Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

The atmosphere was silent for a while, with an inexplicable awkwardness. Zhuang Xing noticed that the heroine's hand had tightened its embrace on him.

After a moment, the mother spoke up: "Miss Yan, we absolutely have no intention of taking your prey for ourselves."

The mother said solemnly, "We just want to see if the tiger spirit is really dead. If Miss Yan needs anything, the village hunters can help you process the tiger spirit's skin and bones. Of course, as a reward for helping us get rid of the tiger spirit, we will also pay you a fee. If you have any other needs, you can ask for them. We will try our best to meet them. We just hope that you can take us to see the tiger spirit's corpse with your own eyes."

This line of reasoning was clearly something the mother and the village elders had discussed. Old people are wise; if Yan Huai'an could really kill such a big tiger spirit, then she was obviously someone the village couldn't afford to offend. Of course, they had to serve Yan Huai'an well in every way and avoid any conflict with her.

The distribution of profits must be done well. Being a demon hunter sounds like a profession that involves living on the edge of a knife. Earning a little money is a life-or-death struggle. People die for wealth, birds die for food. Even brothers will turn against each other over family property, let alone strangers they only met once.

Everyone was waiting for Yan Huai'an's reply, but she remained silent. The old woman standing behind her mother frowned.

In this situation, it usually means the woman is going to ask for an exorbitant amount. The old man was probably very nervous, but Zhuang Xing felt that the woman just didn't know how to respond.

Finally, it was her mother who broke the somewhat heavy atmosphere. She tentatively asked, "Miss Yan, the village is willing to pay you fifty strings of cash. If you accept this price, could you take us to see the tiger spirit's corpse?"

Yan Huai'an's mouth opened slightly, as if he was about to say something, but in the end he said nothing and just nodded quietly.

The old man's furrowed brows finally relaxed. He and his mother exchanged a glance and went to the front.

"Sir, I am the village chief of this village. When you leave the village, we will give you the reward. Please lead the way for us."

The village chief's expression was full of respect; it was clear at a glance that he was an extremely tactful person. After all, the longer one lives and the more one sees, the more one understands how insignificant one is and how one should not underestimate others.

Chapter 9 Tiger Corpse

Zhuang Xing and his team headed to the place where the tiger spirit was buried. He was at the very front of the team, wrapped in a down blanket, and being held by the female warrior.

His mother originally wanted to keep him in the house, but he couldn't resist going outside to see what was going on, so as soon as he left the heroine's bosom, he started making a huge fuss.

It's not that he's disobedient, it's just that he's too bored lying in the room by himself.

Can you imagine? Staring at the same ceiling all day long, with no internet, no cell phone, no TV, just unchanging walls, bed, and cabinets that never speak or communicate with you.

It felt like being locked in a dark room; he'd rather come outside in the cold wind than stay inside.

This is perfect! With a female warrior who is highly skilled in martial arts as my bodyguard, it would be a waste of life not to go out and have fun!

He took the opportunity to look around. This should be considered his first time going out. Last night, he was kidnapped and taken out, so it doesn't count.

Everything in sight was a white expanse. The sun was out today, but the winter sunlight was pale and weak, and it didn't feel very warm on my skin.

They walked along a main road that ran through the village, with scattered houses on both sides, the road surface and rooftops covered in snow.

The houses all share the same architectural style, just like Zhuang Xing's house. They are all simple thatched huts built with mud and stone mixed with thatch, probably designed by the same architect.

On the way, Zhuang Xing saw his and his mother's house, a scene of utter devastation. Their bedroom had completely collapsed, and there were charred marks from the fire, presumably caused by a collapsed stove.

Fortunately, the fire did not seem to be large. After all, it snowed not long after the tiger spirit kidnapped them last night. The snowflakes should have hindered the spread of the fire. However, the interior, which was originally covered by a roof, was now covered with a layer of white snow.

The bamboo basket that used to be Zhuangxing's crib was lying carelessly on the ground, half of it charred. Mother's bed was reduced to just a few wooden legs. The original bed had been pried open by the tiger spirit and was now being crushed by the collapsed wall.

It looked like a ruin.

I felt a little sad, after all, that was the home he lived in for three months. Although it was very simple, he still had many memories there.

He remembered reading a popular science book that said it only takes fourteen days for a person to adapt to a new environment from scratch. Whether you go abroad or work in another city, you may feel restless, suffer from acclimatization issues, and have trouble eating and sleeping on the first day, but after fourteen days, you will be able to adapt to everything unfamiliar and immerse yourself in your new life.

He counted on his fingers; he had spent six fourteen-day periods in that room, and the seventh would soon be here. All his life activities took place there. He had originally planned to add some decorations to that monotonous room when he grew up, but now that had become an impossible wish.

Although it was a very old house, it still fulfilled its function of providing shelter from the wind and rain very well. Zhuang Xing silently mourned for it for three seconds.

I don't know how to rebuild the house. Rebuilding the house costs money, and new beds and blankets also cost money.

Bedding must have been very expensive in this era. In the past, when a bride got married, her family would give her a new quilt as part of her dowry. For ordinary families, a newlywed couple would usually only receive a brand new set of bedding for such an important life event as their wedding.

The tiger spirit died a quick and painless death, but the trouble it brought was not over yet.

His mother must be very distressed. Zhuang Xing noticed that her gaze kept drifting towards home, and she looked forlorn, letting out a few barely perceptible sighs.

Money is not everything, but nothing is impossible without money.

That comfortable and carefree life is probably coming to an end. Before the house is rebuilt, Zhuang Xing and his mother will have to live under someone else's roof. His mother will mostly have to do dirty and tiring work for others in order to make a living.

Zhuang Xing could only think about these things, but he couldn't help at all.

Faced with his own powerlessness, his desire to play suddenly cooled considerably.

But what else could he do? He couldn't think of a solution.

The group continued forward, and before long, they had left Zhuang Xing and his mother's home behind.

Another dilapidated house appeared ahead, with a large hole cut into it, and several men were gathered there.

Although the heavy snow had buried many traces, Zhuang Xing could still see the bloodstains on the wall.

My mother said someone died in the village, and it must have been someone from this family.

When the tiger spirit broke into Zhuang Xing and his mother's house, it was holding a half-eaten human leg. It had killed someone and was still hungry, which was why it came. Zhuang Xing and his mother were the second victims.

The first victim has long since vanished without a trace; even the bones have been chewed to dust by the tiger spirit.

Someone put up white seals around the room, and Zhuang Xing saw a little girl, about three or four years old, standing in the shadows of the doorway, tightly hugging the main beam inside the room.

A man and a woman, looking distressed, confronted the little girl. When they tried to grab her hand, she started kicking and hitting wildly. But she was just a young child, and several adults rushed forward, grabbed her, and took her outside.

Zhuang Xing was unaware of what happened next. The group did not linger over this little farce, but instead continued straight out under Yan Huai'an's leadership.

They arrived at the village entrance, where a man stood guard with a pitchfork in his hand.

The village chief exchanged a few words with the guards, and before leaving the village, he called a few more young and strong men to join the group.

Further out, there are neatly arranged fields, but it is winter now, and the fields are all abandoned, as it is not suitable for farming.

Yan Huai'an silently led the way. The snow was difficult to walk on; every step left a footprint, making it easy to slip and fall.

Fortunately, the tiger spirit hadn't actually run far from the village. Before long, Zhuang Xing saw the tiger's massive body, which resembled a small mountain.

More than a dozen people surrounded the tiger spirit's corpse in a circle. Even adults had to look up to see the tiger spirit's bulging back.

The enormous head lay to one side, its fierce eyes still open. Several people were so frightened by just standing in front of that head, which was as tall as them, that their legs went weak. One of the more timid people even lost his footing and fell down.

The scene was indeed terrifying. Blood gushing from the tiger spirit's severed neck seeped into the soil, filling the air with the stench of blood. The ground was covered in a pool of crimson. Because the female warrior had cut it so cleanly and swiftly, the tiger spirit's corpse was perfectly preserved, as if it would come back to life if its head were put back.

Even after this guy died, his influence remained.

The villagers were not very willing to approach it, except for a middle-aged man dressed in animal clothing who reached out and stroked the tiger spirit's fur.

"Sir, I am a hunter from the village. This is the first time I have ever seen such a large monster. May I try to dig out its demon core?" the hunter asked.

"Yes." Yan Huai'an nodded.

"Thank you." The hunter took a deep breath and drew a skinning scimitar from his waist.

His hands, which gripped the knife, were covered in calluses, and there were several scarred marks on his face, as if they had been left from fighting wild beasts.

This seasoned hunter, weathered by time, stood before the tiger spirit's head, clasped his hands together in reverence, and bowed three times.

This seemed to be some kind of ritual. After bowing, he took the wine pouch from his waist, gulped down two mouthfuls, and then spat the wine onto his scimitar. At that moment, Zhuang Xing suddenly could no longer sense his presence. Even though he was right in front of him, if he didn't focus his gaze on him and specifically look at him, it was as if this person didn't exist at all.

Chapter 10 High-end ingredients often...

The old hunter, with a solemn expression, circled the tiger's head three times before finally stopping at the broken edge of the head.

A thin layer of frost had formed there; the blood gushing from the tiger's head had frozen into ice in the snow, and under the sunlight, it looked like some kind of red gemstone.

Zhuang Xing was very curious about what the so-called demon core was. He stared at it with wide eyes, but Yan Huai'an lifted him up by his bottom.

His face sank into a soft mass, and the female warrior seemed to think that dissecting a tiger corpse was inappropriate for children.

But how could Zhuang Xing miss such an exciting and fun scene? He stretched out his little hands to support his body and tried his best to turn over. Seeing his persistence, the female warrior finally relaxed her grip on him.

"Miss Yan, perhaps... I should hold her instead." Seeing Zhuang Xing becoming restless, the mother tried to take her child back.

"It's...it's okay..." Yan Huai'an said softly, tightening his grip on her arm.

After Zhuang Xing turned over, he became quiet. His mother had a worried look in her eyes, probably because she was afraid that her son had displeased the female knight.

But dear mother, you have no idea how the aloof demon hunter in your eyes actually does "slow motion with the left hand and right hand, and slow motion replay with the right hand and left hand" in private.

There's absolutely no need to worry about that. Your son is adored by everyone, flowers bloom for him, and cars get flat tires just by looking at him. He's incredibly lovable, okay?

Zhuang Xing leaned his head back, twisted it a couple of times to find a comfortable position, and watched with great interest how the old hunter would deal with the tiger spirit's head.

High-end ingredients often require only the simplest preparation methods...

The old hunter pressed his ear against the tiger's head and tapped around with the hilt of his knife, as if trying to locate the tiger by sound.

After some exploration, he took off his animal skin and went shirtless, revealing his muscular physique.

With a swishing sound of metal scraping against metal, the old hunter scraped away the excess ice shards with his scimitar. He gripped the handle tightly and forcefully cut a gash, blood seeping from the soft tissue that had not yet frozen. His thick arm, as if taking something out of a bag, plunged straight into the depths of the Yellow Dragon.

He had almost half his body inside the tiger's head. When he came out, his body pulled out a clump of red and white mud-like substance, and in his hand, he held a huge "black stone".

The old hunter scooped up a handful of clean snow and used it to clean and rub the bloodstains off the surface of the "black stone," revealing its uneven surface.

No wonder it's called "Demon Core," its texture looks quite like a fist-sized walnut.

However, for some reason, the demon core was missing a corner. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed that it should have been a complete sphere, but it was missing about one-tenth of a piece, and suddenly it became incomplete from a complete object.

Zhuang Xing thought that the hunter had accidentally chipped off a corner while retrieving the demon core, but the hunter took the demon core and explained.

"Sir, this tiger carcass was left outside overnight, and it was probably bitten by a passing small animal."

The hunter showed the crack to Yan Huai'an, revealing that half a beast tooth was stuck in the demon core, as if it had been bitten too hard and accidentally broken.

Yan Huai'an nodded, not dwelling on the matter.

"I have lived for over forty years, and only today have I truly seen such a magnificent demon core. Thank you, sir, for giving me the opportunity to see such a high-quality demon core."

With that, the hunter reluctantly handed the demon core to Yan Huai'an.

Judging from his eyes, this thing is quite valuable.

After all, even the tiger spirit regarded its demon core as an important thing. It was only when Yan Huai'an forced it into a dead end that it was willing to hand over its demon core in exchange for a way to live.

"I wonder what you intend to do with this tiger spirit, sir?" the hunter asked again. "This tiger spirit is a treasure from head to toe. Its skin, bones, muscles, and even its teeth and claws are all rare and precious materials. If we take it to the city, we're sure to get a good price for it."

"However... there are no carriages or horses in the village, and it's deep winter. Although my old buddies and I can skin tigers and dismantle their bones for you, we have no way to transport the goods. If you have other means, that's another matter, but if you want us to help sell the goods, I'm afraid we can only discuss it again when the snow melts next spring."

"..."

"This is enough." Yan Huai'an glanced at the tiger corpse, patted her purse, and placed the tiger spirit's demon core inside.

"This..." The old hunter scratched his head, looked at the village chief, and didn't know how to reply.