Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

"To be honest, this braised meat is actually no different from ordinary braised meat in terms of preparation, only the ingredients are slightly different. As I mentioned before, the salt and pepper uses the Seven Star Chili peppers unique to Peach Blossom Village, the salt is snowflake salt, the meat is the breast meat of a freshly slaughtered One-Horned Demon Sheep, and the only special ingredient is the spices, one of which is the Ice Dew Rock Herb from the Abyss Cold Pool. If you can gather these ingredients, any chef who knows how to make sauces can make it well!"

After speaking, Huang Rongrong picked up the bowl of plain noodles from the table and, pulling Hu Sanniang along, headed upstairs to their guest room. Huang Rongrong hadn't expected her serving of meat to attract so much attention. Under the watchful eyes of so many people, the two of them couldn't calmly eat their noodles.

"The Seven-Star Peppers of Peach Blossom Village are rarely sold outside due to their limited production. Even when they are, they are extremely rare and beyond the reach of ordinary people. As for Snowflake Salt, it's a premium product that only an Eight-Crown Dragon Chef can refine. If that woman wasn't lying, she must be one of the highest-ranking people in Peach Blossom Village, and very likely an Eight-Crown Dragon Chef! Even if she isn't, there must be an Eight-Crown Dragon Chef among her relatives or friends. How could someone like that possibly do business with you! Hehe, your idea is good, but it's wishful thinking! Haha..."

"That's what my friend, who was having dinner with the businessman, joked."

"Seven-star peppers and snowflake salt can be obtained if you're willing to pay the price, and unicorn demon sheep aren't difficult to get either. It's just that the Ice Dew Rock Grass from the Deep Abyss Cold Pool is a rare treasure that money can hardly buy."

Unlike Yingzhou, our Yuzhou doesn't have many high mountains and steep ridges. It only has two deep canyons. One is the Demon Valley in Jingzhou, the former border of the Great Red Frontier, which, strictly speaking, should be on the edge of the Demon Beast Mountain Range. It's a branch of the Heartless Great Canyon. The other is the Desert Valley in the wasteland. Both canyons are within the territory of the Long Kingdom. They are large and deep, containing several abysses.

While the canyon near Medicine King Valley on the border of our Qin Kingdom is also large, it is located in the desert and is a dry canyon. There are very few trees inside, let alone deep abysses and cold pools.

Even in Yingzhou, with its numerous canyons, not every canyon contains abysses, and not every abyss necessarily contains a icy pool. The Ice Dew Rock Herb only grows on rocks beside icy pools, perpetually shrouded in the dew of those pools. These rocks must have ice, but not be completely frozen. The Ice Dew Rock Herb grows on the edge of the ice layer on the rocks. If the temperature changes and the cold intensifies, the ice will freeze and damage the Ice Dew Rock Herb. If the temperature is too high, the ice on the rocks will melt, and the Ice Dew Rock Herb will wither.

It's easy to imagine how rare Ice Dew Rock Herb is. Moreover, it's a rare medicinal herb. Therefore, using Ice Dew Rock Herb as a spice for pickles is an incredibly extravagant consumption!

I wonder how much Ice Dew Rock Herb she put in that jar of braised meat. Even if it was just half a head, that jar of braised meat is beyond the reach of anyone here!

At this moment, a diner who had been sitting against the wall finished his meal and, as he stood up to pay the bill, spoke to himself.

"No wonder that woman wouldn't share her braised meat with me. Such expensive food, no one would easily share it with others! Sigh! I'm still not lucky enough to have it!"

At this moment, the fat man who had been standing there awkwardly said in a low voice with some relief.

"I feel like I could spend the money I have to eat barbecue for six months and still not be able to buy that tiny bit of braised meat!"

"It was said by a middle-aged man with a full beard."

"Hehe, that depends on what kind of meat you're eating!"

The old man sitting next to me laughed.

"It's just a jar of braised meat. What's so special about it? It's just something to fill your stomach, and eating it won't necessarily make you live longer!"

"Haha...yes! Yes! It's nothing special..."

……

Just as the diners in the restaurant were discussing the matter, a man in black, who was eating alone with his head down, suddenly put down his chopsticks and bowl before finishing his meal, dropped a few copper shells on the table, and hurriedly left.

The hotel's clientele is mostly from the lower and middle classes, so their expectations for food and drink are not high; they mainly come to fill their stomachs. Inevitably, some people are in a hurry, so the fact that the man in black left before finishing his meal didn't attract much attention.

The next morning, Huang Rongrong and her companion left their room and entered the lobby. Apart from the somewhat reserved waiter, no one else in the shop paid them any attention. Naturally, after the embarrassment of the previous night, Huang Rongrong would never again take out her pickles to eat in such a setting. The two bought some dry rations at the shop and left the hotel, heading towards the outskirts of the city.

Huang Rongrong arrived in Runze City yesterday. After making inquiries, she learned that someone had seen her daughter and granddaughter in Runze City many years ago. However, she still traveled a long way to Runze City hoping to find some clues. By sheer coincidence, she encountered Hu Sanniang, who was also in Runze City looking for her son and daughter, as she entered the city. The two searched the entire city together, but the result was predictable. Finding nothing, they realized that searching aimlessly was like looking for a needle in a haystack. With the five-year deadline fast approaching, they decided to first head to the Valley of Heartbreak to meet everyone before continuing their search.

Since there was no rush, the two strolled around, looking at various things. To make their journey easier, they even went to the horse market and picked out two mules for transportation. Mules were relatively low-grade horses, not very fast, but they were docile, walked steadily, and didn't require much care or attention.

It was nearly noon when the two rode their mules out of the city gate, but since they had brought dry rations and braised meat, they didn't need to find an inn to rest.

As fate would have it, just as the two were eating their dry rations and braised meat while riding their mules at a leisurely pace, Liu Nianlin and Xiao Bohong, disguised, mingled with the crowd leaving the city and had just exited. They were about ten miles away from them, heading towards the road where they were. Shi Potian and his six companions followed at a distance, secretly protecting Liu and Xiao.

Qing Xiuniang was still with Si Rongnong, but this time they changed their attire, dressing as two ordinary female merchants and riding in a regular carriage. Shi Potian and his three companions, disguised as mercenaries on their journey, followed behind.

Thus, the group split into four groups and walked along the same path.

An hour later, the pedestrians on the road gradually dispersed. They were now nearly a hundred li away from Runze City, and the population along the post road was dwindling. Travelers in a hurry quickened their pace. Those who knew each other began to walk together, consciously distancing themselves from strangers.

For several miles around, Huang Rongrong and her companion could not see any other pedestrians. The closest people to them were Liu Xiao and his companion, who were mingling with a group of merchants three miles away.

"The road is deserted and rather quiet. In the past, when I traveled alone, I would use my flying technique to travel quickly when I came to this desolate place. I had no time to appreciate the beauty of this wilderness. Today, traveling slowly with you, I can take in all the beautiful scenery along the way, and I feel much more relaxed."

Seeing the birds singing and the flowers blooming on both sides of the post road, and the sun shining brightly, Hu Sanniang felt much less worried.

"The scenery along the way is beautiful, but some people not only don't know how to appreciate it, they also have to disturb other people's enjoyment! It's really despicable!"

Huang Rongrong gave an irrelevant answer.

"what happened?"

Hu San Niang did not understand what Huang Rongrong was saying.

"Didn't you see someone up ahead who was spoiling the fun?"

Hu San Niang then noticed that several masked men dressed in black were approaching them from the woods a hundred feet ahead.

"Alas, the world is getting more and more chaotic. Everywhere you go, there are highway robbers and heartless thieves!"

Hu Sanniang's mood, which had just improved slightly, plummeted again, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. Her eyes instantly filled with murderous intent, and the resentment accumulated over decades and the pain of missing her son brought her to the brink of explosion.

"Calm down. Let's wait for them to arrive and see what their cultivation level is. There are many of them, so we don't need to fight them to the death. If we can fight, then fight; if we can't, then run."

Seeing that Hu Sanniang was losing control of her emotions, Huang Rongrong quickly reminded her in a soft voice.

"How carefree and happy the two ladies are! They've actually come all the way to the outskirts of Runze City to enjoy the scenery!"

The leader, dressed in black, stopped in the middle of the road about ten feet away from the two men. He held his steel knife horizontally in front of his chest and said coldly.

"What does our carefree life have to do with you? What do you mean by change and continuity! If you're going to rob us, just rob us. Why use such sarcastic and insinuating language!"

Huang Rongrong said sarcastically.

"Stop pretending! What you did in Qingling City, daring to murder members of our Blood Wolf Hall! Did you think that just because you ran to Runze City, we couldn't do anything to you? Let me tell you, offending our Snow Wolf Hall means certain death even if you flee to the ends of the earth! We won't waste words with you, hand over the treasure, and we'll leave you with a whole corpse!"

"Blood Wolf Gang? What is that? If you're here for revenge, you've come to the wrong place. Whether you're the Blood Wolf Gang or the Blood Dog Gang, the grievances should be settled with the perpetrators, so go find whoever you're after! Don't block our way. If you're here to rob us, then bring it on. Don't give me all these excuses, I'm not buying it!"

Seeing that the other party was arrogant and spoke viciously, Hu Sanniang concluded that he was not a good person, so she shouted loudly.

"Wrong person? What a joke. Don't think you can fool us with your little tricks. You think you can cover up the smell of Red-Headed Blue-Tailed Honey with some Ice Dew Rock Grass? Humph, if Red-Headed Blue-Tailed Bees were so easy to fool, they wouldn't be called Red-Headed Blue-Tailed Bees."

A man in black took out a small crystal bottle, about two inches tall, from his pocket. Inside the bottle was a red-headed, blue-tailed bee that was frantically flapping its wings.

"Red-headed, blue-tailed bees? You're robbing us on the road just to get them?"

Huang Rongrong took out a crystal box that was six inches long, three inches wide, and four inches high. The box had two layers. The upper layer, three inches high, contained dozens of red-headed, blue-tailed bees. The lower layer, only one inch high, contained a large portion of a pale yellow liquid that emitted a faint woody scent. This was red-headed, blue-tailed honey.

“I remember now! Yesterday evening at the inn, that man in black sitting in the corner behind us was you! I didn’t pay much attention then, but now that I think about it, you were the most unusual person at the inn yesterday! Everyone else was whispering among themselves, but you were just sitting there like a deaf and blind old man, not moving at all. So you were plotting against us!”

Hu Sanniang pointed at the man in black who had taken out the crystal bottle and said.

The man in black opposite was stunned when Huang Rongrong took out a large box of red-headed, blue-tailed bees. He was speechless! The man in black holding the crystal bottle was even more confused, unsure whether to put it down or keep it.

"There are five of them, and most of them are around the second level of the Heavenly Rank. We can't fight them head-on. It's best to find an opportunity to escape!"

Huang Rongrong secretly transmitted her voice to Hu Sanniang. Although her own cultivation was already at the third level of the Heavenly Rank, no less than any of the opponents, Hu Sanniang's cultivation was only at the first level of the Heavenly Rank. Therefore, Hu Sanniang would definitely suffer a loss in a fight.

Huang Rongrong secretly observed them for a while and discovered that although the other side had five experts with the strength of the second level of the Heaven Rank and seven or eight high-level Earth Rank martial artists, giving them an absolute advantage in strength, they didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack. They seemed to be stalling, or perhaps they were wary of something. This was different from a typical robbery. However, Huang Rongrong had no intention of continuing the standoff. In this situation, the sooner they left, the better for them!

"Hey, don't try to fool us with some red-headed, blue-tailed bees. You know that's not what we want. We'd better bring out the treasures as soon as possible!"

The leader of the men in black coughed awkwardly and said...

"Sorry, we have many treasures on us, but they are all ours. We won't hand over a single one. Come and take them if you dare!"

Huang Rongrong suddenly turned hostile, drew her weapon, pointed it at the man in black opposite her, and shouted. Huang Rongrong's natal weapon was a uniquely shaped soul iron artifact, resembling both a cleaver and a curved sword. It was about two and a half feet long, with a five-inch wide section at the back of the blade, narrowing at around one and a half feet. The tip began to curve upwards at about two feet, eventually forming a crescent shape. The back of the blade was three-tenths of an inch thick, and five holes, each about one inch in diameter, were arranged side by side on the back half of the blade.

Hu Sanniang also drew her weapons: two crescent-shaped blades, each two feet long and one and a half inches wide, with six-inch-long hilts. A snap fastener at the end of the hilt allowed the two blades to be locked together, forming a single, curved longsword with pointed ends. These blades were also high-quality Soul Iron artifacts. During their forging, Tie Qiao had added Poison Dragon Stone and Froststone to the blades, giving them additional icy poison damage. With these treasures, Hu Sanniang's combat power could increase by at least 30%.

Seeing the two men brandish their weapons, the men in black opposite had no choice but to assume a battle formation. However, they dared not engage in combat rashly. They had received a message from Qingling City stating that their opponents were all Heavenly Rank experts, at least six in number, one of whom was at least at the mid-stage of Heavenly Rank 4. Furthermore, they were known to frequently advance in pairs to deceive their opponents, only to then encircle and attack from behind after the initial engagement. They had experienced this tactic several times before, so to avoid further losses, they advised against making any rash moves unless a Heavenly Rank 4 expert or higher was present, or when they held a decisive advantage. Instead, they advised delaying and waiting for reinforcements to arrive.