"Master, it’s ready!"
Chang Mei brought the chopped wild chicken from the basin, offering it to Cai Wei like a precious treasure, his eyes full of anticipation.
Cai Wei glanced into the basin, seeing that the meat was prepared cleanly, she immediately expressed her satisfaction.
"Master, what else do you need done? I can help you!"
"Boil some water!", Cai Wei ordered. Chicken meat should be blanched in boiling water before stewing, not only to remove the dirt attached to the meat, but also to make the texture more tender and delicious.
After blanching, Cai Wei retrieved the chicken, cleaned the pot, added oil, then stir-fried the pre-cut spring onions, ginger slices, star anises, red chillies and other condiments in the pot. When they were about done, the chicken meat was added and stir-fried until it turned golden. She then added broth, covered the pot, and began to stew.
During this period, Chang Mei obediently stoked the fire, sniffing the tempting aroma coming from the pot.
The wild chicken stewed in the large iron pot over a wood fire was easily a hundred times better than the fodder chicken cooked in an electric pot from her previous era. Especially since she used the Spirit Stream Water from her space and the mushrooms were pure natural wild ones grown in her space. This made her chicken dish incomparably delicious, far surpassing any dishes from the imperial banquet she ate in the palace!
In the interim while Chang Mei was tending the fire, Cai Wei prepared some wild fern vegetables she collected from the mountain in the morning, mixed and tossed them in a similar fashion to her morning’s salad, so that they wouldn’t feel greasy while eating the chicken.
Once the chicken was done, Cai Wei dished out the piping hot and aromatic chicken, along with three bowls of rice. Together with Chang Mei and The Great Immortal Turtle, they enjoyed a delicious feast, sweating profusely and devouring everything in high spirits. They finished the entire chicken, and even drank all the soup.
The plate of green fern vegetables was also polished clean. When Cai Wei was cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks, she repeatedly reminded Chang Mei and The Great Immortal Turtle not to tell Brother Parrot about their feast, otherwise the parrot might worry about them sneaking good food at home and be distracted from his duties.
Chang Mei and The Great Immortal Turtle readily agreed, and even buried the leftover chicken bones underground, to cover up their tracks.
After eating their fill, Cai Wei leisurely strolled around her space with a full belly, to aid digestion and get in some aerobic exercise. After a while, she heard someone entering the room from outside. She rushed out of her space, and resumed her position on the bed as if nothing happened.
The ones who entered the room were Saknu’s two guards. They had already taken care of the bodies of both Hong Rui and Doctor Liu, and now they carried a bucket, a mop, ready to clean up the large amount of blood stains on the ground and table.
Knowing that they could serve as witnesses in the future, Cai Wei was relieved. She discreetly contacted the white-furred tiger with her thoughts, and filled him in on the situation, then she just closed her eyes and patiently awaited the drama that is about to unfold.
The two guards busied themselves quietly, sponging up the uncoagulated blood with their damp cloth, wringing it out into the bucket, repeating this process. Just as they were busy cleaning, they suddenly heard a thunderous roar.
The earth-shaking roar caused the whole hunting camp to shake. Many people were terrified and dove into their quilts, covering their heads, thinking that a monster had arrived.
There were some who were brave enough, peeking out of their tents to see what kind of monster could produce such a loud noise. But when they saw the mountain-like white-furred, monocular giant tiger under the moonlight, they were so scared their souls nearly left their bodies. Their teeth clicked together as they shivered non-stop.
Well now, this wasn’t simply a tiger. It is more like the ancestor of all tigers. Not only was its body enormous and its roar deafening, but its movements were also speedy and agile, like a bolt of lightning. In three leaps and two bounds, it had raced to the front of Princess An Le’s room, ducked its head and entered her boudoir. A moment later, it emerged with Princess An Le in its jaws.