Food is the foundation of the people — a truth as old as civilization itself.
And in the primordial era, being able to eat one's fill was an absolute luxury beyond compare.
The barbarian tribe's method of cooking was exceedingly simple: roasting!
Huge slabs of beast meat were skewered on wooden sticks, and bonfires sprang up all over the village. The villagers propped the meat over the flames to roast, the golden hue and the crackling of rendered fat enough to make anyone's mouth water.
Though the meat had arrived yesterday, the entire village — including the chief — had not touched a single bite. Everyone had been waiting for the hero's return!
Now that A Niu was back, it was finally time to celebrate.
The aroma of roasting meat soon wafted through the village. The seasonings were nothing complicated — people simply grabbed the meat in their hands and tore into it with great big bites, swallowing it down into their bellies. Some of the meat was still streaked with red, not fully cooked through, but the villagers ate with undisguised relish, savoring every morsel.
Before Yang Kai lay the choicest, fattiest cut from the beast's body — a privilege that even the most venerable chief had not been afforded. He was, after all, the greatest contributor to repelling the beast tide and slaying the savage beasts. The best treatment was only natural.
Yang Kai had intended to merely go through the motions. At his level of cultivation, eating or not made no difference whatsoever.
But the moment the fragrance of roasted meat drifted into his nostrils, his stomach let out a low, insistent rumble.
Yang Kai froze on the spot.
He was… actually hungry?
How was that possible? He was an Emperor Realm cultivator, long past the need for food. In the normal world, simply circulating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was enough to sustain his body.
Yet in this bizarre place, he truly felt hunger.
And a trace of exhaustion.
This world was so unnervingly real!
He chose not to dwell on it. Caught up in the villagers' infectious enthusiasm, he reached out and grabbed some of the roasted meat, eating in large mouthfuls.
The village women brought out their treasured stores of dried fruit, and the chief ordered sealed jars of fruit wine to be opened. The entire village overflowed with a boisterous, jubilant atmosphere. Even so, the guard was not neglected — villagers still patrolled outside the perimeter, lest the scent of roasting meat draw the attention of wild beasts.
The celebration lasted an entire day.
Yang Kai had no idea how much he had eaten or how much fruit wine he had drunk. By the end, a faint tipsiness had settled over him, and he stumbled back to the wooden hut where he was staying before collapsing into bed.
In a haze, he sensed someone enter his hut.
Though exhausted, though shrouded in a drunken fog, the foundation of his Emperor Realm cultivation remained intact. His eyes snapped open in an instant, and he let out a low bark: "Who's there?!"
The words had barely left his mouth when he felt a scorching-hot body slip beneath his animal-hide blanket, arms wrapping around his waist, a head burrowing into his chest.
A delicate fragrance instantly filled his nostrils, and his cheek was tickled by the brush of loose, flowing hair.
There was no hostility. If anything, the person in his arms was breathing in rapid, nervous little gasps, trembling ever so slightly.
Yang Kai sobered with a jolt and tilted his head back. By the dim moonlight filtering through the window, he made out the face of the one nestled against him.
"Why is it you?!" Yang Kai stared at the girl in open astonishment.
It was the tall girl who had toasted him earlier that day. With her warm, soft body pressed against his, Yang Kai could feel with startling clarity the remarkable elasticity of her form.
"Brother A Niu…" the girl murmured, lifting her gaze to meet his. Shyness mingled with a boldness in her eyes, and her red lips moved in a way that was almost maddeningly alluring.
Yang Kai's mind went momentarily blank. "What are you doing here?" he asked instinctively.
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how foolish he sounded. She had made her intentions abundantly clear. What else could she possibly be doing?
Sure enough, the girl whispered softly, "Brother A Niu, Ani turned fifteen today."
There was no elaborate explanation, but Yang Kai could vaguely guess what reaching the age of fifteen meant for a barbarian girl. It signified adulthood — that she had become a woman.
Her fifteenth birthday called for a worthy gift, and offering herself to the tribe's most outstanding warrior was the girl's chosen tribute.
The instant he realized this, Yang Kai felt a wave of unease wash over him.
If this were the real world, it would be one thing. The barbarian tribes were likely quite open about such matters, nothing like the rigid modesty of women in the mortal realm. It would merely be a fleeting affair, and neither party would feel shortchanged.
But the critical issue was that this was a secret realm!
Yang Kai still could not determine whether any of this truly existed or whether he had fallen into an illusion. If it was the latter, then what was the point of any of this? Nothing more than a waking dream!
While his thoughts churned, the girl snuggled deeper into his arms, her heated body pressed flush against his as though seeking to melt into him. Her voice was a whisper against his ear: "Brother A Niu, do you like Ani?"
Yang Kai stiffened and managed through gritted teeth, "Like you, of course I like you!"
The love of beauty was universal, let alone in the case of such a pure, unspoiled girl brimming with primordial charm.
Ani's face broke into a radiant smile. She shifted, swinging herself on top of him, and with a casual tug, the crude animal-hide garment covering her upper body slid away. In the moonlight, the girl's flawless, perfect silhouette was on full display.
Yang Kai felt an immediate, violent urge to bleed from the nose.
How many years had it been… how many years since he had been this close to a woman's skin? Ever since leaving his home star field, he had been perpetually alone. Confronted with such a stimulating sight, even Yang Kai's formidable composure was hard-pressed to hold steady.
"Wait, wait, wait —" Yang Kai blurted out hastily.
"What's wrong?" Ani asked, gazing at him with innocent curiosity.