At dusk on the twentieth of April, the westering sun stretched the shadows of passersby long.
Li Chen and his companions rode their Mechanism Beasts ostentatiously through the streets, drawing countless eyes.
Not only were there more than a dozen of them traveling together, but almost every rider had a tiger carcass strapped to a secondary saddle behind him. The largest pack Mechanism Beast in their midst even carried the enormous, hill-like corpse of the Tiger Demon Chief.
Days of travel had left everyone looking somewhat haggard, yet their faces were filled with the satisfaction and joy of a rich harvest.
Someone recognized Huang Yuan'an at the head of the group and exclaimed, "It's Old Huang and his people! They really hunted down that pack of Tiger Demons and came back!"
"Old Huang and his people are back!"
By now, the buzz surrounding Huang Yuan'an and his companions' crushing defeat had died down. Half a month was enough for the Rogue Cultivators to turn their interest to several other topics. But seeing Old Huang and the others again, along with the demon beast carcasses their Mechanism Beasts carried, instantly rekindled that dormant excitement.
For a time, many passersby pointed and talked, discussing what had prompted their tiger hunt, and even more eagerly, what they had gained from it.
"See? We actually stuffed the tiger carcasses into Space Pouches while traveling, but once we entered town, we had to show them off like this to make a name for ourselves!" the Rogue Cultivator You An told Li Chen with a smile.
He was one of the younger Rogue Cultivators who had joined the expedition and had been assigned to the same team as Li Chen, responsible for scouting the enemy.
The two got along quite well, and over the course of the journey, they had become acquainted.
The Space Pouches You An mentioned were large, sack-like bags that could hold oversized objects.
However, because they were made from roughly processed scraps, their spatial properties were far inferior to those of storage bags. They could therefore only hold miscellaneous things such as prey carcasses and were unsuitable for storing valuables or Mechanism Puppets.
Nor could they eliminate bulk and weight like storage bags and Storage Rings to make carrying things convenient. They could only compress their contents to a certain degree.
Still, these things were a convenient choice for transporting prey, and veteran Demon Hunters would always try to equip themselves with one or two.
The group undoubtedly had enough Space Pouches, but upon entering town, Huang Yuan'an had everyone take out all the tiger carcasses and hang them from their secondary saddles to parade through the streets. He had even made a point of displaying the Tiger Demon Chief's corpse alone on a pack Mechanism Beast.
It was indeed all to make a name for themselves.
Before the group reached the Hong Family's slaughterhouse, nearly half the Market Fair had been stirred into action, and everyone came rushing over to watch.
Under so many watchful eyes, the shop managers and proprietors who hurried over after hearing the news could not make any rash moves. They could only offer fair prices and discuss the transactions with Huang Yuan'an.
Li Chen watched Huang Yuan'an fulfill his duties as their leader. Though thoroughly exhausted, he still patiently haggled with them and sold the eight Tiger Spirits.
But he refused to sell the remaining Tiger Demon Chief, the most coveted prize of all, so readily. Instead, he intended to butcher it himself and extract the various materials before deciding what to do with them.
High-ranking demon beasts were rare, and selling their parts individually could fetch a higher price.
Some of those who had followed him on the tiger hunt might also need its spiritual materials. Li Chen, for instance, had already said on the journey back that he wanted the Tiger Demon's hide.
Everyone had reaped a rich harvest this time, and Li Chen's share of the proceeds was enough to buy the tiger hide, so Huang Yuan'an had readily agreed.
That evening, the group arrived at a tavern near the Market Fair, loudly calling for the waiter to bring out the food and wine they had ordered in advance.
Holding a large bowl filled with wine, Huang Yuan'an stood and said, "Ahem, ahem... everyone, I truly have to thank you all this time. Only because you loyally followed me and lent a hand were we able to wipe out that tiger pack together. Let me raise a toast to you all."
Everyone responded boisterously and stood as well, saying, "Boss Huang, you're being too generous. If it weren't for you, who knows how this would have turned out?"
"That's right. You and Brother Hou deserve the real credit."
"Come on, let's toast you too."
More than a dozen wine bowls clinked together, and everyone began eating in high spirits.
This was a time to celebrate their victory, and no one brought up their fallen companion.
But late that night, after they returned to the inn, that was the first matter they put on the table.
"Cough... cough, cough... losing Brother Lin was a terrible pity. But if he hadn't charged down to hold off the Tiger Demon, I'm afraid we would all have suffered."
"I intend to set aside part of the proceeds in his name and find a way to send it to his family through the Creation Sect's bank."
Everyone nodded. "That's only right. We'll do as you say, Boss Huang."
Huang Yuan'an took out a small ledger-like booklet, opened it to a page, and laid it on the table. He told everyone seated around it, "You all watched the demon carcasses being sold from beginning to end. Besides the wages for hiring you to help us, the eight Tiger Spirits we hunted sold for a total of one hundred and ninety thousand four hundred Talisman Coins."
"Ha!"
"Not bad, not bad."
A chorus of soft sighs rose, and contented smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
"Ahem..." Huang Yuan'an continued, "Besides that, the Tiger Demon Chief was valued at upwards of fifty-five thousand. I'll personally add another four thousand six hundred, bringing that to fifty-nine thousand six hundred, for a grand total of two hundred and sixty thousand!"
Someone asked, "Boss Huang, do you mean that the thirteen of us will share those two hundred and sixty thousand?"
Huang Yuan'an gave a dry cough and said, "That's right. We already agreed to divide fifty percent of the proceeds equally, so everyone here will receive ten thousand."
"Then there are individual allowances for healing and repairs..."
"And rewards according to merit..."
After all the calculations, each person received somewhere between a little over ten thousand and sixteen thousand. The remaining funds were allocated to healing injuries and repairing Mechanism Puppets.
Li Chen had made no outstanding contribution to the group, but his scouting and warnings over the past few days were acknowledged as hard work. Moreover, he held the title of Craftsman bestowed by the Creation Sect, so no one dared underestimate him. He received a full seventeen thousand Talisman Coins.
This was because his Mechanism Puppet had suffered relatively little damage, so he needed only a small portion of the healing and repair allowances.
Li Chen knew this result was perfectly fair and had no objections.
Next came the actual distribution of the money, but Li Chen received only nine thousand Talisman Coins in hand, because the Tiger Demon Chief's hide alone was priced at eight thousand!
Huang Yuan'an coughed as he explained, "Brother Li, I'll charge you eight thousand for the tiger hide you wanted. After all, it belonged to that Tiger Demon Chief. If it were an ordinary Tiger Spirit, I'd charge you one or two thousand at most... is that all right?"
Li Chen replied contentedly, "Of course it is."
Now he finally had ample material to continue practicing Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting. The hide of a demon beast gifted with bronze skin and iron bones was certain to prove immensely useful!