After a pause, Fang Meiqin looked Li Beichen over again.
"You're exactly the type she likes."
"Don't worry. My aunt is beautiful and well-off. She can easily support you while you practice martial arts."
"You can meet each other first. If my aunt doesn't take a liking to you, I'll compensate you with one or two catties of Exotic Beast Meat."
Fang Meiqin was blunt. If her aunt didn't like him, she'd compensate him. But if she did, then as long as Li Beichen agreed now, he wouldn't be able to refuse.
A true man was born between heaven and earth. How could he live beneath another's heel for long?
And this would mean marrying into her family and acting according to a woman's whims.
Li Beichen shook his head and politely declined.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Fifth Senior Sister. I haven't yet achieved anything in the martial path, and I don't wish to marry."
"Fine. My promise stands until my aunt finds herself a suitable husband. If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."
Though Fang Meiqin wasn't annoyed by Li Beichen's refusal, she had no desire to keep chatting.
Li Beichen knew it would likely be difficult to get Fang Meiqin to give him one-on-one instruction again.
But he had never relied on that in the first place.
"Then, Fifth Senior Sister, I'll take my leave."
He had no hope of getting Exotic Beast Meat for the time being. Fortunately, Li Beichen now had plenty of silver.
One porcelain bottle of Giant Elephant Meat-Refining Paste cost ten taels and would last him ten days. After that expense, the braised-food business had still earned him six or seven taels.
With silver in his pocket, after finishing his afternoon training, Li Beichen headed straight for the Free Trade Market outside Ram City.
In front of the Game Shop.
"Shopkeeper Zhang!"
"You are... Brother Li?"
Shopkeeper Zhang recognized the familiar voice, but it took a careful look at Li Beichen's face before he knew who it was.
He looked at Li Beichen, who had grown noticeably bulkier.
He couldn't help marveling.
"Brother Li, you've changed so much! Look at those muscles—amazing. I was blind before. You've got real talent."
"Haha, you flatter me, Shopkeeper Zhang."
"I came to buy some venison from your shop. If you have bear or tiger meat, that'd be even better."
Half a month ago, Li Beichen had been a hunter bringing game in for Shopkeeper Zhang to buy. Now he was a customer looking to purchase it.
Shopkeeper Zhang felt as if he were dreaming.
But he quickly recovered and gave a wry smile.
"Brother Li, you're joking. There aren't any tigers or bears in the mountains around Ram City. You'd have to go deep into the mountains to find any."
"Bear and tiger meat are hard to come by."
"I've got some venison, but regular customers reserved most of it in advance. There's only a dozen or so catties left..."
Hearing there were only a dozen or so catties, Li Beichen furrowed his brow.
That would only last him two or three days.
Still, it was better than nothing.
"Fine, Shopkeeper Zhang. I'll take it all. How much?"
"Two taels and three qian. Just give me two taels, and I'll throw in a pig's trotter. May your martial fortunes prosper, Brother Li, and may you achieve Grade Entry soon!"
Shopkeeper Zhang smiled as he wrapped up the goods for Li Beichen.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Zhang! If you get any more venison, please save some for me."
"Will do!"
Li Beichen handed over the silver, picked up the venison, and returned to Clear Creek Village.
In the days that followed, Li Beichen relied on the venison he'd bought, along with beef and mutton, to just barely meet the energy demands of his rapidly growing muscles.
Five or six days passed in a flash.
After finishing his day's training, Li Beichen focused his thoughts and opened the panel.
[Technique: Giant Elephant Fist - Remnant (First Glimpse of the Way)] [Progress: (192/200)] [Traits: Slight increase in physique, slight increase in strength, slight increase in stamina]
"Just as I thought. Without enough meat, my progress has inevitably slowed down."
"At my usual pace, I should have reached the next realm today."
"Now I'll need another half a day."
Li Beichen sighed inwardly, gathered his things, and set off for Clear Creek Village.
As he neared the village, Li Beichen noticed the fog around him suddenly grow thicker.
He looked around and saw that it was especially dense to the west, in the direction of Wang Er's house.
Ram City lay in Jiangnan, and it was now the transition from spring to summer, in the fifth or sixth month. Fog at night was normal enough.
But the fog he saw now was truly strange, and it made Li Beichen suspicious.
He felt the pouch of Locust Stones he carried with him.
Inside were specially prepared Locust Stones he had painstakingly polished.
During the time he'd been practicing martial arts, he had cut back on his Locust Stone training. Still, whenever Li Beichen spotted a pheasant, hare, or wild bird on the road, he'd casually strike with a Yang Hand.
With his talent, every accomplishment became permanent.
His progress in both Hunting and Locust Stone was still steadily increasing.
Li Beichen decided to go take a look at Wang Er's house.
Whatever he found, he only wanted to be able to say he'd done what he could.
Li Beichen concealed a Locust Stone in his palm and plunged into the thick fog.
The fog was astonishingly dense. He couldn't see anything more than a meter away.
Relying on his memory, Li Beichen felt his way forward, taking one step at a time.
Usually, he could cover this distance in moments.
But today, he walked for who knew how long without seeing Wang Er's house.
Suddenly, two lanterns appeared in the fog.
Their dim yellow light shone through the mist and fell on Li Beichen.
He followed the lanterns.
The closer he got, the thinner the fog became.
By the time Li Beichen reached the lanterns, the dense fog that had made it impossible to see his own hand had completely dispersed.
A large mansion came into view.
The two lanterns were hanging over its entrance.
Through the half-open gate, Li Beichen saw a dark-skinned man sharpening a knife in the courtyard.
Beside him was a wide, long bench, with a plump white sow tied to it.
It struggled with all its might.
But bound as it was, its efforts were useless.
By now, the butcher's knife had been sharpened until it gleamed.
He looked over his Pig-Slaughtering Knife with satisfaction, then raised it and walked toward the sow.
"Brother Wang Er!"
Li Beichen pushed open the gate and walked in.
"Brother Beichen, what brings you here?"
Wang Er stopped sharpening and turned to look.
As soon as Li Beichen entered the mansion, he caught a faint smell of manure. Covering his nose, he asked,
"Brother Wang Er, what are you doing here?"
"The master of the house hired me to butcher a pig. He said it was a pregnant sow and offered me the piglets as payment, so I could take them home and nourish your sister-in-law."
"A pregnant sow? Brother Wang Er, didn't you say you wouldn't butcher another one?"
"When did I ever say that?"
Li Beichen saw that Wang Er seemed to have completely forgotten how uneasy he'd been after slaughtering a pregnant sow before.
His brow furrowed.
He felt more and more that something was wrong.
Just then, more than a dozen men and women in pale moon-white robes appeared around them and closed in.
At their head was an extremely fat old man, whose face was blotched with patches of white and black.
He glanced at Li Beichen, then turned to Wang Er.
"Master Wang, why haven't you started yet?"
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