"Hmph, what’s the big deal? It’s just a barbecue, not a strip show," Erica muttered dismissively when she heard the shouts from the nearby crowd, but her feet carried her toward them anyway.

Jenny and Trish exchanged a smile and lowered their heads, continuing to grill their meat.

A light breeze blew past, bringing a hint of chill, but it couldn’t cool the heated atmosphere.

Feng Mountain continued his barbecue performance, completely oblivious to the cheers around him.

Finally, he sprinkled cumin powder over the meat, letting the residual heat of the charcoal bring out its unique aroma.

The scent of the barbecue instantly became richer and more enticing. As the crowd smelled it, their mouths couldn’t help but water.

"It’s ready! Don’t fight over it, there’s enough for everyone."

Feng Mountain beamed as he handed out the reindeer skewers to the people around him.

The crowd eagerly took the reindeer skewers. With the first bite, the tender meat seemed to melt in their mouths. The blend of cumin and charcoal smoke left a lingering, delightful aftertaste, and satisfied expressions bloomed on everyone’s faces.

"Delicious."

"This is amazing!"

"So this is Chinese barbecue. The flavor is so unique, and the meat is so fragrant."

"What is this seasoning? It smells incredible."

Feng Mountain took a skewer for himself. The original flavor of the reindeer meat hadn’t been overpowered by the charcoal. Instead, the addition of the three-oil blend and cumin actually enhanced its savory deliciousness.

Erica also secretly grabbed a few skewers.

After finishing them, she knew she had definitely lost the competition.

Feng Mountain had made such delicious barbecue with just three seasonings, while she still needed to use barbecue sauce. Even then, the meat she grilled didn’t taste as good as his.

’Is there any point in continuing?’

Returning to her grill, she saw Jenny and Trish eating his skewers and nodding nonstop in approval. A wave of disappointment washed over her.

She had carefully planned this competition, thinking she could win with Jenny’s cooking skills. She never expected Feng Mountain’s barbecue to be so delicious that it would conquer everyone’s taste buds so easily.

’Since I lost, I have to admit it.’

Erica took a deep breath, trying to suppress her frustration.

She walked up to Feng Mountain. Although there was still a trace of disappointment in her eyes, it was mostly replaced by acceptance.

"Khilla, I lost. I’ll grant you one request—anything you want."

Feng Mountain looked at Erica with a hint of admiration in his eyes, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"Really? Anything at all?"

"Of course." Erica seemed to sense the teasing glint in Feng Mountain’s eyes and puffed out her A-cup chest. "Anything. Including sleeping with you."

WHOA!!

The gawking onlookers let out a collective gasp of astonishment.

Not only did no one try to stop her, but they actually looked envious.

It was as if they wished they could take Erica’s place and sleep with Feng Mountain.

This highlighted the difference in attitudes toward sex and relationships between other countries and China.

The former places more emphasis on personal freedom and choice and is relatively open. It’s common to have multiple partners, and it’s considered normal to get a room together right after meeting if there’s mutual attraction.

In some foreign cultures, individualism is more pronounced, and people are more inclined to pursue immediate feelings and satisfy their own desires.

In China, however, things are much more reserved.

Setting aside transactional relationships, most people first get to know each other, then develop feelings, and only when the feelings are deep enough do they take the next step.

But often, after wasting a lot of time, it all ends with a "you’re a nice guy."

Feng Mountain froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Erica to be so bold. His eyes flickered, and he quickly tried to defuse the awkward atmosphere by playing dumb.

"Is that so? In that case, you can wash my stinky socks for the rest of the month."

BOO!

They had thought Feng Mountain would accept her offer, but who knew he would make such a request?

The crowd, including Sun Jia and Feng Jun, immediately started booing.

Erica, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed at Feng Mountain, her gaze filled with surprise, disappointment, and confusion, unable to believe what she was hearing.

She had been prepared for anything.

But she had never imagined Feng Mountain would respond like this.

A gentle breeze drifted by, messing up Erica’s hair and her thoughts.

"Erica, the meat’s coming off the grill! Come on over!" At that moment, a shout came from the edge of the crowd, breaking the tension and saving Erica from her embarrassment.

Jenny’s voice was like a timely rain, shattering the stalemate.

"Coming!" Erica quickly squeezed her way out of the crowd.

Her movements were a bit flustered, as if she were desperate to escape the awkward scene.

Feng Mountain glanced in Jenny’s direction and was met by a pair of angry eyes.

Those eyes held a complex mix of emotions: dissatisfaction with Feng Mountain and sympathy for Erica.

Sun Jia heaved a long sigh and said, his voice a mix of teasing and concern.

"Brother Feng, what’s wrong with you? The girl was so direct... sigh. Is there something wrong with you physically? I know an old traditional Chinese doctor who specializes in men’s health."

Feng Jun chimed in, happy to stir the pot. "Yeah, what’s the big deal? It’s just sex. Foreigners aren’t scared of it, what are you afraid of? If it were me, I’d be diving right into bed. It’s not like Sufen back home would ever know."

Feng Mountain shot Feng Jun a furious glare and smacked him on the head. "Get lost! Can’t you just shut your mouth and eat? Go skewer some more meat!"

Feng Jun rubbed his head and muttered as he walked away, a wicked grin still on his face.

Then, Feng Mountain looked at Sun Jia with a helpless smile, his tone tinged with resignation and melancholy.

"Sun, there are some things you don’t know... sigh."

"What don’t I know? Isn’t it just that... Never mind, forget I said anything!" Sun Jia blurted out, stopping himself midway. He seemed to realize he’d almost said something he shouldn’t have, and a flicker of awkwardness crossed his eyes.

Of course, Feng Mountain knew what Sun Jia had left unsaid. With their backgrounds, it would have been easy for them to look into the case from back then.

But, there was no point in spelling it out.

"Barbecue."

Meanwhile, Jenny, Maria, Tammy, and Demi were gathered around Erica, offering her all sorts of comfort.

Jenny gently held Erica’s hand, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Don’t be sad, Erica. If he doesn’t know how to appreciate you, it’s his loss."

Maria nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you’ve got a great body and you’re good in bed. Khilla must be blind."

"You’re dead! Who said I was good in bed?" Erica huffed, reaching out to tickle the soft flesh of Maria’s waist.

"Tickles, it tickles!" Maria begged for mercy. "Demi said it! She said several times that you... Mmph!"

"Fack, you little bitch, how dare you sell me out!" Demi slapped a hand over Maria’s mouth, her expression panicked as she muffled the rest of the words.

Seeing the others roughhousing, Jenny quickly pulled Tammy away.

She didn’t want Tammy to be corrupted by them.

...

The barbecue party ended.

Feng Mountain returned to his cabin early. He had the creepy feeling that several pairs of eyes were constantly watching him from the surrounding area.

Even in his bedroom, he made sure to lock all the locks on the door.

Lying in bed, he called Zhang Kai back in China to ask about the tour group.

He confirmed that the 50-person tour group would arrive in Fairbanks next Monday.

Feng Mountain didn’t need to handle the airport pickup; Zhang Kai had already contacted Tom, who would be responsible for bringing the tourists to the Crown Territory.

Food and lodging were no problem. As for other matters, they would discuss them in person, because a small portion of the group consisted of elderly retirees.

Elderly retirees.

’Spending 20,000 US dollars to travel to Alaska in the middle of winter, when it’s dozens of degrees below zero.’

’Are they trying to escape the summer heat?!’

’Are retirees this rich nowadays?’

Feng Mountain couldn’t understand it, nor could he wrap his head around it.

Still, they were paying customers, so all he had to do was serve them well. At worst, he could just cancel the more dangerous activities.

He put away his phone.

His consciousness connected with the tribe’s Fire Seed.

The next moment, a complete view of the camp, enveloped by the Fire Seed, appeared in his mind. In the corner of his vision were two smaller flames: the Fire Totem on the *River Beach* and the faith totem in Kaktovik.

In five more days, the second wave of tourists would arrive at the Crown Territory.

Feng Mountain didn’t have time to check on the *River Beach* or Kaktovik. His gaze swept over the Crown Camp, looking for anything that needed to be fixed or improved.

As the complete view of the camp rotated in his mind,

the mossy ground, the restaurant, the bar, the cabins, and the shooting range flashed before his eyes.

Finally, his view settled on the empty tundra outside the camp.

’The scenery is nice, but it’s a bit desolate. It would be great if there was something special here.’

’What should I add?’

Just then, Feng Mountain remembered something Erica had once said: it would be great if the Crown Territory had a hot spring.

’A hot spring.’

’That could actually work.’

Among the Witchcraft techniques passed down from his ancestors, there was one called the Earth Dragon Technique.

He hadn’t dared to use it before because he lacked Soul Power. But now, with the *River Beach* providing a continuous supply, the Soul Power stored in the tribe’s Fire Seed was enough to support one use of the Earth Dragon Technique.

Earth Dragon Technique: The ability to shape the terrain within a designated area as desired.

Whether it was towering peaks, deep canyons, flat plains, or winding rivers, as long as the caster could imagine it, the Earth Dragon Technique could reshape the land to match.

’And just like that, he had a way to make a hot spring!’

...