Chapter 29: Rear Alley Temple Butcher Shop
Hundred Herbs Hall’s shop was in the most prosperous area of Yun Cang Town, with its massive pavilion occupying three or five storefronts.
The signboard featured ancient characters, vigorous and powerful, said to be inscribed by Hundred Herbs Hall’s founder using a kind of precious wood that wouldn’t decay for two hundred years, faintly carrying a medicinal fragrance.
Su Yan entered the shop, filled with a dazzling array of medicine cabinets.
Apprentices were cutting and dividing medicine, while shop assistants were greeting customers.
The shop assistant saw him and immediately came over: “Young Master, are you here to buy pills?”
That shop assistant was a boy of fifteen or sixteen, wearing a blue cap and an indigo cloth uniform of Hundred Herbs Hall, looking quite sharp.
Having seen plenty of martial artists’ essence and spirit, he saw Su Yan enter with a dragon-like gait and roughly guessed.
Su Yan nodded, and he showed a professional smile: “I wonder if Young Master usually practices martial arts with quasi-grade Qi and Blood Pills, or ranked pills?”
So-called quasi-grade meant not ranked, not graded, somewhere between ordinary medicine and precious medicine for practicing martial arts.
Of course, even this quasi-grade level was more expensive than ordinary medicine, more than sufficient for Skin Refining Realm cultivation.
“I want Red Skin Powder.”
Having received Song Qi’s guidance, he naturally knew what was more suitable.
The shop assistant showed a strange expression: “Young Master, are you sure?”
“Is there a problem? Isn’t this Red Skin Powder for Skin Refining?”
Su Yan asked, and the shop assistant quickly nodded: “Yes, it’s for Skin Refining Realm. This Red Skin Powder is considered a first-order mid-grade precious medicine, with great effects for Skin Refining Realm.”
“How much silver?”
Su Yan started asking the price, and the shop assistant no longer said more, immediately replying: “One bottle ten taels of silver, usable three times. Dissolve in hot water and soak for one to two hours until the medicinal solution clears, meaning absorption is complete. As long as you do stance training, the medicinal effect will continuously gather to temper the skin.”
Just as he wanted to speak up for a bit more, combining with his assets, it turned out he could only afford four and a half bottles.
“Three bottles.”
Su Yan gritted his teeth and emptied most of his savings, while the shop assistant beamed with joy—this was no small order.
Heart aching for his wallet, Su Yan left Hundred Herbs Hall with three white medicine bottles in hand, two fingers wide, the medicine inside enough for three soaks.
Thirty taels of silver, that was only nine uses, much more expensive than the Martial Arts School’s Herbal Medicine.
“Go check the butcher shop in Hou Miao Lane next.”
Su Yan had just over ten taels left on him, so he headed straight for Hou Miao Lane.
Hou Miao Lane was not in Yun Cang Town’s prosperous area, exactly the opposite of Hundred Herbs Hall and the Weapon Shop.
Su Yan passed through seven or eight small alleys, following the old trees along the street, finally arriving near Yun Cang Town’s south City Gate, finding a secluded alleyway.
Hou Miao Lane, originally called back alley, named after a City God Old Temple, also called Hou Miao Lane.
It was said that when all of Yun Cang Town was still dirt roads with scattered thatched cottages, this back alley already existed then.
This was an old place, but not many people came, except for some great clans and martial artists.
Su Yan stepped into the place, found the abandoned Old Temple, and beside this Old Temple, finally saw a gate like a temple door, to a deep large courtyard.
Vicious Beast as flying eaves carving, dark and lusterless, but the knife carvings sank three-tenths into the wood.
The gate wide open, apprentices coming and going, all burly and robust, strong-bodied folk.
Daggers in hand clanging, polished to a mirror shine, one slash yielding a good piece of meat, divided on the cutting board like tofu.
This was ordinary cattle and sheep meat, pieces separated, bone from bone, meat from meat, this skilled dismembering like Yang Sandao’s posture, all experts at skinning, deboning, dismantling, and portioning meat.
Su Yan arrived at the butcher shop’s entrance, slightly looked up, seeing on the plaque what seemed knife-carved large characters: Temple Slaughterhouse.
‘Sharp as a blade, this writing infused with momentum.’
Clearly three large characters, yet like a bloody slaughter knife lying across there, startling the heart.
‘But… this is normal.’
Su Yan’s eyes flickered; able to stand firm and sell Feral Beast Meat sufficiently proved this Temple Slaughterhouse’s strength was likely among the best in the city.
Su Yan stepped forward, a shop assistant came to greet him, and he got straight to the point: “I’m here to buy Feral Beast Meat.”
“Customer, follow me.”
The shop assistant nodded, leading Su Yan inside, through the butcher shop’s front hall, actually arriving in the back courtyard.
This courtyard suddenly opened up, Su Yan’s gaze swept over, suddenly discovering several lean and upright figures also here.
The shop assistant said as he walked: “Today the mountains delivered a Greenback Rock Bull, early first-order feral beast, year-round gnawing mountain medicinal herbs and precious medicine, meat tough and firm, excellent for warming and supplementing qi and blood, selling at one tael five qian silver per catty.”
Speaking, the group arrived at a high-walled enclosure, only feeling cold intent assaulting, temperature suddenly dropping a few degrees.
“Clang!”
A heavy impact sounded, before Su Yan and the others could react, they heard someone in the courtyard loudly scold.
“Good beast, smash again and this meat will be ruined.”
The group hurried to look toward the courtyard gate, a sturdy old man in his fifties holding a horn dagger, muscles sharply defined, standing straight before a bluish Giant Bull.
That bull was a circle larger than ordinary water buffaloes or yellow cattle, about four meters long, over two meters tall, horns like tree forks, eyes like furnaces, roaring from its mouth, yet chained with iron on its body.
The old man turned back to glance at the group, grinned: “Good timing… blood catchers, ready.”
He strode forward, the Greenback Rock Bull went mad-like, skin and flesh bulging, muscles like iron, pulling the iron chains to charge and ram him.
The old man’s figure tensed, in an instant like a tiger leopard, eyes glaring, the Greenback Rock Bull’s figure suddenly stalled.
Old man raised knife and advanced, big hand grabbed a bull horn and pressed, the huge green bull’s body was actually pressed to the ground by him.
Like a mountain range on his body, four pillar-like hooves struggled, yet couldn’t rise.
Dagger slashed a white light, like a bolt of lightning, sinking into the Greenback Rock Bull’s throat.
At the same time the old man’s skillful strength tapped the bull’s cervical vertebra, a faint crack sounded, the bull’s latter half body no longer moved, stiff then immediately went limp and powerless.
Su Yan watched in shock: ‘What fast knife, what ruthless hand, this bull’s spine is broken.’
Nearby apprentices hurried forward, caught the bull blood, and using the iron chains and the beam crossing the courtyard, hoisted the Greenback Rock Bull’s body up.
Blood just drained, old man raised knife and advanced, swung the knife—not fast seeming, yet like a white shadow sliding.
White blade entered back like cutting into tofu, no hindrance at all, no blood threads sticking to the blade.
Su Yan watched entranced, this saber technique must be integrated into the body, likely already at Great Accomplishment realm.
In merely minutes, this huge Greenback Rock Bull was completely dismembered, huge bull scorpion along with bull head still hanging from the beam, white bones miserable, dripping spots of blood.
“Customer, Greenback Rock Bull beef one tael five qian per catty; if wanting bull heart, bull brain, bull bone marrow, it’ll cost more silver.”
Su Yan was startled awake by the shop assistant’s voice, his thoughts on deducing Monkey Fist interrupted.
“Ten catties.”
Body’s silver minus some loose coppers, left just fifteen taels.
Su Yan emptied his savings, though heart ached, compared to continuously forging the body stronger, this bit of money was but a minor thing.
The shop assistant took Su Yan’s silver, immediately went to speak with that old steward.
Jie Zheng waved his hand: “Cut it for the customer.”
The apprentices’ skills not matching Jie Zheng, but also all good at cutting meat, soon packaged ten catties and handed to Su Yan.
Remaining other customers also delivered together, more people arriving one after another.
Su Yan took the meat, then turned to leave.
That Jie Zheng’s eyes lifted, quietly glanced at his receding figure.
‘Figure has a bit of ape step shadow, can’t hide, interesting. When did Golden Ape Martial Arts School get such a little brat.’
