Gao Han Visits

"The Fang Family's strength is indeed average, but not so weak that a Flesh Vajra could destroy them. A Flesh Vajra's physical strength is truly terrifying, almost limitless, but without tempering the major tendons and bones, their limit is only around twenty thousand jin of force. Beyond that, their bodies likely wouldn't be able to withstand it!"

Li Zhenshan spoke eloquently as he ate.

His appetite was enormous, and he ate with astonishing speed. By the time Chu Feng looked again, only a few pieces remained of the seven or eight jin of pan-fried pork chops.

"You old man, it's one thing to show up uninvited, but you're practically eating all my meat." Chu Feng, annoyed, quickly hugged the pot to his chest.

"You were listening too intently, how can you blame me?"

Li Zhenshan smiled slyly and added, "I'll tell you more if you give me the rest of the meat?"

"That won't do, I haven't eaten enough yet?"

His appetite had increased greatly recently, and Chu Feng wasn't about to give it to anyone else.

"A Quenching Flesh realm martial artist, while powerful, will also be burdened by their immense muscle strength. Their bodies will easily become depleted, leading to a shortened lifespan!"

Li Zhenshan glanced at Chu Feng and continued, "Take you, for example. You only train and don't supplement, your body appears strong, but in reality, your Blood Essence is depleted, and you don't have long to live!"

Chu Feng's expression changed drastically. He carefully recalled the details of his previous exertions. No wonder he always felt a stiffness when exerting force, like a rusty robot.

Thinking back, his body's nutrients hadn't kept up with his continuous breakthroughs, and it had already left hidden dangers.

"May I ask, sir, do you have a solution?"

Chu Feng humbly pushed the large pot from his embrace towards Li Zhenshan.

"I'll talk after I finish eating."

With that, he took a bite of pan-fried pork chop and a mouthful of Hua Diao wine. Chu Feng's stomach rumbled as he watched, but he didn't dare show any resentment.

"No matter how gifted a genius you are, a rare martial arts prodigy, you'll still be stumped by me!"

Li Zhenshan felt refreshed. It wasn't easy to make this stubborn brat bow his head.

After Li Zhenshan finished eating, Chu Feng watched him leisurely pick his teeth with a bamboo skewer and could no longer hold back.

"Master Li, if you like it, I can make it for you next time?"

"What technical skill is there in your cooking? Do I, a chef, need you to cook for me?"

Li Zhenshan couldn't help but retort, then calmly took out a prescription from his robe.

"This is a nourishing soup. Brew it according to the secrets within, and consuming it for three days will replenish your body's depletion. Long-term consumption can also warm and strengthen your constitution, accelerating your cultivation speed."

"Old man, you're not going to poison me and then drag me to the Fang Family for a reward, are you?"

Chu Feng looked at the messy, bold handwriting on the white paper, half-believing, half-doubting.

"You can rest assured, the Fang Family's reward isn't worth my interest."

Li Zhenshan's brow twitched slightly, clearly a little annoyed. He extended his hand and said, "Do you want it or not? If not, give it back."

"I... I want it, how could I not want it? A gift from an elder, I dare not refuse!" Chu Feng quickly took it back and put it in his embrace.

"You're sometimes mature and steady, and sometimes cunning as a ghost. In my many years, I've never met a junior like you."

Li Zhenshan said as he stood up and walked away leisurely.

Only Chu Feng was left to deal with the aftermath with a half-empty stomach, half-asleep until dawn.

The next day, before dawn, Chen Shi Tou woke up and looked at Chu Feng in fear.

"Master, I didn't say anything bad yesterday, did I?"

"No."

"That's good." Chen Shi Tou patted his chest. He had dreamed that he had cursed Li Zhenshan yesterday.

"You just said a few bad things about Master Li, and he happened to overhear them." Chu Feng said calmly.

"Ah... so it wasn't a dream?" Chen Shi Tou cried out in despair.

Early morning.

The morning light tore through the hazy veil of night, and the two arrived at the Hongyun Restaurant from home.

As usual, Chu Feng processed the livestock he had purchased from the morning market. However, the quantity today was even smaller.

Only two black goats, ten chickens, and seven or eight fish.

It couldn't be blamed on the shopkeeper, as there was still quite a bit of the livestock he had slaughtered yesterday remaining.

Before they could even start working, the old shopkeeper gathered everyone and said, "Everyone be well-behaved these past few days. Another murder occurred this morning. Five young girls have gone missing in the civilian area north of the city!"

"It couldn't be that demon, could it?"

"I heard that demon has a green face and fangs, and is as strong as an ox. It must need to drink human blood to survive." Chen Shi Tou said with a fearful expression.

"How do you know that?" Chu Feng asked curiously.

"Of course, I heard it from the storyteller at the teahouse. How could someone of that physique sustain themselves by eating normal food? It must be a Yao that drinks human blood..."

Chen Shi Tou said as a matter of course.

"Ugh..." Chu Feng was speechless.

"Nonsense. In short, behave yourself these few days and don't stir up trouble." The shopkeeper was also startled by Chen Shi Tou's strange idea and directly interrupted him.

As everyone dispersed, Chu Feng sidled up to Li Zhenshan, deliberately trying to pry information out of him.

"Master Li, who do you think did this?"

"Perhaps it really was the work of demons," Li Zhenshan said meaningfully, stroking his chin.

"Demons?" Chu Feng was incredibly shocked. He had been transmigrated for over ten years, and this was the first time he had ever heard of demons.

"Are there demons in this world?" Chu Feng couldn't believe it, feeling his worldview had been shattered.

"Since there are martial artists who can split mountains and rocks, and overturn rivers and seas, why do you think there aren't any demons?" Li Zhenshan said unhurriedly.

"Ugh..."

Chu Feng was stunned. Li Zhenshan's words opened up a corner of his world, making him realize he was merely an insignificant mayfly in this vast world.

Chu Feng had always been a servant since he transmigrated. The world he saw was like looking at the sky from the bottom of a well. He was completely unaware of the world of martial artists, let alone the mysterious demons.

"I wonder how much lifespan demons can plunder. I must try it if I get the chance..." Chu Feng mused, stroking his chin.

Seeing Chu Feng's calm expression, Li Zhenshan couldn't help but offer some advice.

"You have some talent, kid, but you're nothing in the grand scheme of Jizhou. If you encounter a demon that can speak human language, run as far away as you can. They are at least Tier 4 demons, equivalent to humans in the Bone Forging Realm. Don't act rashly and throw your life away!"

"Thank you for your concern, Master Li. I'll be careful."

Chu Feng felt a sense of vigilance. He had thought that with the System's help, his rapid advancement made him a true genius. He never expected to not even rank among the notable figures in Jizhou.

With that thought, Chu Feng lost the mood for idle chat and quickly got back to work.

[Killed Black Goat, plundered 8 months of lifespan.]

After finishing his work, Chu Feng planned to go to the pharmacy to buy medicinal ingredients to test the formula given by Old Master Li.

Seeing Chu Feng walk away leisurely, Li Zhenshan started to feel uneasy again.

The kid had just left so nonchalantly. Compared to him, Li Zhenshan had been acting like a fool, just toiling away.

Chen Shi Tou was in the process of dividing ingredients when he suddenly saw Li Zhenshan approaching him.

Chen Shi Tou immediately tensed up, suspecting the man was here to settle a score with him, but he could only brace himself and greet him.

"Master Li..."

"En, cut the Jade Radish first. You can leave these for now."

Li Zhenshan glanced at Chen Shi Tou indifferently before giving the instruction.

"Got it!"

Seeing that the man wasn't going to cause him trouble, Chen Shi Tou immediately felt relieved.

He glanced at the meat on the chopping block and could only stop, thinking he'd deal with it after cutting the radish.

He was puzzled. Usually, Li Zhenshan handled these tasks himself and never let outsiders interfere.

Many times before, when he had proactively offered to help, he had been thoroughly scolded.

Little did Chen Shi Tou know that Li Zhenshan had seen Chen Shi Tou, who was originally supposed to become his disciple, now toiling away like a slave for someone else. Naturally, he felt uncomfortable.

So, he deliberately interrupted Chen Shi Tou, preventing him from helping Chu Feng!

Chu Feng prepared to greet the shopkeeper before heading to the pharmacy to purchase the medicinal ingredients needed for the nourishing herbal soup.

He suddenly looked up and found a tall figure standing in the restaurant lobby, which should have been empty.

Veins bulged on his strong physique, a saber hung at his waist, and a powerful aura emanated from him.

His imposing stature was in stark contrast to the thin, small old shopkeeper.

As if sensing Chu Feng's gaze, the figure turned around.

Chu Feng froze on the spot. He recognized the man before him: the former chief constable of Yong'an City, the youngest retainer of the Fang Family, a martial artist in the Muscle Tendon Realm—Gao Han.

His first thought was that this man had come to arrest him.

He carefully recalled where he might have slipped up. After much thought, he concluded it could only be his clothes.

However, the cost of reporting someone to the authorities in a feudal society was very high. These old clothes weren't valuable enough for most people to bother reporting it or informing the Fang Family, thus bringing trouble upon themselves. They would usually just accept their misfortune.

If the man had already discovered him, he would have attacked long ago, not be standing here talking politely with the shopkeeper.

"Is this the Chu Liu Xiang who can make livestock be slaughtered without them even realizing it?"

Gao Han approached Chu Feng with a smile, his calloused hand resting on the hilt of his saber.

The old shopkeeper defended him, "This kid is my distant relative. His family suffered a disaster, so he came to me for refuge. Lord Gao, look at him, he doesn't even have two pounds of meat on him. He couldn't possibly be a criminal!"

"You shut up. Let him speak for himself." Gao Han raised an eyebrow, a look of impatience appearing on his face.

He drew his long saber an inch, its silvery blade emitting a chilling coldness that seemed to freeze the surrounding air.