Xu Guang didn’t want to continue talking about this with the two of them, so he changed the subject and brought up the matter of the Abnormal People’s Bloodline Power.
"Wang Ming, you work at the Government Office. Do you know how many Abnormal People there are in Feiyun City? And what kind of Bloodline Power do they possess? How do they compare to General Giant Spirit, who passed through eight years ago?"
Wang Ming’s expression turned subtle, filled with a hint of envy and yearning. Among Martial Artists of the Same Realm, Abnormal People were practically Invincible. Some with exceptionally strong bloodlines could even defeat opponents of the same realm in a single move.
A smile appeared on Wang Ming’s face. "Bloodline Power is incredibly formidable. Feiyun City is large, but on the surface, the number of Abnormal People reported to the Government Office is only thirty-two. As for their strength...
"General Giant Spirit is a registered Fifth Grade General of the Court. The fact that the Court doesn’t despise his background shows how strong he is. Naturally, no one in Feiyun City can compare to him."
Xu Guang nodded. From the looks of it, the status of Abnormal People was much more important than he had imagined.
"Then, Wang Ming, have you ever heard if the bloodlines of Abnormal People can be stolen by others?"
Wang Ming paused, then immediately shook his head. "Bloodlines are innate and destined by heaven. I have never heard of anyone being able to steal another person’s Bloodline Power."
Xu Guang’s expression shifted slightly, though he still felt a bit uneasy.
He never dared to be arrogant. Since he possessed such an ability, perhaps others in this world did too. After all, "unique" had always been an adjective, never a noun.
"Once everything gets on the right track in the future, I will use the Searcher to do a thorough scan. If there truly is no one else, then I will expose my identity as one of the Abnormal People..." he thought.
"Alright, let’s stop chatting. Let Mother and Brother Guang rest early. We still have to go to the Cheng Family early tomorrow morning," Xu Chun said.
Early the next morning.
Xu Guang woke up early as usual, taking a hoe to weed the yard. This courtyard had been unoccupied for many years. Yesterday, they had only cleaned the house and hadn’t yet found the time to tidy up the yard.
Mrs. Xu also woke up. Perhaps because they had moved into a new home, her mood was no longer as gloomy as the past few days. She was discussing how to use the yard with Xu Guang.
"The yard isn’t small. We can plant some vegetables later. I heard from Xu Chun yesterday that growing flowers in the city can earn money. The sun shines well over there, so we can grow some flowers..."
Xu Guang listened to her every word.
Xu Chun brought food from her home. After Xu Guang finished eating, she had him wash up and get ready to head to the Cheng Family.
The Cheng Family was in the medicinal herb business. They had a large family and extensive enterprises, making them even somewhat stronger than the Wang Family.
Today, they were not going to the Cheng Family’s Main Residence, but rather to the manor of the Cheng Family’s eldest miss and second young master.
The manor was already buzzing with voices, and everyone’s eyes were filled with anticipation.
Alien Species could be understood as the Abnormal People among wild beasts. Feiyun City was too heavily populated, so not everyone had seen an Alien Species. Today, the Cheng Family was publicly slaughtering an Exotic Yellow Pig, which naturally drew a large crowd of onlookers.
Following Xu Chun, Xu Guang stood in a courtyard. Xu Chun looked indignant, while Xu Guang’s expression remained placid.
The job of slaughtering the Exotic Yellow Pig didn’t fall to him as the head butcher in the end, but rather to a famous local butcher in the city.
Xu Guang wasn’t surprised by this, but Xu Chun was naturally quite angry.
"Alright, Xu Chun. Since we’re here, let’s just follow the Cheng Family’s arrangements. Besides, even as an assistant butcher, we still get half a catty of the Exotic Yellow Pig’s meat."
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the crowd outside. It seemed something was happening in the center, and the crowd began running along with the people in the middle.
Soon, Xu Guang saw what the crowd was surrounding.
Dozens of people were carrying a massive, fat yellow pig that was over three meters long, hung upside down with its four hooves bound toward the sky. Its body was wrapped in chains as thick as a child’s arm, yet it remained fiercely untamed, struggling violently as it was brought toward their courtyard.
"Is this an Alien Species?" Xu Guang wondered.
Curiosity flashed in his eyes. "Who on earth managed to capture such a massive creature? It’s even larger than the rhinoceroses from my past life, isn’t it?" he thought.
"Time to butcher the pig! Time to butcher the pig!"
A middle-aged man with a somewhat shrill voice and a two-strand mustache squeezed out of the crowd, shouting loudly toward the courtyard where Xu Guang was standing.
Xu Guang smiled at Xu Chun, then followed today’s head butcher toward the pre-arranged stone platform.
The head butcher was an old hand. As he walked, he instructed the apprentices behind him.
"Get the hot water ready. Have the buckets prepared in advance. Don’t waste any of the pig’s blood."
Everything was going smoothly at first. But just as the butcher stood before the yellow pig with his butchering knife in hand, the beast suddenly thrashed wildly. Several chains on its body snapped into pieces.
Instantly, the crowd surged backward, wishing they had grown two extra legs to run faster.
On the high platform, Xu Chun turned pale with fright and looked at the Cheng Family’s eldest miss standing in front of her.
"Ms. Lian’Er..." Xu Chun called out.
Wang Ming’s father had a younger sister who was the concubine of the Cheng Family’s second young master. Because of this generational hierarchy, Xu Chun was obliged to respectfully address Lian’Er as Ms. Lian’Er.
Cheng Lian’Er waved her hand, just about to order her men to make a move, but she suddenly froze.
By the edge of the stone platform, as the yellow pig began to struggle violently and snap its chains, even the veteran butcher had retreated. However, Xu Guang, who didn’t look particularly tall or burly behind him, unexpectedly advanced instead of falling back.
Xu Guang’s expression was slightly exhilarated. The Exotic Yellow Pig looked ferocious, but it was currently bound, presenting a perfect opportunity—an opportunity to understand the strength of the Alien Species in this world and, at the same time, catch the eye of the Cheng Family’s eldest miss.
As he stepped forward, he snatched the butchering knife from the butcher’s hand and quickened his pace, building up momentum.
STAB!
An incredibly rigid force deflected the butchering knife, feeling as though it had pierced into layers of stacked cowhide.
Xu Guang’s expression changed slightly. "This defense..." he thought.
But his face grew even more exhilarated. With an Alien Species like this, if it were completely unhindered, he naturally wouldn’t have the slightest chance. But right now, he could test it without any scruples—at least before the yellow pig completely broke free from its restraints.
He pulled back the butchering knife and thrust again.
This time, his target was the spot right beneath the yellow pig’s head. That was where one typically stabbed when butchering a pig.
The yellow pig seemed to sense the danger and struggled even more fiercely. But Xu Guang’s strike was incredibly fast, accurate, and ruthless.
As the yellow pig thrashed and the chains over its head were on the verge of snapping, Xu Guang freed up one hand and delivered a forceful punch right onto its head.
BANG!
When Cheng Lian’Er arrived with her people, she happened to witness this exact scene.
A handsome youth with a white cloth wrapped around his forehead was holding a knife plunged into the yellow pig’s neck with one hand, while his other hand formed a fist, relentlessly hammering the pig’s head.
"Who... who hired this person?"
Worried about Xu Guang, Xu Chun squeezed to the front of the crowd. "Brother Guang, are you alright?"
Xu Guang twisted the butchering knife to let the pig’s blood flow faster. He turned around, revealing a harmless smile. "I’m fine."
"And this is?" Cheng Lian’Er asked, looking at Xu Guang.
"This is my younger brother, Xu Guang. He’s the second child in the family and has quite a bit of strength," Xu Chun replied with a smile, noticing that the yellow pig’s movements were growing weaker and weaker.
Cheng Lian’Er looked thoughtful.
Later on.
Xu Chun looked at Xu Guang, somewhat speechless and with a look of disdain. "Why did you ask for so much pig’s blood? You should have just asked for more meat."
Xu Guang, carrying a bucket in one hand, wore a wide smile. "I think pig’s blood is good stuff."
Since Xu Guang had killed the yellow pig and handled it rather cleanly, Cheng Lian’Er offered to give him a catty of pork. However, Xu Guang asked to exchange it for ten catties of blood instead, which Cheng Lian’Er permitted.
Xu Chun was just making an offhand remark. After all, this was Xu Guang’s own reward, so she wouldn’t say much more about it.
"By the way, what do you think about what Cheng Lian’Er mentioned?" Xu Chun asked.
Unsurprisingly, Xu Guang’s performance and courage had made Cheng Lian’Er highly value him, and she had discussed a few things with Xu Chun.
There was an eccentric old master in the city who taught genuine Secret Medicine and the Martial Dao but did not accept disciples from the public. Cheng Lian’Er made an agreement with Xu Chun: she could provide Xu Guang with a letter of recommendation to practice at the Martial Arts Hall. In exchange, once Xu Guang achieved success in his studies, he would have to work for the Cheng Family as an Honored Guest for two years.
After those two years, whether Xu Guang stayed or left would be entirely up to him.
It couldn’t be considered selling his life; it was more like taking what each side needed. This was despite the fact that all Cheng Lian’Er did was write Xu Guang a letter—a letter that would give him the opportunity to become a Cultivator.
Xu Guang wasn’t repulsed by the idea. He always approached things from the perspective of an ordinary person. His experiences over the past eight years meant he had never treated the Searcher as his sole reliance for survival in this world.
Hearing Xu Chun’s question, Xu Guang chuckled. "Then I’ll go. Who knows how many years it will take for me to achieve success in my studies? The Cheng Family might not even want me by then."
Xu Chun smacked his shoulder. "Get out of here. Speak properly."
She had always had a lot of confidence in Xu Guang.
The two of them walked down the street, talking and laughing, when they suddenly saw a group of sleazy thugs emerging from an alley, cursing continuously.
A moment later, two thin middle-aged men pushed a blood-dripping cart out of the alley. On top of it lay a corpse, its eyes wide open in death.
Both of them fell silent.
"Is the city this chaotic now?"
Xu Guang sighed.
Xu Chun quickened her pace. "The people across the river are acting like madmen right now. Among the three armies in the city, both the Feiyun Guard and the Cold Blade Guard have gone to station at the Wei River. Even with Wang Ming and the others patrolling, they can’t manage this much."
Xu Guang sighed again and said no more.