The Taste Is Off

While Shen Lin and Purple Crystal infiltrated the Wu Family, Sun Zhi finally met this operation's target.

Huang Xiaotian had a dog's head on a human body. His fat frame was squeezed into a grand chair as he enthusiastically admired a painting in his hands.

"Greetings, Third Manager!"

The moment Sun Zhi entered the room, he lowered his head and bowed.

This Third Manager of Black Wind Stronghold was no easy man to deal with.

Sun Zhi had traded with him twice before, but each time, the Blood Food he brought had displeased him. He had even nearly swallowed Sun Zhi whole.

"Oh, Captain Sun is here? Have a seat! What do you think of this painting I just acquired?"

Sun Zhi braced himself and examined the painting in the other man's hands for a while, but he could not see what was so good about those densely packed pine trees.

Yet he could not tell the truth and say that he felt this painting was not as beautiful as the paintings of beauties hanging at the entrances of the city's brothels, could he?

So he could only stammer, "This painting, uh... it's very good. These pine trees are painted, uh..."

"All right, all right. If you can't squeeze anything out, stop blabbering."

Huang Xiaotian waved his hand and muttered in exasperation, "This is the masterpiece of a renowned painter from your Human Race. You uncouth fellow really have no eye for art... Tell me, what brings you here?"

He set the scroll aside, leaned forward, jiggled the rolls of fat on his body, and narrowed his eyes. "You wiped out that Old Fox's entire family, and now you're after my head too?"

Sun Zhi looked as though he had been startled. He hurriedly waved his hands and repeatedly cried, "I wouldn't dare! It's a misunderstanding!"

As he spoke, he secretly surveyed his surroundings from time to time.

The monster had already revealed himself, so why had Shen Lin still not appeared?

Hadn't they agreed that once he lured all the monsters out, Shen Lin would make his move?

Why was it that now...

"Hmm? What are you looking at?"

Of the two dog demons who had brought him inside, the younger one noticed Sun Zhi's furtive movements and immediately roared, "Dog constable! Did you bring someone else with you?!"

As he spoke, his clothes burst apart, revealing a powerful body covered in fur. His sharp claws shot straight toward Sun Zhi, and at the slightest disagreement, he was ready to tear him to shreds.

"Third Brother! Keep your cool!"

After Huang Xiaotian shouted at him and stopped his third brother, he lifted his head and sniffed with his long, narrow nose. Looking at Sun Zhi with a half-smile, he said, "There's no trace of anyone else nearby. Captain Sun, it seems your accomplice didn't come with you."

Those words struck Sun Zhi like a bolt from the blue. His body first trembled, then he quickly reacted and hurriedly put on a fawning smile. "What are you saying, Third Manager? How could I have the guts? I came here only to make a deal with you. As for our two previous deals, didn't we..."

"Speaking of our two previous deals..." Huang Xiaotian cut Sun Zhi off directly. The smile on his face slowly vanished, and his voice turned sinister.

"I wasn't satisfied with the Blood Food the second time. You said you would send me more after a while. But now, half a year has already passed..."

"Captain Sun, you're not a man of your word."

As his voice fell, Huang Xiaotian opened his mouth and looked at Sun Zhi as though he were a delicious chunk of meat.

Sun Zhi was nearly scared into wetting himself, but he still forced himself to say, "I haven't forgotten what I promised Third Manager for even a moment. It's just that so many constables died at the County Yamen some time ago that it wasn't convenient for me to make a move. Now that the storm has passed, wasn't contacting Third Manager the first thing I did?"

"Is that so?"

Huang Xiaotian seemed to accept this explanation and slowly leaned back against the grand chair.

But just as Sun Zhi thought he had successfully survived this calamity, Huang Xiaotian's next words left him rooted to the spot.

"But I heard that you made quite a few deals with that paramour of Xiong Ze's. And afterward, you wiped out that Green Bug and the entire Old Fox family. The reputation of you, Sun Zhi, as a Meridian Opening Realm demon-slaying expert is ringing throughout Qiulin County."

"This... it's all a misunderstanding... a misunderstanding..."

For a moment, Sun Zhi could not think of any reasonable explanation and could only repeat the same words over and over.

Pfft!

The next moment, Sun Zhi felt warmth splash across his face, while a searing pain suddenly flared from his left shoulder.

"Ahhhhhhh..."

He immediately fell to his knees and wailed, clutching his severed arm with his right hand.

Huang Xiaotian's second brother tore Sun Zhi's left arm off, casually took a bite, then frowned and tossed it to Huang Xiaotian.

"Big Brother, something's off about the taste. The flesh and blood of a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist should have much more bite."

Huang Xiaotian caught it, bit down viciously, and snapped Sun Zhi's hand bones. He chewed them with a crunching sound for a while before gulping them down.

"There really is a problem. This fellow's aura is wrong. I thought he had been injured and his condition had deteriorated, but once someone has opened their meridians, the strength of their flesh and blood undergoes a qualitative improvement. This fellow is nothing more than an ordinary martial artist."

"Huh? Then haven't we taken a huge loss this time?"

Huang Xiaotian's second brother scratched his head, his expression dark.

They clearly knew that something was wrong with Sun Zhi, yet they had still agreed to meet him. Their purpose had been to eat the flesh and blood of a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist.

But now, this fellow was actually a fake???

Huang Xiaotian slowly rose to his feet. Like a small mountain, he walked over to Sun Zhi, lowered his head, and asked in a deep voice, "With your strength, you couldn't possibly have killed the Old Fox family, much less that traitor. Who is behind you?"

But Sun Zhi was only focused on wailing. The violent pain had kept him from hearing Huang Xiaotian's question at all.

Seeing this, Huang Xiaotian's third brother swiped out with a claw, forcibly tearing a chunk of flesh from Sun Zhi's back. He tossed it into his mouth and said while chewing, "Big Brother is asking you a question!"

The pain in his left arm had yet to fade when another intense agony erupted from his back. Sun Zhi could not withstand it any longer and rolled his eyes back, fainting on the spot.

"How the hell did he faint just like that? What do we do? Should we stew him?"

Huang Xiaotian slapped his second brother on the head and scolded him, "You brainless fool! Learn from Third Brother and use your head!"

"There must be a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist behind this fellow. The fact that he hasn't appeared yet doesn't mean he'll abandon this fellow."

"How about this, Third Brother! Go stand guard outside first. Report back if you notice anything. If the County Yamen mobilizes a large force, we'll retreat. If only one or two Meridian Opening Realm experts come, then we can have a proper feast."

"Second Brother, tie this fellow up and put an iron pot over the fire to boil some water. If no one comes, we'll use him to tide ourselves over."

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