The meat delivered by butcher Zhang was truly generous.
Aside from a rack of ribs, there were also two large kidneys still glistening with fat, plus a pig liver. In this era, organs were usually discarded by the rich because of their strong smell when poorly handled—only the poor ate them. But in Su Jinxiu’s hands, they became premium blood-nourishing ingredients.
As the sun set, the dilapidated courtyard once again filled with an aroma that made one’s stomach ache with longing.
Su Jinxiu didn’t use much oil. She rendered a bit of fatty meat, sautéed ginger slices for fragrance, then tossed in scored kidneys over high heat. There was no cooking wine, so she secretly diluted some medical alcohol instead. The sharp smell evaporated in the pan, turning into a rich aroma. Finally, she sprinkled freshly picked wild scallions from the corner of the wall.
“Done.”
She carried the dish out, along with a bowl of braised pork ribs. The sugar glaze was made from rock sugar, glossy and red, trembling slightly as it coated the bones.
Huo Chen was still carving bamboo skewers. The courtyard was already filled with them, densely packed like a hedgehog’s nest.
Hearing her footsteps, he sheathed his blade and casually wiped the wood shavings off his black robe.
“Eat.”
Su Jinxiu pushed the plate of stir-fried kidneys in front of him, her eyes carrying the concerned gaze of a physician.
“Eat more. Whatever you lack, you nourish.”
Huo Chen’s chopstick froze mid-air.
He stared at the steaming, oddly cut pieces of organ meat. His eyelid twitched slightly.
Was this woman implying he had weak kidneys?
“I don’t eat organs,” he said coldly, redirecting his chopsticks toward the ribs instead.
“That won’t do,” Su Jinxiu reacted quickly, pinching a piece of kidney and forcing it into his bowl. “This is medicinal food. You lost too much blood and your kidney energy is depleted—this is the best supplement. I worked hard to clean it, there’s not even a trace of smell. Don’t be ungrateful.”
Huo Chen looked at the oily piece in his bowl, then at her determined eyes.
Finally, expressionless, he picked it up and ate it.
Crisp, tender, fragrant—indeed without any unpleasant taste. The unique texture combined with wild scallions stimulated the palate.
Su Jinxiu chewed on a bone while observing him. Seeing that he didn’t spit it out, she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
“Good boy.”
After dinner, night covered the mountain village.
Su Jinxiu cleaned up the dishes but didn’t sleep immediately. She sat cross-legged on the bed, closing her eyes as her consciousness sank into the system space.
The 100-plus merit points floated on the panel like glowing golden coins.
【Current Merit Value: 156 (including accumulated fragments).】
【Recommended exchange: Wilderness Survival First Aid Kit (Basic Version). Cost: 150 merit points.】
【Includes: multifunctional military dagger ×1, strong antibiotic ointment ×2, pain-relief spray ×1, high-calorie compressed biscuits ×2.】
“Exchange.”
She didn’t hesitate. This thing was essentially another life.
A flash of light appeared, and a dark green canvas pouch materialized in her hand. She poured out the contents, stored the medicine in her inner pocket, and picked up the dagger.
The scabbard was matte black composite material. The handle had anti-slip texture and felt heavy in her grip.
With a click, she pressed the mechanism.
The blade snapped out.
This was not ancient forged ironwork. It was modern industrial high-carbon steel. The blade was extremely thin, yet carried a cold bluish sheen—so sharp it could cut hair mid-air.
Huo Chen was wiping his rusted boning knife.
At the clear metallic click, he suddenly looked up, his gaze locking instantly onto the object in her hand.
A man who had lived through countless battlefields had instincts carved into his bones. One glance was enough.
This blade was extraordinary.
Even the imperial arsenal would not possess such material.
“Here,” Su Jinxiu said, closing the dagger and tossing it casually to him.
Huo Chen caught it.
It felt heavy, perfectly balanced. He drew it and sliced through the air silently. Then he gently cut the edge of the bed frame.
Like cutting tofu.
The hard old elm wood was shaved off cleanly, the surface smooth as a mirror.
His pupils contracted sharply.
A blade that could cut iron like mud.
If placed in the martial world, it would trigger a storm of bloodshed.
“Where did this come from?” he asked, eyes sharp as a blade, staring directly at her.
“Picked it up,” Su Jinxiu lied without blinking. “Inside the tree hollow where that wild boar died. Probably left behind by some unlucky general from a fallen dynasty. It was too sharp, I was afraid I’d cut my own fingers while cooking, so I gave it to you for self-defense.”
Huo Chen ran his fingers along the handle’s anti-slip texture.
Such craftsmanship and material could not possibly be relics from centuries ago.
This woman… had too many secrets.
From strange medicine to this divine weapon—she was like a bottomless mystery.
“Do you know how much this knife is worth?” Huo Chen asked in a low voice as he slid the blade back into its sheath.
“How much is it worth?” Su Jinxiu leaned in, her eyes sparkling. “Can it be exchanged for a cow?”
Huo Chen let out a cold laugh and tucked the blade close to his body.
“It can be exchanged for ten of these shabby houses.”
Su Jinxiu gasped sharply, clutching her chest with a heartbroken expression.
“I should’ve taken it to the pawnshop! Such a loss—what a loss!”
Watching her dramatic display of a money-obsessed miser beating her chest in grief, the cold edge in Huo Chen’s eyes softened slightly.
No matter where she had gotten it from, or whether she was human or something else entirely—at least right now, she had handed him a weapon capable of killing.
That alone was a declaration of allegiance.
“Move further inside,” Huo Chen said, clearly in a better mood. He tossed the old bone-scraping knife under the bed and placed the new blade beneath his pillow.
Su Jinxiu was still mourning the “ten houses” she had lost and reluctantly scooted inward.
“Husband, let’s discuss something. If we ever become so poor we can’t even open the pot, can you sell this blade and exchange it for rice?”
“Shut up.”
“Okay.”
That night, Huo Chen slept very peacefully.
Holding the blade in his hand felt like holding a fragment of control over his own fate.
As for Su Jinxiu, she spent the entire night dreaming.
In her dreams, knives fell from the sky—each one landing on the ground and transforming into a golden, shining mansion.