Chapter 46: Watching the Owl Stew

At dusk, the birds and beasts scattered.

"It really is not simple at all..."

Sighing helplessly in his heart, Ren Li opened his eyes.

He had been sitting cross-legged in this spot, focusing his mind and meditating for nearly half a day.

The result was nothing!

Exhausted in spirit, he raised a hand to rub his temples, and upon looking over, he saw that the corpse-buriers appeared quite nervous at this moment.

Simply put, a short while ago, they had already finished the day's work and packed up all their various tools; then, instead of acting as they usually did, they stood around the edges, staring blankly, occasionally lowering their heads and glancing sideways at Ren Li.

The overseer was still here!

The overseer hadn't said it was time to knock off yet!

After all, the matter involved Du En.

No way, right!?

As they waited, they grew more and more restless, watching the pot of stewed owl—which had already boiled, with the stench of rot mixing with the rising scent of medicinal herbs—and began to feel anxious on behalf of someone who wasn't even worried.

But they never imagined that you, this plain-looking little foreman, would be so unconventional and act so much on your own terms!

He couldn't help but click his tongue; seeing Du En finish packing up and preparing to leave, he couldn't help but speak: "Kid, it seems I really misunderstood you!"

Du En did answer, but it was very simple: "Eating it myself."

Because Du En had returned.

He had the intention to ask the others, but upon turning his head, he only saw them looking distracted and terrified; meeting his gaze, they forced themselves to appear calm, clearly looking guilty.

Seeing this, Ning Caize and the others subconsciously bent over and backed away, not daring to let the filth and stench on their bodies offend the overseer's nose and eyes.

So that's how it is.

Ning Caize bit the bullet and spoke up.

He said no more, just sat silently and watched Du En and the others run on foot.

Ren Li: "..."

Isn't this the ingredient?

Although it looked unappetizing at a glance, it was meat nonetheless; if one could swallow it, the food was considered quite good compared to that of ordinary low-level laborers.

Ren Li could tell at a glance that they had this common, cautious, and fearful mindset, and at the same time, he could see at a glance that one person was missing from among the corpse-buriers.

Ren Li stood up, his Dharma power vibrating slightly to shake off the dust and mud, and paced over.

"Judging people by their status? Then why don't you judge by looking at Manager He's expression?"

Du En seemed to ignore him completely, but in reality, he was taking time to observe.

I had anticipated beforehand what kind of situation I might encounter when serving as an overseer here.

That is an overseer at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!

In the shantytown of the border city, that is a cultivation level equivalent to an overlord, and coupled with a status a cut above those gang leaders, how could they dare to take any independent action without permission?

To tell the truth, the others didn't dare to get on the cart, and Du En didn't get on because the cart was full; if they squeezed in, it would not only be uncomfortable but also likely to dirty Ren Li's clothes.

"Uh, Du En said that you are focused on your own affairs and shouldn't be disturbed, and that he has his own sense of propriety, so, so, there was no need to wait."

This made Old Ning's heart tighten; he stammered, not daring to answer.

"Heh, that kid never cared about this, so, he didn't even report to me and just went back first?"

Hearing this, Du En waved his hand, and the others, along with the two gray jackals, began to move.

Ren Li sniffed, blocked his nose with Dharma power, and then nodded: "You actually have an independent courtyard; it seems the previous overseers didn't lack kindness!"

Fine, let me see how you plan to eat this!

Feeling he had hit a wall, Ren Li was also somewhat annoyed.

"Eating it yourself?"

However, Ren Li did not answer and went on to untie the herb bundle, taking a look: "Warming herbs, neutral herbs, cooling tonic herbs—quite complete, and they were picked well; you're an experienced hand. Why are you gathering so many? Do you moonlight selling medicinal soup to make a living?"

From He Bo's attitude, he could guess that under his command, one shouldn't expect wages to be paid normally, so it was natural to speculate this way.

They returned to the small courtyard in peace.

Fortunately, Ren Li only raised an eyebrow slightly; he did not pursue or reprimand, but turned his head away.

Du En was naturally not present.

His attitude toward Ren Li was just a normal demeanor, not truly lacking in propriety, nor truly devoid of manners.

Although he himself seemed completely indifferent.

Spirit meal?

Ren Li shook his head, walked over, and without minding the dirt, sat down on the flatbed cart, then continued: "Alright, let's go; it won't be safe here in a while."

Just hiding away a little bit of personal property, and you were actually afraid I'd find out?

These corpse-buriers knew nothing about this, whereas Ren Li, who had just taken office, was quite clear about it.

Boil water in a pot, pluck the feathers and gut it, change to clean water, add the herbs, toss them in handful by handful, then sink the pale, fleshy owl into it, and finally clap his hands and go off to bathe and wash his clothes.

He used the flatbed cart as bait to successfully lure the greedy owl, caught it without running too far, and used the spare time to find herbs, gathering several large bags and piling them on the cart to haul back together.

Among the corpse-buriers, this overseer position was likely specifically left vacant to be used for things like this.

Ren Li was somewhat puzzled and subconsciously looked at the still-dripping owl.

If you are really cooking a spirit meal, how can you just leave?

Just after finishing, he couldn't help but cough twice.

The people seen along the way were all somewhat surprised and astonished, but because Ren Li was visibly "high and mighty," they didn't dare to discuss anything.

Ren Li frowned and paced, feeling a sudden realization mixed with a bit of shock.

"It is just to eat it myself."

"Supervisor Ren, you should say, it is precisely because I discovered you are this kind of person that I chose to do so."

Ren Li shook his head and said nothing, only waiting silently.

Make a preliminary judgment, then observe further.

How is this heat controlled? And, these medicinal materials are clearly not added enough yet!

Actually taking it so slow, good lad, you are truly arrogant enough!

Tsk! My brain must have twitched, why am I speaking so gently to this kid!

Many thoughts turned in his mind, but glancing at that group of quails like Ning Caize and the others, and then thinking that he would likely have to stay here for quite a while, if it were dull and boring all day without even a person to chat with to relieve boredom, it might affect his state of mind and the results, so Ren Li still suppressed his irritation.

Only then did Ren Li slightly focus his attention on Ning Caize, quickly judging the situation of his chronic ailment, and immediately felt something strange.

If there were a thousand or eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones, I might actually make a move.

Du En thought this, resolved one doubt, did not say anything more, and just went about his usual business.

"The illness is at the root of the lungs, the metal injury is still shallow, eh? Looking at your appearance of forty-something, it doesn't look like it's still shallow."

Ren Li gave a light snort, immediately scaring the others into breaking out in a cold sweat.

"What?" Du En asked, somewhat feigning ignorance.

Just like that, the seven people, one cart, and two jackals returned to the shanty area.

Du En still answered this way.

He then took the opportunity to ask: "In this wasteland at night, what exactly happens?"

Comparing it like this, he immediately felt it was uninteresting again, and sighed: "It's just that I am a person who doesn't like to fuss over these things, otherwise, I would definitely have to teach you a good lesson."

Not discovering that he needed to change his daily rhythm, he therefore continued to maintain it.

In Ren Li's view, he was simply arriving late, and he immediately looked over with some displeasure.

(End of this chapter)