🥟 Chapter 19: Demon-Silencing Dumplings
(The fog grows thicker. The ground pulses like the heartbeat of a sleeping beast. A heavy silence surrounds them.)
💭 Xiao Feng (in his mind):
"Stay calm… it's just a dish… a magical, forbidden, spirit-devouring dish… okay, maybe not just a dish!"
(A cold buzz echoes in his mind. The system activates.)
🌀 System:
"Ultimate Recipe Activated: Demon-Silencing Dumplings
Ingredients Required: Enchanted meat, blackshade mushrooms, mist-wrap dough... and an unrevealed truth.
Warning: Improper preparation = death. Good luck, Chef."
🔊 Xilià (licking her lips, teasing):
— "Something smells delicious... But if it's a lie, I might just chew off your tongue."
🔊 Gu Tāng (stepping forward calmly):
— "Hold your breath. This valley doesn't crave flesh… it craves emotion."
(Xiao Feng drops to one knee. He lights a cold-blue spirit flame. From his pouch, he pulls out a strange chunk of meat—taken from a demonic beast slain in a past quest.)
💭 Xiao Feng:
"This isn't the first time my life's at stake in a kitchen… but this time, the whole valley wants a bite."
(He spreads out the mist-wrap dough. Suddenly, dark whispers swirl from the valley depths.)
🔊 Voice of the Valley (echoing):
— "Bring us the truth… fold it into the dough… feed us…"
💭 Xiao Feng (hands trembling):
"Truth? What kind of truth—?"
(Memories flash: the day he was exiled… the last words of his mother—"Run. You don't belong here.")
🌀 System:
"To complete the recipe, you must knead one painful truth of your heart into the dumplings."
(He exhales slowly. A tear rolls down and lands on the dough.)
💭 Xiao Feng:
"The truth is... I still miss them. Even if they abandoned me."
(The dough glows faintly. The dumplings take shape—pure white, glowing like spirits in the mist.)
(The ground suddenly cracks open. From the fog, a massive demon emerges—its body made of bone, shadow, and hunger.)
🔊 Demon of the Valley (roaring):
— "TRUTH... It smells… real."
(Xilià prepares to attack, but Gu Tāng holds her back.)
🔊 Gu Tāng:
— "Wait… let him finish it."
(Xiao Feng stands up and raises one dumpling high.)
🔊 Xiao Feng:
— "If you don't eat this, I can't guarantee I'll ever cook something this good again!"
(He throws it straight into the demon's mouth. A blinding white light bursts out as the demon freezes… then kneels.)
🔊 Demon (softly):
— "Satisfied… For the first time… in centuries…"
(The mist begins to fade. The valley quiets down.)
🔊 Xilià (grinning):
— "Impressive. Maybe you can cook... but I still don't know how you taste."
🔊 Xiao Feng (annoyed):
— "Was that another threat?!"
🔊 Gu Tāng (calmly):
— "You silenced the demon… but the valley still breathes. And now, it remembers you."
(The camera pans out. The once-hungry valley lies still... but deep within the fog—eyes are watching.)
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🔥 End of Chapter 19
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