Spirit Fish, Interrogation

"Seeing as you're a decent lad, I'll give you these three peanuts. Don't go getting greedy now; they might just save your life when things get critical."

Recalling the Old Blind Man's words, Chen Zhuo drove the donkey cart while carefully examining the peanuts in his palm.

What exactly was this white powder coating them?

Chen Zhuo inspected them from every angle, then held them to his nose to sniff.

There was no pungent herbal scent, but rather a faint, almost imperceptible trace of blood.

Chen Zhuo frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then tucked the three peanuts safely into his waistband.

The Old Blind Man had no reason to lie to him.

Besides, considering the nature of their business, the Old Blind Man likely wanted him to stay alive.

Only the living could pay the balance; once a man was dead, everything was over.

"The Autumn Hunt..."

Huang Yuan'er's round face flashed through Chen Zhuo's mind, and he instinctively tightened his grip on the bundle behind him.

Inside the bundle were a hundred taels in silver notes and eight vials of demon blood.

Though they were fake, they were enough to push his martial arts cultivation to the next level.

Thinking of this, he lost all appetite for lunch.

He simply bought a full steamer of meat buns by the roadside, sat on the cart, and devoured them in a few quick bites.

"Can't be too hasty."

Chen Zhuo deliberated for a moment. Instead of driving the cart straight to the yamen, he pulled out the shopping list Yan Ming had given him and headed to the shops recorded on it one by one.

He had killed Zhou Sheng with his own hands, and since he happened to be out today, given Huang Yuan'er's nature, the man would surely try to pin the suspicion on him.

If one is going to put on a show, one must play the part to the end.

Before long, the cart was loaded with several large bags of spices, fruits, vegetables, and dozens of catties of fatty pork, maxing out its capacity.

Chen Zhuo didn't climb back on; he was genuinely afraid of breaking the cart. Even without him, the vehicle emitted a teeth-grinding creak of stress as it moved forward.

To his surprise, the Little Black Donkey seemed to be strolling along quite casually, as if it didn't care at all about the weight behind it.

Chen Zhuo stroked the black donkey's head and was astonished to find that its fur was completely different from before.

Not only was it sleek and shiny, but it had also become stiff, like fine needles, pricking his hand as he touched it.

"Was it those two drops of wine?"

Chen Zhuo held the reins, his pace slow and steady, as he fell into deep thought.

The Old Blind Man certainly had plenty of tricks up his sleeve; it seemed he would have to dig deeper into that man's secrets when he had the chance.

Just as his thoughts were drifting, the sound of discussion by the roadside caught his attention.

"To think she caught another Spirit Fish. That girl really has some impressive skills."

"I'd love to know what a Spirit Fish tastes like. If I could have a bite of that and a cup of fine 'Burning Blade' liquor, wouldn't that be as blissful as an immortal?"

"A single Spirit Fish is worth at least thirty taels of silver..."

"You can manage to afford the liquor if you work hard enough, but as for this Spirit Fish, if you don't get a taste of it early on, you'll likely never get the chance in this lifetime."

Hearing the chatter, Chen Zhuo looked toward the source and saw a crowd gathered in several layers not far away.

"Is it her?"

Peering through the gaps in the crowd, Chen Zhuo's gaze precisely captured the scene inside.

In the center of the crowd, a girl with sharp, defined features and a thick braid stood quietly, holding a fishing net.

She wasn't shouting to sell her wares; she simply watched the crowd, waiting patiently for a buyer.

Chen Zhuo recognized her—she was the same girl who had eaten even more than he had at the noodle shop that morning.

"To think she could catch a Spirit Fish."

Given her bottomless appetite, Chen Zhuo had guessed she possessed decent martial arts, but he hadn't expected her to have such fishing prowess.

He had spent quite some time in the yamen's kitchen, but he had only ever heard of the fish, never seen one.

They were only found in Green Pool Lake outside the city, and because their scales were incredibly slippery and the creatures themselves were exceptionally fierce, they were notoriously difficult to catch.

Chen Zhuo had only occasionally heard Yan Ming mention the Spirit Fish, and every time he did, it was with high praise for their flavor.

Chen Zhuo's nostrils flared slightly as his gaze quietly settled on the three Spirit Fish in the net.

The fish had large heads and narrow bodies, with several sharp, bony spikes protruding from their heads and fine, dense scales covering their entire bodies.

This wasn't a Spirit Fish at all; it was clearly a demon fish.

"The scent of demon blood..."

Chen Zhuo keenly caught a trace of the aura. As he stared intently at the fish, a row of small characters suddenly appeared in his mind.

That was the content recorded in the Inheritance Manual, the method for refining the Five Desires Demon Soup.

The tiger represents the desire for slaughter, the fish represents the desire for ignorance...

The second type of true blood... doesn't this mean I have it now?

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuo didn't even hesitate, shouting aloud, "Miss, three Spirit Fish, I want them all."

As his voice rang out suddenly, the crowd fell silent in an instant.

Dozens of gazes fell upon him like raindrops, wishing they could pierce through the bamboo hat on his head to see clearly what kind of wealthy young master this was.

Facing those gazes, Chen Zhuo led his donkey cart and moved forward slowly.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path.

"Thirty taels of silver each, no bargaining. Are you sure you want them all?"

The girl with the long braid asked in a crisp voice.

Chen Zhuo's gaze swept over the Spirit Fish in her hands, and he nodded noncommittally.

"Ninety taels of silver in total, here you go."

Before Chen Zhuo even took out the silver, the girl with the long braid handed him the three Spirit Fish along with the fishing net, explaining at the same time:

"Spirit Fish are not ordinary fish; they won't die even if they don't see water for three or five hours."

"Giving me the Spirit Fish so easily, aren't you afraid I'll just run off with them?"

Chen Zhuo looked at her in surprise and smiled.

The girl with the long braid shook her head: "If you dare to run without paying, I will beat you to death."

Her voice was not loud, but it carried weight.

Chen Zhuo said nothing more and immediately took the banknotes out of his satchel.

"Here is ten taels of change, take it."

Having said that, the girl with the long braid gave a brief instruction, then turned and left without another word.

Chen Zhuo put away the loose silver, watched the graceful figure gradually disappear around the street corner with a thoughtful look, then took up the reins and walked away as well.

The transaction for the Spirit Fish had gone exceptionally smoothly, likely because the outer city was populated almost entirely by poor commoners, and no young master had suddenly appeared to interfere.

As the two left one after the other, the crowd had no more entertainment to watch and soon dispersed.

"Well, I'm broke again."

After finishing the shopping and buying the three Spirit Fish, not only was his silver bottoming out again, but the horizon was also gradually turning red.

The first rays of the setting sun spilled onto him, stretching his shadow longer and longer.

The day had not yet ended, but as Chen Zhuo stood at the entrance of the yamen, he felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Chen Zhuo looked toward the entrance and found that there was not a single person there.

"Are the men of the Strong Squad slacking off?"

Filled with doubt, Chen Zhuo first led the donkey cart into the shed, then shouldered his bags and walked in through the main gate.

He had just entered when he ran into Fifth Master, who was hurrying toward him, his eyes darting around as he signaled frantically.

Before Chen Zhuo could react, the figure of Huang Yuan'er suddenly appeared in his line of sight, followed by a dozen yamen runners.

As soon as Huang Yuan'er approached, he barked without explanation:

"Where did you go today? What did you do?"

"Tell me everything, truthfully."