Li Xi saw Stark's hesitation and took a spoonful of rice, feeding it to Stark as he involuntarily swallowed.
This was the first time Li Xi had tasted Avril's cooking. The rice, made to Li Xi's specific request, was filled with a natural aroma that made him feel like he was back in his mother's embrace. Only by tasting it could one truly appreciate Avril's culinary skills. Each grain of rice seemed to have its own life, no wonder the old fellow Demanjia could trade thousand-gold-coin equipment and high-grade holy water for Avril's meals.
"Gulp."
The intense aroma stimulated Stark's stomach, causing a series of gurgles like firecrackers.
Li Xi once again pushed the huge lunchbox and took out a large spoon, big enough to be a cauldron, from his spatial ring. "Don't be polite, I don't have the guts to harm a dragon."
If it were an ordinary human, Stark wouldn't even bother to meet them. It was precisely because Li Xi was a Dragonkin that Stark didn't have much of a guard. Humans who could evolve into Dragonkin must have, in their hearts, recognized dragons and been recognized by them. If dragons and humans were to go to war, Dragonkin would undoubtedly stand firmly on the side of the dragons.
Stark looked at Li Xi's sincere expression, smelled the aroma filling the entire cave, and his four dragon claws subconsciously clenched. This was a small habit of his when he was thinking.
'He must simply want to see me. Such a young Dragonkin must be a good person. There are no extraneous smells in the food, and besides, there aren't many poisons in this world that can incapacitate a dragon.'
Too many thoughts flashed through Stark's mind, but in the end, he couldn't resist the aroma of the food. After forcibly convincing himself, he showed a bashful smile. "I just remembered, the last time I ate was a month ago. My memories are a bit muddled after slumber. I am indeed hungry now."
Li Xi stepped back two paces and gestured for Stark to enjoy.
Stark let go of his reservations. How could he resist? His curiosity had been burning for a long time. He opened his mouth and inhaled the entire box of rice.
Though the amount of rice was enough to feed dozens of people, it was only one mouthful for Stark.
It was so delicious that Stark closed his eyes in enjoyment, immersing himself in the exquisite taste. It was like returning to his life in the dragon egg, so warm, so blissful, listening to his mother's teachings every day, anticipating the world outside the shell. This was what happiness felt like.
However, in his blissful state, his closed eyes prevented him from noticing the strangeness in Li Xi's eyes and the knowing smile on his face.
Stark savored it for a full three minutes, chewing hundreds of times before reluctantly swallowing.
Even a human like Li Xi could see an expression of satisfaction and intoxication on his draconic face.
"Dragonkin, for such delicious food, if you have any questions or wish to know any secrets, you can ask me. I will grant you three questions for free."
"Lord Stark, you misunderstand. I don't have any questions to trouble you with. I simply wanted to treat you to a meal. If you find the taste satisfactory, that is the greatest affirmation for me."
Stark's eyes widened. "This food is from your hands?"
Li Xi nodded humbly like a gentleman. "Besides being a traveler, I am also a gourmand. I most enjoy it when diners like my food."
"If you can make me another portion, I promise to introduce you to all the dragons I know, and your reputation as a gourmand will echo among dragons."
"No problem." Li Xi waved his hand, and another lunchbox of the same size appeared on the ground.
Before Li Xi could even offer it, Stark impatiently inhaled the rice from the lunchbox like a whirlwind. Then, he closed his eyes in enjoyment, and as he chewed, he commented, "This portion is slightly numbing compared to the last. The tingling sensation makes my tongue dance uncontrollably."
Li Xi smiled and took out the beheading saber from his spatial ring. Although Li Xi had wasted several days on this journey, he hadn't done nothing. Most importantly, he had healed the cracks on the beheading saber from the previous battle, and his spatial ring had gained more than a dozen magic crystals for it.
Li Xi didn't rush to act. He was waiting for the anesthetic from the old fellow Demanjia to take effect. He knew that normal dragons were wary of strangers' food, so the first portion contained no anesthetic, just plain food. The real anesthetic was placed in the second portion by Li Xi.
Stark was still completely immersed in the deliciousness, completely unaware that some food had uncontrollably fallen from the corners of his mouth.
As Stark swallowed, he opened his blissfully closed eyes, but his speech had changed drastically. "Dragonkin... Dragonkin, what did you do to me?"
Hearing his own altered voice, Stark instantly realized he had been tricked. His previously relaxed posture immediately straightened, his massive dragon eyes filled with rage. His stiff tongue made every word sound distorted: "Crawler..."
Li Xi held the beheading saber and pointed it at Stark, asking with a smile, "Didn't your mother teach you when you were little not to eat things from strangers? Or did you never listen to your mother when you were a child?"
Such a dismissive attitude showed that he didn't take Stark seriously at all. Although Stark's tongue was numbed, the anesthetic hadn't yet affected his entire body. He opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath, inhaling a large amount of air. A gust of wind immediately blew through the not-so-large cave. Li Xi watched his hair flutter in the wind and Stark's belly swell. "I'm really looking forward to your dragon's breath!"
If Stark could speak properly, he would have cursed Li Xi all the way back to Cardo City.
Stark inhaled to his limit and unleashed a powerful breath attack directly at Li Xi. Blue Dragons were water-elemental dragons. Their breath attacks were not like the fire attacks of Black or Red Dragons. The pale blue breath had both corrosive and low-temperature magical effects.
Wherever the breath passed, it was as if it had been doused with sulfuric acid and then soaked in liquid nitrogen. All the stones turned to powder, like sand in the desert, scattering with the slightest breeze.
Stark exhaled for a full half-minute. Half of the cave was tinted blue. This single breath attack could have enlarged the cave by another section. Stark looked at the now-vanished Li Xi, his rage diminishing slightly. "Crawler..."
"Where are you looking, my little dragon?" A voice he hated and yet secretly feared echoed from above him.
Stark tried to look up, but the anesthetic in his body made his movements slow. Before he could see anything, his head was struck three heavy blows with the back of a saber.
Stark had never imagined that a human, no, a Dragonkin, could possess power even greater than theirs. His entire head felt like his brains had been scattered. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Li Xi hadn't even dared to use his full strength, fearing he might kill Stark with the back of the saber.
Even half of his strength, however, had driven Stark's car-sized head into the dirt. After coughing up a mouthful of mud, Stark remained motionless for a long time.
"So fragile," Li Xi quipped. He conveniently forgot to mention his own current strength. How could an immature dragon withstand his attack?
Li Xi then took out ten two-meter-long pure iron javelins and two iron chains as thick as a thumb from his spatial ring.
He first used the iron chains to tightly bind Stark's limbs. Then, if a large pole were passed through the middle, he would have the perfect image of a pig ready for slaughter during the New Year.
Afterward, he fiercely thrust ten javelins into Stark's wings. Having dragon wings himself, Li Xi knew which part of a dragon's wing was the most vulnerable. The two-meter javelins were all deeply embedded in the ground, ensuring that even if Stark's strength multiplied several times, he couldn't escape.
Most importantly, Li Xi took out several small bottles and tied them to the javelins, ensuring that every drop of blood flowing from the wing wounds would be collected.
The intense pain in his wings startled Stark awake. His head was still groggy when he discovered his limbs were immobile. At this point, the paralyzing venom of the Abyssal Demon Spider had fully spread throughout his body, leaving him only able to move his eyes. All other parts of his body were unresponsive. He couldn't even utter a sound, let alone retaliate against Li Xi, except for glaring with bloodshot eyes capable of burning the heavens.
Li Xi stood before Stark's eyes, ignoring his murderous glare, and maintained his harmless smile. "Don't worry, I'm not a dragon hunter. I have no interest in your life. I just wanted to borrow something from you, and fearing you wouldn't agree, I resorted to this."
Stark's murderous intent did not diminish in the slightest due to Li Xi's assurance. If killing intent could be converted into weight, Li Xi would have been crushed into powder by now.
"Don't look at me like that. I swear to the gods, I will never do anything to harm your life."
Li Xi waved his hand, and a small mountain of food appeared before Stark's eyes: rows of roasted large fish, thousands of roasted chickens, roasted geese, wild boars, whole sheep, and even three massive wild oxen.
With another wave of his hand, a hundred barrels of wheat beer instantly appeared on the ground, each exuding a refreshing aroma of malt.
Li Xi smiled and introduced Stark, "Due to the limitations of my spatial ring, I could only carry this much food. My purpose for coming here is simple: if you can finish all this food and drink all the wine, I will let you go."
Stark didn't understand why Li Xi was doing this and looked at him with bewilderment. Did he capture him just to make him eat all this food? If he hadn't been treated roughly, he would have agreed to these delicacies alone.
Li Xi didn't hide his intentions. "In the human world, the excrement of an adult dragon is worth almost as much as gold coins of the same weight. Even their urine is a valuable commodity. Many people in the mercenary guilds are buying it, so I'd like to trouble you to eat more, drink more, and excrete more."
The immense humiliation pushed the already enraged Stark to the brink of explosion. Such an insult would have provoked even the lowest goblins on the wasteland to resist, let alone a dragon standing at the apex of the world.
Stark's chest heaved violently. If he hadn't been restrained, he would have committed suicide rather than let Li Xi succeed.
His uncontrollably moving dragon mouth opened and closed. Stark wanted to utter a declaration of defiance, but his numbed tongue lay stiffly on the ground, making him utterly incapable of speaking a single word.
Seeing drool flowing from Stark's tongue, Li Xi quickly took out an empty bucket and placed it to catch the drool, ensuring not a single drop spilled. While collecting the drool, he couldn't help but say, "Everything on you is a priceless treasure. This drool shouldn't be wasted. Since you're being so wasteful, I'll gladly take it."
Watching his drool quickly fill half the bucket, Stark closed his eyes in despair, like a lamb resigned to its fate after being violated by dozens of men. His body was alive, but his soul had already returned to the embrace of the Dragon God.