I've been transported to the orc continent.

The fish balls Bai Ling makes are not complicated. She removes the scales and internal organs from the fish, discards the large fish bones, and ignores the small ones. Then she places the fish meat on a stone slab and pounds it vigorously with a wooden stick until it becomes a liquid paste. She then puts it into a ceramic basin, adds chopped green onions and ginger, and boils it in boiling water using the same method as making meatballs. The delicious fish balls are then ready.

As soon as the fish balls came out of the pot, the beastmen who worked with Bai Ling had their eyes light up and were practically drooling.

The orc who was assisting Bai Ling ladled the prepared fish balls into a ceramic bowl. All the orcs present stared at Bai Ling expectantly. Bai Ling smiled and said, "Try a few, but don't eat too many. We'll be making hot pot tonight."

The beastmen are all big eaters; if they really let themselves eat to their heart's content, these fish balls wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth.

The orcs inside the cave cheered with joy. They ladled out two bowls of fish balls with wooden spoons, and each orc received two.

Bai Ling also ate two fish balls.

According to his previous life's standards, these fish balls were really not delicious. There wasn't enough seasoning, the flavors weren't distinct, and they weren't chewy or bouncy enough. Apart from the freshness of the fish itself, they only had a slight saltiness. Even their appearance was just so-so.

But this is the world of orcs, and it is already very rare to be able to eat a fresh food with a completely different taste from what we usually eat.

Fish meat naturally has a fresh flavor, and the simpler the cooking method, the better it retains this flavor. After being vigorously pounded by the orcs, the fish meat became firm. As long as it was simply boiled with scallion and ginger water, the flavor became incredibly fresh, making Bai Ling, who had lived in this world for many years, wish he could swallow his tongue as well.

Even Bai Ling thought the fish balls were delicious, not to mention the other beastmen. Some beastmen even swallowed two fish balls in one gulp without chewing them, and the two fish balls slid down their throats.

The orcs who did this didn't taste the fish balls at all; they could only feel the deliciousness lingering in their mouths, so fresh that it made their entire oral cavity salivate.

The orc stared longingly at his friend standing beside him, whose cheeks puffed out. The orc couldn't help but ask, "What does this taste like?"

His friend gave the orc a strange look, and after swallowing the fish ball in his mouth, he said, "Of course it tastes delicious! Didn't you eat some too? Why are you asking me what it tastes like?"

The beastman guiltily looked away. He couldn't very well say that he was so greedy that he swallowed both fish balls whole without even biting them.

Knowing what kind of person an orc was, his friend asked directly, "You didn't just swallow it, did you?"

Seeing that the orc remained silent, his friend glanced at the single fish ball remaining in his bowl, which seemed to have been the result of a fierce struggle. He then poured the remaining fish ball from his own bowl into the orc's bowl, scoffing, "Here, take this. Remember not to swallow it whole; chew it slowly."

My friend stuck out his tongue and licked his lips: "These fish balls are really delicious."

The orc cheered and immediately used his chopsticks to put the fish ball into his mouth. As he slowly bit into the fish ball, he mumbled, "Mmm, it's really delicious."

"Delicious!"

*

Around noon, two of the tribesmen who had gone out with Yue returned, bringing back two Jiji Beasts. The Jiji Beasts had wounds on their abdomens, and their fur was stained red with blood. Bai Ling quickly told people to start cleaning them up.

The animal hide was peeled off and set aside, the bones and meat were separated, the internal organs were placed aside, and the meat was placed outside the cave to freeze for a while.

The meat of the Jiji Beast has almost no fat and the texture is a bit coarse, so it's not suitable for making meatballs. Bai Ling plans to freeze the Jiji Beast's meat and then take it inside to slice it thinly so it can be used for hot pot.

Around noon, the young people who had gone fishing returned. They had a simple lunch together, and the fishermen put down their bowls and ran back to the river. If it weren't for the cold weather, they wouldn't have come back at all.

After lunch, Bai Ling led the tribesmen in the cave to continue making fish balls. Whether it was because the tribesmen's fishing skills were really superb or because there were so many fish in the river, the tribesmen brought back a lot of fish, and Bai Ling and the others were very busy.

Not long after lunch, Yue returned with her people, bringing back a horned beast.

The horned beast is a wild animal with a pair of curved horns, about the size of a wild boar, with gray skin. The meat of the horned beast tastes quite good and is one of the main meats for orcs.

Bai Ling and the tribesmen inside the cave went out to greet him. Yue walked at the front, wearing a black robe made of animal hide and a simple crown made of seashells on his head. His long, silvery-white hair was casually draped over his shoulders and was blown about by the biting wind. Perhaps because he was walking too fast, or perhaps because the weather was too cold, there were two red blushes on his fair cheeks.

With his long sword slung over his shoulder, Yue saw Bai Ling and his people emerge. His icy blue eyes immediately lit up with pride and arrogance, and he stood tall and proud, just like a hero returning victorious from a battle.

For Bai Ling, Yue was indeed a hero.

A great hero who returns with his prey to feed him.

Bai Ling didn't care that there were so many people present. He stepped forward and took Yue's hand. Because she wasn't wearing gloves, Yue's hand was very cold: "Yue, it's too cold outside. Let's go inside quickly. There's hot soup in the cave. You should all go and have a couple of bowls."

The moon god's proud eyes widened suddenly. He lowered his head and glanced at Ling's hand holding his, then looked at Ling's expression.

Ling Dafang was very natural, without a trace of male shyness or awkwardness in front of females on his face, only openness in caring for his people. Yue Meihao's mood suddenly turned a little sour.

He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow, and softly hummed in agreement.

A pot of milky white fish soup was simmering. Bai Ling pulled Yue to sit down on a rock, then turned around and ladled half a bowl of fish soup for Yue: "Yue, drink a bowl of fish soup to warm yourself up, and leave the rest to me."

Yue gave a soft "hmm" and took the earthenware bowl with both hands. The earthenware bowls of the orcs were very large, and when Yue lowered his head to drink the soup, most of his face was hidden in the earthenware bowl.

Bai Ling smiled contentedly, the thought of waiting for her lover to return from hunting and then personally serving him a bowl of hot soup was simply wonderful.

It seems he needs to step up his game and try to make Yue his lover as soon as possible.

*

Bai Ling, along with the tribespeople in charge of cooking, first drained the blood from the horned beast, placing it all in a ceramic basin. After draining the blood, they skinned and deboned the horned beast, setting aside the internal organs, and then chopped up the large chunks of meat into minced meat.

The blood in the earthenware basin shouldn't be wasted either; add salt water and stir, then set the basin aside to let it solidify.

Bai Ling and several tribesmen started eating together, busy cutting meat and mincing filling, while Yue sat to the side slowly drinking fish soup. Although there were many other tribesmen around them, the atmosphere between the two was particularly strange.

Just like now, even though they haven't said anything or even looked at each other, there's a strange feeling that no one can get in touch with them.