Chapter 156: Vegetable Man (First update)
Luo Xuanyi roughly counted the number of children behind the two people. They were all following behind them obediently.
Because each butcher shop charged a different price for vegetables, the further in you went, the more varied the dishes and the higher the prices. The two leading the group seemed to want to get a good price, so they kept walking further into the street.
Luo Xuanyi looked at the streets of Cairen City, which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
At this moment, Luo Xuanyi suddenly caught a faint dog bark. The sound was weak and thin, as if it was squeezed out from the throat, and Luo Xuanyi almost thought it was an illusion.
But just as the barking of the dogs was silenced by the laughter of the diners, a sudden gust of wind blew up from the street, creating a billowing white mist. Luo Xuanyi felt a gaze sweep across the street, finally landing on the two people in front of her. The gaze seemed to be examining them, then slowly waved away the mist, extending a hand to block the crowd.
He was a tall cook with a thick beard and a fleshy face. He held a boning knife in his hand, almost as tall as a man. He stood in the middle of the road and said in a low voice, "This batch of goods is too small. You can't go any further."
"Yes, yes," the man nodded, seemingly unsurprised. The cook returned to a butcher's shop, knife in hand. The ground seemed to tremble with every step he took. Unlike other butchers, his shop didn't display fresh meat to attract customers. He didn't even have a butcher.
But the food a diner was eating on the table in front of the store was obviously extraordinary.
Each person at the table had four plates in front of them: two large plates and two small plates. The large plates contained a plate of emerald green vegetable leaves, dripping with dew, and a plate of perfectly balanced square slices of pork, cooked to perfection and stacked in layers. The two small plates contained a plate of scallions and garlic, and a plate of vinegar.
The diner wrapped the meat in a leaf, carefully scooped up a little seasoning and placed it on the meat, then ate it bit by bit with a vinegar dish. He ate with great care and enjoyment, as if he were eating some rare delicacy.
Of course, compared to the previous restaurant that only used a few shredded vegetables to make meat dishes, this restaurant's use of vegetable leaves is an extra luxury.
The man and woman discussed it and decided that the chef's shop was the most expensive. They began to approach and chat, and the crowd moved toward the side of the street, revealing the scenery deeper into the street.
The first place Luo Xuanyi got to know in Xuanchengzhou was Fuji Town. She used to wonder why no one in the towns doubted Wang Taiyuan's governance, but now she has some understanding.
Not to mention snacks, even steamed yellow croaker would fetch a hefty price tag anywhere in the world. While the vegetable market was open due to natural disasters and man-made calamities, the residents of Fuji Town could learn to read and write for free, and even seeking medical treatment was covered by Wang Taiyuan.
Such a huge gap, such a sad gap.
Luo Xuanyi didn't know how much of an impact this Vegetable Man Market would have on Dong E and Yang Zongchun, but she was sure that if these two people hadn't known about it before, they would have spread the chaos in the Vegetable Man Market.
Luo Xuanyi turned her attention back to the street in front of her. The shop behind the giant chef seemed to still have people shouting and playing finger-guessing games, just like the real butcher shop in front.
But Luo Xuanyi vaguely guessed that the entrance to the Vegetable Market and the Ghost Market was just ahead.
That barking sound might have been a form of judgment, a way of determining whether the person was qualified to enter the Ghost Market. If they were just ordinary people, someone would have stepped out to stop them, ensuring no one strayed into the Ghost Market.
Luo Xuanyi explored with her soul power, and she could truly sense that everyone in the Vegetable City was an ordinary person. Her soul power could freely spread out, probing beyond the valley without any resistance. However, Luo Xuanyi clearly sensed the presence of a barrier as she entered.
This barrier-like feeling, yet the inability to detect it, gave Luo Xuanyi a sense of déjà vu. However, this feeling was quickly overshadowed by the growing evil thoughts in the Vegetable Market.
After all, in the Vegetable Market, everyone knew they were killing people. While the evil they'd cultivated wasn't as profound as what Wang Taiyuan had accumulated over sixty years, it was still pure. It was just that Luo Xuanyi, having entered the Red Devil Realm and no longer driven by hunger, didn't immediately notice.
Luo Xuanyi enjoyed absorbing the evil thoughts, using her soul power to spread her death energy and attach it to everyone in Vegetable Man City. After confirming that no one noticed and there was nothing unusual, she walked towards the depths of Vegetable Man City.
The cook, who was bargaining with the man, stared at Luo Xuanyi. Luo Xuanyi took a step forward calmly.
One step, two steps. When she was about to pass the butcher shop, Luo Xuanyi was even prepared to hear the barking of a dog.
But she stepped forward and stepped on the land shrouded in darkness.
The crazy old man and the skinny dog did not stop her.
Luo Xuanyi looked at the completely different scenery in front of her, thoughtfully.
Dong E and Yang Zongchun, who were following behind, couldn't believe their eyes and ears. Yang Zongchun, with his keen sense of smell, felt like vomiting the moment he passed the old man and the dog staring blankly at the Vegetable Market. Dong E, on the other hand, didn't react at first.
As the elite of the righteous, they had heard of the Vegetable Market and occasionally saw it after dusk. However, they all assumed that the Vegetable Market was filled with crying and struggling, the helpless sobs of parents and the wailing of children's trumpets.
And the numbness of meat eaters.
But what about the scene before us?
Dong E almost felt like something was wrong with her. The diners she saw were well-dressed, chatting and laughing freely; the butchers and cooks cooked attentively; the live goods chained outside for display even helped to attract customers to the shop.
"Would you like some wontons? My wontons are made with yellow noodles, which are thinner than those shell noodles, and they're only two hundred coins!"
Dong E didn't hear any reluctance in these words. They seemed to have already accepted their fate and were fighting for it.
She shuddered, barely aware of how she and Yang Zongchun had ended up in front of this meat wonton shop, peering inside.
Beyond the large pots outside attracting customers, past the steam, past the cook's portly figure, they could see inside the shop. It wasn't as dirty as they had imagined. Hanging from the beams were shaved leg bones and arms, and beneath them stood a low wooden stake, on which sat a man.
She was a beautiful woman. She wore a silk dress that only royalty could afford, revealing two white, delicate arms. She smiled at everyone who looked in, like a bouquet of flowers displayed in a shop to attract customers. So beautiful, so vibrant. Her fair skin was accentuated by her expensive clothes.
Next to her, three wooden stakes stood. Tied to them were three dying people: two men and one woman. Their treatment was starkly different from that of the smiling woman. They had been stripped naked and chained to the stakes. There was hardly a shred of flesh left on their bodies, and their pale ribs lay exposed, practically strangling Dong E's neck.
The customer service representative was still trying to sell them something: "Look, that's our most expensive treasure. How delicious! The meat is so fragrant, you won't be able to taste it anywhere else..."
Yang Zongchun couldn't help but double over and retch. For the first time, he felt that seeing a corpse would make him happier than seeing a human being.
Dong E couldn't stand it any longer. She pulled Yang Zongchun along, almost blocking out all thoughts as she rushed towards Luo Xuanyi's location. But her exceptionally keen hearing still found her. She heard someone talking.
It was a butcher's shop. The person who was talking was in the white fog and could not be seen clearly, but Dong E could hear the impatience in his voice.
"Are they all yours, or did the whole village bring them here?"
The female voice replied, "From the same village. But there are two of our own children inside."
"Are those two planning to eat it themselves, or share it with others?"
The man replied, "Keep some for yourself, and see how much you can exchange the rest for."
"If you're selling it to someone else, it's better to have bigger pieces of meat." The clerk added, "We want our meat to be big and fresh, and we need to feed it for a few days, so we don't need as many people as you."
Several of the children quickly shouted, "I'm coming! I'm coming!"
The couple also quickly said, "Let's take a look at my child first. I guarantee he'll be fine!"
This is crazy, Dong E thought.
Is this the Vegetable Market that the alliance said we should ignore?
Is this the Vegetable City that the alliance warned people not to enter?
They clearly knew that there was something strange going on, so why did they hide it under the pretext of doing good for the people?
Dong E and Yang Zongchun looked at each other.
There are definitely thieves among these six alliances!
There are still seven chapters left to distribute ~ Dong and Yang haven't fought yet, but they have suffered a huge mental blow hh
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