Clatter—
A pile of red and white objects rolled out, stacking into a small mountain.
Instantly, a foul stench filled the air.
Wu Gou was surprised. "Are these your Flesh-Reconstitution Pills? Why is the energy so low? They are far worse than the ones I ate last time."
Chen Zhou nodded. "They are first-stage."
Back in the Dead Man’s Forest, Chen Zhou had distributed these lowest-grade pills when he saved the sallow and emaciated Shitou and the others.
Plague Rat picked one up, sniffed it, and then threw it back with a look of disgust.
"Ugh, still that same smell."
"Lord, you still kept these things?"
Chen Zhou smiled but did not answer.
He hadn't specifically kept them; they were all freshly exchanged.
A single portion of fifth-stage flesh could be exchanged for a hundred million first-stage pills.
These low-grade pills provided a negligible boost to cultivation, basically to the point of being ignored. Anyone with cultivation beyond the first-stage would generally look down on them.
Furthermore, they were smelly and tasted terrible.
But the advantage was that they were provided in large quantities and were filling. As emergency rations, they could suffice.
He lifted his head and looked at the heads peeking out from the rock cracks.
"These are good things. I imagine the small demons of the Earth Dissolving Cave won't look down on them."
Plague Rat was confused. "Lord, what are you..."
Chen Zhou said calmly, "You have been in the City of the Wrongfully Dead for so long. Have you ever heard this saying?"
"Only when the granaries are full do the people learn manners. Only when food and clothing are sufficient do they understand honor and shame."
"If you want to change the rules here, you must first let them eat their fill."
Upon hearing this, Plague Rat pondered for a moment and felt it made a lot of sense. As expected of the Lord!
Looking at the pile of pills, he suddenly felt his eyes grow a bit moist.
He quickly turned his head, pretending to look elsewhere.
"Lord, then this rat will help you distribute the pills."
He walked over, scooped up a pile of pills, and began throwing them into the rock cracks.
Chen Zhou looked at Wu Gou and Jian Huaishuang.
"Help out."
Wu Gou shrugged and also walked over to pick up a pile.
Jian Huaishuang said nothing and followed silently.
Jing Hui stood where he was, looking at the mountain of pills and then at the heads peeking out from the rock cracks.
He was all too familiar with the looks in those small demons' eyes.
Hunger.
Longing.
Yet mixed with fear and hesitation.
It was just like a thousand years ago, when his subjects waited for him to distribute food.
He took a deep breath and walked over as well. Using his intact paper hand, he scooped up a handful of pills and joined in the distribution.
The pills showered into the rock cracks like raindrops.
At first, no one dared to move.
Those small demons hid deep within the cracks, staring intently at the pills that fell by their feet, their bodies tense.
They didn't believe it.
Having lived in the Earth Dissolving Cave for so long, they had never seen such a good thing.
Someone giving you things for free?
It was impossible.
There had to be a trap.
It was surely meant to lure them out so they could be killed and robbed of whatever they had.
They had seen too many such tricks.
But after waiting for a long time, nothing happened.
The one in the black robe was still throwing pills into other cracks, as was the bald monk, the person in paper armor, and the intimidating masked man.
The pills lay quietly on the ground, emitting a nauseating stench.
Finally, one small demon couldn't hold back anymore.
He stared at the pill by his foot, a growl echoing in his throat.
Hungry.
He was too hungry.
He hadn't eaten anything for three or four months.
Things to eat in the Earth Dissolving Cave were becoming scarcer. The strong demons snatched most of it, leaving them with only moldy moss and the occasional insect that fell in.
He watched for a long while before finally gathering the courage to reach out.
He quickly snatched the pill, pulled his hand back, and gripped it tightly.
Then he looked up at those people.
No one was paying him any attention.
He froze for a moment, then looked down at the pill in his hand.
It was red and white, pitted and uneven, with a putrid stench.
To a small demon living year-round in the Earth Dissolving Cave, this actually seemed more normal. It was just a bit smelly; they had eaten far worse.
The small demon felt a bit more at ease. If it was just this kind of rotten food, powerful demons probably wouldn't care for it.
That must be why they were giving it away. There shouldn't be any major problem.
Right?
Comforting himself, the small demon opened his mouth and bit down.
Crack.
It was a bit hard.
But he didn't dare chew too loudly, fearing he might attract attention.
He used his teeth to grind it bit by bit, turning the pill into powder before swallowing.
Then he was stunned.
A surge of warmth rose from his stomach, flowing into his limbs and bones.
Though it was faint, he definitely felt it.
That was the power of flesh and blood.
It was the feeling of food.
His eyes lit up.
He looked at the ground again, where several more pills remained.
He quickly picked them up, stuffed them all into his mouth, and chewed and swallowed desperately.
Then he hid back in the depths of the rock crack, curled into a ball, and felt that faint warmth within his body.
Tears suddenly began to fall.
He didn't know why he was crying.
But he just couldn't help it.
In all his life, this was the first time someone had shared precious food with a weak demon like him.
He buried his face in his knees, crying silently.
The other small demons saw it.
They saw that someone had eaten the pills and didn't die, nor were they captured.
Thus, the other demons began to follow suit. Soon, rustling sounds emerged from all the rock cracks.
The small demons scrambled like mad for the pills on the ground, stuffing them into their mouths before retreating, chewing while watching their surroundings warily.
Those who were slow or failed to grab any could only huddle to the side in anxiety.
The stronger ones grabbed more, covering their mouths tightly and going back for more after swallowing.
Even more small demons began to fight over a few pills.
Jian Huaishuang was somewhat worried. "Will something happen if they fight like this? Lord, do you need me to maintain order?"
Plague Rat said dismissively, "It's fine. Demons in the Earth Dissolving Cave generally won't die unless you beat them to death. Those with constitutions too poor to survive a fight wouldn't have lived anyway."
Chen Zhou poured out even more pills and said calmly, "Just keep distributing them."
Order was not something that could be established overnight. To demons who had lived in the barren underground for so long, fighting for food was almost an instinct.
In any case, he had plenty of flesh and blood materials. Forget one Earth Dissolving Cave; even feeding the entire Tianchi Province would be more than enough.
If it came down to it, he could just build a few more Flesh-and-Blood Pastures; it was no big deal.
Only by letting all the demons eat their fill and making them realize that food was no longer a scarce resource would they naturally stop fighting until they were bloodied over a single bite.
After pouring them out, Chen Zhou continued throwing pills into the cracks.
Plague Rat was also throwing them.
As he threw, he looked at those familiar yet strange faces.
He recognized some of them.
A little mole he had seen years ago; back then, it was just a pup that had followed him around begging for food.
He hadn't given it any.
He couldn't even feed himself, so he couldn't care about anyone else.
Now, that mole was huddled in a rock crack, nothing but skin and bones, yet it was fiercely protecting the pills in its arms as if they were precious treasures.
Plague Rat glanced at it and threw another handful in its direction.
The mole froze, then looked up at him.
Plague Rat ignored it and continued throwing elsewhere.
The mole looked at his back, then at the pills by its feet, and suddenly kowtowed toward him.
Then it quickly picked up the pills and stuffed them into its mouth.
Rate on N.U.
