Becoming a saint begins with the infinite accumulation of destiny.

"What exactly is this 'flesh-repelling'?"

Chen Shisheng couldn't help but interrupt and ask, he was very curious.

He had previously obtained a lump from Liu Shouyuan, but he never figured out what it was. That thing is still in his sister-in-law's room.

Wen Fengling smiled faintly, a hint of excitement and awe on her face.

"The meat is a special resource. This meat naturally has a peculiar smell that ordinary people cannot detect. Only martial artists can sense it slightly."

As she spoke, her thin, red lips parted slightly, and a glint of light appeared in her eyes.

"Most importantly, this special scent is disliked by evil spirits and demons. Many forces use it to open trade routes and establish settlements. As for where this stuff came from, I'm not entirely sure."

"Smell?"

Chen Shisheng suddenly realized why Liu Shouyuan and the water bandit who floated on the water valued the meat so much.

It seems my choice was right; placing it in my sister-in-law's room does indeed provide some protection.

If this flesh-removing technique truly has such an effect, then everything makes sense.

The official road outside the city must have been opened up by this route, and cities in various places placed meat-shaped objects to drive away demons and evil spirits.

Otherwise, there would be no merchant ships that could navigate the Five Rivers River system, given that the water monkeys alone.

Not to mention the giant water snake that Master Bao had mentioned before.

"So... what's the price of this?"

Chen Shisheng asked again out of curiosity.

Although he knew he couldn't afford it, asking around didn't cost any money, and he could at least get a rough estimate.

If you can get new meat later, you can sell it for money and earn extra income.

After all, it's just the two of them, and one piece of dried meat is enough for the house; any more would be a waste.

"This meat... is not for sale. I don't know about outside the city, but within Five Rivers City, only the three royal families have it. There might be someone willing to pay for it on the black market, but it's priceless and there's no market for it. Nobody will sell something like this."

She shook her head.

Chen Shisheng nodded, immediately understanding the value of this item.

indeed.

From any perspective, such a protective item must have been hidden away by someone.

After all, having this thing is like having a life-saving charm.

Just like when we encountered that Red Shadow attack again, with such a lump of flesh, the casualties among the martial artists wouldn't have been so severe.

Thinking of this, Chen Shisheng's heart stirred.

In that sense, Liu Shouyuan's piece of meat actually gave him a huge advantage.

Soon, the carriage slowly drove into the depths of the inner city, passing through several bustling streets.

Outside the window, there were various hawking sounds, the laughter of adults with children, and the conversation of women strolling hand in hand.

This scene presents a stark contrast to the outer city.

On one side, the sun shines brightly; on the other, life is bleak, with corpses everywhere and hardly any people to be seen.

The carriage eventually stopped in front of a three-story restaurant.

As soon as we got off the carriage, a servant who was specifically responsible for taking care of the carriage ran over, led the carriage aside, fed it hay, and cleaned up its droppings.

This is also a complimentary service offered by the restaurant.

After all, those who can afford to eat in restaurants in the inner city are either rich or noble. If the carriages are not well taken care of, the horses may get frightened and run away from control, or they may defecate everywhere, which could easily lower the restaurant's reputation and cause business to suffer.

"please!"

Wen Fengling glanced at Chen Shisheng and gestured for him to proceed.

She was dressed in a white, smart outfit, looking heroic and dashing. Her black hair was casually tied with a ribbon, and a white jade and gold belt cinched her waist, perfectly showcasing her figure.

Her chest seemed to be unbound, and it swayed slightly when she walked, creating a surging, dizzying effect.

Chen Shisheng slightly turned his gaze away and also made a gesture of invitation.

The two entered the restaurant together.

A servant was already waiting at the door to lead the way, and we went straight up to the second floor to a private room by the window.

Jiang Yue'er, who was inside, had been waiting for a long time. She took the white jade landscape pendant paper fan from Wen Fengling and put it away.

He then respectfully pulled out seats for the two of them, went out to instruct the servants to serve the dishes, and then returned to wait aside.

However, his eyes were secretly observing this genius who had broken through to the Bone Forging Realm.

He was plain-looking, too muscular, and had a slightly introverted personality; he didn't like to talk much.

This was the evaluation Jiang Yue'er silently made in her heart.

However, his aptitude should be quite good, as he was able to break through to the Bone Forging Realm in the town.

"Brother Chen, please."

The food arrived quickly, a variety of delicious dishes: steamed bear's paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast chicken, roast goose...

There was also a bowl of tofu and cabbage soup, and a large bucket of rice.

Chen Shisheng didn't stand on ceremony at all and immediately started eating heartily, not caring about his image at all.

Although there are restaurants in the outer city, the food is far inferior to that in the inner city.

Chen Shisheng finished his meal quickly.

Wen Fengling, sitting opposite him, didn't move at all. She sat there gently waving her paper fan, slowly sipping her tea, and watching Chen Shisheng eat.

She wasn't annoyed by Chen Shisheng's unrestrained eating habits; she always had a smile on her face and her eyes were shining with admiration.

It's also a form of recognition!

She loved making friends with all sorts of people and was never arrogant because of her family background. On the contrary, she greatly admired those who worked hard and persevered, especially the protagonists in various novels and stories.

She unconsciously projected herself onto someone like Chen Shisheng, who broke through against the odds, making her feel excited and her body go numb just thinking about it!

In her view, Chen Shisheng perfectly matched the description in the storybook.

He is resilient, exceptionally talented, but also comes from a poor family and suffers unfair treatment.

A born protagonist template from a traditional Chinese novel!

The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became, her breathing quickened, her cheeks flushed, and she longed to touch it and examine it closely.

"Brother Chen, have you finished eating? If it's not enough, I'll have someone bring more dishes."

Seeing Chen Shisheng stop what he was doing, Wen Fengling quickly interrupted her daydreams, suppressed her slightly flushed face, and asked him a question.

"That's enough."

Chen Shisheng took a sip of tea to rinse his mouth.

"Brother Chen, since that's the case, I won't hold back anymore. If you come and help me, I can provide you with ten catties of exotic beast meat every month. It's all top-quality exotic white bear meat, fed with the finest grains by my Wen family, and it's about ten percent better than what you get outside."

"Furthermore, if you agree, I can also arrange a residence quota for you in the inner city. I will also arrange a separate house for you, with your name on the household registration."

Wen Fengling straightened his expression and slowly stated his conditions.

Given her status as a young lady of the Wen family, securing a place in the inner city would be incredibly easy for her.

Most importantly, it's about getting ten catties of exotic beast meat every month; that's the most crucial thing.

"Of course, I can also give you a small piece of the meat from my own pocket, as a personal gift, not through the Wen family's account. How about it?"

Wen Fengling brought up the previous topic again, smiling as she looked at Chen Shisheng across from her.

"Of course, you don't have to agree to my terms right now. Others will probably offer their own terms as well. You can compare them as you like."

Wen Fengling continued.

Of course she knew the importance of comparing prices; you can't force people to do things willingly.

Moreover, this person possesses the qualities of a protagonist from a traditional storybook: taciturn and meticulous in his work.

Forcing such a person will backfire.

This is a very important lesson she learned from interacting with other martial artists who had experience with storytelling.

"Oh, by the way. I remember someone in your family is in the military? If needed, I can help you transfer them back."

She added another sentence.

"Thank you very much."

Chen Shisheng's heart skipped a beat.

My elder brother and father are still missing. If we could get help from the Wen family to investigate, it would probably be much faster.

After all, the Blackwater Gang sent the people to the Wen family, who were then responsible for transporting them to the front lines.

There will inevitably be records such as rosters.

After chatting for a while, Chen Shisheng took his leave.

He was actually quite tempted by Wen Lingfeng's offer to recruit him. Putting aside everything else, the ten catties of exotic beast meat and the news about his father and elder brother were enough to entice him.

However, this was the first time he had been recruited, and there was no one else to compare him to.

He needs to see what other people are offering.

Under the moonlight, Wen Lingfeng stood with his hands behind his back in front of the window, his expression revealing his excitement.

"Moon, what do you think of this person?"

"Young Master Chen is indeed quite talented, but his personality... is a bit melancholic. If Miss were to recruit him, he would be a great help, but he is only suitable to be a loyal servant and not capable of great responsibility."

Jiang Yue'er spoke the truth based on her own observations.

"Moon, watch your words!"

Wen Lingfeng frowned and interrupted, then walked to the door to check and make sure no one was eavesdropping before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Moon, how many times have I told you! Don't speak ill of others behind their backs. I admire Brother Chen's talent. We are not master and servant, but brothers."

"Miss, you're the one who told me to say it."

Jiang Yue'er was speechless.

Miss is wonderful in every way, except that she's too deeply influenced by those stories.

He always liked to imitate the plots in vernacular novels when making friends. He even used this as a basis for selecting martial artists.

"Be more polite to people in the future, and don't be negligent."

Wen Fengling waved her hand, signaling her to leave.

Then, she suddenly added:

"Oh, right. And there's Brother Zhang from before. He's been having some trouble lately. Could you send him a pound of exotic beast meat as a form of assistance?"

"Kid, that guy's totally lying..."

Jiang Yue'er seemed to have thought of something and quickly said.

Seeing that the young lady's expression was not good, she stopped talking, sighed, and walked out of the room.