Chapter 74: Internal Strife

The wolf demon did not stand on ceremony.

Eagerly lifting the cup, he pressed his mouth to it.

The amber-colored liquor soaked into his fur and rolled down his throat. He held the cup there, savoring the taste for quite some time before finally setting it down heavily.

“As expected of Madam’s private reserve. This is truly fine wine!”

“Is that so?” Zhou You poured himself another cup and casually replied, “I’m not much of a wine connoisseur. I only know it tastes good. What makes it so special?”

The wolf demon seemed to think Zhou You was deliberately trying to be friendly. Combined with that faint smile, which was highly deceptive, he no longer cared much about their previous conflict and licked his lips as he explained.

“Special? There’s a lot to it. First, the ingredients have to be excellent. Even slightly inferior rice won’t do. It has to be the very best freshly harvested grain...”

“And then there’s the fermentation time...”

The wolf demon rambled on for several minutes before finally looking at the wine bottle with some regret.

“A pity. The wine is excellent, but there aren’t any side dishes. Drinking it like this is a bit unsatisfying.”

Zhou You pointed his chopsticks at the leftovers on the table.

“Side dishes? Aren’t there some right here?”

The wolf demon immediately let out a mocking laugh.

“What kind of side dish is that? I don’t know what zombies eat, but we demons can’t live without meat.”

The wolf demon glanced around and suddenly noticed the bundle at his feet.

Showing off, he grabbed it and slammed it onto the table.

“Now this is what you call a side dish. Since you’re being so generous, I can’t be stingy either. These are all people I tortured to death some time ago. Every bit of meat was firm and tender. I was planning to have Madam process them, but I’ll reward you with them to accompany the wine.”

Looking at the shriveled heads whose eyes still seemed filled with despair, Zhou You gently shook his head.

“The appearance is passable, I suppose. But unfortunately, it’s still far too poor for my tastes.”

The wolf demon immediately shot to his feet in fury.

“This is poor?”

Zhou You merely took a sip of wine.

“Don’t rush. First tell me what’s so good about them.”

The wolf demon proudly lifted his chin.

“Let’s start with the one on the left. I scraped him to death little by little with a knife. Half his body had already become bone before he finally died. The one in the middle, I chopped his wife into pieces right in front of him. And that old man on the left, his grandson...”

Zhou You slowly shook his head.

“Too poor. Still far too poor...”

The wolf demon was becoming frantic.

“Then show me something better!”

At that, Zhou You smiled.

“I don’t have any better human meat. But as for other kinds of meat, I do have a candidate.”

The wolf demon immediately snorted.

“In times like these, what meat could you possibly get? Don’t tell me Animal Transformation meat. That stuff has to be specially processed to taste good. Madam isn’t here, and don’t tell me you’ve got that kind of skill yourself.”

Zhou You smiled.

“As for me, I really don’t know how to cook. The greatest culinary achievement of my life is making instant noodles. But I do know a lot about good ingredients. In fact, there’s a ready-made one right here.”

Before the wolf demon could ask what “instant noodles” meant, Zhou You continued.

“The ingredient I’m talking about was once praised as one of the finest delicacies under heaven. They say if you roll it through soup three times, even immortals can’t keep their footing. Even eminent monks who have upheld their vows for decades would be unable to resist breaking their precepts once they smelled it.”

The wolf demon swallowed.

“What kind of meat are you talking about?”

“Why, that would be...” Zhou You deliberately dragged out the words before smiling. “Stewed dog meat.”

“...Wait. Where would there be dog meat around here?”

Zhou You did not answer.

He merely smiled at him.

Very quickly, the wolf demon understood.

Even beneath the fur covering his face, his complexion instantly turned red.

“You motherfucker, are you calling me a dog? Bastard! I’ve been giving you face, haven’t I? Let’s see if I don’t kill...”

Before he could finish his threat.

The next moment.

Zhou You was no longer sitting in the chair.

Looking again, there was only a figure advancing like a phantom!

When it was time to strike hard, strike hard. At all other times, why waste so many words?

The bloodstained blade slipped from his sleeve.

Before the cold edge struck another’s flesh, it first sliced across his own.

As the acceleration effect appeared, a faint green sheen emerged along the blade.

It was the corpse poison contained within Zhou You’s blood.

“You’re trying to start a fight with me?!”

The wolf demon roared.

He kicked the table forward, attempting to block Zhou You’s advance.

But Zhou You casually kicked it aside, sending the obstacle flying several meters away.

The martial foundation of this body far exceeded his expectations.

Even though he knew no techniques, instinctive reactions alone were enough to contend with an enemy.

Thus Zhou You charged directly before the wolf demon.

His body halted abruptly.

Before the wolf demon could react, the blade swung forward.

Blood sprayed!

A deep wound was carved across the wolf demon’s chest.

It stretched from bottom to top, likely dozens of centimeters long, deep enough to expose bone. The sight was horrifying.

Yet Zhou You could not help frowning.

The creature’s hide was too thick!

His original intention had been to kill the wolf demon outright with this surprise attack.

Even if he could not kill it, he had at least hoped to render it incapable of fighting.

But the demon’s fur and hide were simply too thick.

The blade had failed to stab through!

Forced to adapt on the spot, he changed the thrust into a slash.

Though it created a massive wound, it remained far from fatal.

The wolf demon, however, did not see it that way.

As pain pierced deep into his bones, his eyes immediately turned blood-red.

His elongated jaws spread open, and a sinister growl emerged from between his gleaming fangs.

“I’m going to kill you!”

With those words, he lowered himself.

Like a true wild beast, all four limbs pressed against the ground.

Then his entire body shot forward like an arrow.

Three or four meters vanished in the blink of an eye.

Zhou You instinctively twisted aside.

Yet despite dodging, the difference in speed still left a bloody scratch across his face.

But the gray figure gave him no chance to recover.

Powerful hind legs kicked off the wall.

The foul-smelling maw opened to its widest extent.

Every strand of blood between the teeth was visible.

But at that moment, a true word rang out.

“Om.”

The wolf demon’s body instantly froze like a statue.

The next instant, the blade flashed again.

This time it was not aimed at the fur-covered chest.

Instead, it targeted the wolf demon’s far more vulnerable throat.

However, just as the tip was about to touch the skin, the demon suddenly regained its ability to move and leapt away.

A difference of mere inches led to a difference of miles.

The wolf demon immediately burst into arrogant laughter.

“Trash! Fucking trash! Did you really think I’d fall for the same trick twice? I knew you had something like this up your sleeve! Just you wait right there. If I don’t tear you apart alive today, then my name isn’t Lord Qingshan!”

Zhou You did not respond.

He looked at the wolf demon, who was howling insults with a smug expression.

Then he looked at the trace of green on his dagger.

It seemed the old Daoist’s assessment had been correct.

This thing really was an idiot.