The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 11: The Beast Slaughterhouse

“What’s going on?” Hu San asked hurriedly. Zhou Tianci replied, “He stole my money pouch.” As he spoke, he retrieved the pouch from the man. “Brother, what should we do with this guy?” Zhou Tianci asked. “Let him go,” Hu San shook his head. “People like this are a dime a dozen—they’re just unfortunate souls. Since you haven’t suffered any loss, just let him go.” Without another word, Zhou Tianci let the man go. His attitude touched Hu San a little, and he added, “Wanhai Pavilion doesn’t get involved in petty theft like this. Even if you turn him over to the authorities, they’ll give him two lashes at most and then release him—which would just cause you trouble. The best thing to do is to be careful yourself…” Zhou Tianci nodded. “Brother, even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have let him go. After all, he’s just a kid.” “Ah, these children are pitiful. Nine times out of ten, something has gone wrong at home. You see the City of Tears and Blood as a place of boundless prosperity, with countless wealthy families within its walls, but even in ordinary years, tens of thousands die here. When the steppe tribes invade or a wave of beasts from the Wilds strikes, the death toll soars.” ” Hu San sighed with pity, “The City of Tears and Blood connects the Great State of Yu, the Golden Wolf Empire, and the Wild Forest, but none of these places are safe. It’s all too common for merchant caravans venturing into the grasslands or the Wild Forest to be wiped out entirely.” Zhou Shi recalled these circumstances as well, though not in as much detail as Hu San had described. “Enough of that. Let’s go take a look further ahead,” Hu San said. The two wandered around the 10th floor for half an hour, and Zhou Tianci was truly amazed. The resources of the Wild Forest were simply abundant—from timber to minerals, from rare flowers to exotic herbs, from fierce beasts to medicinal plants—the variety was truly endless! “Feeling a bit overwhelmed?” Hu San chuckled. “Definitely. It’s really hard to imagine that the Wild Forest’s resources are this abundant!” Zhou Tianci exclaimed. Hu San said, “That’s nothing yet. Don’t be fooled by the sheer volume here—most of it’s just run-of-the-mill stuff. The truly valuable items are all upstairs. As for the resources of the Wild Forest… heh, you could say they’re truly endless. Take Tiexin Wood, for example—it’s rare in the Great State of Yu and on the Grasslands, but in the Wild Forest, it’s everywhere.” After hearing Hu San’s explanation, Zhou Tianci finally understood why commerce in the City of Tears and Blood was so thriving. With the Wild Forest right at its doorstep and exclusive access to such resources, how could commerce not flourish? “Bro, I heard there’s a wild beast slaughterhouse here. Could you take me to see it?” Zhou Tianci asked, noticing it was getting late. “There’s more than just one… Come on, I’ll take you to the 13th floor—there’s one right inside the Wanhai Pavilion.” As soon as they reached the 13th floor, Zhou Tianci caught a whiff of a strong, pungent smell of blood. Strangely enough, this smell was only detectable on the 13th floor. “Every floor of Wanhai Pavilion is protected by a formation,” Hu San explained. “The formation on the 13th floor isolates and disperses the smell of blood; otherwise, the entire Wanhai Pavilion would be tainted by it. How could those lords and young masters stand it?” Zhou Tianci keenly picked up on the two words “magic formations” in Hu San’s statement. He was no stranger to this term; in his previous life, when humans had compiled the myths of various civilizations, the term had appeared in both ancient Eastern and Western mythology—particularly in ancient Eastern myths. Zhou Tianci silently took note of it, intending to look into it thoroughly when the opportunity arose. The Beast Slaughterhouse exceeded Zhou Tianci’s wildest imagination. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw over a hundred short-tailed hyenas confined in specially designed cages, lying there completely drained of strength. “There are actually so many wild beasts here!” Zhou Tianci exclaimed in surprise. Hu San laughed heartily: “This is just one of over a dozen wild beast slaughterhouses in the entire City of Tears and Blood, so don’t be so surprised, brother.” Zhou Tianci whistled in admiration. “Brother Hu, how many beasts are there in this slaughterhouse?” Hu San scratched his head. “Who knows for sure… probably no fewer than 100,000, right?” “That many? How many people would it take to round them all up?” Hu San stroked his beard and said, “Brother, you don’t know the whole story. Capturing ferocious beasts isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. While they’re certainly strong and vicious, they lack intelligence and fall into human traps quite easily. To reduce the number of beasts in the Wild Forest, the City of Tears and Blood issues beast-hunting missions every day. Aside from the Wild Forest villages backed by the City of Tears and Blood, many adventurers come to accept these missions. Furthermore, the Northwest Legion sometimes enters the forest as well… As for the beasts in the Wild Forest, they truly seem endless. Just within the hundred-li stretch of the northern section, it feels as though there’s no end to them—the City of Tears and Blood has been hunting them for hundreds of years, yet their numbers haven’t decreased in the slightest.” Zhou Tianci was secretly amazed; this world was truly wondrous. “By the way, buddy, what are you doing here at the slaughterhouse?” Hu San suddenly asked. Zhou Tianci replied, “To be honest, brother, I’m here to see some blood. I heard there’s been unusual activity in the Wild Forest—there’s a good chance another beast horde is on the way. I plan to slay some beasts with my own hands to test my courage.” “I’ve heard rumors about that too, but coming here to build up your courage is a rather unusual idea… The beasts here have all been drugged with a secret potion and have lost their strength,” Hu San said. Zhou Tianci laughed. “That’s fine. I’m mainly here to see some blood.” “If that’s the case, I can actually help you arrange it. But listen, young man, even if you’re just hunting the beasts and not buying them, you’ll still have to pay a fee,” Hu San said. “Of course,” Zhou Tianci replied, feeling pleasantly surprised. He’d been worrying about how to get started, and never expected Hu San to have such connections. “All right, then. Follow me!” The two of them wound their way through the long passageway, turning left and right, and after walking for over ten minutes, Hu San finally came to a stop. “No matter what kind of beast it is, its meat is beneficial to human martial artists. The more powerful the beast, the better the quality of the meat. That’s why there’s a huge volume of beast trade here every day. Martial artists who wish to purchase beasts select them up ahead, and most bring them here to be slaughtered…” Hu San pointed to the row of people in front of them. They were all dressed in black, with dozens of cages arranged before each of them, containing all manner of beasts. These men in black stood before a platform one zhang wide and two zhang long. Clutching sharp steel knives, they deftly pulled the beasts from their cages, slaughtered them with a single stroke, then bled them, gutted them, split open their bellies, and deboned them. Their movements were extremely precise and executed in one fluid motion; within a few minutes, the beasts were completely processed. “These men are professional wild beast butchers. The beasts purchased by customers are usually slaughtered and processed by them. If you want to see some blood, this is the perfect place,” said Hu San. Zhou Tianci nodded. “You’re right, Brother Hu. Please help me arrange it.” “I’m on good terms with the manager here, so I can put in a good word,” Hu San said cautiously. “But I can’t guarantee anything—I’ll just have to see what I can do.” Zhou Tianci clasped his hands in a bow and said, “Brother, I’m already deeply grateful that you’re willing to help. If it works out, that’s great; if not, it’s no big deal.” Hu San nodded with satisfaction, told Zhou Tianci to wait there, and disappeared into the crowd. A moment later, Hu San reappeared, accompanied by a lean, elderly man. The man had snow-white hair and a beard, a languid demeanor, and an air of dignity—though his narrow, slanted eyes somewhat undermined his presence. “Master Ge, this is my friend. Just call him Little Zhou. He’s a young man who hasn’t seen blood yet, and he’s eager to come here to personally hunt down a couple of beasts and test his courage,” Hu San said flatteringly to the little old man. “But rest assured, he won’t break your rules—he’ll pay every penny he owes.” The old man, whom Hu San addressed as “Old Master Ge,” lifted his eyelids to glance at Zhou Tianci before looking away. “All right, Uncle Ge, I understand. I’ll do you a favor today, Hu San. I’ll have my men make the arrangements shortly. But Hu San, next time you’ve got something good, don’t forget about Uncle Ge here,” Uncle Ge said slowly. “Of course, of course,” Hu San replied hastily. “All right, I’ve got work to do. You two wait here.” Ge Ye yawned and strode away with a wide, splayed gait; those around him made way for him as he passed. “Old Hu, who’s that?” Zhou Tianci asked in a low voice. Hu San whispered, “That’s Old Master Ge, the manager of the 13th floor at Wanhai Pavilion. He’s in charge of the entire 13th floor. Don’t let his appearance fool you—he wields quite a bit of power at Wanhai Pavilion.” Zhou Tianci added, “You’re actually on friendly terms with someone like that? Brother Hu, your connections really do reach the Tongtian.” Hu San chuckled smugly. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say my connections reach Tongtian, but here in the South City Market, your old buddy here still carries some clout. To be honest, I love making friends—men, women, old, young—as long as they’re willing, I never turn anyone away.” Zhou Tianci thought to himself, “No wonder.” He’d been wondering why Hu San had been so warm and welcoming on their very first meeting—it turned out he wasn’t after anything, but was simply that kind of person. “I’m deeply grateful for your kindness today, old friend. I don’t have much to my name, so I can’t properly repay you, but please accept this as a small token of my appreciation.” Zhou Tianci wasn’t unaware of social etiquette; after all, the other man had helped him so much that it wouldn’t do to show no gratitude, so he took two black gold coins from his robe. Hu San immediately looked displeased: “What are you doing, little brother? What do you take me for?” “Brother, please don’t misunderstand. I mean no offense; I’m simply trying to express my gratitude.” “I appreciate your gesture, but I can’t accept the money. I, Hu San, make friends far and wide based on a sense of loyalty. If you truly consider me a friend, take that money back!” Seeing how firm Hu San was, Zhou Tianci had no choice but to take the coins back. The black gold coins he’d offered were the standard currency in this world, with one black gold coin equivalent to ten gold coins. For an ordinary family, a single gold coin was enough to cover their expenses for a month. “Brother, please don’t be angry—it was my oversight. Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to a drink to make amends,” Zhou Tianci said, clasping his hands in a bow. Hearing this, Hu San’s expression softened somewhat. After exchanging a few more words, a man appeared from behind Zhou Tianci. “So you’re Little Zhou? Manager Ge told me to take you to the slaughterhouse. Come with me,” the man said indifferently.