Oriental-Style Poison

Bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

This is the meaning of the New Year.

It is also the heartfelt wish of countless suffering people.

To leave behind the old self and embrace a new life.

For now, Xu Xi is unable to ensure that every member of the Survival Army can live a happy and fulfilling life.

But as the New Year approaches, Xu Xi feels there are things that can be done.

For example, giving the Survival Army a "good" meal.

"Niu, catch those chickens over there."

"Gou Dan, hurry, surround them!"

"Chase them! Chase them!"

On the outskirts of Pingshui County, Xu Xi led a large group of disheveled and hungry people, setting up several large iron pots and pouring water and rice into them.

Not far away, Niu and a few others were catching free-range chickens.

With their seasoned experience,

they quickly captured the chickens.

After carefully cleaning and processing them, they finely chopped the chicken meat, even crushing the bones.

The number of people in the Survival Army was too large, making it unrealistic for everyone to have a proper serving of meat.

Xu Xi could only use this method to spread the flavor of the chicken throughout the entire pot of rice soup, allowing everyone who drank the soup to taste a hint of meat.

In reality, there wasn’t enough rice either.

So, they had to add water—lots and lots of water.

In the end,

they even added bran.

Bran wasn’t particularly tasty, but compared to the cold and bitter demon meat, it was a delicacy in the eyes of the starving people.

"Boom—!"

"Boom—!"

Under Xu Xi’s watchful gaze, the dozen or so large iron pots began to boil fiercely.

The firewood burned intensely, crackling and popping, its scorching flames licking the bottoms of the pots, transferring the heat to the water inside.

Gradually,

the water began to boil.

Someone stepped forward, carefully sprinkling a pinch of salt into the pots.

The flames roared, and steam billowed.

At some point, people began to gather around the large pots, their eyes fixed on the boiling water, their throats bobbing as they swallowed repeatedly.

The aroma of the porridge was faint, diluted by the excessive amount of water.

Neither the finely chopped chicken nor the pinch of salt could be distinctly smelled.

All they could detect

was the simple scent of steam.

Yet, despite this, the people’s eyes were filled with longing.

They looked at the pots as if they were rare and precious treasures, suppressing the rising stomach acid, swallowing their saliva over and over, patiently waiting for the rice soup to finish cooking.

Finally, the rice soup was ready.

The people of the Survival Army all turned their eyes to Xu Xi, who nodded with a smile, and only then did they rush forward to ladle the soup.

The soup was scalding hot, with nine parts water to one part rice.

It burned their mouths, making them cry out.

The water they drank entered through their mouths but seemed to flow out through their eyes—the more they drank, the more they cried.

"Big Brother Xu, it’s so hot, so hot!" Niu, with his rough hands, held a bowl and gulped down the rice soup. He winced at the heat but couldn’t stop himself from drinking more.

"It’s so good."

After finishing,

Niu gave this simple yet heartfelt praise, licking his lips in satisfaction.

He even used his tongue to clean the rim of the bowl, savoring every last drop of the soup.

"Do you like it, Niu?"

"Yes, I do!"

Looking at the honest man before him, Xu Xi advised, "That’s good, but next time, don’t drink it so hastily."

"Hehe, I understand, Big Brother Xu!"

Niu scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

He ladled another bowl, not for himself this time, but for his mother who was nearby.

There were far too many people in the Survival Army.

Even if they kept adding water endlessly,

the amount of rice soup in the pots was limited, and each person could only have a small bowl, no more.

No one complained. After enjoying the simple pleasure of the rice soup, they wore expressions of happiness and returned to gnawing on the dry, tough demon meat.

They ate quickly, laughing as they did.

Hearts that had once been cold, desolate, and dead

seemed to have been warmed by that small bowl of rice soup.

"Things will get better in the future…" Xu Xi gazed at the crowded crowd, his eyes sweeping over the smiling faces, and his mood lifted as well.

"It’s time to go back. There’s still a lot of administrative work to handle."

"As for cultivation techniques and the second stage of the Innate Realm, I need to continue my research. I have a feeling that I’m not far from reaching the Soul Nurturing Realm."

Xu Xi turned around,

about to head back to his official residence.

But from behind, he heard Niu and the others calling out to him.

They ran over, holding a large plate with two plump and juicy chicken legs in the center.

These were for "Sir Xu" and "Miss Wu."

The people said this with enthusiasm, handing the plate to Xu Xi and urging him to take it.

Xu Xi was momentarily stunned. Meeting the expectant gazes of the crowd, he suddenly realized that he couldn’t refuse their kindness.

At the very least, he couldn’t leave without taking a bite.

So,

Xu Xi smiled, using his inner energy as a blade to cut a large piece of meat from the oily chicken leg. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he popped it into his mouth and chewed.

"It’s delicious," he said as the rich flavor of the fat burst in his mouth.

Even though no special seasoning had been added,

it was incredibly tasty.

"Remarkable… they’ve added something special to this," Xu Xi murmured to himself. What had been added to the chicken leg was the collective hope and gratitude of tens of thousands of people.

It was something intangible, yet irresistibly compelling.

A uniquely Eastern "poison,"

one that, once tasted, was hard to let go of.

"It’s time to go back," Xu Xi said, using his inner energy to cut the remaining meat from the chicken leg and adding it to another pot of "meat soup."

The growling of his stomach made him want to devour it all.

But reason reminded him

that skipping this meal wouldn’t make a difference to him.

However, for these suffering people, this might very well be the last "meat" they would ever taste.

No one knew how many members of the Survival Army would still be alive by next year.

As for Wu Yingxue’s chicken leg, Xu Xi didn’t touch it.

He was willing to sacrifice his own share, but he wouldn’t force others to do the same.

"That girl has been working hard too."

"Recently, she’s been helping to slay demons and gather enough demon meat to alleviate the food shortage in the city."

"On top of that, she’s been assisting me with administrative tasks."

"Both in terms of sentiment and reason, a chicken leg is a well-deserved reward for Yingxue—if anything, it’s not enough."

Xu Xi wrapped the chicken leg in his inner energy

and soared through the air, swiftly returning to the county town.

But when he arrived at the girl’s residence, he found the house empty, dark, and devoid of even a single candlelight.

"Strange, is she not home?"

Puzzled, Xu Xi could only return to his official residence. Pushing open the creaky wooden door, he entered to find the young girl sprawled on the desk, fast asleep.