Divine Tang Era

Chapter 171 Sacrificing the Ox to the Non-Human Skull

Xu Dan watched the departing figures of Kuang Kui and the other two, curled his lip in disdain, and said, "A bunch of guys who don't know how to appreciate things."

My title of "Half a Poet Saint" will one day resound throughout Jingning, spread across the borderlands, and even shake the entire Divine Tang Dynasty!

He turned around and went back to the shop with his hands behind his back, looking around for a while. Finding nothing to do, he went to find the craftsman who had previously helped him renovate the house to discuss the construction of the courtyard.

There used to be a wasteland behind the inn, which the previous owner intended to use to store guests' goods and park horse-drawn carriages.

Unfortunately, the area around the west gate was sparsely populated, and the inn's business was dismal, so the land gradually fell into disuse. The innkeeper's wife had previously cultivated a small plot of land on the edge to grow vegetables, but since they left, no one has taken care of it, and it has been completely overwhelmed by weeds, becoming a neglected corner.

Now that the store needs it, Xu Dan wants to make good use of this land.

First, build a courtyard and move the people who originally lived in the hot pot restaurant there, while the front is used for business.

We'll build a small temple behind the courtyard and enshrine the statue of Xuanwu Zhenjun inside. We'll cultivate the remaining wasteland and grow vegetables and fruits for ourselves next year when the weather is warmer, saving us from constantly buying them from outside.

After finding the master and explaining the purpose of the visit, the other party immediately agreed.

As the weather turns colder, there are fewer and fewer jobs available, but plenty of people are willing to do them.

To speed things up, as soon as the weather cleared up the next day, Xu Dan took his razor-sharp Eight-Degree Sword and ran to a nearby mountain to cut back a pile of large stones. He had his master lead a group to clear a space, build a wall around the stones, and then begin constructing the courtyard. The remaining stones were perfect for the foundation, saving a lot of work.

Xu Dan had plenty of money and was in a hurry to finish the project, so a group of helpers came the next day.

These people were busy with their tasks: some were weeding, some were turning the soil, and some were building walls. They were all doing their jobs, and the pace was much faster.

In just half a month, a brand-new courtyard and a neat field appeared before our eyes.

After airing out the new house for a few days to dissipate the smell, Xu Dan moved in with Yun Niang, Rui Wu Ni, and Xiao Que'er. He originally wanted Chi Lei'er and his mother to move in as well, but his mother insisted on staying outside because the hot pot restaurant needed someone to look after it. After some persuasion, she still wouldn't agree, so he had no choice but to give up.

Subsequently, Xu Dan moved the statue of Xuanwu Zhenjun into the newly built small temple behind the temple for worship.

At this point, the former inn was completely transformed into a hot pot restaurant.

With the store expanding, manpower is tight, and Yunniang and others alone are simply not enough to handle the workload.

Xu Dan asked a broker in the county to help him find some people he knew in Jingning City to come and help, so his mother and Rui Wu Ni no longer had to work so hard. From then on, his mother took charge of the accounts at the counter, while Rui Wu Ni became the manager of the restaurant, overseeing all the affairs of the hot pot restaurant.

Xu Dan was finally freed from many chores, no longer having to work as a waiter or greet guests, nor having to worry about what ingredients to buy.

In addition, he also bought the house next door.

That house used to be a general store, but business was bad and it closed down quickly. It's near the West Gate, so there aren't many people around, and business was poor. After the store closed, no one rented it, and it remained vacant. Now that Xu Dan wants to buy it, the owner was overjoyed and completed the paperwork that very day.

Xu Dan plans to convert this house into a slaughterhouse, specifically for processing the ferocious birds and beasts he buys.

Although he still had a lot of animal meat in his storage ring, it was not a long-term solution.

Since it's impossible for them to hunt themselves to maintain the meat supply for the store, the best way is to buy meat and kill it themselves.

The most abundant animal here is longhaired beef. Besides the meat, longhaired beef also has bones, offal, and other parts, all of which can be used to make hot pot. If prepared well, the profit is substantial. The profit from selling a cow you slaughter yourself is far greater than the profit from buying other ingredients and reselling them.

With everything arranged, the hot pot restaurant was on track and no longer needed to be managed by the owner.

Xu Dan, on the other hand, is also able to find time to cultivate himself or to attend to his own affairs.

That day, Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er came to the door, "Grandfather, are you free today? Let's go hunting together."

Xu Dan glanced at the falling snowflakes and said speechlessly, "What kind of hunting is this in this weather?"

"Don't you know? A huge herd of long-haired cattle has appeared out of nowhere outside the city, and many people have gone hunting them," Xue Bao'er said excitedly.

"Really?" Xu Dan had been busy with the yard and the slaughterhouse lately and hadn't paid attention to what was happening outside.

"Of course, you'll know once you go up to the city wall," Xue Bao'er said.

"Alright, let's go take a look together."

Xu Dan greeted Rui Wuni and Yun Niang, then climbed the city wall with them. In the distance, they could see a large, robust white woolly cattle gathered in the wilderness, surrounded by hunters who had come after hearing the news.

Xu Dan stared at the long-haired cattle, and the more he looked, the more he felt that the cattle's faces exuded an indescribable eeriness.

He pondered for a moment, then said to Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er, "Look closely at the faces of those oxen—don't they look a bit like people?"

Upon hearing this, the two men focused their attention and indeed discovered that the facial features of each cow vaguely resembled those of a human face. They exchanged a glance, then asked in surprise, "What's going on?"

"How would I know?"

Xu Dan shook his head, then suddenly his eyes narrowed as he looked up at the sky above the woolly cow.

Upon closer inspection, a chill ran down their spines. Above the herd of cattle, a thick, inky black aura was gathering. This aura gradually twisted and deformed, transforming into a grotesque, non-human skull that spewed eerie winds and ghostly flames.

The non-human skull seemed to sense something and looked towards the city wall.

Xu Dan's heart suddenly raced, and he quickly looked away.

The skull scanned the empty eye sockets of the non-human skull, found nothing unusual, and then sank back into the surging malevolent energy.

"Don't stare at it, that's a sacrificial ghost that can steal people's lifespan." A calm voice suddenly came from beside me.

Xu Dan turned around and saw Xue An standing beside him at some point. He quickly asked, "Master Xue, what is a ghost sacrifice?"

"The sacrificial ghosts are formed from endless vengeful spirits, which devour people's lifespan. Those long-haired cattle are actually sacrificial cattle, with the living souls of grassland tribes imprisoned within them, used to sacrifice to the evil gods they worship—it's just that we don't know why they have wandered to this place," Xue An explained solemnly.

"oh..."

Xu Dan then realized what was going on.

Just then, the hunters outside the city could no longer contain themselves and launched the first attack!

The sacrificial bulls roared in unison, their massive hooves pounding the earth with a deafening boom. The violent sound waves and vibrations struck the crowd as if they were tangible, instantly blasting those at the forefront away, while the weaker ones died in an instant! Wisps of grayish-white energy drifted from the dead, drawn by an invisible force into the mouths of the non-human skulls above.

The skull's eyes shone brightly, clearly indicating that it had benefited greatly from it.

"You guys, shoot a few arrows at the sacrificial ox, let me see how well you've been practicing lately," Xue An said to the three, gazing at the non-human skull in the sky.

"Yes, Master Xue."

Xu Dan, Xue Bao'er, and Xue Diao immediately took out their bows and arrows, nocked them, and shot at the sacrificial ox. Unfortunately, ordinary arrows were completely ineffective against the sacrificial ox.

Seeing this, Xu Dan quickly took out another long arrow and secretly channeled the fire from the internal organs into the arrow shaft.

In an instant, the long arrow burst into flames, like a firebird spreading its wings to take flight.

The bowstring twanged, and the rocket shot out like a crimson meteor tearing through the cold wind, trailing a dazzling tail flame as it traversed a long distance and precisely pierced the head of a sacrificial bull!

"boom"

The flames burst open instantly and quickly spread to the entire body of the sacrificial ox.

Before the enormous creature could even howl, it was reduced to ashes in the raging flames. The inhuman skull above let out a silent roar, abruptly turning its head to lock onto Xu Dan on the city wall. With a gaping maw, a chilling wind that devoured life force howled out!

"You wretched creature, how dare you act so violently!"

Xue An's cold shout was like thunder, and with a flick of his wrist, he shot out an arrow.

This arrow was simple and unadorned, yet it contained unimaginable power.

The moment the arrow left the bowstring, a blazing sea of ​​fire erupted above the sacrificial ox, the intense heat so intense that even Xu Dan and the others in the distance felt their noodles burning. He secretly glanced up and discovered that the terrifying inhuman skull had vanished without a trace in the flames.

"You can continue."

Hearing Xue An's words, Xu Dan and his two companions immediately continued shooting arrows. The hunters in the distance also reacted and began to counterattack. Without the protection of the inhuman skull, the sacrificial ox's strength was greatly reduced, and it couldn't withstand the attack of so many people. Before long, it was completely wiped out.

In this battle, Xu Dan shot and killed a total of seven sacrificial oxen, while Xue Bao'er and Xue Diao each had three oxen brought into their tents.

Seeing their results, Xue An nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xu Dan invited Xue An and the other two to have dinner at his family's hot pot restaurant. The three of them didn't refuse and happily went along.