Chapter 93: Valuable from Head to Toe
“Master, does this count as hunting a protected animal?”
While playing the role of a cat dad, Su Xiaofan asked, “If this thing is a protected animal, shouldn't we hand it over to the relevant authorities?”
“Protected animal, my ass! It can eat us, but we're not allowed to kill it?”
Hearing his disciple, Jing Shizhen immediately became irritated.
“I worked my ass off to kill this thing, only for someone else to come along and take the spoils? No way!”
“Ahem, Uncle Jing, that's easy to handle.”
Seeing that Jing Shizhen was about to explode, Tong Dongjie quickly said, “We'll leave the mountains first and bring the tools back to cut up this giant python. Then I'll have a refrigerated truck waiting at the foot of the mountain. We'll transport everything out and load it directly onto the truck. I'll arrange everything.”
For the sake of this project, Tong Dongjie's company had been working in the surrounding area for the past few years, so mobilizing this kind of equipment was effortless for him.
“Hmm. I trust you to handle things, Dongjie. Just make sure word doesn't get out.”
Jing Shizhen nodded and estimated the giant python's weight.
“Have them prepare plenty of insulated containers. The truck needs to be at least three tons.”
“Don't worry, Uncle Jing. This whole area is under my company's contract. Nobody usually pays attention to it.”
Tong Dongjie patted his chest confidently, but then his voice immediately became flattering.
“Uncle Jing, what do you think? Could you sell me some of the things from this python?”
“Sure, Dongjie. At least you know the proper way to do business and buy things.”
Jing Shizhen laughed.
“Tell me, what do you want to buy? But let me make this clear first: I'm not selling the python skin, the python gallbladder, the python blood, or the python bones!”
Jing Shizhen rattled off one thing after another that he wouldn't sell, leaving Su Xiaofan beside him dumbfounded.
Other than those things, it seemed the only thing left that could be sold was python meat.
“Uncle Jing, I wouldn't dare ask for the python skin or the gallbladder. But could you at least give me some of the blood and bones?”
Hearing Jing Shizhen's words, Tong Dongjie was practically about to cry.
Although the meat of a supernatural creature could provide considerable benefits to the human body, its usefulness wasn't particularly great.
The real treasures were the python blood and bones.
As for the python gallbladder, it wasn't even certain whether this giant python had one. But even if it did, that would be the essence of the creature. Tong Dongjie didn't even need to ask—Uncle Jing would never sell it.
“What do you need the python blood and bones for? You can't even use them.”
Jing Shizhen looked at him unhappily.
“I can't use them, but my family can!”
Tong Dongjie was nearly in tears.
“This project has dragged on for five or six years, and my family is putting a lot of pressure on me. If I can bring some of these things back, it'll help me smooth things over.”
“That's true. Your family's cultivation technique focuses on tempering the tendons, bones, and skin. You can indeed make use of them.”
Jing Shizhen thought for a moment before saying, “Dongjie, you know that things from supernatural creatures have always been priceless and difficult to obtain. Ordinary people can't buy them even if they have money. I'll give you some, but you need to keep your mouth shut. Don't let this matter leak out.”
“Uncle Jing, you're like my own uncle.”
Tong Dongjie hurriedly said, “Don't worry. Even if I had to sell my own father, I absolutely wouldn't tell anyone about what happened here!”
“Get lost. If you're willing to sell your own father, would you still care about your uncle?”
Jing Shizhen was amused by his words.
He looked up at the sky and said, “Hurry back out and make the preparations. It's too hot, and the meat can't be kept for long. Everything has to be transported out of the mountains today.”
“All right. Once I get past the riverbed and have a signal, I'll make the call…”
Now that Jing Shizhen was willing to give him some python blood and bones, Tong Dongjie was full of energy.
“The trucks and everything else are ready. We can have everything prepared within two hours at most.”
“All right, Dongjie. Go out and make the call first.”
Jing Shizhen waved his hand.
“I still have something to discuss with Xiaofan.”
“Okay, Uncle Jing. I'll come back after making the call.”
Tong Dongjie nodded. He took one last reluctant look at the giant python before heading down the mountain.
“What do you want to ask? Go ahead.”
Seeing the confused look on Su Xiaofan's face, Jing Shizhen laughed.
They had gained a great deal from today's trip, so naturally his mood was excellent.
Su Xiaofan had put on a windbreaker by now. His previous clothes had been torn to the point where they barely covered his body.
There was a pocket on the windbreaker, which happened to be large enough for him to place the little leopard cat inside after it had finished drinking its milk.
“Master, what are python bones, blood, and skin used for?”
As soon as Su Xiaofan asked the question, he slapped his forehead.
“No, I should ask what everything from a supernatural creature can be used for.”
An ordinary python was basically useful only for its skin and meat. Its bones were so large that even using them to make medicinal liquor would be troublesome.
The fact that Jing Shizhen and Tong Dongjie valued the giant python's body so highly could only mean that the creature itself became valuable because it had evolved into a supernatural creature.
“After the python skin is tanned, it can be made into inner armor that ordinary swords and blades can't easily damage.”
Jing Shizhen pointed at the giant python on the ground.
“Python blood can assist ancient martial artists in body tempering. The bones can be ground into powder and used to refine pills or as medicinal ingredients. As for the python gallbladder, it can help someone break through a bottleneck, although I've only heard about that and have never seen it myself.”
“It's that useful?”
Su Xiaofan still didn't quite understand.
“Yes, it's extremely useful. If you use the blood of a supernatural creature to assist with body tempering, the effects are excellent.”
“Even grinding the python bones into powder and refining them into pills would be extremely beneficial to you and me. They can increase the true qi in our dantians, so they're priceless.”
“The python meat, on the other hand, isn't particularly useful. The small amount of energy it contains isn't very beneficial to you or me. We can sell more of it to Tong Dongjie later.”
“Master, what price should we sell it to Brother Dong for?”
Su Xiaofan didn't understand medicine-making or pill refinement, but the moment he heard they could make money from it, his spirits immediately lifted.
“Ten thousand yuan per jin for the python meat.”
Jing Shizhen calculated mentally.
“Fifty thousand per jin for the python bones. We can sell some of the python skin too. I'll give him a cheap price—one hundred thousand per jin. As for the python blood, one million per jin.”
“Heh. Actually, the two of us can't use that much anyway.”
“One hundred thousand? One million?”
Su Xiaofan was dumbfounded.
“Master, are you sure those units are jin and not tons?”
“What a strange question. The flesh, blood, and bones of a supernatural creature are priceless. The fact that I'm not selling them by the gram already shows how reasonable I'm being.”
Jing Shizhen glared at Su Xiaofan.
“Don't say anything later. Your master will handle the negotiations. This time, we need to make the Tong family pay up.”
“Shameless profiteer. An absolute profiteer.”
Looking at the enormous creature on the ground, Su Xiaofan couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
This thing weighed at least four or five tons. In his master's hands, it would definitely be sold for an astronomical price.
“Whatever we get from selling it later, I'll give you your share. If there's a core inside it, I'll keep that for myself.”
Jing Shizhen spoke up.
“This time, I accepted the Tong family's commission because I wanted to see whether there were any supernatural creatures here. And sure enough, we actually found one.”
“It was pretty dangerous, though. Next time, we'll need to prepare more thoroughly.”
“Master, you… you came here specifically looking for this giant python?”
Su Xiaofan's mouth fell open.
“Weren't we supposed to be dealing with some kind of spatial rift?”
“How was I supposed to know what was in there? Otherwise, I would've prepared a suitable weapon for you.”
Jing Shizhen chuckled.
“This spatial rift hasn't existed for very long. Normally, there wouldn't be any supernatural creatures inside. We were simply lucky this time!”
“I ended up this badly injured, and you still call that lucky?”
Su Xiaofan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his master's words.
“Nonsense. Do you know how many people die when supernatural creatures are hunted down in other places?”
Jing Shizhen's expression became serious.
“I know about the wild boar incident Tong Dongjie mentioned. Nine people died that time.
“Ten years ago, there was an incident in the Bermuda Triangle. Twenty-eight people died in that one.
“Six years ago, a supernatural creature was discovered in the Amazon rainforest. Sixty-two people died that time.
“You suffered only these minor injuries and we managed to take down two supernatural creatures. Do you really think we lost out?”
The more Jing Shizhen spoke, the more he felt that his disciple was simply blessed with unbelievable luck.
It was one thing for Su Xiaofan to constantly find valuable treasures by chance.
But he had actually managed to stumble upon supernatural creatures—and two of them at that, both of which had already been severely weakened by fighting each other.
“Let's not skin this leopard cat and sell its meat.”
Su Xiaofan stroked the little creature inside his pocket.
“It helped us a lot too. Let's bury it instead.”
“All right. I was thinking the same thing.”
Jing Shizhen nodded.
“But we should take these claws off first. Find someone who knows how to refine them and have them made into something. They'll definitely be valuable.”
Without even waiting to see whether Su Xiaofan agreed, Jing Shizhen picked up the dead leopard cat.
He turned over its front paws.
Hidden beneath the thick paw pads were claws nearly twenty centimeters long. The claws of this animal actually gleamed with a metallic luster.
Uncle Jing didn't cut off the leopard cat's forelegs. Instead, he directly pried out six of its claws.
According to him, only these six were useful.
Su Xiaofan found a bag in the only remaining large backpack and placed the leopard cat inside.
“Where are you going?”
Seeing Su Xiaofan carrying the leopard cat toward the forest, Jing Shizhen called out to him.
“To bury it.”
Su Xiaofan planned to find a secluded place and bury the leopard cat.
“Throw it into the well.”
Jing Shizhen shook his head.
“Once development begins, they'll probably dig up this entire forest. No matter where you bury it, there's no guarantee it'll remain undisturbed. Throw it into this well, and I guarantee no one will find it.”
“That makes sense.”
After thinking about it, Su Xiaofan realized his master was right.
He placed the bag at the edge of the well, clasped his hands together, and bowed.
“Brother Leopard Cat, have a safe journey. I'll raise your little one for you!”
After muttering a few more words, Su Xiaofan pushed the bag into the well.
Splash!
Su Xiaofan leaned over to look.
The bag containing the leopard cat's body had already disappeared beneath the water.
“Such a sentimental fool.”
Jing Shizhen ignored Su Xiaofan and instead walked over to the giant python and pulled out his soft sword.
“Master, you had a weapon prepared, yet you didn't even think to get me one.”
Su Xiaofan looked enviously at his master's soft sword.
Once infused with true qi, the weapon could be used like an ordinary treasured sword. When not in use, it could simply be wrapped around the waist, making it extremely convenient to carry.
“Taking this thing on a plane would be a pain. Too much trouble.”
Jing Shizhen put the six claws into a bag.
“I'll find someone to make you a weapon out of these claws later. You won't have to worry about airport security inspections, either. It'll be much better than this soft sword of mine.”
Jing Shizhen wasn't merely trying to appease Su Xiaofan.
Although his soft sword was extraordinary and contained a considerable amount of precious metal, compared with materials from a supernatural creature, it was nowhere near as valuable.
(End of Chapter)
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