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Chapter 56: Meat Should Be Eaten While It's Hot

Wang Qing sat on the chair, rubbing her shoulders one moment, then her legs the next, her every word and gesture filled with provocative allure towards the horse-taming man.

Wang Qing was already beautiful, and her figure was incredibly voluptuous. With her blatant teasing, the burly man instantly found himself unable to resist.

However, it seemed the burly man had some reservations, so he didn't act on Wang Qing's implied desires.

The burly man's reaction, far from making Wang Qing give up, instead ignited an even stronger desire within her. She became more insistent, adopting a posture that swore she wouldn't rest until she had "devoured" the burly man herself.

Seeing this, the burly man swallowed hard. To suppress the surging impulses within him, he quickly moved to the stove, turning his back to Wang Qing, as if another direct interaction with her would unleash the beast inside.

"Beautiful lady, aren't you hungry? You've come at just the right time. I've made a pot of mutton stew, it's almost ready."

In front of the burly man was a simple stove, with a pot resting on top. As the lid was on, it was impossible to tell what was simmering inside, but judging by the aroma, it was likely meat.

Originally, Wang Qing's attention had been entirely on the burly man, and the intense hunger she'd felt had somehow vanished. But now, hearing the burly man's words, a ravenous hunger immediately returned.

"Very well. Once I'm full, I'll have the strength for an earth-shattering battle with you. We'll see if your hoe is mightier, or if my field is sturdier."

The burly man grunted in acknowledgement, then turned and walked towards Wang Qing, a simple, honest smile on his face, holding a pot in both hands.

The burly man didn't remove the lid. He simply placed the pot before Wang Qing, and hot, fragrant steam puffed out from the gaps in the lid.

The aroma was indeed rich, but Wang Qing couldn't help but furrow her brow. She opened her mouth and asked, "Big brother, do you have bowls and chopsticks?"

The burly man chuckled honestly. "Beautiful lady, this is bone-in hand-grabbed meat. It's more flavorful when you hold the bone and gnaw on it, so you don't need a bowl."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qing revealed an "oh, I see" expression. "Alright then, I'll try this barbarian way of eating. A lady like me is usually very particular about how she eats, but since circumstances don't permit, I won't fuss about it."

As she spoke, Wang Qing reached out and lifted the pot lid. A rich, potent aroma wafted up, making her mouth water.

Inside the pot was a snow-white broth, and it was unclear what kind of meat lay beneath. However, above the broth, chunks of white bone were visible, with bits of cooked shredded meat still clinging to them.

Wang Qing was completely captivated by the rich aroma. She no longer pretended to be a lady, nor did she utter any more words to elevate her status. She swallowed, then reached out and grabbed a bone.

She guessed that although the bones exposed above the broth didn't have much meat on them, the parts submerged in the soup definitely held fragrant, tender meat.

Because she was too eager, the moment Wang Qing's hand touched the bone, she was scalded. She shrieked, snatching her hand back, blowing on the burned spot while muttering curses.

"Wrap the bone with this, and you won't get burned."

The burly man handed Wang Qing a tissue. Wang Qing snatched it, a look of complaint on her face. "Hmph, why didn't you give it to me sooner? Were you trying to watch me make a fool of myself?"

The burly man didn't bother to explain, merely watching Wang Qing with a cheerful smile.

Seeing the burly man's expression, Wang Qing liked him even more. She made up her mind: once she was full, she would definitely wring this burly man dry.

After giving the burly man a teasing look, Wang Qing used the tissue to wrap the bone, then pulled the entire bone out of the broth.

As expected, the meat was indeed all beneath the bone. It was stewed to perfection, incredibly tender and fragrant.

Looking at the meaty bone in her hand, Wang Qing's face broke into a triumphant smile. Her guess had been correct, and she suddenly felt very clever, brimming with pride at her own intelligence.

Without hesitation, she blew on the meaty bone, then bit into the plumpest part.

A mouthful of tender meat was torn off by her teeth. It was scalding hot, yet incredibly fragrant. Wang Qing had never tasted such delicious meat before. She wolfed it down, swallowing the meat without properly chewing, then immediately took another bite from the bone, tearing off a large piece of flesh.

Before she could even swallow that large mouthful of meat, Wang Qing froze. With her mouth full, she stared blankly at the meaty bone in her hand.

Unbeknownst to her, the meaty bone in her hand had, at some point, transformed into a human hand—a human hand that had been stewed to a pulp.

Though it had been stewed to a pulp, the five fingers of the hand were still distinct. Forget seeing it with one's eyes; even a blind person, by touch alone, could instantly identify it as a human hand—a stewed human hand.

Not only that, the tissue the burly man had given her to wrap the bone was no longer a tissue; it was a piece of skin, a piece of human skin.

The sight before her made Wang Qing's pupils dilate. With a face full of horror, she shrieked, so terrified that she immediately flung the meaty bone from her hand.

Her mouth had been stuffed with meat, and that scream instantly lodged the meat in her throat. She quickly spit out all the meat in her mouth, then retched violently.

The meat caught in her throat was successfully expelled, but along with it came a copious amount of fresh blood.

Each time Wang Qing retched, a torrent of fresh blood gushed from her mouth. She was utterly terrified, her entire body trembling.

She dared not continue vomiting and quickly clamped her mouth shut, for she had no idea how much more blood she would expel if she kept going.

Outside, the sky had mysteriously darkened, and the room was plunged into pitch blackness. Already consumed by extreme terror, Wang Qing, enveloped by such an environment, was scared out of her wits.

She shrieked loudly, her beautiful face contorting with extreme inner dread. She had never known such terror; this utterly tormenting fear pushed her to the brink of a mental breakdown.

Just as she was crying and wailing, snot and tears streaming down her face, a light suddenly flickered on in the dim room. The light was faint, but Wang Qing looked as if she had seen hope.

At this moment, she had no thought of wondering how the room had electricity; she only knew that with light, she wouldn't be so terrified.

But she was wrong.

When the dim light illuminated the room, the scene within left Wang Qing unable to even shriek.

The entire room was filled with dismembered limbs, hands and feet chopped into pieces of all shapes and sizes. They oozed blood, staining the entire room crimson.

And the burly man, now clutching a large cleaver, was squatting on the ground, hacking furiously at a corpse. As he chopped, grotesque cackles, completely unlike his previous honest chuckles, emerged from his mouth.

"Horse-taming man, you are mighty and strong!"

The burly man sang, enunciating each word. With every syllable, the cleaver in his hand would fall heavily onto the corpse, as if keeping rhythm with his song.

Blood spurted. The corpse on the ground had been hacked beyond recognition by the burly man, but its face remained perfectly intact. When Wang Qing's gaze fell upon that face, she nearly fainted on the spot.

Wang Qing knew that face far too well. She could be certain that no one in this world was more familiar with it than she was, for that face belonged to no one else but herself.

That face was now directly confronting her, its blood-red eyes wide open, gazing at her with venomous hatred, two trails of bloody tears streaming from the corners of its eyes.

"Agh!"

Wang Qing could bear it no longer. Her face contorted with horror, she shrieked, scrambling and rolling, desperate to escape this terrifying shack.

At this moment, how could she possibly still be thinking about a horse-taming man? Even a horse-racing man held no interest for her now.

Her guts had been scared out of her. Her hunger was gone, her injuries didn't hurt, and her body felt strong. For now, she was utterly consumed by terror, leaving no room to care about anything else.

The wooden door had closed shut at some unknown point. Wang Qing, like a madwoman, rushed to it, frantically pulling.

The wooden door didn't remain stuck like in the movies; with a sharp tug from her, it opened easily with a creak.

However, after the door opened, the sight before her froze her body in place.

The burly man, who had just been inside hacking at the corpse, had inexplicably appeared outside the wooden door.

The burly man was still the same burly man: a powerful physique, solid muscles, and the suggestive animal hide wrapped around his waist. But his face had changed.

Now, the burly man's face was not only completely devoid of handsomeness, but it could no longer even be considered a human face. It was horrifyingly stitched together from scraps of minced meat, with blood continuously oozing from the seams.

One could imagine what a terrifying face it would be, bits of minced meat pieced together, then meticulously sewn with needle and thread. And with the added embellishment of fresh blood, heh heh, perfection.

Forget encountering such a horrific face suddenly in this environment; even in broad daylight, even on a crowded street, seeing such a terrifying face would surely scare someone half to death.

And Wang Qing, facing such a terrifying countenance in these circumstances, her inner terror was beyond imagination.

After a brief moment of stunned horror, Wang Qing erupted into an unprecedented shriek of terror, so intense that snot sprayed from her nose.

"Beautiful lady, meat should be eaten while it's hot. " On the burly man's horrific face, an utterly terrifying smile appeared.

"Agh!"

Amidst her terrified shriek, Wang Qing abruptly sat up in bed. Her face was streaked with tears, plastered with both tears and snot. Her entire body trembled violently, her complexion pale, her lips utterly drained of color.

*Knock, knock, knock! *

"Guest, are you alright?"

Outside the door, knocking resounded, followed by a man's concerned query. Judging by his tone, he sounded like hotel staff.

The sound reached her ears, pulling Wang Qing back from her terror. The prairie was gone, the terrifying shack had vanished, and the horse-taming man was no more.

Wang Qing rubbed her head painfully. Only then did she remember she was in a hotel. She had come here to get a room with Fatty Qu, but Fatty Qu had run off, leaving her alone in the hotel.

What prairie, what magnificent horses, what shack, what horse-taming man—none of it existed. All that terrifying experience she had just endured was merely a dream.

What was despair? Wang Qing had never truly experienced it before, but in that recent dream, she had clearly understood what despair felt like.

Fortunately, Heaven always leaves a path. Just as she was sinking into despair, the tables turned. She realized it was all just a dream. She was still in the hotel, and she was alive and well.

Wang Qing cried tears of joy, happily wiping all her tears and snot on the quilt.

*Knock, knock, knock! *

The knocking on the door became more urgent, and the man's voice, mirroring the quickening knocks, also grew anxious.

"Guest, are you alright? Guest! Guest! I need to call the police! I must call the police immediately! Something's happened to the guest inside!"

Wang Qing, still on the bed, initially didn't want to bother with the man knocking outside. But when she heard him anxiously talking about calling the police, her expression changed.

Without time to revel in the bliss of her near-escape, she quickly wrapped herself in her nightgown and got out of bed, striding towards the door while impatiently calling out, "Coming, coming! What's all the fuss about?"