaten again, its energy was nearly drained. It had shrunk into a dried-out snake.

Just as it was searching for food, a scent drifted through the hot wind.

Its saliva overflowed instantly, soaking its body.

It followed the smell here without hesitation.

And honestly—it was delicious.

“Hiss.”

Pretending to be an ordinary black snake, the calamity dragon flicked its tongue and licked Lu Wu’s wrist.

Human… dragon is hungry. Dragon still wants more.