Qin Xiaopang’s blood was surging excessively, and he couldn’t hold on any longer.
The principle was very simple. Food Cultivators can quickly convert food into the nutrients their bodies need, and a large portion of these nutrients transforms into new blood. If it were an older Food Cultivator whose blood-producing function had slowed, there wouldn’t be any problem. However, Little Fatty had a good blood-producing function, and the food conversion was too fast, which created a problem: his blood vessels were about to rupture!
Zhang Liuge had seen Food Cultivators die from ruptured blood vessels before, so he should have taken precautions. But this had happened more than twenty years ago, and Zhang Liuge hadn’t thought of it in time.
"Brother, stop eating for now!" Zhang Liuzi stopped Qin Xiaopang first, then turned to his servant and said, "Go catch some leeches from the pond."
"Catch those things for what?"
"Don’t ask, just go!"
No sooner had Zhang Liuzi finished instructing his underling than he saw Little Fatty still stuffing himself with steamed buns.
"Brother, didn’t I tell you to stop eating?" Zhang Liuzi tightly grabbed Little Fatty.
Catching his breath, Little Fatty said, "Brother Liu, in front of all these people today, even if I die, I have to stuff these twenty pounds of steamed buns down."
"I really can’t control you anymore!" Zhang Liuzi forced Little Fatty onto the chair, as bystanders murmured among themselves.
"What’s wrong with him?"
"The Food Cultivator’s blood has surged! He can’t eat anymore. If he does, it’ll cost him his life."
"Look at how red his face is! It’s probably too late. All the food in his belly has turned to blood. If it’s not let out, he’s done for!"
"Bloodletting isn’t hard. Just make a cut."
"Do you think this is like butchering someone? It’s not that easy! His blood and energy are extremely strong. If you make the cut too big, he’ll spray blood, and that’ll be the end of him. If the cut is too small, not much blood will flow, and it’ll clot on its own. Who can gauge that correctly? If I gave you a knife now, would you dare to cut him? Even a skilled Medical Cultivator might not have the finesse for this."
"Brother Liu is right. Right now, leeches are the only useful thing."
As the crowd discussed, Little Fatty’s face turned from red to purple.
Zhang Liuzi’s eyes were red. "Where the hell did everyone run off to? I asked you to catch some leeches. Why haven’t you gotten them after all this time!"
Even if they caught the leeches now, it would be too late. Little Fatty didn’t dare to move at all, fearing that a critical blood vessel might burst, ending his life.
Li Banfeng walked behind Little Fatty, took off his suit jacket, covered his right hand, and whispered, "Brother, bear with it."
After speaking, Li Banfeng took out the Blood-Thirsty Pendulum and poked it into Qin Tianjiu’s back.
The pendulum turned from bright silver to red, from red to purple, and from purple to deep black.
Li Banfeng heard the pendulum’s voice. "Master, I can’t eat anymore."
When he pulled out the pendulum, the color drained from Qin Xiaopang’s face. Qin Xiaopang’s blood pressure had been reduced by the Blood-Thirsty Pendulum.
Li Banfeng put away the pendulum and checked Qin Xiaopang’s wound. The wound was only two centimeters long, and the blood clotted quickly; it didn’t seem to be a major issue.
Little Fatty sat resting for a while, and his complexion gradually improved.
Zhang Liuzi was still tense. He didn’t know what method Li Banfeng had used and wasn’t sure if Qin Xiaopang was really alright.
Zhong Desong, the shopkeeper of Qingtang Teahouse, ordered someone to brew a pot of tea and brought it to Little Fatty. "Ninth Master, have a cup of tea to calm your qi."
Qin Tianjiu waved his hand. "No tea for me, my stomach isn’t settled."
Zhong Desong placed the teacup aside and looked at the wound on Qin Xiaopang’s back.
Although Li Banfeng had used his jacket to hide the pendulum, it hadn’t escaped Zhong Desong’s keen eyes.
This caught Li Banfeng’s attention. He asked Shopkeeper Feng in a low voice, "Who is that?"
"Zhong Desong of Qingtang Teahouse. You should know him," Shopkeeper Feng said, smiling meaningfully at Li Banfeng, who then remembered the man.
This person had appeared on Shopkeeper Feng’s list.
Zhong Desong!
The Sage of the Second Helmsman of Medicine King Hall from Jiang Xiang Gang, Second Layer Bitter Cultivation Zhong Desong.
Li Banfeng was unaware of the full story. Most of today’s guests, including Zhong Desong, had been invited by Zhang Liuzi. Zhang Liuzi knew Qin Xiaopang had a grudge with Jiang Xiang Gang, but he and Zhong Desong had no personal feud; in fact, they had a good relationship. This was also to give Little Fatty a way out, to try and resolve the grudges in the future and prevent things from escalating to a life-or-death struggle.
After sitting for a moment, Qin Xiaopang glanced at Zhang Liuzi, pondered, and then said, "Brother Liu, my stomach feels a bit off."
"You just ate too fast. It’ll be fine after a bit. Don’t be upset that you didn’t reach the next cultivation level this time. Next time, we’ll..." Zhang Liuzi was trying to comfort Qin Xiaopang when he saw him reaching for the steamed buns again.
"I think I’m hungry."
"Hungry?" Zhang Liuzi was puzzled.
It was normal for him to be hungry. The steamed buns Qin Xiaopang had eaten had transformed into blood. That blood was then drawn out by the pendulum. This stimulated and accelerated the food’s conversion, making Little Fatty genuinely hungry again.
Zhang Liuzi called out, "Who has a watch? Is time up yet?"
The shopkeeper, glancing at an alarm clock on his table, said, "Sixth Master, there’s still a quarter of an hour left!"
Hearing this, Little Fatty grabbed more steamed buns and stuffed them into his mouth. In less than ten minutes, all the buns were gone.
Still feeling it might not be enough, Little Fatty snatched up a roasted chicken and devoured it in a few bites.
"Brother Liu, is that enough?"
Zhang Liuzi was unsure. Cultivation levels weren’t visible, so he couldn’t be certain if Little Fatty had truly advanced. "Brother, what do you think?"
Qin Xiaopang stretched his shoulders and neck. After about ten more minutes, both his shoulders visibly swelled by a size. It wasn’t just his shoulders; his waist, abdomen, thighs, and forearms also grew. Aside from his height, every visible part of Little Fatty’s body had expanded, making his figure much rounder than before.