A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

These three guys from the Southwest Branch are actually quite capable.

The temptation is just too great!

That's a soup made by simmering together precious ingredients like Tai Sui, Blood Bodhi, Lingzhi, and Zhu Guo—treasures that would be fought over outside!

That smell is so tempting!

The aroma of spiritual energy, mixed with the scents of meat, fruit, and medicine, kept seeping into the nose and into the bones, making one's stomach revolt and one's saliva almost uncontrollable.

This is only because the soup has cooled down a bit.

If we put the fire back on and simmer the soup until it's bubbling away, bringing out the full aroma...

Tsk tsk, I can't even imagine it!

Gudong.

Another clear sound of swallowing saliva was heard.

This time, all three of them heard it, looked at each other, and felt a little embarrassed.

The Miao girl bit her lip.

To hell with face!

It's done!

"eat!"

She stomped her foot and waved her little hand, displaying a kind of "what's the use of throwing caution to the wind" kind of boldness, but her voice still carried a hint of the crying tone she had when she was cursing earlier, which sounded a bit strange.

"Why wouldn't we eat? It's a waste not to eat! We've been in the sea for so long, we're cold and exhausted, our stomachs are rumbling, we just need some hot food to replenish ourselves!"

"Those bastards in Jinghai are wasting things, we're just making use of them! We're doing justice! We can't let good things go to waste!"

She herself felt a little guilty saying that, but she couldn't resist the irresistible aroma.

The other two men's eyes lit up immediately, and they nodded vigorously like chickens pecking at rice.

"Ah-mei is right! Waste is shameful!"

"Exactly! We're practicing thrift and frugality, promoting traditional virtues!"

Just do it!

The three of them disregarded their image and reserve and busied themselves around the stone pot.

He quickly gathered some dry firewood and rekindled the almost-extinguished fire.

Someone pulled out a small water bag from somewhere and carefully refilled the pot with the little soup that was left.

Soon, the soup in the pot started boiling again.

That domineering, strange and rich fragrance, mixed with the essence of countless top-grade spiritual materials, burst forth like a beast that had broken free of its restraints with a "boom"!

It smells amazing! It smells fucking amazing!

It smells so good it makes your scalp tingle, it smells so good it makes your soul feel like it's floating away!

The freshness of the Tai Sui, the mellowness of the Blood Bodhi, the richness of the Lingzhi, the sweetness of the Zhu Guo, the fragrance of the Yu Zhu…

Everything blends and sublimates in this pot of boiling, thick soup, transforming into visible, misty wisps of ethereal energy that swirl above the pot.

The three of them took a deep breath in unison, their faces showing expressions of rapture.

However, the people from the Southwest Branch were not completely overwhelmed by the aroma.

One of them took out a magical artifact, which was used to test for poison.

This step is essential.

Given the nature of those people in Jinghai, they wouldn't go so far as to poison someone with deadly poison, but they would definitely do something as despicable as putting croton seeds or laxatives in soup! And they would do it without any remorse!

The investigator made hand gestures and chanted incantations as he pointed the bronze mirror at the boiling soup pot.

After some confirmation, it was found to be non-toxic.

"Hey! It's not poisonous! And there's nothing weird or insidious about it! It's purely the effect of the spiritual energy and the ingredients themselves!"

"These bandits from Jinghai actually put in some effort this time; they didn't tamper with the food. They still have some conscience left!"

The trio from the Southwest were completely relieved.

The last bit of psychological burden is gone!

"start!"

The Miao girl cheered and was the first to pick up a piece of Tai Sui meat.

The other two followed suit, scooping up the food and stuffing it into their mouths.

Delicious! It's so damn delicious I could stomp my feet!

Fresh, fragrant, sweet, mellow, rich...

All sorts of exquisite flavors and surging spiritual energy exploded in my mouth, slid down my esophagus into my stomach, and instantly turned into a rolling hot current that surged to my limbs and bones!

The feeling was like a frozen person soaking in a hot spring, like a beggar who hadn't eaten for three days seeing a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, like someone who had undergone years of arduous cultivation suddenly achieving enlightenment...

So comfortable! So refreshing! My whole body feels warm and light, every pore seems to be singing with joy.

"Damn! Those bastards in Jinghai really know how to enjoy life!"

As they were eating, one of the investigators turned his head and caught a glimpse of a ginseng-like tuber that had been carelessly discarded not far away, but had already been gnawed on several times.

He paused, pointed with his chopsticks, and said, "Hey, look over there, isn't that a ginseng? It looks quite old, and it seems to have a lot of spiritual energy."

The other person looked in the direction he was pointing and saw it too, and was immediately heartbroken:

"Damn it! What a waste! Utterly wasteful! These spendthrifts in Jinghai! Such good wild ginseng, they just ate a few bites and threw it away? Isn't that just a terrible waste?!"

"Don't waste it! Hurry up and pick it up! Cut off the gnawed parts, wash the rest, slice it, and put it in the pot! This stuff is very nutritious, it'll add a nice touch to our soup!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We can't waste it!"

The three reached an agreement, and someone immediately went over and picked up the tuber.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed badly gnawed, with teeth marks at both ends. The middle part was relatively intact, emitting a strong earthy smell and a faint medicinal fragrance, indicating abundant spiritual energy.

Soon, another ingredient appeared in the milky white soup.

After cooking for a while, I picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in my mouth.

Hmm, the texture is a bit unique, slightly crisp, with a hint of earthy flavor.

But there was indeed a sweet aftertaste, and after swallowing it, the warm feeling seemed to intensify, and my head felt a little dizzy, like I had drunk a little wine, which was quite comfortable.

"It's not bad, but it's a bit strong. I'm a little dizzy." The Miao girl rubbed her temples, feeling her cheeks burning.

"Hey, all highly nutritious foods are like this, it's normal. Just drink more soup to calm down." Another investigator didn't take it seriously and scooped up another half bowl of soup.

As I ate...

The Miao girl suddenly felt the scene in front of her eyes begin to spin and blur, and her ears were ringing.

"Hey? You two... why are you... why are you swaying? And... and you fell over?"

She looked at her two teammates opposite her, their figures gradually blurring, and then, with a "thump," they collapsed to the ground one after another, motionless.

She shook her increasingly heavy head, trying to reach out and push them, but found that she couldn't lift her hands either.

An intense drowsiness washed over me like a tidal wave, impossible to resist.

"Um... I think... I'm a little... sleepy too..."

Before she could finish speaking, everything went black, and she collapsed with a "plop" next to the still bubbling stone pot.

Three seconds later.

Three beams of light simultaneously enveloped their bodies and shot into the sky.

The three of them, along with their belongings, vanished without a trace in an instant.

Only that stone pot continues to burn and churn faithfully, emitting an alluring yet sinful aroma.

……

Rest area on the back of the Kunpeng.

The light flashed three times in succession.

The three investigators from the Southwest lay neatly on the floor in an extremely peaceful posture.

Look at that rosy complexion, the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, and even a hint of a satisfied smile...

If you didn't know better, you'd think the three of them had eaten too much and were taking a nice nap!

The director of the Southwest Branch rushed over in one stride.

He first checked on the three people; they were poisoned, but thankfully not severely.

The old bureau chief's face instantly darkened.

It's as black as the bottom of a pot!

These good-for-nothings! Shameful! So shameful! How can they be so greedy, putting everything in their mouths?!

Is that ginseng?! That's pokeweed! It's pokeweed!!

Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, and this was his last meal! It was highly poisonous! Extremely poisonous! Eating the wrong thing could be fatal!

Damn it, when we get back, each of you has to copy "The Illustrated Compendium of Herbs" and "Identification of Common Poisonous Herbs" a thousand times! No! Ten thousand times! Don't even think about taking on any more missions until you've finished copying them!

Well, you can't really blame all three unlucky guys in the Southwest for this.

To distinguish between ginseng and pokeweed, especially some older, plump pokeweed, you mainly need to look at the shape and texture of the rhizome and rootlets.

But that despicable Ji Zuodao, that smoking thing, gnawed on the head and tail while eating! Leaving only the bald, chubby middle section behind!

Damn it, without carefully examining the texture and smell, it's really easy to be fooled at first glance!

Besides, it even has teeth marks on it, who would think it's poisonous?

These three from the Southwest are truly unlucky; bad luck just keeps piling on bad luck.

It's likely that Ji Zuodao never expected that a few bites of something he casually tossed aside would inadvertently lead to the annihilation of the Southwest Branch.