Chen Han managed to keep up with the little mutts this time.
Because they weren't moving fast this time, but they did have some momentum.
His phone camera was constantly filming them, after all, to use the Spirit Shadow Treasure Mirror to transmit recordings and gain more followers to increase reputation, he had to first take the recordings.
The phone camera's quality was decent, so even though he was some distance away from the little mutts, he could still capture them clearly.
Moreover, he roughly knew the destination of the little mutts; they were heading towards the village entrance.
What surprised him was that the little mutt was not the biggest in size but was strutting at the head of the group as the leader, even though there was a big black dog skittering behind.
Just as they got a little way out of the village, the game alert popped up again:
[Danger Warning: The demonic aura in this area has become denser, indicating a gathering of demons; their numbers are beyond imagination, please be very careful!]
Chen Han roughly understood that his 'adventurous' exploration should soon yield results.
So he also spoke to the phone recording, "The demonic aura here is getting denser, there must be a gathering of demons, the number is not small, I have to be careful."
While speaking like the game prompt, he felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, the game system shamelessly considered the little mutt as the Dog Demon, and a bunch of stray dogs as a group of Dog Demons, but he was recording a video to upload to Tiao Yin, it felt like playing the netizens for fools.
However, for reputation, he decided to go for it.
Just after a turn out of the village, he was stunned by the scene ahead, only to see the group of stray dogs led by the little mutt suddenly clash with another group of stray dogs, both sides facing off, barking loudly.
The scene really surprised Chen Han, it was just like watching a Triad movie, when both sides exchange verbal taunts before a fight.
Had these dogs joined some gang or something?
The white dog with one lame leg was barking the fiercest, as if accusing, causing Chen Han to even suspect whether the stray dogs outside the village had beaten up this white dog, leading then to call upon the village dogs, which resulted in this fantastical gang meeting.
What a society!
Really damn social!
As he wondered, the dog standoff suddenly became agitated, as if negotiations had broken down, then he knew why the little mutt could act like the big boss, it was charging ahead, directly pouncing on one of the outside dogs.
Whereas the large black dog faced off with a stray, only exchanging persistent barks with each other, neither candidate making any moves, as if trying to best the other with sheer vocal might.
"Woof Woof!~"
"Awoo!~"
The fight was exceptionally fierce, dust flying, and screams echoing.
Now he understood why the game system warned of danger, so many stray dogs, absolutely dangerous if they fixate on you, a hospital visit and shots at least would be unavoidable.
Before long, it seemed that the outside dogs lost, slinking away dejectedly, while the little mutts were strutting proudly, barking aggressively at the retreating intruders.
They had won the fight.
Chen Han watched as the little mutts returned to the village, but his gaze was drawn to the spot of the dog brawl, noting a floating, glowing object there.
Gamers would recognize this instantly, it was a loot drop!
He hurried over, to find a bloody dog leg, but this dog leg was unusually large, definitely not something a real dog could have.
Then a game alert also sounded:
[Congratulations on discovering the purpose of the Dog Demon gathering, it turns out to be an internal feud within the Dog Demon Race, with heavy casualties, the sect's base crisis is temporarily resolved. In your exploration, you found that although the Dog Demons took their fallen comrades' bodies, they left behind a Dog Demon leg stump.
Hint: Demon Beast blood and meat are highly nourishing!]
Chen Han had eaten dog meat before.
Although the Chen Family came from the Taoist Zhengyi sect background, some Taoist secular families would abandon unnecessary rules and bans due to various reasons like the times or circumstances, like eating dog meat.
Such families were known as the World-Entering Clan.
Even many Worldly Daoists consumed dog meat, much like Uncle Nine in films.
However, he had never eaten Dog Demon meat before, such a thing did not exist in reality.
Reaching out, he stored the Dog Demon leg stump in his stash and checked the notes:
[Dog Demon Leg Stump: This is a leg stump of a Dog Demon which had turned into a demon beast, the blood and meat contain unique essence, if stewed following a medicinal recipe, essence can be extracted, which has strengthening and great nourishing effects.]
Though he often criticized the game system's odd data packet loading, he had to admit that the rewards were indeed real.
This was real Dog Demon meat.
Plus, the Chen Family still retained some medicinal recipe traditions, and he had tried some of those recipes, though their effects were ordinary, nothing miraculous.
Now looking at the Dog Demon leg stump, a thought occurred to him, could it be that the medicinal recipes also required rare materials?
Coincidentally, the Chen Family had a medicinal recipe for a dog meat stew.
He glanced at the Dog Demon leg stump, hastily returning to the Chen Family, then headed to Little Uncle's yard and entered the kitchen.
Seeing no one there, he took the leg stump out of the stash and began to process it with a knife.
Just a few slices in, he was already feeling awkward.
The Dog Demon meat was extremely tough.
Given his current physical condition, even cutting the skin of the Dog Demon leg stump was strenuous, even with Little Uncle's sharp knife, he was out of breath after cutting just a little and had to stop to rest.
After several stops and starts, he managed to cut a third of the Dog Demon leg meat.
This amount would be sufficient to make a pot of dog meat stew.
He put the remaining Dog Demon leg back into storage, so he could make two more portions in the next couple of days.
He put the Dog Demon meat into the stew pot, then searched Little Uncle's cabinets for some herbs, star anise, cinnamon... grass fruit, magnolia... angelica, Jingtian...
Taking out these herbs one by one, he followed the proportions and added them to the pot, then added water and started the fire to stew it.
Dog meat stew generally requires two hours of simmering, so he set an alarm and went to the yard to rest, feeling as if his body might collapse after all the work.
Two hours passed by quickly.
When the alarm sounded, even from the yard, he could smell the strong aroma of herbs wafting.
However, when he returned to the kitchen and saw the situation, he was dumbfounded, the dog meat stew, which should have been ready after over an hour's simmering, still hadn't fully cooked.
This...
He realized that two hours was the timing for normal dog meat.
This was Dog Demon meat, so the timing couldn't be the same.
He had to keep stewing it.
Glancing at the water in the pot, he boiled more water on the side and added it to continue the simmer.
It was his first time stewing Dog Demon meat, lacking experience.
As time passed, as it simmered longer, the herbal aroma grew more and more intense, making one's mouth water.
After more than two additional hours...
By the time the sky had completely darkened, another game alert popped up:
[Congratulations on successfully preparing a special herbal dish, having extracted the essence of Dog Demon blood and meat, the dish carries special effects: Enhance Physical Strength +2, Enhance Immunity +2, Herbal Aroma +1.
Hint: 1. Dog Demon essence represents the life force and power source of a Dog Demon, once extracted, it will gradually dissipate, you must consume it within half an hour.
2. Normal bodies have limited absorption for essence effects daily, over-replenishing can be harmful.]
Receiving this game hint, Chen Han instinctively noted the Enhance Physical Strength +2, Enhance Immunity +2 attributes.
He thought these attributes would definitely benefit him, he quickly grabbed a bowl and served himself.
After such lengthy simmering, the soup was now very thick.
After a sip, his eyes lit up, the wonderful herbal aroma filled his mouth, and the soup was incredibly delicious.
The key was, after a few mouthfuls of the soup, he distinctly felt a slight warmth spreading from his stomach to his entire body.
This sensation was extremely soothing, making him feel as if he was in a state of utmost perfection.
He had experienced such a state during a Spiritual Energy Flush before, he hurriedly checked his lifespan data: 27 days 18 hours 43 minutes.
But in an instant, he noticed it had increased a little, to: 27 days 18 hours 59 minutes.
It increased by 16 minutes all at once.
The Enhance Physical Strength +2 effect could strengthen his body, allowing for longer resistance against cancer cells, and the Enhance Immunity +2 effect could boost his immunity, naturally improving his ability to resist cancer cells.
Therefore, this herbal dish made with Dog Demon meat could also extend his lifespan.