CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28 BUTCHER COURT

Half a month had passed, and once again, he had arrived in Baojiao County.

Chen Ku observed the Inner and Outer City, still as bustling as ever, its people similar to those in Snake Fish Town.

A thought involuntarily crossed his mind: "I’ve actually managed to jump from a village to a town, and from a town to a county all at once..."

He was aware. The one-year clerkship at Medicine King Hall was just that—one year. If, after a year, he couldn’t lay down roots within Medicine King Hall, he would likely have to roll back to his village. But that was for common folk. He, with the aid of the Transformation Diagram, didn’t think he would roll back to the countryside either. If he were that useless, he might as well find a corner of the city wall and bash his head against it until he was dead.

He arrived at the entrance to the Inner City. The constables collecting the customs tax at the city gate were inspecting people and allowing passage.

Yet, Chen Ku inadvertently noticed a poster on the city wall.

He was startled. "This major smuggler still hasn’t been caught, and the reward has even increased!"

One of the wanted posters on the wall unmistakably depicted "Ni Kun," the same face he had seen on the poster at the entrance of the Medicine and Firewood Market. Only, compared to a month ago when the reward was one hundred taels, it had now astonishingly increased.

A month had passed, and the reward had soared to five hundred taels! A massive reward of five hundred taels of silver was more than enough to buy a quadrangle courtyard in Baojiao County.

As a rule, an increase in the reward usually meant that during the capture attempt, not only was the fugitive not caught, but... "He killed government soldiers? Is he that strong?"

Chen Ku had heard that in the county, while there were colossal forces like Medicine King Hall, Firewood Iron Shop, and the Fish and Dragon Association, the true wielders of absolute power were still the officials at the county Yamen. Since the Martial Path existed in this world, it went without saying that the strongest and most capable individuals would certainly be within the government. Most of the Yamen’s officials and constables in the county seat possessed martial arts skills; otherwise, how could they possibly suppress the other forces in the county?

"I wonder what level of expert Ni Kun is? Force Transforming? Or Inner Qi? What exactly did he smuggle?" Chen Ku pondered.

He, too, had somewhat stepped into a gray area, so he naturally felt a sense of needing to be vigilant.

Lost in thought, he passed by the city wall.

The Yamen official at the city gate saw Chen Ku’s long robe and the Medicine King Hall servant’s waist token he displayed. The official waved him through, exempting him from the city entrance fee.

"Why..."

Chen Ku’s ears were sharp. He seemed to hear a hot-headed youth, much like Li Jiyang, complaining in the queue to enter the city. The youth was quickly silenced by someone covering his mouth.

He couldn’t help but turn his head to look in the direction of the sound.

It was a middle-aged man with a teenager of about fifteen or sixteen.

Seeing this, Chen Ku felt somewhat dazed.

The middle-aged man, with some reverence, hurriedly pulled his son to nod at Chen Ku.

Chen Ku didn’t speak. Instead, he offered a smile, the same kind of smile worn by that Mr. Wang in the long robe outside the Medicine and Firewood Market that day.

After all, his status had changed. He, too, had become an exception.

He reined in his thoughts.

He headed straight for Medicine King Hall.

The huge lintel and the broad hall still filled the place with the scent of medicine.

"Oh, you’re the person who offered the Treasure Herb half a month ago, right? Not bad, I still remember you. Come with me to the apprentice quarters; you’ve been assigned to room sixteen." Upon arriving at the hall and presenting his identity and waist token, he was recognized by Wu Gui, the same attendant from last time.

He had followed Wu Gui through the inner courtyard once before, but this time, Chen Ku noticed they were taking a different path.

The backyard of Medicine King Hall was extremely spacious and vast, much like the large Shanxi manors Chen Ku had seen during his past travels.

"Brother Wu Gui, just how large is Medicine King Hall’s compound?" Chen Ku asked curiously, following behind the familiar attendant.

Wu Gui seemed to be very good-natured; if this were Chen Ku’s previous life, Wu Gui would be like an enthusiastic senior student. He smiled at Chen Ku and said, "Didn’t I tell you last time? There are Three Great Courtyards in total. If we’re talking about rooms, all combined, there are fifty-six, and that’s excluding the storerooms."

Fifty-six rooms.

"The living quarters for attendants like us are in the Kitchen Courtyard, the rearmost one. Meals are usually served there too. You’ll reach it after passing through Butcher Court," Wu Gui said, leading Chen Ku into a large courtyard.

Hmm?

As soon as Chen Ku stepped into this large courtyard, he was hit by an extremely strong smell of blood and foul odors. Crossing the large threshold of the entrance, he saw about seventeen or eighteen rooms arranged around the courtyard, all wide open. Disciples in Medicine King Hall robes were running back and forth, busily engaged.

Some were drying things, others were sifting materials; there were also those grinding herbs, sweeping, and carrying water, giving an impression of orderly activity amidst the bustle.

Most crucially, Chen Ku observed that in this courtyard of seventy to eighty square meters, the items drying on racks were all Deer Antler, Beast Bones, and a whole series of animal-related products.

Sensing Chen Ku’s reaction, Wu Gui smiled and said, "All things under heaven can be used as medicine. Butcher Court is responsible for preparing animal-derived medicines, like Deer Antler, Cow Gallstone, Dog Treasure, Bear Gall, Leopard Bones, and so on. There’s even Demon Meat."

"Demon Meat?" Chen Ku seized upon the key term.

"Yes, those are beasts that have cultivated Demonic Qi and can be considered Demons. Only an internal qi expert can handle them," Wu Gui patiently explained. "Just yesterday, the hall’s Demon Hunting Squad captured a live demon-level ’Bear’... I heard that today, Master Shang Yunfang from Butcher Court will personally handle it to ensure that all the valuable medicinal parts from that demon-level Bear are harvested with their properties maximally preserved..."

Just as Wu Gui was speaking—

ROAR!!!

Suddenly, a deafening roar assaulted the ears of Chen Ku and Wu Gui, a sound so powerful it seemed to shake the very buildings of Butcher Court and reverberated throughout the entire courtyard.

Shortly after, a specially made fine steel cage was pushed out by the attendants of Butcher Court.

Chen Ku watched, slightly moved.

The Bear inside was a full three meters tall, its body pierced all over with steel hooks. Its roars vibrated Chen Ku’s eardrums, and he could faintly sense a strange, threatening aura sweeping through the courtyard, making his heart tremble and leaving him breathless.

[System: Diagram Master has encountered a demon-level Bear’s Demonic Qi suppression. Hostile intent detected. Quashing it will yield one strand of demon-level Evil Qi.]

Chen Ku’s eyes lit up.

Demonic Qi. That special threatening aura he’d felt was indeed Demonic Qi. Clearly, the Demon, enraged at being caged, was emanating its fury mixed with Demonic Qi. Though not specifically targeting him, it had still triggered the Transformation Diagram’s awareness.

Just as Chen Ku’s eyes burned with intensity while watching the Bear—

HUMPH!

A cold snort, and a figure suddenly emerged from within Butcher Court, instantly arriving before the Bear’s cage. With a wave of her hand, the cage door opened.

Chen Ku saw the figure: dressed in a long robe and boots, of a slightly short stature, with her head wrapped in a square scarf, her face obscured. She stepped forward to face the Bear, whose body was pierced by steel hooks and chains.

One hand grabbed the Bear’s head—a head that possessed the strength of no less than several thousand jin—as if seizing a mere chick, forcefully and dominantly yanking it upwards.

In her other hand, a dagger as thin as a cicada’s wing appeared. It flashed across the Bear’s chest with imperceptible speed, and then she held a gourd beneath to collect whatever flowed out.

"That is Master Shang Yunfang of Butcher Court. Others might be able to subdue this demon-level Bear, but only Master Shang’s ’Black Tiger Butcher Knife’ can so skillfully extract the bile from a live bear without fatally harming it," Wu Gui said respectfully, gazing at the figure’s back.

Chen Ku asked softly, "Are many of the animal-derived medicines in Butcher Court from creatures killed on the spot?"

Wu Gui nodded. "Naturally. Haven’t you seen the couplet at our hall’s entrance? ’Though ingredients are costly, we never dare compromise their inherent quality.’ Even with food, freshness from immediate slaughter is prized. So, for animal-derived medicines, those harvested live are naturally the freshest. Many martial arts schools and customers have this requirement. It’s one of the hallmarks of Medicine King Hall."

Chen Ku looked at the courtyard, filled with animal parts for medicine—Tiger Bone, bear paws, and the like, a dazzling array. "What a great place," he thought. "It seems my first goal after joining Medicine King Hall is clear now."

That goal was to enter Butcher Court!

This was simply a Holy Land for his development!