The morning sun was just beginning to rise.
Wang Xiu opened his eyes, waking from his meditative trance.
The Mingxue Executioner Sword placed by the bedside was trembling continuously, conveying a ravenous hunger to Wang Xiu.
What’s with this silly sword, acting up so early in the morning? Wait a moment... why is the air filled with such a thick scent of blood?
Wang Xiu’s pupils contracted slightly.
When a Cultivator is in a meditative state, they become oblivious to their surroundings, and their perception of the environment diminishes unless their safety is directly threatened. Now that he had emerged from his trance, he immediately caught the rich scent of blood.
Could a Malicious Ghost have lost control and gone on a rampage?
Wang Xiu entertained the thought for a moment but quickly dismissed it.
No, it’s not human blood.
Wang Xiu murmured to himself. As a Taoism Disciple who frequently descended the mountain for missions, he was quite sensitive to the smell of human blood. The thick scent filling the air was not that of humans but likely from some kind of livestock.
"You silly thing!" Wang Xiu picked up the Mingxue Executioner Sword from his bedside, half-laughing and half-scolding, "To think a mighty Spiritual Artifact like you would get excited over the blood of common beasts..."
Who says a Spiritual Artifact can’t drink the blood of ordinary animals?!
An epiphany struck Wang Xiu’s mind like a thunderclap, illuminating his thoughts as if opening the door to a new world.
That’s right! The Mingxue Executioner Sword can devour Essence Blood to grow stronger, but who said it could only consume the Essence Blood of the Human Race and demonic beings? The blood of pigs, cows, and sheep might contain diluted Spiritual Energy and essence, but they’re cheap and plentiful! One bucket isn’t enough? If one bucket isn’t enough, then ten! If ten isn’t enough, then a hundred, or even a thousand!
Pig’s blood is incredibly cheap in the mortal world. You can buy one catty for just two coins, and one tael of silver gets you five hundred catties. A thousand Spirit Stones are worth one thousand taels of gold, which is ten thousand taels of silver. If I used that to buy pig’s blood, I could get five million catties! As long as the supply is steady, I could feed this little glutton until it bursts!
Fired up by the thought, Wang Xiu followed the direction indicated by the Mingxue Executioner Sword and soared off.
At the He Family slaughterhouse, one fat pig after another was trussed up and sent to the butchering table. Hundreds of burly butchers, like emotionless assassins, repeated the process of slaughtering pigs and chopping meat with swift, clean skill.
"Men!" the young yet already potbellied Landlord He called out as he wandered around the slaughterhouse, beaming. "Keep up the good work! The seventh day since my father’s passing is over, a true cause for celebration! From now on, I am the Landlord, I am the master!"
"For the next seven days, this Landlord will be setting up relief kitchens all over Maple City! All citizens can eat and drink for free! White rice, big steamed buns, and pork stew with glass noodles! Everyone, eat your fill on me!"
"And for all you men working overtime these next few days, your wages are doubled! Plus, everyone gets a large pork knuckle to take home!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the workers erupted in cheers of heartfelt gratitude.
"The Landlord is so generous!"
"Lord Landlord, you are a great man!"
"No wonder the He Family is number one among Maple City’s four great families!"
"With your magnanimity, you deserve to be the richest man in the city!"
Listening to his workers’ compliments and flattery, Landlord He was utterly delighted. However, he soon spotted a streak of sword light in the sky. When the light landed and revealed a young man in white robes, who else could it be but Daoist Wang?
Landlord He gasped and quickly shook his head. "Everyone, don’t thank me! If you’re going to thank anyone, thank Daoist Wang Xiu!"
"Daoist Wang is a True Disciple of the Sanqing Immortal Sect, a genuine immortal who has attained the Dao! He performed rituals for the salvation of my late father’s soul, and his character is so noble he sought no reward. Despite my earnest pleas, he refused my gift of a thousand taels of gold."
"Of course, in the end, Daoist Wang was moved by my sincerity and filial piety and accepted the He Family’s thousand taels of gold. But it was not for himself!"
"Daoist Wang Xiu has decided to use this gold to set up porridge kitchens, buy medicine, and fund free clinics as a contribution to the city’s poor!"
"Come! Let us cheer for the Sanqing Immortal Sect and for Daoist Wang Xiu!"
Instantly, the entire slaughterhouse thundered with the butchers’ shouts of approval.
Good heavens. I told him to set up relief kitchens to help the poor. Is *this* how he does it?
Surveying the slaughterhouse, Wang Xiu’s mouth twitched. The mountains of pork piled up high must have come from at least two thousand pigs. And the collected blood, bucket after bucket... if it were all poured out, it would form a small pond.
No wonder the Mingxue Executioner Sword couldn’t contain its excitement and had started to clang.
In principle, a Spiritual Artifact shouldn’t care for pig’s blood, but the sheer quantity here is just too much to ignore!
"Stop!" with a mix of exasperation and amusement, Wang Xiu focused his energy in his Dantian and let out a thundering shout. "Stop the slaughter for now."
The entire slaughterhouse fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Wang Xiu, their faces full of confusion.
Landlord He also scratched his head, asking, "Daoist, what’s the matter?"
Wang Xiu said helplessly, "Landlord, are you planning to treat the entire population of Maple City to pork?"
Landlord He gave a sheepish smile. "How could that be? A common man like myself doesn’t have such a compassionate heart. That thousand taels of gold belongs to you, Daoist, so naturally, the one treating the whole city to pork is you."
He Daren certainly didn’t dare take credit for Wang Xiu’s charity. After all, he was still sore from the beating his old man gave him yesterday. If Daoist Wang held a grudge and decided to call his father back for a little chat... the very thought was terrifying.
Is that the point here?
Wang Xiu’s mouth twitched again as he said, "I said to set up disaster relief!"
"Not to throw a banquet for the entire city." Follow current novels on NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet
Landlord He responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Yes! Disaster relief! I listened to you, Daoist. I’m letting all the poor folk in the city eat white rice and big steamed buns! And besides, our He Family is the largest pig farmer for hundreds of miles around. We raise over a hundred thousand pigs! We supply the pork for several nearby cities!"
"Daoist!" he declared, patting his chest proudly. "I dare say that in all the surrounding cities, you won’t find a single landlord generous enough to serve pork stew with glass noodles for disaster relief! Well, Daoist? A relief effort of this caliber won’t tarnish your reputation as a True Disciple of an Immortal Sect, will it?"
You’ve got to be kidding me.
After studying Landlord He for a long moment, Wang Xiu realized the man had no ill intentions; he was just genuinely clueless.
Wang Xiu sighed. "Relief efforts shouldn’t be for show. Landlord, have you calculated how many permanent residents there are in Maple City? And how many refugees have fled here from other places?"
Seeing the situation, the old housekeeper stepped in to explain, "There are roughly over eight hundred thousand permanent residents in Maple City, and about one hundred thousand refugees from elsewhere."
Wang Xiu nodded. "A thousand taels of gold, or ten thousand taels of silver, sounds like a massive sum. But if pork costs fifty wen per catty, one tael of silver can only buy twenty catties. Ten thousand taels of silver gets you just two hundred thousand catties of pork. Two hundred thousand catties of pork to feed over eight hundred thousand people pork stew for seven days... Landlord, do you really think that’s enough meat to go around?"
Landlord He counted on his fingers for a long time, his face a mask of pure bewilderment.
"It’s... not enough?"