Chapter 120: Designing a Breakthrough

The aroma of rabbit meat was already enticing, but now, with the addition of cumin—a magical ingredient for roasting meat—it exuded an almost irresistible allure that stirred the souls of everyone present.

Seeing the crowd gathering around, Wei Renshi put away the cumin and continued roasting for a while longer, finally attracting the attention of the altar leader and the person beside him.

“What is that fragrance?” the altar leader asked as he approached.

Wei Renshi quickly stood up upon seeing him, revealing the roasted rabbit behind him.

“Did you make this?” the altar leader asked, eyeing the meat.

Old Shi beside him said, “Although my young lad is inexperienced, he has always been a skilled cook. Even our general is full of praise for him.”

Wei Renshi, wearing a worried expression, carefully picked up the roasted meat and handed it to the altar leader.

After a pause, he added, “If any heroes here want to eat, you can catch wild game for me... I will prepare it all.”

The altar leader glanced around. Seeing everyone’s eager faces and looking at the rabbit in Wei Renshi’s hands, he said, “Very well. You are permitted to catch wild game yourselves and have him cook it for you. But if anyone causes too much of a disturbance, don’t blame me for turning hostile—I will kill them on the spot!”

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately rejoiced.

Wei Renshi felt a surge of joy in his heart—this meant the purpose of the roasted meat had been achieved.

With the altar leader’s approval, the crowd dispersed, catching wild game nearby to bring back.

This place was a desolate wilderness, teeming with wild animals. Soon, those who had caught something began returning one by one, handing their prey to Wei Renshi for roasting.

Wei Renshi enlisted Old Shi and Gou Er to help, and gradually, as the pace slowed, others began assisting as well.

“Delicious! How can it be so delicious!” the crowd exclaimed as they tasted the roasted meat.

Since it was Wei Renshi’s first time making roasted meat, he hadn’t done anything special to it—this was to gradually gain their trust.

The three of them were watched closely, followed everywhere by a group of people. Wei Renshi’s goal was to slowly earn their confidence.

They didn’t need to trust him fully, only enough to allow the three of them to move around freely a few times and reach the water source.

The roasted meat was snatched up eagerly by everyone, but Wei Renshi and Old Shi’s group didn’t get a single bite.

However, they took the opportunity to secretly hide quite a bit of scraps, which brought a small sense of satisfaction to Wei Renshi.

As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to return from luxury to frugality. After tasting Wei Renshi’s roasted meat, this group could no longer stomach their own dry, flavorless hardcakes.

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Within a day’s time, they had caught and butchered quite a few wild animals, handing them to Wei Renshi for cooking.

At night, the group resumed their journey along the road.

Wei Renshi lay on horseback and caught some sleep, traveling through the night without speaking much.

The next day, they left the road again and took refuge in the foothills.

After a short, difficult trek through the foothills, they discovered a mountain stream.

Wei Renshi looked to Old Shi, who nodded slightly.

“Brother, we haven’t washed our faces in several days, and with all the smoke from roasting meat, we’re covered in soot. Can we wash up by the water?” Wei Renshi asked.

Having the altar leader’s permission, and since it was a minor request, the guards nodded and led the three to the stream.

“Finally, water!” Old Shi exclaimed suddenly, then jumped right in.

Gou Er saw this and was about to jump in as well, but the guards quickly reacted and stopped him.

“Get out! Behave!” a guard brandished his wood-cutting knife at Old Shi.

“All right, I’m coming out, I’m coming out,” Old Shi smiled apologetically as he climbed out of the stream, then chuckled, “Ah, refreshing!”

The three simply stayed by the water’s edge while the others scattered to catch more wild game.

Soon, several mountain rabbits and sparrows were thrown in front of Wei Renshi.

As he roasted, he watched the others filling their water pouches from the stream and drinking deeply.

“Don’t eat any roasted meat today, nor drink the water,” Wei Renshi quietly instructed Old Shi and Gou Er.

A gleam of joy flashed in their eyes. While Wei Renshi was roasting, they deliberately didn’t cook the meat thoroughly before handing it over.

If the undercooked meat was chewed slowly, its rawness would be obvious. But the others only cared about the taste, and the meat was never enough. So as soon as Wei Renshi handed it over, it was eagerly devoured without suspicion. Moreover, Wei Renshi had added a generous amount of cumin, which masked the partially raw flavor.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group went to rest and regain strength for the night’s journey.

Seeing the guards dozing off nearby, Old Shi whispered, “Young lad, what next?”

“Wait,” Wei Renshi replied. “By late afternoon or nightfall, many will suffer from stomach pain and diarrhea—that’s when we make our move!”

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The three fell silent and waited in secret.

Sure enough, after noon, some began running off to relieve themselves.

Gradually, more and more were struck with diarrhea.

The abdominal pain was unbearable, sapping their strength so severely that they could barely move.

To avoid suspicion, Wei Renshi, Old Shi, and Gou Er pretended to suffer the same symptoms.

“What’s going on?” the altar leader clutched his stomach, his face pale.

“The water—it must be contaminated!” Old Shi, sweating and weak, said.

“Altar leader... send someone to find medicine!” one of the altar leader’s men urged. “Otherwise, people will die on the road!”

The altar leader gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at Wei Renshi. “Tell me! Is this your doing? Did you tamper with the roasted meat?”

“No!” Wei Renshi held his stomach, struggling to raise an arm and pointed at several people who weren’t sick. “They all ate my roasted meat and are fine! It must be the water!”

The altar leader ground his teeth, looked around, and said to the two unaffected men, “Collect the weapons and search along the road for any nearby villages or towns. If you find any, get medicine!”

The men obeyed and set off, while the others leaned against tree trunks, swaying and struggling with their stomachs.

“We can’t stay any longer, or we’ll catch it too,” Wei Renshi said as dusk settled and a foul odor filled the air.

Old Shi and Gou Er exchanged a glance and nodded.

“Young lad!” Old Shi nodded toward a direction. “Run that way!”

Wei Renshi nodded.

Suddenly, Old Shi and Gou Er burst forward like arrows released from a bow, each grabbing a person fiercely, locking one arm tightly around their necks while using the other hand to wrestle away their weapons. With a swift motion, they slashed their throats, spraying blood in two bursts.

At that moment, as the two leapt forward, Wei Renshi dashed with all his might in the opposite direction!