Daqian, Ding County.
"Two pounds of meat, half fat and lean, finely chopped for mince."
"Qin An, the Wang Family is a big household. Wouldn't it be better for you to seek a livelihood there with your butchery skills?"
"Unwilling? Suit yourself. If it weren't for your skills, I wouldn't have bothered to come find you."
The old man left the alley with a cane, puffing his beard and glaring.
Qin An picked up a pitch-black cloth and wiped the grease off his hands, a trace of black text appearing before his eyes.
[Butcher lv.2 (200/200): The livestock you slaughter become slightly tastier]
[Promotion Condition: Slaughter a Qi Storage Realm creature]
[Talent: None]
[Obtain a talent every three levels]
Qin An rubbed his brow with a rather troubled expression as he looked at the text in front of him.
"Wanted creatures, where do I find such creatures?"
Half a month ago, Qin An struck it lucky and was transported to Ding County, becoming a butcher there and gaining a Golden Finger.
This Golden Finger was from a mini-game Qin An played in his previous life, called the Ultimate Life Profession.
As the name suggests, one gains life professions and earns proficiency through continuous honing, unlocking a talent every three levels.
After achieving perfection at level one, the requirement for a breakthrough was to slaughter twenty pigs.
But after reaching perfection at level two, he was required to slaughter a Qi Storage Realm creature.
The Daqian Kingdom is not stable.
Creatures wreak havoc, Pseudo-Gods rise, and cultivators roam among them.
Not long ago, a pig demon caused trouble in the villages of Ding County.
The pig demon hid in a pigsty and ate half the villagers, and the news spread like wildfire.
Once Qin An heard about it, he immediately dismissed the idea of looking for a Qi Storage Realm creature.
Ding County is dangerous, and the people are weak and suffering.
The level two perfection Butcher profession is not strong; besides making the meat taste better, it offers no additional benefits.
To ask him to slaughter creatures is simply outrageous.
As a result, he's been stuck at level two perfection for a long time.
The stall had a few pounds of meat displayed.
Half a side of pork had already been sold by Qin An; it was time to pack up.
Thanks to the Butcher profession's effect, Qin An was more than self-sufficient in Ding County.
After tidying up the stall a bit, Qin An noticed someone peeking around the stall.
The newcomer looked about thirty, with a small mustache, shifty eyes, and an air of shrewdness.
"Same old rule, I'll take it all."
Chen Chun lined up over a dozen copper coins neatly on Qin An's stall, pointing at the remaining two pounds of pork.
Qin An casually tossed over a piece of lotus leaf, not even raising his head. "Wrap it yourself."
Chen Chun chuckled, taking the lotus leaf from Qin An, his little mustache twitching: "Old Qin, when you die, I'll make you a custom coffin for free."
Qin An's mouth twitched slightly, "I'm in the prime of life, far from dying."
The man in front of him was the sharp-minded owner of the nearby coffin shop, who always came to buy leftover meat when Qin An was packing up.
He didn't care whether the meat was good or bad, just looking to snag a bargain.
Qin An didn't mind; after all, it wasn't selling anyway, so he might as well make a little.
These days, one had to be thrifty, especially in Ding County.
After packaging the meat, Chen Chun looked around and leaned close to Qin An, whispering, "Have you heard?"
Qin An, ready now, asked curiously, "Heard what?"
Chen Chun, with a sly look, said, "The pig demon was causing trouble, and the county magistrate sent constables to exorcise it. They killed a pig demon, and some constables died too. Last night they came to me to buy some coffins for the burial."
Qin An was slightly taken aback, "What does that have to do with me?"
Recently, Qin An had heard about the pig demon's murders.
The pig demon causing trouble and the county government sending people to exorcise it was quite understandable.
Though Chen Chun was quite talkative, he wouldn't spread baseless rumors about such matters.
Qin An sensed that something was happening.
"The constables haven't come to you yet?" Chen Chun inquired in surprise.
Qin An found this even stranger and asked, "Why would they come looking for me?"
Chen Chun averted his gaze, squeezing the lotus-wrapped pork with his fingers, "I don't know, but they're looking for a butcher."
Qin An rubbed his chin, sensing something fishy here.
During their conversation, footsteps approached.
Qin An turned to see two constables walking toward the stall.
Seeing this, Chen Chun's little mustache twitched, and he hastily said, "Don't tell them it was me who said it."
Qin An watched Chen Chun quickly scurry into the building, feeling speechless.
Connecting what Chen Chun had just said, he guessed these two constables were indeed here for him.
Sure enough, the two constables stood before Qin An.
The constable on the left spoke up.
"Bring your tools and come with us."
The tone was hard, filled with a commanding air.
Negotiation?
That's nonexistent in Ding County.
The constables of Ding County have always held themselves above others; the fact they even addressed Qin An by name was already a sign of respect.
Qin An picked up a sharp knife beside him and said calmly, "Just this knife."
He didn't ask if he had to go; when constables come knocking, there's only one outcome.
Moreover, upon hearing about the pig demon slaughter, Qin An linked it to his Golden Finger.
For the Butcher profession to break through to level three and gain a new talent, the prerequisite was to slaughter a Qi Storage Realm creature.
Qin An didn't know what the Qi Storage Realm was, but a pig demon was surely a creature.
Perhaps it's worth a try.
The butcher profession has been upgraded to level three, and Qin An wants to know what talent has been acquired.
The constable was slightly stunned, and after recovering, patted the knife at his waist: "Come with us."
When they went to find other butchers not long ago, those butchers all seemed hesitant, and they suffered a lot under their hands.
The constable didn't expect Qin An to cooperate so easily, making all the preparations they had made unnecessary.
There weren't many things at the stall, and it didn't take long for Qin An to pack up, bringing a sharp knife, and followed behind them as they headed toward the county office.
…
The county office.
Ding County is just a small county town.
Although the county office isn't big, no one dares to pass by casually.
Two constables were guarding the entrance, and when they saw Qin An coming with the constables, they didn't even ask, just let them in.
It was Qin An's first time entering the county office since he crossed over.
As soon as he entered, he saw many fellow butchers standing in the courtyard.
Each butcher had a hint of evasiveness in their eyes, gathered in a circle, occasionally chatting a bit.
In the front stood a middle-aged man dressed completely differently.
The middle-aged man was wearing the arrest officer uniform, with a square face, and a scar running from his brow to his chin, giving him a fierce appearance.
Mr. Zheng pressed on the knife at his waist, listening to the exchanges among the butchers, while his fingers kept tapping on the hilt.
Qin An approached the courtyard, hearing the sounds from the butchers.
"Can't cut through, the pork is too hard."
"Try to find the grain, cut along the grain."
"Can't cut through even along the grain."
Qin An listened to these voices, showing a look of confusion.
He hadn't been in Daqian for long, but being a level two butcher, he was quite skilled in this field.
He had never heard of pork being uncuttable, and curiosity rose in his heart.
The constable stepped forward, cupping his hands: "Mr. Zheng, the person has been brought."
The surrounding butchers, upon hearing the voice, subconsciously made way.
Mr. Zheng frowned, turned to Qin An, and said, "Go and have a look."
In front was an open space, and on the open space lay a wild pig carcass.
The wild pig carcass was entirely black, each coarse hair like a steel spike, extremely intimidating.
Particularly the blood-red eyes, even lying down they were half a person's height, enough to make even mountain tigers tremble.
Qin An nodded, raising the sharp knife and moving to stand in front of the wild pig carcass.
The surrounding peers curiously watched Qin An, as did Mr. Zheng.
All the other butchers had various knives with them.
Some for chopping bones, others for trimming meat.
Only Qin An brought just a sharp knife, looking rather odd.
Mr. Zheng was pondering, feeling Qin An was somewhat unconventional, but said nothing.
Ever since the County Magistrate had people besiege the pig demon, he had ordered Mr. Zheng to find a professional butcher to slaughter the pig demon.
If it were just slaughtering, they could do it directly, but the County Magistrate insisted on having the butchers do it without interference.
Mr. Zheng didn't know why, but judging from the other butchers, this task seemed impossible.
In front of him, Qin An looked very young and didn't even have the right tools for the job.
Mr. Zheng had no expectations.
Standing in front of the pig demon's corpse, Qin An felt a surge of fierce evil energy rushing toward him.
Even those fierce bandits probably couldn't compare to this pig demon in the slightest.
This is what a demon is.
Qin An was very glad he didn't rashly take his knife to hunt demons.
Because seeing the current situation, if this corpse could move, it would probably be beyond his ability.
"Let's give it a try."
Qin An raised the sharp knife, bringing it down on the pig demon's neck.
In the next moment, Qin An's eyes became serious.
The fierce evil energy of the pig demon gradually disappeared in Qin An's view, and his eyes were filled only with methods to disassemble the pig demon's body.
The sharp knife fell, and a piece of pork filled with evil energy separated from the pig demon, falling to the ground.
The butchers widened their eyes, even rubbing them in disbelief.
Mr. Zheng had little hope initially, but when he saw a piece of pork fall, he became invigorated.
"This young butcher can actually dismantle the pig demon."
Some constables were slightly excited but were held back by Mr. Zheng.
Seeing Qin An's serious demeanor, Mr. Zheng knew he couldn't disturb him.
If disturbed, Qin An might not continue to slaughter, and then they wouldn't find anyone to complete the task.
The surrounding was very quiet.
Qin An maintained a serious demeanor the whole time, as piece by piece pork was continuously stripped away in his hands.
Proper slaughtering requires a thorough understanding of the livestock, and each cut must be accurate to the millimeter.
Others couldn't dismantle this pig demon because their skills weren't sufficient.
Qin An's skills were adequate.
He felt himself becoming more and more proficient in the art of slaughtering.
Even with just an ordinary iron knife, each cut precisely targeted the pig demon's weakest points.
When the final cut fell, Qin An put away the sharp knife.
A blood-red meat orb floated in the air, with blood vessels faintly throbbing on it.
It was his first time seeing such a thing, not even knowing what this blood-red meat orb was.
But this wasn't the most important; the most important thing was that the text in front of him had changed.
[Butcher lv.3 (0/400): The livestock you slaughtered is a bit more delicious]
[Talent: Qi Concealment Blade Mastery (Your training speed for Qi Concealment Blade Skill has increased)]