I Have Medicine

Chapter 561 - (Spoils Distribution) Lives are resources too.

[TN: Use “tribe” instead of “clan” for consistency in the translation of the foreign tribes.]

Fortunately, Gu Zuo had already grown accustomed to being teased, so he quickly freed himself from the awkward mood and then spoke seriously, “Big Brother, I have something to discuss with you.”

As he spoke, he followed Gongyi Tianheng out of the room.

Breakfast had already been prepared, and the two sat across from each other.

Gongyi Tianheng poured a cup of tea for Gu Zuo: “Is what you want to say related to the foreign tribes?”

Gu Zuo also poured a cup for Gongyi Tianheng: “Yes, it’s about the Blue-Eyed Tribe.”

Gongyi Tianheng smiled without showing any surprise: “Because of their blue eyes?”

Gu Zuo nodded: “Big Brother knows, right? I’m currently cultivating the ‘Spirit God Shakes the Heavens Technique.’ The Soul Capture chapter is perfectly suited to my current realm, but it consumes a lot of spiritual energy when used. If we could merge it with a medium, it would be of great use to us. The best medium for this is a divine eye related to spiritual power. While I was practicing, I found that I needed quite a few divine eyes. Of course, I can’t just take someone’s eyes for cultivation when there’s no enmity. But if I had to trade for them, it would certainly take a lot of time…”

This was already something Gongyi Tianheng knew, and Gu Zuo was just bringing it up again as a prelude.

As expected, Gu Zuo continued, “Now that I’m here in Eight Desolations City, I’ve found a solution. The Blue-Eyed Tribe has harmed our human race in the border wasteland. If I kill them and take their eyes, it would be no different from killing wild beasts and using their body parts for pharmacy. I wouldn’t feel any psychological pressure.”

By saying all this, he actually wanted to express that he wasn’t that cruel and didn’t want his big brother to think poorly of him…

Gongyi Tianheng naturally understood what kind of person Gu Zuo was. Seeing him explain so earnestly, he couldn’t help but smile: “What you say makes sense. If you need divine eyes, it’s only natural that the Blue-Eyed Tribe would appear, it must be fate. You don’t need to feel troubled.”

Gu Zuo felt much more at ease.

Whether it is fate or not, he decides to treat it as such…

Gongyi Tianheng added, “In that case, from now on, you’ll come with me to hunt in the border wasteland. If we encounter the Blue-Eyed Tribe, with your eyesight, I believe you can block a few attacks. I’ll capture the foreign tribe members, interrogate them, then kill them and take their eyes. If the foreign tribe is crafty and begs for mercy, you mustn’t be swayed.”

Gu Zuo nodded: “I understand. Thank you, Big Brother.”

Foreign tribes, no matter how human-like they looked, were still not human. Otherwise, they wouldn’t eat human. He had already mentally prepared for this and would remember that these foreign tribes were entirely different from the slave tribes under their control.

Once they had made the decision, Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng finished their meal and, as instructed by City Lord Wu last night, arrived at the entrance of a deep valley. Upon arrival, they immediately caught the mixed scent of blood, killing intent, and various strange odors in the air, which made one’s heart uneasy.

This place was where the bodies and other materials from the battlefield were gathered after each cleanup. Afterward, they were swiftly sorted and organized in a short amount of time, then distributed accordingly.

Now that Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng had been accepted by Eight Desolations City, after experiencing a small beast wave, they naturally had the qualification to know about this place and were allowed to come here to inspect the work and collect their share of the resources.

Gu Zuo found this place interesting, so he decided to take a look.

Wu Zhenhuang had already arrived.

As the city lord, aside from his cultivation, he spent a significant amount of time handling various affairs. Tasks like resource distribution, though there was already a set process, he often had to supervise to ensure fairness—otherwise, human nature being what it is, there could be people secretly lining their pockets, which could easily cause friction among the commanders under his command. This was something he definitely did not want to see.

Therefore, he preferred to take on more of the burden himself.

Gu Zuo stood near Wu Zhenhuang and looked down into the valley.

In the deep valley, there were piles of flesh and bones. In front of each pile, there were more than ten brawny men, along with a few smaller but sharp-eyed women and men. The brawny men seemed to be well accustomed to the work here, quickly dragging out beast corpses from the heaps of flesh and bones, cutting them up, and extracting all useful materials. Beast meat, blood, bones, tendons, internal organs, eyeballs, claws, fur—everything that could be used was carefully sliced without any waste.

The sharp-eyed men and women directed the brawny workers, sorting everything neatly and quickly recording the quantities with a pen. They also gave instructions on how to store certain items that required special handling, ensuring that there were no mistakes.

Everyone was working busily.

As the workers labored, they also engaged in conversation:

“Today’s haul seems to be much smaller…”

“I heard that during this battle, many wild beasts were directly eliminated, leaving behind few usable materials.”

“Who could be so wasteful?”

“How could it be called wasteful? Although the resources this time were fewer, they weren’t wasted in the process, and no one was injured. Given that, fewer spoils aren’t a big deal!”

“That’s true…”

Gu Zuo, with his sharp spiritual senses, immediately caught these words.

Immediately, he felt a bit embarrassed and said, “It seems that my big brother and I might have indeed acted a bit too harshly this time.”

The words of the people below were clearly heard by Wu Zhenhuang, a peak Ascendant Realm martial artist. Upon hearing Gu Zuo’s statement, he felt a bit awkward and quickly said, “Master Gu, please don’t say such things. If not for the two of you, many of our warriors would have perished in this battle. We have all kept this in our hearts.”

He was worried that the words of the others might offend Gu Zuo. Although he didn’t think Gu Zuo was the kind of person to indiscriminately kill, the other man was still the renowned Pill Slaughterer Profound Shadow. Who knew whether those remarks might touch a nerve with him? It was better to comfort him first.

Gu Zuo noticed Wu Zhenhuang’s cautiousness and immediately said, “This is no big deal, City Lord Wu need not worry about it.” After a moment of thought, he added, “I was just thinking that if the formula could be improved a bit, or if another formula could be found that would make the medicine less domineering, we might be able to preserve the beast corpses.”

Wu Zhenhuang, upon hearing this, felt somewhat guilty: “Master Gu, your noble intention is greatly appreciated. If this is the case, I am willing to purchase whatever is necessary, so that Eight Desolations City can gain another method.”

They had originally relied on war to sustain their resources, so if they could truly achieve what Pill Slaughterer Profound Shadow suggested—reducing their own risks while still obtaining sufficient resources—it would be even better!

Of course, if it were someone else suggesting this, he might find it somewhat unreliable. However, Gu Zuo was different. His skills were already widely known, and anyone who knew about the world-famous bounty wouldn’t doubt his ability to follow through.

Seeing Wu Zhenhuang so enthusiastic, Gu Zuo nodded: “I will take care of it as soon as possible.”

Wu Zhenhuang was even more pleased.

Afterward, the group stayed a while longer to supervise the workers below. Only then did Wu Zhenhuang turn to Gongyi Tianheng and say, “In this small-scale beast wave, the person who contributed the most and earned the highest battle merit is Gongyi Tianheng and your subordinates. Therefore, this time, eighty percent of the spoils will belong to the two of you.”

Gu Zuo froze: “Eighty percent?”

That seems like a lot…

Wu Zhenhuang nodded: “Thirty-five percent to Gongyi Tianheng, thirty-five percent to Master Gu, and ten percent to the two thousand good fighters.”

He wasn’t making this calculation casually; it was all based on actual merit.

Gu Zuo shook his head: “After my brother and I took action, we didn’t acquire many resources.”

That’s right, most of it melted away, and only a few remnants were left.—barely anything left to claim.

Wu Zhenhuang responded, “Human life is also a resource. If everyone only fought for battle merits and didn’t assist their comrades, even if Eight Desolations City were to acquire more resources, it would only decline over time.”

Gongyi Tianheng spoke, “In that case, we thank City Lord Wu for your generosity.”

As for Gu Zuo, since his brother was fine with this arrangement, he didn’t feel the need to say more.

Once Wu Zhenhuang had explained everything to the two of them, he felt reassured.

Then, Gu Zuo left a battle slave to wait and receive the resources, while he decided to go purchase some materials for pill refinement.