"Then I won't be polite!"
Bai Ye was indeed hungry and started eating. Rimuru, as the host, naturally didn't hold back. Both of them put a piece of roasted meat into their mouths at the same time.
Then...
Rimuru's expression changed drastically. He looked at a goblin serving him and asked, "Who made today's dishes?"
"It was Shion, big sister," the goblin replied. "She said she misunderstood Mr. Bai Ye and wanted to cook personally to apologize!"
Bai Ye trembled and said, "Are you sure she wanted to apologize, not assassinate me?"
Bang!
As soon as Bai Ye finished speaking, his head hit the table, and he started foaming at the mouth.
The next moment...
Rimuru's resistance was higher, but he didn't last long. He turned back into a slime, and even his jelly-like body began to dissolve.
"Ah, Mr. Bai Ye!"
"Ah, Lord Rimuru!"
The goblins shrieked and ran out of the room.
"Quick, someone! Lord Rimuru and Mr. Bai Ye seem to be poisoned."
Listening to the voice, Bai Ye twitched the corner of his mouth, then shakily took out a Taoist talisman.
"Purification Charm!"
The next moment, flames ignited on Bai Ye and Rimuru's bodies, and some black substances were forced out of their bodies, quickly being incinerated.
The feeling of having walked through the gates of hell gradually disappeared.
After finally recovering, Bai Ye was drenched in cold sweat. He really didn't expect to use the Purification Charm so soon, and it was because of a meal.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have looked down on you," Bai Ye confessed to the talisman. "The Purification Charm is really too useful!"
On the other side, Rimuru watched as a large group of subordinates rushed into the room and said seriously, "Remember, don't let Shion near the kitchen, absolutely not. This is an order!"
Others cook for money; she cooks for your life!
...
Meanwhile...
The outskirts of the Jura Great Forest!
This was a barren land.
Yellow earth, covered with thick sand and gravel, with dry, cracked fissures everywhere. Occasionally, a large tree could be seen, withered from lack of water, its branches bare with not a single leaf.
A tall figure in a cloak walked across the barren land. It had a human form, but its head was that of a pig. As it raised its head, the eyes of the pig-faced person were filled with sorrow.
"The child born yesterday died this morning."
"The child born this morning is also about to die."
"Why treat us like this? Is it a curse from heaven?"
"It cursed this land!"
"And it cursed the pig-faced people!"
"If this isn't despair, then what else could it be?"
Suddenly, the pig-faced person roared, looking extremely unwilling.
"Food, food, food..."
"We need..."
"Food!"
After the roar, the pig-faced person gradually calmed down, the anger in his eyes receding, replaced by deep sorrow.
Then...
The sky around darkened, no longer a desolate Gobi desert, but a vast forest.
Tens of thousands of pig-faced people stood in front, their eyes blood-red, showing ferocity!
"Is it a dream?"
The pig-faced person with sorrowful eyes murmured, then looked at the armor on his body.
"If this is a dream, then I will shatter it!"
"I will eventually make the land of my homeland covered with green grass and blooming flowers."
"Through war!"
"Kill!"
And on a distant hillside...
Li Jiayi lowered his binoculars, raised his hand to his ear, made a gesture as if making a phone call, and said, "Hello, I'm in the barren land outside the Jura Great Forest. I've found the Pig-Faced Emperor!"
"Is the war about to begin?"
Li Jiayi smiled, "Of course!"
"But... boss, can the Pig-Faced Emperor really destroy the Jura Great Forest? And what benefits will we get? That guy is impossible to communicate with, and it's not a forbidden zone opening right now, so we don't have any forbidden zone missions."
"Forbidden zone missions?" Li Jiayi sneered, "I think you're afraid you won't die fast enough. Based on my deductions, the Jura Great Forest has more than two or three forbidden zones, and the lowest difficulty forbidden zone is enough to tear us apart."
"I was just saying it casually, and besides, I'm curious, what can we get from the Pig-Faced Emperor?"
"Our target is not the Pig-Faced Emperor," Li Jiayi said. "It's the power hidden behind the Pig-Faced Emperor, the power of a Demon Lord!"
...
Jura Great Forest, Monster Country.
Bai Ye was walking on the street, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he rushed into a general store.
"Are these Taoist talismans? There are Taoist talismans here?"
"Those were left by some passing travelers." The shop owner was a rabbit-eared beast-girl, and she smiled at Bai Ye, "Mr. Rimuru's friend, do you need them? If you do, I'll get them for you."
"Of course, please give them to me." Bai Ye took out a money bag from his waist and took out a few unfamiliar coins. "Are these enough?"
The rabbit-girl shop owner smiled, "It's enough, thank you for your patronage."
Bai Ye nodded and left the shop with a large stack of Taoist talismans.
Bai Ye really didn't expect to be able to buy Eastern Taoist talismans in the neutral zone of the fantasy region. This was an unexpected joy, and Bai Ye didn't pay any price. That bag of coins was given by Rimuru; otherwise, how could Bai Ye have the currency of this place?
However, the amount of currency wasn't much, only enough to buy small things or maintain daily food and drink. Otherwise, Bai Ye would have gone directly to the weapon shop and magic shop to get them for free.
"Hi, Mr. Bai Ye, would you like a flower cake? It's made from flowers I picked this morning, very fresh."
"Mr. Bai Ye, would you like an apple? It's very sweet!"
"Mr. Bai Ye, this is this year's summer limited edition product, a shaved ice in the shape of Lord Rimuru. Would you like a bowl?"
This was Bai Ye's third day in the Monster Country.
Although it hadn't been long, given that Bai Ye spent his days idly wandering the streets, the residents around Rimuru's mansion had become very familiar with Bai Ye. When they saw him, they would greet him warmly.
After all, Bai Ye was different from the humans they had met before; he neither feared them nor disdained them.
"Flower cake? No, I don't have a taste for that."
"Give me an apple."
"Shaved ice in Rimuru's shape? Rimuru treats you as his subjects, and you want to eat him."
Bai Ye smiled and responded to the people around him, then took an apple and took a bite. It was indeed quite sweet.
To be honest, life in the Monster Country was quite comfortable.
However...
As comfortable as it was, why hadn't the mission arrived yet?
...