Starting with the flesh-based stimulant

The peddler didn't answer, but Zhou He already knew what he wanted to know.

"Ahem," the peddler coughed, "Let's get back to the meat seller."

"When you go out, you are a flesh-carrying person, able to avoid karma. But once you've entered the path, you become a flesh-cutting person, able to cut off karma."

"Otherwise, what's the difference between flesh and people in this world?"

"Isn't it just that by relying on meat customers, the cause and effect are severed, and meat is truly meat?"

Zhou He remained silent, recalling the short, old woman in black clothes in the square.

The peddler kept talking:

"Above that are the butchers. I know their techniques, but I'm not going to tell you. I don't have any guideposts here either."

"Let me tell you about Qiu Shen, who is also in the same line of work as Young Master Zhou."

He paused here, then clicked his tongue, and his teeth, which were almost sticking out, slowly retracted:

"A person cannot have two paths."

"There are two ways to steal your travel money. One is your body, and the other is your pocket. No matter how much travel money you've saved, those two will devour you until there's nothing left but bones."

This is also a point of confusion for Zhou.

He still remembered the story that Lao Han had told him before.

The two heads that were biting and devouring each other.

On one side is Yin and Yang, on the other side is a monk.

The peddler seemed to have only said that suddenly, and then he continued:

"The ones who go out to greet the God of Qiu are called Incense-Lighting Boys, the ones who go through the first stage are called Oil Dolls, and the ones who go through the next stage are called Twisted Fingers..." The peddler held up three fingers: "Young Master Zhou, you should know this, but the way the God of Qiu works is different from the other ways."

"The spirit of Qiu is one who carries God on his back. We must respect God, make offerings, and carry the God on our backs."

"I recognize two Qiu gods under Master Taochuan's command. One is named Bao Kuan, and the other is named Bao Ze. They are brothers."

"Now the Bao family line is dead, which is a very sad thing," he seemed genuinely distressed, his eyes reddening, but he quickly grinned.

"Some gods are vegetarians, and some are carnivorous. Old Man Taochuan is clearly a peach tree, yet he eats meat. Isn't that strange?"

Zhou He laughed along with him, and after laughing, he asked another question:

"Have you ever heard of Grandpa Zhang Gong?"

The peddler shook his head: "The Zhou family are high-ranking officials. How could a street vendor like me possibly have heard of them?"

Zhou He understood that he might know something, but he couldn't say it.

It seems that Grandpa Zhang Gong is not a simple god.

Instead, they are inextricably linked to the Zhou family.

In that case, if we encounter any danger, Young Master Zhou can burn incense and light lamps and invite Grandpa Zhang Gong; there shouldn't be any problem.

"By the way, Young Master Zhou, I still need your help with this business."

Zhou He stood up, pulled down the brim of his hat, and said with a smile:

"I have to avoid this cause and effect."

After saying that, he went out the door, found Ga Gouwa, turned around and left without saying anything more to the peddler.

The peddler behind him stared intently at the oil lamp on the table, and after a long while slowly said:

"Cause and effect are easy to avoid, but that's only for meat-eaters. How can meat itself escape cause and effect?"

"After all, that's the cause and effect of a whole world."

......

Back at the Jincheng Guesthouse, Yongqiang wasn't at the front desk today, so Zhou He followed Ga Gouwa back to their room.

Lying in bed, he didn't sleep because the newspaper didn't say much. When Ga Gouwa slowly closed his eyes and started snoring softly, he slowly pushed open the door and walked out of the room.

When he reached the counter, Yongqiang had already returned without him noticing.

Or rather, he was just waiting for Zhou He to come to him.

The incandescent light flickered intermittently. Old Yongqiang, hidden in the shadows of the counter, had his eyes half-closed. When he saw Zhou He, he raised his head and slowly moved out after a long while. Without saying a word, he led Zhou He out of the guesthouse and onto the ground.

Zhou He followed behind him.

The moonlight was bright, and although it was only a crescent moon, it was still clearly visible.

Old Yongqiang has no shadow.

No, that's not right. His shadow was too huge, so huge that it seemed to cover the ground behind him. Wherever he walked, the light of the crescent moon couldn't reach, and he couldn't cast a shadow.

I followed them all the way until we reached the boiler room.

Old Yongqiang pushed open the wooden door, entered the room, found a corner that didn't look too dirty, sat down, and slowly began to speak:

"Mr. Zhou, Chen Erlv must have told you something."

Zhou He nodded:

"Mr. Yongqiang, there's no need to test me. I understand everything you need to understand."

"Mr. Zhou is a smart man," Yongqiang nodded, forcing a smile, his wrinkled face twitching.

"I had Ga Gouwa lead you earlier; there are some things only you can do."

Zhou He didn't respond to that question. This was his first time dealing with Yongqiang, and listening and analyzing were far more important than asking and talking.

Yongqiang didn't take it to heart:

"To be honest, we never expected you to become a sex worker, but it's actually a good thing."

"Mr. Yongqiang, you brought me this far in the middle of the night, you didn't mean to say that, did you?"

Yongqiang shook his head:

"Do you know why the peddler specifically led Taochuan to my Jincheng?"

"Buzz—"

Zhou experienced a momentary ringing in his ears.

Although he had already guessed that this would be the case, he still couldn't help but pinch the web of his left hand when the other party actually said it.

Today, in the stadium, those few low, slow heartbeats seemed to echo in my ears again.

Grandpa Jincheng.

Yongqiang.

He suddenly remembered that Dai Liangxuan had once said that wild meat was disguised as human.

He even suspected that some of the older men were already considered "wild meat" (a derogatory term for men who have taken advantage of their positions) and were sitting in those seats.

It must be said, he is a good researcher.

However, since the researcher himself was not involved in the field, there were some things that Dai Liangxuan could not even imagine.

For example, when he said those words, the city of Jincheng, where he lived, had already been taken over by wild meat thieves.

Zhou He sighed softly. If he were really Dai Liangxuan's student, he would probably be so frightened that his heart would not stop beating.

But I am not.

I am just wild meat hidden inside a human body.

wrong.

Young Master Zhou.

With that thought in mind, Zhou He stopped thinking about it.

"No need to be so careful. This is Jincheng. There are some things I don't want him to know, and he won't hear them anyway."

Yongqiang spoke up and continued:

"My time is running out. This world is more terrifying than you think. We've uncovered some of the truth, but there's still a long way to go."

"So you need to go and search, to dig."

"Zhou He, our world, I'm talking about Earth," Yongqiang said, a hint of nostalgia mixed with anger in his eyes.

"Our Earth should not end like this."

"The peddler will be going to Taochuan in a few days. He will be the new Taochuan patriarch. He has a business deal coming up, and you have to help him."

Moonlight streamed in through the broken window, casting no shadows on the ground.

Zhou was having some difficulty breathing.