Chapter 12: The Dark Cuisine

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Little Can leapt into the air and, astonishingly, landed on Chu Jiu’s shoulder from several meters away, perched atop a treetop. It wagged its tail and meowed softly as if explaining itself—
The one who had been roaring wildly in the forest just now was actually it.
But it had no intention of harming anyone; it had simply awakened hungry and couldn’t find food, so it cried out desperately.
Chu Jiu was somewhat taken aback: such a tiny rabbit could produce such a thunderous roar?
Little Can meowed again: although it sometimes yells thoughtlessly, as a rabbit it should be very good at farming. Do you want to take it back with you?
Chu Jiu: “...Farming? That sounds good, of course. But why would a rabbit be good at farming?”
Little Can: “Because they eat a lot and a lot of carrots.”
Chu Jiu: ...
Before he could make sense of Little Can’s logic, the system flashed a prompt:
【Spirit Beast Available for Capture!】
【Host, please use various tactics such as violence, coaxing, abduction, threats, or sack-binding to capture it swiftly!】
Chu Jiu: ?!
System, do you even know what you’re saying?
This strange prompt appeared for about two seconds before being replaced by a new one:
【Spirit Beast detected.】
【The spirit beast has lost the ability to resist. Host, please take it into care promptly.】
The little rabbit on the ground stared with its bright red eyes, its long ears twitching. It let out a pitiful “roar,” truly looking like it had lost the will to fight.
As for why it had lost its resistance...
Chu Jiu glanced at Little Can, who was calmly licking its paws on his shoulder, and already guessed the reason.
He sighed quietly, crouched down, and stretched out his hand toward the rabbit:
“I’m Chu Jiu. Are you hungry?”
“I don’t have any carrots... but I do have some white radishes—they taste good too. Would you like to try some?”
The little rabbit shuffled closer to Chu Jiu’s hand, lifted its head, and almost tearfully responded: “Roar, roar, roar...”
Whether it was because the rabbit was naturally less wary than a cat, or because it had been beaten into submission by Little Can, Chu Jiu understood its words perfectly.
It was rapidly saying: Must I eat carrots? Can I have some meat instead?
A meat-eating rabbit?
Well, it’s a spirit beast after all, so why not.
Chu Jiu was about to reach into his backpack for food when Little Can suddenly stretched out its paw and pressed down on Chu Jiu’s hand, eyes saying: Don’t touch the dried fish!
Chu Jiu chuckled: “Got it, the dried fish is for you. I’ll give it some lamb meat.”
With that, Chu Jiu handed the little rabbit two slices of Cotton Sheep meat.
The rabbit leaned forward, its pink little nose twitching, but didn’t immediately eat.
It lifted its head and looked at Chu Jiu with longing eyes, letting out a questioning “Roar?”—“Is this raw meat?”
Chu Jiu suddenly understood: “Yes, you and Little Can are both spirit beasts, so you probably don’t like raw meat—you want it cooked.”
There was no ready-made roasted lamb in his bag, so he used his spiritual energy to conjure two skewers on the spot.
When the juicy, fragrant skewers of roasted lamb were presented, the little rabbit immediately bared a row of sharp teeth unbefitting a rabbit’s image, deftly tearing off the meat and devouring it in large bites.
After finishing two large skewers, the little rabbit burped, its long ears twitching wildly, eyes shining with delight as if to say, “Delicious! Take me with you!”
The system also updated the prompt in time:
【Capture Successful!】
【Spirit Beast Basic Information:】

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Race: Unknown
Skill: Pioneer farming
Likes: Meat dishes
Dislikes: Carrots】
A rabbit that hates carrots!
Yet just as Little Can guessed, this is indeed a spirit beast with farming skills!
Once back in Bean Village, it would finally be time to start farming!
Chu Jiu cradled the little rabbit happily, pondering where to put this new little companion.
This rabbit was slightly bigger than Little Can; he wondered if the right chest pocket would fit it...
While he was thinking this, Little Can dove headfirst into the left chest pocket and growled fiercely: “Mine! Nobody else is allowed to fight me for it!”
The little rabbit shivered and jumped by itself onto the backpack behind Chu Jiu, squeezing into a shallow side pocket: “Roar, roar, roar!”—“No fighting, I’m fine right here!”
The rabbit’s speech was very rapid and tinged with a bit of fear.
Perhaps it was still scared after being thrashed by Little Can.
Chu Jiu smiled wryly and tapped Little Can’s forehead with his fingertip, wanting to say more when suddenly the bushes behind him rustled loudly, and someone shouted, “Is anyone there? Are you alright inside?”
Chu Jiu quickly replied, “We’re fine!”
After a moment, a figure emerged from the bushes and asked again, “Are there trolls here?”
Chu Jiu honestly answered, “No trolls in sight.”
Indeed, there was no giant monster to be seen—just a meat-eating mini rabbit.
The man paused upon seeing Chu Jiu and was momentarily stunned: “Are you... from Bean Village?”
Chu Jiu was also surprised: this tall man was the supernatural warrior hired by the unscrupulous merchant Aris last time as a bodyguard.
He nodded: “Yes, I’m from Bean Village.”
“Last time you mentioned bringing some new goods to the town merchants—we’ve developed a new ingredient recently and wanted to try bringing it over.”
The tall man nodded, then said to Chu Jiu, “Wait here for me.”
With that, he circled the clearing, carefully inspecting the nearby plants and soil.
After a while, he shook his head: “No signs of trolls. Maybe someone just saw things.”
He then approached Chu Jiu:
“My name is Reg. I heard calls for help about trolls nearby, so I came to check.”
“I just took on a new escort job. This merchant’s business is quite large and he’s willing to look for specialty products in remote villages. I actually have several routes like this.”
“Do you want to try working with him? I can take you there.”
Chu Jiu gratefully agreed.

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Jade Town was much more prosperous than Bean Village. The streets were paved with cobblestones, and the houses lining them were mostly two-story buildings with white bricks and red tiles.
If Bean Village’s architecture retained some ancient Chinese style, Jade Town was purely exotic in style.
However, Chu Jiu had little leisure to admire the medieval fantasy charm of the town.
Led by Reg, he walked two streets until they found the merchant who had hired Reg this time.
The merchant’s name was Marco, a burly man with a thick beard.
When Reg found him, Marco was eating the lunch brought by his assistant.
Seeing Reg and Chu Jiu enter, Marco warmly invited them, “Come, have some! The blood sausage and offal are top-notch, very oily and rich!” “Today’s soup is so thick the spoon can stand in it!”
After politely declining, Marco wiped his mouth, had his assistant clear the plates aside, and listened seriously as Reg explained the situation.
The assistant hurriedly carried the plates away, brushing past Chu Jiu.
A strong, oily, and raw offal stench wafted directly to Chu Jiu’s nose.
He instinctively held his breath, struggling to keep a polite expression.
His two little companions, however, had no such self-control.
Little Can practically screamed “Awooo!”—as if yelling, “What is that disgusting smell!”
The little rabbit barked twice: “Roar, roar! Terrible smell, so awful!”
Chu Jiu calmly stepped outside a bit and gently chided, “Be polite, don’t shout.”
To outsiders, it looked like two little pets whining and howling around Chu Jiu.
Little Can quieted down.
The little rabbit quickly whispered, “Roar, roar... roar, roar, roar”—
“It’s terrible. Why would good meat be cooked to smell like that? Did the cook forget to use the ‘Forest’s Gift’?”
Chu Jiu quietly asked, “‘Forest’s Gift’?”
The little rabbit: “Roar, roar, roar.”—“It’s the various plants dug up in the forest that make meat fragrant and delicious.”
Chu Jiu understood: the rabbit meant “spices.”
Like ginger and cinnamon to remove gamey odors, pepper to enhance flavor, chili to add a spicy kick...
Such spices were essential when cooking offal.
But the blackened, slightly bloody dish just served seemed to have nothing but salt added.
Wasn’t that... simply boiled offal?
Chu Jiu shivered slightly.
Marco, meanwhile, had heard Reg’s report and smiled at Chu Jiu: “What have you brought?”
“As long as the product is good, no matter how remote the village, we’ll open that trade route.”
Chu Jiu smiled but didn’t answer immediately.
Before coming here, his plan was simple:
Like in Bean Village, let Marco taste his “Tofu Chicken Soup” and “Tofu Fish Head Soup.”
He believed the merchant would be instantly captivated by the exquisite flavors.
But after seeing Marco’s lunch, he had another idea.
One that might sell tofu at a higher price.
Clearing his throat, he said, “What I brought is a precious ingredient prepared using a lost ancient method.”
“Most people probably haven’t even heard of it.”
Though Marco was experienced and knowledgeable, the words “lost” and “ancient method” made him rub his hands in anticipation.
Without further delay, Chu Jiu confidently took out a block of tofu from his backpack.
Marco’s eyes suddenly brightened: “So white!”
In Marco’s understanding, white food ingredients were very precious.
Like white soft bread made from finely milled white flour and fresh milk, only eaten on festive occasions.
Chu Jiu placed the plain tofu, without any seasoning, on Marco’s plate and said:
“This is called ‘tofu.’”
“It’s hot but not scalding, perfect to eat now. Try it.”
“You don’t need a knife to cut it; just use a spoon.”