Chen Shi offered the hind leg of the Spirit Boar and turned back to the mountain stream.
"He noticed me staring at him and thought I wanted his food, so he gave me the roasted hind leg," the Great Black Serpent of Mysterious Mountain thought to himself. He understood Chen Shi's intentions well.
However, he had long abstained from meat, having not touched it for three thousand years. He sustained himself on the wind and rain, aiming to be as eternal and unchanging as the Heavenly True God, who neither eats nor sleeps and watches the world change.
But...
It smelled so good.
The Great Black Serpent couldn't deny that the little fellow's grilling skills were impressive, tempting his appetite.
"I must be controlled by my cravings," he hesitated before tasting the Spirit Boar leg. Indeed, he was controlled by his cravings, he thought.
After finishing the roasted leg, his mind drifted along with Chen Shi. "I wish to be like the Heavenly True God, seeing all the world. I thought a god's resolve was as unyielding as a rock, unchanging. Yet, a month ago, night fell a quarter-hour early."
His gaze grew distant. "Even the True God changes, though at a pace so slow that humans may live and die for generations before noticing. It seems without impact, but how could there be none? Perhaps I too need to change..."
Eating the meat caused a ripple in his steady resolve, though Chen Shi was merely a fleeting presence in his long life, offering a moment of insight.
He guided the boy in dreams, teaching him how to breathe and circulate his True Qi, moving it throughout his body with his will.
Chen Shi would practice in his sleep, forgetting by day, only to remember and continue at night.
After five or six days, the blood exchange was complete.
The Great Black Serpent stopped visiting his dreams, feeling he had repaid Chen Shi's offering.
Chen Shi closed his eyes, feeling his blood coursing from his heart, carrying powerful innate energy throughout his body.
With each heartbeat, the True Qi reached every corner of his body, every blood vessel, organ, and even the skin's surface, vividly reflected in his mind.
He could sense old scars and even feel the breeze on his skin, each hair's subtle movement.
He could even direct his Qi to heal wounds and scars.
This was the benefit of the blood exchange!
Not only that, but with True Qi, his organs became stronger, any weaknesses gradually mended.
This was the second stage of the Sacred Fetus, known as the Complete True Organs.
Only after exchanging blood, with organs nourished by True Qi, could they reach this state.
Chen Shi practiced the Three Lights True Qi Technique, and a Divine Altar appeared, glowing brightly. Even when he stopped, it lingered for a moment before fading.
He was overjoyed.
"If the Divine Altar could last longer, I could try the sword techniques of the Heavenly Heart True Qi Technique. But to learn it, I must go to the town's private school."
He had saved some money, unsure if it was enough for tuition.
Chen Shi left the Mountain Lord Temple, carrying a large pot with a turtle shell lid, and walked out of the mountains.
After the blood exchange, he no longer felt the intense hunger of before and could return home without hunting in the mountains.
He had been away for days and missed his grandfather and Heiguo.
It was his first time away for so long, and he worried about taking the family's medicine pot, fearing his grandfather's anger.
"But I had eaten everything at home. If not for the mountains, I would have starved."
Chen Shi thought, "Grandfather will surely be angry, and Heiguo will probably talk bad about me. But if I admit my mistake, even if Heiguo stirs trouble, grandfather won't beat me too hard. Maybe just hang me up and hit me."
Passing through Hillock Village, he greeted Granny Sha, who watched him warily, not letting him in.
"Kind mothers spoil their children. My jar is empty!" Granny Sha lamented.
Chen Shi set down the pot, opened it, and took out a hundred pounds of spirit beast meat, smiling. "I've eaten so much from Granny, so I brought some meat to repay you."
Granny Sha felt ashamed and said, "Truth be told, I bought some rice, and we can cook. Little Shi, stay for a meal?"
Seeing her lack of sincerity, Chen Shi declined, saying he missed home, and left with the pot.
The pot was full of spirit beast meat, the tastiest parts he saved to honor Granny Sha, his grandfather, and Godmother.
Returning to Yellow Slope Village, he went to Granny Yuzhu's door, set down the pot, and knocked.
When Granny Yuzhu opened the door, she saw no one, just a piece of spirit beast meat hanging on the door, about ten pounds.
Next door, there was another knock. Granny Yuzhu saw Chen Shi hanging meat on another door, also about ten pounds.
"Who's outside?" Granny Yuzhu asked.
"Grandma, it's that troublesome boy," Yuzhu whispered, carrying the meat inside. "He brought us this meat. Grandma, we haven't had meat in ages!"
Granny Yuzhu was surprised, stepping out to see Chen Shi knocking on doors, hanging meat without waiting for anyone to answer.
Soon, the pot was half-empty.
Reaching his home, only two or three pieces were left.
"This boy is loyal. If he hadn't died back then..." Granny Yuzhu sighed, instructing Yuzhu, "Remember, don't play with him! He's a troublesome child!"
Chen Shi entered his yard with the pot, calling Heiguo, and gave it a piece of spirit beast meat.
Heiguo happily forgot about scolding him for being away, enjoying the meat under the table.
Chen Shi called out, "Grandfather, I'm back!"
"Hmph, you still know to come back!" Grandfather emerged, holding a half-eaten candle, displeased. "You leave without a word. Why not die out there and never return! Right, Heiguo? Heiguo! Where are you? Not even helping me scold..."
Grandfather scolded, while Chen Shi took out the remaining spirit beast meat, smiling, "Grandfather, let's eat this tonight!"
Grandfather hung the meat, wanting to scold more but didn't know where to start, reluctant to hit him.
"I made some money recently and bought you new clothes. They're in your room. Go see if they fit."
Chen Shi hurried inside. After the blood exchange, he had grown taller, and his clothes felt tight. He was thinking of asking grandfather for new ones, not expecting them to be ready.
On the bed was a new set of clothes: an undershirt, a light green robe, white pants, a blue outer garment, a red silk belt, and a blue sachet.
Chen Shi dressed and found the clothes fit perfectly.
He was delighted, ready to go out, but remembered he was disliked in the village, having no friends, so he stayed.
"What business did grandfather do?" he asked curiously.
"A donkey in Shady Mountain Village turned evil, died, then came back to life at night, grinding all night. In the morning, it grew claws and teeth, trying to eat people, chasing them around, biting several."
Grandfather sorted herbs, speaking slowly. "The village's godmother didn't care, so they asked me. I saw it was turned evil by moonlight, but since it happened in the village, the godmother ignored it."
Chen Shi asked, "What happened then?"
"I subdued the donkey, returned it to the Wang family, and earned a silver tael, which I used to buy your clothes."
Chen Shi wondered, "Why does the Wang family want an evil donkey?"
"For grinding."
Grandfather said matter-of-factly, "The donkey, now evil, doesn't tire. A little moonlight and it's energetic, grinding all night without rest, earning more than a silver tael."
Chen Shi nodded.
"But I heard the donkey died yesterday, likely overworked by the Wang family."
Grandfather paused, "Then they skinned it, made gelatin, and earned more. A silver tael was too little."
He sighed, shaking his head.
Chen Shi's eyes widened. Could it be done like this?
He grew excited, looking at Heiguo. "If a dog turned evil, could we always get black dog blood..."
Under the table, Heiguo guarded its meat, fearing Chen Shi would snatch it.
He had done so before.
In Boxwood Village, Liu Fugui walked the village path.
He was still a child, recovering quickly but often felt cold, waking from nightmares at night, needing an adult to accompany him to the toilet.
Despite the pleasant weather, he wore a thick coat, his face pale.
He walked, peering into the ditch, remembering seeing a big white fish there, planning to catch it today.
Suddenly, he bumped into someone, like hitting a metal pole, hard even through his coat.
"Little brat, watch where you're going!"
The person he bumped into kicked him into the ditch in anger.
Liu Fugui, wearing thick clothes, panicked, fearing he'd drown, and struggled, finding himself on a slippery white fish, quickly holding it.
The ditch wasn't deep. He held the flailing fish, looking up to see a young man, about sixteen or seventeen, wearing a square cap, blue robe, white collar, and black shoes, neatly dressed, likely a scholar from the city.
Behind him were similarly dressed young men and women, aged fourteen to thirty, six in total.
Behind them were thirty to forty Imperial Guards in red Flying Fish uniforms, swords at their waists.
The leader was a middle-aged man, tall and muscular, with a dark complexion, a beard, thick black eyebrows slanted like an inverted "eight," bright eyes, carrying a Three-Eyed Fire Gun, commanding respect.
"Yan, be polite to the villagers. If other families hear, they'll laugh at the Zhao family for bullying kids!"
A scholar in his twenties, with a stern face, scolded, "We're here to investigate Second Sister's disappearance, not to throw our weight around! Behave yourselves, no trouble!"
The scholars agreed, "Third Brother is right."
The Third Brother was Zhao Yue, the third son of the Zhao Family's Dark Jade Manor in New Township Province.
The Zhao family was large, thriving. Their ancestor had fought alongside the Great Ming's founding emperor, earning merit, and was spared execution.
Later, they moved to the Western New Bull Continent, far from the emperor's reach, avoiding retribution.
In recent years, with the weakening imperial power, the Zhao family rose, establishing a strong presence in New Township Province, with four manors: Heavenly Blessings, Earthly Principles, Dark Jade, and Yellow Court.
Zhao Yue and others were from Dark Jade Manor, their father being Zhao Yanlong, the manor lord.
Dark Jade Manor was vast. Zhao Yanlong had many wives, concubines, and children, totaling nineteen.
Beyond Zhao Yanlong's branch, there were many others, his siblings spreading out, with two to three hundred Zhao descendants in the next generation.
And that's just Dark Jade Manor.
Including the other three manors, the number was even greater.
Thus, Zhao Yue and others were cautious, not wanting to give other families leverage or their relatives from the other manors reasons to attack them.
Soon, Zhao Yue sat in the elder's seat, the imposing bearded Imperial Guard standing behind him, intimidating.
Zhao Yue sipped tea, blowing away the bubbles, smelling the aroma, and glanced at the kneeling villagers of Boxwood Village, feeling helpless. "Stand up. Though I'm an official, I'm not here on business. Kneeling like this isn't good."
The villagers hesitated, slowly standing.
Zhao Yue looked at their sallow faces, hesitated, and sighed, "Kneel again. Standing makes me uncomfortable."
The villagers knelt again, unmoving.
Zhao Yue drank his tea, set the cup down, and said calmly, "Speak. The Iron Brush Elder stayed in your village and was murdered days later. Who did it? How dare you hire someone to kill a Zhao family member?"
--- A long chapter of four thousand words, asking for votes and recommendations!