"The Fang family's strength was indeed mediocre, but that didn't mean the Flesh Vajra could wipe them out. The Flesh Vajra's physical strength was truly terrifying, almost without limit, but without tempering the major muscles and bones, its maximum strength was only around twenty thousand jin. Beyond that, its body probably wouldn't be able to hold up!"
Li Zhenshan held forth as he ate.
He had a huge appetite, and he ate at an astonishing speed. When Chu Feng looked again, only a few pieces remained of the seven or eight jin of fragrant pan-fried pork chops.
"You old man, showing up uninvited would've been bad enough, but you're almost going to finish all my meat!" Chu Feng angrily hurried to pull the pot into his arms.
"You were listening too intently. How could you blame me?"
Li Zhenshan gave a sly smile and continued, "I'll tell you more. How about giving me the meat that's left?"
"No way. I'm not full yet!"
His appetite had increased greatly lately. How could Chu Feng let someone else have his food?
"A martial artist who tempers their flesh to the limit is certainly powerful, but they'll also be dragged down by that tremendous muscular strength. Their body can easily become depleted, turning them into a short-lived person!"
Li Zhenshan glanced at Chu Feng and continued, "Take you, for example. You only train without replenishing yourself. Your body looks strong, but in truth, your qi and blood are depleted. You won't live much longer!"
Chu Feng's expression changed dramatically. He carefully recalled the details of how he had exerted his strength before. No wonder he had always felt that his body moved with a sluggish stiffness, like a rusted robot.
Thinking about it now, he had broken through repeatedly, but his body's nutrients had failed to keep up, already leaving behind a hidden danger.
"May I ask, sir, if you have a solution?"
Chu Feng very sensibly pushed the large pot in his arms in front of Li Zhenshan.
"Wait until I'm finished eating."
As he spoke, he alternated between a bite of pan-fried pork chop and a sip of huadiao wine. Chu Feng's stomach rumbled at the sight, but he didn't dare show the slightest complaint.
"No matter how extraordinarily gifted you are, or what a rare martial arts genius you may be, you'll still have to suffer a setback at my hands!"
Li Zhenshan was in high spirits. It was truly not easy to make this stubborn brat lower his head.
After seeing Li Zhenshan finish eating, Chu Feng watched him leisurely pick up a bamboo pick and clean his teeth. He could hold back no longer.
"Master Li, if you like it, should I make it for you again next time?"
"What technical skill is there in this dish? As a chef, would I need you to make it for me?"
Li Zhenshan couldn't help but retort. Only then did he calmly pull a prescription from his robes.
"This is Nourishing Soup Medicine. Boil it according to the instructions, and taking it for three days will replenish your body's depletion. Long-term use will gently nourish your constitution and accelerate your cultivation speed."
"Old man, you didn't poison it and then plan to drag me to the Fang family to claim a reward, did you?"
Chu Feng looked at the wild, flamboyant handwriting on the white paper, half believing and half doubting.
"You can rest assured. The Fang family's paltry reward isn't worth moving me."
Li Zhenshan's brows lifted slightly, clearly a little angry. He stretched out his hand and said,
"Do you want it? If not, give it back."
"I want it... Of course I want it. How could I refuse a gift from an elder?" Chu Feng hurriedly took it back and tucked it into his robes.
"Sometimes you're steady and mature beyond your years, and sometimes you're as sly as a ghost. I've lived most of my life, but I've never seen a junior like you."
As Li Zhenshan spoke, he rose to his feet and sauntered away.
That left Chu Feng to endure his half-empty stomach as he cleaned up the mess, then drift in and out of sleep until dawn.
The next day, before the sky had brightened, Chen Shi Tou woke up and then looked at Chu Feng in terror.
"Master, I didn't say anything bad yesterday, did I?"
"No."
"That's good." Chen Shi Tou patted his heart. He had dreamed yesterday that he cursed Li Zhenshan.
"You only said a few bad things about Master Li, and he happened to hear you." Chu Feng spoke calmly.
"Ah... So it wasn't a dream after all?" Chen Shi Tou cried out in despair.
Early morning.
The morning light tore open the hazy veil of night, and the two of them left home for Hongyun Restaurant.
As usual, Chu Feng processed the livestock purchased from the morning market, though there was even less of it today.
There were only two black goats, ten chickens, and seven or eight fish.
The shopkeeper couldn't be blamed. It was only because quite a bit of the livestock Chu Feng had butchered yesterday was still left.
But before work had even begun, the old shopkeeper summoned everyone and said, "Keep your heads down these next few days. Another murder occurred this morning. Five young girls have gone missing from the civilian district north of the city!"
"Could that Fierce God have done it?"
"I heard that the Fierce God had a blue-green face and fangs, with a body as sturdy as an ox. It must need to drink human blood to survive." Chen Shi Tou spoke with a face full of fear.
"How do you know that?" Chu Feng asked curiously.
"Of course I heard it from the storyteller at the teahouse. With such a huge frame, how could it maintain itself by eating ordinary food? It must be a demon that drinks human blood..."
Chen Shi Tou spoke as though it were only common sense.
"Uh..." Chu Feng was speechless.
"Nonsense. In any case, keep your heads down these next few days and don't go looking for trouble." The shopkeeper was startled by Chen Shi Tou's bizarre notions and interrupted him directly.
After everyone dispersed, Chu Feng went over to Li Zhenshan and deliberately tried to sound him out.
"Master Li, who do you think did this?"
"Perhaps it really was a demon." Li Zhenshan stroked his chin and spoke meaningfully.
"A demon?" Chu Feng was utterly shocked. He had been transmigrated here for more than ten years, yet this was the first time he had heard that demons existed.
"Are there demons in this world?" Chu Feng asked in disbelief, feeling as though his entire worldview had been shaken.
"Since martial artists can split mountains and shatter rocks, overturn rivers and churn seas, what makes you think demons don't exist?" Li Zhenshan said unhurriedly.
"Uh..."
Chu Feng froze. Li Zhenshan's words had opened a corner of the world to him. So he had merely been a mayfly beneath heaven and earth all along.
Ever since transmigrating, Chu Feng's identity had always been that of a servant. The world he had seen was like looking at the sky from the bottom of a well. He knew nothing even of the martial artists' world, let alone the mysterious demons.
"I wonder how many years of life demons can plunder. If I get the chance, I'll definitely give it a try..." Chu Feng stroked his chin and thought.
Seeing Chu Feng's calm expression, Li Zhenshan couldn't help advising him,
"You have some talent, brat, but across the entirety of Jizhou, you can't be considered anything special. If you encounter a demon that can speak human language, run as far as you can. They're at least fourth-rank demons, equivalent to beings at the human 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 was on guard inwardly. He had thought that, with the system helping him advance so quickly, he definitely counted as a genius. He had never imagined that he wouldn't even make the rankings in Jizhou.
At that thought, Chu Feng no longer felt like chatting and hurried to begin working.
[Slaughtered a black goat, plundered 8 months of lifespan.]
After finishing work, Chu Feng planned to go to the medicine shop to buy ingredients and test the prescription Old Li had given him.
Seeing Chu Feng leave leisurely, Li Zhenshan began to feel uncomfortable again.
That brat left so carefree again. Compared to him, I'd looked like an idiot before, knowing only how to work like a fool.
Chen Shi Tou was cutting up ingredients when he suddenly saw Li Zhenshan walking toward him.
Chen Shi Tou immediately grew tense, suspecting that the other man had come to settle accounts with him. He could only brace himself and offer a greeting.
"Master Li..."
"Mm. Cut up the jade-green radishes first. Leave these for now."
Li Zhenshan glanced at Chen Shi Tou and then gave his instructions indifferently.
"All right!"
When Chen Shi Tou saw that the other man wasn't planning to cause him trouble, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He glanced at the meat on the cutting board and could only stop for now, planning to cut it after he finished with the radishes.
He was puzzled. Normally, Li Zhenshan handled these tasks himself and never let outsiders interfere.
Many times before, Chen Shi Tou had offered to help, only to be cursed until his head was drenched in blood.
How could Chen Shi Tou know that Li Zhenshan felt unhappy seeing Chen Shi Tou—who had originally intended to become his disciple—now working like an ox and horse for someone else?
So he had deliberately interrupted Chen Shi Tou, preventing him from helping Chu Feng!
Chu Feng was about to say goodbye to the shopkeeper before heading to the medicine shop to purchase the ingredients needed for the Nourishing Body Soup.
He suddenly raised his head, only to discover that a tall figure was standing in the restaurant hall, which should have been empty.
The sturdy body was covered in bulging veins, a Straight Saber hung at his waist, and a powerful aura radiated from him.
His towering figure formed a stark contrast with the short and thin old shopkeeper.
Apparently sensing Chu Feng's gaze, the man turned around.
Chu Feng froze on the spot. He recognized this man. He was the former chief constable of Yong'an City, the youngest Attendant of the Fang family, and a martial artist of the Muscle Tendon Realm—Gao Han.
His first thought was that this fellow had come to arrest him.
He carefully went over where he might have exposed a flaw. After thinking it through, the only possibility seemed to be the clothes he was wearing.
But reporting someone to the authorities was extremely costly in feudal society. These old clothes weren't worth much, and most people would simply accept their bad luck rather than report it. It was even less likely that they would inform the Fang family and invite disaster upon themselves.
If the other party had already discovered that it was him, he would have attacked long ago. Why would he still be standing here chatting peacefully with the shopkeeper?
"Is this the Chu Liu Xiang who can make livestock lose all awareness before being slaughtered?"
Gao Han smiled and walked toward Chu Feng, his callused hand gripping the hilt of his saber.
The old shopkeeper defended him, saying, "This boy is a distant relative of mine. His family ran into trouble, so he came to seek refuge with me. Lord Gao, look at him—he doesn't even have three liang of flesh on his body. He couldn't possibly be a criminal!"
"Shut up. Let him speak for himself." Gao Han's brows lifted, and impatience surfaced on his face.
The long saber slid an inch from its sheath. Its silver-white blade radiated a chilling cold, and the air around them seemed to freeze solid.
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