Hot Pot

The sky darkened.

Night fell, deep and absolute.

Ye Chuan took Kalisia with him and cleared out three more human pastures as they continued eastward.

The remnant souls nourished within the World-Suppressing Banner already numbered in the tens of thousands, and the demon generals he had casually crushed along the way added quite a few more.

Of course, this delayed their journey quite a bit, but Ye Chuan didn't care much.

After all, he wasn't in that much of a hurry himself, which was why he chose to clear out those pastures along the way.

As the night deepened, Kalisia, who was beside him, had long lost her daytime energy. Her small face was filled with unconcealable exhaustion, and her little belly occasionally let out soft rumbling sounds, puffing in and out.

She was, after all, just a ten-year-old girl. Even as a mage, her energy was limited.

Having witnessed too many hellish scenes with her own eyes during the day, and then flying with Ye Chuan for a whole day, she had long reached her limit.

Seeing her struggling to hold on, Ye Chuan finally slowed down and landed in a depression in the ground.

"Lord Xi Xi? Why did we stop?" Kalisia quickly followed him down, looking at him in confusion.

"We'll rest for the night before moving on." Ye Chuan casually waved his hand, and an invisible barrier instantly enveloped the entire depression, isolating them from the biting night wind.

"Seeing as you can barely fly anymore, let's fill your stomach and get some sleep first."

Kalisia's cheeks instantly turned red, and she touched her stomach in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry..."

She hurriedly rummaged through her magic bag.

This was a storage item commonly used by noble mages. The space inside wasn't large, only enough to hold some personal belongings.

She pulled out a few pieces of hard, dry bread and a small piece of hardened cheese. She handed a piece to Ye Chuan and said softly:

"Lord Xi Xi, have something to eat first. I brought this before I left home. You can't find fresh food in the occupied zone at all. Ordinary animals and plants died out long ago. Only this kind of dried bread can be kept for a while."

The bread was as hard as a rock. In this occupied zone full of scorched earth, it was already a rare ration.

Kalisia hadn't brought much, yet she offered the largest piece to Ye Chuan.

Ye Chuan glanced at the hard, dry bread. "Forget it, I can't bite into this stuff. I'd rather eat something hot with meat."

"Ah?" Kalisia froze for a moment, then a troubled look appeared on her face as she whispered,

"But Lord Xi Xi, let alone fresh meat, you can't even find a live bug here..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Ye Chuan casually wave his hand, and a half-man-high iron pot appeared out of thin air in the clearing.

Immediately after, bundles of dew-covered vegetables, cleanly prepared fatty beef, and various unnamed ingredients were neatly arranged on the ground. He didn't even leave out a small jar of sesame oil and a handful of fresh cilantro.

Every ingredient was as fresh as if it had just been bought from the market. Crystal-clear water droplets still hung on the vegetable leaves, and the fresh meat gleamed with an appetizing luster, completely out of place in the lifeless desert around them.

Kalisia was completely dumbfounded.

"L-Lord Xi Xi! Where... where did you conjure these things from?!" The little girl was so shocked she could barely speak properly.

"It's impossible for a magic storage bag to keep fresh ingredients for a long time! They would go bad after half a day! How long have you kept these? How are they still so fresh?"

"Magic is amazing, isn't it?" Ye Chuan smiled and snapped his fingers. A gentle magical flame ignited out of thin air, steadily supporting the suspended iron pot.

"Since things have come to this, let's just eat first."

As he spoke, he casually tore open a packet of beef tallow hot pot soup base and tossed it into the pot.

The red oil melted instantly upon meeting the heat, and a rich, spicy aroma immediately filled the air, seeming exceptionally tempting in this desert filled with demonic energy and dust.

The red oil bubbled and rolled in the pot. Ye Chuan casually tossed the sliced ingredients in all at once. The ingredients bobbed up and down in the boiling red broth, the scent of meat mixing with the spicy aroma, greatly stimulating the appetite.

Kalisia's nose twitched, her mouth instantly watering as she stared fixedly at the rolling ingredients in the pot.

In all her ten years, she had never smelled anything so fragrant. The delicacies in the Duke's mansion seemed utterly tasteless compared to the bubbling contents of this pot.

"Lord Xi Xi, w-what is this? It smells too good, doesn't it?" The little girl leaned closer to the pot and asked carefully, her eyes full of curiosity.

"This is called hot pot, a dish from my hometown." Ye Chuan casually handed her a pair of chopsticks.

"You can eat it once the ingredients are cooked. Try it."

Just as the red oil was bubbling happily and the scent of meat drifted the furthest, unhurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the barrier.

The footsteps were light but clearly penetrated the barrier, as if walking on flat ground.

Ye Chuan looked up.

Outside the barrier stood a handsome, tall man with blond hair and green eyes. He wore a spotless silver and black robe, completely out of place with the surrounding ruined landscape.

He wore an elegant, gentle smile on his face, but his gaze was slightly surprised as it fell on the bubbling hot pot.

It was none other than Kassiel.

He had originally calculated Ye Chuan's route and planned to intercept him to see the situation and properly meet this necromancer who had suddenly appeared.

However, he never expected that after following the aura here, instead of an opponent ready for battle, he would see a bubbling, fragrant pot of strange food and two people about to eat.

Kassiel walked in slowly, still wearing a gentle smile. He nodded slightly at the two of them, his voice elegant and pleasant:

"Good evening to you both. Apologies for the intrusion. I simply followed this aroma here. May I ask what is in this pot? I have never smelled such a tempting fragrance on this continent."

He paused, then added with a smile, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kassiel. I am merely a traveler wandering around. I was passing through this desert and didn't expect to meet you two here."

Ye Chuan looked up and sized him up.

Although the other party's aura was completely hidden, it couldn't be kept from Ye Chuan.

He was a demon.

And a very strong one (compared to the demons he had encountered before).

But to Ye Chuan, the only difference was whether it would take one second to crush him to death, or zero point one seconds.

However, he didn't expose him. He said casually, "This thing is called hot pot. You haven't seen it before, have you? I happen to have cooked a lot. If you don't mind, why don't you sit down and have some with us?"

Kassiel was completely stunned.

He hadn't expected the other party to invite him to sit down and eat together?

Could it be that he hadn't noticed something was wrong with him?

Interesting...

Or was it that he completely didn't care?

Kassiel froze for a few seconds, then chuckled softly. Not standing on ceremony, he smoothly sat down opposite Ye Chuan, a hint of amusement flashing in his green eyes:

"Thank you for your hospitality, sir."