Leisurely Life in the Beast World - Chapter 244

Cries of astonishment from the females reached Ji Nuan’s ears. She quickly stood up from the beast-skin mat and turned to look behind her.

Sure enough, the imposing beastman flying toward them with a round, bulging net was none other than Xiu Yan.

“Nuan Nuan, I’m back! Look!” Xiu Yan called out as he landed, setting the net on the ground. He opened it, and the fat fish inside leaped out, flopping their tails wildly on the ground.

The gathered females were dumbfounded. “Are these fish?”

“They smell… fishy!”

“And they have these strange scales!”

Ji Nuan turned to Xiu Yan. “Did you test them on a wild beast?”

Xiu Yan nodded. “I did, and nothing happened.”

He then glanced toward Xiao Moomoo, who was sunbathing under a tree, nibbling on fresh grass. “Should we let Xiao Moomoo try one too?” His eyes gleamed with mischievous intent, barely concealed.

Ji Nuan lightly punched him on the arm. “Xiao Moomoo doesn’t eat meat. Why are you always picking on Xiao Moomoo? It’s adorable!”

Meanwhile, Xiao Moomoo, sensing itself under discussion, shivered as a chill ran down its back. It scanned its surroundings warily and let out a cautious moo: Which evil beast is plotting against me again? Life as a green ox beast is too hard.

Ji Nuan picked up a green brick, crouched down, and smashed it onto the head of a particularly plump fish. The fish, which had been wriggling energetically, immediately stopped moving and lay still on the ground.

Satisfied, Ji Nuan nodded to herself. It seemed that the fish merchants’ methods from her past life were indeed effective.

Xiu Yan’s spine stiffened as he watched. This little female can be so ruthless!

The females, watching Ji Nuan’s demonstration, lit up with excitement like stars in the sky. They each grabbed a green mud brick and charged toward the still-flopping fish, ready to replicate her actions.

The nearby beastmen alternated glances between their brick-wielding females and the rapidly stilling fish. A cold sweat formed on their foreheads. It feels like our females have discovered some terrifying new skill!

Ji Nuan turned to the stunned Xiu Yan. “Xiu Yan, use your claws to scrape off the scales on these fish.”

The stone knives were far too dull for the task. Ji Nuan didn’t even want to think about the mess that would cause.

Once the scales were removed, Ji Nuan instructed Xiu Yan to gut the fish. She gathered the beastmen and females for a quick demonstration. “Be very careful not to break this small, greenish bile sac. If you pierce it, the fish meat will turn bitter and inedible, and there’s no way to wash off the bitterness. The fish will have to be thrown away.”

Everyone nodded seriously, taking note of her instructions.

The remaining fish were handed over to the beastmen and females to process. Other than one beastman who accidentally burst the bile sac while cutting open a fish’s belly—and was promptly scolded by his female companion—the dozen or so fish were all successfully cleaned.

Xiu Yan flew back outside the walls to continue digging trenches, while the other beastmen returned to their posts building houses.

Ji Nuan organized the females to begin preparing the fish. They sliced the fish into pieces, seasoned them with fruit, and set them to marinate. She also brought out some pickled vegetables.

“Xiao Ye, take Qi Qi and Xiao Pipi and start cooking the purple fruit rice,” Ji Nuan said to three females who were curiously hovering around the marinating fish.

Ge Ye straightened her small shoulders with a sense of responsibility. She held her head high, feeling important, and quickly dragged her two friends along to get started.

Once the fish had marinated, the females lit fires and set up pots. A few scoops of creamy white grunting beast oil were added to the hot pans. As the oil heated, the marinated fish was poured in. With a loud sizzle, a unique aroma filled the air, drifting into the noses of the beastmen hard at work.