A single Golden Leopard-Striped Loach was worth 5,000 yuan.

In Snar’s eyes, eating something so valuable was a colossal waste.

It would be much more practical to find a way to sell them for some cold, hard cash.

However, Li Xu poured cold water on his idea.

"Snar, I’d advise you to give up on that."

"This place is too remote and isolated. There’s simply no way to sell them for a high price. Even if you managed to take them to the city and sell them to some high-end restaurants, they would just haggle you down relentlessly. After they take their cut, you wouldn’t be left with much. It’s better to just keep them and nourish our bodies instead of going through all that trouble."

After hearing this, Snar thought about it and realized he had a point. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

His little dream of striking it rich was extinguished just like that.

The three of them then pulled up the other two bamboo cages one by one.

Without exception, every cage was filled to the brim. It was a bountiful harvest.

One of the cages even contained a few more Golden Leopard-Striped Loaches.

Laden with their haul, the trio returned to Ye Mushen’s home.

Looking at the three large buckets of lively, wriggling loaches, Snar scratched his head and asked, "Divine Physician, what’s the best way to eat these loaches for maximum effect?"

"The cooking method is also very particular," Li Xu told them.

"Although these loaches are small, they don’t do well with high heat and a lot of oil. Methods like stir-frying or deep-frying with tons of oil will destroy their nutritional content. If you eat them that way, it’s no different from eating a regular fish."

He recommended several methods that would best preserve their nutritional and medicinal properties. "The best ways are to stew them in a soup, steam them, or braise them with a small amount of oil."

"Especially," Li Xu added, "if you stew them in a clay pot over a low flame with things that replenish qi and nourish the blood, like tofu, Astragalus Root, Large Dates, and Codonopsis. The resulting soup will both replenish qi and nourish the blood. It’s delicious and won’t cause any ’internal heat’."

The three of them heard this and thought it was a great idea.

Although they didn’t have any tofu, Astragalus Root, or Codonopsis, Ye Mushen did have home-grown soybeans and Large Dates picked from his trees.

So, they decided to enjoy this gift from nature using the simplest, most primitive method.

Snar was in charge of cleaning the loaches, while Ye Mushen was responsible for the fire.

A large earthenware pot was set up over the bonfire in the courtyard.

Clear river water was poured into the pot.

Snar placed the cleaned loaches into the pot, along with pre-soaked soybeans and washed Large Dates.

There weren’t many seasonings—just a few slices of ginger and a small pinch of coarse salt.

As the flames licked the pot, the water inside gradually came to a boil.

An incredibly tantalizing aroma—a mixture of the savory scent of fish, the mellow fragrance of soybeans, and the sweet perfume of Large Dates—began to fill the entire courtyard.

"It’s ready. We can eat."

Ye Mushen lifted the lid and used a wooden ladle to serve each of the three men a large bowl of steaming hot loach soup.

The soup was an alluring creamy white, with a layer of golden fat floating on top.

The loaches, stewed until tender, mingled with plump soybeans and sweet, ruby-red Large Dates. The sight alone was enough to whet their appetites.

Snar couldn’t wait any longer.

He raised his bowl and, ignoring the heat, took a big gulp.

"Ooooh—"

He let out a sigh of satisfaction.

As the broth entered his mouth, an explosion of ultimate umami detonated on his taste buds.

It wasn’t the savoriness of an ordinary fish soup, but a richer, more complex umami.

It was also interwoven with the mellow fragrance of soybeans and the sweet taste of Large Dates. It was so delicious it was out of this world.

Li Xu and Ye Mushen also picked up their bowls and began to taste it.

Li Xu first picked up a regular black loach.

The loach had been stewed until the meat was falling off the bone. A gentle pinch with his chopsticks was all it took for the flesh to separate.

He placed the delicate meat into his mouth and savored it.

The meat was indeed delicious.

But because it had lived wild in the river, he could still taste a very faint, muddy odor.

Next, he reached his chopsticks toward a "Golden Leopard-Striped Loach," which was golden from head to tail.

He picked up a piece of its meat and put it in his mouth.

In an instant, Li Xu’s eyes lit up.

If the deliciousness of the black loach was a babbling brook...

...then the flavor of the Golden Leopard-Striped Loach was a vast, magnificent, boundless ocean.

It was an ultimate, pure umami, without any impurities.

Most importantly, it didn’t have the slightest hint of a muddy taste.

There was only the purest form of savory deliciousness.

"Delicious," Li Xu couldn’t help but exclaim.

Snar and Ye Mushen also picked up a Golden Leopard-Striped Loach to try.

Their reactions were identical to Li Xu’s. First, they were stunned, and then their faces showed an expression of pure bliss, as if they had entered heaven.

The three of them forgot all about talking.

Like three refugees who hadn’t eaten in three days, they ravenously devoured the delicious pot of loach soup.

They drank the soup, ate the meat, and sucked the bones clean...

In the end, they finished the entire large pot of loach soup, not leaving a single drop of broth behind.

They even ate every last scrap on the bones.

After finishing their meal, all three leaned back in their chairs, patting their round bellies and burping contentedly.

The sky had completely darkened.

A bonfire was lit in the courtyard.

The three of them sat around the fire and talked for a while longer.

Then, fully satisfied, Snar said his goodbyes and went home.

Li Xu was also feeling a bit tired.

It had been a long day. He’d spent the morning digging for Yabulu and the afternoon catching loaches, which had taken a huge toll on his stamina.

He said goodnight to Ye Mushen and returned to his guest room, ready for a good night’s sleep.

Because he was so tired, he expected to fall fast asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, just like usual.

But to his surprise, as he lay in bed tossing and turning, his mind was exceptionally clear.

He even felt a little excited.

He felt as if a fire was blazing inside his body.

His entire body was brimming with endless energy, and he didn’t feel the least bit sleepy.

"Hm?"

Li Xu sensed something was wrong.

Then, it dawned on him.

’This is the result of an excess of Yang Qi, causing ’deficient heat’ to flare up because it hasn’t been properly vented and released.’

He marveled to himself, ’The aphrodisiac effect of these loaches is truly no empty boast.’

’It’s just... too powerful.’

’I only ate a few, and I’m already having this reaction from excess Yang Qi.’

’Snar ate even more than I did. Tonight, he’s going to... ’

Li Xu didn’t dare to think about it any further.

He mused to himself, ’An excess of Yang Qi might make a person feel energetic in the short term...’

’...but if it isn’t properly regulated, it can easily lead to a series of ’internal heat’ symptoms like restlessness, insomnia, irritability, and a dry mouth and throat.’

’I have to use a method that ’nourishes the yin and clears heat’ to neutralize this overly vigorous ’fire’ in my body.’