Even after returning to the Fire Refining Hall for quite some time, Ren Qing still felt lingering fear.
He had never expected the leopard woman from the Bloodhound Gang to be like a wild beast, nearly detecting his presence through instinct alone.
This also woke Ren Qing up. Although the Double-Pupil User's eyesight was suited for spying, he absolutely could not underestimate cultivators who had reached the Half-Corpse Realm.
Ren Qing collapsed into bed and slept for an entire day.
Bo Feng had long grown used to his comings and goings like a ghost. Once Ren Qing woke up, Bo Feng briefly recounted what had happened over the past few days.
Overall, things had remained relatively stable.
The Hundred-Eyed had stopped killing people for their eyes. Even though the Forbidden Guards searched the entire city through all kinds of Arts, he had never shown himself from beginning to end, leaving behind no clues whatsoever.
It seemed likely that the matter would simply fizzle out.
To be safe, Ren Qing did not rush to advance the Divine Feet Scripture. After all, the matter of the Martial Arts School had not yet fully died down.
As for the direction of Aberration, the Elephant-Foot User, Leopard-footed, and Wolf-Foot User each had their own strengths and weaknesses.
The Elephant-Foot User required the most lifespan, reaching a year and a half, but Ren Qing ruled it out first. The changes to the legs were simply too obvious and would be easily seen through.
Moreover, the Elephant-Foot User was somewhat too cumbersome for Ren Qing, making it difficult to capitalize on the Double-Pupil User's advantage of anticipating the enemy's moves.
Different Arts had to complement one another before they could unleash strength far beyond those of the same realm.
Between Leopard-footed and Wolf-Foot User, Ren Qing leaned toward the latter. From that leopard woman, it was clear that Leopard-footed would cause abnormalities in the face.
From Ren Qing's observations, most beggars' Aberrations were concentrated in their feet, which showed that Leopard-footed's effect on the body was rather unusual.
He began shifting his attention toward adapting to his aberrated legs.
Only then did Ren Qing discover that the Half-Corpse Realm had also enhanced his digestion. If he ate Pig Eyes raw to extend his lifespan, he could gain eight days each day.
But trouble came with it. His appetite had nearly tripled accordingly.
Pig Eyes were completely insufficient.
And animal eyes of the same size were nowhere near as common as Pig Eyes.
With no other choice, Ren Qing had to consider how to expand his channels for obtaining Pig Eyes.
After racking his brains for a long time, he finally came up with a solution that was barely a solution.
Ren Qing placed a large iron pot in the courtyard and cooked stewed offal every day with all manner of seasonings, following recipes from memories of his previous life.
Since the ingredients were roughly the same, he quickly got the hang of it.
Bo Feng and the others were utterly bewildered by this. After all, Ren Qing was simmering brine; as long as he did not add pork offal to it, it was little different from making soup.
Ren Qing began testing the sale of stewed offal at Butcher Zhang's meat shop.
A few days later, the constables came to question him about the Martial Arts School. Fortunately, he had already sorted out his thoughts, and with truths mixed among lies, they could find no flaw.
Once the disturbance settled, Ren Qing calculated that the Great Miao Saber should be nearly finished. It was also time for him to visit the meat shop.
Butcher Zhang's body had recovered, though unfortunately, of the five years of lifespan he had lost, he had only regained three. That was already under Ren Qing's care.
Before Ren Qing even approached the meat shop, he smelled a distinctive fragrance wafting from the mouth of the alley, making quite a few passersby stop to look.
An iron pot stood inside the meat shop, filled with braised pork offal.
When they saw that the fragrance came from a meat shop, they immediately hesitated to step forward.
Yet business was actually quite good. Several dock laborers carrying cargo ate pork offal with steamed buns, savoring every bite.
And stewed offal had only been sold for a few days. Once word spread through more than half of West of the City, the number of customers would likely multiply several times over.
Never underestimate the appeal of meat. In ancient times, when productivity was low, ordinary families only ate meat during the new year and festivals.
The reason few people ate pork offal was its inherent stench of internal organs, but stewed offal could avoid that quite well.
When Butcher Zhang saw Ren Qing, he hurriedly called him over. The two chatted inside the shop.
"A Qing, you really have a head for business. Offal that couldn't be sold before is now in such demand that supply can't keep up."
For just a few copper coins, one could eat a bowl of pork offal. It would certainly be beloved by poor families.
Ren Qing said with a smile, "For Brother Zhang, this is practically a business without capital."
"That truly is the case."
Butcher Zhang nodded, then lowered his voice and said excitedly, "It's just that business is a little too good. Even laborers from South of the City are coming over now, and there isn't enough stewed offal to sell."
Seeing that no one around was paying attention, Ren Qing said quietly, "Why not buy pork offal from other meat shops, Brother Zhang? That way, you can ensure the supply of stewed offal."
"That makes sense..."
Ren Qing continued, "But it's inevitable that your peers will grow jealous. When that happens, you'll find yourself unable to take a single step."
Butcher Zhang pondered for a moment. Helplessly, he realized that Ren Qing was right—stewed offal was not such an easy business to run.
"If someone comes asking to cooperate, Brother Zhang, don't rush to refuse them. You can't finish an entire pot of soup by yourself."
Butcher Zhang's hopes of making a fortune through stewed offal instantly fell by more than half.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Ren Qing laid out everything on his mind, also telling Butcher Zhang of the risks involved.
In his view, the one best suited to run the stewed offal business in West of the City was none other than the Bloodhound Gang.
Only the Bloodhound Gang could easily obtain pork offal from every meat shop.
It might seem like petty profits, but for the Bloodhound Gang, merely earning a good reputation among the common folk was enough to tempt them.
Of course, Ren Qing's considerations went far beyond that.
The pork offal business could be conducted throughout all of Sanxiang City, involving gangs large and small.
If he ever became enemies with the Bloodhound Gang in the future, he could secretly spread the recipe and use it to stir up conflict between the various gangs.
The effect might not be particularly good, but it could barely count as a trump card.
Butcher Zhang had slaughtered pigs for more than ten years and had developed a body full of courage. Since he also had no family to worry about, he agreed at once.
Besides, in his view, the Bloodhound Gang was not bad. At the very least, they had never demanded extra interest each month.
But this was, after all, seeking a tiger's skin.
Ren Qing required Butcher Zhang to hold nothing back from the Bloodhound Gang, whether it was the stewed offal recipe or the proportions of pork offal within it.
The only benefit Butcher Zhang had to fight for was control over all pork offal passing through West of the City. Even if he had to take several steps back, he had to secure at least four blocks.
This demand was not excessive in the slightest.
Once he controlled the pork offal in West of the City, Ren Qing's Pig Eyes would flow in an endless stream, and no one would notice at all.
When necessary, Butcher Zhang could mention that he had a distant grandnephew working at the Yamen.
At first, the Bloodhound Gang certainly would not attach enough importance to the stewed offal business. It would most likely be handled by a Hall Master. The identity of a Yamen Runner would be somewhat useful, and Ren Qing was, after all, a manager.
Of course, plans could never keep up with changes.
All Ren Qing could do was reduce the risks as much as possible, steadily developing with the Information Flow. Sooner or later, he would gain a voice in this world.
Once he reached the Ghost Envoy Realm, even if his Arts were exposed, it would not matter much. The Forbidden Guards would only try to recruit him.
After Ren Qing and Butcher Zhang filled in a few more details, he left the meat shop and planned to retrieve the completed Great Miao Saber.
As he walked out of the alley where the meat shop stood, he noticed several idle beggars. This showed that the Bloodhound Gang had already begun paying attention.
Worthy of being the local emperor of West of the City, its power structure was actually not much different from that of a sect.
Ren Qing let out a breath of stale air. Thinking of the Great Miao Saber he was about to receive, he gradually quickened his pace.
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