Nan Shiying turned her head and looked at the innkeeper and the waiter. "Is this what you call 'bai rou'?"
The innkeeper and the waiter dared not nod, nor did they dare to lie. They could only offer awkward, guilty smiles. The cook, deeming the stone pedestal by his feet suitable, hooked it with his foot and pulled it closer. He then began to repeatedly sharpen his boning knife on it, the grinding sound never ceasing. The innkeeper and waiter's hearts trembled slightly. Their four eyes were fixed on the cook, as if wishing to glare him to death from a distance.
Why the hell are you sharpening your knife at a time like this!!!!
The cook, lowering his head to hone the knife, completely failed to notice the innkeeper and waiter's near-cramped eyes. Seeing that they remained silent, he mistook their inaction as a question directed at him. He replied while sharpening, "No, of course not."
"Bai rou is virgin flesh!"
"The inn's specialty?" Nan Shiying smiled, even her voice tinged with amusement.
The cook nodded, quite proudly. "Indeed. I wouldn't dare say the whole of Linyuan, but for Jinmen City, it's certainly unique."
Nan Shiying nodded, a hint of crimson at the corner of her eyes.
The innkeeper and the waiter suddenly felt a pang of unease. They spoke almost simultaneously, "Although we sell bai rou, we are truly not a black-hearted inn."
Upon hearing this, before Nan Shiying could even react, the cook let out a chuckle, "That's right, that's right, not a black-hearted inn, just a slightly colorful one!"
"Zhu Siru!!!!"
The innkeeper and the waiter glared furiously at the cook.
Hearing these three words, the cook exploded in anger. He grabbed his boning knife and looked up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, every crease on his face radiating fierce malevolence. "I've said it before, whoever calls me that again, I'll hack them to pieces!"
With that, the cook brandished his boning knife and charged towards the innkeeper and the waiter.
"Are you insane?"
The innkeeper and the waiter exclaimed simultaneously, clearly having not expected the cook to truly harbor killing intent. They sprang to their feet, and the three engaged in combat. The cook, fighting one against two, surprisingly did not falter. Instead, he grew more courageous, and the innkeeper and waiter were steadily pushed back. The three of them fought their way to the doorway.
Just as they were about to step out of the dilapidated temple, Ying Yi's figure descended gracefully, blocking their path.
Ying Yi drew his sword and stood ready, sword in hand.
The three combatants exchanged glances, changed direction, and fought from the doorway to the window. The cook, wielding his boning knife, swung at the waiter's neck. The waiter retreated, his body crashing through the window.
As he landed, he glanced back and saw a silhouette standing in the darkness.
The cook pursued, followed closely by the innkeeper.
Then, they were surrounded by shadow guards.
The cook looked at the waiter, the waiter looked at the innkeeper, and the innkeeper looked back at the cook. "Fine, to hell with it. We just escaped one den of wolves only to fall into another. Let's go back!"
The three of them sprang up and leaped back through the window into the dilapidated temple.
Seeing the three return, Nan Shiying asked with a half-smile, "Why have you three returned?"
The waiter chuckled nervously, "Well, it's cool and dewy outside, so we thought we'd come back in to warm up."
"You're not fighting anymore?"
"Just a momentary impulse, a momentary impulse!"
The innkeeper smiled ingenuously. He scratched his head and pointed at the cook, saying to Nan Shiying, "This one has a fiery temper. Don't be fooled by her short stature, she looks like she has dwarfism, but she's perfectly fine. It's just that she hates it when people call her Zhu Siru."
"Zhu Siru is a homophone. Her surname is Zhu, and we say she looks like a dwarf."
Nan Shiying looked meaningfully at Zhu Siru. "So, young lady, what is your surname and given name?"
The innkeeper and the waiter exchanged glances. The cook's voice grew cold, filled with a menacing banditry. "What the hell do you mean by that? Are you insulting me? If you were a man, you'd draw your line, and if any of us three great villains of Jinmen City so much as flinched, then we'd have lived up to our notorious reputation in vain."
"No, no, no, young master, don't listen to her nonsense."
"What 'three great villains'? We are law-abiding citizens, truly law-abiding citizens!"
The innkeeper clamped his hand over the cook's mouth, vehemently denying everything the cook had just said. They were law-abiding citizens, innkeepers who were law-abiding citizens. It was just that occasional minor scuffles occurred in the inn, leading to bloodshed they also did not wish for. Sometimes, when there were too many corpses to handle, they could only make use of them, selecting the prime 'bai rou' for the patrons' enjoyment. That was all.
Truly, they couldn't be any more innocent!
The cook spat, disgusted.
The innkeeper hadn't washed his hands after going to the restroom in the woods. He hadn't washed his hands!!!
The cold wind howled in her ears. The cook's wrist flipped, the boning knife grazing the innkeeper's ear as it swung towards his wrist.
The innkeeper cried out in alarm, barely managing to dodge. If he had been a second slower, his hand would have been completely severed from his body.
"Cook, I'll curse your eighteen generations of ancestors!!!!"
The innkeeper cursed vociferously. The waiter grabbed the innkeeper by the neck, intervening.
"Forget it, forget it. You know what kind of person she is, don't take it to heart."
Seeing the cook about to attack again, he grabbed the cook once more.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's enough. You've been irritable these past few days. Come back, I'll make you some tea to calm your temper."
He performed this task with such practiced ease that it was clear he had done it many times before.
Nan Shiying finally understood. These three were here to provide comic relief.
"Hahaha, brother, they are too funny, too funny! I've always heard that people in Jinmen City are a bunch of clowns, and now it seems the rumors are true!"
"You go..."
The word 'shit' was too uncouth, yes, far too uncouth. Under Nan Shiying's gaze, the cook and the other two swallowed the uncouth word.
After all, as people, one must be civilized and polite.
"The young lady sees people very accurately."
The innkeeper swallowed his own vulgarity and clapped his hands in support.
The cook and the waiter looked at him. He had truly mastered the art of social interaction.
Xiao Man let out a muffled chuckle, then burst into laughter again.
She recalled that when she and her young lady first arrived at the inn, the waiter had tried to sell them 'bai rou'. If her young lady hadn't noticed Kuang Dao's grim expression, they might have actually eaten it.
Human flesh!
She'd heard it smelled sour and foul.
She asked with some curiosity, "Is 'bai rou' delicious? What does it taste like?"
The innkeeper remained silent for a second. Seeing that the smiling viper hadn't reprimanded his sister for asking this question, he instinctively took a step back.
He wasn't worried about her settling scores later; he was afraid the other party might develop an interest in 'bai rou'.
Cook, she was the finest 'bai rou'!
"Not delicious, extremely not delicious!"
In a flash, the innkeeper decided to extinguish any notion she might have.
"Oh, not delicious!" Xiao Man nodded.
Nan Shiying slowly lifted her eyelids, her gaze falling upon the cook. She smiled and said, "You don't look fat, and I doubt you have much meat on you. How about this, you cut off a piece of thigh meat, cook it, and let me taste whether this 'bai rou' is truly not delicious or falsely so."
"Young master, she..."
Nan Shiying raised her hand, stopping the innkeeper from speaking.
"If you cut and cook the meat, I'll let the three of you leave. How about it?"