While out searching for ingredients, Zhao Tiansheng had also taken the time to dig up a good number of spring bamboo shoots. Still unearthed, they were tender, sweet, and crisp—the perfect supporting ingredient for meatballs.
However, even unearthed spring bamboo shoots needed to be blanched and soaked in cold water to remove their oxalic acid.
Otherwise, the taste would be astringent, even with a high proportion of fat in the meat filling. He adjusted the base flavor of the meat filling with salt, sugar, light soy sauce, and pepper.
After whipping the mixture to incorporate all the flavors, eggs and starch were indispensable for binding it and achieving a firm, springy texture.
Just as Zhao Tiansheng was busy with the meat filling, the talismans he had placed outside his small eatery began transmitting everything they sensed.
They were pulled into the special domain used by the Non-human World to enter the eatery. The handful of thugs who had been spying on Zhao Tiansheng’s establishment were instantly hit by a terrifying, sinister aura. By the time they tried to sever the connection, it was too late!
The oppressive aura was formed by the convergence of such an uncountable number of the Non-human World.
How could these thugs, who had barely begun their Sacrificial Cultivation and made no progress since, possibly withstand it?
Amidst terrified screams, their eyes rolled back into their heads, and they foamed at the mouth before passing out cold.
They wouldn’t die, but the shock would inevitably leave them seriously ill for some time.
Meanwhile, in the study of a wealthy estate, a man dressed as a steward rushed in, hurrying to report everything he had just witnessed to his master.
At almost the exact same moment, the talismans around Zhao Tiansheng’s eatery were triggered by this power and instantly incinerated!
A flowerpot in the study suddenly erupted in fierce flames...
For a moment, the study was utterly silent.
"The guests have arrived!"
Zhao Tiansheng, who was in the final stages of preparing the meat filling, ignored his hands, which were covered in the mixture, and looked up toward the outside.
He soon lowered his head again and quickened his pace. A wok of oil, long since heated, sat before him. Meanwhile, he had already scooped out the minced meat from a prepared broth, squeezing it in cheesecloth to extract every last drop of its essence. He was now adding soaked millet and rice to that very broth, bringing it to a rolling boil.
At this moment, the small eatery was filled with swirling steam and lingering smoke from the hearth, and the air was thick with rich aromas.
A mere wisp of this aroma drifted out from the eatery and into the special domain, causing many of the Non-human World who had already arrived to grow restless!
...
Under the red light bathing the area outside the eatery, countless black shadows began to coalesce into solid forms. Nearly ninety percent of them were wandering ghosts born of accidents or unyielding obsessions, or Spirit-Connected Demon Species still in their beastly forms.
A few, however, were particularly unusual. There was a Wheel of Hell Ghost seemingly fused with a burning wheel; a Mountain Spirit covered in short fur that stood upright like an ape-like humanoid; and an old turtle that had crawled out of the water. This turtle could already stand on two legs, wore a small official’s hat, and had faintly discernible facial features and purple markings on its shell.
Of them all, the old turtle was the most powerful, already at the Peak of the Little Demon Tier Four level. It was just one step away from achieving a semi-humanoid form. Once it did, it could likely claim a decent official post for itself in the Xiangshui river outside Jinning Town.
Truth be told, a gathering of the Non-human World led by a Tier Four old turtle would be enough to strike fear into the hearts of most people, no matter where they were.
Even the typical Garrison of a village, a cultivator at the Star Realm, Tier Five, Five Micros Realm, would have to worry about whether their Star Power could recover in time. They would fear being overwhelmed by these Low Level members of the Non-human World, like an elephant brought down by a swarm of ants.
But here, at the eatery, such a large gathering of the Non-human World was the norm.
Even the newly sentient demon beasts of Tiers One and Two, who had just achieved Spirit Communication, and the wandering ghosts had all been stirring restlessly a moment ago.
But when the members of the Non-human World with stronger Cultivation made no move, the lesser ones naturally settled down.
This sense of hierarchy, seemingly even stronger than that of humans, was something Zhao Tiansheng had only noticed after he started running the eatery.
Knowing his guests outside were growing impatient, his hands moved in a blur. He controlled the oil’s temperature, waiting for it to reach about 160 degrees. He kept the meatballs around the size of a thumb, a portion that would allow them to be fried to a perfect shape all at once.
Zhao Tiansheng grabbed a handful of the meat filling. With a gentle squeeze, a perfectly-sized ball of meat emerged from the space between his thumb and forefinger. He scooped it up with a spoon that had been dipped in the hot oil, and the meatball dropped into the wok.
At first, this series of movements was still at a speed a normal person could follow.
But as Zhao Tiansheng accelerated, all that could be seen were afterimages, accompanied only by the sound of meatballs dropping into the oil.
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP
Soon, the wok was filled to the brim, with meatballs floating in two layers. Zhao Tiansheng, having somehow already washed his hands and retrieved an iron slotted spoon, began to nudge the meatballs around in the oil.
He stirred them from time to time, ensuring the layers turned over and cooked evenly.
SSSHHHHHHH...
The sound of water vapor hissing in the hot oil, accompanied by a rich, meaty aroma, quickly filled the entire eatery. It was enough to send the waiting members of the Non-human World into a new fit of restlessness.
This time, however, there was far less Evil Qi and killing intent in their agitation. Instead, an almost unbelievably potent hunger radiated from them!