Chapter 5

Alan wiped away his tears and excitedly took out a dagger, looking at Li Lang.

His heart stirred slightly, and his gaze fell on the two smaller wolves.

"Kid, do you know how to skin? This wolf hide is worth at least one tael of silver."

It wasn't that Yuan Long was stingy; he was just afraid of poverty. Moreover, he knew the value of a complete wolf hide and couldn't help but remind him.

"Shall I try on you first?"

Bai Chen glared at Yuan Long and reached out to start cutting. Before the knife fell, Yuan Long shouted.

"Wrong, wrong, you can't start there, start from the belly!"

"Got it." Bai Chen responded impatiently, changing the angle and cutting down.

Unfortunately, the process was bloody and unsmooth. The bloody wolf carcass was thrown on the ground, and a torn wolf hide fell into Bai Chen's hands.

Obtained a piece of torn wolf hide, proficiency +1

Learned Butchery, Level 1: 1/10

Can dissect beasts of the same level up to the third stage; for each stage above the third, the success rate decreases by 20%.

Sure enough! Bai Chen had long suspected that there might be a profession for dissecting wolf carcasses.

Now, upon hearing this, it was indeed true, and his mind immediately filled with knowledge about skinning.

Bai Chen chose ordinary wolves because if his guess was correct, these two wolves would yield less experience than Li Lang.

Moreover, after learning Butchery, his skinning skills improved significantly.

After all, this was the process from 0 to 1. At Bai Chen's strong request, he once again raised the knife for the second wolf.

This time, the process was much smoother, and the entire process left Yuan Long wide-eyed.

When skinning the first wolf, Yuan Long had guessed that Bai Chen had never skinned before, as every cut was chaotic and disordered.

But this second wolf was like a professional butcher, with each cut precise and decisive, making the entire process seem like a unique performance.

Bai Chen's knife work seemed to have its own consciousness, and the wolf carcass was left completely bloodless, stark white, and placed next to the first wolf, forming a stark contrast.

A perfect, flawless wolf hide fell into Bai Chen's hands.

Obtained a complete wolf hide, proficiency +5

Butchery Level 1: 6/100

"Kid, are you a butcher by trade?" Yuan Long couldn't help but praise, looking at the sharp blade in Bai Chen's hand, he couldn't help but wonder if he could be so clean and efficient with a live wolf.

"Did you see my amazing knife work?" Bai Chen couldn't help but boast.

This time, Yuan Long didn't argue, as he couldn't find even the slightest flaw.

Yuan Long didn't oppose when Bai Chen skinned Li Lang, watching him make precise cuts, his heart couldn't help but tense up.

Finally, Bai Chen placed the complete Li Lang hide on the table, and Yuan Long let out a long breath.

"Kid, you're good."

Obtained a complete Li Lang hide, proficiency +10

Butchery advanced to Level 2: 16/500

Can dissect beasts of the same level up to the third stage; for each stage above the third, the success rate decreases by 20%.

Bai Chen's mind was filled with information about various beasts, their values, and many strange butchery techniques.

Bai Chen's eyes lit up, and he said to Yuan Long, "This Li Lang bone is also a valuable medicinal ingredient, and the medical hall buys it at a high price."

Yuan Long nodded woodenly; he had never hunted a Li Lang before and knew only that the Li Lang hide was valuable, but nothing else.

Now, hearing Bai Chen's words, he was delighted to have an additional income besides the wolf hide.

Although it was late at night, Alan worked particularly hard. Bai Chen dissected each wolf, and the Li Lang bones were separated and piled up.

As for the wolf meat, it was chopped up. With so much wolf meat, only a small portion was kept for immediate consumption, while the rest was salted and dried into jerky.

Yuan Long had originally thought that without him, the family would have a hard time.

Who would have thought that Bai Chen was so capable? Although his body couldn't move much, his face was always smiling, and his mouth couldn't close.

"By the way, there are a few more wolves in the mountains. I can't bring them back alone, so I'll go again."

Bai Chen was thinking about the experience for Butchery, but Alan and Yuan Long were scared.

"Did you really encounter a wolf pack today?" Yuan Long looked at Bai Chen with a hint of fear.

"Do you think I'm joking with you?"

"Don't go. It's late at night, and all kinds of beasts are out. If you go now, you might not come back." Yuan Long didn't want Bai Chen to take the risk.

Having found such a treasure, he couldn't let him take risks again.

Despite his rough appearance and casual speech, Yuan Long, who supported the family alone, was much more细腻 (refined) than Bai Chen.

"Then what about those wolves?"

"If they're still around tomorrow, I'll send Alan to the village to get a few brothers to bring the wolves back. But after one night, they might be eaten by other beasts, leaving no bones."

Although it was late into the night before they rested, Bai Chen got up early the next day.

Yuan Long had wanted him to rest another day before going out, worried about his injuries.

But for Bai Chen, those injuries were no problem. The next day, he was energetic, and his internal energy had increased a bit overnight.

Bai Chen's cultivation at the 3rd stage of the Houtian realm was already considered a formidable expert in the area around the Wuliang Sect.

This time, Yuan Long specially found a villager to guide them, and they smoothly entered the Clear Water Town.

Clear Water Town was not a large town, with a population of less than ten thousand, but it was quite prosperous in the surrounding area.

The streets were bustling, especially during the morning market, when people from all directions gathered here.

The villager guiding them was named Ah Dian, but Ah Dian was not at all foolish, and he was quite talkative, pointing out various things in Clear Water Town to Bai Chen.

Bai Chen didn't mind the chatter and nodded repeatedly. Ah Dian pointed to a shop ahead and said, "Brother Bai, that's the fur shop. The prices are fair, and the shopkeeper, Mr. Chen, is a straightforward person who won't cheat us."

Ah Dian had already brought Bai Chen to the fur shop, which was quite different from what Bai Chen had imagined. The shop was quite large, but there were only a few customers inside.

Occasionally, someone would glance at Bai Chen and Ah Dian, but their eyes seemed a bit strange.

Bai Chen felt a bit embarrassed, as it was his first time doing business, and he was carrying a large cloth bag on his back, filled with two complete wolf hides and a pile of wolf bones.

"Ah Dian, is it time to repay the one tael of silver you borrowed from me last time?"

A well-dressed, middle-aged, fat man walked over, his face stern, and his eyes gleaming with shrewdness.

Ah Dian was embarrassed and didn't speak, but Mr. Chen had already come over, ignoring Ah Dian and looking at Bai Chen, "Who is this young brother?"

"This is Yuan Long's cousin, who has come here to make a living. Yuan Long asked me to bring him to see the world." Ah Dian couldn't help but show a bit of pride.

It seemed he was telling Bai Chen, "I'm someone who has seen the world."

Bai Chen smiled inwardly but showed a simple expression, "Thank you, Brother Ah Dian. This is my first time seeing such a large town. In the village, I've never seen so many people in my whole life."

Mr. Chen was slightly taken aback, his face showing a hint of disdain. He had approached Bai Chen because of his clear eyes and refined demeanor, but now he lost some interest.

"Oh, so you're Yuan Long's relative. What brings you to my shop?" Although Mr. Chen's face was not as enthusiastic as before, his words were still polite, without any condescension.

"Brother Yuan Long and Brother Bai hunted two wolves yesterday and have brought the wolf hides to Mr. Chen."

"Wolf hides, huh? I've recently received over a hundred wolf hides, and the price in the entire Clear Water Town has dropped by thirty percent. Brother Bai, you've come from far, and you might not get a good price."

"I understand, Mr. Chen. It's a blessing for me if you can take them. I can't ask for a high price."

Merchants were all the same; they would start to haggle even before seeing the goods.

However, from Ah Dian's words, Bai Chen knew that Mr. Chen's prices were still the best in Clear Water Town.

The other fur shops gave prices that were like charity, and unless Bai Chen was willing to sell the wolf hides in a more distant place, he couldn't get a higher price than Mr. Chen.

Mr. Chen, pleased with Bai Chen's words, smiled, "Of course, I can't treat Brother Bai unfairly."

Bai Chen opened his backpack, and a pile of wolf bones spilled out.

Mr. Chen was initially surprised, but his face quickly changed to one of astonishment.

"Are these Li Lang bones?"

"Oh, yes, I was planning to sell them to the medical hall in town."

Bai Chen remained calm. This fur shop didn't just deal in furs but also in leather armor and weapons.

Li Lang bones not only had medicinal properties but could also be used to make weapons and armor, and weapon shops would buy them at prices not much lower than the medical hall.

"Brother Bai, these bones..."

Before Mr. Chen could finish, Bai Chen spread out the wolf hide in his hand, and Mr. Chen's eyes were immediately drawn to it.

"What a beautiful wolf hide!" Mr. Chen exclaimed, and Ah Dian was also stunned.

They recognized that this was a Li Lang hide. In the area around Clear Water Town, it was almost impossible to hunt a Li Lang, unless several hunters worked together, and even then, getting a perfect Li Lang hide was a dream.

Mr. Chen couldn't help but stroke the wolf hide, and Bai Chen smiled, taking out another wolf hide, "I have another smaller one. Mr. Chen, what price can you give?"

"Do you know if these two wolf hides were hunted by Brother Bai?" Mr. Chen was hesitant.

If it were anyone else, he would have tried to lower the price, but the fact that Bai Chen could produce a Li Lang hide suggested that he was not without ability. If he offered a low price or one that didn't meet Bai Chen's expectations, it might become a one-time deal.

In their line of business, the worst thing was to have inferior goods. If Bai Chen were just an ordinary hunter like Ah Dian, it would be one thing, but the Li Lang hide suggested that either Bai Chen was lucky or truly capable of hunting Li Lang.