Inside the room, Mr. Wang was sprawled over the body of a young girl, his chubby belly resting on her.
Fat rippled like waves, resembling a putrid maggot.
The girl's pupils were dilated; she had already breathed her last.
Mr. Wang's body squirmed a bit before he wiped the sweat from his forehead and spat on the ground.
"What is it?"
Mr. Zheng, with his head lowered, said, "The wild boar demon issue."
He recognized this girl, or rather, he recognized the girl's mother.
The widow, still charming, had thrown herself into the river after he had disgraced her.
He never expected the widow's daughter to be here as well.
Mr. Wang's gaze hardened: "The butcher's family is hard to deal with? Give them more silver. If they're still unwilling, find an opportunity to wipe them out."
Mr. Zheng shook his head and recounted the evening's events in detail.
As Mr. Wang listened, he kicked the girl's corpse aside, his expression darkening like water.
When Mr. Zheng finished, Mr. Wang slammed the table.
The table shattered into pieces upon impact.
"A mere butcher, daring to defy the heavens!"
Mr. Zheng dared not say more, only agreeing repeatedly.
Mr. Wang waved his hand and said, "Send someone to Feiyun Gorge and tell them there's premium Qi Storage Realm blood meat. Those young hawks will be interested."
Mr. Zheng hesitated, "Is that all we're going to do?"
He expected Mr. Wang to send a large force, not to rely on those hawk demons.
Mr. Wang slapped the back of Mr. Zheng's head, angrily saying, "Do you know why you're the arrest officer and I'm the county magistrate?"
Mr. Zheng felt dizzy, but still humbly replied, "I don't know."
Mr. Wang was pleased with Mr. Zheng's humility and proudly said, "You lack brains. Qin An is very strong, and he's a demon butcher. What reason do you have to arrest him?"
"Even if we forcibly concoct a reason, if he resists desperately, how many of us will die?"
"The five hundred brothers in the dungeon are the county magistrate's assets and cannot be wasted on this matter."
"The hawk demons have an appetite for those without backgrounds, which aligns perfectly with their interests."
Mr. Zheng nodded continuously, "Mr. Wang, your judgment is excellent."
Hearing these analyses, Mr. Zheng felt his own experiences were still somewhat immature.
This plan of borrowing another's blade to kill not only courts Feiyun Gorge but also eliminates Qin An, a true two-birds-one-stone strategy.
Mr. Wang said slowly, "Find any reason to bring Qin An out of the city. If he refuses, accuse him of resisting Daqian's laws. If he defies again, well, it'll be rough for him."
Mr. Zheng was stunned, "I personally bring him out of the city?"
Mr. Wang sneered, "If you don't watch him die personally, how can we be at peace?"
Mr. Zheng immediately understood, bowing, "I'll handle it right away."
Having said that, Mr. Zheng left the room.
...
After a simple meal, Qin An arrived at the blacksmith shop.
Skillfully starting the fire, he began to hammer away.
Sparks flew in all directions, and it wasn't until nightfall that Qin An left the blacksmith shop.
[Blacksmith lv.2 (0/200): Your crafted items have improved in quality]
After a day's continuous effort, Qin An successfully advanced to level two as a blacksmith.
The requirement for perfecting level one wasn't excessive; he only needed to forge three weapons, and advancing wasn't difficult.
With today's tasks complete, Qin An had another simple meal outside before heading home to rest.
The streets were quiet.
It was already nighttime, and Ding County had no nightlife. Apart from the sound of the watch, no other noise could be heard.
From the blacksmith shop to his home, he needed to pass through three alleys.
When Qin An reached the final alley, he stopped his steps.
At the entrance of the alley, Mr. Zheng stood with a group of constables.
As Qin An approached, Mr. Zheng came over.
Qin An stopped and said, "What's the matter?"
Since last night, Qin An thought he might have some peace for a while, but he didn't expect Mr. Zheng to come tonight.
Mr. Zheng coughed, not daring to meet Qin An's eyes, and said, "The Yamen recently slaughtered some demons and needs a butcher to head outside the city. You are the only one in Ding County who can butcher demons. The county magistrate ordered you to follow me out of the city in three days."
Out of the city?
Qin An narrowed his eyes, fingers lightly tapping the hilt of his dagger.
When something unusual happens, there must be a demon involved.
This sudden arrangement to leave the city in three days was clearly targeted at him.
He knew that even if he used his strength to intimidate, it wouldn't last long. But he didn't expect them to act so soon.
Qin An nodded, "Five days."
Mr. Zheng had prepared a string of arguments and even planned to coerce or lure him.
But he didn't expect Qin An to agree so readily, leaving him dumbfounded.
Qin An frowned and asked, "Not acceptable?"
Mr. Zheng hurriedly nodded, "Acceptable, acceptable, five days it is. Prepare yourself well, and we'll go!"
With an answer, Mr. Zheng didn't linger.
He always felt that Qin An was very cold. Particularly the icy aura around him made the temperature seem to drop greatly.
Watching Mr. Zheng walk away, Qin An pushed open his door.
He agreed to it.
No other reason, it was an open plot.
If he didn't agree, he would be resisting Daqian's laws, giving them grounds to arrest him.
Even if they didn't use force now, they could exploit their positions, and if they reached Lingzhou, things would take another turn.
Since this was the case, it was best to agree and see what they were up to.
As for why in five days, because in four days, his blacksmithing would reach level three.
Though he didn't know the specific awakening conditions, the matter would be revealed in four days.
A five-day buffer was a chance for himself to gather strength.
"Everything waits for blacksmithing level three to see what surprise it brings."
Qin An entered his house, hung a bell as usual, and went to sleep early.
...
Time passed, and four days swiftly went by.
In the bustling street, the sound of hammering from the blacksmith shop never ceased.
Until nightfall arrived, Qin An finally halted his hammering.
Before him, a wisp of smoke appeared.
[Blacksmith lv.2 (200/200): Your crafted items have improved in quality]
[Advancement Condition: Quench weapon with blood]
"Quench weapon with blood?"
Looking at the smoke in front of him, Qin An fell into thought.
Normally, water is used for quenching during forging, but the advancement condition required him to use blood for quenching.
It sounded crazy, but for Qin An, the Golden Finger was his only reliance, and following its guidance wouldn't lead him astray.
Thinking of this, Qin An took out the dagger from his waist.
This dagger was used for butchering, but ultimately it was just ordinary iron.
He wanted to try using the blood-quenching method to see if it could transform the dagger.
As for whether it would fail, Qin An was indifferent.
In this time, he had forged many blades, always ready to be replaced.
With this in mind, Qin An tossed the blade into the forge.
The sound of forging echoed continuously.
Just as it was about to be quenched, Qin An expressionlessly lifted the blade and sliced open his left palm.
Blood dripped down the blade from his palm.
Wisps of smoke swirled continuously.
Moments later, the quenching was complete.
Qin An held up the dagger, examining it closely. A peculiar sensation emanated from the blade.