Chapter 359: Born a Beast of Burden (Three-in-One)

Xu Yuan silently packed a bag of tobacco for Grandpa Shen and handed him the pipe bowl.

Grandpa Shen lit it and took a deep drag—

It was a bit hard to draw.

This kid Ah Yuan is too honest; he packed way too much tobacco leaf in there.

But Grandpa Shen didn't mind.

The families in River Work Alley were all the leaders, big and small, of the uprising back then.

Having stood out from hundreds of thousands of people, they were naturally all outstanding figures.

That riot might be mentioned in history books with only a dozen or so words.

Local reports to the court also described it in light terms.

But in reality, the scale was enormous.

Everyone in River Work Alley struggled on; the Xu family had long ago agreed with all the families: single-line inheritance.

For example, if the Xu family had two brothers, only one needed to stay in River Work Alley, while the other siblings could go out and make their own way.

But every family shared an unspoken understanding: the one staying in the alley must be the child with the highest talent in the family.

After several generations, although fewer people remained in River Work Alley, their talent and standards had grown higher and higher!

Rank Dan Xiu rarely see anyone at the Third-Rank level outside.

But in the alley, they are not uncommon.

Outside, when advancing to Fifth-Rank, planting the "True Seed" into the inner elixir and achieving initial fusion should be around fifty percent.

This depends not only on the Rank Dan Xiu's own talent, but also on the compatibility between the True Seed and the Rank Dan Xiu, and on the quality of the True Seed itself.

But the greater the initial fusion, the more successful it is, without a doubt.

For a Rank Dan Xiu, this also means saving more time at the Fifth-Rank level.

Naturally, there will be broader prospects for development in the future.

The average level of initial fusion among people in River Work Alley is twenty percent.

When Aunt Wang was young, it was twenty-five percent.

Do not underestimate that Xu Yuan only improved by half a percent.

Back then, the elders in the alley had already reached a consensus: Aunt Wang's level was already the limit for a genius Rank Dan Xiu.

Any achievement that goes even one step further beyond the limit is great!

That is why Grandpa Shen was so excited.

Even when mocked and ridiculed by Aunt Wang, he didn't mind at all.

The tobacco leaf was stuffed too tightly, making it hard to smoke, yet he did not blame Xu Yuan; instead, he felt it showed the child's filial piety and sincerity.

All because... Grandpa Shen vaguely felt that he, an old man, might have made the wisest decision in the history of River Work Alley!

His decision to "use his age as an advantage" and let Xu Yuan participate in family matters had actually made him somewhat uneasy.

But now it seems... Ah Yuan might truly solve the problem left by the Laozu Sect!

Before Grandpa Shen finished his bag of tobacco, Lin Wanmo had already cooked the meal and brought it up.

Xu Yuan took one look and saw it was all his favorites; he couldn't help but smile.

Everyone ate another meal together.

While eating, Xu Yuan quietly asked Uncle Mao Si, "Does my Aunt Wang have some special abilities?"

Upon hearing the name "Aunt Wang," Uncle Mao Si felt guilty; he kept shoveling rice into his mouth and mumbled unclearly, "What? I don't know. Why are you asking me?"

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes at him and said, "The Great Fortune she gave me is quite unusual. I want to find a chance to ask her about the background of Great Fortune again."

Uncle Mao Si said nothing and shoveled rice even more vigorously.

But his usually honest and simple eyes darted about quickly.

Xu Yuan said, "Next time, Mao Sishu, you come with me."

"I'm not going..." Uncle Mao Si said while eating, his voice very muffled; Xu Yuan didn't even hear the word "not" very clearly.

After the meal, Grandpa Shen finished the remaining half-bag of tobacco, then walked away happily with his hands behind his back.

He specifically emphasized to Xu Yuan, "Remember to come to my place before you leave."

"Sure thing." Xu Yuan was never polite with elders.

When an elder gives a gift, one must certainly not refuse it.

After dark, Xu Yuan washed the dishes and returned to find his stepmother had locked herself in her room again.

Xu Yuan knocked on the door, "Lin Wanmo."

His stepmother opened the door, and Xu Yuan handed her the materials he had saved up over this period, saying, "Handle them as you see fit. If there's anything you can use, keep it."

Lin Wanmo glanced at those materials, her eyes flickered, and she took them all.

Xu Yuan was just about to take the opportunity to advise her a bit when his stepmother waved her hand and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Xu Yuan helplessly shook his head and went back to sleep.

Outside in the courtyard, Great Fortune flipped over bricks along the water channel at the base of the wall, looking for insects to eat.

As it flipped and flipped, it lifted a stone slab.

Below, a gurgling sound came, like bubbles rising to the surface of water, and a sinister creature with a rat's head and a snake's body emerged!

Great Fortune froze in surprise.

The other party was so frightened it stood stunned.

I barely managed to sneak into the courtyard, and I ran into what thing!

Great Fortune did not like eating this thing.

Furthermore, because it had seen vast fields of huge rats outside the "Cooking Raw Fragrance" of the Human Kitchen Witch, now whenever it saw anything related to rats, Great Fortune felt nauseous.

It spat a glob of saliva at it with a "Pah!"

That sinister creature visibly fell ill with terrifying speed, then died from the sickness.

The corpse fell back into the ditch.

A wisp of flame flew out of Xu Yuan's window, landed on the corpse with a "Boom!", and in an instant burned the body to ash.

Xu Yuan scolded Dafu: "No more spitting saliva recklessly from now on!"

This corpse, covered in vile diseases, fell into the ditch—fearing that by tomorrow morning, everyone in Qihetai Town would be dead from illness.

Dafu shook his head and swayed, his eyes staring blankly.

He heard it, or perhaps he didn't.

He thoroughly turned over the ditch in the corner of the wall, which only served to tide his stomach over.

His appetite is enormous now.

Fortunately, he ate his fill a few days ago inside Ghost Wushan.

Dafu curled up under the corner of the room and fell asleep within moments.

Xu Yuan also slept.

At midnight, the stepmother got up, offered a stick of incense to the master, then sat motionless before the spirit tablet for half the night.

She thought of many things.

……

The next day was New Year's Eve.

Since Xu Yuan ate the June Bug, several months have passed; it is rare to have such a leisurely day.

Everything followed tradition as in the past.

The small Shanhe County was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

Early in the morning, Xu Yuan went to invite Aunt Wang and the others over.

The small courtyard was bustling with activity.

Then, Xu Yuan went out of the alley and arrived at the entrance of a courtyard.

From afar, he saw a rooster with bright, colorful feathers standing proudly atop the gate, shaking its feathers and looking around heroically.

Xu Yuan chuckled: "Ah Hua!"

"Cock-a-doodle!" Ah Hua crowed twice, indicating, "I still remember you."

Xu Yuan knocked on the door: "Grandma Ying, Grandma Ying, open the door!"

Grandma Ying, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, walked out trembling, opened the door, and squinted her eyes, as if her vision was not very good.

"Ah Yuan."

"Grandma Ying, come to my house for the New Year; let us all celebrate together."

"No need..." Grandma Ying refused with her words, yet she raised her arm slightly, making it easy for Xu Yuan to support her and "force" her to come home.

Xu Yuan glanced into the courtyard, which was piled high and full.

Grandma Ying's habit of hoarding remained unchanged.

Useful or useless, she had saved up a huge pile.

Ah Hua jumped down from the gate and followed behind Xu Yuan.

It had obviously forgotten about that dog, Dafu.

Once inside the courtyard, the two beasts immediately grew furious, glaring with eyes wide, flaring their wings, and adopting a stance of "deciding superiority and life or death!"

Grandma Ying hurriedly hugged her Ah Hua, while Grandpa Shen grabbed Dafu by the scruff of the neck.

Xu Yuan vaguely felt as if he had discovered something.

However, as the two beasts clashed, Xu Yuan calmly released the Beast Sinew Rope.

The rope landed in the center of the courtyard, extending to both sides until it pressed against the courtyard walls.

It was like a "boundary line" dividing the courtyard in two.

Neither Grandma Ying nor Grandpa Shen understood what the point of this was.

Immediately after, the Beast Sinew Rope suddenly began to weave itself rapidly, transforming into a large net that blocked the middle of the courtyard.

Grandma Ying and Grandpa Shen's eyes lit up, and they each released Ah Hua and Dafu.

The two beasts began to scold each other across the net.

But that net had fine mesh, and it was not a flat plane.

Instead, it was layered and intertwined, with a thickness of a palm.

Both beasts had wings and still tried to fly over the net.

But as high as they flew, the net rose with them.

When they landed, the net lowered with them.

Ah Hua and Dafu had no choice; after scolding each other for a while, they found it boring and had to settle down separately.

Transforming the Beast Sinew Rope into such a three-dimensional net was inspiration Xu Yuan gained from the state of "Net Me" during his promotion to Rank Dan Xiu.

Those three "Mes," Xu Yuan speculated, were his three destinies, manifesting concretely on some level of world origin or fundamental rules.

But it seemed not quite that simple.

"Net Me" corresponded to "Eight Directions of Injury and Calamity," suggesting something more like the complex connections between things, events, and so on.

Xu Yuan could not yet fathom the complex mysteries within this, yet he had gained something: he could use the Beast Sinew Rope to mimic that "Net."

Previously, the Beast Sinew Rope could only coil and bind; now it had more and stronger methods of use.

Afterwards, Grandma Ying and Grandpa Shen entered the house together, smiling.

Today was New Year's, and Lin Wanmo also showed his true skill, preparing a huge table of delicious food.

Xu Yuan ate until his belly was round, and Uncle Mao Si had a huge appetite.

Xu Yuan secretly thought to himself, should I say to Uncle Mao Si later: "My Aunt Wang guards an empty room alone in Miao Po Village, lonely during the festival with no one to accompany her..."

Would Mao Sishu immediately feel that nothing tastes good anymore?

Hehehe.

At the table, Xu Yuan and Uncle Mao Si were the ones who could eat the most.

Thus, a lot of rice and dishes remained, all given to Ah Hua and Da Fu.

These two fellows both liked eating insects, and their absolute favorites were evil spirit insects.

Ordinary people's meals were beneath their notice.

But what Lin Wanmo made today, the two of them ate with joy.

The evil spirits inside and outside the city were also very accommodating today, not coming out to cause trouble.

It might also be because... since morning, children inside the city had been setting off firecrackers from time to time.

By evening, the sound of firecrackers inside the city roared loudly.

This traditional activity, said in legend to drive away the Nian beast, suddenly had a real effect in this era.

Ordinary evil spirits were indeed somewhat afraid of the loud sound of firecrackers.

But it indeed only served the function of "driving away."

For ordinary commoners, buying a string of firecrackers was a luxury only possible during the New Year.

So while this method had some use against evil spirits, it was generally too expensive to use regularly.

Xu Yuan prepared things again and went to the other four houses in the alley, inviting Uncle Chen, Aunt Zhou, and the others to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.

Before Xu Yuan joined the Evil Spirit Purification Bureau, he had come here once.

At that time, he thought he wouldn't be able to return for the New Year.

Since he was back, he would eat another meal.

Xu Yuan spoke his heart to the elders alone.

He asked everyone, if they had the chance, to help persuade his stepmother.

Aunt Zhou gave no reply, but Uncle Chen agreed.

On the first day of the New Year, Xu Yuan left home and returned to Zhan City.

Xu Yuan's holiday was only the two days of New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month.

He had to report for duty on the second day of the New Year, so he could only return early today.

Aunt Wang was not in a hurry to leave.

The people Third Sister knew were accompanying her in Shanhe County.

The good materials Xu Yuan brought back had not yet been finished processing by his stepmother.

Once the crafts were made, Aunt Wang could send them to him.

Not long after Xu Yuan left, the former County Commandant, now the County Magistrate, dressed in plain clothes and led four servants carrying gifts to visit Lord Xu.

Unfortunately, he missed him.

The County Magistrate, full of regret, chatted briefly with Lin Wanmo, insisted on leaving the gifts, and took his leave.

In Shanhe County, since the Chen family was dealt with by the Evil Spirit Purification Bureau, Xu Yuan had become the highest-ranking official currently serving outside the city.

This County Commandant rising to become County Magistrate was itself a stroke of luck.

He had no backing and very much wanted to grab onto a powerful leg.

Xu Yuan traveled alone; he had a horse but no calligraphy sheets.

So after running all morning, he still hadn't reached Zhan City.

"My lord also has scribes under his command; later I must have them produce more calligraphy sheets," Lord Xu decided secretly in his heart.

Scribes writing calligraphy sheets was cultivation.

"So my lord is not exploiting subordinates, but urging them to improve!"

"Truly the heart of a benevolent father!"

Lin Wanmo brought some dry rations for Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan loosened the reins, letting the horse trot for a while, passing between two earthen hills, then circling around a patch of camphor trees. Not far ahead on the roadside was a small village.

Cooking smoke rose in wisps, and the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking came from afar.

In the fields, a few water buffaloes leisurely stepped across the Tian Geng, turning their ears and letting out a long low moo to the sky.

At the village entrance was a simple tea stall; there was no house, only a thatched shed.

In front of the door, a long bamboo pole held up a triangular cloth banner.

On it was written a large character for "Tea."

Along the roadsides there were many such tea stalls, for passersby to rest and eat.

Ordinary travelers entering only needed three cash coins to buy a bowl of hot tea, tear up their own carried cakes and such, and soak them to eat.

And rest for a while.

If a merchant caravan passed by, the stall could also provide some simple freshly made food.

The prices were far cheaper than in the city.

Xu Yuan spurred his horse, and in a short while arrived before the tea stall.

He had thought that during the New Year, this stall might not be open for business.

But unexpectedly, from far away he saw a middle-aged woman, wearing coarse cloth clothes washed and faded, with an apron tied at her waist, coming out early to wave and call: "Honored guest, rest your feet; there are freshly made noodles, plus pickled vegetables and cured meat."

She had a pair of round, pitch-black, glistening big eyes, looking at Xu Yuan with full expectation.

Xu Yuan dismounted, yet said only, "Bring a bowl of tea."

That middle-aged woman could not help but feel disappointed; seeing someone on horseback, she had assumed a wealthy person had arrived.

"Just tea? Nothing else?"

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "A bowl of tea is enough. Also, feed my horse, and add extra beans."

"Very well, please come inside and sit."

Xu Yuan entered the tea shop; inside, not a soul was present.

Yet it was evident the woman was very diligent; the tables, chairs, and benches were all wiped exceptionally clean.

The floor had been swept as well.

On the row of stoves at the back, kettles sat, most of the water already boiling, bubbling and emitting white steam.

Beside them stood four large water jars, the water within all carried and filled to the brim.

Xu Yuan then sighed: "Officials of my Great Ming also work hard. Even during the New Year, when merchant caravans rest, I still must travel; on this imperial road, I am the only one."

The woman brewed a bowl of hot tea and brought it to Xu Yuan.

"Guest, please drink first; I will go prepare fodder for your horse."

This tea shop held only her, yet she was remarkably capable.

She carried a bundle of fodder outside to the horse trough and began chopping grass with a chaff cutter.

Chak, chak, chak...

Chop by chop, she cut it finely and evenly.

Then the woman secretly glanced at Xu Yuan; finding he was not looking this way, she quietly extended her little finger beneath the chaff cutter.

Chak!

A segment of her little finger fell into the fodder.

The woman showed not a trace of pain, nor did blood flow from the wound.

After finishing the chopping, the woman fetched a large bucket of roasted soybeans and poured fully half a bucket in at once.

Hearing the sound, Xu Yuan laughed: "Shopkeeper, your honesty will cost you a loss."

The woman mixed the fodder and led the horse over.

As the horse ate, she gently stroked its neck and said softly: "These great beasts work hard; they should be fed well."

Xu Yuan said no more, deciding to give the shopkeeper extra copper coins later.

Xu Yuan had ordered only a bowl of tea, for he firmly believed the dried provisions made by his stepmother were tastier than anything freshly made at roadside wild shops.

Leisurely finishing the dried provisions, Xu Yuan gulped down the large bowl of tea in three or four mouthfuls.

Although Dan Xiu possess physiques inferior to Wu Xiu, their appetites are nearly equal to those of Wu Xiu.

Seventh-rate Dan Xiu are almost all fat.

Because they cannot advance further, yet their appetites remain so huge.

Unknowingly, they grow fat.

The horse had finished eating; Xu Yuan called out: "Shopkeeper, settle the bill."

The woman began to calculate the bill.

"One bowl of tea, three cash; feeding the horse, one cash; adding bean fodder, ten cash; the total is..."

She seemed not very good at arithmetic; this simple addition required her to count on her fingers.

Yet she was strange; clearly, one hand has five fingers, yet she used only two, as if the other three did not exist.

With only four fingers usable across both hands, it was clearly insufficient for counting.

The more she counted, the more confused she became; once confused, she grew anxious.

Several times, her eyes kept glancing at her own feet—as if she could not resist adding the toes on both feet to the count.

Xu Yuan suddenly smiled and said: "I have a set of counting rods here; shall I lend them to you?"

The woman was overjoyed: "Good, lend them to me quickly; I will waive one cash for the guest."

Xu Yuan then tossed that set of fifth-rate artisan tools, the counting rods, onto the table.

The woman reached out to take them; the moment her fingers touched the counting rods, they flew up with a "whoosh," swiftly circling the woman before dropping one by one, pinning her to the spot!

"Moo—" The woman, struck by pain, opened her mouth to scream, yet a lowing of an ox emerged.

With these fifth-rate artisan tools pinned to her body, she could no longer move.

In her panic, she shouted to the horse not far away: "Come help me quickly!"

The horse snorted loudly from its nose, turning a deaf ear, not even looking at her.

The woman was utterly puzzled: "You ate... you should have awakened."

Xu Yuan raised a hand; a thread of rope, fine as a hair, lifted the severed segment of her finger.

"Are you speaking of this? It did not eat."

The woman's round, large eyes turned fierce.

Her features also changed; though still appearing human, she now looked three or four parts like an ox.

"How did you see through it?"

Xu Yuan was somewhat speechless and said: "People who work often do indeed wear aprons—but yours is tied at the back! Why? To cover your ox tail?"

A counting rod swept past, severing the apron's string; the apron slid down, and indeed, a coiled ox tail curled behind the woman.

The woman's face flushed crimson.

Xu Yuan did not know what to say.

Thinking back to how she had just calculated the bill... indeed, she was not very smart.

Xu Yuan pointed again toward the distance, where those few oxen were still strolling on the Tian Geng.

Leisurely eating wild grass.

Yet not a single cow went to touch the seedlings in the field.

"Even though it is the New Year, no one would just leave cows in the field like this."

"Cows are extremely valuable assets to farming families; they must be carefully guarded and cared for."

The woman roared, "That's all to make us work harder! It's not really for our own good!"

She then glared at the cows on the Tian Geng with an expression of frustration at their stubbornness, scolding angrily, "A bunch of fools! Still acting like before, too afraid to take a single bite of the seedlings."

"The seedlings are tender and much tastier than those wild weeds!"

Xu Yuan drew his finger across the table; not a speck of dust appeared. "And what about you? You think oxen and horses suffer, yet you have already transformed into a strange one, and you still work just as diligently..."

Xu Yuan's finger then pointed one by one at the stove and the water vat.

The woman froze.

She had not realized this point at all before.

She could never rest; as soon as she saw work to be done, she did it immediately.

She completely failed to realize that this tea stall, under her hands, was far cleaner and tidier than when its original owner ran it.

She deeply hated her former master, who had whipped her daily until she was exhausted.

But these past few days, no one had been whipping her from behind... yet it seemed she had done exactly the same amount of work!

How could this be?!

The woman felt as though the sky had collapsed...

From afar, Xu Yuan sensed something strange about this village as soon as he saw it.

It appeared full of life, yet devoid of human presence.

Upon arriving at this tea stall and meeting the woman, he saw the problem at a glance.

"Where are the villagers?" Xu Yuan asked in a cold voice. "Did you eat them all?"

"No!" the woman shouted loudly. "How could I have eaten them? They did not want to eat me. I put nose rings on them and tied them up in the cowshed.

From now on, they will farm and feed us.

After all, I only know how to plow fields; farming is still your specialty, humans."

The woman wore an expression of "this is only natural," and her eyes even carried a hint of contempt, as if to say, "Such a simple truth, and I still have to explain it?"

Xu Yuan felt displeased; was he being looked down upon intellectually by this stupid cow?!

My Lord Xu quietly manipulated those counting rods, twisting them twice.

"Moo—" the woman cried out in agony.

This time, the cows on the distant Tian Geng finally realized something was wrong. They gathered together, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly ran over in this direction.

"Have you transformed them all as well?"

The woman looked quite troubled. "I gave them a piece of my flesh to eat too. But for some reason, although they have changed somewhat, they cannot transform into human form like I can."

Xu Yuan snorted and cursed, "Fool! It's because the piece of flesh you fed them was too small."

The beast-tendon rope still wrapped around that severed finger.

That amount was indeed enough to transform livestock, but the degree of transformation was limited.

This woman herself was far less "mad" than ordinary evil spirits.

The amount of Yin Qi contained in her flesh and blood was not great enough.

This raised a slight doubt in Xu Yuan's mind: What caused this woman to transform?

It seemed different from the normal transformation of beasts.

"How did you become like this?"

The woman scowled, her two round eyes rolling upward toward the sky, as if she had not heard My Lord Xu's question.

"You called me stupid, so I won't talk to you anymore!"

Xu Yuan:???

(End of this chapter)