Chapter 691: Don't Be a Deadbeat

Although the eldest Lu brother found his thought absurd, it was, in fact, the truth. Ji Yuan's attention was entirely focused on the large black dog by the side of the cooked food stall.

This so-called fierce "dog king" was remarkably docile in front of Ji Yuan, allowing him to stroke its head and back. Even Huli, who had been terrified, gradually relaxed his nerves, though he still dared not approach, at least not within the length of the dog's chain.

Ji Yuan asked about the incident where the dog bit the fox, which slightly surprised Huli. However, Huli clearly understood the black dog's actions and body language, and it was evident Ji Yuan did too. Seeing the dog's reaction, Ji Yuan smiled and said,

"Just as I thought."

Ji Yuan moved his hand from the dog's head to its muzzle, pulling back its lip to reveal sharp fangs. He then turned to Huli and said,

"Perhaps your little fox should even thank this big black for its mercy. If this dog truly wanted to kill it, it wouldn't have just been a simple bite to the neck."

Just then, the eldest Lu brother, who was deboning a lamb leg, reached out from the stall and tossed the bone towards the black dog.

"Big Black, catch!"

"Woof..."

Ji Yuan had already stood up and taken two steps back as the big black dog barked. The lamb bone spun a few times in the air before the black dog leaped up and caught it mid-flight.

"Crunch... crunch..."

Even though the thick lamb bone had been braised for a good while, it lasted only a few moments in the black dog's mouth. Its powerful jaws quickly produced a series of crisp crunching sounds as the bone shattered, making Huli's scalp tingle.

As it chewed the bone, the black dog even lifted its head to look at Huli, its expression remarkably human-like, almost as if it were mocking him. But Huli found himself unable to be angry at that moment.

"Sir, should I remove all the bones from the meat for you, except for the trotters?"

"No need to remove the bones from the lamb ribs either; gnawing on them is more enjoyable."

Ji Yuan returned to the front of the stall. The two Lu brothers were bustling with activity, their knife skills exceptional. They deboned and sliced meat with such dexterity, it was almost an art form.

"Hehe, Sir, you truly know how to enjoy your food! Some wealthy families order meat and always insist we remove every single bone, so they can eat elegantly with chopsticks. Little do they know, they're missing out on much of the pleasure of eating meat!"

As expected, shopkeepers were quite talkative. The eldest Lu brother seized the chance to chat with Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan looked at the various cutting boards behind the counter; many packs of meat were already prepared.

"Are you brothers, and is your family name Lu?"

Ji Yuan initiated the conversation, and the shopkeepers were, of course, happy to chat.

"Yes, our craft has been passed down through generations in our family. We're quite well-known in Luoping City. Everyone who tastes our braised meat and roasted chicken praises it endlessly. Our grandfather taught us the craft personally and eventually passed the stall down to us. Oh, and this Big Black was passed down to us as well."

"Oh... you mentioned this black dog has been with your family for at least twenty years. It's still remarkably energetic!"

When Ji Yuan asked about Big Black, the second Lu brother spoke up for the first time. He wasn't as talkative as his elder brother, but not introverted either, and he smiled.

"Don't laugh, Sir, but Big Black is actually older than both of us. Since we were old enough to remember, he's always been a big dog. We heard our grandfather brought him back when he went on a long journey to buy sheep."

Ji Yuan paused, then studied the Lu brothers carefully. From what he heard, were they only in their twenties? They looked quite mature for their age; Ji Yuan had originally assumed they were at least in their early forties.

Huli also joined the conversation, still keeping a safe distance from the black dog, of course. The group chatted idly, and soon all the meat was processed, piled high on the counter.

"Ah, well, the total comes to nine hundred and fifty-six wen. For you two, I'll round it down to nine hundred and fifty wen!"

The eldest Lu brother rubbed his hands; this single order was almost an ounce of silver, a considerable profit.

Ji Yuan smiled, nodding towards Huli, who promptly took a small handful of silver fragments from his money pouch and handed them to the eldest Lu brother.

"Here, pay with silver."

"Oh, excellent! I'll weigh it right away!"

Seeing that the customer was indeed paying with silver, the Lu brothers were delighted; it was much more profitable than copper coins. The eldest brother hadn't clearly seen how much silver Huli had grabbed, but as soon as he took it, he felt the weight was off. It certainly wasn't just one ounce.

"Sir, did you give too much?"

Despite his words, the eldest Lu brother placed all the silver onto the scale. Lifting the small balance, he confirmed it was indeed nearly two ounces.

"It's two ounces. I'll need to give you some back and provide the change in copper coins..."

"No, no need."

Huli repeatedly waved his hand, declining the shopkeeper's offer to return money.

"Shopkeeper, please don't return the money. Actually, I came here today to offer an apology."

"An apology? For what?"

The Lu brothers exchanged puzzled glances. Huli looked at the black dog nearby, then at Ji Yuan, composed himself, and replied,

"A few days ago, Shopkeeper, you must have lost quite a few roasted chickens?"

"Ah, yes, that's true. But ever since we moved Big Black here and tied him to the stall about a month and a half ago, we haven't lost anything since."

The eldest Lu brother paused to recall before answering, and Huli quickly interjected.

"Yes, exactly! To be honest, I also keep some... uh... some dogs at home. A while ago, they seemed to have brought back some roasted chicken and braised meat they found outside. I've been searching for the owner ever since and only recently discovered it was lost from this stall. I specifically came to offer my apologies!"

The black dog beside them looked up at Huli, a corner of its mouth twitching upwards. Ji Yuan also smiled faintly; he hadn't taught Huli this method, so for Huli to come up with it himself was quite decent.

The Lu brothers on the other side suddenly understood.

"Oh! So that's what happened! But... but this doesn't require nearly an ounce of silver. Four hundred wen would be more than enough..."

"Oh, it's quite alright, quite alright! Consider the rest as a token of my apology!"

Huli gradually displayed his talent for negotiation, engaging in a back-and-forth with the shopkeepers until they, feigning slight reluctance, accepted the silver with a mix of embarrassment and genuine appreciation. They even enthusiastically offered to deliver the meat to their residence, an offer that both Huli and Ji Yuan politely declined.

As Ji Yuan and Huli left, both were laden with goods. Once they reached a relatively secluded spot, all the cooked food vanished, absorbed into Ji Yuan's sleeve.

Afterward, they successively visited several other shops and wine vendors that the foxes had previously pilfered from. Huli used a similar approach and nearly identical excuses to purchase a large quantity of food and wine, ultimately spending a considerable sum of five ounces of silver.

By the time they had completed all these tasks, Huli's face remained excited. He felt a profound sense of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted. Walking alongside Ji Yuan on the street, he felt significantly lighter, both in spirit and body.

This feeling wasn't as dramatic as a fundamental transformation, and might even have been quite subtle. However, being with Ji Yuan, Huli's perception of this sensation became incredibly clear, naturally amplifying its effect.

"Mr. Ji, I didn't feel much before, but now I feel so much more comfortable!"

Ji Yuan simply smiled, stating calmly,

"Whether you're human or a demon, sometimes you just can't carry mental burdens. If left unresolved, these burdens can fester into inner tribulations over time. So, unless one is truly ruthless and utterly without conscience, it's best to resolve these issues appropriately. It benefits both one's life and one's cultivation."

Huli nodded, appearing to grasp the meaning without fully comprehending, then suddenly caught a loophole in Ji Yuan's words and asked,

"Mr. Ji, are you saying that if someone is ruthless and mentally justifies their own actions, they won't develop these inner burdens?"

Ji Yuan smiled, looked at Huli, and nodded, saying,

"Precisely. Such a person might not develop mental burdens, but when heavenly tribulations arrive, they will be far more perilous. One would then have to suppress them through various means or desperately seek loopholes, ultimately creating a dead-end cycle. So, it's best not to be a cheat."

"Uh..."

Huli was speechless and dared not say more. Ji Yuan didn't elaborate either; he knew that cultivators who pursued unorthodox or evil paths also had their own methods, but these merely delayed their destined tribulations and ultimately sabotaged their future, at least in the eyes of the righteous path.

While Ji Yuan and Huli were settling accounts around the city, Jin Jia, with the little paper crane perched on his head, was not with them. Ji Yuan had specially allowed Jin Jia and the little paper crane to explore the city by themselves.

More accurately, it was the little paper crane leading Jin Jia around. Normally, once inside a city, the paper crane would usually fly off freely, but this time, it stayed with Jin Jia, guiding the large figure on his stroll. It knew very well that without its master's direct command or its guidance, the giant would likely just find a spot and stand there all day.

So, at this moment, Jin Jia was slowly moving forward, his gaze fixed straight ahead. However, whenever they reached an intersection or encountered a situation requiring a turn, the little paper crane would flap its wings and shake its head above his head, indicating the direction for Jin Jia to turn.

"Chirp!"

Upon reaching another intersection, the little paper crane flapped its right wing above Jin Jia's head. Jin Jia's gaze shifted slightly upward, and seeing the paper crane continuously gesturing to the right, he turned and proceeded in that direction.

Due to his imposing physique and cold, powerful aura, wherever Jin Jia walked, people would instinctively move to either side to avoid him, clearly unwilling to provoke such a formidable-looking individual. After all, public order in Luoping City wasn't particularly good these days.

Up ahead, two individuals were having a heated argument, pushing and shoving as if about to come to blows.

"You bumped into me and broke my wine jar!"

"You scoundrel! You knocked over my package of braised meat and then stepped on it! What do you have to say about that?"

"Well, didn't you break my wine first? And I did it unintentionally. You should compensate me for the wine."

"What? You say it was unintentional just like that? My three catties of braised meat cost me a hundred wen! Your cheap wine is worth twenty wen at most!"

"Nonsense! This is Huajiang wine, two hundred wen a jar!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Pay up!" "Pay up and apologize!"

The two cursed and wrestled with each other. Onlookers quickly dispersed, and the fighters initially thought it was out of fear of being caught in the crossfire. However, they soon realized something else was amiss.

Feeling a shadow fall over them, both men simultaneously turned to see a menacing, red-skinned giant standing before them, looking down with a disdainful, downward gaze.

Jin Jia remained silent; his mere presence exerted immense pressure on them.

"Wha... what? Are you in the wrong and called for help?" "He... isn't this your helper?"

The two exchanged glances, both visibly relieved.

"Uh, perhaps we should just drop this?" "Exactly what I was thinking. It's only a hundred or two hundred wen; I can afford to pay it!"

"Hmph!" "Hmph!"

Both men snorted, neither daring to look at Jin Jia, and quickly dispersed, one to the left and one to the right.

The little paper crane on Jin Jia's head flapped its wings joyfully, seemingly delighted by the outcome. However, seeing that the big figure was completely unresponsive, it merely flapped its wings at him, and Jin Jia continued to walk forward.