’It seemed the only way to complete such an outrageous mission was for me to raise Mutated Spirit Beasts one by one.’
’But Mission 1 only required me to raise a single Mutated Pet Beast, and I didn’t even have a clue how to do that yet.’
’Raising a Mutated Spirit Beast... who knows how long that would take.’
But... Jiang Zuo quickly calmed down.
’Once I have more Pet Beasts, my Beast Taming Level increases, and I figure out a way to achieve a high probability of Mutation... completing this mission will just be a matter of time.’
’Besides, as long as I slowly raise Pet Beasts, I’ll have an infinite lifespan. I’ll be able to complete this mission sooner or later.’
’And whatever the reward is, it would ultimately just be something to increase my strength.’
’But as long as I diligently raise my Pet Beasts, my stats will also continue to increase. It’ll just take a bit more time.’
’The mission reward would be nice, but if it takes too long, it won’t be that important to me anymore.’
At this thought, Jiang Zuo instantly felt at peace.
’As for venturing into the Cultivation Realm just for Beast Soul Power and to complete the mission...’
’...the thought of Ding the Sixth being casually strangled to death by those two Cultivators made me dismiss the idea entirely.’
’In the mortal world, I have at least some ability to protect myself. If I went to the Immortal Realm, I’d just be an ant that could be swatted dead at any moment.’
’Even if I was lucky enough to find a sect where I could lie low and practice Beast Taming, my longevity would be a huge problem.’
’The moment anyone discovered my secret, I’d become a piece of Tang Monk’s Flesh for everyone to devour.’
’I’ll have to grind my stats high enough before I even consider making contact with the Cultivation Realm.’
...
「One day later.」
Jiang Zuo left Cowherding Village with the little black dog trotting at his side.
A few hunters in the distance had witnessed the scene of Jiang Zuo killing the Black Giant Bear.
When Village Chief Mo Sang learned that the Black Giant Bear had turned to dust right after Jiang Zuo took something from it, he was left speechless.
’Is the object of our worship really something a human can use?’
After Jiang Zuo came to return the dagger, Mo Sang secretly took him to visit the remaining villagers.
Jiang Zuo looked at most of their collections of ancient bones, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find any more Obsession Relics.
Jiang Zuo found it a little unfortunate. It would have been great to find a few more Obsession Relics like the Night Cat’s Eye.
The Desolate Heaven Beast Bone Armor was powerful, to be sure, but Jiang Zuo preferred Obsession Relics like the Night Cat’s Eye, which he could start working on right away and seemed more interesting.
After returning to Chongming Town, Jiang Zuo immediately sought out the local bookshop to buy books to offer to the Night Cat’s Eye.
Having bought various miscellaneous books and biographies over the years, Jiang Zuo knew that printing technology in this world wasn’t very advanced, probably only at the level of movable type.
Most of the printed books were things like the Four Books and Five Classics, which scholars used to study for imperial examinations.
For other types of books, the printing costs were too high and the readership was small. Coupled with the inconvenient transportation in this world, circulation was difficult. Only a handful of exceptionally popular miscellaneous books were ever printed and distributed.
Therefore, the books available for purchase in bookshops were mostly academic texts.
The bookshop didn’t have many books on display. To make a living, they often also sold ink, brushes, paper, academic robes, and anything else a scholar might need.
Jiang Zuo went to the bookshop and casually bought a copy of *Sayings of the Saints and Sages*.
Jiang Zuo had skimmed the book before. It was similar to the Tao Te Ching from his past life, using the words of saints and sages to teach scholars principles of life and conduct.
However, its content was nowhere near as comprehensive as the Tao Te Ching.
And then... Jiang Zuo discovered that the Night Cat’s Eye completely ignored *Sayings of the Saints and Sages*.
It wasn’t just *Sayings of the Saints and Sages*; the Night Cat’s Eye rejected all the other academic books for scholars as well.
’"When death came, it was filled with regret, for the book it was reading was not yet finished..." ’This Night Cat... don’t tell me it only reads novels?’
Only then did Jiang Zuo notice that the Night Cat’s Eye’s description mentioned the word "finished."
Jiang Zuo immediately went back to the bookshop and bought a novel.
_You have gained 1 point of Beast Soul Power!_
This time, the Night Cat’s Eye finally accepted it and immediately gave him a reward of 1 point of Beast Soul Power.
There were another dozen or so novels in the bookshop, and Jiang Zuo bought them all.
He then discovered that the Night Cat seemed to be a picky eater; it wouldn’t take just any novel.
He didn’t know if it was because the cat had already read them in its previous life or for some other reason.
Of the next sixteen books he offered, it ultimately accepted only eleven.
Counting the first book, Jiang Zuo had obtained twelve points of Beast Soul Power in one go.
Jiang Zuo was thrilled about this, but his joy was short-lived as a new worry surfaced.
The books available for purchase in bookshops were largely the same from place to place.
The number of novels that were printed and sold in bookshops was extremely limited.
If Jiang Zuo wanted to get more novels and miscellaneous books, he would have to turn to street vendors or scholars and purchase their handwritten copies.
In this world, a great many books were propagated through hand-copying by scholars.
Some impoverished scholars made a living specifically by copying and selling books.
But what the scholars chose to copy depended on the market, so finding anything good was a matter of luck.
However, Jiang Zuo wasn’t in a rush. He was going to be traveling around anyway. By visiting the surrounding towns and spending some time getting in touch with those scholars, he figured he could still acquire a good number of novels and other books.
...
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
「Red Fox Town.」
"Jiang Zuo, you’re back?"
People bustled to and fro at the town gate. A guard spotted a familiar figure in the crowd and couldn’t help but call out.
"Yeah, Xu. I just got back."
Jiang Zuo smiled and returned the greeting. A large, majestic black dog stood beside him.
In half a year, the once-adorable little black puppy had grown into the true Ninth Generation Great Black.
"That kid is back? He said he was going to lie low for a few months, but he ended up hiding for a full half-year."
News of Jiang Zuo’s return quickly reached the ears of County Magistrate Zhang Bingjun.
Half a year ago, after he had sent an urgent petition to the imperial court, the court had actually dispatched a Military General to garrison Red Fox Town.
News of Ding the Seventh’s death in prison spread quickly. A warrant was issued for the remaining six brothers of the Ding Family, who, seemingly terrified, had gone into hiding and hadn’t dared to show their faces since.
For some unknown reason, the conflict between the civil and military officials at court suddenly died down, and no one came to stir up trouble in Red Fox Town anymore.
All in all, Zhang Bingjun had lived comfortably for the past six months, and his spirits were much higher.
And Jiang Zuo deserved at least some of the credit for that.
...
’The house looks fine. Did someone help sweep the front?’
He opened the door and went inside. Seeing that nothing looked like it had been ransacked and his hidden money was still there, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Before returning, he had been worried that his house would be burglarized.
Although he had hidden his money well, if thieves came by often enough, they would eventually find some of it.
’Looks like either the Government Office or my neighbors helped out.’
Jiang Zuo thought.
That little girl, Subai, could easily scale the two-meter-high fence; she was clearly not from an ordinary family.
But Jiang Zuo didn’t dwell on it. He would just have to return the favor when he had the chance.
’The lard seems like it’s still usable, but it’s probably about to go bad. Hmm, this pork rind has been drying for so long... I’ll eat you today!’
Jiang Zuo went to the kitchen to have a look.
The kitchen looked like someone had entered it; it seemed a thief really had paid a visit.
However, nothing was missing. The pork lard he had covered before leaving was also relatively well-preserved.
But after all this time, it was about to go bad.
Jiang Zuo had returned a little after two in the afternoon.
At this hour, the streets were mostly empty. There wasn’t much to buy, and the selection wasn’t great, but Jiang Zuo managed to pick up some green vegetables and fatty pork.
Seeing the pork rinds that had been air-drying under the eaves for half a year, Jiang Zuo felt his mouth begin to water.
’That lard’s about to spoil anyway, so I might as well use a lot of it!’
After drying for six months, the pieces of pork rind had become rock-hard. Someone with bad teeth would likely chip one trying to bite into it.
He washed the dust off the pork rinds, put a large amount of lard into a pot, and heated it over a low flame. Then, he placed the rinds into the oil to deep-fry them at a medium temperature.
When large bubbles puffed up all over the rinds, Jiang Zuo scooped them out and placed them in a basin of water to soak.
Jiang Zuo then turned to prepare the other dishes.
By the time the rest of the meal was ready, the pork rinds in the basin had soaked until they were soft, looking like flat sponges.
Jiang Zuo cut the soft pork rinds into strips and stir-fried them in the pot with some peppers.
At some point, a little figure had appeared, perched on the fence.
When Jiang Zuo saw her, he smiled and waved for her to come in.
Subai immediately and expertly vaulted over the fence, ran into the kitchen, and stared at the sizzling pork rinds in the wok.
Over the past six months, she had eaten her way through every restaurant and tavern, big and small, in Red Fox Town.
But she had never seen a dish like this before.
Subai couldn’t wait to find out what it tasted like.
When it was finally time to eat, the first thing Subai did was pick up a piece of pork rind and pop it into her mouth.
Then, as she bit down, a burst of savory juice exploded from the porous rind, flooding her mouth.
The rehydrated pork rind didn’t just look like a sponge; it was similar on the inside, too.
When stir-fried, its porous texture would absorb a huge amount of sauce.
Once cooked, the pork rind became both springy and crisp, and combined with the savory sauce, it was absolutely delicious.
"What is this?"
Subai asked as she continued to eat.
She couldn’t tell what it was made from at all. How could it be so delicious?
’Could it be a rare ingredient that Jiang Zuo brought back from his travels?’
"Pork rind."
"Pork rind?"
Subai was skeptical.
It wasn’t that she had never eaten pork rind before; you could find it in some of the town’s restaurants.
But the taste was worlds apart.
"You’re back now. You won’t be leaving again for a while, right?"
Subai asked.
"Not for a while."
Jiang Zuo nodded.
"Great! I’ll bring some ingredients over in a couple of days!"
Subai seemed eager.
If something as ordinary as pork rind could be made this delicious, what would happen if he cooked the meat of a ferocious beast? Wouldn’t it be heavenly?
...
Her belly full, Subai left, patting her stomach in satisfaction.
Jiang Zuo tidied up the house a little, and for the first time in a while, found himself with nothing to do.
During his six months away, Jiang Zuo had been keeping an eye on the news from Red Fox Town.
He had only returned after confirming that no other major incidents had occurred there in the past six months.
Even so, he didn’t plan on tending his vegetable patch outside of town for the time being.
He would still occasionally go to Blacksmith Li’s to do some forging, but much less frequently than before.
’Oh well. I might as well write a novel for the Night Cat’s Eye.’
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Zuo took out a brush and paper.
Over the past six months, besides training the Ninth Generation Great Black, the thing Jiang Zuo had spent the most time on was finding books for the Night Cat’s Eye.
After searching for so long, Jiang Zuo finally discovered that the Night Cat’s Eye didn’t just read novels—it only liked wish-fulfillment stories.
It wouldn’t accept novels with tragic endings, and even if it did, it wouldn’t grant any Beast Soul Power.