Chapter Sixty: Alchemical Material—Humans
Wu You walked quickly, irritation simmering within him.
What a farce—so much for the ancient people's honesty; all of them were scheming, one no better than the next.
Even the shouts of the street vendors grated on his nerves now.
He realized the jade pendant must be worth a fortune, enough to spark the greed of that pawnshop owner, who was a swindler to begin with. Judging by his clothes and age, the man must have thought Wu You an easy mark.
Should he try another pawnshop? But what if the next owner was just as unscrupulous?
Lost in thought, Wu You suddenly sensed something amiss.
The ghost leech mosquito kept sending out waves of consciousness.
Distracted, he switched to observation mode.
From above, he saw two men tailing him from a distance.
Wu You recognized them as clerks from the pawnshop.
He cursed inwardly. What now? If they couldn’t buy by force, would they try something underhanded?
Fine, he thought. He was already burning with anger—time to teach them a lesson.
Having made up his mind, Wu You deliberately led the two followers toward increasingly desolate streets.
...
Far behind, the two clerks grew more perplexed the longer they tailed him.
"San-gou, why is he heading deeper and deeper into these back alleys? Has he spotted us?"
"If he noticed us, wouldn’t he try to shake us off? Heading into deserted areas on purpose—he must be a fool."
Erzi found the reasoning sound, but after a moment, he voiced another concern.
"What if he’s a martial arts master?"
"Come off it," San-gou scoffed. "How many martial artists do you see in a year? Aren’t they always dressed to the nines, strutting about? Does this kid look anything like that?"
Erzi conceded the point—martial artists were a distant legend to small-time crooks like them.
Clearly, this kid was just unlucky. They couldn’t be blamed for that.
...
Wu You wasn’t familiar with Le Ping City, but that hardly mattered. All he had to do was head where there were fewer people.
He wasn’t worried about getting lost either—the system’s three-dimensional map kept track of everywhere he’d been and the surrounding areas with perfect clarity.
At this rate, another half a day of wandering and he’d have the entire city “lit up.”
As time passed, the surroundings became increasingly dilapidated.
Fewer and fewer people passed by, and those he did see hurried along nervously.
Every city has corners like these—modern or ancient, it’s all the same.
After turning down a couple more alleys, he found himself among abandoned, crumbling courtyards.
There wasn’t a soul around now; animal droppings even dotted the ground.
Here, droppings weren’t considered waste—they were a resource, used for farming.
Wu You had seen several people carrying baskets and bamboo tongs, collecting dung throughout the city.
Some public latrines even sold it openly.
The idea of paying money for manure was something Wu You had never even considered before.
...
"Erzi, this kid’s been wandering aimlessly for ages—he must be lost. He’s even gone into Flayer’s Alley. Ha! People don’t dare enter there even in broad daylight."
"Perfect. Let’s go."
With no one else around, the two men quickened their pace, closing in.
San-gou pulled a metal-wrapped hardwood club from his waistband and crept forward at a half-run.
Wu You wondered what approach they’d take—would they tie him up, or simply beat him and snatch the pendant?
He hadn’t activated any supernatural power, but ever since his last transformation, his strength had only grown.
There was no need to expend mental energy dealing with two thugs.
Hearing hurried footsteps behind him, Wu You knew they were about to make their move.
A whistling sound cut through the air.
Wu You sidestepped the incoming club, causing the attacker to stumble.
His initial urge to toy with them vanished.
Instead, his gaze grew icy as he looked at the club and its wielder.
The weapon was as thick as his arm, as long as a thigh, with two layers of iron wrapped around the end.
And aimed at the back of his head with such force—clearly meant to kill.
Seeing their target had dodged the sneak attack, both Erzi and San-gou dropped all pretenses and circled him from either side.
Fearing Wu You might shatter the jade out of desperation, Erzi tried to reason with him.
"Hand over the pendant and we’ll let you walk away, kid. Otherwise, you’re in for a beating. And our boss knows people on the street. If you don’t cooperate, your family might suffer for it too."
Wu You said nothing, staring at them with eyes as cold as death.
A chill crept over Erzi and San-gou, goosebumps prickling their skin.
"Hey, San-gou, this kid’s giving me the creeps. Should we go for it?"
"What’s there to be afraid of? Let’s cripple him first."
With that, San-gou brandished his club and lunged forward.
There was a blur of motion.
With a clatter, both clubs fell to the ground.
The two burly men hovered a foot above the ground, faces flushed, tongues lolling out.
Each pair of powerless hands clutched desperately at the arms choking their throats.
Wu You held one man in each hand, hoisting at least three hundred and fifty pounds of thug off the ground.
His gaze remained cold.
Humans are social animals—but before they’re socialized, or outside that structure, what are they?
Mere beasts, ruled by the law of the jungle.
Wu You had never considered himself naïve.
But now, he realized his younger self had, in some ways, been a fool.
Snap. Snap.
Two crisp sounds.
The two men went limp, hands falling as their limbs twitched uncontrollably.
Notification: Capture successful. Material obtained: Male human.
Notification: Capture successful. Material obtained: Male human.
...
So long as they weren’t dead beyond recall, no one could dispose of a body better than Wu You.
No disgust, no panic.
Compared to the first time he killed, Wu You felt no discomfort at all now.
He bent down, picked up the two hardwood clubs, and tossed them lightly in his hands.
He opened the system’s three-dimensional map, glancing at the location of the Treasure Pavilion Pawnshop.
Need money? That problem seemed easily solved now.
...
Wang Fugui sat in his shop, snacking on candied fruit as he awaited good news from his two clerks.
With this windfall, he could buy another house in the city and take a new concubine.
He might even have enough to acquire a tavern.
Life was looking up.
He’d heard the Spring Red Brothel had just brought in a few fresh-faced girls from Jiangzhou, each one more radiant than the last.
He’d redeem one and bring her home—what a prospect.
The thought made the fifty-something man want to dance with glee.
But he still worried that his two useless clerks might lose the target or botch the job.
...
Dusk settled. Most of the shops on the street had closed for the night.
Wu You sat on the second floor of a teahouse across from the pawnshop, keeping an eye on its entrance.
A wealthy patron had treated the entire teahouse to drinks that afternoon, saving Wu You considerable trouble.
The Treasure Pavilion usually closed around this time.
But tonight, Wang Fugui was still waiting, a trace of anxiety in his heart.
Had those two idiots failed? Was the boy too cunning, never giving them a chance?
Or had they succeeded and run off with the pendant?
No, that couldn’t be—he knew where both clerks lived. They couldn’t run far.
Should he go check their homes?