Hidden Among the Masses, the Tiger-Head Grand Feast

Hidden Among the Masses, the Tiger-Head Grand Feast

Once that thought had cleared, he ate well and slept soundly.

After refusing the tavern girl's final wish, Yu Chen put away the Scripture of Deliverance, lay down on the bed, and slept straight through until broad daylight the next morning before waking naturally.

He was full of energy.

He got up, lit the fire and cooked, filled his stomach, then took up a broom and swept Qingfeng Mausoleum inside and out.

Only when he passed the two graves deep within the cemetery did Yu Chen pause for quite a while before continuing his work.

—They were his parents' graves.

Fifteen years ago, after they had been beheaded for committing some grave crime, a corpse stitcher had sewn their bodies back together, and they had been buried here in Qingfeng Mausoleum.

As for what exactly they had done to lose their lives and make Yu Chen a criminal household as well, Yu Chen did not know, nor had he ever asked.

After all, the last time he saw his parents was on the execution ground.

And the last things his parents had left him, aside from the status of a criminal household, were a letter.

About six years ago, when Yu Chen had first come to Qingfeng Mausoleum to tend graves, his parents had already been dead for eight or nine years. One night, someone knocked on his door.

When Yu Chen opened it, there was no one outside—only a cloth bundle containing some money, and a letter.

The handwriting in that letter looked like his father's, and it bore the secret sign they had used when playing together in the past—a crudely drawn tiger head.

There were not many words in the letter, as though it had been written in great haste.

It told Yu Chen to live well. Do not ask. Do not investigate. Do not dwell on it.

Other than that, there was nothing.

Yu Chen had been very obedient. Fifteen years had passed, and regarding the events of fifteen years ago, he had asked nothing, investigated nothing, and simply lived well.

Or rather, he had thought of finding out what had truly happened. But back then, he had only been a gravekeeper from a criminal household. Even if he learned the truth, what could he have done?

Could his parents have come back to life?

Could the status of a criminal household have been erased?

No.

Shaking his head, Yu Chen suppressed his tangled thoughts, hastily finished sweeping Qingfeng Mausoleum, and prepared to return to his room.

But at that moment, a set of heavy footsteps entered Yu Chen's ears.

It was the sound of something heavy treading through the snow.

Yu Chen looked toward the entrance of Qingfeng Mausoleum and saw a burly figure carrying a wooden bucket as he climbed up the mountain.

His face was covered in stubble, his skin sallow, his hair disheveled, and his clothes stained with unknown black grease.

It was the Corpse Mover who often carried corpses up here.

"Gravekeeper! I'm here!"

From far away, he waved at Yu Chen. Once inside, he set the wooden bucket down, and a stench of blood rushed into Yu Chen's face.

—A bucket of black dog's blood.

Some days ago, the Corpse Mover had mentioned that Weishui had been plagued by unclean things lately, and that he would get Yu Chen a bucket of black dog's blood to ward off evil.

Yu Chen had thought he was merely speaking casually. He had not expected him to really find some.

"Fresh from Hanging Bridge Dog Meat Market. I'll leave it by your door!"

The Corpse Mover grinned.

"Did you hear? Something happened in the city below again. They say the ghost of Spring Breeze Pavilion's cook appeared in a constable's dream, and that pair of adulterers who poisoned him got caught!

"So, people like us who work this trade have to be careful. Don't let any filthy, unclean thing latch onto us."

With that, he propped the bucket of black dog's blood by Yu Chen's door. "The smell's a bit strong. It'll be fine in a couple of days."

Seeing Yu Chen seemingly frozen, the Corpse Mover waved a hand before his eyes. "What's wrong? Never seen blood before? Scared stiff? Gravekeeper, your guts are a little too small!"

Only then did Yu Chen come back to himself. He lowered his head so the Corpse Mover could not see his expression and shook it. "Thanks. Have you eaten? If not, stay for a meal."

Though he spoke casually, Yu Chen's mind was nowhere near any of that.

The Corpse Mover had guessed correctly. Yu Chen truly had been startled just now.

But it was not because of the bucket of black dog's blood, nor because of any unclean thing. It was because of the man before him—the Corpse Mover, another of the lowly nine professions.

Yu Chen raised his head.

It was as though he saw the sun.

Within the Corpse Mover's burly body, his surging blood and vitality burned like a blazing sun.

Dazzling!

Only then did Yu Chen suddenly recall that this seemed to be his first meeting with the Corpse Mover since obtaining the Heavenly Eye of Minute Insight.

Secrets he had never noticed before had nowhere to hide beneath the Heavenly Eye of Minute Insight.

—To say nothing else, Yu Chen had never seen such terrifying blood and vitality in all his life!

Not even Constable Lin Yi and Zhengqing Gang's martial artists could compare. Even Xie Qing, who possessed an Innate Body, had less than half the blood and vitality of the Corpse Mover before him!

In other words, this fellow also possessed an Innate Physique!

And judging from blood and vitality alone, he was far stronger than even the renowned leader of Zhengqing Gang!

Was this madness?

Yu Chen raised his head again. The Corpse Mover's surging blood and mighty Internal Force churned like terrible ocean waves.

An Innate Realm grandmaster, working as a Corpse Mover among the lowly nine professions?

What, were you also from a criminal household?

Or did you simply have a taste for this?

While Yu Chen was suspicious, the Corpse Mover had no idea that Yu Chen had already seen through his secret. He threw back his head and laughed. "What meal? We're eating meat! Gravekeeper, I didn't come all this way just to bring you black dog's blood today."

As he spoke, he split his lips in a mysterious grin. "You know about Zhengqing Gang hunting down that great tiger for the Wang Household, right?"

Yu Chen froze for a moment, then nodded.

Know about it? I was the one who killed that great tiger.

"Well, Zhengqing Gang's heroes sent the tiger's corpse to the Wang Household earlier. Old Master Wang probably hated that beast to the bone, so he decided to cook it and let everyone in Weishui City eat it!"

At the end, the Corpse Mover added, "It's today at noon. Skybridge Street is already covered with tables and chairs!

"And Old Master Wang is a straightforward man. No matter your background, no matter whether you are rich, poor, noble, or lowly, whether you belong to the three teachings or nine professions—anyone who comes is a guest, and anyone can eat tiger meat!

"We came up the mountain today just to tell you!"

Only after hearing that did Yu Chen suddenly understand.

So Old Master Wang hated that great tiger so much that he had ordered it cooked and divided among the people for all to eat!

To feast on its flesh and drink its blood—was that not the hatred that could never be worn away?

Yu Chen nodded, locked his door, and followed the Corpse Mover down the mountain.

They said tiger meat was greatly nourishing. Since he had the chance, he naturally had to go see it for himself.

—Even if it was fake, the Wang Household's cook was far more skilled than Yu Chen. As long as it cost nothing, who would refuse free food and drink?

As for the Corpse Mover...

Yu Chen turned his head and glanced at him. His vast blood and vitality rolled like a river.

What did that have to do with Yu Chen?

Whether he was hiding his greatness among the common folk, fleeing enemies seeking his life, or indulging some peculiar hobby, it was none of Yu Chen's business.

As long as he did not provoke Yu Chen, he could do whatever he pleased.

After coming down the mountain, they indeed saw crowds packed shoulder to shoulder hurrying toward the street where the Wang Household stood at Skybridge.

But with the Corpse Mover leading the way, Yu Chen made it through without obstruction.

—These two men dealt with corpses all day. Ordinary people would avoid them from as far away as possible.

And the Corpse Mover was built like a bear. With one shove, he forced a path through the crowd.

When they reached the street where Wang Household Manor stood, the broad road was already filled with tables. Many side dishes had been set out, steaming hot and fragrant.

Yu Chen and the Corpse Mover sat down at a table that was only half occupied. The commoners beside them frowned, immediately rose, and went elsewhere.

To put it bluntly, they simply did not want to share a table with two men who dealt with corpses.

Only beggars, corpse stitchers, opera performers, and others from the same lowly walks of life were willing to sit with them.

Along the entire Tiger Feast Street, although Old Master Wang had not deliberately divided the guests, the people had naturally formed several separate areas.

Things flock together by kind, and people divide by group. Such was the way of the world.

Gravekeepers and Corpse Movers, woodcutters and farmers, scholars and martial artists, the wealthy and merchants... the lines between them were as clear as the Jing and Wei rivers.

Just as Yu Chen sat down, he suddenly sensed a gaze from the side, fixed in his direction.

—At the Innate Realm, one's qi could sense another's. If someone stared openly, one could usually notice.

This was what people called the sixth sense.

Yu Chen turned his head and saw a hunched old man, gaunt and withered, his eyes sunken deep, his sparse hair gray and white. He looked as though one foot was already in the coffin.

But the instant the old man's peripheral vision met Yu Chen's, he seemed to have seen something terrifying, and his face filled with horror.

(End of Chapter)