Medicine Master Disciple’s Cultivation Notes

Chapter 136: The Pork Shop Owner's Secret

The night passed without incident, and Pig-Slaughter Lane showed no sign of unusual activity.

Early the next morning, the young constable changed into a fresh set of clothes and came to the entrance of the lane looking for Li Qiuchen.

"I went back and looked through the case files. About three years ago, this place wasn't called Pig-Slaughter Lane. It was called Oil Press Lane. A gang of child traffickers had set up here, running an oil workshop as a front and going door to door selling sesame oil. In reality they were preying on lone children and young women they spotted on the streets, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"This gang operated in the city for years. They were finally suppressed by the authorities three years ago, and the oil workshop that served as their base of operations is now the pork shop."

"What was the sentence?"

"Pardon?"

Li Qiuchen gave the young constable a look of weary frustration. "I'm asking you what sentence those criminals received after they were arrested."

"Beheaded, presumably."

"Presumably?"

Li Qiuchen nearly laughed despite himself. "You're a constable. You were asked to look up a case file. And you don't even know what happened to the criminals in the end? How exactly did you come to be wearing that uniform?"The young constable said with a dry laugh, "My father pulled some strings and paid someone..."

"Don't say things like that out loud... never mind. Do me a favor and keep your eyes fixed on that household."

The young constable looked in the direction Li Qiuchen indicated and frowned. "Old Yue's place? It's just an old man and a widow. What's suspicious about them?"

"You don't seem to know anyone else in this lane but the Yue household. Is that because Second Sister Yue is pretty?"

"Don't go saying things like that! I don't mind for my own sake, but if someone overheard and word got around, it could damage Second Sister's reputation."

Second Sister. Quite familiar, that.

"Just keep watch on their front door. Someone may come by shortly. Make sure you get a clear look at whoever it is."

"And where are you going?"

"To do what a constable is actually supposed to do."

Li Qiuchen strolled over to the pork shop with his hands behind his back. The assistants inside were already chopping meat, and the moment they spotted Li Qiuchen approaching, one quickly called out, "Early today, officer! We've just slaughtered a fresh pig. The meat's still warm. Shall I cut you a piece?"

Li Qiuchen nodded, stepped forward to inspect the fresh pork, then turned and asked, "Where do you get your live pigs from?"

The assistant said with a smile, "If you please, officer, the pigs are delivered from a supplier outside the city. They come in batches of twenty, and we keep them in the back yard."

"Get your owner out here."

A moment later the owner came stumbling out, bleary-eyed, and greeted him with anxious courtesy. "What can I do for you, officer?"

"How many pig kidneys do you have in the shop right now?"

"Pardon?"

The owner blinked, then quickly said, "We've just slaughtered these two pigs, so there are two full sets of kidneys. I'll cut them out for you right now if you'd like."

"Not enough. I need four sets."

"Ah, well..."

"And twenty jin of loin, minced fine. I'll take it all with me."

Li Qiuchen raised a hand and placed a silver ingot on the counter. "Well? What are you standing there for? Worried I won't pay?"

"Not at all, officer, you misunderstand."

The owner quickly smiled apologetically. "It's just that slaughtering, scalding, and scraping a pig takes considerable time. I wouldn't want to hold up your official duties."

Li Qiuchen said earnestly, "Then I'll ask you to please hurry. I need the kidneys and mince ready within the hour. My superiors are waiting for my report."

"Of course, of course, I'll see to it personally... why don't you come inside and have some tea while you wait?"

The owner duly ushered Li Qiuchen into the back room, where he sat and waited briefly. When the dying shrieks of a sow filtered in from outside, he immediately rose and left the room.

While the pork shop owner and his assistants were fully occupied with the pig, Li Qiuchen made a thorough inspection of the entire shop.

Sure enough, tucked away in a concealed spot, he found a staircase leading down into the ground.

The moment Li Qiuchen opened the cellar door, the stench that hit him nearly made him retch.

In the underground chamber below, an extraordinarily sinister and blood-soaked altar had been erected. A thick haze of dried blood coated its surface, and the remnants of various organs and viscera were visible among the filth. In the corner nearby lay several sets of women's clothing, some of them torn to shreds.

Li Qiuchen took one look and withdrew, sealing the cellar door back exactly as he had found it.

He now had a fairly complete picture of the secret buried in Pig-Slaughter Lane.

All that remained was the single crucial thread that would tie all the pieces together.

This was the second day.

Under normal circumstances, each day would bring a fresh development to reveal more of the truth hidden behind the lane.

Some threads might only surface in the days that followed.

But Li Qiuchen had no intention of waiting any longer.

He simply wanted to clear the trial quickly, collect his rewards, and leave.

Everything in the illusory realm was artificial. Earning three first-class ratings and exchanging them for an Elixir Viscera to begin true cultivation was what actually mattered.

He returned to his original position and waited patiently for an hour. The shop owner, hands and face freshly washed, came out with a cheerful smile, carrying the kidneys and minced pork, and inconspicuously slipped the silver ingot back into Li Qiuchen's hand at the same time.

Li Qiuchen feigned indignation. "What's this about? The price is the price!"

"A little thing like this isn't worth anything. I couldn't possibly have you spend your own money, officer. Come back and give us your business again when you've enjoyed it."

The owner had a face full of rough features, but seemed a decent enough person.

Li Qiuchen picked up the kidneys and walked out of the pork shop, and came face to face with old man Yue heading straight for the owner with a cheerful grin.

Well now. That was interesting.

Li Qiuchen slowed his pace without drawing attention and pricked up his ears to catch what was said behind him.

"Second Sister? Old Yue, haven't you always been fiercely protective of that daughter of yours? What's changed your mind all of a sudden?"

"That might work out nicely..."

"What do you mean, two hundred taels from me? What does a proper unmarried girl even cost these days? Do you think my sow lays golden eggs?"

"You little..."

Li Qiuchen turned his head slightly and watched old man Yue go flying sideways, tumbling and rolling a considerable distance.

The pork shop owner came storming out, cursing loudly, and jabbed a finger at old man Yue's face. "You shameless old wretch! Rotten cabbage leaves trying to fetch a gold price? It'd be Second Sister's good fortune if I brought her a cut of pork to sleep on, and you have the nerve to ask two hundred taels as a betrothal gift? I spit on you!"

He spat directly in old man Yue's face, still not satisfied, and added a kick for good measure before finally letting it rest.

The neighbors, hearing the commotion, came crowding around to watch. When word went around that old man Yue had tried to sell his widowed daughter for two hundred taels, laughter broke out on all sides. Everyone agreed the old man had lost his mind over money.

Old man Yue turned scarlet, unable to get a word in, scrambled up from the ground, and fled.

Li Qiuchen followed behind him, and met the young constable coming from the opposite direction.

"Did you catch anyone?"

"Why would I be catching anyone?"

"Never mind, forget I asked."

The man was pure deadweight. The only thing he had going for him was a good heart.

Knowing that now, Li Qiuchen didn't press the point. He simply held out the meat he was carrying.

"What's this..."

"Did you get a clear look at the person?"

"I did. The assistant from the general goods shop at the east end. Big dark mole at the corner of his mouth."

"Good. I'll go deal with him. You go back to the Yue household, have Second Sister cook you a couple of dishes, and keep an eye on her father while you're at it. That humiliation he just took, I'd say there's a fair chance he'll try to do something stupid. Do your best to prevent it."

"What do you mean, do my best? Of course I'll stop him!"

The young constable looked down at the warm fresh pig kidneys in his hands, flushed slightly, and quickly changed the subject. "What was that argument with the pork shop owner about? He was humiliated that badly?"

"With all that noise just now, you didn't hear?"

"I just arrived."

"The assistant I had you watching went and told old man Yue that the pork shop owner had taken a liking to his daughter and was willing to pay two hundred taels to marry her."

The young constable's expression went rigid. He said with shocked anger, "What a vicious scheme. But... brother, haven't you forgotten what we're actually here for? What does this Yue household have to do with the young miss we're looking for?"

Li Qiuchen smiled. "Be patient. Just stay at the Yue household and see who else comes by. One way or another, tonight we'll have our answer."

He didn't rush off to find the assistant either. He went to the tavern, had a simple meal, and listened to the idle chatter around him.

Nothing of any value.

Having spent about half an hour this way and judging that enough time had passed, Li Qiuchen rose and walked into the general goods shop.

He went straight up to the assistant with the large dark mole at the corner of his mouth and barked, "Stop right there, criminal!"

The assistant startled, dropped what he was holding, and bolted.

He would have been better off not running. Running made him look as guilty as it was possible to look.

Li Qiuchen chased him out of the general goods shop and into a deserted area, closed in, and kicked him flat on his back. He twisted the man's arm up behind him and pinned him down, and with one application of the Tiger Embrace Technique, the assistant's struggling stopped dead.

"Think you can run! I'd know that face of yours even if you'd been burned to ash!"

Li Qiuchen hauled him up and hung him from a tree, then broke off a branch and laid into him with it, drawing howl after howl.

"Talk!"

"What do you want me to say, officer?"

Li Qiuchen bared his teeth in a cold smile. "Still playing dumb in front of me? I know you're not the one in charge, and I don't care about a small-fry like you. If you tell me everything honestly right now and help me catch the real fish, I'll be in a good enough mood to let you walk away free. But if you keep playing the fool, well, there's going to be a death at the Yue household very shortly. If I can't catch the big fish, turning you in for credit works just as well. Life or death, two roads. Your choice."

The assistant went completely silent. After a long pause he cautiously ventured, "What exactly would you like me to say, officer? You might as well speak plainly."

"Simple. What is the pork shop owner's real background? Why is your little group so interested in him?"

"What? He..."

The assistant had not remotely expected that to be Li Qiuchen's question.

"Well? Don't want to answer? Then I'll take you to the county office today, and tomorrow I'll go and raid the pawnbroker's. How does that sound?"

At the mention of the pawnbroker's, the assistant's expression changed completely.

"How do you know about..."

Li Qiuchen raised a hand and covered his face, driving a wooden spike directly into the man's mind with his palm.

I didn't know. I was just testing you. And look, it worked.

The Soul-Pulling Technique activated. The spike buried in the man's mind sprouted branches, spreading through his thoughts, the pain sending his body into convulsions without allowing him to make a single sound.

All that reading had stiffened his mind. He had nearly forgotten he was still a heterodox cultivator.

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