Li Yuan looked at Qian Er.

Qian Er kept his head down, rubbing his hands, looking full of unease.

And not far away, three more people quickly approached.

The appearances of these three were somewhat similar to Qian Er, but they differed in height, weight, and build. Especially the leading one among them, dressed in robust attire with short hair despite the chill of spring, his eyes exuding ferocity, his back straight, carrying a fine steel blade, with the numbers "8~9" floating beside him.

The two men behind him had numbers "5~6" and "6~7" floating beside them, indicating they were not to be trifled with.

Before Li Yuan entered the Entry Grade, his strength was roughly the same.

But compared to these three, Qian Er's "0~1" was a joke.

"Second brother, what happened?"

A rough voice called from afar.

Qian Er, as if grabbing onto a life-saving straw, quickly turned his head and shouted, "Big brother, this… this is Li Yuan, Brother Yuan."

"Li Yuan?"

Qian Da had heard this name before.

Since returning to his hometown, this name was unavoidable.

However, his understanding was limited to "Li Yuan joined the Blood Saber Sect," because after returning to the workshop, his connections hadn't extended to the black market, so he naturally wouldn't know about this inheritor of Master Li at the nameless small pavilion at the main entrance of the black market.

"What is your intention?" Qian Da stepped forward, blocking in front of Qian Er, then his eyes lit up as he glanced at the beautiful woman beside the young man.

In this small town, suddenly appearing such a beauty, set against the barren yellow earth, but dressed in luxurious silk ruqun, with a charming appearance, graceful demeanor, a face radiant with blessings, encountering such a beauty here and now… was especially visually striking.

But Qian Da, being well-seasoned, naturally had sharp eyes, and upon approaching, he not only felt the charm of this beautiful woman but also sensed the terrifying pressure from the man, which only an Entry Grade martial artist would have.

The woman of an Entry Grade martial artist couldn't be looked at, nor even thought about!

So Qian Da only took a quick glance at Lady Yan out of the corner of his eye, then quickly averted his eyes, respectfully and sensibly lowering his head, saying in a respectful tone, "Brother Yuan, if our family's younger brother has offended you in the past, I sincerely apologize."

Having said that, he tensed his body, ready to draw his blade if the person in front of him made a move.

Each second passed slowly, and Qian Da felt tortured.

Li Yuan said nothing, but Qian Da felt an increasingly strong pressure.

After a while, Li Yuan casually said, "No offense, it's just that Qian Er overthought it.

Today, my lady and I came back just to revisit old places and look around."

Qian Da sighed in relief and promptly bowed.

Li Yuan immediately returned the bow politely.

Qian Da paused, nodded, and led his three brothers away quickly.

After leaving...

Qian Si chuckled and said, "Big brother, that guy was scared of us."

Qian Wu's eyes gleamed as he said, "Big brother, his wife is so pretty... those legs..."

Before he could finish, Qian Da slapped him hard, smacking Qian Wu's face, then in his bewilderment, spoke in a low voice, "Don't even think about her, he's entered the Entry Grade!!"

He grabbed Qian Wu by the collar viciously and said, "Old Five, if you keep blabbering like this, be careful I don't cut your tongue out, it's better than you losing your life and harming your brothers!

We are people who wander outside, don't you know the rules?

Women, women, women, haven't you damn well seen a woman before?!"

Qian Wu's face reddened from the slap, he lowered his head and said, "Big brother, I was wrong..."

Qian Da looked at Qian Er and said, "Second brother, how did you get involved with this Entry Grade martial artist?"

Qian Er was also dumbfounded, crying, "I… I didn't provoke him, it was the third brother. But when the third brother provoked him, he hadn't entered the Entry Grade yet..."

Qian Da said, "Today he didn't seem like he was looking for trouble, avoid him in the future. But... we probably won't meet again."

"Yes, big brother, we know..." Qian Si muttered softly, then said, "Big brother, keeping like this isn't a solution, we need to find a force to rely on."

Qian Da sighed, "A force, do you think it's so easy to join?"

"Why wouldn't it be? We brothers have some skills, which force wouldn't take us?" Qian Si argued.

Qian Da sneered, "To be cannon fodder?"

Qian Si suddenly fell silent.

Qian Da said, "With everything being so chaotic outside, our family's few connections in the county were killed by the Red Lotus Thieves, let's wait and see..."

...

...

Li Yuan allowed Lady Yan to hold his arm, continuing to walk on the path in this Little Ink Workshop.

Many old village folks, whether familiar or not, as long as they saw them, greeted with smiles, and many others hid inside their houses, not daring to face them.

"Everything here feels strange..." Lady Yan softly lamented, "This time back, I feel like not wanting to return again, there weren't any good memories here anyway..."

Li Yuan smiled, his gaze scanning the surroundings.

This time, he came with a purpose.

First, to pave the way for making money;

Second, to find a solution for buying demon beast meat from the black market.

If he didn't want to go to the black market at night himself, he could either have someone buy it on his behalf or go during the day.

After thinking for a while, Li Yuan decided it would be better to disguise himself during the day and sneak over.

The way to make money is nothing more than hunting and then trading.

He can be the source of the hunts, and the Hengwu Restaurant, as the buyer, will take his goods.

What's missing in this process is a transporter.

After all, he needs money, but he doesn't have the time to spend on it.

This transporter has to be able to withstand ordinary risks, otherwise, like Ah Bao before, who was killed by a couple of robbers... the route would be cut off.

Li Yuan returned to the Little Ink Workshop today to find such a transporter.

After all, he has lived in the Little Ink Workshop for many years; he knows the place and the people well.

So, he has to dress nicely to show that he's doing well; otherwise... how would others believe him?

But after making a round, Li Yuan couldn't find anyone.

Brother Xiong, Xiaohu, and some of the young men Li Yuan knew likely died on the battlefield; after all, not everyone is as lucky as Qian Er, who can pull strings or pay to have someone else replace him.

So, he went around again and arrived at the Qian Family.

The four Qian brothers were eating and drinking when they suddenly heard a knock on the door and paused.

The most useless of the four, Qian Er, leaned toward the door, glanced outside through the gap, then shuddered violently, turning ashen-faced toward his three brothers.

Qian Da, Qian Si, and Qian Wu immediately touched their knives.

Qian Da asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

"Bro...ther... Yuan..." Qian Er said nervously.

Qian Da hesitated for a moment, then pushed Qian Er aside forcefully and barked, "Why didn't you open the door, are you stupid?" Then glared at Qian Si and Qian Wu, poking them in the air with his finger, and whispered, "Put away the knives!"

As the eldest, Qian Da held great authority at home, and the relationships with the county were maintained by him, so his brothers accepted his beatings and scoldings with respect.

After Qian Da spoke, he directly opened the door, and with a big smile, called out, "Brother Yuan!!"

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Drinking?"

Qian Da scratched his head and chuckled, "It's just some light wine we're having for fun; if I'd known you were coming, Brother Yuan, I would have sent Xiaosi and Xiaowu to the county to buy some good wine."

Li Yuan said, "No need for good wine, after all, in the black market now, you can glance at whatever good stuff you want."

"You're managing the black market now?"

"No, I don't have that capability."

"Hmm?"

"I'm still learning in the black market."

Behind him, Qian Wu muttered with a laugh, "Big brother, he's still an apprentice."

Qian Da turned around, glaring at him fiercely, and jabbed at him in the air with his finger as a sign to shut up, then turned back to Li Yuan, apologetically saying, "Sorry, Brother Yuan, I've smacked his mouth more than once... I'll smack it again later."

"It's alright, he's not wrong; I'm just an apprentice."

"Then... then who is your master?" Qian Da cautiously asked.

Looking at his cautious manner, Li Yuan asked, "Have you heard of Master Li?"

Qian Da's body shook violently, his pupils widening, and he said, "Could it be the Master Li who guards the black market entrance?"

Li Yuan said, "He is my master."

His words left Qian Da in shocked stiffness, his expression colorful, eyes wide open, and finally he moved his Adam's apple, gave a thumbs up, and said, "Brother Yuan... extraordinary, truly extraordinary!"

Li Yuan said directly, "I came today to talk business."

Qian Da's eyes turned, and he said directly, "I wonder if Brother Yuan could give the four of us a chance? As for the money, Brother Yuan can decide."

Li Yuan said, "I heard from Qian Er that you used to work for Fulin Commerce Association?"

Qian Da chuckled, "Well, we're no longer working there; from now on, we'll work for Brother Yuan."

Li Yuan then said, "I hunt, the restaurant in the county takes the goods, but I need a transporter."

Qian Da's eyes turned again and he said, "Great! What Brother Yuan offers, we'll do! One large coin, two large coins, whatever."

Behind him, Qian Si said, "Big brother, that's too little money..."

Qian Da turned his head and said harshly, "You dogs, all of you are just like old five! Shut up! This is not your place to speak!!"

Qian Si and Qian Wu immediately quieted down.

Li Yuan said, "Five large coins per cart; that's not a low price. If you can also catch game, you can trade through this channel too, but your share can't exceed half of mine."

Qian Da hurriedly said, "Of course! We wouldn't be ungrateful. And Brother Yuan is giving so much money; we're already very satisfied.

It's just... Brother Yuan, while there is game in the mountains, it's hard to catch. I've tried before, just tracking one takes a lot of effort."

Li Yuan laughed, "The harder it is to catch, the more expensive the meat is.

I'll come to find you tomorrow morning."

With that, he turned to leave.

Qian Da waved respectfully from behind, calling, "Brother Yuan, walk safely, sister-in-law too~"

After they were far off, Qian Da looked at his three brothers and said, "From now on, this Li Yuan is our noble. Whether we can make a living with him depends on our performance. Xiaosi and Xiaowu, if you speak carelessly again, I'll cripple you."

Qian Er was a bit confused and said blankly, "Big brother, he's indeed impressive, but do we need to be like this?"

Qian Da chuckled, "Second brother, do you doubt my judgment?"

"No, big brother, I don't mean that..."

"Then keep it in mind!" Qian Da thought for a moment and added, "Xiaosi, tomorrow evening, go inquire a bit in the black market. It should be true, but verify it... If Li Yuan is really Master Li's disciple, we'll follow him from now on."

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