Song Zi'an wiped his tears while answering on behalf of Little Pig.
"Lord Pig... might be too hungry."
Song Zi'an pointed toward the meat mountain.
"Ever since we entered, it has been maintaining this dream realm to protect me from being eaten by those hungry ghosts."
"But its consumption has been too great."
"It won't eat anything I cook. It says the food is disgusting and not for pigs to eat."
"Then it became like this, growing weaker and weaker until it can't even move now."
Chen Zhou glanced at the contents of the pot.
It was clearly sliced from the nearby meat mountain.
Chen Zhou felt that it was only natural for Little Pig to refuse such suspicious food.
However, in order not to discourage Song Zi'an, Chen Zhou stated sincerely, "Little Pig is the Lord of a Thousand Dreams; it doesn't need ordinary food. It eats dreams."
It was a dream demon, after all, and possessed a very fastidious palate.
As he spoke, Chen Zhou patted Little Pig's head and fed it one of the soul-shaping pills.
"Wake up."
Little Pig gave a weak grunt, appearing slightly more spirited.
Chen Zhou rubbed its ears and asked, "By maintaining such a vast dream and pulling so many hungry ghosts into it, aren't they all your rations?"
"Is it still not enough to eat?"
Logically, with so many ghosts dreaming together, the dream energy produced should have been enough for a feast.
Little Pig shook its head with great effort.
It transmitted a sliver of intent.
'I don't know.'
'I just feel very hungry.'
Even though those ghosts were dreaming, their dreams were filled with nothing but hunger and emptiness.
The dreams it consumed made it feel hungrier the more it ate, weaker the more it consumed, and more ravenous the more it fed.
Fearing it would end up like the hungry ghosts outside if it continued, it had simply forced itself to stay awake and hypnotized itself to stop eating.
Little Pig thought that if it just slept, it wouldn't feel hungry anymore.
Chen Zhou frowned.
Even a dream demon couldn't obtain energy from these dreams and would only get hungrier?
After all, dreams were supposed to be beyond the scope of ordinary food, yet the laws of the Path of Hungry Ghosts were still in effect.
Nearby, Song Zi'an and the Nine-Age Crane doted on each other for a moment.
"Gurgle..."
Song Zi'an's stomach suddenly let out a thunderous growl.
His face turned red as he clutched his belly.
"That... Your Eminence, Ling, I'm hungry too."
As he spoke, he skillfully picked up the pot from the ground and served a bowl of the freshly stir-fried black meat.
He didn't have chopsticks, so he used his hand to grab a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.
He chewed vigorously, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.
"It's so delicious..."
"Ling, you have some too."
While eating, Song Zi'an grabbed a handful and fed it to the Nine-Age Crane.
Although the Nine-Age Crane was somewhat resistant to the dark, scorched-looking substance, it saw Song Zi'an eating with such gusto and was indeed too hungry to bear it any longer.
It took a tentative peck.
The next second, its eyes lit up.
Though the meat looked ugly and lacked a pleasant aroma, it provided a strange sense of fulfillment upon entering the mouth.
It was like highly compressed dry rations; with one bite, the burning sensation in its stomach was instantly soothed.
Chen Zhou's eye twitched.
This kid was truly unrefined, throwing just anything into his mouth.
Chen Zhou asked, "Is that thing really safe to eat?"
With his mouth stuffed full, Song Zi'an mumbled, "It should be fine."
"I observed for a long time."
"Those hungry ghosts become quiet and stop being frenzied after eating this meat."
"Moreover, I studied meat-handling skills under my master for a long time. While my ability to distinguish ingredients isn't as divine as his, I do understand the basics."
"The first step for a good cook is to learn how to identify ingredients."
Song Zi'an swallowed the meat and spoke seriously.
"I have carefully studied the texture and aura of this meat."
"I don't know what it is, as it doesn't seem like ordinary animal meat, but it is definitely edible."
As he spoke, Song Zi'an's expression became dejected again.
He looked around and sighed.
"After entering the Path of Hungry Ghosts, I searched the entire palace through many dangers, but I still haven't found Master."
"But I can clearly feel that Master is here."
"That familiar feeling is nearby."
He sniffled, sadly stuffing meat into his mouth, turning his grief and indignation into an appetite.
"And this meat... is really filling."
He offered a piece to Chen Zhou. "Lord, would you like to try some?"
Chen Zhou waved his hand to decline.
He didn't need to eat, nor did he want to consume such a bizarre thing.
Seeing this, Song Zi'an didn't insist and continued eating while feeding the Nine-Age Crane.
"This meat is truly peculiar."
"Eating it provides a sense of satiety, so one won't be affected by the hunger of the Path of Hungry Ghosts."
"But I'm also trapped here, needing to eat constantly. Otherwise, once the effect wears off, I'll be controlled by hunger again and won't be able to stop myself from wanting to eat other things."
At this point, a trace of lingering fear appeared on Song Zi'an's face.
"Everything in the Path of Hungry Ghosts is inedible. It's like an addiction; the more you eat, the hungrier you get."
"Only this piece of black meat is an exception."
Chen Zhou keenly caught the keyword.
"You ate other things?"
Song Zi'an bowed his head in shame, his face turning beet red.
"That... when I first arrived, I really couldn't hold back."
"The soil on the ground smelled quite fragrant, so I... ate a bit."
"As a result, the more I ate, the more addicted I became. I wanted to keep eating and couldn't stop at all."
"I almost stuffed myself to death."
"Fortunately, Lord Pig arrived in time, knocked me unconscious, and brought me into the dream."
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Chen Zhou.
He snapped his gaze toward Song Zi'an.
"What did you just say?"
Song Zi'an was startled. "I said I was saved by Lord Pig and brought into the dream..."
"No, the sentence before that."
Chen Zhou's gaze became sharp.
Song Zi'an scratched his head and repeated with some uncertainty.
"The soil on the ground smelled fragrant, the more I ate, the more addicted I became, and I wanted to keep eating and couldn't stop?"
"Lord, is there something wrong with the soil?"
Chen Zhou didn't answer, merely repeating a single word.
"Addiction."
His eyes turned somber as he looked at the half-eaten piece of black meat in Song Zi'an's hand.
Song Zi'an's words allowed Chen Zhou to instantly connect the scattered clues.
The soil on the ground was addictive; the more one ate, the more one wanted, until they stuffed themselves to death.
The illusory rotting meat in the pot was addictive; even after it turned into pus and blood, they couldn't stop.
The dreams the hungry ghosts had were also increasingly addictive and hollow, to the point where even a pig didn't dare to eat too much.
Even the feathers on the Nine-Age Crane, which didn't belong to the Path of Hungry Ghosts, would cause the hungry ghosts to become addicted.
Everything in the Path of Hungry Ghosts, whether physical or illusory, seemed to carry an extremely strong sense of addictiveness.
Chen Zhou suddenly realized how similar this property was to the Golden Buddha.
Wu Gou had once said that the Golden Buddha was a lump of addictive antidote. Eating it could cure death qi, but one would become addicted to pure flesh and blood.
And now, this place was covered in things that made people addicted.
If the Golden Buddha was hidden within the Path of Hungry Ghosts, hidden within the dream of a certain hungry ghost, and was radiating its original aura, then it perfectly explained why the entire Path of Hungry Ghosts displayed such addictive traits.
It was assimilating the entire Path of Hungry Ghosts.
Rate on N.U.
