Damn! I brought so many weapons, but in the end, the thing that actually saved me was this inconspicuous windproof lighter. How embarrassing! Richard Thompson glanced at Henry Wright, and that expression really tugged at the heartstrings, making him feel a bit of pity. He cupped his hands and said, “Brother Henry Wright, you let me win, you let me win.”

“You—how did you do it?” Henry Wright asked with a face full of sorrow.

Richard Thompson chuckled, “Well... I can’t say.” Then he noticed the old woman staring straight at him, her gaze so intense it was as if he were her husband returning from a long voyage. The look made Richard Thompson feel a bit creeped out. He thought, It’s just making a fire, is it really that big a deal? If I cooked a couple of home-style dishes and brewed some wine, would you all offer yourselves to me? Better not—I'm not into that kind of thing. He deliberately coughed a few times.

No reaction!

Absolutely no reaction!

Richard Thompson was at a loss and could only speak up: “Elder, what do you think... is this okay?”

The old woman suddenly snapped out of it, her face immediately breaking into a delighted smile. But just then, the young man suddenly leaned in and whispered a few words in her ear.

The old woman frowned slightly, seeming a bit displeased as she glanced at the youth.

The youth pouted.

What the hell, acting cute at that age—disgusting! Richard Thompson saw this and felt quite annoyed, thinking this kid was always up to something.

The old woman seemed a bit hesitant, but the other women all nodded in agreement, so she finally nodded lightly, then turned to Richard Thompson and said, “You said earlier you could make the food taste better?”

Richard Thompson replied without hesitation, “Absolutely.”

The old woman glanced at the youth.

The youth immediately turned and dashed off. Before long, he came running back, holding a thick, large leaf in his hands—something like a lotus leaf, but much bigger and thicker. Richard Thompson didn’t know what kind of leaf it was, but it looked heavy, and there was definitely something wrapped inside.

Bang!

With a dull thud, the youth threw the leaf at the young man’s feet, then shrank back beside the old woman, his dark eyes gleaming with mischief.

In an instant, a strong stench hit him in the face.

Richard Thompson instinctively covered his mouth and nose. Looking down, he saw a huge pile of bloody entrails—the heart alone was almost bigger than his head! Even though he was a chef and used to seeing offal, seeing such a massive pile all at once was still a bit nauseating.

The old woman said, “If you can make these stinking things edible, I’ll let you stay.”

Seriously? That’s not what you said before—how untrustworthy can you be! Richard Thompson couldn’t help but feel a bit angry, but seeing how many of them there were, and how strong they looked, he held back and cautiously probed, “Elder, um—if I remember correctly, you said earlier—!”

“I said maybe.” The old woman cut Richard Thompson off.

Wow! Didn’t expect the old lady to be so sly—just like me. Richard Thompson thought it over and realized he really wasn’t in a position to negotiate, so he said, “Then what if I manage to do it this time?”

The old woman didn’t answer right away. She glanced around, and when she saw everyone else nodding, she finally said, “Then I’ll allow you to stay.”

“Not maybe?”

“Not maybe!”

With this definite answer, Richard Thompson nodded and said, “Alright then!”

He might not be confident about other things, but when it came to cooking, he was absolutely sure of himself. Offal? He could even turn a pig’s butt into a blooming chrysanthemum.

When a person is confident, they naturally relax.

Richard Thompson couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate his surroundings. The valley was surrounded by mountains, lush and green—a perfect place for foraging. Looking closely, he could vaguely make out five peaks around the area. Only the shortest one was a bare rocky mountain; the rest were covered in greenery. If the five peaks hadn’t formed a ring, Richard Thompson would have thought he’d arrived at Wuzhishan.

But the terrain in the middle was very flat, with dark brown soil and black rocks. Sparse tufts of weeds, wildflowers, and a few scattered big trees grew in the cracks, a stark contrast to the lushness outside. In the center stood a small rocky hill, over ten zhang high, rising abruptly from the ground, with no visible ridges around it—lonely and bare, with one large cave and three or five smaller ones on its surface.

Not far from the caves was a small stream—not wide, but very long—winding down from a distant peak, passing through black earth and woods, flowing past here and on into the distance, with no end in sight.

Mountains, water, and this “wilderness villa”—this was practically a paradise for the origins of humanity!

It was perfect for primitive people to live in.

Tsk tsk! How did they find such a treasure of a place! Even Richard Thompson was amazed, though he also felt a deep sense of melancholy. Looks like I really have arrived in the age of cavemen.

It’s simple: anyone who knows how to build a house would never live in a cave.

“What are you doing?”

The old woman, seeing that Richard Thompson hadn’t moved for a long time, couldn’t help but grow impatient.