Chapter 57 Dragon Golden Fish

Xue Yao placed both hands on her hips and looked down at her hard-earned catch with obvious satisfaction. "Hmph. Did you really think you could escape a professional survivor?"

She crouched beside the pot and happily counted them one by one.

"One... two... three... four... five... six." She nodded with approval. "Perfect."

Pointing at the first two fish, she declared, "These are mine." Then she pointed at another pair. "These belong to Honghong."

Finally, she looked at the last two fish and smiled. "And these are for Tian Lan."

She folded her arms and nodded to herself. "Very fair."

After all, Honghong had risked her life yesterday, and Tian Lan had almost disappeared trying to protect her. The least she could do was prepare something delicious for both of them when they finally woke up.

With her plan settled, Xue Yao happily took out a large cooking pot from her storage ring, followed by bottles of seasonings, dried chilies, ginger, garlic, and several bundles of fragrant herbs. She lined everything up neatly on the stone table before rubbing her hands together with an excited grin.

"It’s been so long since I’ve made steamed spicy fish."

She hummed happily as she lit the fire beneath the stove. Before long, the oil began to sizzle. She tossed in the garlic first, followed by slices of ginger. The moment the dried chilies hit the hot oil, a rich, spicy fragrance spread through the courtyard, making her eyes brighten with satisfaction.

"Mmm... that’s the smell."

She stirred everything together a few more times before reaching into the iron pot and picking up one of the struggling fish.

"You’ve lived a good life," she said solemnly while looking at it. "Now it’s time to make one final contribution."

Just as she was about to prepare it...

"...Royal Concubine?" A hesitant voice suddenly came from behind her.

Xue Yao turned around with an innocent expression.

Several maidservants stood frozen at the entrance of the courtyard. Their eyes slowly moved from the six Dragon Golden Fish struggling inside the pot to the stove, then to the bottles of seasoning neatly arranged on the table before returning to the fish again.

Silence stretched through the air like a thick blanket.

One maid rubbed her eyes, convinced she had seen the wrong thing. Another quietly pinched herself.

The oldest maid’s lips trembled. "T-that..." She slowly raised a shaking finger toward the pot. "Those are... Dragon Golden Fish?"

Xue Yao blinked in confusion. "Yes." She smiled proudly. "I caught six."

The maid’s face turned deathly pale.

"...Six..." She repeated the word weakly before her knees suddenly gave way.

Thud.

She collapsed onto the ground. The other maidservants cried out in alarm and hurried over to catch her. "Sister Lan!"

The eldest maid pointed weakly toward the pot, gasping for breath. "The... Dragon Golden Fish..."

Those were the last words she managed to say before her eyes rolled back and she fainted completely.

Xue Yao stared at her in confusion. "...Did she faint because I caught too many?"

She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I can give her one if she wants."

The remaining maidservants exchanged pale, frightened looks. Without saying another word, two of them suddenly turned around and ran out of the courtyard as fast as they could.

"No!"

"We have to tell the Alpha!"

"The Royal Concubine is cooking the Dragon Golden Fish!"

Their panicked voices grew fainter and fainter as they disappeared into the distance.

Left standing beside the stove, Xue Yao looked down at the fish in the pot before glancing toward the courtyard entrance where they had vanished.

She tilted her head in complete confusion. "...What’s wrong with steamed spicy fish?"

Xue Yao stood there for a moment, staring toward the courtyard gates where the maidservants had disappeared. Even after they were completely out of sight, she still couldn’t understand why they had run away in such a panic.

She blinked twice before shrugging. "...Weird."

Her gaze slowly dropped to the six Dragon Golden Fish still flopping around inside the iron pot. Water splashed over the rim as they struggled, making her nod thoughtfully.

"They’re probably just shocked I caught so many." Satisfied with her own explanation, she stopped thinking about it and happily returned to the stove. She poured another spoonful of oil into the heated wok, and it immediately crackled across the hot surface.

"Now then..." She rolled up her sleeves with an eager smile. "Let’s make something worthy of all the trouble you made me go through."

She tossed in the chopped garlic first.

Sizzle!

The rich aroma spread through the courtyard almost instantly. A moment later, sliced ginger followed, then a generous handful of dried chilies. As the hot oil released the spicy fragrance, Xue Yao couldn’t help taking a deep breath.

"Mmm..." She smiled happily. "Now that’s the smell of home."

She stirred everything together with practiced movements before adding several fragrant herbs she had found after coming to the Beast World. The seasonings here were different from the ones on Earth, but after several days of experimenting, she had already found substitutes that worked surprisingly well.

She looked into the wok with satisfaction and nodded to herself. "Not bad at all."

Then she turned toward the pot of fish, folding her arms with a confident grin. "You six are about to witness what real cooking looks like."

...

At the same time, inside the Alpha’s residence, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different.

The little prince clung stubbornly to Lie Lang’s arm, refusing to let go no matter how many times the Alpha calmly tried to continue reading the report in his hand.

"Brother!" Little Ancestor complained, puffing out his cheeks. "You promised!"

Lie Lang didn’t even look up. "I promised nothing."

"You did!" Little Ancestor argued with his cheeks puffed with anger.

"I didn’t." Lie Lang replied nonchalantly.

"You were thinking about promising!" Little Ancestor stomped his feet on the ground.

Han Luo, who was leaning lazily against a nearby pillar with a cup of tea in his hand, almost laughed.

"Your Highness," he said with an amused smile, "that’s not how promises work."

The little prince immediately turned toward him. "Uncle Han Luo!"

"Hm?" Han Luo hummed lazily.

"You said a righteous beast should keep their word." Little Ancestor said while glaring at Lie Lang.

"I did." Han Luo answered not with so much enthusiasm as he could already sense where the conversation was going.

"Then make Brother keep his word too." Little Ancestor pointed at Lie Lang.

Han Luo spread his hands helplessly. "I’m only the Beta."