CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32 HARVEST

SQUEAL! SQUEAL!

Accompanied by the continuous sound of pig-slaughtering squeals, Chen Ku, wearing a leather apron and wielding a sharp knife, plunged it directly into the neck of a 300-pound black pig, bleeding the beast.

Even the seasoned butchers in the backyard of the meat shop widened their eyes at this scene.

Usually, slaughtering a pig required five or six people working together just to keep it firmly pinned to the butchering table.

But this young man gripped an ear and knelt with one leg on top of the 300-pound pig, completely immobilizing the animal. With a clean and efficient cut, he finished the job.

[Diagram Master butchered a black pig and acquired a wisp of Evil Qi.]

Seeing the wisp of Evil Qi floating out from the dead pig, Chen Ku smiled with satisfaction. That pig really wasn’t easy to restrain; it had gone wild before being killed, and because of that, it provided me with Evil Qi.

To find a job butchering pigs, he had visited seven or eight butcher shops in the outer city, but none were willing to give him a chance to try his hand. He finally convinced one by demonstrating his strength: he could subdue a raging pig single-handedly. At last, he gained their trust.

Watching the pig’s blood flow like a stream into the large iron basin below, Butcher Zhu, the old pig butcher from the meat shop, quietly approached. "Good lad, not bad," he said. "You have the makings of a butcher. Today, you saved us the effort of six men all by yourself. Later, I’ll cut you two pounds of meat to take home. How’s that?"

Chen Ku didn’t refuse. Asking for nothing in return would only arouse suspicion. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Old Master Zhu. I was indeed looking to exchange some strength for meat to eat. If you need pigs slaughtered in the future, I’ll come again. How about that?"

"Fair enough, fair enough," Butcher Zhu replied with a beaming smile.

Every pig slaughter required several hands from the meat shop, and they also had to call for external help to hold down the pig. Each time, they had to give some meat to these helpers. Now that only one person was needed to pin down the pig, they naturally saved a lot.

And so, Chen Ku returned to Medicine King Hall, carrying two pounds of pork belly.

He went straight to the canteen.

Smiling at the head chef, he said, "Chef Hong, could I trouble you? I’d like to add a little extra to our meal. When I get my food later, could I have a bit more meat?"

The chef of Medicine King Hall raised his eyebrows, looking Chen Ku up and down intently before asking, "Do you think the canteen has been skimping on your food, so you want to add to your meal?"

Chen Ku’s mind raced at the implication in his words. Laughing, he said, "How could that be? I just have a big appetite, and with martial arts training, I really can’t keep up. That’s why I thought of adding to my own meal."

"Alright, I’ll take the meat," Chef Hong said after a moment’s thought, accepting the two pounds of pork belly.

After watching Chen Ku leave, he tossed the meat to a kitchen assistant and said, "Chop it up."

The kitchen assistant beside Chef Hong raised an eyebrow. "This meat, are we adding it to his meal today?"

Chef Hong replied, "Are you stupid? He just said it’s to add a bit to *our* meals. It’s obviously a bribe. Just give him an extra pound when you serve the food. The rest naturally goes into our pot."

The kitchen assistant had an epiphany, then looked in the direction Chen Ku had gone and whispered, "I heard this Chen Ku got in by delivering a Treasure Herb, so he should have extra portions in his meals."

"Shut up," Chef Hong said coldly. "First of all, it’s not like we’re the ones skimming off those things. Besides, he’s not the only one whose portions are cut. If he really had any ability, he’d go find Pharmacist Huang, who manages the Inner Treasury. What’s it got to do with us?"

These chefs, at most, only pocketed a bit of rice, eggs, and cooking oil. Food portions were distributed from the storehouse. The amount they were given determined how much they would purchase. They all knew clearly who was pocketing extra and skimming from the top.

Sure enough, when mealtime came, Chen Ku’s bowl was practically filled with large slices of meat. Although it still couldn’t compare to the apprentices’ meals, at least his daily expenditure of physical energy was no longer as taxing.

In the evening, he went out to gather herbs as usual.

When he returned, he found Zhang Erniu still diligently practicing his Martial Arts late into the night.

After Chen Ku greeted him and went back inside to sleep, under the moonlight, Zhang Erniu looked suspiciously at Chen Ku’s retreating figure as he entered his room.

He goes out every night. Could it be that Chen Ku is also secretly practicing Martial Arts every day?

Before, he thought Chen Ku was just out playing or having dinner, but since this happened every day, he couldn’t help but overthink it.

He couldn’t help feeling more anxious.

No, I must practice more today!

Seven or eight days passed swiftly. Chen Ku had gathered herbs worth more than one hundred taels of silver in the outer city’s courtyard.

Tonight, it was still the mountain belonging to the Lian Family.

Chen Ku had already anticipated the Fierce Tiger multiple times.

The Fierce Tiger also seemed to have memorized Chen Ku’s scent, as it would always appear from a great distance.

But as Chen Ku’s "evasion" experience grew, it became easier and easier for him to leave just one step ahead.

Until tonight, the Fierce Tiger had yet to appear.

This led Chen Ku to involuntarily venture several more miles deeper into the mountains. It was these extra miles that allowed him to catch the scent of the second Treasure Herb he had encountered in a long time.

This scent... it’s unmistakable! It’s Tiger’s Head Ginseng, the most common mutated ginseng-type Treasure Herb. Medicine King Hall sells such Ginseng Slices individually, each valued at the equivalent effect of one Primordial Nourishing Pill. They don’t even need to be processed; these Ginseng Slices can have their medicinal effects absorbed simply by soaking them in plain water.

Sniffing the scent, Chen Ku recalled the descriptions of this Treasure Herb from Medicine King Hall.

In no time, he reached a cliff. Looking down at the sheer drop of over a thousand feet below and the steep rock wall, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to descend and dig.

He pulled out the rope he carried, tied it to a rock, and slowly slid down. Finally, halfway down the cliffside on a soil-covered ledge, he saw a yellow, seven-leafed ginseng.

He started digging immediately. Before long, a strangely shaped, yellow ginseng root that resembled a beast’s head landed in his palm. Including its roots and leaves, it weighed a full pound.

Truly remarkable! Ordinary ginseng resembles a person, hence the name ’ginseng’ (ren shen - human root). This one resembles a beast’s head; no wonder it’s called ’Tiger’s Head Ginseng’...

Chen Ku was overjoyed. He estimated that this Tiger’s Head Ginseng could be cut into more than one hundred slices. This meant that for the next three months, he would have a Miraculous Elixir in the form of this Treasure Herb to aid his cultivation every day.

But just as Chen Ku was feeling happy...

ROAR!!

A tiger’s roar echoed from the far distance.

Chen Ku’s expression changed slightly. He quickly climbed up the rope, sniffing the air and realizing the Fierce Tiger had locked onto him again.

Without a word, he slung his basket on his back, stuffed the Tiger’s Head Ginseng into his chest, and fled.

Half an hour later, sensing the Fierce Tiger’s frustrated aura as it failed to catch up, Chen Ku turned back towards the forest and smiled.

You beast, with this Tiger’s Head Ginseng, your death is not far off.

「Next.」

Chen Ku then settled into a routine. During the day, he took opportunities to go out and kill pigs to obtain Evil Qi. At night, he ventured into the mountains to pick herbs. He also made two trips to the black market, where he sold valuable herbs for several hundred taels. With the money, he splurged, buying five large packs of Knockout Drugs, five large packs of poison, and a bladesmanship manual.

During this time, he made several trips to the Lian Family’s Medicine Mountain. He threw several drug-laced chickens in the areas the Fierce Tiger frequented, hoping the beast would actually be foolish enough to be felled by the drugs!

Then, every day, he consumed Tiger’s Head Ginseng slices to practice his Martial Arts and cultivate.

In the blink of an eye, twenty days had passed.

Treasure Herbs truly live up to their name! After taking this continuously for twenty days, I feel incredibly energetic every day. Its medicinal power is far more potent than that useless Primordial Nourishing Pill. My body is full of Vital Energy now, and I’ve only used up a fifth of the ginseng... Let me see...

In the courtyard of the outer city, Chen Ku was at one moment practicing the Ten-Section Brocade and at the next lifting a heavy pole to practice the Spirit Ape Great Strength Skill. After finishing, he exhaled deeply.

Both the Ten-Section Brocade and the Spirit Ape Great Strength Skill have reached Great Achievement. I even feel like I’ve broken through the one-thousand-pound strength limit. Just now, I lifted twelve one-hundred-pound stone locks without any effort. This indicates my own strength may have reached 1,300 pounds! If I add the Skinny Dog Transformation to that, it’s 1,800 pounds of strength!

Chen Ku thought to himself: These past few days, there haven’t been any alerts from the Transformation Diagram about the tiger being poisoned. This means either my bait was eaten by other wild animals, or that Fierce Tiger is clever. But now, with such great strength, I wonder if I can use weapons and Martial Arts to slay that Fierce Tiger on my own?!

And looking at the amount of Evil Qi in his mind:

[Available Evil Qi: Thirty-four]

These thirty-four wisps of Evil Qi included those from the crocodiles and humans Chen Ku had killed, but the majority were from pigs.

With two more wisps of Evil Qi, the Skinny Dog Transformation will reach Perfection, and I’ll achieve the Transformed State. Surely, it won’t actually give me an Incarnation? That would be marvelous! It would allow me to create a Skinny Dog duplicate to search for herbs for me!

And considering the date, it was also time for the monthly examination.

Apprentice status and Force Transformation Martial Arts! I will obtain them!