In the eastern part of the Market Fair, several burly, bare-chested men were sharpening knives on a stone-paved floor beneath a high awning.
A gaunt old man with graying hair and a face already showing signs of withering sat in a chair nearby, puffing hard on his tobacco pipe.
Beside him, a young man who looked like his apprentice gestured animatedly with the leader of the Rogue Cultivators. Amid the noisy chatter of the onlookers, they swiftly settled on a price. Then the young man bowed to the gaunt elder. "Master, what do you think?"
The gaunt elder had not said a word until then. At last, he rose and addressed the Rogue Cultivator leader. "Good fellow, it's not that this old man insists on charging you a steep price. But ask around anywhere you like. Within several thousand miles of this Commandery Seat, you truly won't find another Butcher who can strip a Red-Eyed Boar Demon's hide as cleanly and neatly as I can."
The Rogue Cultivator leader nodded. "Master Hong, we've been hunting demons around here for some time. We didn't dare trouble you before because our catches were nothing special. This time, we were fortunate enough to catch a Red-Eyed Boar Demon, so please take extra care with it."
The gaunt elder replied with satisfaction, "Good that you understand. Don't worry. You've come here several times lately, so you count as regular customers. I'll see that everything is done properly."
He handed his pipe to the apprentice beside him and rolled up his sleeves. "If we took your money and still botched the job, wouldn't that smash the reputation of our Hong family?"
"He's about to begin! Old Hong's signature skill-carving up demons!"
"Who knows where this bunch hunted down such a big fellow? It'll sell for at least twenty thousand Talisman Coins. They're right to hand it over to an old master like Old Hong. Having him break it down into Spirit Materials will add a few thousand to its value, at the very least."
Standing in the crowd, Li Chen looked thoughtful. So these are Demon Hunters.
Demon Hunter was a common profession among Rogue Cultivators.
In this world, Rogue Cultivators were cultivators without property who had obtained incomplete inheritances and learned useful skills, but possessed no spiritual peaks, blessed lands, precious mines, or cultivation resources. They could only make a living by entering the service of powerful figures or wandering the world.
Some sought secluded wonders and hidden mysteries, exploring ancient ruins in secret realms and perilous places, even robbing tombs and digging up the treasures of ancient cultivators. These were Ruins Seekers;
Some made their living traveling far and wide, escorting cargo and providing protection, or forming merchant associations to buy low and sell high, profiting from differences in local produce, customs, and conditions. These were Merchants;
Others hunted demons, monsters, and spirits. These were Demon Hunters, who sometimes also took jobs capturing wanted fugitives, whether demons, ghosts, or other cultivators.
For example, a Red-Eyed Boar Demon had once wreaked havoc around this commandery city. The Commandery Governor's Office had posted a bounty, calling for someone to slay the beast and restore peace. By hunting down a Red-Eyed Boar Demon, they could claim a reward.
Of course, some also entered the service of spiritual peaks and blessed lands, or businesses belonging to sects and Aristocratic Clans, becoming retainers who earned their living through their skills.
The Puppet Dao had already produced the first sprouts of a cultivation industry, developed from the workshops of ancient times. Rogue Cultivators, however, often found it difficult to adapt to that kind of life.
Hearing someone say that this Red-Eyed Boar Demon's carcass was worth over twenty thousand Talisman Coins, Li Chen could not help feeling surprised. That was no small fortune.
Many things harvested from the corpses of demons, monsters, and spirits were Spirit Materials used to manufacture Mechanism Puppets. These creatures were extraordinary beings with extraordinary powers. Poor butchering techniques would not only waste time and effort but also destroy their inherent spiritual essence. No wonder the work had to be entrusted to an experienced master.
With some interest, Li Chen watched the master Butcher, Old Hong, remove his outer garment and approach the Red-Eyed Boar Demon.
Over ten feet long, the Red-Eyed Boar Demon was as massive as a small hill. Old Hong was thinner and smaller than an ordinary man, looking like a calf beside it.
But the moment an apprentice handed him a freshly sharpened butcher's knife, the look in Old Hong's eyes changed.
Li Chen watched as a surge of force billowed like blazing heat, crimson true essence wreathing Old Hong's entire body. His thin, stooped frame visibly swelled as though being inflated, making his whole body seem several sizes larger.
In a flash of lightning, he planted one foot on the boar's head, seized a foreleg, and heaved with a burst of strength, flipping the entire carcass of the Pig Demon onto its back with all four legs pointing skyward.
"Hold it steady," Old Hong commanded in a strong, resonant voice.
Four apprentices hurried forward to grip the Pig Demon's limbs and keep it from rolling onto its side.
A keen gleam flashed through Old Hong's eyes. Flame-like force spread down his arm into the butcher's knife. Then his hand rose and the blade fell, striking the Pig Demon's chin with unerring precision before drawing downward.
With a sharp ripping sound, the boar's hide opened!
Li Chen witnessed it firsthand. As though undoing a long zipper, Old Hong sliced open the Pig Demon in a perfectly straight, flawless line.
There are gaps between the joints, while the blade has no thickness. Insert what has no thickness into those gaps, and there is room aplenty for the blade to roam...
Li Chen praised him inwardly. Just from this opening move, he understood why this group had insisted on coming here to have Old Hong wield the knife.
"Well done!"
A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd.
But Old Hong was not finished. He immediately took a slightly thinner blade from an apprentice and thrust it diagonally into the neck like a dagger.
Old Hong circulated his true essence, his blade working with crisp slicing sounds. In mere moments, he peeled a section of hide away from the Red-Eyed Boar Demon's neck as though stripping off clothing.
Without pausing, he continued carving. Whether working across broad, flat stretches of hide or beneath the armpits and around the trotters, he separated skin from flesh with perfectly even cuts. Less than half a quarter-hour later, the entire hide had been peeled away.
Old Hong had an apprentice hang up the hide. The onlookers stepped forward to inspect it and found its shape intact and its thickness uniform. Even the wounds pierced by powerful crossbows and sharp blades during the hunt had been cleverly used as openings for his knife.
"Amazing! That was money well spent!" The Rogue Cultivator leader's face lit up with delight.
"Old Hong's craftsmanship hasn't diminished a bit over the years. He's even more practiced now."
"Well, just look at who he is. Master Hong inherited the secret arts of a Warrior Legacy..."
Everyone began singing his praises.
Since the Demon Hunters had already drained the Red-Eyed Boar Demon's blood, Old Hong skipped that step and, together with his apprentices, carved the entire Pig Demon carcass into great chunks.
While they worked, the Demon Hunter leader stepped forward and saluted the surrounding crowd with clasped hands. "Friends, we are Demon Hunters from elsewhere. Having been fortunate enough to obtain this beast in your esteemed land, we ought to give something back. We will now begin selling its Spirit Materials, along with its edible meat and blood."
They were going to hold an auction right there.
Red-Eyed Boar Demons were not particularly rare Demon Beasts, and their value was already widely known. Many onlookers immediately began bidding, buying up a good number of the edible portions first.
Li Chen asked Laifu, "Would it be convenient to have the household kitchen make some dried meat for me?"
Laifu replied, "The head of the household instructed us to look after you well, young master. Of course it would."
Li Chen did not stand on ceremony. He spent over a hundred Talisman Coins to purchase thirty jin of fine lean meat.
He was not indulging his appetite, but obtaining the spiritual essence within the meat to strengthen his physique in conjunction with medicinal supplementation. This, too, was a common method of supporting cultivation.