The fatty was extremely vexed. He even suspected if Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had fallen under some sort of spell. The little fox kept clamoring for meat, and Ye Tiancheng indulged her, seeming to have a strong craving for meat himself.
He couldn't understand how Ye Tiancheng had become so irrational. The little fox was still too young to withstand significant temptation. They were indeed living a rather difficult life. Although it didn't quite align with the little fox's usual disposition, the fatty could somewhat understand it.
However, in the current situation, what was going on with Ye Tiancheng? Even if the little fox was ignorant, couldn't Ye Tiancheng see clearly? Moreover, if it were Ye Tiancheng himself, why would he indulge the little fox and lean towards his own irrational thoughts, just like the little fox?
The fatty couldn't figure it out. Under the influence of Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, he even began to doubt if he was being too neurotic.
Perhaps there was nothing wrong with the meat, and he was just being overly cautious, so hesitant even about eating meat. And no matter how much Ye Tiancheng and the little fox fussed, they still followed his wishes and didn't eat it. It was truly his own excessive caution that led to this situation, where Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were not on his side.
The fatty sighed and walked alone in the peculiar village. After arriving at this village, although they couldn't leave, wandering around within the village was not much of a problem. The villagers basically paid them no mind.
Furthermore, the villagers would also provide them with food. All the meals they had had these past few days were provided by the villagers. Except for the first meal the fatty had finished in the village, when he declared he would no longer eat meat, the villagers' attitude towards the three of them could be considered friendly, hospitable, and warm.
However, the fatty wouldn't easily let down his guard just because of the villagers' overly friendly attitude. This was because the fatty hadn't forgotten how they were teleported to such a strange place, and the fact that they couldn't leave this village made it look extremely peculiar and unusual. Who knew what issues these villagers might have?
The fatty circled the village a few times but didn't gain much. He had come out to gather intelligence, but after staying in this village for two or three days, he hadn't obtained any useful information. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox hadn't discovered any clues either.
Although they couldn't avoid feeling a bit discouraged, the three of them still considered leaving this strange place as their top priority. Therefore, they would separate for a period each day, with the three of them dispersing throughout the village to look for any breakthroughs, or to see when the mist outside the village would dissipate, allowing them to venture out and understand where they had been teleported.
Confirming that today was also destined to be a fruitless endeavor, the fatty could only return dejectedly to the dilapidated mud hut where the three of them were temporarily staying, and see if Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had returned.
Unexpectedly, before the fatty could even enter the house, while he was still outside, he suddenly smelled a rich aroma, a special fragrance unique to meat.
The fatty's face immediately turned pale with shock. He hurried to push open the door and saw Ye Tiancheng and the little fox sitting by the table. On the table before them were several dishes of meat. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were both holding bowls and chopsticks, eating meat with great relish.
Suddenly hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were both startled and turned their heads towards the doorway, seeing the fatty standing there dumbfounded.
"Fatty, why didn't you knock when you came in? You scared us both. Don't you know that startling people can kill them? Why are you back so suddenly? And why are you still standing at the doorway? Come in."
Ye Tiancheng's surprise lasted only a moment before he regained his composure. Then, with a natural expression, he beckoned the fatty into the house and picked up his chopsticks to continue eating meat. The little fox cautiously glanced at Ye Tiancheng, who then said to the little fox, "What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and eat. The village chief said there isn't much meat left in the village. We might run out of meat at any time, so cherish this meal you have in front of you."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, the little fox stopped thinking so much and began to eat with her head down. The fatty, however, stood stiffly at the doorway for quite some time before slowly walking into the house and closing the door behind him.
"How did you two go and get meat to eat yourselves? Where did you get the meat from? Did you get it from those villagers? Why didn't you tell me and just went to get meat privately? No matter how much you crave meat, you can't do this!"
The fatty questioned Ye Tiancheng and the little fox with disbelief, his entire being filled with shock, fear, and a strange sense of dread. He didn't know where this dread came from, but he just didn't dare to look directly at Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, let alone at the dishes of meat on the table.
The little fox, holding her bowl, glanced at the fatty and replied somewhat innocently, "Brother Fatty, you don't eat meat, do you? But Brother Ye and I do. Since you don't eat it, we only got meat for ourselves. We didn't ask you or force you to eat it, so what's the problem?"
"How can this... Is this that simple? You both know what kind of meat you are eating right now? You dare to put it in your mouths without even knowing what it is?"
The fatty's eyes widened. Even after the little fox said this, he couldn't accept her explanation, nor could he accept the fact that Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had eaten meat in the house behind his back.
Ye Tiancheng picked up a piece of meat from the plate, chewed it slowly, and savored it. After hearing the fatty finish speaking, he said leisurely, "We're eating lamb. When we went to get the meat, both Xiao Hu Li and I saw the villagers slaughtering sheep and making dishes from the meat. We saw it with our own eyes, so what's the problem?"
"It's just lamb, what's so unpalatable about it? Even if you don't want to eat lamb, that's fine, but it doesn't prevent me and Xiao Hu Li from eating lamb."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's explanation, the fatty's brow furrowed deeply. The fatty was not someone who kept his hands clean from worldly affairs or couldn't cook. On the contrary, the fatty was quite good at cooking, so how could he not have seen lamb before, or not be able to recognize it? Even after hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, he still couldn't fully believe it.
"Lamb? How can this be lamb? I ate it when we first arrived at the village. If this is lamb, how could I not recognize it? I've eaten lamb before, and I've also cooked before, so how could I not recognize lamb?"
Ye Tiancheng appeared completely unconcerned. He raised an eyebrow, and his chopsticks didn't stop moving, clearly showing his fondness for the meat dishes on the table and his great enjoyment of them.
"These are sheep carefully raised by the villagers themselves. Perhaps they are a little different from those outside. Besides, they said it was fresh, live lamb that was just slaughtered. Can there be any falsehood in that? Both Xiao Hu Li and I personally witnessed the villagers killing the sheep. Our eyes are not blind, so there's really nothing to worry about. At worst, you just don't eat it."
The little fox's cheeks were puffed out with food, making it difficult for her to speak. She could only nod repeatedly in agreement, affirming that she had also personally witnessed the villagers slaughtering the sheep.
Seeing that both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were so certain, and even knew the origin and type of the meat so clearly, the fatty truly couldn't help but suspect if he was being too neurotic.
Perhaps this meat was indeed just lamb, but the lamb raised by the villagers here had particularly good quality meat, tasted very delicious, and was somewhat different from what was outside. It seemed like a normal thing, nothing to be surprised about. He was just making a fuss over nothing, and there was nothing to guard against.
Thinking about it, there was no poison in these dishes. If they were to fall ill just by eating a meal here, what else could they do? They might as well all give up and do nothing. Moreover, he himself had eaten this lamb the day before, and up until now, nothing had happened to him; he was still fine here.
Besides, if there was a problem with the dishes, why would only the meat be problematic, and the other dishes be fine? This was completely unreasonable. It seemed he had indeed overreacted.
The fatty almost convinced himself completely. He sat down at the table with a mixture of doubt and belief. Then, the little fox picked up a piece of meat and offered it to the fatty's mouth. "Brother Fatty, would you like to try a piece? It's really lamb, and it's very delicious. There's no need for you to be so insistent, is there? You haven't eaten meat for so many days, how can a person endure it?"
To say that the fatty wasn't craving meat at all would be unlikely. If it weren't for the sake of his life, the fatty wouldn't be someone who would mistreat himself when it came to food.
Seeing that both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had already eaten so much, and that nothing had indeed happened, the fatty suddenly felt that eating meat might not be a problem after all.
The fatty looked hesitantly at the piece of meat being offered to his mouth. Finally, he hesitantly opened his mouth and ate the piece of meat offered by the little fox. He still couldn't taste the flavor of lamb, but he couldn't deny that this meat was indeed quite delicious.
Seeing that the fatty had finally agreed to eat meat, the little fox's face lit up with joy, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "That's more like it! You're finally eating. How is it, Brother Fatty? Isn't this lamb delicious? I really don't know what you were hesitating about all these days. There was no need for it!"
"The meat is indeed... quite good to eat, no complaints. It's delicious meat. Since you two want to eat it, then eat it. Next time the villagers offer meat, you can take it." The fatty's heart was still somewhat uncertain, but he could also feel that after eating this piece of meat, he was no longer as resolute and firm as he had initially appeared.
Seeing that the fatty's attitude had finally softened, Ye Tiancheng finally smiled and reached out to pat the fatty's shoulder, saying, "That's the way it should be. Don't think too much. With me here, what else do you have to worry about?"
The fatty trusted Ye Tiancheng a great deal. Moreover, Ye Tiancheng was indeed more capable than him, more mature in his thinking, and more steady. The fatty felt in his heart that trusting Ye Tiancheng would never be wrong, so he gradually accepted it. Since Ye Tiancheng thought it was okay, it should be okay.