So, How Do I Cook It?

Hearing Ryujin give his reasons, Luo Fei couldn't help but give the latter a nod of commendation.

To her, not only was he trying to ease his parent's burdens, he was also trying to mature into a man that would ensure thy had no reasons to.

"I don't know if it's because of my training, but I always eat a lot. This wouldn't have been a big deal if one of my siblings wasn't sick; her treatments cost quite a lot, and that is barely necessary to keep out house ridden.

So, I felt that, if I could at least get my meals out of their budget, then they would have enough to take care of my sister without having to endanger themselves due to the upcoming winter." Ryujin replied, stoking her flames of guilt.

"Are you making this up to make me feel guilty, kid? Because that's sick." Luo Fei was knitting her eyebrows, doubting someone could say such things about their family just to have their way.

Ryujin shook his head, sighing.

"I wish."

"But you don't look like you're starving."

"Well, I was a fat, plump kid until about a year ago.

It was also then that I started cultivating; and soon after, I was skilled enough to do almost all house chores by myself. I even managed to keep my sister's condition under control." He revealed.

Talking to a stranger was the best way to take a load of someone's chest, and since the truth was the best policy, he believed that if he could blur Luo Fei's perception and carefully thread the line between these two areas, as he wove a story that would definitely make her acquiesce his request.

He didn't feel like he was doing anything bad.

For one, Jada was indeed sick, and he had been indeed keeping her ailment under control. Furthermore, due to their previous visits to Ella's house, almost everyone in the village knew about her ailments as well.

Thus, since Luo Fei just moved into Coral Village, it was the best time for him to paint a different picture of the truth to her; after all, it's not like she would head over to ask his parents herself.

Even if she wanted to, by the time she learnt about who they previously were, the tragedy that had befallen them, and their current status, she would most definitely have some doubt about adding his troubles to their plates.

"Then everything should be good now, right?"

"Wrong. Our properties needs repairs, and when you also take all the random shit that happens and our current priorities into consideration, I don't see our plight getting any better soon, and neither do my parents."

Ryujin replied, making sure to use the word properties, instead of domain.

"Wow! Such profound level of maturity for someone so young. Truly worthy of a hunter!

Now enough chit chat, it's time to get to work."

Luo Fei reminded as she took down the squirrels, and passed one to Ryujin.

"We will start with the little critters. They are smaller and better for practice; after all, even if you mess it up, it wouldn't be too big a deal... There is not much meat in them anyways."

She placed a squirrel on a cutting board, and prepared another for Ryujin.

"What I am going to teach you stands for most rodents, but just in case, if you ever find a rabbit that still has a snow-white fur, bring it to me.

It is valuable only until it starts turning brown for the spring. Even a tiny mistake can ruin the fur, lowering its value."

Luo Fei instructed an advice, as she handed him the short knife again.

The four seasons in Atlantea took a duration of an entire year, each; and very soon, mostly a few weeks from now, it would be winter once again.

"If you want me to teach you properly, let's do things my way. Use the knife, do as I do, and follow my instructions." She said, as Ryujin nodded in agreement.

"On the squirrel's back pinch its hide and cut it near the base of the neck so to expose at least half of it.

Now use both your index and middle fingers to create an opening where you have made the cut, and curve those fingers to hook, and lift up the skin.

Finally, pull one hand towards its rear and the other towards its head..."

During the process, Ryujin noticed that asides being disgusting, skinning a squirrel was like removing a pillowcase without touching the pillow itself.

Afterwards, Luo Fei showed him how to remove the head, the legs and the tail.

"I know it's a waste, but that bushy tail is no fur, it's all goddamn body hair. However, they are very warm and soft to the touch, so you can still make a stuffing out of them." She explained while Ryujin made a mental note of it.

"Now comes the tricky part." Hearing this, Ryujin paid rapt attention to the huntress.

"When you proceed to gut any game, be careful while making your incisions.

If you cut open the bladder or the intestines, the meat is ruined by its bile or feces; should either of that happen, then there is no saving it.

This stands for all the animals, so pay attention, kid."

Gutting the squirrel was bloody and gruesome, but Ryujin could already smell the meat at the end of the tunnel, so he barely felt or show any discomfort.

When they eventually ended the game preparation and learning session, finished, Luo Fei put both squirrels on a skewer, to roast them in her fireplace.

"While we wait for our morning snack, I'll show you how to scald a bird for the plucking.

As the name implies, water must not be too hot or cold, just enough for you to immerse a finger without getting a burn, and yet unable to keep the finger in for more than a second without burning yourself.

That is the optimum scalding temperature."

Luo Fei then pulled out a big wok, positioning it over a campfire she always had ready at the back of her house.

"It can be a messy job, so it's better to do it outside whenever is possible."

The smell of the meat cooking inside was making Ryujin's mouth watery, he could not afford the risk of them burning.

Regardless, he focused on the lesson before him as he watched Luo Fei encase her hand with her soul flame. 

Then she dipped it into the water for a moment, causing it to steam up immediately, and prompting Ryujin to marvel at the sheer advantage of having a soul flame.

For one, instead of burning wood within the forest and giving one's position away, or allowing an enemy to track one's distance from the temperature of the resulting ash, one could instead use one's soul flame.

This not only took lesser amount of time, it neither give off smoke or leave any residual ash.

'Fast and efficient. I'm starting to regret this master-apprentice stuff less and less.' Ryujin thought to himself.

"We should be ready to scald the birds, but first..."

Luo Fei went inside briefly, and then returned with two little plates of roasted squirrel.

But before she could even pass Ryujin his plate, the latter had already snatched its content, wolfing it down like he was going to die the next second.

He sucked and gnawed away at it, until only the bones were left. Then after licking every single of his fingers, he returned to his previous calm and composed demeanor.

To him, if his previous words were not enough to convince Luo Fei, then his actions would.

"Good gods, such a gentleman." Luo Fei exclaimed, oozing an unbelievable level of sarcasm.

"Would you like another serving? Because that seriously creeped me out and I know a thing or two about..."

Her mockery fell on deaf ears, as Ryujin's eyes were already homing in on the second squirrel.

Then the moment Luo Fei pretended to offer him her share, his hands had already made their moves.

After devouring the last squirrel, Ryujin noticed that Luo Fei was somewhat frozen in shock.

Her mouth was open, but no words were coming out of it, even as he gently put the bones back into the plate.

"There was no need to hold the plate for me, but thanks. That was very kind of you."

After resolving the morning snack incident, Luo Fei prepared the working table for the remaining games; the birds.

"The birds you caught are called Skitties, because they get scared easily and are very quick to fly away, and usually one would need luck and skill to take them down from a distance.

The skill or art you had used to reach them and make such a clean kill is truly magnificent; after all, aside from the broken neck, both their feathers and bodies are totally unscathed."

Ryujin accepted the compliment with a small bowing, trying to steer the conversation away from anything that had to do with him revealing even the slightest details about his Metavision.

"It's just a matter of blending into the environment and moving as quietly as possible; it's nothing special."

Luo Fei's curiosity was far from being satiated, but she decided not to pry further, clearly seeing Ryujin's reluctance in saying anything about the matter.

"Scalding is easy and quick. You only need to throw the poultry in the wok for about 45 seconds.

It's better to gently stir the water during this process, as it helps clean the dirt and external parasites within the birds' feathers much faster. It also helps loosening most of the feathers.

Never scald too long, or the meat could start to boil. Not to mention the risk of rupturing the organs, and then ruining the meat."

Ryujin took charge of the scalding process. He gathered a pol of Qi over the cauldron and swirled it until it formed a whirlpool above it.

As the whirlpool gathered momentum, it began to cause the water in the wok to swirl just as fast, stirring its contents simultaneously.

Ryujin would then adjusting the tempo of the whirlpool according to Luo Fei's instructions.

"Dammit, kid. You are really starting to trash the confidence I have in my Qi Control ."

"You don't know how to do this much?" Ryujin was astonished.

Then again, he realized that, just because he had perfect Qi control didn't mean every other cultivator out there could do the same.

"No, and before today I was proud of the little I could do. I only considered Qi control necessary for battle; especially when trying to make my attacks sharper or heavier.

But to think my eyes would be opened to my shortcomings by a brat like you?" Luo Fei sighed in mild frustration.

"Well, it is better to learn from a brat like me, than to realize your shortcomings when it's already too late." Ryujin replied.

Luo Fei gazed at him, checking if he was simply spiting her, but she quickly realized that Ryujin was pretty serious about it.

As for Ryujin, he had said simply made his statement as an advice, whatever she thought of it was up to her.

"Now get the blinkers out of the water; it's time to get serious." Luo Fei instructed, keeping a mental note of Ryujin's words.

Beside the scalding and the plucking, what came next was the skinning process, gutting poultry was very similar to the same process he had used on the squirrels, except that he had to remove their crops, necks, and oil glands first, before proceeding.

Once they finished, Ryujin contentedly feasted his eyes on the results.

He noticed that aside from the Skitties' skins being a little more porous than that of chickens', it was just a roast away from becoming as tender as the chickens used in shawarmas.

Thus, with a grumbling stomach and a watered mouth, he asked;

"So, how do I cook it?"