Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

Chapter 203 'A Nest of Snakes and Rats'

Everyone has their flaws, and I've been venting a lot lately. Just consider it me being irritable; read if you want, don't read if you don't. Whether you read it or not, I don't know. As for me, when I talk, it's like farting—it's loud and smelly, but I don't even remember what I've said. I think everyone knows what kind of person I am.

—The following is the main text—

In the still night, the firelight illuminated a sea of ​​red.

Li Xingzhi walked back from the forest carrying a long, straight bamboo tube.

Hu Miao'er looked on curiously, about to ask a question, when a grinding sound came from the bamboo tube, followed by a few anxious "whoosh whoosh" sounds.

Li Xingzhi slapped his hand onto the bamboo tube.

"Boom!"

With a deep thud, the bamboo tube fell silent.

He walked to the fire, poured out the bamboo tube, and the first thing that came out was a long, emerald-green snake broken into several sections.

"Bamboo Leaf Green?!"

Hu San'er looked at the bright green color, reflexively jumped back, and exclaimed in surprise.

"already dead."

Hu San'er let out a long sigh and awkwardly sat back down. It wasn't that he was cowardly, but rather that the reputation of Zhu Ye Qing was too great!

"How did you manage to bring such a poisonous creature here, young man?" Hu San'er was still shaken.

"Although this thing is poisonous, its flesh is incredibly tender. Such a delicacy cannot be missed!" Bamboo Leaf Green is most famous in Sichuan. Having only seen it in cookbooks before, how could Li Xingzhi let the opportunity slip by?

As he spoke, he held the bamboo tube upside down, and more than a dozen furry, grayish little things rolled out of it.

"This—this is a bamboo cat?"

Having spent over a decade navigating the mountains and fields of Sichuan, Hu San'er was quite knowledgeable and recognized the creature at a glance. He was curious, however, how Li Xingzhi had managed to catch so many bamboo rats in such a short time.

"Have you eaten bamboo rats before, sir?"

"I was fortunate enough to have eaten it once. The bamboo rat was very delicious, but alas..." Hu San'er sighed, looking at the bright green creature next to him.

Looking at the expression in Hu San'er's eyes, Li Xingzhi understood. He just didn't know how many lives this bamboo leaf green had taken to make these old men from Sichuan, who had tasted blood on the edge of a knife, so afraid of it.

He pulled a gleaming black dagger from his waist, and with his other hand, he held the rat by its tail. He then brandished the sharp blade against the bamboo rat's fur, and with a quick toss, the glossy, oily skin, as smooth as silk, fell directly off the rat. Beneath it, a rosy, lustrous substance was revealed, surprisingly not at all frightening, but glistening like a piece of red jade.

With another slash of the dagger, the filthy contents fell to the ground again.

With a flick of the hand holding the rat's tail, a piece of rough, black skin remained in the hand, and the skinned bamboo rat fell into a fresh, clean bamboo tube.

He acted in accordance with the law, cleaned up the rat and snake segments, took out several seasoning packets from his body, sprinkled them into the tube, and then took out a large gourd of sake, filled the bamboo tube with it, and then covered the mouth of the tube.

Everyone stared intently at his technique, marveling at the unique beauty it possessed. Even the two women, who were used to seeing such things, couldn't help but be captivated each time they saw it.

If anyone has read Zhuangzi and enjoys metaphysics, they will surely exclaim: Is skill close to the Dao?!

Everyone was watching Li Xingzhi's hands, anticipating his next move, but unexpectedly, Li Xingzhi slapped one end of the bamboo tube hard, and the bamboo tube shot out like an arrow—

"puff!"

The bamboo tube was plunged directly into the raging fire!

A series of crackling sounds rang out, golden sparks flew everywhere, and flames shot up three feet higher.

When everyone came to their senses and turned to look, they saw that the firelight was still dazzling, and under the fire, a faint trace of green could be seen, but it was slowly being buried by the ashes.

"I never expected Li Jialang to have this trick up his sleeve!" a loud voice rang out.

Li Xingzhi looked towards the direction of the sound and saw Hong Shan turn his head to look at his hand, his tendons bulging as he gripped the Black Scale Greatsword, gesturing thoughtfully.

The layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details!

Li Xingzhi had no idea what kind of impact his "Butcher's Skill" would have on Hong Shan, who considered himself a master swordsman! Nor did he know that a few years later, Hong Shan, having gained some insight, would create his own swordsmanship based on it and become a master swordsman! Of course, these are all stories for later.

"Wow—what is this—so cute, so adorable!" Everyone looked over at the sound and saw a girl in red staring at a black and white beast with curious eyes not far away.

Everyone was so focused on the strange beast that they didn't pay attention to the new words the girl was using, like "cute" and "adorable," which she had learned from Li Xingzhi.

"Why did this little thing chase after us?" Li Xingzhi asked in surprise.

These people had never seen this little creature baring its teeth and claws, grinding its teeth and sucking blood; instead, they were charmed by its憨厚 (honest and simple) and cute appearance.

"This is...this is an Iron-Gnawing Beast?!" Hu San'er exclaimed in surprise.

He was a man who frequently ventured into the mountains, and he had seen many other things, including poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts, but he had only ever heard of the 'Iron-Gnawing Beast' by name.

Bamboo forests are absolutely deadly for the people of Sichuan, and giant pandas live in certain fixed areas deep within bamboo forests, so they are naturally hard to see!

"Iron-eating beast? Do you recognize this thing, old man?" Li Xingzhi asked curiously.

In later generations, it is said that this national treasure, the giant panda, was first discovered by foreigners.

"I don't know it, I've only heard of it. It is said that this Iron-Eating Beast is black and white mottled, strong like a bear, with paralyzed legs, and very sharp teeth that can eat bamboo, bones, copper and iron." Hu San'er looked at the little thing with a face full of surprise, his mind filled with doubt: How can such a small and clumsy thing lick hard objects like copper and iron?

Li Xingzhi didn't believe the claim that the creature ate iron. But the little thing's curiosity was simply excessive.

In his view, someone must have seen a giant panda using its sharp teeth to gnaw and crush those iron and bronze artifacts, hence the name "iron-gnawing." As for whether these things could actually crush these bronze and iron artifacts, Li Xingzhi, who had just witnessed that scene, had absolutely no doubt.

"Gnawing iron?"

Upon hearing that the little creature had extremely sharp teeth and claws, the girl immediately withdrew her outstretched hand, which was about to hug the panda. Hearing the name "Little Beast Bites Iron," she took out a fine steel dagger with some skepticism and carefully tossed it in front of the panda, looking as if she were tossing a bone to a puppy.

The little creature looked at the dagger the girl threw at it, sniffed it curiously, and felt that it wasn't anything that could harm the panda. After a slight hesitation, it stuck out its tongue, licked the dagger, and then put it in its mouth to bite.

Refined steel, forged a hundred times, is incomparable to impure pig iron. Even the sharpest panda teeth couldn't chew it like tofu.

Li Xingzhi looked at the girl's tightly furrowed face, then at Hu San'er with an expression that said, "You're a big liar." The latter also looked embarrassed.

“This dagger is forged from high-quality steel, how can it compare to those cast iron and bronze?” Li Xingzhi quickly intervened to smooth things over, seeing Hu San’er’s embarrassed expression.

Although the girl was a bit arrogant, she wasn't unreasonable. Seeing Li Xingzhi say that, she stopped staring at the old man and turned her head back to look at the cute creature in front of her with her big eyes shining.

Just as Li Linzhi was having a great time playing with the 'little cutie' panda, Li Xingzhi twitched his nose, and a faint aroma of wine wafted from under his nose and spread out.

Before anyone else could react, Li Xingzhi reached into the fire with his bare hands and carefully took out the yellowed bamboo tube that emitted the aroma of bamboo and wine.

Everyone looked and saw wisps of white mist, as thin as hair, rising straight up from the bamboo tube. It turned out that Li Xingzhi had already drilled several small holes in the bamboo tube. These small holes were initially exposed to the air, and later, when the wine in the tube boiled, dust did not fall into it.

Li Xingzhi plugged several small holes with bamboo splinters, turned the bamboo tube upside down, and used a dagger to cut off the top cover.

"puff!"

With a muffled thud, a plume of white steam shot out, dispersing above everyone's heads like a small mushroom cloud. This cloud gradually enveloped them, and a faint, refreshing aroma of wine immediately filled the air!

Even Hong Shan, who was immersed in the mysteries of the 'Ox-Dissecting Knife Technique', snapped out of his reverie and took a deep breath.

He felt as if his whole body was immersed in a warm spring, and all the fatigue from the past few days of travel disappeared, and the old wounds that had accumulated over the years were completely healed.

Of course, what Li Xingzhi made didn't have that effect. However, it did have a tiny bit of effect; the rest was mostly an illusion.

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!" Hong Shan was probably speechless. This burly man had actually managed to utter a few words of literary expression!

“Young Li, what’s the meaning of this?” Hong Shan asked.

Li Xingzhi secretly rolled his eyes.

Who says that a bold and magnanimous person doesn't have a few tricks up their sleeve? Putting aside the methods he used to deal with Jiao Da and the others earlier, just look at the person right now. Their eyes are fixed on what he's holding, but their words are somewhat literary, mentioning irrelevant things.

Once he had a wicked thought, his eyes lit up and he said, "This food does have a name, it's called 'A Den of Snakes and Rats'!" "Good!" Hong Shan slapped his thigh and shouted, startling Li Xingzhi who was standing next to him.

Is this name really going to be good? Li Xingzhi, hearing his confident and loud voice, also began to have doubts.

Hongshan didn't think much of the word; he just thought it was apt and easy to remember. Judging from his wide-eyed stare, he was probably thinking more about how to get his hands on this good stuff as soon as possible.

Looking at this boisterous man's appearance, Li Xingzhi secretly grumbled while also feeling a bit smug. Without saying much, he swiftly slashed his longsword, carving out several bamboo bowls.

The bamboo tube was tilted, and a milky white, viscous, and slightly glistening snake and rat meat soup was poured out. A unique aroma, a mixture of bamboo fragrance, wine, and the fresh, fishy smell of snake and rat meat, immediately permeated the bones and hearts of the group.

"Oh~~"

Several burly men let out a groan that made Li Xingzhi cringe. His hand trembled, and he almost dropped the bamboo tube in his hand.

Everyone picked up a bowl, disregarding etiquette and politeness, and eagerly poured the contents into their mouths.

"Waaaaah—Ahhh—"

They were too impatient to drink the hot soup. When it arrived, it was so hot that they cried out in pain, but they couldn't bear to spit it out. They were like a bunch of hoarse people screaming in a state of ecstasy.

Li Xingzhi, who was watching the commotion, felt a furry little thing rubbing against his foot.

"So it was you, you little rascal!"

The young panda, its eyes moist and full of longing, looked at Li Xingzhi, instantly dispelling the shadows in his heart and making him utterly charmed. "Truly a national treasure, the panda!" he thought to himself.

"You deserve some credit for making this." Li Xingzhi patted the little creature's fluffy and adorable head, poured out a full bowl, and presented it to the tiny panda.

……

The fire still burns brightly.

The night, which had been bustling for most of the night, gradually quieted down as the morning star appeared.

—The above 3,220 words are followed by my habitual rant—

Rant: Sometimes, I think I'm very strange—I'm obviously uneducated, lazy by nature, and greedy for food and sleep, yet I somehow develop some things that I don't know whether to call pride or arrogance.

I think if I had been born in ancient times, I would definitely have been a pedantic and impoverished scholar.

This has nothing to do with the book; just look at some of the things I did—there's such a thing as a student grant. Anyone who's been to college knows that roughly half, or even more than half, of students have that opportunity. Back then, my dad prepared all the application materials for me, but when it came time to apply, I called him and said, "We're not poor; let's leave these things for someone else."

This isn't about a matter of pride; after all, many classmates applied, and those people, dressed in designer clothes, wrote incredibly pitiful things on their certificates. Sometimes I jokingly ask myself: Is it because I don't have to pay for it myself?

Sometimes when I think about some of the things I did in the past, I feel like they were really weird -_-||| (To be continued).