Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 319 New Ingredients, Understanding of the Heart

In the past, ordinary meat, eggs and vegetables were never worth Du Yi's attention.

At that time, he was so big that only mammoths, which were enormous, could give him a slightly palatable taste. As for beef and mutton, they could only be used to make skewers—not cut pieces of meat for skewers, but whole cattle and sheep skewers grilled on logs. Only such large ingredients could give him some feeling of fullness.

But now, Du Yi sensed something different from the meat, eggs, and vegetables that the villagers brought.

If large mammoths and whole cattle and sheep replenish his body, then right now, with these meats, eggs and vegetables, he could clearly feel that these things replenished his soul.

"This...isn't this just ordinary ingredients?"

Du Yi was somewhat puzzled. After all, he had seen these kinds of meager, food-filling foods before, but he had never felt this nourished when he saw them in the past. Why was he feeling this way now...?

"It seems there is a slight difference."

Du Yi vaguely sensed it.

The only difference is the reason for the gift.

Previously, the Tatumbhut people gave him food more like a simple task to complete. They provided a lot of food as a form of sustenance, while Du Yi was responsible for the security of the area surrounding Tatumbhut. The relationship between the two was more of a cooperative one.

Now, the meat, eggs, and vegetables that these villagers bring are simply out of gratitude.

This was a heartfelt expression of gratitude for his help in handling a task that would have taken the entire village at least half a month to complete. Although the villagers' eyes still clearly showed some fear of the enormous snake, their gratitude was genuine.

"This feeling……"

Du Yi even vaguely felt that his "Level 1" which had been stagnant for a long time seemed to have gained experience at this moment.

This reminded Du Yi of the roasted meat he had made before, the "food bestowed by the gods" by the people of Tatunbhut, which could increase the experience of the people of Tatunbhut. Ujat, the eagle-headed sun god who later became a new energy oven, once said that it was the food he roasted that aroused the consciousness of the people of Tatunbhut.

And now, these meat, eggs, and vegetables, imbued with gratitude, have also stirred his consciousness.

"In that case, I'll accept it."

After a moment's thought, Du Yi decisively accepted the ingredients.

However, following his usual practice, Du Yi did not keep the pot to himself. Instead, he gathered the clay and molded it into a large pot shape on the spot. After a brief period of intense firing, the clay pot was roughly formed.

After having the villagers rinse the pot with water to make sure it wasn't leaking, Du Yi started cooking the ingredients he had gotten from the villagers in batches.

This method is rather crude, but Du Yi's control over the heat and his understanding of the ingredients are quite proficient. Even with such simple conditions, Du Yi can still stew a pot of stew with perfect color, aroma and taste. This is the result of his centuries of culinary skills.

"Let's eat together."

Du Yi called over the villagers, asking them to bring their bowls as well.

The four alien adventurers naturally received a share as well; almost everyone present got a bowl of steaming stew—and Du Yi himself also got a bowl.

Even though the villagers brought him a lot of ingredients, Du Yi could clearly sense that if he only needed to nourish his soul, this bowl of hot soup would be enough.

After all, at this moment, what he is eating is not just the food itself.

It was not a question of gratitude from these people.

Du Yi found it hard to describe the taste of gratitude. It was perhaps a kind of sweetness, but not a rich, cloying sweetness. It was more like spring water drawn from a deep well in summer, which looked bland and tasteless, but had a refreshing sweetness after tasting it.

Even though the soup was hot, Du Yi felt a cool sensation as if his brain had suddenly relaxed, all the wrinkles had been smoothed out. This brief tranquility even reminded him of a long, long time ago, when there weren't so many people on the earth and mammoths roamed freely.

"It feels really... good." Although it was just a bowl of hot soup, Du Yi felt full and satisfied after a long time.

"thanks for treatment."

He returned the wooden bowl.

However, after Du Yi finished eating, the villagers grabbed him and wouldn't let him leave. This time, there was no fear in their eyes, only greed and craving for the delicious food. Clearly, that bowl of steaming stew had completely shown them what real craftsmanship was, and now they wanted another bowl. They were even willing to bring out their best meat and vegetables.

"Forget it."

Seeing the villagers' enthusiastic expressions, Du Yi couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

Even if you pile on more ingredients, you can't make a dish this good again, because this time the most important ingredient is missing. If what's stewed in the pot with the other ingredients is greed instead of gratitude, then this dish will obviously be of a lower quality.

It was at this moment that Du Yi suddenly felt that his cooking skills, which had stagnated for a long time, seemed to have improved once again.

The mammoth seems to be less important now. He no longer needs to be confined to the ingredients themselves; instead, the emotions contained within the ingredients are the more important elements.

"Of course, it would be even better if there were mammoths."

As a seasoned mammoth connoisseur, Du Yi still believes that, in terms of ingredients alone, mammoths can always be classified as top-tier.

"But these are not bad either."

It was at this moment that Du Yi suddenly felt some fluctuations deep within his soul.

"Is this what you wanted me to eat?"

Du Yi inquired about the power that had become one with him.

As before, these pure soul energies lay there quietly, as if they were part of him.

But Du Yi could also sense that the power from the Tatunbuto people was still guiding him, as if it were leading him to do something.

"Where are we going? Give us an answer!"

Having not sensed anything, Du Yi simply used his long tail to curl up a tree branch.

"If you want it to go somewhere, just throw it there for me."

As he said this, Du Yi tossed the branch into the air.

The branch with leaves didn't fall flat; instead, it was spun twice by the wind in mid-air before finally hitting the ground.

And the direction the tree branch points to...

"You must have come from over there, right?"

Du Yi looked at the four alien adventurers.

The direction the tree branch pointed was the same direction they had come from.

In Du Yi's memory, that was the direction Tatunbto once led.

(End of this chapter)