Chapter Thirty-Three: I Am an Ingredient? I Shall Go Find Someone!

After cursing the proprietor, Li Yan began to weigh his options. He frowned and said to the man, "Let me go. I'll compensate you for whatever I wasted. Is that acceptable?"

However, the proprietor was not swayed by such tactics. He merely smiled at Li Yan and replied, "Will you eat it or not? If not, then kneel and kowtow to me."

Enraged, Li Yan drew his dagger and lunged at the proprietor once more. The man recoiled in pain, loosening his grip. Relieved that he had been released, Li Yan flexed his wrists, intending to give the unreasonable proprietor a sound beating.

Terrified, the proprietor backed away, pleading incessantly, "I'm sorry! I just can't stand to see food wasted. I truly didn't mean it." He then proceeded to kneel on the ground and slap his own face.

Li Yan was left speechless by this display; he hadn't even said anything yet, and now the man was slapping himself? Still, Li Yan did not intervene. He was beyond fed up and desperate to leave. But just as he stepped out the door, a sudden darkness clouded his vision, and he collapsed to the ground.

Once Li Yan had fallen, the proprietor went to the threshold, scanned the surroundings to ensure there were no zombies, and dragged Li Yan back inside. He placed him into a wooden barrel and began to bathe him.

The icy water jolted Li Yan from his unconscious state. He awoke to find himself soaking in the barrel, with the proprietor scrubbing him down in an awkward and angry manner. Li Yan tried to stand up to leave, but the man shoved him back into the barrel. Inside the water, there seemed to be Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and other strange, pungent ingredients.

A dark premonition washed over Li Yan: was the man planning to eat him? He realized he could not simply sit by and wait for his fate. Channeling the energy within his body, he shattered the wooden barrel.

The proprietor was surprised to see Li Yan break free. He glared at him and commanded, "Get into the pot and bathe!"

Li Yan was no pushover. Refusing to comply, he slashed the proprietor with his blade and attempted to flee. However, he found he could not escape; the proprietor had locked the doors to the space and sealed the windows. Li Yan attempted an unlocking spell, but the locks remained fast.

The proprietor moved swiftly to Li Yan’s side and struck him on the back of the head. Li Yan instantly blacked out.

When he awoke again, he was lying on a wooden board, his body bound and his acupoints sealed. He could not move, and he struggled to focus his thoughts. Standing before him was the proprietor, who held a knife and inspected Li Yan from head to toe. Seeing that his captive was awake, the man flashed a terrifying smile, drool dripping from the corners of his mouth.

For a fleeting moment, Li Yan thought he saw the shadow of a Taotie looming over the man, though he dared not confirm it. The proprietor chuckled and said, "Oh, you're awake? Tell me, where should I start cutting? It’s been so long since I've had such delicious ingredients."

Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine. He was being treated like mere produce? What kind of creature was this? His eyes darted around, frantically searching for a way out. He struggled to move his mouth, signaling that he could not speak. The proprietor smiled and flicked his finger across Li Yan’s lips, restoring his voice.

"Boss, I can go find you more people," Li Yan suggested tentatively. "Just don't cut me." It was nothing more than an excuse to get away. He watched the proprietor cautiously.

The man paused, then interrogated him sternly, "Can you really find other people?"

"Yes," Li Yan replied firmly.

Though still skeptical, the proprietor chose to lift the restraints. Li Yan scrambled off the board and offered a strained smile. "Thank you, you are very kind."

As he prepared to leave, he realized that although the proprietor had agreed to let him go, he had implanted something in Li Yan's body, warning him that if he failed to bring back more people, he would die out there. Li Yan tried to resist, but failed, and was forced to submit to the implantation. He finally managed to escape the shop.

Once outside, Li Yan pondered his next move. He did not want to see innocent people harmed, nor did he wish to die himself. Just as he was agonizing over the dilemma, he spotted two men he had encountered before: Zhou Mo and Lin Yanbai. They were the ones who had previously claimed their boss wanted to see him and had clashed with him.

Li Yan initially tried to bypass them, but they spotted him and immediately gave chase. They cornered him on the road and began shoving him. Lin Yanbai stared at Li Yan’s disheveled state and mocked, "Oh, it's been a while. How did you end up in such a sorry state? I thought you were dead."

Li Yan was furious and reached out to strike him, but Zhou Mo caught his hand.

"You're so petty," Zhou Mo said with a grin. "Is it really worth hitting someone over a couple of jokes? What right do you have to be violent? Look at you, you've got bugs crawling all over your face. It's disgusting. Brother Lin, shall we go?" Zhou Mo covered his mouth as if about to retch.

Li Yan found them absurd. Were they sick? Picking a fight the moment they saw him? He could take it no more. He wrenched his hand free and snapped, "I'm going to make you regret this today."

He began to fight them, and soon, Zhou Mo and Lin Yanbai were soundly defeated. To Li Yan’s surprise, even after being beaten, they didn't flee. He had intended to stop after teaching them a lesson, as he saw no reason to take their lives. But as the fight continued, a crowd suddenly gathered.

The onlookers, seeing the scene, began to criticize Li Yan. "How can you beat people like that?" they cried. "As the last remaining humans, we must stand together..."