Playing Genshin in Genshin! [22]

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"Come on, help us out. It’d be such a waste to let all these boars get away," Xiangling pleaded, her eyes wide with hope. "Once we’re done, I’ll cook something delicious for you!"

"Delicious food?" Paimon’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "Deal! Lumine is great at this sort of thing."

"You really have no resolve, Paimon," Lumine sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. But since Paimon had already agreed on her behalf, she couldn’t refuse.

The two girls split up, each heading to hunt nearby boars, while Paimon—who had the fighting power of maybe a fifth of a boar—wasn’t of much help.

It didn’t take long for the two skilled hunters to bring down several boars, returning with two bags full of meat.

"It’s a pity," Xiangling said regretfully as she looked at the meat they’d gathered. "If we had more people, we could’ve carried back the whole boar."

"The whole boar?" Paimon asked, puzzled. "But the meat’s all we need. What’s the point of taking the other parts?"

"Ah, you don’t know?" Xiangling chuckled. "Every part of a boar is valuable. Different cuts of meat have unique textures, the bones can be used for broth, and the marrow is rich and flavorful. The heart, liver, and stomach are great for stir-frying or as cold dishes. Even the kidneys and intestines can be tastier than regular meat if prepared right. And boar brain—boil it for ten minutes, and it’s tender and smooth."

Her quick rundown left Lumine and Paimon, who had never seen anything like it before, completely stunned.

"I’ve heard of using animal organs in cooking, but... the brain?" Paimon covered her head, trying to block out the image. She knew boar brains looked somewhat similar to human brains, so the thought made her shudder. "I don’t think I can handle that."

Lumine remained silent, but her expression indicated she shared Paimon’s thoughts.

"Come on!" Xiangling put her hands on her hips, looking stern. "Why the face? If you can eat pork, why can’t you eat the organs too? Food doesn’t have a hierarchy."

The two exchanged awkward glances, not wanting to offend Xiangling, and nodded hesitantly in agreement.

"Actually, most of what I know came from Brother Lu," Xiangling admitted, scratching her head with a hint of embarrassment after seeing them relent. "I didn’t even understand all of this myself before."

Lumine glanced at Lu Shiyuan, who was still absentmindedly staring off into the distance.

"Why did he teach you all that?" Paimon asked curiously.

"Because Brother Lu is incredibly knowledgeable and always willing to share what he knows with us," Xiangling said cheerfully. "I don’t have many skills, so the only way I can repay him is by cooking him delicious meals."

"It almost sounds like Xiangling’s been tricked by a con artist," Paimon muttered under her breath, not understanding the value of the knowledge Xiangling had gained.

Lumine, however, crossed her arms and looked thoughtful.

"Enough about that for now. Let me make that dish I promised," Xiangling said, suddenly remembering her earlier agreement. She pulled out a beautifully shaped, golden dish from her food bag, which looked like a small sand dune.

"What’s this?" Paimon asked, taking the dish eagerly.

"It’s spicy meat buns!" Xiangling explained. "This recipe has been passed down in my family for generations. They’re tasty and portable. I made a lot of them to make sure Brother Lu eats well during our travels."

"You spoil him too much!" Paimon grumbled, taking a big bite of the spicy meat bun. Her eyes widened in delight before she even swallowed. "This is amazing! How did you make it?"

"This dish is a bit complicated to prepare, especially since it needs flour," Xiangling pondered. "How about this? I’ll give you the recipe, and you can gather the ingredients. Then I’ll show you how to make it."

"Lumine, what do you think?" Paimon looked at her companion with pleading eyes. She really wanted to eat food like this every day, but with her small body, she knew she couldn’t cook it herself.

"It sounds troublesome, but since it’s for Paimon..." Lumine began to agree but was interrupted by an angry shout from afar.

"Hey! What are you all doing here?!"

Everyone turned to see a young man in Mondstadt’s leather armor running toward them in a hurry. When he reached them, he scolded, "This is a wild boar habitat. You can’t hunt here! What if you scare the boars away?"

Confronted by one of the locals, Xiangling quickly admitted her mistake. The young hunter, whose name was Alan, didn’t press the issue but asked them to go apologize to the head of the hunters, Draff.

The request was reasonable, so they packed up their things and headed toward Springvale, which wasn’t far.

Draff was a stern-looking, muscular middle-aged man, though the cat ears on his head made him look somewhat out of place.

"So, you’re Xiangling?" Draff didn’t even glance at the others, his eyes locked onto Xiangling with a cold gaze.

Everyone except Lu Shiyuan tensed up. Draff looked like a tough customer.

"I’ve heard all about you," Draff said, narrowing his eyes.

"He looks so scary!" Paimon’s hands were clenched nervously against her chest.

"Violence isn’t the answer," Lumine added, trying to de-escalate the situation.

But Draff’s next words caught everyone off guard.

With his hands clasped together, he bent over in a deep bow and sincerely said, "Please help us promote our meat products!"

Draff explained that he believed Springvale’s meat was top-tier, but its fame had yet to spread beyond Mondstadt. He had been trying to promote it but had no avenues to do so. When he heard that a famous chef from Liyue Harbor was visiting, he immediately rushed over to ask for her help.

However, Xiangling politely declined, saying she had her principles.

As Draff and Xiangling continued their conversation, Lumine found herself tuning out. Instead, her attention drifted back to Lu Shiyuan, who seemed to take every situation with an air of calm expectation.

"He acts like nothing surprises him," Lumine thought, her curiosity piqued.

Sensing her gaze, Lu Shiyuan turned and gave her a small smile.

Lumine quickly averted her eyes, feeling even more confused. "There’s definitely something strange about him. It’s like he’s looking at me as if we’re old friends... but we’ve only just met."

Though she was sure Lu Shiyuan meant no harm, the mystery of his behavior lingered in her mind, leaving her with even more questions.