In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 46 Master of the Tiger-Taming Pavilion

Not long after, Chen Da drove the donkey cart back. Many villagers who had been watching looked at Chen Da on the cart and exchanged bewildered glances.

"Did Chen Da go to the village chief's house to borrow a donkey cart again?"

"Are we heading into the city?"

"They're definitely going to buy grain!"

"Chen Dahe and Daoge'er's family are really rich! They can still go to the city to buy grain every few days these days!"

"..."

Amidst the envious glances of the nearby villagers, Chen Da and Chen Dao returned home together, tied up all the chickens they needed to sell, put them in cages, and then boarded a donkey cart with Chen Cheng and the other four, leaving Chenjia Village and heading onto the official road.

Along the long official road, one could still see refugees, some alone, some with their families; all of them were emaciated and ragged.

There were even quite a few refugees lingering outside Chenjia Village, seemingly wanting to enter to beg for food. However, they were destined not to be able to enter, because the village chief, Chen He, organized the able-bodied men in the village to guard the village every day, strictly preventing these refugees from trying to break into the village.

As the donkey cart approached the county town, a stench assaulted the senses. The shacks built by refugees were scattered haphazardly outside the town, with excrement and urine everywhere, making the area outside the town seem like a filthy world.

In addition, Chen Dao also saw many refugees lying on the ground with lifeless eyes. These refugees were probably unable to find food and did not have the strength to build shacks, so they could only lie on the ground and wait to die.

"Ugh!"

Chen Dao sighed softly, forcibly suppressing the pity in his heart. After paying 10 coins, he entered the city with Chen Da and the others, and went straight to the entrance of the Fuhu Martial Arts School.

"Brother Wei, could you please call Miss Li for me?"

As was customary, after stuffing 10 copper coins into Wei Ge's hand, Wei Ge went inside and called Li Ying out.

"Brother Chen is here!"

When Li Ying saw Chen Dao, her smile was as warm as ever. As a foodie, she could win the favor of anyone who sold her high-end ingredients.

"Miss Li, may I have a word with you in private?"

Chen Dao mysteriously pulled Li Ying to the side, and Li Ying didn't think much of it, following Chen Dao to a place a little further away.

After confirming that the distance was sufficient for Wei Ge, Chen Da, and the others not to hear his conversation, Chen Dao lowered his voice and said, "Miss Li, I've brought some rather special chickens this time. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

"A special kind of chicken?"

Li Ying's eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked, "How is it special?"

Chen Dao thought for a moment and then said, “A couple of days ago when we went into the mountains, we caught a chicken that we had never seen before. The chicken was very small, but its feathers were bright red like blood. According to the old hunters in the village, this chicken is very likely to be of great benefit to martial artists!”

"Greatly beneficial to martial artists?"

Li Ying's pupils contracted, and she asked in surprise, "Are you serious?"

It's no wonder Li Ying was so shocked; prey useful to martial artists is extremely rare. As far as Li Ying knew, the only prey effective against martial artists was demonic beasts. If what Chen Dao said was true, then wouldn't that mean...

Did Chen Dao and his group capture a monster?

"This is just our guess."

Chen Dao certainly didn't dare to make a guarantee, so he could only vaguely say, "This is the judgment of the old hunters in the village. They suspect that this kind of chicken may have the bloodline of a demon beast, which can help martial artists strengthen their qi and blood."

"Demon beast bloodline..."

Li Ying frowned and pondered for a moment, then said to Chen Dao, "Brother Chen, wait for me a moment!"

After saying that, Li Ying turned and ran into the martial arts school.

Not long after, Li Ying returned and said to Chen Dao, "Brother Chen, my father wants to see you."

Li Ying's father...

Isn't that Li Hu, the owner of the Fuhu Boxing Gym?

According to the information Chen Dao had gathered, Li Hu, the owner of the Fuhu Boxing Gym, was an eighth-rank martial artist and one of the most powerful figures in the entire county. For such a person to want to see him...

Chen Dao gently stroked Xiao Yuan, who was perched on his shoulder, and nodded, saying, "Okay!"

"Take your chicken with you, my dad wants to see it."

"Row!"

Chen Dao gestured for Chen Da and the others to wait for him outside, then, carrying the chicken coop, he and Li Ying entered the Fuhu Boxing Gym.

Stepping through the entrance of the boxing gym, you come into view a spacious hall where a group of tall, upright young men are practicing their boxing routines with precision.

Beside these young people was an extremely tall man who was correcting their posture.

“That’s my second junior brother, Han Meng.”

Noticing Chen Dao's gaze, Li Ying introduced him, "Nowadays, my father rarely teaches the martial arts school's apprentices personally anymore. Usually, it's my second junior brother who does it. My second junior brother is exceptionally talented and is already a peak ninth-grade martial artist. He will soon catch up with my father."

Chen Dao nodded and asked, "Then, Miss Li, are you the senior sister?"

"Of course!"

Li Ying puffed out her chest and said with no small amount of pride, "Don't let your strength fool you, even if my second junior brother is so powerful, he still has to address me as senior sister!"

"awesome!"

Chen Dao smiled and complimented Li Ying. At the same time, many martial arts students in the school also noticed Chen Dao, but they lost interest after just one glance. Chen Dao's clothes made it clear at a glance that he was not one of them and was not worth paying attention to at all.

Only Han Meng, who was as tall as Chen Cheng, jogged over and greeted Li Ying in a simple and honest manner: "Senior Sister!"

"Ok!"

Li Ying nodded.

Han Meng then looked at Chen Dao and asked, "And who is this young man?"

"My name is Chen Dao."

"Hello, Brother Chen!"

Han Meng scratched his head and said, "Brother Chen, are you here to learn martial arts too?"

"no!"

Chen Dao did not offer an explanation.

Li Ying then said, "My father wants to see him. Junior Brother Han, we'll discuss it in detail later."

"Row!"

After passing through the main hall of the martial arts school, you will arrive at the backyard of the school.

In the empty backyard, only one figure sat on a stone chair. Chen Dao recognized the person at a glance: it was Li Hu, the owner of the Fuhu Boxing Gym.

"father!"

As expected, Li Ying, who came to the backyard, called out Li Hu's identity, "I brought Brother Chen here."

Li Hu nodded to Li Ying, then pointed to the stone chair opposite him and said to Chen Dao, "Young brother, please sit down."

"Thank you, Master Li."

Chen Dao thanked him and went straight to sit down opposite Li Hu, quietly observing Li Hu.

Li Hu was very different from the martial artist Chen Dao had imagined. In Chen Dao's view, a highly skilled martial artist should be as tall as Han Meng and Chen Cheng, but Li Hu was not particularly tall. Judging from his appearance, he was only about 1.7 meters tall. In the cold weather, Li Hu was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and his bare arms were bulging with muscles like sculptures, giving people a feeling of great power.

Li Hu glanced casually at the little round bird on Chen Dao's shoulder, then looked Chen Dao up and down and said, "Little brother, you said you captured a chicken with the bloodline of a demon beast?"