The three quickly returned to the Feixian Inn.
It was already late at night, and the Feixian Inn was about to close.
Fortunately, the shopkeeper knew Zhao Ya and the others’ identities, so he didn’t dare to rush them and just waited.
Seeing them return, Meng Shiwen couldn’t help but ask, "How did it go?"
Miao Shaocheng recounted the events indignantly.
After listening, Meng Shiwen didn’t say much, but Zui’Er beside her listened with a change in her expression.
A murderer who specializes in harming women sounded terrifying.
Zhao Ya noticed her fear, so on the way back, he gently held her hand.
"Don’t be afraid, it won’t be long before I catch that guy," Zhao Ya said softly.
"Mm-hmm!" Zui’Er nodded vigorously, without the slightest doubt.
In her mind, Ya was omnipotent.
So she believed whatever Zhao Ya said.
After returning home, Zui’Er went to sleep, but Zhao Ya didn’t. Instead, he sat in the courtyard contemplating the clues he had discovered.
It was now certain that this Jade Butterfly was very likely a disabled person with a foot disability.
This narrowed down the possibilities considerably.
But relying on this alone was far from enough.
After all, the Commandery had a large population, and there were many people with foot disabilities. Finding the hidden demon among so many people was not easy.
But Zhao Ya was not dispirited in the slightest.
Because he had discovered a very important clue, but it needed to be investigated secretly.
The next day, Zhao Ya went to the Exotic Beast Meat Market located on the east side of the Commandery.
Here, there were large high-end shops with impressive facades, as well as small vendors with street stalls.
The exotic beast meat sold there was all kinds of varieties, with everything imaginable.
From mountain tigers and leopards to forest grasshoppers, there was everything imaginable.
Many novices, who were unaware of the tricks, often got deceived because they believed that the meat of tigers and leopards must be strong, only to realize they were duped after buying it.
In fact, the only standard to measure the quality of exotic beast meat is whether it contains a lot of Qi blood and whether it has impurities.
And all of this is related to the Meat Field.
If you can find a high-quality Meat Field, even exotic beast grasshoppers can be sold at high prices.
And if the Meat Field is poor, even elephant meat is worthless.
However, this doesn’t mean that the meat of fierce beasts like tigers, leopards, and black bears is bad, but because if such beasts mutate, their strength becomes extremely terrifying.
Zhao Ya had heard that deep within the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain in Wanshou County, there were exotic beasts equivalent to the Fifth Realm and even stronger.
How many people could defeat such powerful exotic beasts and then excavate the Meat Fields from them?
Moreover, the stronger the exotic beast, the lower the chance of obtaining a Meat Field.
If you went to great lengths to eliminate a powerful exotic beast but gained nothing, wouldn’t you suffer a huge loss?
Therefore, considering everything, exotic beast meats like earthworms, snakes, and fish or turtle types are popular.
This is because not only is it relatively easier to obtain Meat Fields from them, but cultivating costs are astonishingly lower than for fierce beasts like tigers and leopards.
In reality, much of the tiger, leopard, and black bear meat sold in the market is not even exotic beast meat at all; it is made by stuffing ground low-grade earthworm dried meat into regular meat.
Having stayed with the Song Family for so long, Zhao Ya naturally knew the tricks in this, so he ignored the temptations of street vendors and walked straight into a shop called Celestial Wave Dried Meat.
This was recommended to him by Xu De before, saying that the quality of meat here was good and never false.
Once Zhao Ya entered, he caught the attention of the female attendant in the shop.
After all, with the growth of his strength, the aura around Zhao Ya had undergone a tremendous change.
Sometimes, a simple move would give off an overwhelming pressure.
This undoubtedly showed that he was a Martial Artist with amazing prowess.
Coupling this with his flawless features, he was naturally eye-catching.
"Young Hero, may I ask if you are looking to buy some exotic beast dried meat?" A tall woman quickly came up and greeted warmly.
Zhao Ya nodded.
"Then let me introduce you. We have dozens of different grades of exotic beast dried meats in our store, I..."
"How much for the Golden-Spotted Black Eel dry?" Zhao Ya interrupted her directly.
"Uh..." The woman was caught off guard by Zhao Ya’s directness.
"The Golden-Spotted Black Eel dry is considered high-end dried meat here, usually sold for five taels three qian of gold..."
"Five taels, if that works, I want thirty taels. Otherwise, I’ll go somewhere else," Zhao Ya interrupted the woman again.
The woman felt a bit collapsed inside.
Is there anyone who buys things like this? Isn’t it usual to first have a look and then haggle slowly?
Why did this young man seem like he was going to battle, unwilling to speak an extra word?
"Uh... I’ll have to consult with the shopkeeper about the price; could you please wait here?"
"Alright!"
Zhao Ya sat on the chair meant for customer rest and began eating the fruit on the table nonchalantly.
He was quite sure that the price could be accepted because the regular price for Golden-Spotted Black Eel dry was five taels of gold.
And for a shop of this scale, buying thirty taels at once counted as a big customer, naturally meriting a discount.
Sure enough.
The woman soon came back.
"Young Hero, our shopkeeper has agreed. Do you want them now..."
Zhao Ya took out the pre-exchanged gold notes and placed them on the table.
"Count them, and if everything checks out, give me the dried meat."
Once the count was verified and the thirty taels of Golden-Spotted Black Eel dry were packed, Zhao Ya picked them up and turned to leave.
From entering to leaving after purchasing, the whole process took less than ten minutes, remarkably efficient.
Only after Zhao Ya had left did the woman remember that she hadn’t asked for Zhao Ya’s name and address.
A store of Celestial Wave’s scale would usually document customers purchasing more than ten taels of dried meat at once, aiming to maintain good relations and possibly develop them into regular customers.
Not mentioning the woman filled with regret, after returning home with the dried meat, Zhao Ya first ate one.
The last piece of Jade Brocade Snake dry had been finished three days ago, and the Vajra Strength Pill wouldn’t be available for another two days, so Zhao Ya had been without for a few days.
Now, with the Golden-Spotted Black Eel dry in his stomach, Zhao Ya felt his intestines become excited.
After grinding and absorbing it, Zhao Ya felt his entire being was filled with Qi blood.
In terms of Qi blood richness, it was only slightly inferior to the Jade Brocade Snake dry.
Nevertheless, due to the characteristics of Qi blood, it was well suited for cultivating the Great Vajra Fist.
After practicing the cultivation technique, Zhao Ya saw with satisfaction that all his martial arts skills had improved.
Especially his skin began to show a faint luster, although far from achieving Great Success in Skin Grinding, the glimmer of hope was visible.
Zhao Ya stored the remaining dried meat, packed all necessary supplies like the knockout drug and lime package, and strapped the Meteorite Iron Saber to his waist, then put on a wide outfit, and a common street hat, covering himself completely.
After completing all the preparations, Zhao Ya said goodbye to Zui’Er and then went out.
Zhao Ya didn’t go elsewhere but specifically wandered around neighborhoods adjacent to the brothels, like the Drunken Flower House.
In affluent areas like near the Drunken Flower House, this was somewhat better, but some underground brothels were simply built in the most rundown slums.
A round could cost about fifty coins, equivalent to less than one qian of silver.
But even these fifty coins were unaffordable for many.
Because those living here were mostly men earning a living through hard labor or small traders doing minor business, the money earned each day could only help barely make ends meet, leaving no spare money to spend.
Generally, few people ventured into these areas, but Zhao Ya seemed very familiar with them.
Because when he was in Wuxiang City, he lived in a slum similar to this.
The main difference was that the security in these slums might be slightly better than in Wuxiang City, but the local government still had some control.
Zhao Ya walked slowly.
There were many people dressed like him on the streets, so he didn’t attract attention.
Some drifting ladies who couldn’t even enter underground brothels and relied on the streets to attract customers never missed an opportunity.
"Sir, want to have fun? Thirty coins, and for an extra ten coins, you get a bowl of noodles," a woman nearing her forties with loose skin called out to Zhao Ya.