I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Chapter 47: The True Dragon Emerges!

Braised Lion's Head, Steamed Deer Tail, Soft Fried Pork Tenderloin, Stir-fried Shrimp, Braised Pork, Jarred Meat, Crystal Pork Knuckle, Five-Spice Mutton, Meatball Soup…

Zhang Chen ate with his mouth full of grease. The fragrant dishes made him feel like a starving ghost reincarnated. How long had it been since he had eaten a proper meal? Especially such top-notch food.

Although it was the old society and lacked various seasonings, the culinary skills of this society were definitely not inferior to those of later generations.

Truly top-notch chefs never used MSG or chicken essence in their cooking. Instead, they used old broth made from various chickens and ducks. The flavor of old broth surpassed all seasonings. So-called seasonings were just imitations of the flavor of old broth, processed products. How could processed products compare to real old broth?

It's like artificial meat versus real meat. Can the taste be exactly the same?

The girl watched Zhang Chen devour the food, a look of pity in her eyes. She kept putting Crystal Pork Knuckle and Jarred Meat into his bowl: "Why did you run away from home back then? Even if they bullied you, you only needed to endure it for three to five years, and you wouldn't have lacked food or clothing. Why bother coming out here to fend for yourself? I know you were wronged, but being wronged is better than being hungry and cold in this remote place."

Zhang Chen, who was devouring food, suddenly paused while gnawing on the pork knuckle: What the hell? Run away from home? When did I run away from home?

Just as he was about to ask, he heard the girl say again: "Father still misses you. This time, when he heard I was coming to see you, he specially sent me with a thousand taels of silver for you. You also need to understand Father's difficulties. Although Father is the head of the family, your stepmother's family is a family of officials. Father also has to consider her feelings. Our father has to swallow his anger in front of her. Back then, when you and your mother were exiled from the mansion, Father was heartbroken, but he could only watch helplessly. Father wants me to tell you that he has secretly arranged many paths for you in the past few years. You only need to study hard, and if you achieve something in the future, you will definitely have great prospects. Also, give me two more years. When I have completely established myself in the Prince's mansion, Father will no longer have to look at that woman's face."

At this moment, Zhang Chen, who was gnawing on the Crystal Pork Knuckle, felt a little flustered. Wasn't his cheap father already dead? He actually still misses him? And even sent him a thousand taels of silver? He and his father were exiled here together. He had no impression of his mother in his memory. How could he have been kicked out of the house and wandered here with his mother?

While gnawing on the Crystal Pork Knuckle, Zhang Chen inconspicuously sized up the sweet girl in front of him. Looking at the big dimples on her face and her clear black and white eyes, she didn't resemble his eldest sister in his memory at all.

"Crap! She must have mistaken me for someone else!" Zhang Chen paused slightly while gnawing on the pork knuckle, a thought flashing through his mind: "Is it too late for me to spit it out now?"

Facing the sweet girl, Zhang Chen had thousands of thoughts running through his mind. He paused while eating the pork knuckle, then looked at the girl opposite him and tentatively asked: "Um… Miss, are you really sure I'm your younger brother? Could you have mistaken me for someone else?"

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, the girl's eyes immediately turned red, and large tears streamed down her face: "I know you still have resentment in your heart, resentment towards our family, towards Father, and towards your stepmother. You have always been stubborn and unwilling to acknowledge us, but I am your own sister. Don't you even want to acknowledge me?"

Zhang Chen looked at the girl's sad face, with tears falling continuously like broken beads. He couldn't help but feel a headache, but he was very sure in his heart that this girl must have mistaken him for someone else.

What to do?

Zhang Chen was very flustered now.

He had already eaten most of the dishes and half-recognized the relative. If he told her that she had mistaken him for someone else… Zhang Chen looked at the imposing man standing at the door, his eyelids twitching in fright. Then, looking at the girl crying like a pear blossom in the rain, Zhang Chen helplessly gnawed on the Crystal Pork Knuckle to hide his guilty conscience, and vaguely said: "Forget it, forget it, don't cry. I was just asking. After all, we haven't seen each other for many years, and we look a bit unfamiliar. Wouldn't it be bad if we mistook each other?"

"Nonsense! You are my younger brother. I would recognize you even if you turned to ashes. How could I possibly mistake you? Even if I mistook myself, I would never mistake you!" The girl's eyes were filled with tears, and she grabbed Zhang Chen's sleeve, her voice filled with weakness: "Brother, don't blame your sister, okay? It was all my fault back then. I abandoned you and went to the Prince's mansion, leaving you here without anyone to take care of you. But you also have to understand your sister's good intentions. Wasn't your sister going to the Prince's mansion to seek a chance of survival for our family and to create a future? If I went to the Prince's mansion and died inside, so be it. If I don't die, I will definitely find a future for you and break through those barriers and shackles."

Zhang Chen looked at the girl in front of him, feeling a little speechless for a moment. He really wanted to say, 'You don't need to turn to ashes, you've already mistaken me for someone else.'

But now that he had eaten the food and changed into the clothes, what could he do?

He was just a little confused in his heart: "Whose sister is this? I'm actually benefiting from it."

Since he had eaten their food and received their benefits, Zhang Chen could only comfort the girl who was crying like a pear blossom in the rain: "Don't cry, I was just asking, afraid that you might have mistaken me for someone else. Wouldn't it be bad if you blamed me then?"

"Nonsense, you are my own younger brother, how could I possibly mistake you? If I mistake you, so be it!" The girl cried and vowed.

The other party grabbed Zhang Chen's hem with both hands, holding on tightly as if afraid he would run away. However, during the pulling, a terrifying, hideous, blood-red mark was revealed on her wrist, which was as smooth as congealed fat. The mark was crimson, and the blood had already scabbed over, making it look very terrifying.

Zhang Chen put down the Crystal Pork Knuckle in his hand and looked at the girl's wrist. After noticing Zhang Chen's gaze, the girl quickly let go of Zhang Chen's hand and retracted her hands into her sleeves.

Zhang Chen looked at the girl, countless thoughts running through his mind. The girl met Zhang Chen's gaze, her face uneasy like a frightened deer, and the rosy color from before was gone. Her entire face was pale.

Zhang Chen looked at the girl's cheeks. Only now could he see faint palm prints on the girl's cheeks, but they were concealed by her makeup, making the palm prints almost invisible to the naked eye. If the two were not so close, Zhang Chen would not have noticed anything unusual.

"Prince Pingbian is old, a little weak, and likes to torture people for pleasure."

After a long time, the girl lowered her head and said to Zhang Chen in a very low voice: "But don't worry, I can endure it! As long as I don't die, I will eventually get ahead."

Seemingly realizing that Zhang Chen had noticed something amiss, the woman felt her authority as an elder sister had completely vanished in front of him. She abruptly stood up, a hint of panic in her voice, and said, "I must go. The Royal Palace has strict rules about entry and exit times. I'll come see you again when I've pleased the Prince."

With that, she turned and left, like a startled rabbit. Her feet felt weak, and she stumbled, but quickly regained her balance and fled out the door in a fluster.

Watching the woman's retreating figure, Zhang Chen's heart stirred. He rushed into the house, grabbed a small box, and ran out. Seeing the carriage about to leave, he quickly called out, "Wait!"

The carriage stopped, and the woman lifted the curtain, revealing a slightly pale face. She forced a smile and asked, "What is it, little brother?"

Zhang Chen, carrying the box, went to the carriage and placed it inside. "Take this money!"

"This box contains Father's one thousand taels of silver and my five hundred taels of personal savings. It's just a small token of our affection. Do you really refuse to acknowledge us?" The woman's eyes welled up again, thinking that Zhang Chen simply didn't want to acknowledge them.

"You need money more than I do in the Royal Palace," Zhang Chen said in an undeniable tone. "With this silver, your life will be a little easier. When your life is better, my life will be better in the future. I don't have many expenses outside. This silver is just a stone in my hands, but it can maximize its value in your hands. If you don't take it, don't come see me again!"

The woman was speechless, then reached out and stroked Zhang Chen's head. After taking a deep breath, she said, "Little brother has grown up! Focus on your studies, and I will definitely find you a good future."

"Madam, it's time!" The sturdy coachman said from the side.

The girl looked at Zhang Chen with reluctance in her eyes, eventually turning her myriad words into an earnest exhortation, 'Study hard, I will come to see you again.' Then, with tears in her eyes, the girl lowered the curtain, and the carriage swayed into the distance.

Just then, a figure in the distance, holding a white fox, ambled over from afar, passing the carriage. Looking at the luxurious carriage, the bookworm Zhang Chen looked surprised and said, "I didn't expect such a person to come to this remote place. A rare guest indeed."

Looking at the noble carriage, and then looking down at his own tattered clothes, the bookworm Zhang Chen revealed a strange and complex expression in his eyes. Seeing Zhang Chen standing at the door, the bookworm Zhang Chen, holding the fox spirit, strutted past Zhang Chen, with a hint of disdain in his eyes, and muttered, "Boor! Bumpkin!" Then, he brushed past and continued to walk away, not going home, but heading towards the village, not knowing what he was going to do.

Hearing the bookworm Zhang Chen's insults, Zhang Chen did not retaliate, but his eyes were somewhat subtle. A thought flashed through his mind, and then he looked at the bookworm Zhang Chen's back, and then at his own house next to Zhang Chen's house at the entrance of the village. Because it used to be Zhang Chen's house, they were built as one, looking like a single household, standing alone at the entrance of the village.

Because Zhang Chen's cheap father was an exile in those years, he belonged to an outsider and could not integrate into this village, so he could only build a house at the entrance of the village, which was still some distance from the village.

Thinking about his and the bookworm Zhang Chen's names, which were extremely similar in pronunciation, and the houses they lived in were also next to each other, Zhang Chen's expression was extremely wonderful.

He suddenly remembered that the bookworm Zhang Chen came to the village with his mother, right?

In this way, with Zhang Chen's wisdom, he already had a guess in his heart: "Could it be that the woman is the bookworm Zhang Chen's sister? The bookworm's sister mistook me for him?"

Zhang Chen looked at the bookworm Zhang Chen's somewhat dark skin, coupled with the ghostly fright at night that made him mentally exhausted, looking like a suspicious and addicted person, looking very wretched.

"If this is the case, then I can enjoy it with peace of mind. That damned bookworm Zhang Chen bullied me when I was young, forcibly seized my family property, and instigated the fox spirit to steal my family's rice, flour, and grain. He really deserves to die!" Zhang Chen suddenly felt that he was now enjoying these supplies with peace of mind, with absolutely no psychological burden.

As for the one thousand eight hundred taels of silver, Zhang Chen did not regret giving it back to her. That was the woman's hard-earned money earned with her body, he couldn't take it!

Looking at the unfinished food on the ground, Zhang Chen stepped forward and carefully packed the food, deciding to send it to his younger sister and younger brother later to let them taste it. His poor younger brother and younger sister probably had never enjoyed such benefits.

"These fabrics are good stuff, I can make some clothes for my younger sister and stepmother, and I can also keep the rest of the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Although I don't recognize the words yet, I can practice calligraphy and practice the stroke order, so that I can speed up the progress of learning. I have to move these things quickly, I must not let the fox spirit see them. If the fox spirit sees them, if the fox spirit takes action to seize them, I'm afraid it will be a big trouble."

Zhang Chen was quick and swift, directly putting the food box and cloth on the trolley, and then covering it with old straw, and swaying towards the next village.

One must know that money moves people's hearts. His own stepmother and three orphans and widows, Zhang Chen did not dare to swagger through the market with money, in case it caused any trouble, it would not be beautiful.

But Zhang Chen had just walked out of the yard when suddenly the falcon in the sky let out a sharp cry, the sound conveying panic. Then he saw the falcon flapping its wings and descending, actually running out of the mountains. After finding Zhang Chen, its master, it plunged directly into Zhang Chen's arms with a look of panic.

"What's going on? What happened? It actually scared the falcon into this look?" Zhang Chen looked at the panicked falcon, his eyes full of surprise.

'Roar~'

At this moment, a roar resounded through the sky, reaching Zhang Chen's ears. Zhang Chen was startled by the sound and quickly looked in the direction of the sound. The next moment, his pupils shrank.

A dragon!

A real dragon!

A real dragon appeared in the sky!

Zhang Chen could not be wrong, the dragon roamed the sky, shuttling between the clouds and mist, startling the birds in the mountains to return to the forest in panic, and the beasts on the ground also bowed down.

The clear sky turned into a torrential downpour in an instant, with lightning and thunder intertwined. The real dragon shuttled through the thunder, so majestic.

ps: What skills do you want to get from the dragon?

It's not water plot, everyone should be able to guess, this dragon and the dragon in the tomb???

Notice: Starting tomorrow, there will be four updates, please follow up, big guys.

Thanks to big guy "Feng Huo Lian" for the 200 coin reward.

Thanks to big guy "Liu Bu Zhu De Yun Yan" for the 100 coin reward.