Chapter 4: Exotic Beast

Under the old Huai tree.

There were quite a few people out for the cool evening air.

Hearing Old Man Zheng mocking Qin Shuo again, many people cast curious glances.

"Brother Xiong, you don't know, this Little Qin kid is ungrateful.

He goes out early and returns late every day, but he can't even catch a sparrow.

I pity him and kindly advise him.

I told him to sell himself to a good family while he's young, but he accused me of meddling in his business.

You tell me, isn't this like a dog biting Lü Dongbin—not recognizing a kind heart?

Auntie Sun was indignant, her words full of complaints as she complained to Zhang Xiong.

Qin Shuo rolled his eyes but didn't defend himself.

He understood the principle of not arguing right and wrong with petty people, and not discussing length with fools.

This Old Man Zheng and Auntie Sun were typical of those who relied on their age to bully others.

Relying on their status as elders, they wantonly mocked him and lectured him.

If he retorted, they would say he was ungrateful and didn't respect his elders.

This group of half-dead old farts who held onto their status and possessed robber logic—entangling with them was purely a waste of time.

"A dignified seven-foot man should be self-reliant; how can he be a slave?

Brother Shuo being able to take off his long gown and abandon literature for hunting, unlike those sour scholars who hold onto their status, is already excellent."

Auntie Sun's complaints didn't win Zhang Xiong's agreement; instead, it made him look at Qin Shuo with a bit more respect.

He had always felt that Qin Shuo was a sour scholar, strictly adhering to the Confucian precept that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen and only studying is noble.

Now it seems...

He was actually a person who could bend and stretch, diligent and pragmatic.

"I... I wasn't just watching him fail to catch game every day and worrying for him?

How did it become my fault?"

Auntie Sun felt wronged, so angry she turned her head away, no longer paying attention to this side.

Facing Qin Shuo's retort, she could still say he was ungrateful.

But this Zhang Xiong was the son of Zhang the Butcher; regardless of wealth or status, he was much stronger than her, so how could she dare to have half a word of complaint?

"Brother Xiong, you misunderstood Auntie Sun. Auntie Sun pities Little Qin for not catching game, which is why she's thinking of ways to help him."

A woman who had a good relationship with Auntie Sun spoke up, trying to smooth things over for Auntie Sun.

"This Little Qin kid just isn't cut out for hunting.

Look at his thin arms and legs; he hasn't caught any game for over half a month.

We are all doing it for his own good!"

Old Man Zheng spoke up at the right time, pretending to be a good person, sighing and shaking his head.

"You wait here every day to mock me and watch me make a fool of myself—is that also for my own good?"

Qin Shuo was laughed at by the anger.

This Old Man Zheng was truly shameless.

What kind of "for his own good"?

It was nothing more than purely wanting to see him make a fool of himself to prove that he had a good eye for people.

"I... I was just motivating you to know shame and then be brave!"

Having his intentions exposed, panic appeared on Old Man Zheng's face.

But he still stubbornly argued, stiffening his neck.

"Heh!"

Qin Shuo sneered and didn't say anything more.

Zhang Xiong, however, noticed the awkward atmosphere and reached into Qin Shuo's basket, grabbing a mountain sparrow the size of a bowl.

"You all say Brother Shuo can't catch game, but didn't he catch this?"

He held the mountain sparrow high so that everyone in the plaza could see clearly.

"Whoa! He opened for business today! It really is a big mountain sparrow; no wonder he's speaking with such confidence."

Old Man Zheng said sarcastically.

"When your father was alive, he often brought back wild boars and yellow sheep.

Now that you've only caught a mountain sparrow, you're already self-satisfied and don't put us elders in your eyes.

With a personality like yours, you're definitely going to suffer a big loss in the future."

Old Man Zheng used a high-and-mighty, elder-lecturing-a-junior tone, which made Qin Shuo furious, and he retorted immediately:

"Whether I suffer a loss or not, what does it have to do with you!"

Even a clay figurine has three parts of fire.

Before, when he couldn't catch game, this Old Man Zheng had mocked him time and time again.

Now that he had caught game, he still wanted to belittle him; it was truly unbearable.

He had just come to this world and only wanted to live a low-key life and slowly become stronger.

But that didn't mean he would tolerate everything and be a ninja turtle, letting these old farts point fingers and bully him at will.

"Brother Xiong, look, look at his attitude—where is there any respect for elders? It's a pity he used to be a scholar!"

Being retorted in public, Old Man Zheng couldn't hold his face either and wanted Zhang Xiong to help judge.

However, Zhang Xiong ignored him and simply lifted the pine branches covering Qin Shuo's basket, seeing the situation inside clearly.

"Whoa! Brother Shuo, your harvest today is not bad; you even caught a big pheasant."

Zhang Xiong was as strong as an ox, his voice incredibly loud.

At his exclamation, others also curiously crowded around, wanting to see what game Qin Shuo had caught.

"There's also a wild rabbit!"

Someone exclaimed, their eyes full of envy.

The West City District was the slum of Black Water City, and everyone's life was generally not well-off; they might not even eat a meal with oil or meat in a month.

Qin Shuo catching both a pheasant and a wild rabbit was truly eye-catching.

"Hmph! Just a stroke of luck!"

Old Man Zheng angrily shook his fan, not crowding over like the others.

"Not understanding respect for elders, not recognizing a kind heart—so what if he caught some game? He'll suffer a big loss sooner or later."

Auntie Sun also muttered in a low voice, her tone resentful.

Seeing more and more people crowding around, Qin Shuo simply placed the basket on the ground, letting everyone look.

"Huh? What is this? It looks like a squirrel and a rabbit, and it even has a tuft of red hair?"

A middle-aged man picked up the red-haired squirrel that Qin Shuo had shot first from the bottom of the basket, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Could it be some evil thing? It looks too strange!"

"Can this be eaten? Will it be poisonous?"

A group of people chattered, staring at the strange red-haired squirrel and clicking their tongues in wonder.

"It's poisonous, don't touch it!"

Qin Shuo was angry now, so he wouldn't indulge this group of people, directly snatching the red-haired squirrel and preparing to leave.

If they didn't recognize it, they said it was poisonous.

This group of people truly didn't miss any opportunity to suppress him.

"Wait a moment."

Just then, Zhang Xiong, who had been squeezed out of the crowd, walked back in.

He took the red-haired squirrel and looked at it left and right, joy gradually appearing in his eyes.

"Brother Shuo, how about you sell this red-haired squirrel to me? I'll give you five silver coins!"

"Five silver coins?"

"What is this thing, to be so valuable?"

The Huai tree plaza instantly exploded.

Even Old Man Zheng and Auntie Sun, who had been sulking and not coming over to watch, couldn't sit still, crowding forward to look at the red-haired squirrel.

"This is an exotic beast, a kind of great tonic, especially precious to martial artists, as it can increase Qi and blood."

Zhang Xiong didn't hide it either.

With his family wealth and strength, there was absolutely no need to deceive Qin Shuo for five silver coins.

And he had been helping Qin Shuo speak all along, which also had selfish motives.

He had now achieved some success in martial arts, and ordinary meat could no longer satisfy his Qi and blood needs; he needed to eat exotic beast meat.

But exotic beasts were rare, and exotic beast meat was even harder to come by; it was priceless in the entire Black Water City.

So when he learned that Qin Shuo had abandoned literature for hunting, he had moved his mind to build a relationship.

After all, exotic beasts were all in the mountains, and who knew when Qin Shuo would encounter one.

And sure enough, he encountered one today.

"Five silver coins, that's the price of a big fat pig."

"Brother Xiong, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

Old Man Zheng said in disbelief.

Such a red-haired squirrel could actually be worth the price of a big fat pig?

This was truly mind-boggling.

In this day and age, pork was only twenty wen per catty.

A three-hundred-catty big fat pig was only worth five or six silver coins.

And this rabbit-sized red-haired squirrel was only a few catties, yet it was worth this price?

"There won't be a mistake."

Zhang Xiong was exceptionally certain.

"This exotic beast is different from ordinary wild beasts; it eats the essence of heaven and earth and spits out the brilliance of the sun and moon. There is a precious medicinal fragrance in its blood; if you don't believe me, you can smell it."

"Huh? There really is a medicinal fragrance."

Someone crowded forward, carefully sniffing at the wound of the red-haired squirrel, and let out a sound of surprise.

"It really is an exotic beast!?"

"Brother Shuo, you've made a fortune!"

The crowd was in an uproar, and the looks they cast at Qin Shuo changed; there was envy, surprise, and more of it was jealousy.

Qin Shuo himself was also shocked.

He had previously felt that this red-haired squirrel was extraordinary, but he hadn't expected it to be an exotic beast, and so valuable.

"How about it? Are you selling or not?"

Zhang Xiong looked at Qin Shuo, excitement shining in his eyes; he was clearly very eager for this red squirrel.

"Selling! Of course, I'm selling!"

Qin Shuo wasn't stupid.

Although this red squirrel was rare and a great tonic, he needed money more now.

"Brother Shuo, rest assured, you won't lose out by selling this red squirrel to me.

In the future, any game you catch can be sold at my father's meat shop; our family won't take a cut, how about that?"

The deal was struck, and Zhang Xiong was very happy.

With this exotic beast meat, his cultivation could advance another step.

"Then many thanks, Brother Xiong. In the future, if I catch any more exotic beasts, I'll send them directly to your house."

Having lived two lives, how could Qin Shuo not understand Zhang Xiong's intentions, and he immediately stated that all exotic beasts he caught in the future would be sold to him.

"Good, good, good, Brother Shuo, I truly didn't misjudge you, hahaha."

Zhang Xiong was very happy, forcefully patting Qin Shuo on the shoulder; the thick force almost knocked him to the ground.

"Those who study martial arts truly have strength!"

Qin Shuo winced, secretly shocked in his heart.

He could see that Zhang Xiong was just doing it casually.

But the force in his hand was something he couldn't bear, almost causing him to fall.

"If I could also study martial arts and possess strength like Zhang Xiong, then Qian Biao and his ilk wouldn't dare to harbor bad intentions toward A Lan? I'm afraid they would dodge me whenever they saw me."

Qin Shuo's thoughts drifted, and a desire to study martial arts grew in his heart.

"Once I save enough money, I'll go study martial arts too."

He made up his mind that once he saved enough money, he would go study martial arts in the inner city, just like Zhang Xiong.

"Brother Shuo, I didn't bring money with me today; come home with me, and I'll get it for you?"

Zhang Xiong carried the red-haired squirrel, looking at it left and right like a treasure.

"Good!"

Qin Shuo nodded.

The two left side by side, leaving behind a group of old farts in the Huai tree plaza, feeling a mixture of flavors.

"Old Man Zheng, you teased Little Qin time and time again; now that he's relying on Zhang the Butcher's son and has even caught an exotic beast, you'll have plenty to suffer in the future, hehe."

A middle-aged man who didn't get along with Old Man Zheng gloated.

"Hmph! Just a stroke of luck; can he catch an exotic beast every day?"

Old Man Zheng was stubborn and wouldn't admit defeat.

But his slightly trembling beard exposed the extreme lack of peace in his heart at this moment.

He had dared to mock Qin Shuo before because he was alone and destitute.

Now that Qin Shuo was successful in hunting and had climbed the big tree of Zhang Xiong, if he really wanted to do something to him, he was afraid no one would stand up for him.

After all, Zhang the Butcher was considered a figure in this West City District, and his son Zhang Xiong had even achieved success in martial arts.

Now that Zhang Xiong had clearly shown he wanted to win over Qin Shuo, he couldn't help but be terrified.

He turned his head to look at Auntie Sun and found that she was also restless, clearly worried that Qin Shuo would take revenge later.

"Sigh! If I had known, why provoke him? Truly bad luck!"

Old Man Zheng made up his mind that he would come to this Huai tree plaza less often in the future, to avoid meeting Qin Shuo and being made difficult by him.

Qin Shuo didn't know.

How much of a shock a five-silver-coin red-haired squirrel had brought to the grandpas and grandmas in the Huai tree plaza.

At this time, he had already followed Zhang Xiong to a large mansion located in Peach Blossom Alley.

Peach Blossom Alley was a residential area for the wealthy in Chaiyu Workshop, and the living environment was much better than the Huai tree alley area.

The roads were paved with bluestone, and the ground was clean.

Peach trees were also planted on both sides of the alley, and at this time, they were lush with green, adding a bit of seclusion.

*Creak! *

Zhang Xiong pushed open the gate and gestured for Qin Shuo to enter.

As soon as he entered, Qin Shuo was attracted by a large bow hanging in the courtyard.

That was an iron-fetal bow.

When Qin Shuo's gaze fell upon it, a string of text immediately appeared before his eyes:

【Ingredient: Iron-fetal Bow】

【Refining Condition: Basic Archery Mastery, draw the bow ten thousand times!】

【Refining Effect: Piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces, shooting through stone and drinking the feather!】 ===== CHAPTER 5 =====