In just a few breaths, that half of the rabbit turned into a dried corpse.
"Hmm... It seems it was really hungry," Chen Qing murmured, stroking his chin as he looked at the Blood Qi Whirlwind Blade Gu on the corpse.
Chen Qing reached out and retrieved the Blood Qi Whirlwind Blade Gu.
"Hmm... It seems absorbing about half a rabbit's worth of blood only fills it halfway. To be truly full, it probably needs a whole rabbit." He put away the Blood Qi Whirlwind Blade Gu.
He looked at the other half of the rabbit, squatted down, picked it up, and with a Qi Blade condensed on his right index finger, he sliced along the rabbit's back midline, slowly peeling off the skin.
With his right hand enveloped in a bloody Qi vortex, he reached into the rabbit's body, pulling out the internal organs, trachea, intestines, and bladder.
"Huh? These bones..." Chen Qing touched the bones, which felt soft yet resilient. With a movement of the Qi vortex, the bones were cut off like wooden twigs.
"Hmm... These bones... are... Oh! That's right! A Softbone Rabbit!" Chen Qing touched the bones, realizing the true identity of this rabbit.
Softbone Rabbits are a very common type of rabbit. Their meat is tender, making them delicious even when simply roasted. They are also very weak and reproduce quickly, which is why even Mortal hunters from Red Maple Village often bring some Softbone Rabbits back from their hunts.
After processing the Softbone Rabbit's carcass, Chen Qing looked around. It was a good spot to start a fire and roast meat.
Deep inside the cave, there was a flat rock. Chen Qing placed the rabbit meat on the stone and began to make a fire with the flint he carried. Dry branches ignited with a crackle, flames licking at the dry wood, emitting warmth. He skillfully used a stick to suspend the Softbone Rabbit over the fire, and as the meat heated up, fat gradually seeped out, dripping into the embers with a sizzling sound.
Under the flickering firelight, Chen Qing's face alternated between bright and dim. While rotating the stick to ensure the rabbit meat cooked evenly, he used a dagger to shave off a few herb leaves and sprinkled them over the surface of the rabbit meat. He had specifically collected these herbs when entering the mountains, as they could both remove the gamey smell and enhance the aroma. Soon, the cave was filled with an enticing scent of roasted meat, mixed with the slightly bitter fragrance of the herbs, making his mouth water.
"Ah! It smells so good!" Chen Qing looked at the rabbit, his mouth nearly watering.
Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, watching the rabbit meat gradually turn from pale pink to golden brown.
The Softbone Rabbit's meat was already tender, and after being roasted over the fire, it became even more succulent, with even the bones exuding a fragrant char. He couldn't help but swallow, adding a few more logs to the fire to make the flames stronger.
Chen Qing added a few more thick logs to the bonfire, sparks crackling and illuminating the cave walls with flickering light. He squatted by the fire, carefully adjusting the height of the rabbit meat with a wooden stick, ensuring that the dripping fat would ignite the newly added kindling. As the flames surged, a golden-brown crust formed on the rabbit's skin, and fat slid along the muscle fibers, splashing tiny sparkles into the fire.
"The heat needs to be even," he murmured, picking up a few dried redleaf grass leaves with his fingertips, crushing them, and sprinkling them evenly over the rabbit meat. The moment the herbs met the fat, there was a sizzling sound, and white smoke, carrying a rich aroma, shot up, mixing with the pine scent of burning wood, lingering in the cave.
The rabbit was cooked very quickly.
Chen Qing pulled the roasted rabbit from the fire. The scorching hot meat left red marks on his palm, but he paid no mind. He pinched the crispy rabbit ear between his thumb and forefinger, tearing off the entire piece of skin and meat with a 'crunch'.
The crisp sound echoed in the cave, and fat dripped between his fingers, splashing tiny golden sparks on the stone floor. He eagerly brought the rabbit ear to his mouth; the crunch as his teeth bit into the charred crust, mixed with the warm juices of the tender meat inside, exploded with a salty and herb-like bitter taste on his tongue.
Ignoring the heat, he directly tore off a rabbit leg. The muscle fibers slowly separated under his grip, seemingly elastic, and made a resilient 'squeak' when torn at the joint. As the fattest hind leg meat entered his mouth, the fat flowed like a warm current down his throat. The meat was tender yet firm, each fiber coated with the savory salt that had melted.
His swallowing became faster and faster, completely oblivious to his hand being soaked in grease, feeling only the empty hunger in his stomach being filled layer by layer.
"Aiya! So good! Truly good!"
He then attacked the belly and rib area, using a dagger to trim off the charred edges, revealing the pinkish-white interior. The meat here was even more tender and resilient, with a slight bounce when chewed, as if the Softbone Rabbit's vitality still lingered within its muscle fibers.
Finally, he picked up the entire rabbit carcass, gnawing the meat from the backbone clean, even licking away the last traces of oil from his fingertips.
Although it sounded like he ate a lot, in reality, he was only half-full, as it was only half a rabbit.