At dinner in the Cafeteria, Zhao Han ate a few bites before stopping.
The Energy Pill's effects hadn't worn off yet, so he could eat a little less.
But once they did, tomorrow could be a different story.
Zhao Han didn't know how much someone in the Muscle Refining Realm ate, but he guessed it wouldn't be as outrageous as Li Dalong, Hall Master of Poison Dragon Hall.
Still, it couldn't be too little. He'd definitely need to eat two jin of meat per meal.
Clearly, eating at the Cafeteria wouldn't be enough for him.
"Where's Senior Brother Dong? How come I haven't seen him today?"
"He's probably out socializing. You know Senior Brother Dong is in the Skin Refining Realm, and he's young, too."
"Come to think of it, Senior Brother Dong has a crush on Senior Sister Yu. Too bad the Yu Family is so powerful. There's no way Senior Sister Yu would be interested in his ordinary family background."
"I like Senior Sister Yu, too, but I haven't even reached the Skin Refining Realm. How could I ever catch her eye?"
Hearing people talk about Senior Brother Dong and Senior Sister Yu, Zhao Han smiled.
Your so-called Senior Brother Dong is probably still unconscious, and Senior Sister Yu is badly wounded and looks like a pig's head.
The night passed without incident. The next day...
Something terrible happened in the Slums not far behind Mad Saber Martial Arts School. Several beggars had died horrible deaths, all of them suddenly dying in their sleep at night.
One beggar had gotten up to relieve himself and witnessed the whole thing.
The beggars hurried to the County Yamen to report it, but the runners chased them all away.
"A bunch of filthy beggars. You starve to death and claim a ghost killed you? Only you could make up such an outrageous lie. Keep spreading rumors, and you'll lose your heads."
"Get lost! The County Yamen is an important place. What makes you think you can barge in? Who's going to clean the ground after you dirty it?"
The runners shouted arrogantly, and the beggars could only retreat helplessly.
"What are we supposed to do? The runners don't believe us."
"We saw that monster kill someone with our own eyes last night. It even sucked the life out of him. Why won't they believe us?"
"We're just beggars. Whatever we say is worthless. How could we make the runners believe us? Sigh..."
The beggars had no choice but to walk into the alley, planning to return to the Slums, pack up, and move.
They couldn't stay in the Slums any longer.
But they had barely gone a few steps when they saw five strange people approaching. It was the height of summer, yet they wore Black Robes and Face Masks.
One walked at the head of the group while the other four carried a wooden board. On it stood a Clay Statue of Yin Child.
The five kept chanting their slogan:
"Heaven is dead; the Yin Heaven shall rise!"
"When the great calamity comes, all under heaven will become haunted!"
"The Holy Child is born; the Radiant King emerges!"
"Only our Holy Child can save the people and destroy the haunted!"
"Th-this... Aren't they followers of the Yin Tong Cult?"
"Get away from them. Don't get mixed up with that lot."
The beggars scattered to the side and watched the Yin Tong Cult followers pass.
But when the cultists reached the middle of the group, they suddenly stopped.
Then, with only their eyes showing, they stared straight at the beggars.
"Our Yin Tong Cult saves the suffering and takes the people as its root, making the haunted our enemies."
"I can see that you've encountered a ghost lately. Our Yin Tong Cult won't charge a single coin to destroy it."
"In fact, if you tell us where the ghost is, we'll give each of you five coins."
The Leader spoke calmly, coaxing them along. At the end, he even produced a pouch containing fifty coins and waved it before them.
"Clink, clink..."
The copper coins chimed against one another.
"Gulp..."
The beggars were stunned by such generosity and couldn't help swallowing.
They'd thought the Yin Tong Cult was an evil cult suppressed by the County Yamen, but these people really were giving them money.
"R-really?" One beggar couldn't resist the temptation. Fixating on the coins, he asked.
"The Yin Tong Cult brings blessings to all under heaven and saves the people by destroying the haunted. You can take five coins right now." The Leader smiled, pulled five coins from the pouch, and handed them over.
"These really are coins! Th-this is wonderful!"
The beggar who received the money was overjoyed.
The other beggars also crowded forward, reaching out for their share.
Five coins were no small amount. If they were frugal, they could make them last ten days without starving.
"My lord, the ghost is in the Slums, but it only appears at night. You won't see it if you go now."
"That's right. I saw it suck out someone's soul with my own eyes. In the end, that beggar died in his dream, his face expressionless."
The Leader's eyes turned "benevolent." "I understand what you've told me. Take us there now, and our Holy Cult will surely deal with it for you."
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you!" Everyone hurried to express their gratitude.
They didn't want to move, either. There were several Slums throughout the city, but even the poor had to band together to keep warm.
If they went to someone else's territory, they'd inevitably be driven out.
When they reached the Slums, the Leader looked around, then smiled. "We'll wait here. Once night falls, the ghost will come to us of its own accord and reveal its true form. Then we can capture it."
After saying this, the cultists began surveying the people living in the Slums.
There were beggars, refugees, hooligans, fugitives, and plenty of young people among them.
All of them were resources the Holy Cult needed.
"I'll have someone go buy steamed buns for you. Wang Cai, you go." The Leader gave one of the cultists a meaningful glance.
"Yes, Incense Master!"
At once, a respected old beggar knelt down and said, "On behalf of the three hundred or so people in the Slums, I thank you, my lord, for your generous food relief."
"Not at all. Please, get up. Before my Holy Cult, everyone is equal. There's no need to kneel."
That night, the ghost came. In the beggars' eyes, the Leader of the Holy Cult subdued it, and it vanished mysteriously.
At last, the poor could get a good night's sleep.
Especially after eating the steamed buns, they were so full of sleepiness.
What they didn't notice was that quite a few young people, from their early teens to their twenties, had vanished that night, too.
That day, Zhao Han went around the city asking if anyone was selling pythons.
He found that nobody sold pythons. The Gang Leader of the Poisonous Snake Gang bought them as soon as they were caught.
So Zhao Han could only ask where pythons could be found, or which snake catchers were good at hunting them.
After asking around, he learned that all the snake catchers worked for the Poisonous Snake Gang. They wouldn't sell pythons to outsiders at all.
He did manage to find out where pythons often appeared: Gutter Cave, to the east. They could be spotted there from time to time.
But he still needed a guide, or he could easily lose his way. The guide was leading someone else at the moment and wouldn't be back until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.
He had to put it off for now.
That afternoon, Zhao Han got ready. He bought some Realgar Powder to repel snakes, some Poison Sting to coat his weapon with, and some powder to treat snake venom.
Only then did he return to the martial arts school. He practiced Mad Saber Nine Forms a little under everyone's watchful eyes, then went back to bed to rest, tossing and turning without being able to sleep.
The next day, Zhao Han realized that there wasn't much to do when he had free time, so he opened his space and took a look.
"Since Snake-Style Deft Hand and Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave haven't made any progress, I'll take a look at this martial art."
Zhao Han took out the Yu Family Saber Technique.
[Scanning...]
Yu Family Saber Technique [Not simplified, Unranked]
"Simplify!"
Five taels of silver were gone. Zhao Han had nothing else to practice, and he had plenty of time, but he still decided not to bite off more than he could chew.
[Simplification successful]
Yu Family Saber Technique [Simplified, Unranked, Not started 0/10, write the character Yu on the ground ten times with a saber]
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