Chapter 139 For the Great-Aunt

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Little Black placed the dagger it had been carrying in its mouth not far from Old Man Li and signaled for him to use it.

Use this?

Old Man Li understood Little Black’s intent and couldn't help but glance at the double-edged broadsword in his own hand, then back at the small dagger on the ground. The broadsword was more than three times the size of that tiny blade.

Killing such a large ox with a puny little dagger? Was this a joke?

"You want me to use this little dagger to kill the ox?" Old Man Li asked, feeling uncertain.

Little Black nodded. Obviously—why else would it have brought it over? Did they think it had nothing better to do?

"This..." Old Man Li picked up the dagger, looked at the ox, then at the palm-sized blade, and was instantly dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Chen Duliu hurriedly asked Little Black, "Little Black, has the Great Aunt risen yet?"

Little Black shook its head.

So, the Great Aunt didn’t know about this? Did Little Black bring the dagger here on its own initiative?

Before Chen Duliu could process this, Little Black strode up to the ox. As it approached, the ox stamped its hooves in agitation, but under Little Black’s baring of teeth and fierce glare, it immediately trembled and knelt to the ground.

A moment later, seeing that Old Man Li hadn't moved, Little Black turned its head and let out an annoyed growl, as if to say, "Hurry up! I’ve already stepped in to help you; stop dawdling, or just let the ox go if you can’t do it."

Although Old Man Li couldn't understand Little Black’s words, he could sense the urgency. He looked at the small dagger in his hand, then at the large ox that had remained motionless for quite some time, and steeled his resolve. For the sake of the Great Aunt, even being gored by the ox would be worth it.

He had expected the ox to get agitated again as he approached, but to his surprise, even when he could reach out and touch the ox’s horns, the animal showed no reaction at all.

Glancing at Little Black, which was watching the ox like a tiger eyeing its prey, he immediately realized that Little Black was suppressing the beast. It made sense; a great white tiger would certainly be more than capable of subduing an ox.

If Little Black knew what was going through Old Man Li’s mind, it would surely feel smug. Of course it was; this was the suppression of bloodline. It was a spirit beast, after all—if it couldn't subdue a mere ox, it would have no face left to call itself a spirit beast.

Not wanting to let Old Man Li handle the ox alone, the young men who had caught their breath rushed forward in a swarm to assist.

Old Man Li had originally intended to switch to his broadsword if the small dagger proved ineffective, just to save face for Little Black. To his surprise, the little dagger was incredibly sharp; as he drew it, he could faintly hear a crisp, ringing sound.

When he drove it into the ox's neck with force, the sharp blade instantly sliced a wide gap. Blood gushed out, drenching the person holding the large basin intended to catch it. If the next person in line hadn't been quick to shove their basin underneath, more than half of the blood would have been wasted.

Chen Duliu and the others felt a pang of heartache at the sight. "All of you, be careful! This is for the Great Aunt to use."

The ox remained docile while being bled until it finally drew its last breath, at which point Little Black looked away. Although a single ox didn't yield a vast amount of blood, it was enough for Bai Xi to bathe in.

Old Man Li marveled at the blade, carefully washing it with water before respectfully returning it to Little Black. He finally understood why Little Black had insisted he use the Great Aunt’s dagger—it was fast, precise, and effortless.

Little Black had no interest in watching the butchering process. Picking up the dagger, it quickly left the crowd and returned to the treehouse.

Once the fresh ox heart was extracted, it was placed into a clean, large porcelain bowl. Chen Duliu signaled for several men to follow him, carrying the basins of ox blood toward the treehouse. It was best to use it while it was still warm.

Bai Xi hadn't been awake long. Seeing Little Black return with the dagger, her round eyes still held traces of sleepiness. "Where have you been?" She didn't think Little Black would consider her dagger more useful than its own claws; besides, it didn't even have hands to wield it.

Little Black placed the dagger by Bai Xi’s side and whined, explaining that the village was slaughtering an ox, but they were doing a poor job and nearly hurt themselves, so it had gone to help.

Bai Xi was surprised to hear this, but she didn't press for details. Why would the village suddenly kill an ox for no reason? She remembered Chen Xiaocong saying earlier that the village only had three oxen, which were the main force for plowing the fields.

Just then, Chen Duliu led a group of people over. Each person was carrying either a basin or a bowl, leaving Bai Xi baffled.

Seeing Bai Xi sitting cross-legged on the couch, watching them come and go with wide, questioning eyes, Chen Duliu quickly explained, "Great Aunt, please rest for a moment. It will be ready soon. This is to help restore your vitality."

Restore my vitality?

Bai Xi was even more confused. However, seeing the solemn yet expectant and slightly thrilled expressions on everyone’s faces, she waited patiently.

What followed left Bai Xi feeling frustrated—or, to be precise, absolutely frantic.

The ox heart was still steaming in the pot when Chen Duliu carefully brought over a bowl of water infused with ox heart blood.

"Great Aunt, please drink this water first."

"You want me to drink this?" Bai Xi’s eyes widened as she stared at the contents of the bowl. She had just seen how Chen Duliu had prepared it. Had he lost his mind, or had he been kicked in the head by an ox? How could he be so audacious?

"Great Aunt, this is a method I specifically sought out. Please, you only need to focus on your recovery..."

Before he could finish, Bai Xi waved her hand to cut him off. "I don't want it!" What kind of ridiculous method was this? When did she ever say she wanted these things? And to have her drink water infused with ox heart blood—why not just make her drink the blood directly?

Bai Xi didn't know that they had actually considered that, but Chen Duliu wasn't stupid, and the Taoist priest who suggested the idea knew that drinking raw blood wasn't acceptable. There had to be a "reason" for consuming the blood, as there was quite a lot of it. It was said that the heart was the most precious part, so using the heart’s blood was the most appropriate approach.

"Little Liu, you are becoming increasingly bold!" Bai Xi’s face puffed up in anger.

"Great Aunt, please calm your anger!" Chen Duliu bowed slightly, though he kept the bowl of blood-infused water steady. He had originally intended to place it by Bai Xi’s side, but seeing her resistance, he feared she might swat the bowl away. It wouldn't matter if the bowl broke, but there was only one heart per ox.

"Is that also ox blood? Why bring it here?" Her gaze toward Chen Duliu was filled with suspicion, and her small face wore an expression that clearly said if he didn't give a good explanation, she would throw him out.

At that moment, the people who had been directed by Li Jia to pour the ox blood into the wooden tub for Bai Xi’s bath returned. They told Chen Duliu that the bath was ready, then left under his signal. They had wanted to speak a few words to Bai Xi, but seeing her unhappy and looking frail, they feared tiring her out and only said respectfully, "Great Aunt, please don't get upset; take care of your health."