In the state of Dalu, Liuzhou, Feng County.
Inside a dilapidated roadside tavern.
"Haha! What a relief!" Ba Kui shouted loudly, downing his cup of rice wine in one gulp.
Indeed, it was still rice.
Ultimately, rice was the cheapest and most abundant. Since there was plenty of spirit rice available, it naturally became the main ingredient for brewing wine.
Li Qi felt that this drink tasted more like sweet rice wine than liquor...
It had a slight alcoholic taste but was mostly sweet and quite palatable.
It could be considered a beverage rather than wine.
Perhaps distilling high-proof alcohol or spirits consumed too much fuel, so they chose this low-alcohol fermented beverage?
After all, fuel was much more expensive than rice.
Could rice even be used as fuel?
Would it burn?
As Li Qi's mind wandered, he picked up a piece of side dish, savoring its deliciousness.
It wasn't anything fancy—just pickled radish stir-fried with minced meat—but to Li Qi, this ordinary dish tasted incredibly delicious and satisfying.
"Brother Ba Kui, what business are you going to do in Lianxia?" Li Qi didn't drink much, instead savoring the pickled radish in his mouth.
Why hadn't he found pickled radish tasty before? The saltiness made it truly delicious.
Eating plain rice every day left his mouth bland; having the chance to eat something with more flavor, Li Qi cherished the opportunity.
"We're helping someone transport a batch of goods, said to be... some kind of gemstones, but I don't think they're worth much. I heard that those gems can cost tens of thousands of coins for a small piece, and prettier ones can cost dozens of gold pieces for a single small stone, which is outrageously expensive. The ones we're carrying weigh three to four hundred pounds each, totaling five to six thousand pounds—what kind of gemstone would weigh that much?" Ba Kui said with a grin.
"But our trip to Lianxia isn't far. Brother Li Qi, what do you do? It's just early spring, yet you've come out alone with only a bag. You don't seem to be running a business. Are you delivering a message for someone?" Ba Kui asked.
As they talked, he also picked up a piece of pickled radish and savored it.
Apart from the pickled radish with minced meat, there was also a plate of braised pork with pickles and a basket of steamed rice cakes. This was their feast and staple food.
It couldn't be called lavish, but for Li Qi, it was certainly a rare delicacy. For Ba Kui, it likely wasn't cheap either. It was clear that while this burly man might not be a good person, he was certainly generous.
It was understandable why he might not be considered a good person; Li Qi figured that Ba Kui had committed many acts of robbery and murder.
His generosity was evident now. Having survived together and fought demons, even though they didn't know each other well, Ba Kui treated Li Qi as a friend, genuinely and sincerely.
"It's not a particularly honorable reason. I offended someone back home and came here to escape," Li Qi admitted without hiding, though he twisted the truth slightly: "That guy was too oppressive, always trying to take over my family's property. I killed him, so I fled."
"What a relief! We love men like you! If anyone dares to bully us, we'll stab them dead! No one will look down on us! Let's have a toast!" Ba Kui seemed particularly fond of such stories, raising his cup for a toast with Li Qi.
Li Qi clinked glasses with him and took a sip.
Then, he saw Ba Kui praising him while drawing his woodcutter's knife, brandishing it proudly.
Almost instantly, Li Qi felt a sharp pain in his eyes!
Qi!
Ba Kui's knife emitted a glaring qi.
Red, extremely fierce, Li Qi could even feel his hair standing on end, as if a blade were lightly cutting his face.
"Brother Ba Kui, your knife?" He suppressed the chilling sensation and casually asked Ba Kui.
That night, when he and Ba Kui fought the wild dog demon, he had seen a faint red glow on the weapon but hadn't paid much attention, believing his thick skin from the Ox Strength Technique was impenetrable.
But now, he realized the sharpness of that woodcutter's knife.
What kind of qi was that?!
Was it a magical tool like his willow branch, infused with some kind of qi to give it special properties?
His willow branch had been imbued with Earth Spirit divine qi. What about this?
"What's wrong with my knife?" Ba Kui wondered why Li Qi looked so... uneasy.
Like he was afraid of something.
"How many things has your knife cut through?" Li Qi finally calmed down and asked calmly.
"Haha! You're asking the right person. This knife is my livelihood—uphill, downhill, chopping wood, hunting beasts, everything depends on it. Strangely enough, other people's knives dull after a few uses, but mine gets sharper the more I use it. I've killed countless pigs, rabbits, chopped trees, sliced meat—there's nothing it can't do." He proudly tapped the blade.
Then, he leaned in mysteriously: "Even human blood has stained it."
He then sat back: "Even the village shaman back home says my knife is no longer an ordinary woodcutter's knife—it contains Blood Malevolent Qi. Even ghosts would retreat at the sight of it. I rely on this everywhere I go!"
Listening to Ba Kui's boasting, Li Qi thoughtfully looked at the knife.
So, this kind of qi was called Blood Malevolent Qi?
From the description, it didn't seem to come from any ritual or cultivation. The source of Blood Malevolent Qi... should be killing.
Killing humans, wild beasts, living creatures.
It might even extend to killing the dead, like ghosts or zombies.
In summary, Li Qi noted down the source of this qi.
Perhaps he could obtain some to enhance his strength.
Considering the difficulty wasn't too high, besides killing people, slaughtering more pigs shouldn't be a problem, right?
With these thoughts, they finished their meal without getting drunk, given their trained bodies weren't easily affected by the rice wine. Their bellies were full.
A rice cake with pickles and pickled radish, along with some minced meat or fatty braised pork, satisfied both strong men.
"Well then, Brother Li Qi, let's meet again if fate allows. I'm off to Lianxia!" Ba Kui bid farewell, put on his backpack, paid the bill, and prepared to leave for Lianxia.
Li Qi watched him leave, then turned around and headed toward the inn.
As he walked, his pace quickened from walking to jogging, then to running!
It was already noon, and Shen Shuibei should be awake.
Time to set off to find Lady Luo Fu!
Li Qi clenched his fists and quickened his steps, increasing his speed.
Finding her might bring extra income!
New techniques, new powers—he needed these to truly stand tall.