130: Octopus #130: Death is inevitable. It may die braised or boiled.

Killing the fish, descaling it, preparing the seasonings, and then heating the oil in the wok.

After a round of expert Dianshao operations from that veteran foodie Ximen Hou, three delicious dishes were quickly served—

Braised fish chunks, boiled fish slices, and a nourishing fish head soup. The color, aroma, and taste were all perfect; just the smell alone made one's mouth water.

The three of them couldn't wait to start eating.

"Wow—Houzi, this fish you brought is so delicious!" Xiao Xiao picked up a slice of fish, her eyes sparkling.

"Sss—so fresh!" Xiao Xie chewed on a fish chunk, unclearly assigning a task to Ximen Hou, "Houzi, next time you go to peek at the Senior Sisters bathing, remember to see if there are any more in the lake and catch a few more."

Peeking? What peeking?

Ximen Hou buried his head in his food, not saying a word, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

"Hmm? Smells so good! What are you eating?" Just then, Naran Yanran walked in carrying two strange small beasts—they were Silver-Winged Heavenly Wolf cubs, fluffy, with eyes that had just opened.

"Oh, Senior Sister is here, come join us!" Xiao Xie greeted her warmly; after all, the gift-giver was a guest.

"Houzi made an all-fish feast today."

"Here, as promised." Naran Yanran casually tossed the two cubs to Xiao Xie and sat down without ceremony.

She picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of a fish slice, chewed twice, and her eyes instantly lit up. "Houzi, I didn't expect your culinary skills to be so good! And this fish—what kind of fish is it? It's so fresh and delicious!"

"Senior Sister, this is wild carp I bought." Ximen Hou kept his head down, his voice muffled, not daring to look at her.

He dared even less to mention that the fish was caught in Jade Maiden Lake.

The Jade Maiden Lake was where female Disciples bathed year-round; if he said it, he'd never be able to explain himself.

"Wild carp?" Naran Yanran took another piece, sighing as she chewed, "No wonder it's so good. Speaking of which, I was raising two Golden-Scaled Carps in Jade Maiden Lake. I've had them for several years, but when I went to feed them today, I couldn't find them anywhere. I don't know if they were eaten by other fish or if they died..." As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and her voice choked up slightly.

Xiao Xie and Xiao Xiao both looked at Ximen Hou in unison.

Houzi, you motherf— I knew there was something wrong with these fish being so stupidly unafraid of people; they really were someone's pets!

Ximen Hou looked awkward, his chopsticks pausing for a moment, but he was thick-skinned and quickly returned to normal. Instead, he solemnly began to comfort Naran Yanran: "Senior Sister, don't be sad. A fish is destined to die eventually; as for whether it dies by braising or boiling, that depends on its fate."

Naran Yanran was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?"

"Nothing much." Ximen Hou picked up a fish tail, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed until it crunched. "I just think these two fish are quite lucky—to be made into a dish by me is their honor."

Xiao Xie silently gave him a thumbs up: This thick skin has the flair of your boss in my younger days.

Xiao Xiao lowered her head, pretending to drink the fish soup seriously, not daring to look at Naran Yanran's expression.

Naran Yanran didn't think much of it and took another chopstick-full of fish, sighing as she ate, "Hearing you say that makes me feel much better."

"Right, right, right." Ximen Hou nodded vigorously.

Xiao Xie almost couldn't hold back his laughter, quickly lifting his soup bowl to hide his face.

After eating and drinking their fill—

"Sister, we'll take one of these two Silver-Winged Heavenly Wolf cubs each." Xiao Xie squatted down, scrutinizing the two fluffy little guys for a long time.

The Silver-Winged Heavenly Wolves had only recently opened their eyes. They were about the size of newborn puppies and even looked seventy percent similar to Huskies—except they had two small pairs of silver wings that made a whirring sound when flapped.

With black and white fur all over, they looked incredibly kawaii, soft and squishy, making one want to pull them into a hug.

At this moment, the two cubs behaved completely differently.

One was rolling on the ground acting cute, tumbling around to reveal its snowy white belly and occasionally sticking out a tiny pink tongue to lick its paws—a total little attention-seeker.

The other was particularly ferocious, currently gnawing frantically on the corner of the table with its tiny baby teeth. The 'crunch, crunch' sound of wood shavings made one's scalp tingle—at a glance, it was a home-demolition expert; in the future, even a Husky would have to call it 'Big Brother'.

"They say you can tell what they'll be like as adults from how they act as babies." Xiao Xie rubbed his chin, analyzing seriously, "This one rolling around acting cute will clearly be a 'Battle Power of Five' fighter when it grows up, good for nothing but acting cute."

"The other one wrecking the house will definitely be fierce when it grows up, a powerful combat pet."

Xiao Xiao blinked and was just about to say, "Then I want the cute one rolling around"—

When Xiao Xie already scooped the cute, rolling cub into his arms and said with a smile, "So, I'll choose this cute Battle Power of Five."

The Silver-Winged Heavenly Wolf cub rolled over in his arms and let out a comfortable yawn, completely unaware it had been labeled a "Battle Power of Five."

Xiao Xiao opened her mouth: "...Brother, didn't you say this one was a Battle Power of Five? Why do you want it?"

"Because I'm a Battle Power of Five too." Xiao Xie said righteously. "Scum with scum, a perfect match."

Xiao Xiao was speechless. She picked up the other cub that was gnawing on the table corner. The little guy was still biting at the air in her arms, its mouth opening and closing with a 'crunch, crunch' sound, not even letting the air go.

This one wasn't cute at all!

Ximen Hou, licking a candy nearby, said unclearly, "Boss, did you pick the cute one because it's good for acting cute and picking up girls?"

Xiao Xie glanced at him: "What do you know? This is called a strategic choice—leave the powerful one for my sister. As her brother, I have to protect her."

Xiao Xiao looked down at the cub in her arms still frantically biting the air, then at the one asleep in her brother's arms, feeling like something wasn't quite right.

Silver-Winged Heavenly Wolf cub: Motherf—, I'm being looked down upon.

"Boss, they haven't been named yet!" Ximen Hou squatted nearby, licking his candy, and reminded him unclearly, "Why don't you give them both a name?"

Xiao Xie looked down at the snoring cub in his arms, then at the one still biting the air in his sister's arms, and asked, "Sister, what names do you want to give them?"

"Brother, you help me name them." Xiao Xiao held the cub, her eyes full of trust.

"Alright then." Xiao Xie spread the hind legs of the two cubs and took a careful look—one male, one female. He rested his chin in thought for a while and then spoke with full confidence.

"Since we're raising them, they have to take the surname Xiao, right?"

"Mm! Mm!" Xiao Xiao and Ximen Hou nodded simultaneously, both finding this very reasonable.

"The one Sister has is male, so he'll be called Xiao Eleven Wolf!" Xiao Xie patted the cub in his sister's arms, then looked down at the snoring one in his own, "Mine is female, so she'll be called—Xiao Thirteen Lady."

“...”