Even after returning to the Corpse Burners' Hall for quite some time, Ren Qing still felt lingering unease.
He hadn't expected the leopard-woman from the Blood Dogs Gang to possess instincts so sharp, they were like a wild beast, she had nearly detected his presence purely by intuition.
This served as a wake-up call for Ren Qing. Though the double pupils granted him excellent vision for surveillance, he could never afford to underestimate a cultivator who had reached the Half-Corpse Realm.
Ren Qing slept for an entire day.
Bo Feng had long grown accustomed to his comings and goings. After waking, Ren Qing gave him a brief rundown of recent events.
Overall, things had been relatively stable.
The Hundred-Eyed One had stopped killing people for their eyes. Even though the Restraint Officers scoured the entire city using various techniques, he had never shown himself, no traces could be found.
It seemed the case would likely be left unresolved.
For safety's sake, Ren Qing didn't rush to advance the Divine Leg Sutra, as the aftermath of the martial hall incident hadn't fully settled yet.
As for the mutation paths of Elephant-Footed, Leopard-Footed, and Wolf-Footed;×each had its pros and cons.
The Elephant-Footed required the most lifespan expenditure, but Ren Qing ruled it out immediately. The changes to his legs would be too obvious, making him easily recognizable.
Moreover, the Elephant-Footed path was too cumbersome for him, making it difficult to leverage the double pupils' predictive advantage in combat.
Different techniques needed to complement each other to unleash power far beyond what one's realm would normally allow.
As for choosing between Leopard-Footed and Wolf-Footed, their focuses differed, so Ren Qing still needed to weigh his options carefully.
For now, he concentrated on adapting to his newly mutated legs.
It was then that Ren Qing noticed something, with the digestive efficiency of the Half-Corpse Realm; consuming raw pig eyes for lifespan extension could now yield eight additional days per day.
But a new problem arose: his appetite had nearly tripled.
There simply weren't enough pig eyes to keep up.
And among animal eyes of similar size, none were as abundant as pig eyes.
Left with no choice, Ren Qing had to consider expanding his pig eye supply.
After much deliberation, he finally came up with a less-than-ideal solution.
He placed a large iron pot in the courtyard and began cooking himself some food, using various spices and seasonings based on recipes from his past life.
Since the ingredients were vastly different, he quickly figured out the right approach.
Bo Feng and the others were utterly baffled. After all, Qin Bai was just simmering broth, without adding pork offal, it wasn't much different from regular soup.
Ren Qing decided to test-market the Pork offal at Old Zhang's butcher shop.
A few days later, constables came to question him about the martial hall incident. Fortunately, he had already prepared his story, it was filled with half-truths and half-lies, leaving no room for suspicion.
Once the commotion died down, Ren Qing calculated that the greatsword should be nearly forged by now. Besides, it was time to visit the butcher shop again.
Old Zhang had already recovered, though the five years of lost lifespan had only been restored by three, and that was with Ren Qing's care.
Before Ren Qing even reached the shop, he caught the rich aroma wafting from the alley, drawing the attention of passersby.
Inside the shop sat an iron pot, simmering with braised pork offal.
Those who realized the smell came from the butcher shop hesitated at first.
But surprisingly, business was decent. A few dockworkers, holding steamed buns, were happily eating the offal.
And this was just the beginning. Once word spread across half the western district, customers would likely multiply several times over.
Never underestimate the allure of meat in an era of low productivity. For common folk in ancient times, meat was a luxury reserved for festivals and celebrations.
The reason few people ate pork offal was its strong organ meat flavor, but Pork offal masked it perfectly.
When Old Zhang spotted Ren Qing, he quickly waved him over, and the two chatted inside the shop.
"Ah Qing, you've got a real knack for this. What used to be unsellable offal is now in high demand."
For just a few coins, a bowl of pork offal could bring joy to the poor.
Ren Qing smiled. "For you, Brother Zhang, it's practically free profit."
"That's true."
Old Zhang nodded, then lowered his voice excitedly. "But business is almost too good. Even laborers from the southern district are coming. We're running out of Pork offal."
Seeing no one was paying attention, Ren Qing whispered, "You could buy pork offal from other butcher shops to keep up with demand."
"That makes sense…"
Ren Qing continued, "But you'll inevitably draw envy from competitors. They might make life difficult for you."
Old Zhang pondered for a moment before realizing Ren Qing was right; the Pork offal business wasn't as easy as it seemed.
"Brother Zhang, if anyone comes asking to collaborate, don't reject them outright. There's enough soup for everyone."
Old Zhang's dreams of striking it rich with Pork offal were half-crushed.
Seeing the timing was right, Ren Qing laid out his full plan, including the risks.
In his view, the best candidate to monopolize the Pork offal business in the western district wasn't just anyone, it was the Blood Dog Gang.
Only they could easily secure pork offal from every butcher shop.
Though the profits seemed trivial, for the Blood Dog Gang, earning goodwill among the common folk was incentive enough.
Of course, Ren Qing had deeper motives.
The pork offal trade could extend across all of Sanxiang City, involving multiple gangs.
If he ever clashed with the Blood Dog Gang, he could leak the recipe, sparking conflicts between factions.
The effect might not be dramatic, but it was a hidden card up his sleeve.
Old Zhang, having slaughtered pigs for over a decade, was no coward. With no family to worry about, he agreed immediately.
Besides, in his eyes, the Blood Dog Gang wasn't so bad; at least they never extorted extra "protection fees."
But this was still making a deal with the devil.
Ren Qing insisted that Old Zhang disclose the entire Pork offal recipe, including the exact ratios of offal, without holding back.
The only condition Old Zhang had to negotiate was control over all pork offal in the western district, or at least four blocks, as a fallback.
This demand was far from unreasonable.
Once the western district's pork offal supply was secured, Ren Qing's pig eyes would flow in endlessly, all without anyone noticing.
If necessary, Old Zhang could mention having a distant nephew working in the yamen.
At first, the Blood Dog Gang wouldn't take the Pork offal business too seriously; likely delegating it to some random subordinate leader. The status of a yamen runner would carry some weight, and Ren Qing was, after all, a supervisor.
Of course, no plan survives contact with reality.
All Ren Qing could do was minimize risks, rely on the information stream to grow steadily, and eventually gain influence in this world.
Once he reached the Ghost Envoy Realm, even if his techniques were exposed, it wouldn't matter; the Restraint Officers would only try to recruit him.
After ironing out the details with Old Zhang, Ren Qing left the butcher shop, intending to retrieve his newly forged greatsword.
As he exited the alley, he noticed a few loitering beggars, clearly a sign that the Blood Dog Gang was already keeping watch.
As expected of the western district's local tyrants; their structure was no different from a martial sect.
Ren Qing exhaled deeply, his pace quickening at the thought of finally wielding his large sword.