Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 85 A Terrifying Reputation (Part 9)

Chen Li sold them off piecemeal, one at a time.

Although sales were slow, with only one out of ten people buying at most, each order contained anywhere from ten to thirty or forty catties of meat. As dawn broke, the more than two thousand catties of monster meat they brought were still slowly sold out.

Chen Li quickly packed up his stall and left.

Meanwhile, an undercurrent, centered on the market, began to spread rapidly in all directions.

The appearance of a second-tier demonic beast in the market was like a thunderclap, causing a stir throughout the entire Green River Market.

……

Golden Scale Gang.

The Zhao family residence.

"What? The butcher is selling second-tier monster meat in the market? Where did he get second-tier monster meat?"

Zhao Chongxiu's eyes widened in disbelief at the report from his gang members.

Although his name contains the character "秀" (xiù, meaning elegant or refined), his entire appearance has nothing to do with that character. He is tall and strong, like a giant bear, and his robes are so tight they look like bodysuits, making him awe-inspiring.

He had heard of this butcher before.

He is a prominent figure who has suddenly emerged in the past six months. He is a lone wolf who runs rampant in the market. His fearsome power makes everyone afraid to challenge him. His strength is so great that even he is wary of him.

But no matter how powerful he is, he is still only at the Qi Refining stage.

And what is a second-tier monster?
It is comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage.

The suppression of an entire rank.

Facing such a being at the Qi Refining stage is like an ant trying to shake an elephant. Even that old codger from the Yu family cowered in the face of such a being, letting it run rampant in Green River Village without daring to make a move.

What makes this butcher so special?
"Damn it, he must have gotten incredibly lucky! There's more than one second-tier demonic beast outside Green River Market... Let's go, take a few skilled fighters and head to the market. We'll have a go at this butcher today," Zhao Chongxiu said.

"Boss, are you planning to..." A gang member gestured across his neck.

"Hehe, we don't need to lift a finger. There are always people who can't resist testing his mettle. We'll just wait and see. Besides, this guy has made such a big name for himself; he's not so easy to deal with," Zhao Chongxiu laughed, though he was cautious. The man with the pig-like face thought to himself, "That's exactly what he meant."

……

While there was still time, Chen Li had already started selling the second batch of monster meat.

Today, the number of people in the market is almost double that of usual. Countless people are attracted by the second-tier monster meat, and even those who are short of money want to come and see the excitement.

The noise was incessant.

Chen Li's stall was completely surrounded by a dense crowd of people.

Everyone was talking loudly.

It contains a mixture of countless emotions.

Excitement, exhilaration, satisfaction, or even awe, reverence, and hatred.

Of course, this emotion was mostly directed at the pile of second-tier demon beast meat, rather than at the butcher wielding his sword and cutting large chunks of meat with a fierce expression.

Second-tier monsters are the nightmare and source of fear for almost everyone in Green River Village. Most of Green River Village's current predicament stems from this. Countless people wish they could eat their flesh and drink their blood... but they have no money.

You can only feast your eyes on it.

"Step aside!"

"Step aside!"

A large group of people pushed through the crowd.

Some people were about to get angry, but upon seeing the other person's imposing manner, they quickly backed down and hurriedly avoided the situation.

"People from the Xiongwu Gang!"

"Even the gang leader Yan Xiong has arrived."

"Something's going to happen!"

Chen Li raised his eyelids and saw a group of five or six people walking quickly toward him.

The group of people who were originally queuing to buy meat left quickly without even buying any.

Trouble is brewing. Chen Li sighed slightly and calmly put down the meat.

"I am Yan Xiong from the Xiongwu Gang. I have long admired Fellow Daoist Chen, but I have never had the chance to meet you. Today, I can see that your reputation is indeed well-deserved!" Yan Xiong, who was in the lead, cupped his hands and smiled. He was of medium build and looked to be around thirty years old. Although he smiled, his eyes were full of hostility, and he was clearly not an easy person to get along with.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, have you come in person to buy meat?" Chen Li asked expressionlessly.

"I wonder how much this meat costs?" Yan Xiong asked, staring at Chen Li.

"Ten catties and five low-grade spirit stones, it's written on the wooden board," Chen Li said.

"What if I buy a large quantity?" Yan Xiong asked tentatively with a smile, "How about two spirit stones for ten catties?"

"No bargaining, I have plenty of customers for my meat! Fellow Daoist Yan, as the leader of a gang, surely you have some money on hand?" Chen Li said with a smile.

The two exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere became slightly tense.

"Alright, alright, I've heard that Fellow Daoist Chen is always straightforward in business, one is one, two is two, so I won't haggle. Give me two hundred catties." Yan Xiong said with a forced smile, taking out a mid-grade spirit stone and gently placing it on the meat stall: "Keep the change."

Chen Li took the spirit stone, then used his sword to cut off several pieces of meat, piling them into a heap: "I have as much as you need, but not too little."

"Fellow Daoist Chen is so generous. I won't disturb your business any longer. Let's go!"

Chen Li watched the group leave in a hurry, then turned his gaze back to selling meat.

The first day passed peacefully and uneventfully. Two tons of meat were sold, earning twenty mid-grade spirit stones.

But he knew in his heart that the real test was yet to come.

……

yard.

"Stab!"

A laser beam shot into the grass, flashing with electricity and pulverizing a clump of weeds.

"Bang bang bang, Fellow Daoist Chen, open the door quickly."

Chen Li stopped practicing and went to open the door.

It was Zhang Yan who arrived.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, have you heard? A second-tier demonic beast has died, and today there were people selling second-tier demonic beast meat in the market." Zhang Yan's haggard face was filled with excitement, as if his years of constipation had suddenly been relieved.
"Those two skins of yours must have come from that demonic beast... I was wondering why there were such fresh second-tier snake demon skins for sale all of a sudden. It's really, really unbelievable, these are second-tier demonic beast skins."

“Yes, I know!” Chen Li said.

"Hey, what's with that expression? Why aren't you excited at all?" Zhang Yan asked, puzzled, seeing Chen Li's calm demeanor.

"I went to the market this morning, and I was already excited."

"I see. Do you know who killed this second-tier demonic beast? Was it that Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Yu family who made the move?" Zhang Yan inquired.

it's me!

Chen Li thought to himself.

"It's not the Yu family member who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it's that butcher!"

"Ah, the butcher! Who's the butcher? I've never heard of him." Zhang Yan looked confused, then laughed, "But this butcher is really shameless and incredibly audacious. He probably found a corpse on the street and tried to claim credit for it. Luckily, it has nothing to do with us. At least we can confirm that the second-tier demon beast is dead. Now we can finally sleep soundly!"

Chen Li immediately lost interest.

“There’s more than one second-tier demonic beast lurking outside Green River Village. Even if this one dies, there’s still at least one left!” he said in a low voice.

……

The meat sold even faster the next morning, as many people came specifically to try it after hearing the news.

Some are major clients.

They buy over 100 kilograms at a time.

It's not uncommon to see items weighing two or three hundred kilograms.

Especially the Yu family.

I bought 1,000 jin of meat, but there's not much left, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get it.

After the sale was over, Chen Li realized that he was being watched.

He wanted to get rid of the trouble.

But then he changed his mind, thinking it would be a good opportunity to establish his authority.

……

An elderly, down-on-his-luck cultivator was walking nonchalantly down the street when he saw a figure ahead enter an alley. He quickened his pace, but just as he passed through a grove of trees, a figure darted out like a ghost and struck him on the back of the head. His vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, powerless to resist.

Let his shadow trail into the woods.

After activating a silencing spell.

Chen Li slapped the man twice, waking him up:

"Hey, you're all so old, and you're still trying to be a stalker. Tell me, which organization sent you?" Chen Li pressed.

The old cultivator's face was swollen high. He slowly opened his eyes and pretended to be confused, saying, "Fellow Daoist, spare my life! I wouldn't dare follow anyone even if I had ten lives. I just happened to be passing by and no one instructed me. I know the rules, I know the rules. Take the spirit stones and magic artifacts, and let this old man go."

"Heh heh, old man, who are you trying to fool?" Chen Li chuckled, his eyes flashing with malice. "I deliberately went in circles, and you followed me around. What a coincidence! I was thinking of sparing your life because you're so old and it's not easy for you to live, but it seems I won't need to now."

He slowly drew his sword and threatened.

"No, no, no, I... I'll tell you." The old cultivator trembled with fear, his face pale. Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, he said bluntly, "Fellow Daoist, what you just said was the truth. Will you really spare my life? You can't lie to me!"

"As long as the answer satisfies me, I always keep my word!"

"That's good, that's good... The Spirit Fox Gang sent me to follow you, saying they wanted me to find out your background... You can't blame me, my cultivation is low, and I have no one to rely on. How could I possibly go against a gang? You see, they told me to do it, so I had no choice but to do it!" The old cultivator said with a fawning smile, his face beaming.
"You said you'd keep your word, so can you let me go now?" Old Xiu asked hopefully.

"No rush. I don't trust your words. How do I know if you're lying? Come on, take me to your house." Chen Li pulled him up. "Lead the way."

"Fellow Daoist, this will kill me. What's the difference between this and killing me?" The old cultivator's face turned ugly, and he could no longer maintain his smile.

"At least you won't die right now!" Chen Li said coldly. "But don't worry!"

As he spoke, the muscles on Chen Li's face twitched, and a strange face appeared on his face.

Old Xiu stared in shock: "You...you...are you human or evil?"

"What's all the fuss about? Lead the way now!" Chen Li sneered.

Old Xiu had no choice but to obediently set off, the two of them walking out of the woods one after the other.

“Tell me about the leader of the Spirit Fox Gang,” Chen Li said.

"Please don't make things difficult for me. I'm just a nobody at the bottom of society. I can't even get close to him. I only heard that he's a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining. I want to know more, but I have no way of finding out anything else," the old cultivator said with a sly smile.

Chen Li stopped speaking.

He secretly made plans in his mind.

These two days.

People from various gangs came and went, came and went.

They all seem to be testing each other, intentionally or unintentionally, and are itching to make a move.

The reason no action was taken and everything remained calm was because of this.

On the one hand, it was because of the fierce reputation he had previously established.

On the other hand, there was also a lingering apprehension that he might have killed a second-tier demon beast.

However, this is still not enough.

If he shows even the slightest weakness or lack of confidence, these gangs will probably pounce on him like a pack of hungry wolves.

He could clearly sense the undercurrents beneath the calm of the past two days; all the gangs seemed to be stirring with impatience.

The Spirit Fox Gang is just one example.

There are many more yet to emerge.

A second-tier demonic beast.

It is worth one or two hundred mid-grade spirit stones.

This is no small sum for any gang; it's enough to make everyone envious.

The words "rational and cautious" are clearly positive terms.

This means that there aren't many people who are truly rational and cautious.

Birds die for food, and people die for wealth; this is the norm for humanity.

Chives are always growing, one crop after another, and you can never finish harvesting them.

"Since we don't have enough reputation, let's establish our authority by taking down the Spirit Fox Gang first!"

The two quickly arrived at Lao Xiu's address, and Chen Li inquired and found that it was indeed the territory of the Spirit Fox Gang.

It's confirmed that Lao Xiu wasn't lying.

Chen Li immediately let him go and turned to leave.

……

In the middle of the night.

It's quiet at night.

Zhang Lin, the leader of the Spirit Fox Gang, had gone to bed early when a sudden pang of fear jolted him awake. He was covered in cold sweat, staring at the ceiling, panting heavily, his face still shaken.

"What's wrong with me today? Why did I suddenly wake up... Wait, something seems off."

He was quite confident in his intuition, and over the years, he had escaped death several times.

He listened quietly, but there was no sound outside at all. A faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood could be heard in the background.

He immediately sensed something was wrong.

He looked at the woman beside him, reached out and grabbed her hard: "Damn it, wake up!"

The woman suddenly groaned and woke up with a start: "What's wrong?"

"Stop babbling and go check what's going on outside," Zhang Lin sneered.

"Don't bother your sister-in-law, I'll leave as soon as I finish my work."

Just then, a cold voice came from the darkness.

"who!"

Chen Li lit the oil lamp beside him, and soon a fierce face full of fat came into view.

"You asked me to buy meat this morning, don't you remember?"

"Wait, it's Fellow Daoist Chen! I wonder what you've come here for? You can take anything I have." Zhang Lin's heart was pounding, but he forced himself to remain calm. While trying to steady Chen Li, he subtly reached for the magical artifact under his pillow.

"Heh heh, you think I'm a highway robber..." Chen Li suddenly seemed a little disheartened: "So many underhanded tactics. Oh well, there's nothing more to ask..."

Before he could finish speaking, his figure blurred.

A sword light flashed.

Zhang Lin froze.

"You..." A red mark appeared on his throat. His eyes widened and his mouth moved as if he wanted to say something. Before he could speak, blood gushed out, and soon his head fell off his neck.

At the same time, a woman screamed.

"Shut up!"

"No...don't kill me, I don't know anything." The woman was terrified and backed away repeatedly.

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I never kill the innocent. Come, hand over his magical artifacts, spirit stones, and talismans. Do you understand what I mean?"

The woman nodded frantically, tears welling in her eyes.

Wearing only a bodice, she disregarded the fact that her private parts were exposed and quickly and frantically gathered all of her husband's belongings, offering them with both hands, forcing a smile, and displaying a humble and ingratiating expression.

Chen Li took it and smiled, "Very good, do you know who I am?"

The woman shook her head hurriedly, looking terrified: "I...I don't know. It was pitch black, and your face was covered. I couldn't see your face at all."

"Hehe, you know quite a lot. No, you should know! I'm Chen, the butcher from the market. Remember, if anyone asks, just say that."

After Chen Li finished speaking, he ignored the confusion on the woman's face.

Turn around and leave.

……

Compared to the last time when he forcefully killed Qiao Guanyuan, he was also seriously injured in the end.

This time it was as easy as a picnic, and I didn't even use up much of my spiritual energy or physical strength.

With his masterful reprimands and swordsmanship, the guards outside were caught off guard and were no better off than if they had been hacked at wooden stakes. He searched each of the corpses and quickly left, disappearing into the night.

(End of this chapter)