"What! Get to work, quickly." Yan Xing took out some nuts he had purchased separately and said to the two peasants, "These things are called Hawaii nuts. You two need to crack the shells, get the nutmeat inside, then crush the nutmeat with stones and sprinkle it over these braised meat chunks."
"Be quick about it. I, your Lord, am waiting to bring these werewolves their meal," Yan Xing said, demonstrating how to open a Hawaii nut for the two peasants.
The shell of the Hawaii nut was hard and smooth, making it difficult to peel. However, the seller had thoughtfully sawed a small notch in the shell in advance. All a customer needed to do was use the small iron piece provided by the seller to pry it open, and then they could easily enjoy it.
Yan Xing cracked open a Hawaii nut, extracted the nutmeat, and popped it into his mouth to chew.
Crispy and richly flavored. Truly a fine snack.
Then, Yan Xing handed the extra iron pieces to Lao Hansi and Eddie, letting them begin shelling the Hawaii nuts.
The Lord does whatever he wants, and his subjects just have to follow orders. If the Lord wants to feed these werewolves before fighting them, it shows that the Lord is powerful, open, and honest—a true knight. We only have to heed the Lord’s commands.
Yan Xing’s confidence gave Lao Hansi and Eddie enormous faith. They immediately squatted on the ground around a bag of nuts and started working.
The peasants were quite dextrous. After shelling two or three, Lao Hansi and Eddie mastered the technique for opening this type of nut. They extracted the nutmeat, crushed it with stones, and sprinkled it onto the braised meat chunks.
But the alluring scent of the meat made it very difficult not to eat. After a while, Eddie couldn’t help asking Yan Xing, who was lying nearby, "My Lord... this meat smells too good. Can we have a taste?"
Yan Xing lay on a nearby meadow, a blade of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth, his hands pillowed under his head as he gazed up at the starry sky. The dazzling stars could easily draw one in.
Hearing Eddie practically drooling, Yan Xing spat out the foxtail grass and said, "Eat if you want. There’s so much meat; those werewolves couldn’t possibly finish it all."
With Yan Xing’s permission, Eddie grabbed a piece of fatty meat with skin and stuffed it into his mouth. The fat melted in his mouth, fragrant but not greasy, compelling him to gulp it down without hesitation.
Then Eddie ate another Hawaii nut. I haven’t even been with the Lord for a day, and I’ve already eaten the most delicious things in the world!
Lao Hansi, meanwhile, ate as he worked.
Yan Xing grabbed a handful of Hawaii nuts and climbed to the top of the slope to surveil the werewolf huts.
The werewolves were still asleep, but the sentries had been rotated, showing that this werewolf patrol was indeed very vigilant.
Yan Xing continued his surveillance from the bushes. Hopefully, the werewolves of this world share the same physiology as their earthly relatives.
Hawaii nuts are a very nutritious type of nut. When eaten as a snack by humans, they offer many health benefits. But if a dog eats these nuts, it can suffer from severe poisoning symptoms: weakness, depression, vomiting, shaking, loss of bodily control, muscle spasms, and mental abnormalities. In mild cases, this can lead to a coma; in severe cases, death.
Wolves and dogs are kin.
Even though these werewolves had ’human’ in their name, they looked just like upright canine creatures.
So, first, I’ll feed them Hawaii nuts. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go back and buy some lime powder...
After a while, Eddie called out softly from the bottom of the slope, "My Lord, we’ve finished all the work."
Yan Xing descended from the slope. The two peasants had already smashed all the Hawaii nuts and mixed them into the braised meat chunks, so there was no fear that the werewolves would pick them out.
"Well done!" Yan Xing praised. He had the two peasants load the big bag of meat into the bed of the farming tricycle, then sat in the driver’s seat and said, "I’m going to feed those werewolves now. You two stay hidden here and don’t let them find you."
"Yes, My Lord. We will definitely hide very well..."
Yan Xing started the farming tricycle and left, taking a detour towards the northwest side of the huts.
This area was along the coast, and at night the wind blew from the northwest toward the southeast. Since Yan Xing and the others had hidden on the east side of the huts, their scent would not be carried by the air current to the werewolves with their keen sense of smell.
After reaching the northwest side of the huts, Yan Xing moved the big bag of meat from the tricycle to the ground and opened the mouth of the bag wide.
The scent of the meat immediately spread in all directions. Then, the wind carried it towards the hut area.
This smell was an extreme stimulant to the olfactory senses of any canine species.
All the sleeping werewolves opened their eyes almost simultaneously. They leaped up from the ground and turned towards the direction from which the smell of meat drifted, their noses twitching rapidly as they sniffed the air.
Drool continuously dripped from the corners of their mouths.
But their vigilance kept the werewolves from losing their minds. In the Wildwind Highlands, they were hunters when facing human peasants, but they could become the hunted when facing something else.
Yet this smell was indeed too peculiar.
The werewolves all looked towards the Great Werewolf, who was the leader of this patrol team.
"All werewolves on alert, keep a close watch on the peasants we’ve captured," growled the Great Werewolf in a low voice. He then pointed to two werewolves and said, "You, and you, go check out that direction. Be careful, and run back here immediately if you encounter danger."
The two designated werewolves, holding their flails cautiously, approached the direction from which the aroma came, still drooling incessantly.
The Great Werewolf on guard bared his teeth and growled at his subordinates.
This smell is so tempting, and I can sense a plot behind this drifting aroma. I have to keep warning my subordinates to stay rational, even though my own mouth is watering.
Before long, the two werewolves who had been sent out came back, carrying a bag made of some unknown material.
A big bag full of cooked meat!
As werewolves, meat was a common food for them, but they had never seen meat that emitted such a rich aroma.
The smell of meat filled the entire hut area. It was not only irresistible to the werewolves but also woke up the tied-up human peasants, who, smelling the scent, kept swallowing their saliva.
The werewolves howled, forming a circle and moving closer to the bag full of meat.
The Great Werewolf rushed to the side of the bag, baring his teeth and displaying a fierce expression to drive his subordinates away.
"Idiots! Do you think on these plains we would find so much meat that just happens to fall into our lap?" warned the Great Werewolf. "Someone has definitely placed this meat here for us to find. They’ve poisoned it, and we will die if we eat it."
The warning from the Great Werewolf sobered the werewolves up a bit, but the smell of the meat continued to tempt them.
As a part of the unenlightened and barbaric Swamp Tribe, not all werewolves could suppress their desires with reason.
Moreover, food was scarce in the swamp, and most werewolves were in a state of semi-starvation, rendering them even less able to resist the allure of the meat’s scent.
The Great Werewolf stood guard by the meat, while several other werewolves began trying to approach again.
The Great Werewolf growled a warning, but the approaching werewolves also bared their fangs, adopting a threatening posture.
At this moment, an older werewolf said to the Great Werewolf, "They are young, and they are too hungry. I suggest we have a peasant taste this meat. If he is poisoned and dies, these young werewolves will be afraid."