"Go ahead," the young man at the table said, glancing at the pangolin in the basin of water.

People came to Wei Xian Pavilion for one reason: to eat exotic game they couldn't find anywhere else. It wasn't the kind of thing you could have whenever you wanted.

Many who couldn't get an order were resentful, complaining that they had come for nothing.

Now, all eyes were fixed on the pangolin in the basin. Even if they couldn't eat it, they could at least get a good look. Many people envied the young patrons at that table.

Tu Xiao'an had seen the menu. A single Pangolin cost a whopping fifty thousand—an incredibly high price. And even then, it was unavailable now.

Pangolins were said to have medicinal properties. They were considered a Miracle Elixir that could invigorate blood flow, dredge the meridians, nourish yin, and fortify yang. This was why the creatures were being eaten to the brink of extinction.

Unlike Snakes, which were highly fertile, pangolins had only one pup per year. Furthermore, they could only survive in the wild and couldn't be bred in captivity.

Because they simply couldn't be kept alive.

Tu Xiao'an glanced at the long-tailed Pangolin in the basin, then began ordering other game dishes. After he'd chosen six or seven, the waitress withdrew.

"Benefactor, that poor Pangolin..."

Though Haitang was a Cat Spirit, she was the epitome of kindness and beauty. It was an animal, just like her, and she found it hard to accept that it was about to be served up as a meal.

Tu Xiao'an remained impassive. His heart had grown cold and apathetic, and he felt nothing out of the ordinary. 'The strong prey on the weak. Why are Pangolins facing extinction?'

'It's because they're too weak. Weakness is the original sin. Whose fault is it but their own that they're so easily captured?'

'In this day and age, even Awakened Creatures are hunted down to become Spirit Medicine for human Martial Cultivators. What chance does an ordinary animal have?'

The young chef lifted the Pangolin from the basin. Out of fear or an instinct for self-defense, the Pangolin curled its body tightly into a ball.

Many diners paused their meals to watch the young chef prepare the Pangolin to be killed and grilled right there in the hall.

"Killed to order, not bad, eh? It's just a shame we couldn't get a private room and have to sit in this noisy main hall," the young man in the lead said to his companions.

"This is fine, too. They can only stare with envy while we eat. It actually makes it more fun," one of his friends replied.

The young chef skillfully tried to uncurl the Pangolin, but after struggling for quite a while, he couldn't get the tightly coiled creature to straighten out.

"Hey, can you even do this or not? When do we get to eat?" the group's leader demanded, watching him struggle for ages, unable to even uncurl the animal.

"Almost there, almost there," the young chef said, looking embarrassed. Handling a Pangolin was a troublesome task to begin with.

Especially when it was curled up. It had to be straightened first because its armor was so tough that not even the sharp teeth of a tiger or leopard could pierce it.

Unable to uncurl it or budge it, the fuming chef slammed the Pangolin onto the floor. As he repeatedly smashed it down, he explained that the pain should force it to straighten out.

But after several slams, the Pangolin's small, terrified eyes had closed. A trickle of bright red blood seeped from the corner of its pointed mouth, yet its body remained coiled, curling even tighter than before.

Many who witnessed this found it rather cruel. You really couldn't watch a live slaughter like this. It would ruin anyone's appetite.

Of course, it all depended on the customer. Some cold-hearted people relished this kind of display. 'If this kills your appetite, why did you even come to eat exotic game?'

Fury crossed the young chef's face. 'Is this little pest trying to get me fired?' If the customers canceled their order, he'd be in deep trouble.

Furious, he grabbed the Pangolin with a pair of iron tongs and held it directly over a brazier.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK..."

The Pangolin let out a pained shriek. It was roasted until its Scale Armor began to flake off, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Yet it remained coiled, refusing to straighten.

It was as if it would rather die than become a meal for humans.

"This is too cruel!"

Haitang shot to her feet, her almond-shaped eyes wide with horror, about to intervene. But just then, the burning Pangolin convulsed violently, went rigid, and then, in an instant, stopped breathing.

It was dead, burned alive.

"Hmph. Burned you to death. Let's see you stay curled up now," the young chef sneered with a laugh.

Tu Xiao'an watched in cold silence. 'The Pangolin is pitiful, but that's all there is to it.' He wasn't one to lament the state of the world. Things like this happened all the time. Once an animal was classified as game, it couldn't escape its fate of being killed and eaten.

'It would be naive of me to get involved in something like this.'

Once the Pangolin died, its body slowly began to uncurl. But an instant later, the onlookers gasped in shock. There, on its now-exposed belly, wriggled a tiny, pink, almost translucent baby Pangolin. It was no bigger than a mouse, its umbilical cord still connecting it to its mother. Its tiny mouth opened and closed, as if silently calling for her.

"Sob... So the mother Pangolin was protecting her baby, even in death. How noble..."

Tears streamed down Haitang's face at the sight, a picture of heart-wrenching pity.

Since Chen Gao Yang was blind, he didn't know what had happened and looked completely lost.

Many of the patrons were moved by the sight, murmuring that the Pangolin possessed a powerful spirit.

It was such a shame for it to die like this, only to be turned into a meal.

"Amitabha..."

Celestial Master Zhang's expression turned grim. Perhaps he was recalling the scene of his own child being thrown into a well by the villagers, and the village beauty who had followed by jumping in after.

The two scenes were so similar—both were sacrifices made for a child.

All things in heaven and earth have a spirit.

The moment Tu Xiao'an saw the tiny, pink, translucent baby Pangolin, an unstoppable Killing Intent surged within him. A cold, sinister aura emanated from his body, and the temperature in the main hall plummeted.

"What's happening? It's freezing!"

Many of the patrons suddenly felt a chill run through them and began to shiver uncontrollably.

Tu Xiao'an never would have imagined it. The mother Pangolin, weighing no more than ten pounds, had endured being smashed and burned with her own flesh and blood—all to protect her child. Roasted half-dead, she had still managed to keep her baby completely safe.

She had been burned alive without letting the Little Pangolin suffer the slightest harm.

It turned out that beneath the Pangolin's hard armor lay the softest of hearts.

Tu Xiao'an could no longer remain cold-blooded. A chord had been struck deep within his heart.

The image of his own mother surfaced in his mind. 'A mother's love is this powerful.'

"Haha... You guests at this table are incredibly lucky! You've hit the jackpot—it's a buy one, get one free deal!"

The young chef roared with laughter. "The meat of a newborn cub is even more tender and delicious!"

"Well, it looks like our luck is pretty good after all," the young man in the lead laughed. "Get on with it. I'm curious to see which is tastier, the old one or the young one."

The young man in the lead laughed. 'Just a mere Pangolin, trying to protect its young? It's just a beast. In this world, humans reign supreme. If we want to eat you, you become our food.'

Clearly, the preceding scene had not moved the young chef or the table of young patrons in the slightest. To them, it was just food, incapable of inspiring any deeper thought.

Haitang could no longer hold back. She rushed forward and snatched the lifeless mother Pangolin from the young chef's hands.

"Miss, what are you doing?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You monster!"

Haitang shot the young chef a vicious glare and gave him a hard shove.

With that one push, the young chef was sent flying backward. He soared over four or five tables before smashing headfirst into a wall and collapsing, unconscious.

He likely wouldn't be getting out of bed for several months without a hospital stay.

Haitang's actions left the other patrons staring, dumbfounded. Such a beautiful woman possessed terrifying strength.