To Achieve Pig Eye Freedom

Even after returning to the Fire Refining Hall for quite some time, Ren Qing still felt lingering fear.

He hadn't expected that leopard-person woman from the Bloodhound Gang, practically like a wild beast, would nearly detect his presence through instinct alone.

This also woke Ren Qing up—while the Double-Pupil User's vision was well-suited for spying, he absolutely couldn't underestimate cultivators who had reached the Half-Corpse Realm.

Ren Qing slept for an entire day.

Bo Feng had long grown accustomed to his mysterious comings and goings, so after waking up, Ren Qing briefly recounted what had happened over the past few days to him.

Overall, things were relatively stable.

The Hundred-Eyed had stopped killing people for their eyes. Even though the Forbidden Guard had searched the entire city using various techniques, he never showed himself from start to finish, leaving no clues to be found.

It seemed the matter would likely fizzle out.

To be safe, Ren Qing didn't rush to advance the Divine Feet Scripture, since the Martial Arts School incident hadn't fully settled yet.

As for the direction of his mutation, the Elephant-Foot User, Leopard-footed, and Wolf-Foot User each had their pros and cons.

Among them, the Elephant-Foot User required the most lifespan, a full year and a half, but Ren Qing ruled it out first—the change to his legs was too obvious and easily seen through.

Moreover, the Elephant-Foot User felt too cumbersome for Ren Qing, making it hard to leverage the Double-Pupil User's advantage of anticipating the enemy's moves.

Different techniques had to complement each other to unleash strength far beyond the same cultivation level.

As for Leopard-footed versus Wolf-Foot User, Ren Qing leaned toward the latter. From that leopard woman, he could tell that Leopard-footed caused facial mutations.

Based on Ren Qing's observations, most beggars' mutations were concentrated on their feet, suggesting that Leopard-footed's bodily changes were quite specific.

He began shifting his focus to adapting to his mutated legs.

It was only then that Ren Qing realized the Half-Corpse Realm also enhanced digestive ability—eating raw Pig Eyes to extend life now granted eight extra days per day.

But trouble came with it: his appetite had roughly tripled.

Pig Eyes were nowhere near enough.

And animal eyes of the same size weren't 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 less-than-ideal solution.

Ren Qing set up a large iron pot in the courtyard and every day used various seasonings to cook stewed offal based on recipes from his past life memories.

Since the ingredients were largely the same, he quickly got the hang of it.

Bo Feng and the others were completely baffled, since Ren Qing was just boiling brine—without adding pig innards, it wasn't much different from making soup.

Ren Qing placed the stewed offal at Butcher Zhang's meat stall as a trial run.

A few days later, constables came to inquire about the Martial Arts School incident. Fortunately, he had already sorted out his story—half-truth, half-fiction, with no holes to find.

Once the storm passed, Ren Qing figured the Great Miao Saber was nearly finished being forged, and he also needed to make a trip to the meat stall.

Butcher Zhang had recovered physically, but the five years of lifespan he'd lost had only been restored by three, even with Ren Qing's care.

Before Ren Qing even got close to the meat stall, a unique aroma wafted from the alley entrance, making many passersby stop to look.

Inside the stall sat an iron pot, boiling spiced pig innards.

When they realized the smell came from the meat stall, some hesitated to approach.

But business wasn't bad, actually. A few Dock Porters were munching on flatbread with pig innards, eating with relish.

And this was only a few days into selling the stewed offal—once word spread through most of West of the City, customers would likely multiply several times over.

Never underestimate the appeal of meat. In a time of backward productivity, ordinary families only ate meat during holidays and festivals.

The reason few people ate pig innards was the inherent organ smell, which the stewed offal managed to avoid well.

Butcher Zhang saw Ren Qing and quickly waved him over. The two chatted inside the shop.

"A Qing, you've really got a head on your shoulders. What used to be unsellable offal is now in short supply."

For just a few coins, you could get a bowl of pig innards—it would surely be popular among the poor.

Ren Qing smiled and said, "For you, Brother Zhang, it's practically a no-cost business."

"That's true enough."

Butcher Zhang nodded, then lowered his voice excitedly. "The business is almost too good. Even laborers from South of the City are coming now. The stewed offal can't keep up with demand."

Seeing no one was paying attention, Ren Qing whispered, "Why don't you, Brother Zhang, buy pig innards from other meat stalls? That way you can guarantee the supply."

"That makes sense..."

Ren Qing continued, "But you'll inevitably draw jealousy from competitors, and then you'll be stuck."

Butcher Zhang thought it over and helplessly realized Ren Qing was right—this stewed offal business wasn't easy to run.

"Brother Zhang, if someone comes asking about cooperation, don't rush to turn them down. One pot of soup can't be drunk alone."

Butcher Zhang's hopes of striking it rich with the stewed offal were mostly dashed.

Seeing the timing was right, Ren Qing laid out his thoughts completely, also warning Butcher Zhang of the risks involved.

In his view, the best partner for the stewed offal business in West of the City was none other than the Bloodhound Gang.

Only the Bloodhound Gang could easily obtain the pig offal from all the butcher shops.

Though it seemed like petty profits, for the Bloodhound Gang, even just earning a good reputation among the lower-class commoners was enough to tempt them.

Of course, Ren Qing wasn't thinking on such a shallow level.

One had to know that the pig offal business could be done throughout all of Sanxiang City, involving gangs large and small.

If he ever fell out with the Bloodhound Gang in the future, he could secretly spread the recipe, thereby inciting conflict among the various gangs.

The effect might not be great, but it could barely count as a trump card.

Butcher Zhang had slaughtered pigs for over a decade, forging a bold spirit, and with no family or relatives to speak of, he agreed immediately.

Besides, in his view, the Bloodhound Gang wasn't so bad; at least they had never demanded more than the monthly interest.

But it was still like scheming with a tiger for its skin.

Ren Qing demanded that Butcher Zhang hold nothing back from the Bloodhound Gang—neither the stewed offal recipe nor the proportions of pig offal within it.

The only benefit Butcher Zhang had to fight for was handling all the pig offal west of the city, or at the very least, four entire blocks.

This demand was not excessive at all.

Once he controlled the pig offal west of the city, Ren Qing's Pig Eyes would flow in endlessly, and no one would even notice.

If necessary, Butcher Zhang could mention that he had a distant nephew working as a runner in the Yamen.

The Bloodhound Gang's initial interest in the stewed offal business would certainly be insufficient; it would most likely be handled by a Hall Master. The status of a Yamen runner would carry some weight, and Ren Qing was, after all, a manager.

Of course, plans never matched reality.

All Ren Qing could do was minimize risk, relying on the Information Flow to develop steadily. Sooner or later, he would gain a voice in this world.

Once he reached the Ghost Envoy Realm, even if his techniques were exposed, it would be no great harm; the Forbidden Guards would only try to win him over.

Ren Qing and Butcher Zhang filled in the remaining details before leaving the butcher shop, intending to retrieve the completed Great Miao Saber.

As he walked out of the alley where the butcher shop was located, he noticed a few idle beggars, a sign that the Bloodhound Gang had already begun to take notice.

Truly the local emperor west of the city; the structure of their power was hardly different from a sect's.

Ren Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air. Thinking of the Great Miao Saber he was about to receive, his pace gradually quickened.

Thanks to 160506141214740 for the reward.