“What else could it mean? Ba Long, since I called you here, isn't the meaning obvious?”
The fat shopkeeper looked at the one-eyed man and said with a fake smile.
“It is indeed a fat fish, but someone who can take out this much money might have a significant background. Without knowing the situation, I wouldn't dare to act rashly.”
Regarding the fat shopkeeper's words, the one-eyed man, Ba Long, just slightly shook his head.
“My brothers here are not like your Herbal Hall, with a large family business and the government as a backer. If we provoke someone we shouldn't, wouldn't my brothers be in big trouble?”
Hearing Ba Long's words, the fat shopkeeper just sneered.
“Ba Long, when did you become so timid? Are you going to let a fat sheep that comes to your door get away? As for your worries, hmph, if they really had a background or ability, would they need to be so secretive?”
Speaking of this, the fat shopkeeper paused slightly before continuing.
“I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, our Second Young Master is most trustworthy in handling matters. This time, after you take action and succeed, the five-five split won't let you suffer a loss. Also, even if there is any trouble, the Second Young Master will take it on for you.”
It seemed he was waiting for these words. Hearing this, Ba Long's face finally showed a smile.
“Shopkeeper Yang, since you've said that, then Ba will naturally not let go of this fat sheep that has come to his door. I really want to see how much profit can be squeezed out of this…”
…
“Sorry, our shop only has one high-grade Mortal Beast turtle shell, and no blood left. As for high-grade Mortal Beast cattle, we do have some, but only a little over half a kilogram remains…”
On Yonghua Street, Xiao Shi glanced at the pharmacy behind him, slightly shaking his head with a look of disappointment.
“Still none. It seems high-grade Mortal Beast turtles are indeed rare in this place. Although there is some high-grade cattle blood, the quantity is too small and far from meeting Lin Tou's requirements.”
Thinking this, he decided to go back first and put down the things he was carrying.
As he walked, he was still pondering some issues regarding cultivation.
“Crimson Stone Ox, Crimson Stone Ox, genuine high-grade Mortal Beast…”
Just as he was walking, Xiao Shi suddenly heard a series of hawking sounds coming from a spot on the street.
At first, he didn't pay attention, but he quickly reacted, his body stiffened and stopped, turning his head to look in the direction of the sound.
“Crimson Stone Ox!!?”
A look of excitement appeared on his face. He didn't know what a Crimson Stone Ox was, but it must be a bovine exotic beast. Hearing the hawking, it was exactly the high-grade Mortal Beast he needed.
He was pleasantly surprised and quickly rushed towards the direction of the sound, soon seeing two tall men dressed as hunters.
“Where is the Crimson Stone Ox!?”
Seeing that there was nothing he wanted in front of the two men, Xiao Shi asked with a frown.
“This brother must be joking. A Crimson Stone Ox weighs over five thousand kilograms. Our brothers couldn't possibly carry it.”
The two men dressed as hunters showed a hint of delight in their eyes when they saw Xiao Shi, then smiled and said.
“Then what's with the Crimson Stone Ox you're talking about?”
“Speaking of which, we were lucky. That Crimson Stone Ox fell into a trap in our Biantai Village and was fortunately killed by our hunters. Each household got some beef. Our two shares are just what we plan to sell, so we came to the city to sell it.”
The two hunter men seemed to have anticipated this question, explaining with a smile. As they spoke, they took out a half-section of a huge ox horn from the bag on their backs.
Although it was only half a section, this ox horn was still over half a meter long, and its thickness was comparable to an adult's thigh, looking quite imposing.
“Look, this is the ox horn of that Crimson Stone Ox. Also, I have dozens of kilograms of beef here.”
A man next to him also took out a bag, revealing a large piece of bloody meat inside.
Upon seeing the exaggerated ox horn, Xiao Shi basically believed the two men's words, as ordinary bovine exotic beasts wouldn't have such a large physique.
“Very good, I'll take all this meat. Also, do you have any ox blood? If so, I'll take as much as you have, price is not an issue.”
“As for the ox blood, we do have some, but we didn't bring it with us, brother. If you need it urgently, you can come with us to the village.”
Hearing Xiao Shi's words, the two hunters exchanged glances and spoke at the same time.
“It's not here? Can't you bring it tomorrow?” Xiao Shi asked with a slight frown.
“We can, but a pharmacy this morning wanted that ox blood and plans to go to our village to purchase it this afternoon. I'm afraid if you go late, brother, you won't be able to buy it then.”
“Is that so!?” Xiao Shi's face showed hesitation.
“Don't worry, brother, our village is very close to the County Town. We can be back in two hours at most.”
“Alright, wait for me for a moment. I'll put down the things I'm carrying and then come find you.”
After a brief thought, Xiao Shi finally nodded.
It wasn't easy to encounter a high-grade Mortal Beast of the bovine type; he didn't want to let it get away like this.
Regarding Xiao Shi's words, the two hunters all expressed that since the items had already been sold, they might as well help Xiao Shi take the things back.
Although Xiao Shi intended to refuse this, considering that carrying so many things himself was indeed inconvenient, it was also good to have the two men share some of the burden, and also to inform Lin Tou of this news.
Moreover, the two people in front of him were just hunters from a nearby village and didn't pose much threat.
Soon, Xiao Shi returned to his residence. He asked the two hunters to wait outside the door while he carried the things inside.
However, in the courtyard, Lin Sheng and Lao Zhou were not there. Only Big Yellow was lying lazily in the center of the courtyard, basking in the sun. He only glanced at Xiao Shi's arrival before closing his eyes and falling asleep again.
“They're not here!?”
Xiao Shi muttered to himself, only then remembering that Lin Sheng seemed to be going out with Lao Zhou today.
Woof woof woof…
Just as he was thinking, Big Yellow in the courtyard suddenly started barking towards the door.
Xiao Shi turned his head and saw the two hunters standing at the door.
“What's wrong? Didn't I ask you to wait outside?”
“Sorry, brother, I couldn't hold it in and needed to relieve myself.”
A taller hunter scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly.
“The latrine is over there. Be quick. We'll leave after you're done.”
“Certainly, certainly.”
That hunter nodded repeatedly and quickly walked towards the latrine, but his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings.
Not long after, the hunter came out with a satisfied look and seemed to say to Xiao Shi with some emotion.
“Brother, your courtyard is quite impressive. I wonder how many people live here?”
As he spoke, he subtly gave the other companion a look.
That companion understood and had already started to move closer.
“Why are you asking so many questions? Hurry up and go, the sooner we go, the sooner we return.” Xiao Shi said somewhat impatiently.
He felt a faint regret for bringing the two here and now just wanted to get the ox blood as quickly as possible and send these two away.
However, the next moment, he felt a strong wind coming from behind his head. He quickly lowered his head to dodge, but was still a step too slow. He only felt a sharp pain from the back of his head, and then his vision went black and he fell to the ground.
Looking at Xiao Shi who had fallen to the ground, the two robbers showed triumphant smiles on their faces and tore off the bamboo hat Xiao Shi was wearing.
“A snot-nosed kid who hasn't even grown pubic hair, what a fool.”
“Alright, don't waste time. Leader said he's a fat sheep. While no one is around, let's quickly see what treasures he has?”
“Okay.”
After speaking, the two immediately headed towards the rooms in the courtyard.
Woof woof woof…
Seeing their actions, Big Yellow instantly stood up and barked furiously at the two of them.
The taller hunter frowned.
“Third Brother, kill this beast for me. Don't let him keep barking.”
“Alright.”
Hearing this, the other hunter grinned sinisterly and pulled out a dagger from his Pregnant.
However, when he looked down at Big Yellow in the courtyard, he found that the yellow dog, which had been baring its teeth and barking fiercely at them a second ago, was now tucking its tail and running out of the courtyard in a flash.
“Damn, he ran really fast, that yellow-haired beast.”
Seeing this, the hunter cursed and said.
“Alright, if he ran, he ran. Don't waste time, be quick.”
The taller hunter said with some dissatisfaction.
The two didn't delay any longer. They stepped forward and kicked open the locked door, and began rummaging through the room.
In the room, the taller hunter took out a gourd from his Pregnant, opened the mouth of the gourd, and a white-furred mouse crawled out from inside.
As soon as the mouse came out, it stood up on its hind legs, constantly sniffing with its nose, its small eyes looking left and right, and quickly scurried out.
“Second Brother, why is your mouse pup standing next to this pile of dried meat? Is it hungry?”
The two hunters followed the mouse to a nearby room. They saw the white-furred mouse on the ground, staring intently at the pieces of dried meat hanging from the beam, rubbing its two paws together and making squeaking sounds, looking quite eager.
“This dried meat is good stuff. Take it all.”
The taller hunter looked at the dried meat, initially somewhat puzzled, but quickly reacted. He immediately took down a piece, tore off a strip of meat from it, and put it into his mouth. Soon, his eyes lit up, and he said.
The two quickly packed up all the dried meat. Then, guided by the white mouse, they found two bottles of pills, and they also found some banknotes themselves. This harvest made them ecstatic.
After quickly searching again and finding no more gains, the two didn't delay any longer and immediately went out.
“Ouch!!”
With a good harvest this time, the two were in a great mood, but they didn't notice a yellow shadow rushing over from the side.
The shorter hunter only felt a pain in his butt, cried out, and by the time he reacted, he only saw the figure of the yellow-haired stray dog running away in a hurry.
“I…”
This nearly made the shorter hunter explode with anger.
He pulled out his dagger with a swoosh, intending to chase after the stray dog and kill it directly.
“Alright, ignore that beast, let's go quickly.”
However, before he could act, he was stopped by the taller hunter. He could only spit fiercely and reluctantly followed his companion, limping away.
Soon, the figures of the two disappeared on the long street.
At this moment, Big Yellow finally ran out from the side, directly into the courtyard, and scurried into the room where the dried meat was hanging. Looking at the empty beam, he barked non-stop in frustration.
An incense stick later, Lin Sheng and Lao Zhou were walking towards their residence.
“Master, I can't guarantee anything else, but regarding beast materials and medicinal materials, I, Lao Zhou, am quite knowledgeable. If we take over that shop and it stabilizes, it will definitely be profitable…”
“Hmm, that's not bad indeed…”
Lin Sheng nodded slightly, considering the feasibility of the matter.
Because during this period, he had been purchasing various medicines and beast blood regardless of cost, the expenses were considerable.
This made him feel some pressure now, after all, his money would decrease with each use. If he kept living off his savings like this, he feared the money in his hands would be depleted before long.
Therefore, he also planned to purchase some businesses in this city to earn profits.
However, he was still undecided on which industry to start with. Lao Zhou suggested starting with beast materials and taking over a shop specializing in buying and selling beast materials.
This also made him somewhat tempted, so he followed Lao Zhou and walked around the city.
The two soon arrived near their residence. Before entering the courtyard, they saw Big Yellow rushing out quickly.
He kept circling around their feet, looking quite anxious.
Seeing this, Lin Sheng's brows furrowed, and he immediately realized something had happened.
Although Big Yellow was just a dog, his intelligence was not ordinary, far exceeding that of typical dogs, except for his courage, of course.
As thoughts flickered, Lin Sheng's figure shot out, and in a few breaths, he was at the entrance of his home.
At a glance, he saw Xiao Shi lying in a pool of blood on the ground.
He approached quickly with a somber face and checked Xiao Shi's condition.
At this time, Xiao Shi's face was as pale as paper, with a depression at the back of his head, from which threads of fresh blood were flowing.
He had suffered a severe injury to the back of his head, but fortunately, he was still breathing. If they had arrived a little later, he would have been gone.
He took out a pill from his Pregnant, put it into Xiao Shi's mouth, and patted his lower jaw with his hand, and the pill smoothly entered his abdomen.
“What happened, Xiao Shi he…”
At this moment, Lao Zhou also rushed over, his face changing when he saw Xiao Shi's appearance.
“Go and get a physician.”
“Okay.” Lao Zhou ran out quickly.
Lin Sheng gently placed Xiao Shi on the stone table and then flashed into the adjacent courtyard.
However, he did not see the figures of Lin Hong and Xie Guilan.
This made his face even more gloomy, but upon seeing that the courtyard where the two elders resided was clean and tidy with no abnormalities, his heart relaxed slightly.
Since Xie Guilan and the other had been consistently eating the Spirit Beast meat powder he provided daily, their bodies and spirits were much better than before, and since it was their first time in Tongzhi County, they found the County Town quite novel, so the two would often go out for a stroll.
Judging from the situation in the courtyard, the two did not seem to have encountered any misfortune, perhaps they had gone out.
While his heart was slightly settled, he returned to his own courtyard. Upon seeing the mess in the room, his brows furrowed again.
Because he found that the banknotes, pills, and Spirit Beast dried meat he had stored were all gone.