Chapter 84 - 83: The Hatred Over a Handful of Rice, Human Desire Is Insatiable

Zhou Yang’s voice was a little soft, his head lowered, his eyes darting around. During this time, the changes in Pingling County had been tremendous. The Yao Family had suddenly become the number one household in the inner city, with the backing of Magistrate Nie from above and having opened up the market with Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine below. One could say that in Pingling County, what the Yao Family wanted, the Yao Family would eventually get! Having spent so much time with Jiang Shu, he understood him too well. He was a pure Martial Artist. Had it been someone else with such potent salt, MSG, and spices, they would have marketed them extensively, making an untold fortune. But Jiang Shu only periodically supplied some to the Zhou Family’s restaurant. In his eyes, making money could never surpass advancing his Martial Arts Realm. That’s why he had advanced so quickly from a Martial Artist practicing Qi Blood Transport to nurturing his strength and achieving the Skin Grinding Realm. But... that was probably it! In the vast Pingling County, up to now, how many Martial Artists in the Bone Forging Realm were there? The masters of the martial arts halls, the Family Heads and elders of the prominent families, the powerful figures within the County Office—all together, there were at most only forty or fifty people. Jiang Shu, no matter how talented, would at most reach the Skin Grinding Realm in all these years. Chou Lao, from his backing, the Famished Tiger Martial Arts Hall, was also old and his vitality was declining. A few months ago, Chou Lao and Jiang Shu were, in his eyes, like mountains—figures to be revered. But now, facing the true Yao Family, he realized that a prominent family was always a prominent family. Especially the Yao Family, now backed by Magistrate Nie; their power was far beyond what the Famished Tiger Martial Arts Hall could match. He couldn’t help but stealthily glance up at the expressionless Jiang Shu. In his mind, he recalled Yao Wenbai’s visit to the Zhou Family’s restaurant a few days prior. After presenting the secret recipe for the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine during a grand birthday celebration, Yao Wenbai’s status was elevated once again. Dressed as a graceful young master, although he was only at the Great Circle of Qi Blood Circulation, he could summon several cultivators at the Skin Grinding Realm to act as enforcers at the restaurant. His status and treatment were already comparable to those of a true direct heir. In front of such a scion of a great family, what did his Zhou Family’s restaurant count for? Cooperating with the Yao Family might not be a bad thing. In fact, it might be better... "No hurry. I’ve been a bit busy recently," Jiang Shu shook his head, his words half true, half false. "A Martial Artist’s daily meat consumption is enormous. I plan to go hunting in the mountains during this time to see if I can take down some Mutant Beasts." When Zhou Yang spoke these words, he knew the note in his courtyard warning him to ’Be Careful’ was not baseless. His suspicions were confirmed: Zhou Yang had definitely become greedy. Otherwise, coming from a merchant family, he should know better than anyone that keeping secret recipes to oneself was the safest path. To ask so directly, either he thought Jiang Shu, devoted to martial arts, didn’t much care for salt, MSG, and spices, or he believed their time together had earned him enough trust. And yet, a small establishment like the Zhou Family’s restaurant, even if you gave them the courage of eighteen bears, wouldn’t dare to be so audacious as to try and trick him out of his secret formulas. There was only one possibility: the Yao Family had made their move. Understanding dawned on Jiang Shu, and he decided to play along. Now, Zhou Yang was willing to act the part of a younger brother before him. So, he naturally had to act like a big brother. This way, if anything happened later, who could suspect him? "Ah... this..." Zhou Yang managed, his face showing some concern. "Didn’t you say the mountain was dangerous before? Going to the mountain at this time, Brother Jiang? Why don’t you just skip it? Stay in the small courtyard, make some MSG and spices, and use the money you earn to buy meat." "It’s fine. I haven’t been active for a while; going to the mountains will let me hunt some game for a change. It’ll be fresh. If I’m lucky enough to encounter a Mutant Beast and manage to kill one, I’ll bring some back for you to try." "I’ll probably leave the city for the mountains tomorrow. When I return, I’ll make the MSG and spices. You can just watch from the side and learn. After that, you can take over making them." "Anyway, you know I don’t care about these things. As long as your Zhou Family’s restaurant makes enough money for me to have resources for martial arts training, that’s all that matters. However, in this case, we’ll need to modify the contract." "That extra portion of the profits I was giving your family will have to come back to me. After all, you’ll be deciding how much to produce then." He dangled a tempting, if vague, prospect. To make it seem more real, he even demanded a portion of the profits. Jiang Shu spoke in a calm tone. He glanced sideways and noticed Zhou Yang beside him, practically buzzing with suppressed excitement. He’d play along for now. Let things develop. Everyone and everything, when they can no longer hold back, will naturally reveal themselves soon enough. He strolled in the direction of home. He already had sufficient resources on Planet Xuanxing. Why would he really need to venture deep into the mountains? Saying this was merely to create the impression that he wasn’t in the inner city of Pingling County. From the beginning, he was not a good man. He repaid kindness with kindness, and enmity with enmity. Zhao Tai had harbored ill intentions; he killed him that same night. Zheng Kun had harbored malicious thoughts; he suppressed and killed him with three punches. The masked Martial Artist had been driven by greed; he had risked his life to fight him. He truly had been very good to Zhou Yang. Salt, MSG, spices—any restaurant could have built up its business using them. Even with the Yao Family secretly trying to suppress them, the Zhou Family’s restaurant was now earning significantly more each day than before! Moreover, with the Famished Tiger Martial Arts Hall backing them, earning money now should have been even more secure. However, human desires are never satisfied. The murderous intent in his eyes receded. Before he knew it, he had arrived back at his small courtyard. Jiang Shu stepped in, continuing to diligently practice his Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength in the courtyard. When he brought out the salt, MSG, and spices, he had anticipated that prominent families would come forward. But his business was always small-scale. Facing a business with profits of only about a hundred silver a month, the prominent families were willing to give Chou Lao some face. He also did not intend to earn much money from the Zhou Family’s restaurant. It was merely some initial capital, and also a way to create a facade for those outside Pingling County. It would convince them he had a way to make money, thus quelling their speculation. He had thought everything through, from start to finish. But with the death of Qiu Yushan, the balance in Pingling County was disrupted, allowing the Yao Family to dominate. Someone had set their sights on this business. It was indeed a matter of both timing and fate. Jiang Shu remained calm internally, but the punches he threw grew increasingly imbued with killing intent. In the outer city, gangs held sway. In the inner city, prominent families dominated. Perhaps they had used these methods many times before. But this time, they chose the wrong person! 「The next day,」 Jiang Shu, having bought all necessary equipment, formally paid his respects to Chou Lao. In front of all the apprentices of the Famished Tiger Martial Arts Hall, he left the city to go hunting in the deep mountains. But no one knew. After making a detour through Sanling Town and ostensibly heading up the mountain with some hunters, Jiang Shu silently descended via a different mountain path. He returned to the city in disguise. He secretly observed the Zhou Family’s restaurant for three full days. Various names began to connect in his mind: Zhou Yang. Han Dali. Yao Wenbai.