Teaching

The next day.

The sky had barely begun to pale when Lin Sheng rolled out of bed. After quickly tidying himself up, he headed out to work. As for Xie Guilan, she had already gone out to help somewhere, though no one knew when.

"Ah Sheng, take these two steamed corn buns."

Just as he was about to leave, Lin Hong's voice rang out.

At some point, Lin Hong had already sat on the stone mill in the courtyard, leaning on his cane, with two steamed corn buns in his hand.

"I've already eaten. Take these two and eat them on the way."

Lin Hong said with a smile.

Lin Sheng paused. Only after a long moment did he step forward, accept the buns, and head out.

On the road, he took large bites of the coarse-grain buns in his hand. Naturally, he understood that the two elders had specifically saved them for him.

Things like this happened almost every day. At first, he had thought of refusing, but Lin Hong reacted strongly every time, so he obediently accepted them each time.

Two coarse rice buns had naturally meant nothing to him in his previous life, but this long-lost family affection still stirred something in his heart.

"Beast Hunter Hall."

Lin Sheng swallowed the bun and muttered vaguely to himself.

Inside the slaughterhouse, the repetitive work began once more.

Bleeding, skinning, cutting, deboning...

Step after step.

By the time a rock goat had been fully processed, it was already noon.

Yet at this moment, Wang Dehai, who had always come only in the evenings to inspect everyone's work, unusually arrived at the workshop.

There was none of Wang Dehai's usual indifference on his face. Instead, he wore a broad smile and even carried a trace of fawning servility as he led someone in behind him.

This sight quickly drew the attention of everyone in the slaughterhouse.

Nearly every pair of eyes fell upon the man behind Wang Dehai.

For most of the people in the slaughterhouse, this was their first time seeing Wang Dehai act like this, and they were full of curiosity about the identity of the person behind him.

Lin Sheng was the same, though something had occurred to him. Seeing the unconcealed delight on the faces of several older workers, he became even more certain of his guess.

"Everyone, gather over here and line up."

Wang Dehai turned his attention to the people of the slaughterhouse, coughed lightly a few times, and shouted.

The workers immediately set down their tools and gathered over, looking at the two men with curiosity and anticipation.

The man behind Wang Dehai was a sturdy fellow dressed in a gray short outfit.

He looked about the same age as Wang Dehai. Though he was not tall, standing half a head shorter than Wang Dehai at roughly one meter seventy-five, his entire body was extraordinarily solid and thickset. Standing there, he resembled a stout wall.

"You little bastards have stumbled into great fortune. This is Deputy Hall Master Tian of the Beast Hunter Hall. He's here to speak to you today, so prick up your ears and listen properly."

Wang Dehai took a step back and yielded the space to the stout man beside him.

"It really is the Beast Hunter Hall!"

Upon hearing Wang Dehai's words, delight appeared on the faces of the slaughterhouse workers. The crowd became somewhat noisy for a moment.

"Shut up!"

Tian Hu frowned as he looked at the mostly thin and frail workers before him. He immediately barked out a sharp rebuke, and the disorderly line, stirred by the sudden surprise, instantly settled down again.

That roar was full of force and astonishingly loud, as though it had exploded right beside their ears.

"What a voice."

Lin Sheng was startled as well and silently remarked to himself.

Looking over the now-quiet crowd with an expressionless face, Tian Hu swept his gaze across them before speaking calmly.

"You are all people of Town Mountain Tower. Whether you know it or not, the Beast Hunter Hall is currently short on manpower and needs to select capable people from each hall to join us. Tian will lay the ugly words out first: the Beast Hunter Hall's benefits are indeed excellent, but they are bought with your lives. As members of the Beast Hunter Hall, you will often have to fight the fierce beasts on Yangping Mountain. Joining the Beast Hunter Hall is the same as tying your head to your belt."

Tian Hu paused here before continuing.

"Those who wish to join the Beast Hunter Hall, step forward two paces."

The skinners exchanged glances before stepping forward two paces one after another.

Of the nearly hundred skinners, almost ninety percent stepped out.

"In troubled times, there truly is no shortage of people willing to gamble with their lives."

Looking at the people around him, Lin Sheng silently remarked.

Many people knew a thing or two about the dangers of the Beast Hunter Hall, but it was still far, far better than the slaughterhouse. Moreover, they could come into contact with martial arts. That was why so many were tempted.

Tian Hu seemed to have expected this outcome. There was no surprise on his face as he simply said,

"Those who have chosen to join the Beast Hunter Hall, follow me out."

With that, Tian Hu turned and left, leading the group to the open-air drying area outside the slaughterhouse.

This was where beast hides were normally dried and beast meat air-cured, so it was rather spacious. Even with so many people, they occupied only one corner.

"For the coming month, I will teach you a martial art. If you can gain entry into this martial art within one month, you will qualify to join the Beast Hunter Hall. If not, go back to being skinners."

Only after seeing everyone standing in place did Tian Hu speak calmly.

"So joining the Beast Hunter Hall really isn't that easy."

Lin Sheng was not surprised by Tian Hu's words. If the Beast Hunter Hall could truly be joined so casually with nothing but a bellyful of hot blood, that would have been the truly abnormal thing.

"The martial art I will teach you is called the Raging Bull Fist. Though it is merely an ordinary fist art, it is fairly effective at tempering strength. Once you gain entry into it, with your current shallow foundations, your strength will increase by at least thirty percent. All right, I will first teach you the stance of this fist art's first move. Tomorrow, I will teach you the corresponding Qi Circulation Method. Watch carefully. I will demonstrate it only three times."

Having said that, Tian Hu began without the slightest delay.

The apprentices naturally widened their eyes and watched closely as they learned.

Lin Sheng also began following along with a passable imitation. Although Tian Hu seemed to have little interest in teaching them, his movements were not fast when he demonstrated. On the contrary, he moved rather slowly and methodically, and the movements of the Raging Bull Fist seemed quite simple as well.

After Tian Hu had demonstrated it three times, most people had basically memorized it.

"I will come again tomorrow afternoon. If there is anything you do not understand then, you may ask me."

After giving a few instructions, Tian Hu turned and left, leaving the skinners to practice on their own.

He had come quickly and gone quickly. From the time he arrived until now, he had stayed for only half an hour.

As the Deputy Hall Master of the Beast Hunter Hall, he naturally would not spend too much time on this. Besides the slaughterhouse, he had other places to go to select suitable candidates.