Deadmeat Saga

Chapter 121 – Arriving in town. Blue Luan Association.

Zhengfu Chao arrived at a small village near the river.

As he approached, he saw a middle-aged woman washing clothes by the river.

"Hello there, ma'am! Do you happen to have spare clothes?" Zhengfu Chao approached while giving a disarming smile.

However, when the woman looked over and saw him, she widened her eyes in shock and froze, her eyes locked on Zhengfu Chao's bulge in fear and intrigue.

"Er... Ma'am?" Zhengfu Chao called out, waking up the woman.

Luckily, unlike the young woman at the waterfall, this middle-aged woman was more experienced and rugged in life and wasn't naked. Therefore, she didn't scream in a panic.

"Please wait. I will call my husband." The woman said and hurried over to her village.

Zhengfu Chao patiently waited, and after three minutes, several men with weapons came out of the village, warily eyeing Zhengfu Chao.

"Who are you, stranger? My wife said you need clothes?" One of the leading men said.

"I am Zhengfu Chao, a loose cultivator. After a fierce battle with monsters, my clothes got ruined. Do you have some to spare? I will pay you." Zhengfu Chao said as he conjured the corpse of the first monster he killed.

Thud*

"..." The few men who came over with weapons suddenly shook as they looked at the corpse that suddenly appeared.

"Isn't that an adult Fierce Red Wolf? It's supposed to be at the peak of Qi Refinement!" One of the villagers exclaimed in horror.

The strongest among them was merely at the 7th level of Qi Refinement.

"Hm? It was? I just slapped it to death, so I didn't pay attention." Zhengfu Chao scratched the side of his head, giving an honest reply.

The villagers subconsciously looked down at the corpse again. They initially thought the man had cut off the head, but when they looked again, they noticed that the wound looked uneven. It was as if something the head got ripped off by a terrifying force.

"S-Slapped it to death? Didn't pay attention?! Even a revered Foundation Establishment Lord can't blow its head off like that or dare ignore a monster! His body looks outrageously powerful, so is he a Body Forger Lord at the Foundation Establishment Stage? Or maybe at the Golden Core Realm?!" The villagers shook uncontrollably, almost pissing themselves.

All monsters had powerful bodies, with even the less gifted counting as Body Forgers, albeit to a lesser extent. For example, this Fierce Red Wolf at the 9th-level Qi Refinement Stage likely had the body of a 6th-level Body Forger, making its defense much more mighty than a peak Qi Refinement cultivator. To fight these beasts, a Qi Refinement Cultivator of the same level had to learn a combat technique to a high mastery or have a powerful weapon to kill it.

On the other hand, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could more casually kill the monster, but that didn't mean they could disregard it. After all, their Qi was strong, but their flesh was weak. A single surprise attack could fatally wound them. And although they can kill such a beast, their strength isn't enough to rip off the head unless they had terrifying mastery over a technique or were mighty Body Forgers, at most denting or piercing it to destroy the brain.

They didn't dare speculate more, immediately treating the man before them as a Lord.

"P-Please wait here, my Lord! I will fetch you some clothes!" One of the villagers, who held a spear, immediately bowed before running to the village.

Zhengfu Chao noticed their fear and bitterly thought, "Am I that scary? Or are they that afraid of cultivators?"

In Gerhart's world, a powerhouse held a position of awe and reverence, not fear. Many of them even acted like regular people, treating everyone the same. But here, cultivators were akin to gods to mortals, having power over life and death at a whim. Zhengfu Chao understood this and mourned for the poor ordinary people.

"This world, no, this reality is sick. So very sick. The powerful want to remain in power, treating the weak as slaves and ants, yet forgetting that they were once part of these weak people. It is little wonder why Ma Yang became as warped as he is." Zhengfu Chao thought.

Soon, the villager brought a robe, pants, and sandals.

"Apologies, my Lord. These were the largest we had." The villager fearfully offered the clothes.

Zhengfu Chao picked up a linen robe and evaluated it. It was fit for someone of at most 1.9m tall.

"Hah... Well, this would suffice, I suppose." Zhengfu Chao reluctantly nodded.

The clothes were rough, uncomfortable, and small, but it was better than being naked.

"Would that corpse suffice as payment? I don't have cash on me." Zhengfu Chao pointed at the monster's corpse.

"My Lord, the value of that corpse is much more than these clothes..." One of the villagers hesitantly said.

"Oh? By how much? I can trade you the corpse for the clothes if you teach me the value and show me where the nearest town is." Zhengfu Chao generously proposed.

"Is he a sect-raised young master? But he speaks in a strange accent and looks like a barbarian. Is he from far away?" The villagers thought, their nerves slowly relaxing as they saw how easy-going and reasonable the man was.

"My Lord, a complete and unprocessed corpse of a Furious Red Wolf goes for 35 Silver Taels on the market. Even with the head missing, it should fetch 30 Silver Taels. The robe, pants, and sandals cost a Silver Tael and 25 Bronze Coins together if we sell them to a merchant." A peasant explained.

"Oh? And what is the price of grain?" Zhengfu Chao asked while trying out the pants, but realized he was too meaty for it. "Ah, damn. I need to shrink a bit."

"Shrink?" The peasants were confused. But the next moment, they saw the big giant deflate into a slightly larger man.

"What a magical technique! He must be a terrifyingly powerful cultivator!" The peasants were more convinced.

Not knowing what they were thinking, Zhengfu Chao smoothly put on the clothes. "I think I asked what was the price of grain." He asked again.

"Ah! My apologies, my Lord. A Bronze Coin can buy a catty of white rice, and a Tael of Silver can purchase 150 catties of white rice. It is a state-declared price." The peasant replied.

"A catty is about 1.32 pounds, meaning 150 catties is around 200 pounds. If it were wheat, that would be about 60 Silver coins, but I guess this Rice thing has a high yield. No, something doesn't add up. A Tael of Silver is around 4 Silver Coins in mass. Even if rice is three times as cheap, that would be around 6 Taels of Silver, a six times difference. These simple clothes should be worth around 30 Silver Coins in Gerhart's world, so about 7.5 Silver Taels. The prices seem to match more or less. That would mean the purchasing power of Silver is around six times as high. I should use this as a reference to avoid getting duped." Zhengfu Chao thought.

"Thank you for the help. Can you point me to the nearest town?" Zhengfu Chao requested.

"Yes, my Lord! Go on that dirt path for a while, and you should reach the main road. The nearest town is to the right." A villager said.

"Thanks." Zhengfu Chao said and took off the sandals he just got.

"My Lord? Are these sandals uncomfortable? I can replace them..." The villager thought something was wrong with the sandals, so he quickly offered.

"I am just worried I would ruin them." Zhengfu Chao waived his hand.

"Hah? Those sandals are not that-"

Whoosh*

"-Flimsy. Oh." The villagers looked in the direction Zhengfu Chao ran, turning into a blur.

Seeing the footprints on the road, they turned to look at each other before looking at the monster carcass, their eyes turning greedy.

That carcass was worth 30 Taels of Silver! That was like six beef cattle!

It was enough to sustain the entire village for a year!

"Quickly process it! Don't let anything go to waste!" One of the villagers urged.

They immediately got to work, even calling several others to help. At the same time, they couldn't help but thank the lucky stars for this encounter.

"Thank you, kind and strange Lord. With this, our village won't starve for a while."

.

.

.

Zhengfu Chao didn't know or care what they were thinking as he ran at full speed, quickly reaching the main road before running to the nearest town. Within ten minutes, he arrived at a walled settlement guarded by two armored tariff collectors.

Zhengfu Chao patiently waited in line for ten minutes before he got his turn.

"Hold! Show us your pass or pay ten Copper Coins." One guard halted him.

"Ah... I should have asked for some spare change." Zhengfu Chao thought and took out another monster corpse from his storage.

"I plan to sell some of my spoils for cash. Can we have an arrangement of sorts?" Zhengfu Chao kindly smiled.

However, the guards, who saw him pull out a monster the size of a horse with a hole punched into its skull, were terrified!

"A Lord Cultivator! It is a powerful Lord, at least a Foundation Establishment Lord! Why is someone like him wearing peasant clothes?!" The two guards shook.

"M-My Lord. You are a Lord Cultivator and don't need to pay a tariff..." One of the guards shook and explained.

The most influential existences in towns like theirs were Foundation Establishment powerhouses, and they were practically the Governor and Guard Commander. Due to this, in most towns and cities, those of the Foundation Establishment Realm or above were exempt from taxation.

"Oh." Zhengfu Chao nodded and put back the carcass. "Apologies for frightening you. Where can I exchange it?"

"My Lord, you can exchange such items at the Blue Luan Association branch. It is a two-story pagoda with a bird sign, and you can't miss it." The guard pointed inside the town.

"Good, thank you." Zhengfu Chao thanked him and headed inside the town.

Sure enough, after walking for three minutes, he saw a big two-story pagoda with a beautifully drawn bird perched on a scale as a sign.

Entering inside, Zhengfu Chao looked around and saw many items on display, including weapons, medicinal jars full of pills of various sizes and colors, talismans, books, and more.

"Hello, Sir. How may this servant girl assist you?" Zhengfu Chao heard a pleasant voice.

Looking to the side, he saw a pretty but not too pretty young woman full of calm beauty.

"Hello, miss. I came to sell some monster carcasses and herbs I gathered in the mountains." Zhengfu Chao smiled and replied.

The woman was surprised. When Zhengfu Chao entered, she evaluated him as a peasant. She planned on being polite and gently intimidating him away when he realized he entered a luxury store for cultivators, but it seemed like she was wrong.

"Is he a hunter? I don't sense any energy fluctuations. Is he bluffing? Regardless, I will know soon." The girl thought.

"Monster carcasses and herbs? Where do you keep them, Sir? This servant girl shall send our staff to evaluate it." The girl asked.

"I have it in a storage space. I need somewhere to take it out." Zhengfu Chao replied.

"Oh?" The girl widened her eyes slightly.

"He doesn't have a spatial bag or ring. And even if he did, something as large as a monster carcass wouldn't fit a regular storage device. Where does he keep it? Is he a madman who is bluffing?" The girl was suspicious, but seeing his confident look, she still decided against driving him away. "Let's see if you are the real deal or not."

"Please follow this servant girl, Sir." The girl politely said, leading Zhengfu Chao to a building behind the pagoda.

They soon arrived in a warehouse, inside an evaluation room.

"Please place the carcasses on this podium, Sir." The girl instructed.

"Okay, let's see if you are real or not." The girl patiently waited.

"Okay." Zhengfu Chao nodded and started taking out the carcasses.

Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud*

The girl shook, widening her eyes as she saw fourteen carcasses sprawled on the floor, each having a horrendous head injury(Or missing altogether) but otherwise in perfect condition. 

The corpses themselves didn't surprise her. They were only Qi Refinement monsters, and any Foundation Establishment Cultivator could dispatch them. What surprised her was the capacity of his storage tool!

"How big is his spatial storage tool?! Most Qi Refinement storage tools are only 1x1x1 Chi, while Foundation Establishment spatial tools are 10x10x10 Chi. Does he have a Golden Core spatial tool?! That's 100x100x100 Chi!" She thought in shock. Chi = 0.33m

When the girl looked at him again, there was a mixture of respect and bewilderment.

"Why is such a master playing tricks like this? He should be at least a Golden Core hidden elder, right? Or is he a core disciple who went down the mountain to experience life? That would explain why I don't feel any energy." When she thought about this, she thanked her ancestors that she didn't drive him away, or it could have bit her back in the end. And then, her eyes turned passionate. "Maybe I can try seducing him? I hear these core disciples are filthy rich. Even his breadcrumbs are enough for me. And if he takes me as a concubine, even better!"

While fantasizing about snatching this hidden big shot, she didn't let it interfere with her professionalism.

"These carcasses range from Qi Refinement Stage level 5 to level 9. Although the heads are damaged or missing, everything else is intact. I evaluate them at 344 Silver Taels, but let's round it up to 350." She said after giving a quick evaluation.

"Sure, let's go with that." Zhengfu Chao nodded, feeling it was a fair trade. "I also found some herbs. Maybe some of them would interest you?"

"Certainly, Sir. Please place them on that table over there." The girl said, pointing at a long table.

Zhengfu Chao placed the herbs, roots, and mushrooms on the table. There weren't many, no more than a dozen, but he felt they had some energy, so he picked them.

"10-year-old to 50-year-old medicinal plants, and a 100-year-old Blood Lingzhi. And they are intact and haven't lost their medicinal efficacy. That one alone is worth 50 Taels. In total, I will buy the lot for 100 Taels." The girl said.

"Okay, sure." Zhengfu Chao nodded.

"That comes to a total of 450 Silver Taels, Sir. Would you like to receive the payment now? Or perhaps purchase some things first?" The girl asked.

"Do you have cultivation techniques for sale?" Zhengfu Chao asked.

"We do, Sir. But only up to the Foundation Establishment Realm. I don't believe they are useful for you..." The girl said, convinced Zhengfu Chao was a Core Disciple of a large sect.

"It is just for reference." Zhengfu Chao casually said. "And I also need a spatial bag."

"Of course, Sir! Let me have someone take care of these." The girl said and arranged for some staff to start processing the goods.

Zhengfu Chao then returned to the shop to start picking things he was interested in.