Chapter 6 Cat Food Meow~
Before sunset, Huo Yun'er led Huo Yuhao to a small town near the Duke's mansion. The town was bustling with people, almost all of whom carried soul power fluctuations. It was a town almost entirely composed of soul masters.
This small town is only five or six kilometers away from the famous Star Dou Great Forest. Most of the Soul Masters who make a living in the Soul Beast Forest spontaneously gathered here. After venturing into the perilous Soul Beast Forest, they also need a reliable and warm haven to soothe their physical and mental fatigue.
What was originally just the size of a village gradually expanded as more and more Soul Masters rested and traded here, eventually forming its current form.
"Mom, there seems to be a hotel ahead. Let's stay there for the night."
On the way, Huo Yun'er had already counted the money given by the steward. She thought it was just some silver soul coins, but she didn't expect that the heavy bag was full of genuine gold soul coins, a total of one hundred and twenty coins.
This wealth is more than enough for them to settle down in the early stages, as long as they don't spend money recklessly.
After a day of travel, Huo Yun'er looked exhausted and wanted to find a place to rest as soon as possible. She and Huo Yuhao arrived at the inn and asked the middle-aged woman at the door, who seemed to be the landlady:
"Boss, what's the price for a room for one night?"
The middle-aged woman glanced at Huo Yun'er and said casually, "A standard room costs twenty copper soul coins per night, with a deposit of five copper soul coins."
The price is a bit expensive. Huo Yun'er has been out of the Duke's mansion before, and a hotel in a small town like this should cost ten copper soul coins a night.
Noticing the hesitation on Huo Yun'er's face, the middle-aged woman continued, "Dinner will be served, but there will be no meat."
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao's stomach rumbled loudly. After traveling for a long time, carrying large and small bags on his back, Huo Yuhao's stomach was growling with hunger.
"Alright, let's open one. What's the owner's name?"
Although it was still a bit pricey even with dinner included, seeing Huo Yuhao swallowing his saliva, Huo Yun'er didn't want to try her luck elsewhere. She made her decision directly, took out two silver soul coins and five copper soul coins from her pocket and handed them to the middle-aged woman. This money was some of her private savings that she had accumulated while doing odd jobs at the Duke's mansion.
"Just call me Sister Luo. Here, the second room upstairs is the room you rented. Dinner will be delivered to you later. Please take good care of the things in the room; any damage will be charged at the original price."
Sister Luo handed Huo Yun'er a rusty iron key with a piece of iron hanging from it, on which the three characters '202' were vaguely printed.
"Boss, this is a rabbit we hunted ourselves. Could you process it and add it to our menu?"
Huo Yuhao pulled out a large gray rabbit that had been dead for some time from the cloth bag on his back and held it up in front of Sister Luo.
"Just charge an extra five copper soul coins for the chef."
"Oh! That's so expensive. Boss, could I use the kitchen? I'll cook it myself."
Having spent so many years in the servants' quarters, Huo Yuhao had long since learned how to cook.
Sister Luo shook her head jokingly, "This is my territory. Either pay up, or go find something outside yourself."
"Yuhao, I'm pretty good at cooking, so leave it to me, meow~"
At this moment, Shanfeng's voice rang in Huo Yuhao's mind, bringing him back to his senses. Shanfeng had mentioned before that his parents hoped he would become a chef cat.
"Then I won't trouble you, boss."
"what ever."
Sister Luo didn't react much; she didn't seem to care too much about the five copper soul coins.
Huo Yuhao put the rabbit back into the package and followed Huo Yun'er upstairs to the second floor.
Finding room 202, Huo Yun'er opened the door and went inside. The room was very ordinary, with only a large bed and a round table in the middle, with three wooden stools next to the table.
Huo Yun'er walked straight to the bedside, leaned against it, and lay down. Large beads of sweat streamed down her forehead, and her tightly furrowed brows seemed to indicate that she was enduring pain.
"mom!"
Huo Yuhao quickly put down his luggage and ran forward to hold his mother's small hand. Huo Yun'er's palm was as cold as ice, which filled Huo Yuhao with worry.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired today."
Huo Yun'er forced a smile, hoping to reassure Huo Yuhao not to worry too much.
My mother's illness can't be delayed any longer. Luckily, the housekeeper gave us a large sum of money, so we'll go to town tomorrow to find a doctor to treat her!
Huo Yuhao made up his mind.
"Mom, have some water and rest for a bit."
Huo Yuhao saw a kettle on the round table, quickly poured some water, smelled it, tasted it himself, and, finding nothing wrong with it, handed it to Huo Yun'er.
After his mother finished drinking her water and closed her eyes to rest, Huo Yuhao summoned the mountain wind and asked it, "Do you know how to cook rabbits? Do you have rabbits in your world?"
"There are rabbits, but they're a little different from the rabbits here, meow~. I also observed the rabbits in your world, and their meat is almost identical to that of rabbits in our world, meow~"
Huo Yuhao handed the rabbit to Shanfeng, saying, "Please."
"Don't worry, meow~ But I still need a container to hold the food, meow~"
"oh oh!"
Huo Yuhao quickly rummaged through the luggage he had brought from the Duke's mansion and took out a ceramic jar.
Is this okay?
"That's enough, meow~"
Shanfeng took the clay pot and the rabbit, carried them on his back, and jumped out of the room's window. The room wasn't a good place to start a fire, so Shanfeng planned to go outside to cook the rabbit.
Before the mountain breeze could return, just a few minutes later there was a knock on the wooden door of the room.
"This is Sister Luo. Dinner is ready."
Huo Yuhao stepped forward to open the door and saw Sister Luo carrying a wooden tray with two large bowls filled with overflowing rice, along with a dish of pickled vegetables.
Is this all for dinner?
Huo Yuhao was somewhat surprised and also somewhat angry.
These things can be bought for a maximum of two copper soul coins. This innkeeper is really going too far.
"I've already delivered the food. You can leave it if you don't want it. We already agreed beforehand that you've moved into the room, so there's no refund!"
Ignoring Huo Yuhao's resentment, Sister Luo bypassed him, placed dinner on the table, and left the room again, completely treating Huo Yuhao as if he were invisible.
"Yuhao, don't be angry anymore. Come and eat, don't go hungry."
Huo Yun'er had been awakened by the commotion. She knew that this was life; it was normal to be bullied when you didn't have the power to back it up.
Huo Yuhao silently sat down at the table. He realized he had been wrong; he had thought that once he left the Duke's mansion and went outside, he would no longer be bullied. The result was the same; only now, he was being bullied by strangers instead of acquaintances.
How can I avoid being bullied?
Strength is everything. If you want others to respect you, you must have the strength to make them fear you.
On his first day away from the Duke's mansion, Huo Yuhao faced reality.
Just then, a faint aroma of meat wafted in through the window, and Shan Feng nimbly flipped in through the window, placing the slightly warm earthenware pot on the table.
"It's done, meow~ Come and try my bunny feast, meow~"
The mountain breeze lifted the lid of the earthenware jar, and a rich aroma of meat burst out from the mouth of the jar, causing Huo Yuhao to shed tears of frustration.
"It smells so good!"
"Hmph, looks like my cooking skills haven't gotten rusty at all, meow~"
Huo Yun'er smiled and patted Shanfeng's fluffy head. "Thank you, Shanfeng, for bringing us this feast."
You're welcome, meow!
The unpleasant atmosphere was instantly washed away by the arrival of the mountain breeze. Now that things had come to this, not eating would be a waste of the delicious food.
[end of the chapter]