Night had deepened. In a small inn in the south of the Outer City, Li Cunxiao opened his eyes on the bed.
By the time he got out of bed and took a set of midnight-blue, nearly black night clothes from his bundle, an attendant outside knocked softly on the door and called out:
"Guest, there are still two quarter-hours until the Hour of the Pig."
"Alright, I know."
Only after the footsteps had faded did he swiftly change clothes, pull a loose cloth robe over them to conceal them, and head downstairs at a brisk pace.
Li Cunxiao, Qin Yu, and the others were merely ordinary escort agency hands. Their usual errands outside were not subject to particularly harsh restrictions, but sneaking out in the dead of night was naturally not allowed.
Thus, after finishing work that afternoon, He Bi had informed the steward and left the escort agency with Li Cunxiao. They would not be returning that night.
Li Cunxiao naturally would not presumptuously visit someone's home as a guest. He found an inn himself and, after eating, closed his eyes to rest.
Under normal circumstances, the hands went to sleep at the hour of the dog, around eight at night, and rose at the Hour of the Tiger, around four in the morning, to train. He had to make preparations for tonight.
Before long, footsteps sounded from the street. Li Cunxiao looked closely and saw that He Bi had brought two guards with him. Their palms were broad and their eyes bright; one look was enough to tell that they possessed martial skill.
After some thought, he understood. Unlike himself, who had been born poor, He Bi was the son of a wealthy Outer City merchant. A thousand pieces of gold could not buy back a careless life; they were heading for the black market, so it was only right to be prepared for any eventuality.
"Brother Li, let's go."
With He Bi leading the way, they slipped into a desolate stretch of southern city, winding through twists and turns until they arrived before the entrance to an underground passage.
Not long after entering, the view suddenly opened up. Scattered lamplight flickered on and off, outlining the shape of an enormous underground market.
Every dozen or so steps, someone sat on the ground with a stall, selling an endless variety of strange goods. Some were caked in dirt, as though they had just been dug from the earth; others were smeared with blood, and one could still smell the stench upon drawing close. There were even naked women and children, beautiful youths, all packed into cages like livestock.
He Bi and Li Cunxiao both frowned at the sight. They hurried through the stall area, and at the very back stood a shop with no signboard.
"This is Firewood Gang business."
He Bi spoke softly, and Li Cunxiao immediately understood.
Cities were densely populated places, so demons were naturally rare there. The countryside and deep mountains were the hunting grounds of those creatures.
For the moment, it was unknown what means the Inner City Lineages used to supply Demon Meat. But regardless, where there were martial artists, there were people who needed Demon Meat; where there was a market, there were people who profited from it.
The Firewood Gang controlled several Mountain Forests closest to Chuqiu County. Gathering firewood, collecting herbs, hunting—none of it could bypass them.
The common folk either paid to enter the mountains or risked going several miles farther into unclaimed deep mountains, where wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards made the danger self-evident.
Demon Meat was naturally a lucrative business as well. The Firewood Gang did not dare openly contend with the Inner City, so they took the lead in setting up a black market.
The meat in this shop was naturally more expensive than that at the outside stalls, but its supply was steadier, and its processed quality was more guaranteed.
"Just this little bit costs thirty taels of silver?"
A moment later, Li Cunxiao and He Bi emerged from the shop. Weighing the paper packet containing roughly a jin of meat, they could not help clicking their tongues inwardly.
Thirty taels for one jin meant three taels of silver for one liang of Demon Meat—the equivalent of three months' wages for a laborer.
Three months' wages for just one liang of meat?
Even though someone else had paid this time, Li Cunxiao still felt the pain in his flesh.
"Scholarship impoverishes; martial arts enrich."
He Bi could not help smiling at that.
"Brother Li is absolutely right, but this money cannot be saved."
"Though the Firewood Gang's shop is in the black market, its goods can still be called worth every coin."
"If you buy that unprocessed Demon Meat from the street stalls, too much ferocious Baleful Intent remains inside. Eating it can easily leave one muddleheaded, irritable, and mad."
"I have even heard that some people developed abnormalities on their bodies after eating too much."
Hearing He Bi's quiet warning, Li Cunxiao's expression grew solemn. He indicated that he had taken the lesson to heart, and only then was He Bi at ease. After leaving the black market, the two went their separate ways.
"Processed Demon Meat may be good, but it is too expensive. I cannot keep borrowing money to buy meat."
"Relying on others is not the way to survive."
A few minutes after He Bi left, Li Cunxiao turned around and slipped back into the black market. Before long, he arrived at a stall he had noticed earlier.
"How much is the Demon Meat?"
The stall owner looked up. Seeing a person shrouded in a cloak, he answered expressionlessly:
"Three taels of silver per jin."
Li Cunxiao's eyes lit up.
Three mace of silver for one liang of meat was still expensive, but compared with the shop's prices, it was acceptable.
"Cut me a piece to try."
Only then did the stall owner reveal surprise. He pulled out a knife and, with extreme stinginess, cut off a tiny piece no larger than a little fingernail. He even sneered as he said:
"Eat it if you're not afraid of turning into a madman."
Seeing the owner's manner, Li Cunxiao instead became certain that the man was selling genuine goods.
Sure enough, once the jerky-like meat entered his stomach, a wave of heat arose along with an unprovoked feeling of irritation. But as the Vajra Scepter glimmered faintly, his mind instantly cleared.
It was genuine.
"Give me two jin."
Hearing no abnormality in Li Cunxiao's tone, the owner finally breathed a sigh of relief and quietly moved his right hand away from the knife hilt at his waist—customers had gone mad and hacked at people after sampling the meat before.
After taking the money and swiftly wrapping the purchase, Li Cunxiao said nothing further and quickly left.
A quarter-hour later, he returned to the inn without incident.
Li Cunxiao first opened the packet bought from the Firewood Gang shop. There were ten strips of jerky, each one liang. They were dark red in color, and their smell clearly carried added spices.
"Three taels per strip."
The jerky entered his mouth, its saltiness laced with a spicy flavor. Li Cunxiao chewed it to pieces with force, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Gulp.
As the heat spread out, Li Cunxiao immediately began practicing the Tiger Form Eight Styles in his room. Pure nutrition nourished his Blood Essence, while an even stronger irritation than before swept over his heart. The Vajra Scepter flashed repeatedly.
If one had to make a comparison, the irritation from eating Zhang Yuelu's jerky was like accidentally swallowing a fly. The irritation from eating the Firewood Gang's jerky was like someone forcing a mouthful of shit down one's throat.
A quarter-hour later, the Medicinal Power vanished, as did the irritation. The Vajra Scepter had charged by roughly one-twelfth.
"The Baleful Intent truly is greater than in Zhang Yuelu's jerky, but the Blood Essence within it is much weaker as well. It was exhausted in only a quarter-hour."
"It seems the Firewood Gang's technique for processing demons really is poorer. While removing the Baleful Intent, they also shaved away the essence of the flesh and blood."
Li Cunxiao drew a deep breath, took out the other packet of jerky, opened it, and tore off a piece of roughly one liang.
The pitch-black jerky looked far less appetizing. Not only was its stench overwhelming when it entered his mouth, it also ate like a piece of wood.
Yet when the Blood Essence in the flesh dissolved and the Baleful Intent erupted, Li Cunxiao's expression changed instantly.
Hot, hot, hot!!!
In an instant, fierce heat spread from his chest and abdomen to every limb and bone, as though his body had been tossed directly into boiling water. His skin immediately reddened like a cooked shrimp, and his veins bulged like earthworms bursting from the soil.
At the same time, an intense urge to destroy surged into his mind. For a moment, even the teacups sitting on the table offended his eyes, and he desperately wanted to smash everything apart to vent it.
A young married couple occupied the room next door. In the stillness of the deep night, faint moans drifted over.
The instant the sound entered his ears, Li Cunxiao's eyes filled with bloodshot veins. Like a husband whose wife had cuckolded him, he actually felt the urge to kill.
With negative emotions this intense, if he truly consumed it every day, mental collapse would likely be only a matter of time.
Fortunately, he had the Vajra Scepter.
In the blink of an eye, clarity returned to his mind. Li Cunxiao forcibly suppressed the emotions in his heart and began practicing the Tiger Form Fist with savage movements. The Vajra Scepter in his mind seemed like a breathing light; with his movements, clarity and madness continuously alternated, while the golden light steadily rose.
For some reason, in this state of madness with a single thread of clarity preserved, his practice of the Tiger Form Eight Styles became more efficient than usual. He could distinctly sense Blood Essence as thick as his thumb flowing through his fists and legs along with the movements of his limbs.
If he could train with this efficiency every day, then in less than a month, he would be able to manipulate blood essence, bring his fist art to minor mastery, and break through to Subdue Qi!