Preparing a bear’s paw is not easy, mainly because it’s so time-consuming.
Anyone who’s eaten a bear’s paw knows that it has a very strong, gamy taste.
Most of the time spent cooking a bear’s paw is actually dedicated to removing this gaminess with various methods, then re-infusing it with flavor.
Therefore, a bear’s paw isn’t an inherently delicious ingredient. Making it tasty requires the most complex and tedious cooking methods.
The reasons bear paws became a delicacy are twofold: first, hunting bears is difficult, and second, they are rumored to have powerful restorative effects.
Zou Feng had never eaten one in his previous life, so he didn’t know just how restorative it was. But since this particular bear was a Demon Beast, its paw was undoubtedly nourishing enough to give a Martial Artist a nosebleed.
Yuwen Shuo, on the other hand, had clearly eaten this before and was well aware of how difficult a bear’s paw was to prepare.
That was why he had some expectations when Zou Feng volunteered.
In fact, ever since arriving in Yuan Guang County, he hadn’t eaten anything that truly satisfied him.
After all, the cooks here were no match for his family’s chef, let alone the famous master chefs in the restaurants of Xiangjiang City.
As for whether Zou Feng would take the opportunity to poison him...
First of all, Yuwen Shuo certainly wouldn’t be the first to taste it. His personal bodyguard, Wu Xing, would inspect the goods for him first.
In truth, that step wasn’t even necessary. If a Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist couldn’t even tell that something they were eating was obviously harmful, they might as well just give up on life.
Especially since Zou Feng was merely in the Inner Qi Realm. Even if he practiced Poison Skills, what kind of tricks could an Inner Qi Realm practitioner possibly pull off with them?
In any case, he, Yuwen Shuo, refused to believe it.
Besides, after the recent success in ambushing the Ten Directions Sect, Yuwen Shuo had begun to see Zou Feng’s potential to become one of his loyal hounds.
He had started to feel a tiny shred of trust in him.
Having his Poison Skills be underestimated was precisely the effect Zou Feng had been cultivating for a long time.
After all, on the surface, everyone in Yuan Guang County only knew that he practiced the Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm.
Although this Cultivation Skill was a Poison Skill, its poison aspect was merely a secondary function.
No one knew that the Fire Lotus and all that was just a disguise. Zou Feng’s true killing move had always been the complex, potent poison from his new Five Poison Skill.
The Hunting Team wasn’t going to continue exploring tonight; they would make camp and rest. This gave Zou Feng plenty of time to prepare the Demon Bear’s Paw.
Throughout the entire preparation process, Yuwen Shuo’s bodyguard, Wu Xing, watched and monitored him almost constantly.
He was far more cautious than Yuwen Shuo. Even though he also didn’t believe an Inner Qi Realm practitioner like Zou Feng could pull off any real tricks with Poison Skills, he still felt it was safer to watch, just in case.
Unfortunately, Wu Xing ultimately didn’t understand how a master Poison Cultivator would actually administer poison.
Putting poison directly into the bear’s paw was actually a very stupid move. It would be nearly impossible for a Gang Qi Realm expert like Wu Xing not to notice.
Zou Feng’s plan was to mix some beneficial medicinal herbs into the bear’s paw and use a minuscule, harmless amount of his own "Five Poisons" as a Medicinal Guide.
The combination of mixed herbs, plus the trace of the "Five Poisons" that was completely harmless and even undetectable to a Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist, would have the ultimate effect of detonating the poison already in Yuwen Shuo’s body.
The Chronic Poisoning from the transferred cultivation side effects, along with the toxic gas Zou Feng had been constantly releasing with his "Shaking Flower Hand" since entering Qifeng Mountain, were already buried deep within Yuwen Shuo’s system.
All it needed was the "Medicinal Guide" to be detonated. While it might not kill Yuwen Shuo outright, it would at the very least leave him severely injured and vomiting blood, making the final kill much easier.
Thus, by agreeing to let Zou Feng cook the Demon Bear’s Paw, Yuwen Shuo had taken another giant leap on the road to his own doom.
Taking on the role of a chef again, Zou Feng was extremely meticulous.
His focused expression as he prepared the paw made the bodyguard Wu Xing feel like he had misjudged him. ’This guy is actually a real chef!?’
In truth, Zou Feng’s current culinary skills had already surpassed those of his master, Luo Yong.
Cooking was one of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, and Zou Feng never thought it would be a useless skill. Thus, he would occasionally take charge of the cooking to show off a little.
Because he had started his cultivation with the Five Poison Palm, and that Skill had since been improved and evolved, cooking with these hands—long since "marinated" in poison—produced an effect that could only be described as the "Hand of Poisoning."
He didn’t even need to add poison. Just by using his poison-steeped hands, he could give the food an "ultimate umami" effect.
Not to mention, Zou Feng also cultivated the Great Universal Hand, which could evoke feelings of extreme pleasure in people...
In short, the idea of food so good it caused "clothes-bursting" was no empty boast for Zou Feng. After all, it was easy for a Martial Artist’s clothes to rip when they circulated their Inner Qi.
For the Demon Bear’s Paw, Zou Feng chose to braise it.
First, he caught a number of fish in a nearby stream and simmered a large pot of fish broth, adding some red and green mushrooms he found nearby.
After all, the mountains were teeming with all sorts of mushrooms and fungi after the rain.
Then, he used this incredibly savory fish broth to simmer the bear’s paw, constantly replacing the broth with a fresh batch to remove the paw’s gamy flavor.
And so, after more than two full hours of work, the dish "Palm of Qiankun" was complete.
To cater to Yuwen Shuo’s preferences, Zou Feng also plated the dish meticulously.
The cooked bear’s paw was still whole, its palm cradling some stir-fried mushrooms. The aroma was so fragrant that it could be clearly smelled throughout the entire camp.
"It smells amazing!"
Yuwen Shuo had already rushed over, unable to wait. Just from the scent alone, he could tell that Zou Feng had truly given him a pleasant surprise.