Chapter 45 - 43, A Bowl of Noodles Can’t Solve It?_1

Words : 1290 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 45: Chapter 43, A Bowl of Noodles Can’t Solve It?_1 Xiu Yan’s four pudgy paws were tightly wrapped with snake skin, and he was snoring loudly while sprawled out comfortably in his little nest. Ji Nuan, lifting the beast skin curtain and seeing the rotund cub sleeping like a log, shook her head with a smile. Turning back to the food storage cave, she carefully selected the Stinky Fruit and the Fruit of Divine Punishment from the basket, and split them open with all caution necessary. Unlike the first time she smelled it, the Stinky Fruit now emitted a pleasant fragrance that was quite comforting. She scooped out the pulp of the Stinky Fruit and put it into a stone pot, then used a stone knife to mash the pulpy pieces into a powder. Feeling that the powder was finely ground, Ji Nuan then fetched a stone bowl and scooped a bowl of water from a wooden bucket. She carefully kneaded the ground Stinky Fruit pulp into a dough-like substance. Although she was unsure of its taste, the feeling of holding the dough was identical to that of flour. She placed the dough in the stone pot, covered it with a large leaf, and only then picked up a Fruit of Divine Punishment, washed it clean in a stone bowl, and gently licked its skin — it was flavorless! She took a stone knife kept aside, gently tapped a small hole in the Fruit of Divine Punishment. A pure, delicate white substance began to gush out eagerly from the small opening. Ji Nuan was amazed and unconsciously gripped hold of it. The white, sand-like substance slipped through her fingers and fell onto the ground beneath her. Incredulously, she brought the hand holding the Fruit of Divine Punishment close to her mouth and lightly tasted it: its pure, savory taste made Ji Nuan jump with joy. It was salt, pure salt! Oh, how miraculous the Orc Continent was – the trees were sprouting salt! She retrieved a clean leaf, and broke open all the collected Fruit of Divine Punishment on it, resulting in a leaf full of pure salt. After carefully storing the salt laden leaf, Ji Nuan dashed at an insanely fast pace to the riverside and processed three Giggle Beasts. She gutted one Giggle Beast with difficulty using a stone knife, fried it in a stone pot to extract its oil, added a bit of water, and then simply left it to cook. The remaining two Giggle Beasts were marinated in salt by Ji Nuan, then hung on a pole set up at the entrance of the cave. ... Xiu Yan awoke from his slumber, sniffed the scent of food in the cave combined with the scent of the little female cub, and realized that she had returned. Curious about how much food had been gathered, he moved his small body — but his three paws were still not powerful enough. Xiu Yan laid his fat little head on his uninjured forepaws with frustration, wondering when he would recover fully. ... The Giggle Beast meat in the stone pot had been cooked until it was very tender. Ji Nuan added a pinch of salt to the soup and stirred it for a while before impatiently tasting a mouthful. She immediately closed her eyes in ecstasy at the familiar taste, almost moved to tears by her own self. At last, she had tasted salt. At last, she was eating flavorful food! After being lost in the taste for a while, Ji Nuan put down the wooden spoon, picked up the large leaf wrapping the dough made from Stinky Fruit, and pressed it into thin cakes. She then cut it into fine strips with the stone knife and started to pull on both ends with skillful hands. In a short time, a long, thin, round noodle made from Stinky Fruit took shape in Ji Nuan’s hands. She tossed the noodles into the pot and stirred them a couple of times to prevent them from sticking to the pot. Soon, she had pulled all the remaining dough into the pot. Shortly after, a pot of steaming hot noodles was ready. Looking at the boiling noodles in the stone pot, Ji Nuan swallowed her saliva greedily. After painstakingly waiting for a while, and when she estimated that they should be ready, she picked a strip of noodle with a chopstick and slurped it into her mouth. After a few chews, Ji Nuan’s eyes brightened. The noodle made from Stinky Fruit tasted very good. It was very chewy, perhaps due to the fact that she had pulled them a bit too thick. She was excited to confirm that Stinky Fruit could indeed be turned into tasty food. Stinky Fruit was easy to collect this season, and there were no threats from ferocious Sharp Teeth Beasts. It seemed the perfect food to survive the winter. She ladled some noodles into a stone bowl, along with some Giggle Beast meat and soup, before entering the small cave with the bowl. The little lion cub was already enticed by the aroma of food. Hearing the approaching footsteps, the cub hastily wiped of some drool from the corner of his mouth and pretended to be asleep again. But his constantly twitching ears and wriggling nose totally betrayed him. Seeing the cub’s eager look, Ji Nuan’s heart softened. She placed the stone bowl beside the cub’s bed, and petted his round head, "Little cub, time for dinner!" The cub was quite the eater. He had finished every last bit of the Giggle Beast that Ji Nuan had placed beside his nest, leaving behind only two greasy leaves as proof of its existence. Xiu Yan shook his head, slightly annoyed as he gave a glance at Ji Nuan. Why did this little female cub always like touching him! However, the faint traces of distaste in Xiu Yan’s eyes vanished at the sight of the fragrant, enticing food that Ji Nuan brought. Using two wooden sticks, she picked up the noodles and fed them to him. The noodles soaked in the savory soup tasted fantastic. Xiu Yan expressed his love for the noodle dish through devouring four bowls of it with utter enjoyment, making it quite obvious. The two beasts quickly finished a pot of noodles. Looking outside at the skies that were only slightly darkened, Ji Nuan pondered for a moment then decided to cook another pot of Giggle Beast soup, and knead a mass of Stinky Fruit dough that was twice as large as previously. She proceeded to knead the dough for the cub who had resumed snoring. After seeing him fall asleep again, she left the small cave. Kneading noodle, boiling soup. Thanks to the experience from the past, her actions became more adept and the enticing noodles were soon added into the stone pot. While the noodles hadn’t yet fully cooked, Ji Nuan quickly ran to the caves of the Clan Leader and Shaman Ama, inviting them to her place. Ge Xing and Shaman Ama were astounded as they stared down at their stone bowls filled with hot, aromatic food. "Shan Zaizai! What... what is this food?" Shaman Ama had lived for many beast years and never seen such food before. The bowl of food was piping hot and deliciously fragrant, causing both beasts to salivate. Ji Nuan scratched her head in feigned modesty, "It’s food made from Stinky Fruit. I ground the pulp of Stinky Fruit into powder with a stone knife, then added water to knead it into a ball. Then I cut it into strips with a stone knife to make this food. The little cub and I both tried it. It’s delicious."

Chapter 45 - 43, A Bowl of Noodles Can’t Solve It?_1

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