My martial arts skill bar can be infinitely merged.

5. Ghost Stories of the Outer City

When Lu Feng pushed the cart back to the shop, it was already close to noon.

Zhang's butcher shop sold out of most of its good meat by mid-morning, leaving only fatty meat with bits of fat and offal untouched.

Those who can afford meat are usually from well-off families and have plenty of money, so naturally they want to buy the best cuts.

Aside from restaurants where people order meat indiscriminately, taking only half a plate at a time.

Most of what remained was inferior meat. In this ancient world where preservation techniques were inadequate, unless a lot of salt was used to cure it, even fresh, inferior meat could not be eaten after a certain time.

Zhang Dayu wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel draped around his neck, casually untied the long dark apron around his waist, and with a single wave of his hand, hung it on the hook of the pillar in front of him.

She spoke softly, "Let's have lunch first. We've finished most of the work this morning. We can talk after we eat."

Hearing this, Luo Mu, a novice, smiled from the bottom of his heart and replied, "Alright, I'll go cook. You guys wait here."

He spoke so naturally, and judging from the reactions of others, it was clear that this was how it was usually arranged.

Li Laowu also went to the backyard to help out.

Only the two of them remained in the shop. Zhang Dayou glanced at Lu Feng's condition, noticing that he wasn't even out of breath or red-faced. He mentally calculated the round trip time and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

"Good, you can stay and study hard."

As he spoke, he stretched out his thick arm and casually picked up a piece of evenly marbled meat from the side of the cutting board, which looked to weigh about two pounds, and handed it to Lu Feng.

"Take it to the back, and you're only just arriving. Consider this a welcome feast for you."

So it seems he's only now passed the probationary period.

Seeing the strip of meat only a fist's distance from his face, Lu Feng grabbed it. The sticky texture in his hand revealed fresh meat that he hadn't eaten in a long time.

No wonder that boy in hemp clothing didn't want to leave; this treatment was considered top-notch in the outer city.

"Okay, thank you! I will study hard!"

Holding the meat, Lu Feng responded and ran towards the backyard as well.

Looking at Lu Feng's agile figure, which was as nimble as a monkey, Zhang Dayou's lips curled into a smile, and memories flashed in his eyes—precious memories from the past.

A moment later, smoke rose from the backyard, carrying the aroma of meat that spread to the front, permeating the small pork shop. The smell attracted beggars who had come to pick up rotten vegetable leaves nearby, who sniffed it intently.

Some beggars approached the shop, and one pair of dark, grimy hands reached out to steal the meat from the cutting board.

Zhang Dayou's eyes narrowed, and he took three steps in one, instantly appearing in front of the beggar. He stood between the beggar and the desk, his two-meter height like a wall, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Before the beggar could retract his claws, a leg kicked out and struck him directly in the chest. The beggar's face turned pale instantly, and he flew off the ground, crashing into several other beggars behind him, causing a chorus of groans.

"Take your men and get out!" Zhang Dayou's eyebrows furrowed, his voice icy.

He's not a good person. He's just a pig butcher selling meat to make a living. He's barely able to support the people in his shop. He doesn't have the kind of kindness to give to these beggars.

The menacing aura emanating from years of slaughtering pigs made these beggars, already living at the bottom of society, tremble with fear. Without uttering a word, they immediately left the street with the beggar who had been kicked unconscious at the beginning.

The owners of the other shops only glanced at it a few times before paying no further attention; this kind of thing happens quite often.

"Master, the food is ready."

A sound came from the backyard, and then three people came out of the passageway, each carrying two bowls with food and rice in their hands, and walked into the space filled with knives.

Zhang Dayou went in, set up a small table, and the others put their bowls down. On the table was a large bowl of dark brown braised pork, as well as vegetables such as cabbage and dried radish. The largest bowl contained many steaming coarse flour buns.

The dishes were all fragrant and translucent, and the cooking skills were absolutely excellent; the wood-fired pottery was of a very high standard.

The three of them tacitly refrained from eating first, waiting for Zhang Dayou to sit down, take his first bite, and say, "Everyone, let's eat," before they began to pick up their chopsticks.

The atmosphere immediately became lively.

Lu Feng naturally didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the steamed bun, tore it in half, stuffed it with meat and vegetables, and took a big bite.

Luo Mu laughed at the way he ate.

"Slow down, Xiao Lu. This is a butcher shop. How can the butcher skimp on the meat of his own people? Don't choke."

Li Laowu ate his steamed bun with a cheerful smile, and suddenly laughed when he thought about how he had eaten just as much when he first arrived.

In this world, some people become beggars and go hungry, while others encounter ghosts at night and die tragically.

They have meat to eat and wages to earn; their lives are already quite fulfilling. Happiness is that simple.

Lu Feng possesses three great talents, and his physical needs are extremely high, with an absurdly strong craving for meat.

Zhang Dayou watched Lu Feng eat steamed buns, then reached out with his chopsticks, picked up a handful of braised pork, and put it in Lu Feng's bowl.

He then said, "Your father and I were acquainted when we were young. He told me about you, saying that you were not capable of great things and were useless, and that I should not treat you well because of him. However, today I think you are still capable of handling things."

These words made Luo Mu and Li Laowu's hearts skip a beat, and their regard for Lu Feng rose several notches.

"Work hard, and your Uncle Zhang will make sure you have plenty to eat!"

This was a statement of approval; the subsequent self-designation as Uncle Zhang signified his recognition of Lu Feng as a junior.

Lu Feng was no fool. Faced with this situation, he had to tell the truth. He swallowed the pieces of meat in his mouth and said, "Uncle Zhang, I will definitely work hard!"

"Okay, Uncle Zhang believes you."

The atmosphere became even more harmonious at this point.

Lu Feng needs to replenish his body's nutrition, and he definitely can't give up on Zhang's Meat Shop in the short term. Even if he really replicates the low-grade root bone, didn't he hear what Manager Cui said? The academy's selection of people won't be until a month later.

After the meal was finished and the dishes were put away, Li Laowu offered to wash the dishes. Lu Feng wanted to help, but was pushed away with a smile.

There's not much to do in the afternoon. The pork shop is busy from before dawn until noon, when they slaughter pigs, cut the meat, and sell it.

It wasn't until dusk that the shop closed and the butchers went home.

After Lu Feng greeted Zhang Dayou, Zhang Dayou called him over and handed him a piece of oil paper with sliced ​​meat. He weighed it in his hand; it was five jin (2.5 kg).

Zhang Dayou's voice returned to normal, tinged with a hint of reminiscence: "Your father is a stubborn man. If he hadn't been so inflexible when he was studying... Never mind, I won't say too much to you, little one. Take the meat back and tell him that I gave you the leftovers because I thought you did a good job!"

Lu Feng didn't stand on ceremony, or rather, standing on ceremony would have been too insincere. In just one day of observation, he discovered that Zhang Zhangzuo disliked being coy and appreciated people who acted boldly and decisively.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhang. I'll come tomorrow. Just give me any work you need."

"Then you'd better come early tomorrow. You're too busy killing five heads every day."

"OK!"

After their conversation ended, Lu Feng carried the oil paper package back home.

The further west you go, the more litter there is on the streets, and the stench ferments. No one cleans the houses along these streets, which is the root cause of the perennial stench in the outer city.

After passing through another alley, Lu Feng saw seven or eight people gathered on the left side of the fork in the road ahead. They were all dressed in linen clothes and black pants, and were residents of the neighborhood.

Lu Feng didn't meddle, and didn't even get close. He walked down another side road, and when he got closest, he could vaguely hear a few words being spoken.

"...Dead, dead again..."

"There are...ghosts, really...sigh!"

"Yesterday, there were people from the Taoist temple, too..."

"The Du family is really pitiful."

"...They're all dead..."

These fragmented sounds were enough for Lu Feng to piece together most of the situation.

It looks like another family has been harmed by the Night Ghost, and again, the entire family has been wiped out.

Lowering his head, under the dim sunset, Lu Feng tightened his grip on the oiled paper rope, his unease growing ever more intense.

He had witnessed the Daoist disciple with inferior aptitude make a move last night, and he thought the Night Ghost calamity wouldn't occur again for a long time.

Unexpectedly, I encountered it on my way home.

Judging from the situation, this doesn't seem to be an isolated case; we need to investigate further.

Thinking of this, he remembered Hu Zi. Hu Zi had come to the city with his family as refugees and had been living in the outer city since he was a child. He knew a lot about all sorts of people and could ask him about anything he remembered.

Suppressing his thoughts, he turned and entered the alley. After walking for a while, he arrived at his house and knocked on the gate.

The person who opened the door was his second aunt. At a glance, Lu Feng noticed that something was wrong with her. Her eyes were dull and red, as if she had just been crying.

Lu Feng's brows furrowed immediately. He quickly entered the courtyard and closed the door behind him.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I heard a tense conversation coming from inside the house.

Lu Feng walked steadily and quickly into the house, with his second aunt following behind.

Upon entering the main hall, the original owner's father, Lu Chen, was speaking anxiously, the sleeves of his wide robe fluttering with each word, creating a crackling sound.

"Second brother! Tonight, no matter what, I cannot let you go again! The scourge of the Night Ghosts is growing increasingly fierce in the outer city; encountering them will be fatal."

Second Uncle Lu Zhou was dressed in black cloth, which made him look very tall and straight, and he was half a head taller than his eldest brother. Because he had learned half of the martial arts from an old master when he was young, he was skilled in martial arts, which made it easy for him to find a job as a guard for a small family.

At this point, he couldn't care less about being gentle. He opened his mouth and explained, "My family can't survive solely on farming. Brother, if I go again today, I'll only get one tael of silver. That's one tael! How many taels do we save in a whole year?"

Lu Feng entered the house and stayed there for a while. He first looked at his mother, Madam Yuan, who was mending clothes. Her expression revealed her worry. After all, they were all a family, and they could live more comfortably by sticking together in the outer city.

Looking at her cousin Xiaowei, Lu Wei did not cry or make a fuss in the face of this family quarrel. She just reached out her little hand to pull on Yuan Shi's clothes, bit her little mouth, lowered her head, and stood quietly like that.

He displayed a maturity beyond his years. In Lu Feng's memories of his previous life, this age was a beautiful time when he was being pampered in his parents' arms, innocent and naive about everything.

"Father, Second Uncle."

Lu Feng, after all, was not the original body with a muddled mind. After attracting attention, he walked to Yuan Shi's side while speaking and handed her the paper bag.

"I heard it when I came here; another family was wiped out by the Night Demon. Mother, this pork was given to me by the foreman. He said I did a good job today and he'll cook it for dinner tonight."

Yuan took the oil paper, nodded, took Xiao Wei's hand, and her eyes lit up as she went with her second aunt to the kitchen to cook dinner.

Having a job means having a voice in the family.

Originally, in the Lu family, the eldest and second eldest sons did the work and received the money, so naturally the two of them would discuss it. Now that Lu Feng has taken this paper package containing meat, it means that in this outer city of Cangwu County, he is considered an adult.

Hearing his son's words and seeing that the boy had indeed become much more composed, Lu Chen felt gratified. He then offered some advice to his younger brother.

"Second brother, since this kid has said so, it's not safe to go any further. Why don't we call it a day and wait until the Night Ghosts are gone before going? You're not a servant of the family, you have the right not to go."