Filth-Cleansing Pepper

After the "interlude" ended, the orc guards of the transport team resumed their journey of delivering the totem.

Half an hour later, they transported the totem to the city wall.

The shamans had already dismantled the damaged old totem pole, and the remaining orcs immediately stepped forward to help. Under the cover of night, the group worked together to erect the new totem pole into its base.

Su Ming and his group returned to the Raccoon Dog Dream Theater.

Ximina was able to clearly monitor the ongoing construction on the city wall through the surveillance cameras.

"Everything is normal!" she told everyone.

Su Ming took the captured backpack off his back and threw it on the ground. Jinxiu flew out, circled the backpack once, and then pressed her palm against the surface, carefully sensing it.

There was only a simple marking rune and a sealing spell on it, which she easily removed.

The Yuye were opened, revealing many small oilcloth packets, each tightly packed.

She tore one open, and a spicy aroma wafted out.

This contains an orange fruit, about the size of a finger, slender and conical. The skin is oily but full of pits and wrinkles.

No one present recognized this thing. Lang Yefu picked one up, brought it to her nose, and sniffed it.

"This tastes... a bit like... the sausage I ate today?"

If it were just seasonings, it would obviously not be worth Hubiang smuggling them in this way.

Su Ming immediately took a picture and sent it to the scholars' group, asking what it was.

Nobody knows him.

Even Zijin, who is well-versed in agronomy and has visited Water Chestnut Island, said she had never seen this plant before.

****

Su Ming slapped his forehead, remembering that they had a readily available informant in their possession.

He's the one who took this!

Su Ming took out a small bottle and released the souls of the Black Claw Gang members that he had previously collected at the foot of the city wall.

Grayish-white mist emerged from the bottle's mouth, condensing into a human shape in mid-air. The soul was completely bewildered, clearly unaware of its predicament.

Just as Su Ming was about to take action, he realized he hadn't learned any spells for interrogating souls, so he immediately asked his girlfriend online for help. "It's not worth it, he's just an ordinary person."

The experienced Zijin offered guidance to Su Ming.

"You can just poke it with your mental energy."

"The special spell 'Soul Punishment ' will reduce him to ashes once cast."

Su Ming readily agreed, gathering a bit of his spiritual power and gently poking the captive's soul.

The captive's soul twisted violently, emitting a piercing wail.

The results were quite good.

Su Ming poked it twice more, then tossed the dried fruit in his hand.

"What's this?"

[Filth-Cleansing Pepper!] The soul hastily confessed.

"Filth-Cleansing Pepper?" Chloe was very surprised. "That's a very ancient forbidden plant."

Su Ming immediately thought of poppies. "Is it a drug?"

Chloe shook her head.

No.

"Filth-Cleansing Pepper ' is indeed poisonous, it's not the kind of 'drug' that brings euphoria, as you described."

She explained:

"It was banned because of one notorious use."

"Just a tiny bit of this stuff is enough to completely remove the stench of a corpse and mask the sour and fishy smell of the meat."

Chloe paused, looking at Lang Yefu with pity.

"Even a half-orc with a keen sense of smell could be fooled."

Su Ming still didn't understand why this feature made "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" infamous.

Lang Yefu, who was standing to the side, had already realized what was happening, and her face immediately turned Pale. She covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom.

Then, with a loud "whoosh," he started vomiting violently. The remaining people looked at each other.

"Those sausages... there's something wrong with the meat source!" Yise finally realized.

Sausage sellers would never use prohibited substances without a clear purpose, and would certainly not sell them at normal prices.

They can only be--

Ximina's expression changed as well.

She didn't taste anything strange at the time; on the contrary, she found it quite fragrant, despite the spiciness.

Ximina suddenly felt as if her stomach had been twisted violently.

"Asshole!"

She stormed into the bathroom in a fit of rage, only to be met with another round of loud vomiting.

Yise and Yuye followed them inside to take care of the two girls who were vomiting.

Yugan went to fetch warm water, and everyone got busy for a while.

**** First published on "Deqi Novel Network" d e q i x s. o r g

Chloe was deeply moved.

"After the end of the barbaric era of Taya, this item was quickly classified as a contraband by all living beings."

"The penalty for producing or selling such goods is death."

"I never expected it to reappear on Water Chestnut Island."

However, Chloe looked at the orange fruits on Su Ming's side and a hint of doubt flashed through her mind. She got up to check the information.

Su Ming continued interrogating the soul prisoner.

The other party confessed that the Black Claw Gang smuggled "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" into the city, bought "fish" to process, and continuously supplied cheap meat to the market.

Although "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" are expensive, just two or three are enough to process "a whole fish".

All things considered, the profit earned was nearly double.

Although the total amount is limited, its advantage lies in its stability and long-term sustainability.

So, since this business began a month ago, it has become the Black Claw Gang's most relied-upon asset. "I wish I could dig Hubiang out of his grave and kill him all over again!"

"Yise said angrily."

Dark Magic Power erupted from Su Ming's hand, its radiance reflecting on the soul, causing the opponent's illusory form to tremble.

Who sold you the "Filth-Cleansing Pepper"?

His voice was cold and stern.

"And who are the people selling this meat for you!?"

Although Su Ming asked this question, this soul was just an ordinary member of the gang, and he didn't really expect the other party to know.

Unexpectedly, the person they caught was the "delivery runner" for the Black Claw Gang responsible for this route.

His usual job involves transporting "Filth-Cleansing Pepper".

Hubiang chose the testers with the intention of transporting the goods into the city once the test went smoothly, so he didn't want to bother two people.

This saved Su Ming a lot of trouble.

The prisoners not only revealed the location of the "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" supplier outside the city, but also provided a list of butchers in Cloud Fang City who bought and distributed the Black Claw Gang's "high-quality and inexpensive" meat products. Lang Yefu washed her face with water and walked out of the bathroom, leaning against the wall.

Her eyes were red as she said:

"Mr. Su, may I go and slaughter those butchers first?"

"Don't create any unnecessary complications," Su Ming said firmly. "We'll deal with this after the war on Water Chestnut Island."

Lang Yefu didn't resist and replied, "Yes."

She may be angry, but she understands the importance of prioritizing the bigger picture.

Lang Yefu felt another wave of nausea in her stomach, turned around and went back, then dry heaved.

Su Ming continued questioning until the prisoner could no longer divulge any new information.

"Who else in Cloud Fang City does this kind of business?" Su Ming asked one last question.

The prisoner replied that this was Black Claw Gang's exclusive business.

Thanks!

Su Ming reached out and crushed the Black Claw member's soul, the mournful echo fading away in an instant. Jinxiu, standing nearby, immediately covered her ears and turned away in disgust.

"Don't blow up poop!" she protested angrily.

"We Star Fairy are very sensitive to these things!"

****

Lang Yefu finally quieted down.

Even after she had nothing left to vomit, she was still feeling unwell. She slumped weakly over the table, her ears and tail drooping.

Ximina only ate a small piece.

She drank some warm water and recovered.

"I'm so sorry, everyone." Yuye felt extremely guilty.

Su Ming ruffled her hair; it was fluffy, like petting a kitten.

"I went shopping with you then," he said. "There are two pears too, peel them for them."

Yuye nodded, and the pear flesh was cut into small pieces and brought over. After eating the cool pear, Lang Yefu's condition improved considerably.

"Actually, our last resistance movement was launched under the guise of this incident," Lang Yefu explained.

Six months ago, "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" spread throughout Water Chestnut Island. The Fang of the Wild exposed the inside story of the orc officials colluding to sell zombie meat to the lower classes, which aroused the anger of the people.

The Fang of the Wild organized marches and demonstrations in various places, creating a large-scale resistance movement, and took the opportunity to launch a rebellion and sabotage.

The Plundering Clock paid a heavy price, even killing many mid-level orc administrators involved in selling "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" in an effort to quell the situation.

This incident further damaged the already poor reputation of the Plundering Clock among the lower classes of orcs.

After this, to avoid repeating the same mistake, the Plundering Clock strictly banned "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" throughout the entire island.

"If you knew that, why did you still fall for it?" Su Ming asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This looks and tastes different from the original ' Filth-Cleansing Pepper '," Lang Yefu explained.

She wasn't the only one.

Since the Black Claw Gang dared to sell on such a large scale, they must have somehow fooled the orcs' sense of smell.

Chloe returned, holding an old book in her hand.

She turned to one of the pages and unfolded the drawing of a plant. It was a chili pepper plant with small, lantern-shaped fruits that were very smooth.

"This is it," Lang Yefu said. "The batch of ' Filth-Cleansing Pepper ' from six months ago looked like this."

"This is the original version of the ' Filth-Cleansing Pepper '," Chloe said. "What you've seized now is likely a variant."

"[Su Ming, can you summon me from a distance?]" Zijin suddenly asked.

"Immediately," Su Ming replied.

He found a large rat nearby, extracted its bones, and made it into a skeleton.

Then, through the "White Bone Mark" linkage, it is used as a carrier to project the consciousness of Zijin.

A ghostly green light shone in the eye sockets of the rat skull.

The limp skeleton trembled slightly, then used its four tiny bony claws to support its body.

Zijin shifted her gaze and examined "her own" body.

[It's a yellow-breasted rat.] She recognized the species. The Zijin nimbly climbed up Su Ming's arm and finally jumped onto his shoulder.

Su Ming handed her a "Filth-Cleansing Pepper".

The Zijin observes the skin, starts from the stem end, and peels it away little by little along the natural texture of the fruit.

Yise noticed this and felt that something was amiss.

This skeleton rat was handled with professional skill, and its posture exuded a strong sense of familiarity.

Yuye and Yugan surrounded them, and two pairs of cat-like eyes gleamed with curiosity as they reached out to poke them.

Yise was startled and quickly stopped the half-cat siblings' paws.

"Scholar Bay Owl?" she asked quietly.

Zijin glared at Yise and snorted in response.

But when it comes to the skeleton rat, it only produces a soft "squeak".

In particular, Zijin's eyes were arrogant, but her movements were timid and cowardly, creating a striking contrast.

Yise couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud. Su Ming quickly had Jinxiu establish a mental connection to bring Yise into the conversation.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Yise said sincerely. "Auntie Bay Owl, you look so cute in this form!"

Zijin choked.

Although the scene was somewhat incongruous, "cute" is a positive word, so she couldn't really use it as an excuse to make a big deal out of it.

[Little niece, you've been doing some things rather irresponsibly lately!] She changed the subject, her tone turning accusatory.

Yise's lips curled into a smile.

"No way!" she said defiantly. "I didn't do anything!"

At least he didn't do anything "intentionally," Yise added to himself.

"[Like a half-cat, you can't help but glance at the fish hanging by the roadside a few more times.]" she analogized. "[But as long as you don't steal them, it's not illegal, right?]"

Although Yuye couldn't hear their mental conversation, she still pricked up her ears as if she sensed something and looked around in confusion.

[So, you're still thinking about that fish, aren't you?] Zijin seized on the key point.

Su Ming was filled with regret; he had definitely meddled! He tried to interject, "[As a fish...]"

Zijin interrupted.

[As a fish, you should hang there. This is a friendly exchange between a house cat and a stray cat.]

Su Ming: [...]

****

The Zijin picked out a chili seed and found that the seed was very shriveled.

Yise took out the "Holy Spring Key," unfolded it, and cast a Water Moistening Spell, restoring a "Filth-Cleansing Pepper" to a moist and plump state.

Zijin then carefully tore it open to examine its inside.

Yise took out a knife, cut open the neat surface of a chili seed, and handed it to Zijin.

"Why does a skeleton rat look so imposing?" Yugen couldn't understand it at all.

The skeletal rat controlled by Zijin crouched upright, its tail coiled halfway around, forcefully displaying the imposing aura of a bone dragon.

But Yise still felt something was missing. She asked Yuye to take out a pair of chicken wing bones from tonight's kitchen waste.

"Su Ming, you need to add a pair of bone wings."

Zijin rolled her eyes at her.

You think I won't beat up your mother?

Yise shook his head slightly.

"Your Magic Power isn't projected this way, so what am I afraid of?" she said confidently.

"I'm referring to your mother," Zijin emphasized. "I'm with her now."

Yise's smile froze instantly.

She quickly picked up her phone and messaged Katharine.

"Mom, a rabid Bay Owl is coming soon, run!"

Su Ming couldn't help but laugh.

Zijin rolled her eyes at him. Despite the teasing, she never stopped examining the fruit.

"The conclusion is clear: this is not a truly new variety."

Zijin told everyone.

"This is Modification Cultivation Technique. Someone used plant magic to forcibly alter the appearance and taste of the fruit."

"Modify?" Su Ming was quite surprised. "Doesn't that mean the appearance and taste of the ' Filth-Cleansing Pepper ' can be further changed?"

"Yes, the growers can ensure that each batch of fruit grows differently," said Zijin.

Everyone present gasped in shock.

Such technology, when applied to prohibited plants, is virtually unsolvable!