The moment his eyes fluttered open, he was met with the dim light of a cave.
The cave was vast, seemingly the lair of some demon race. Yet, to his surprise, there was no foul stench associated with demons.
"My King, he's awake! This human is awake!"
As Chen Nan’s eyes opened, a fox’s excited yelp reached his ears. The voice was female… and incredibly wanton. A potent, musky scent emanated from her.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
The ground trembled. The Black Bear Demon appeared in the cave, a grin splitting its face as it saw Chen Nan awake. "Little fellow, you're finally up. Hungry? What do you feel like eating?"
"We don't have much at Black Wind Ridge, but we'll feed you until you burst!"
Chen Nan would have preferred the Black Bear Demon to just kill him rather than be so overly hospitable. He had a feeling their intentions were not good. With that thought, he sneered, "I want to eat bear paw. Will that fill me up?"
He was desperate. Truly desperate. At this point, his only hope was to enrage the Black Bear Demon and beg for a quick end.
To his astonishment, the Black Bear Demon burst into laughter. From who-knows-where, it produced a large saber and promptly severed its own left paw!
"Holy shit!"
Chen Nan wasn't a coward. But now, his face drained of color, and he let out a curse. Was this Black Bear Demon out of its mind? He'd said it casually, and it had actually chopped off its own paw?
The Black Bear Demon bellowed towards the cave entrance, "Someone! Take my bear paw and stew it for this young brother to nourish his body!"
Chen Nan’s throat went dry. Was this what they called being hospitable? Even with extreme hospitality, one didn't sever their own limb, did they? The more pressing question was, didn't it hurt?
At that moment, two young black bears entered. One of them said, "My King, you want to eat your own bear paw again? This is the eighteenth time this month you've chopped off a limb!"
"Don't believe those human writings about 'must-eat before death' lists! Even if our bear paws are delicious, you can't eat them every day! You need to take care of yourself!"
Chen Nan almost spat out blood! Eighteen times a month, and the purpose was to eat it? This Black Bear Demon was clearly insane.
The Black Bear Demon replied, "This young brother wants to eat bear paw! Stop with the nonsense and go cook it! Add plenty of salt, otherwise, it won't be flavorful!"
Having developed a habit of eating its own paws, Chen Nan suspected this creature had eaten its own brain.
The Black Bear Demon mused, "As for taking care of myself, I've always been confused." It then looked at Chen Nan, its eyes full of curiosity. "Little brother, they say humans are intelligent! So I have a question for you. It's said that severing my own limb affects my cultivation!"
"But eating my paw makes me feel very happy, and after eating it, a new paw grows back, and my cultivation increases!"
"So, the problem is, is this act of mine a self-destruction, or self-preservation?"
Chen Nan felt dizzy. "I… I don't know how to answer that."
"It was my oversight. You just woke up and are weak. It's not advisable to strain your brain!" The Black Bear Demon looked outside the cave and shouted, "Bring the black-tailed monkey here. Let it scoop out some monkey brain to nourish this young brother's mind!"
"???" Chen Nan was stunned! Was the demon realm this brutal?
"My King, did you call for me?"
A black-tailed monkey appeared in the cave, holding a wooden spoon the size of a fist. This monkey was quite large, comparable in size to gorillas on Earth. Its voice was female, and its eyes were filled with adoration for the Black Bear Demon.
The Black Bear Demon said, "This young brother is a bit weak. Dig out a spoonful of monkey brain to nourish him!"
The black-tailed monkey looked disdainful. "No, my brain is only for you to enjoy!"
*Slap!*
The Black Bear Demon roughly swatted it several meters away, eliciting a pained cry. However, it immediately returned to the cave. "My King, please don't be angry! Don't be angry! I'll scoop out a spoonful of my brain for this young brother!"
With that, it lifted its right paw, peeled back its scalp and skull! Then… it inserted the spoon, and scooped out a spoonful of white, tender monkey brain! It looked crystal clear and was steaming hot!
Chen Nan's scalp tingled, and he felt a chill run down his spine. The Black Bear Demon chopping off its paw was one thing. But who could have imagined this black-tailed monkey would actually scoop out its own brain? And that wasn't the most terrifying part! The most terrifying part was when it, with a dazed expression, said, "Comfortable!"
Honestly, Chen Nan was a little scared. No! Not a little scared! He was terrified! What kind of demons were these? They were outright fiends! The series of events had shocked his eyes and shattered his worldview! It even made him feel nauseous…
"Don't be nervous, little brother. I didn't get used to monkey brain at first either, but you'll come to like it over time!"
"This is ranked ninety on the human race's 'must-eat before death' list, even higher than my bear paw!" the Black Bear Demon said, a hint of envy in its tone.
The Black Bear Demon suddenly asked, "By the way, do you prefer salty or sweet? Although it doesn't have much of a fishy taste, if you add salt or honey, it has a unique flavor!"
The black-tailed monkey conjured two jade gourds as if by magic, looking at the Black Bear Demon with affection. "I can be salty or sweet!"
Bringing its own seasonings, how impressive was that? And Chen Nan still felt he had encountered a group of perverts! Even though he found it hard to swallow the monkey brain, he had no choice now! He had to recover his strength quickly and escape this damned place. Otherwise, who knew what the Black Bear Demon would do to him! One thing was certain: if he fell into its hands, life would be worse than death!
"Add some salt. I like it salty," Chen Nan said weakly. On Earth, he preferred savory tofu pudding and considered sweet a heresy!
The black-tailed monkey poured out some mineral salt and found a wooden stick to fully dissolve it. After doing so, it staggered towards Chen Nan as if drunk, extended the wooden spoon, and said with a hint of arrogance, "Here, try it. Besides My King, you are the only one to have tasted my brain!"
Chen Nan felt like vomiting! But thinking of recovering his strength and escaping, he resolutely took the spoon and swallowed it in one gulp! The process was brief, but for him, it was an internal ordeal! He knew monkey brain was a delicacy! But seeing the black-tailed monkey personally dig it out, stir it with salt, and offer it to him… the feeling was truly bizarre, terrifying! Chen Nan was well-educated, but at this moment, he couldn't find any words to describe it!
"How does it taste?" Seeing Chen Nan eat its monkey brain, the black-tailed monkey asked excitedly!
Chen Nan’s face was full of awkwardness. "Can I have another spoonful?"