The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

"You actually switched the offerings to the gods?" He Ying's eyes widened.

"Shh, keep your voice down." Chen Atang couldn't even lift his head. "Although it's said to be offered to the gods, in the end everyone still has to get together to judge its merits. Besides, the Peach God never actually appeared, did he?"

"And what's more, I lost out big time." At this point, Chen Atang was on the verge of tears. "I went to great lengths to get the goose, but in the end, everyone voted for my original one!"

"Serves him right. He tried to steal a chicken... but ended up losing more than he gained." He Ying showed no sympathy.

"So you suspect this strange illness is a punishment bestowed upon you by the Peach God?" Lu Zhi asked.

"I've thought about it over and over for days. Apart from this, I haven't done anything wrong. Besides, the timing makes sense."

"No need to jump to conclusions so quickly. Let's go through it step by step, starting from the beginning," Lu Zhi said gently. "When did you present the goose?"

"The fourth day of the eighth lunar month."

"When did those goose feathers grow?"

"sixteen."

"That was four days ago. If it really was because you offered the goose, why did it take almost half a month to punish you?" Lu Zhi asked clearly and logically.

"Oh, you don't know, before the sixteenth, we all lit wishing lamps, and the gods protected us. It must have been because the wishing lamps went out that the punishment came."

"Leaving aside whether your wishing lamp was effective or not, if the gods are protecting you, why would they punish you?"

Chen Atang paused, then said, "It must be that Grandpa Peach God observed me for a few more days and thought I hadn't burned incense and offered sacrifices to him, that I hadn't shown any remorse, and that's why he got angry. Besides, maybe it was the fox spirit who did it. Yes, didn't the storytellers all say that the fox spirit sat on the Peach God's shrine those few days?"

Lu Zhi and his companion exchanged a glance, then Lu Zhi continued, "Did you kill that goose yourself?"

"Not entirely. I was the one who held it down, but it's too familiar with me, so I couldn't bring myself to do it. In the end, it was Butcher Zhu who took over."

"Did it really offer no resistance at all? Did you restrain its movements? Did it exhibit any unusual behavior at the time, such as eagerly seeking water or struggling?"

Chen Atang had clearly thought about it many times in the past few days, and his tone was certain: "No, everything is normal."

"Perhaps it is an improved method of animal husbandry," Shen Guan added.

"I don't think so," He Ying shook her head.

"Whose goose did you exchange it for?"

"He works at a tofu shop. I guess he eats soybean dregs every day, that's why he's so fat. But it's all just puffiness, the meat quality is far worse. Sigh, I can be wrong sometimes."

"Of course, the main reason is that I shouldn't have had the intention to steal," he added, looking into He Ying's eyes.

"Have there been any Taoist priests, Buddhist monks, or wandering sorcerers appearing in the city lately?"

"I rarely go out, so I really don't know about this."

Lu Zhi shook his head and said, "In that case, take us there to find the butcher and the tofu shop owner first."

"Hey, why are you all going to so much trouble to help me?"

"Looking for someone."

……

Qushui Lane.

The crowd gathered in front of the honey shop gradually dispersed, and Butcher Zhu returned to his meat shop.

"Please take care, young master. Come again next time."

With a smile, Butcher Zhu handed the wrapped meat to the handsome young man in front of him. Although this young man had only arrived a few days ago, Butcher Zhu had already memorized him. Firstly, because of his appearance, and secondly, because although the young man looked like he had never lifted a finger, he was very accurate in judging the quality of meat, able to point out which piece was tender and which was succulent at a glance.

Thirdly, this young master is very generous and never haggles.

"Hey, cut me a pound of pork belly, the fatty kind."

"Okay."

A woman walked up with a smile, and Butcher Zhu quickly responded, no longer thinking about it, and turned to get back to work.

Customers came and went in a steady stream, and Butcher Zhu was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground as he wielded his knife. He worked until sunset, when the number of pedestrians in the alley gradually dwindled. He glanced at the sky; it wasn't time to close up shop yet.

"Perhaps more customers will come. Let's wait a little longer," Butcher Zhu thought to himself, tilting his head and leaning against the counter, gradually drifting into a daze.

Perhaps because he had done too much work during the day, his vision went black soon after he fell asleep.

A faint voice called out in my ear.

"Slaughter—"

"Butcher--"

"Who's calling me?" Butcher Zhu groggily raised his head. All around was quiet; there wasn't a soul on the street, not even a single light. It was utter darkness.

He pulled an oil lamp from under the counter, lit it in the dark, and the dim yellow light flickered, barely illuminating a small area in front of the shop.

Only then did he see a blurry black figure standing in front of the shop, its appearance unclear.

"Butcher—is your knife sharp—?"

"My specialty is speed, how could it not be fast?" Butcher Zhu boasted, though he didn't know what had happened. "In the time it takes you to say a few words, I can butcher a whole pig."

"Show me—show me—"

Without saying a word, Butcher Zhu took a piece of hind leg meat from the crossbeam, inserted the tip of his knife into the meat, and cleanly sliced ​​it along the grain, separating the skin and meat instantly.

"Okay—you're the one—"

Which piece of meat would you like to buy?

The shadowy figure didn't answer, its form gradually dissipating: "In a moment—make your move—quickly—"

"Old Zhu, Old Zhu! Hey, why is this guy so hard of hearing?"

The butcher suddenly opened his eyes and saw a man in black robes shoving him, with three martial arts figures holding knives and swords standing behind him.

"Old Chen? Why are you dressed like this? What do you want?" It took Butcher Zhu a while to figure it out.

"I'm just asking, was there anything strange about the goose you slaughtered that day?"

"Which goose?" Butcher Zhu couldn't remember; he had killed many animals.

"The fattest one, the most chubby one..." Chen Atang's voice gradually faded.

"Oh, I remember now, that goose really does have good meat quality. You've really come out on top this year."

"No, I didn't win..."

"Huh?" Butcher Zhu glanced at Lu Zhi and the others, then suddenly realized, "You suspect me of stealing meat, and you've come to demand an explanation?"

"I, Old Zhu, am not that kind of person!"

"Hey, calm down, calm down. That's not what we were talking about." Chen Atang quickly comforted Butcher Zhu, glancing at the three people behind him, signaling them to come over quickly.

But before Lu Zhi and the others could go forward, the sound came from the alley again.

"Come on, Old Zhu, come and lend a hand. I have a pig that I'm in a hurry to get out of the pen."

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a farmer-looking man leading a fat black pig through the alley. The pig was not tied with a rope or muzzled with a bamboo cage; he was just slowly leading it along.

"Look, it weighs a full 120 jin! You should check it quickly." The farmer only noticed the crowd standing in front of the butcher shop when he got closer.

He paused for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Oh, there are still so many customers. It's alright, Lao Zhu, you can take advantage of them when you're done."

Butcher Zhu lowered his gaze and met the black pig's round eyes.

Her eyes were clear and bright, without a trace of fear, she simply gazed at him quietly.