You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

Baili Jing suppressed the weakness in his body and stared at Lao Qian in front of him.

A thought flashed through his mind: Old Qian is an honest and simple man. If he just made up a lie or a reason, the old guy would definitely believe him.

But... Old Qian was too poor.

He not only has a sick grandson, but also a whole family of people waiting to be fed, who are much poorer than him.

When people are extremely poor, what won't they do to survive?

If Old Qian were to leave like this, the moment he stepped out of the dock and heard the news that the shipping guild and the government had issued warrants for his arrest... for the reward money that could save his grandson's life, Old Qian might sell himself without hesitation.

Although the chances are slim, Baili Jing can't afford to gamble, nor does he want to.

"call……"

Bai Lijing clenched his right fist inch by inch.

Let's just deceive Old Qian with words first, and then find the right opportunity to knock him unconscious here...

However, at this moment, Lao Qian suddenly let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh... I knew it, you were definitely framed. They said you went to the west side of the city and killed someone last night, pshaw! How could that be? You were clearly with us guys until midnight last night... You, you were investigated and released by the authorities, weren't you?"

As he spoke, Old Qian's eyes flickered, and with a hint of reluctance, he pulled an egg from his pocket and shakily handed it to Baili Jing.

He stammered and pleaded in a low voice:

"Little Baili, this... this is for you to tide you over. Look at you all dressed up, you look like a beggar. Are you hungry? Have one."

"You...you took the eggs, please don't tell the foreman I was here, okay? I swear, I'll never steal anything from the gang again...I...I'll carry more bags tomorrow, earn more money for these two eggs for the gang, and I'll beg for forgiveness so you won't have to suffer, okay?"

Baili Jing stared at the egg, and his clenched fist, for some reason, slowly loosened.

Old Qian didn't actually say anything grand or do anything earth-shattering.

He was just a pathetic wretch from the bottom of society who stole to save his grandson's life, yet wanted to lend a helping hand when he saw his coworker in trouble.

"Thanks, Lao Qian."

Baili Jing chuckled and reached out to take the raw egg.

With a slight effort, he cracked the eggshell, tilted his head back, aimed at his mouth, and poured the raw egg white and yolk directly down his throat.

The energy provided by a raw egg is negligible for him.

But something is better than nothing.

That tiny bit of warmth slid down my esophagus into my stomach, finally easing the hunger cramps a little.

Old Qian was slightly taken aback: "You...you're eating it raw now?"

Baili Jing didn't answer. He casually tossed the broken eggshells on the ground, looked up, and lowered his voice:

"Old Qian...you just slipped out of the food storage room. Do you even know where they keep all their monster meat?"

Old Qian was startled and instinctively took a step back, stammering, "You... why do you want to know about that thing?"

Bai Lijing grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, his smile resembling that of a bandit.

"What are we doing? Old Qian, let's go in and steal together. Tonight, let's steal as much as we can!"

"You...you're insane?!"

Old Qian's eyes widened in shock, and he was so stunned that he could hardly speak.

But Baili Jing didn't give him a chance to continue talking nonsense. He grabbed Lao Qian, dragged him, and squeezed into the food warehouse.

Inside the large warehouse, the air was filled with the mixed aromas of various spices and meats.

Because this place is right next to the kitchen in front, you can clearly hear the roar of the steam stove in the kitchen next door, as well as the noise of large ladles stirring and the chefs cursing.

Old Qian was sweating profusely and held tightly to Baili Jing's arm:

"Little Baili! Let's go! I'm begging you! If we're found out, we're finished!"

Baili Jing moved quickly among the rows of tall shelves, slightly turning his head and asking casually:

"Old Qian, do you know why the authorities arrested me this afternoon?"

Old Qian stamped his feet in frustration: "Oh, whatever it is! Let's talk about it outside!"

Baili Jing ignored his fear and continued walking forward, his voice low and cold:

"The only son of the third leader of the Canal Gang failed to install a gas furnace, went mad, and slaughtered the mechanic's entire family. The government and the Canal Gang are colluding, and they want me to take the blame..."

He paused, then the cold smile on his lips grew even more vicious:

"They even wanted to rip out my heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, draining all my life force to save that Young Master Ding! I didn't want to wait to die, so I escaped... Old Qian, I came here just to eat a bite of demon beast meat! Only by eating the meat can I escape and go back to pick up my brother!"

Old Qian was completely stunned.

He stood frozen in place, his eyes wide, his voice trembling:

"Little Baili...you, don't scare me...this, how could this be..."

Baili Jing stopped and grinned:

"I'm not kidding you, Old Qian, it's all true."

"To tell you the truth, I was originally planning to knock you out outside, but if I had actually knocked you out and you were lying here, and things got out of hand, and the gang found you, maybe you'd get lucky and get away with it, maybe..."

"...They might blame you. If those bastards cause you any trouble, your whole family will be finished."

Baili Jing patted Lao Qian on the shoulder and said slowly:

"So, Old Qian, tell me where the monster meat is now, and then... take as much of the cured meat, refined rice, and flour in this warehouse as you want, as much as you can carry!"

"It'll get really chaotic here soon, and nobody will notice you. Tonight, I, Baili Jing, will take all the blame and all the blame!"

Old Qian stared blankly at Baili Jing's clear, open, yet wildly untamed eyes.

His face was initially filled with fear and shock, but then, little by little, those expressions transformed into confusion and anger.

Several seconds passed before Old Qian gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse, and whispered, "Little Baili... is everything you said true?! They... really want to harm you like this?!"

Baili Jing nodded.

"Beasts...a bunch of beasts who eat people without spitting out the bones!!"

Old Qian trembled violently and muttered a curse under his breath.

Perhaps because they were making a lot of noise, the sound of chopping vegetables in the kitchen suddenly stopped for a moment.

It seemed that one of the cooks noticed the strangeness and cast a questioning glance at them.

Baili Jing keenly sensed the movement, his eyes sharpening: "No time, Lao Qian, tell me quickly, where is the demon beast meat! Then grab what you want and get out of here!"

At this moment, Old Qian, driven by wickedness, no longer hesitated for a moment and pointed to the deepest corner of the warehouse:

"Over there! In the innermost corner, there are several large boxes. I saw them when I sneaked in!"

Thanks!

Baili Jing nodded vigorously, his body swayed, and he turned and ran wildly in that direction.

Old Qian stood there, glanced at the fine rice and meat on the shelf, gritted his teeth, and spat out a mouthful of saliva:

"Damn it! You heartless bastards who treat human life like dirt... I'll take some of your things back to save my grandson today, consider it an act of kindness!"

After cursing, he grabbed a large sack and began frantically buying up goods, stuffing all the fine rice and cured meat on the shelves into the sack.

On the other side, Baili Jing hadn't run more than a few steps when he twitched his nose.

There was a strong smell of blood in the air, a smell he was very familiar with; he had just eaten that afternoon!

Following the smell, sure enough, there were three large iron boxes placed side by side in the corner of the warehouse.

Baili Jing's eyes lit up, and he rushed forward, grabbed the edge of the iron box with both hands, and suddenly lifted it up!

Squeak, bang!

The metal cover was overturned and smashed on the ground.

In an instant, a surge of intensely hot blood energy, almost solidified into a tangible substance, rushed towards us!

Inside the iron box, chunks of bright red meat were neatly arranged, their surfaces undulating as if alive, radiating a terrifying energy that made one's blood boil.

Good heavens! It's all top-quality monster meat!!

"Who's there?!"

Just then, the side door of the food storage room was violently pushed open.

A burly, imposing chef was seen walking towards the storeroom, holding a cleaver upside down in his hand.

There's no doubt that the commotion here was too great and attracted people.

Old Qian, who was shopping from the other side of the shelf, was so startled by the shout that his hand trembled violently, and he almost dropped a large piece of cured meat in his arms.

His face turned pale, and he tried to run towards the back door, but when he looked up, he was horrified to find that the chef was less than five steps away from him!

Old Qian was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe, clinging tightly to the shadowy corner of the shelf, completely frozen in place, unable to move.

"Old Liu, what's wrong? What happened?"

In the kitchen next door, a few helpers also heard the commotion and peeked out to ask a question.

The chef frowned, tapping the shelf with the back of his knife as he coldly replied:

"Damn it, I heard noises and voices in this warehouse! Probably some wild rat got in... Get a few men here and surround the area!"

"Okay!"

As soon as he finished speaking, figures moved at the side door, and three burly kitchen helpers, each carrying a fire poker and an iron shovel, strode into the large storeroom with menacing air.

Old Qian hid behind the shelves, listening to the chaotic footsteps coming from all directions, cold sweat pouring down his face like rain.

He knew very well that the chef was closing in, and at this rate of search, he would be caught red-handed in no more than three breaths!

It's over...it's all over...

Let's just... let's just rush out and buy some time for Xiao Baili...

Old Qian closed his eyes in despair, clenching his teeth and trying to suppress the fear in his heart.

"Hey. You guys over there, stop looking, your grandpa's right here."

Just then, a deep voice suddenly came from the corner.

Old Qian's body jolted violently.

The chefs and helpers all turned their heads in unison to look in the direction of the sound.

In the deepest part of the warehouse, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

This is a strong and fit young man.

His lips were still stained with the blood of the demon beast, and even his chin and chest were covered with sticky bloodstains, but compared to the strange phenomena on his body, this was nothing.

His skin was as red as a branding iron, and his veins bulged violently on his arms like dragons. Most terrifyingly, every pore on his body was frantically spewing out high-pressure white steam!

The rising white steam made him look like a lava demon king!

"Who the hell are you?!"

The chef broke out in a cold sweat. He tightened his grip on the cleaver, took a small step back, and roared, his voice trembling with fear.

The next second, a crimson afterimage shrouded in white smoke flashed past.

too fast!

The chef felt a violent wave of hot air blow in his face, followed by a sharp pain in his wrist. When he came to his senses, the cleaver was already in the monster's hands!

Baili Jing was enveloped in white steam, and he grinned menacingly.

Immediately, he gripped the steel blade with both palms, his arm muscles trembled suddenly, and with a surge of steam and heat from his body, he twisted!

Click!

A crisp metallic clang.

He twisted the bone-chopping knife, which was at least two fingers thick, into a pretzel shape, and finally broke it in two with a "snap"!

The shattered steel slag shot out, slamming into the surrounding shelves with a loud thud.

Clang.

Baili Jing casually tossed the two pieces of scrap metal at the chef's feet.

A deathly silence fell over the food warehouse.

The workers were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground with a thud, dropping their tools all over the floor.

The chef's face was ashen, he was trembling uncontrollably, and he had lost the strength to even run away.

Baili Jing turned his head slightly and winked at Lao Qian, who was already dumbfounded behind the shelf, signaling him to leave quickly.

Then, he slowly turned his face, a sinister smile creeping across his lips:

"Don't be afraid, you're just cooks, I won't hurt you."

Baili Jing took a deep breath, and the furnace of flesh and blood within his body roared like thunder, his power once again filling his limbs and bones.

He raised his chin and laughed:

"Get out of here and call all those steam cultivators outside in! Tell them their Grandpa Baili Jing is waiting to invite them to dinner!"