10 Chapter 010 Chicken gizzard
Chapter 010 Chicken Ginseng
It really is a dungeon.
It was pitch black, with only a faint light coming in from above, but the entire prison corridor was so dim that it was impossible to see anyone clearly. Only by holding a torch could one barely make out the way.
Although it is built "underground", the entire Qingyun Manor is in the mountains, so it is actually located next to steep cliffs.
The dungeon is long and narrow, and must have been built along the mountainside.
The air inside was damp, and the sound of nearby water splashing could be clearly heard. Wang Sumo recalled the Guanxin Rock Waterfall he had passed before, and this place should be behind the Guanxin Rock Waterfall.
It is rare to find a sect in the martial arts world that sets up its own prison.
However, the private dungeons in places like Qingyun Manor are tacitly approved by the entire martial arts world.
The wicked are too many to be kept in the government office, yet they can't be left to roam the martial world unchecked. Those who roam the martial world commit all sorts of evil deeds, are unforgivable villains, and are extremely wicked. If Qingyun Manor doesn't imprison them, no one else can either. There are also petty villains in the martial world who deserve to be imprisoned. Being imprisoned by Qingyun Manor serves as a warning, so even if they leave Qingyun Manor, they will have to think twice before leaving, which is better than leaving the government office.
In short, Qingyun Manor is like a pillar of stability in the martial arts world.
Once someone is thrown into the Qingyun Manor dungeon, unless they are released, most people don't dare to break them out.
Based on this alone, Qingyun Manor's position in the martial arts world is unshakeable.
The fact that Lu Wenqu was thrown into this place shows that, in a way, the old manor owner genuinely cared for his free-range chicken and must have been furious at the time.
In short, getting into the dungeon is easy, but getting out is another matter entirely.
But Lu Wenqu was also quite capable; otherwise, how could he have known that Qingyun Manor was looking for her, and how could he have slipped the brocade pouch to He Ping just before she left?
There must have been many twists and turns in this story; one would only know the details after meeting Lu Wenqu in person.
The dungeons of Qingyun Manor have several levels, and the guards are divided according to the harm and evil deeds of the people imprisoned.
Lu Wenqu stole the old master's free-range chicken and ate it. He also encountered the old master in a fit of anger. At most, he is on the same level as the villains recognized by the martial arts world. He is not comparable to other heinous criminals or great demons.
It is reasonable to place Lu Wenqu's cell on the ground floor.
The rule for the dungeons at Qingyun Manor is that both the disciples guarding the dungeons and visitors must wear black cloaks and masks to prevent the prisoners from recognizing their appearance; in case of any incident at the manor, they will not be targeted or retaliated against.
As soon as Wang Sumo and the guards entered, those bored people in the first-floor dungeon started chirping or squeezing their heads through the gaps in the iron bars, trying to get closer to watch the excitement.
Anyone who stays in a closed environment for too long will feel somewhat disoriented and abnormal; they will be curious for a long time about a bird that flies in from outside, let alone a living person.
"This is it, Miss Wang." The disciple in charge of guarding the prison led Wang Sumo to the place where Lu Wenqu was being held.
The cell door opened, and Wang Sumo followed the guard inside. "Miss Wang, for safety's sake, I'll stay outside the cell door. Just call out if you need anything."
"Thank you for your trouble." Wang Sumo entered.
"Su Mo?" Lu Wenqu lowered his voice.
When Wang Sumo stepped forward, removed the hood from his head, and revealed a familiar face, Lu Wenqu was finally convinced and breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Wenqu was a disciple of the Tianxiang Sect.
The Tianxiang Sect excels in incense making, but it also has certain requirements regarding the appearance of its disciples.
The same incense can evoke completely different feelings depending on who is making it. Therefore, disciples of the Tianxiang Sect have an additional requirement regarding appearance compared to other sects.
Lu Wenqu was able to enter the Tianxiang Sect because his appearance was more upright than that of most people who traveled the martial arts world.
But Wang Sumo was equally curious, "Looking around, everyone on the first floor of the dungeon was disheveled, like a tangled lion dog, with their eyebrows and beards all tangled up, completely unkempt; how come you can still tie your hair up with a wooden hairpin and shave every day?"
Only people who are familiar with each other can make jokes in this kind of environment.
Lu Wenqu sighed, "That's a long story."
"Then get to the point." Wang Sumo hesitated for a moment. This cell had indeed been cleaned separately. The other cells were messy, but Lu Wenqu's cell, while not spotless, had a clean and tidy cushion. Wang Sumo sat down.
Upon seeing his old friend, Lu Wenqu couldn't help but laugh, "Master Huo was in such a hurry? You just arrived and he's already sending you to the kitchen?"
“No.” Wang Sumo continued, “I brought a few pets with me on the way, and I haven’t fed them yet. I also forgot to tell them, in case they starve to death when I get back.”
The familiar tone and way of roasting people instantly brought Lu Wenqu back to his old self, so he readily agreed and immediately got to the point: "A few days ago, I followed the clues of spices to Huai Ti, which is a town upstream of Ting Shui."
"Huai Ti?" Wang Sumo frowned slightly. "Isn't he famous for raising chickens?"
Lu Wenqu laughed, “Yes, it’s Huaiti, famous for raising chickens. There’s a medicinal ingredient called chicken gizzard lining, which can only be obtained from chickens. The method of preparation is to kill the chicken, take out the gizzard, peel off the inner wall, wash it, dry it, and then use it, hence the name chicken gizzard lining. It has a slightly fishy smell and a slightly bitter taste. It can clear heat and detoxify, and is used for indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.”
Wang Sumo was baffled. "What does this have to do with incense making?"
The connection between Bazhenlou and Tianxiangmen is much greater.
Lu Wenqu said seriously, "No. When I was searching for rare spices in various places before, I accidentally discovered a spice with a very special taste. It smelled slightly fishy and bitter at first, but gradually became fragrant afterward."
Wang Sumo said with disdain, "Could it be... chicken gizzard lining?"
Lu Wenqu clapped his hands, "Exactly!"
Wang Sumo had a headache.
Now that we roughly know how Master He's chickens died, it's no wonder some people's legs were broken.
Lu Wenqu was in high spirits and continued, "Of course it's not ordinary chicken gizzard lining. I carefully compared it in Huai Ti and visited all the pharmacies. Even in the same pharmacy, the powdered chicken gizzard lining didn't all have this fragrance. There must be something special about it."
Wang Sumo rested her chin on her hand, "Did you find it?"
“Of course.” Lu Wenqu didn’t look like someone who had been in a dungeon at all; on the contrary, he looked proud. “I spent several months in Huaiti and finally found something special among the countless sources of chicken gizzard lining. All chicken gizzard lining with this special aftertaste comes from one family. This family sometimes feeds their chickens with dried orange peels mixed in.”
Feeding chickens with dried tangerine peel?
Is it safe to eat chicken?
Wang Sumo must be listening to a fairy tale.
Lu Wenqu, however, said seriously, "That family has a habit of drying orange peels. If they don't dry them well, they just cut them up and mix them into the chicken feed. They don't specifically feed them orange peels. Some chickens eat them, and some don't. It's hard to say."
"And then?" Wang Sumo had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do.
Lu Wenqu continued, "Then I rented a garden in Huai Ti and bought a batch of chicks to start raising. Later I found that the higher the proportion of orange peel in the feed, the better the aroma of the chicken gizzard, but it was very rare to find a chicken that could be fed only orange peel."
Well, chickens aren't stupid either.
Wang Sumo thought truthfully.
But Lu Wenqu leaned closer, his face beaming with pride, “But there really is one, just one. It only eats orange peels and uses grains as a supplement.”
Wang Sumo: "..."
It's easy to imagine how much Lu Wenqu treasured this chicken.
Lu Wenqu sighed, “I stayed in Huaiti for two years, inquiring about the source of chicken gizzards and carefully raising chickens. Only this one chicken, which had eaten almost only orange peels since it was a chick, was raised to the right age. But before I could get the chicken gizzards, one day, it was suddenly stolen.”
Wang Sumo blinked.
Lu Wenqu still speaks of it with righteous indignation, "Our Tianxiang Sect is unparalleled in incense making, but we can also leave fragrance on valuable items, making them traceable at any time. This chicken took me a lot of effort to raise. I searched the entire Huaiti Town before finally finding it."
Wang Sumo sighed inwardly, "If I hadn't found you, you wouldn't be here..."
Lu Wenqu continued, "That chicken thief was a habitual offender. Because Huai Ti made a living by raising chickens, many merchants came to buy chickens. The chicken thief sold my chicken. I heard that he sold it to a place in Ting Shui. I rushed from Huai Ti to Ting Shui overnight. Later, I found out that this merchant supplied meat, eggs and livestock to Qingyun Manor. My chicken was sent to Qingyun Manor."
Wang Sumo: "..."
It's so worrying to hear about it.
Lu Wenqu sighed, "If it were just an ordinary chicken, that would be fine. It's not easy to find a chicken in this world that has been fed orange peels almost since it was a chick. If it were easy, I would raise another one. But I had no choice. Even if it meant going through fire and water, I had to come. And that's how I infiltrated Qingyun Manor."
Wang Sumo's eyes widened. "You think it's that easy to sneak into Qingyun Manor?"
They all came to break into the prison.
Lu Wenqu clenched his fist and coughed lightly, saying in a low voice, "I've only gained some experience raising chickens in the last two years. I robbed that chicken dealer, pretended to be his helper to deliver chickens, and casually mentioned that there's been a chicken plague recently. Isn't there a batch of live chickens stored at the resort? I can help them take a look. Chicken plague is no small matter, and they welcomed me in just like that."
"And then?" Wang Sumo was also stunned.
"Then, naturally, I wanted to take the chicken gizzard and leave. But carrying a chicken down the mountain would be too conspicuous. I could just take advantage of the chicken plague and dispose of it at the manor." At this point, Lu Wenqu said softly, "That's where the problem arose."
Wang Sumo looked at him, and Lu Wenqu said softly, "I've already killed that chicken, taken out the gizzard, and dried it. I was afraid something might happen in the process, so I specially ground it into powder and put it into a sealed jade bottle. I was planning to leave immediately. But people from the manor came looking for me and said that the old manor lord's free-range chicken had been killed. Then someone saw me killing the chicken from afar. I suddenly can't clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River."
"Why don't you explain?" Wang Sumo asked.
Lu Wenqu shook his head and leaned closer, saying, "This matter cannot be explained; there is another hidden story."
Wang Sumo looked at him.
Lu Wenqu said, "At the height of our Tianxiang Sect's power, we were skilled in both incense and poison. Even though later disciples focused on incense making and were no longer proficient in poison making, they could still identify poisons. Unfortunately, the poison that killed the old master's chicken was the very colorless and odorless poison that Tianxiang Sect used to excel at. It was impossible to identify without careful examination. And since it was just a chicken that died, they wouldn't check whether a chicken was poisoned for no reason. But our Tianxiang Sect can easily identify it."
That's something that can't be cleared up.
Moreover, the more you explain, the less clear it becomes.
Lu Wenqu also rested his chin on his hand, "The strange thing about this matter is that, why would someone use the Tianxiang Sect's secret poison to poison the old master's chickens? So I think, this poison is probably not for the chickens, but for the old master."
Wang Sumo looked at him with pitiful eyes.
He was utterly despondent. "So, if I admit to stealing the old master's free-range chicken, at most I'll have my legs broken; but if I deny it and say I'm a disciple of the Tianxiang Sect who came to get the chicken's gizzard lining to make incense powder, then no matter how many mouths I have, I can't explain the poison on the chicken, and it will confirm that I poisoned it. I'll definitely die."
So, between death and losing his leg, he chose to lose his leg.
Wang Sumo suddenly sensed a tragic grandeur in the voice of a hero lamenting his loss.
"And then what happened?" Wang Sumo asked curiously. "Did the person who poisoned the poison show up?"
Lu Wenqu himself couldn't figure it out. "No one showed up, and no one poisoned me. I've been locked up here for more than half a year, and nothing has happened. So I think that the previous incident was either something someone was afraid of making a big fuss about, so they just let it go; or he himself didn't even know he was being used as a tool. Anyway, nothing else has happened since then, and it was more than half a year ago. If I stay here, it's really like I got my leg broken for stealing the old manor lord's chicken."
"Qingyun Manor has been keeping you locked up like this?" After all, you're just a free-range chicken. Even if the old manor lord is angry, Qingyun Manor shouldn't have kept someone locked up for so long, given its reputation in the martial arts world.
Wang Sumo suddenly realized, "Or it was you who refused to leave?"
Lu Wenqu felt guilty, "The spice powder made from chicken gizzard is still hidden in Qingyun Manor!"
In the midst of war and chaos, fearing something might happen to the bottle of spice powder, he casually hid it in the mountain villa.
He couldn't leave easily before he had received the item.
Wang Sumo was speechless.
[Author's Note]
[Clenched fists] Is this a fist salute? Hahaha
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