On the next day, early in the morning, the early spring wind swept through Shanbao County, stirring the myriad flowers and trees into motion.

In the mountains, the clear springs tinkled, and the once dried-up streams gradually became full again. The wild beasts began to emerge from the hills to drink by the streams.

The four Qian brothers had prepared their hunting permits early and followed behind him.

The strong men in every household were gone, so those four families' hunting permits were left useless.

Qian Da, being sensible, didn't seize them by force but patiently persuaded and bought those four permits.

Qian Er and the others didn't understand, so Qian Da told them... to follow important people for a long time, one must keep their hands clean and not always think about taking petty advantages.

If you want to act recklessly, you must first understand the rules.

If you want to gain the influence of a big shot, don't cause trouble for them in the first place.

Qian Er and his brothers didn't understand, but they knew that without their eldest brother, there would be no Qian Family. Originally, the relations in the county were all maintained by the eldest brother. When the eldest brother was around, the Qian Family was the dominant force in the village; when he was gone, Qian San was killed by someone, and Qian Er was conscripted...

Sure enough, this morning when Li Yuan came by and asked about the situation with these four hunting permits, he glanced at Qian Da and said, "Well done."

Although their interactions had been brief, only two or three times, he had already noticed that the eldest of the Qian Family and his brothers were not on the same level... He conducted matters with clarity, with some sense of the bigger picture. But this... would take time to prove.

For now, he'd only let the Qian Family transport game for him and do business.

Whatever price they sold it for, he could find out.

If the Qian Family did something, at most he would only lose a bit of silver, nothing too serious.

The five of them entered the mountains, and Li Yuan intentionally turned his back towards the four, but nothing happened.

Afterwards, Qian Da followed Li Yuan into the mountains, while the other three brothers pushed two carts, waiting at the mountain entrance.

Li Yuan revisited familiar territory; the mountain scenery remained unchanged, yet the old tiger known as Xiaohuang did not follow the scent to find him this time.

This made his previously good mood evaporate instantly. He hurriedly shot a wild pig, two deer, and some small game, and then called it a day.

Qian Da, watching from the side, was secretly alarmed.

Even an Entry Grade Martial Artist shouldn't be this efficient at hunting.

Too fast, too accurate, it seemed as if he knew where the beasts were hiding.

It was as though he was not there to hunt, but merely taking a leisurely stroll, harvesting some meat he had fed and nurtured.

Subsequently, Li Yuan took four of them to Hengwu Restaurant.

He was familiar with both the restaurant's proprietress and the steward.

The proprietress had visited his home, bringing wine and tea; Steward Wu had shared drinks with him; plus, with the fresh meat he supplied, they didn't ask for much money, it was all very smooth.

However, Steward Wu also told him that with so much meat, the restaurant would take at least four or five days to consume it all. The next purchase would have to wait until four or five days later.

Li Yuan agreed and arranged to come again in four days.

Thus, the route was established.

Li Yuan tossed one tael of silver to Qian Da while pocketing the remaining forty taels himself.

Before leaving, he patted Qian Da on the shoulder and said, "I'll come to the Little Ink Workshop again in three days. However, the hunting will be at night this time. You guys store the game overnight and sell it the next day."

Qian Da, thumping his chest, grinned and said, "Brother Yuan, rest assured, I, Qian Da, understand how to conduct affairs!"

"Mm." Li Yuan replied curtly, then left directly.

After walking away, Qian Da pushed the cart back, and at the fork in the road, he made a motion with his eye at Qian Si.

Qian Si hurriedly turned his coat inside out, pulling a hood over his head, and quickly headed toward the Black Market.

Qian Da and the others waited by the roadside.

After waiting for a long while, Qian Si returned, leaning in to whisper, "Big Brother, it's true. That Brother Yuan is really Master Li's disciple. He's well-known in the Black Market; people call him Young Master Li."

"And how is this Young Master Li usually?"

"Seems to be quite low-key, just following Master Li to cultivate...

Oh yes, I've heard he was originally in Central City, but he got sick on the first day and then took leave to recuperate at home."

"Sick?"

"He was recovering at home, but his partner who was co-managing Central City... died.

When he returned again, Master Li took him as a disciple."

"Why did that remaining disciple die?"

"Apparently, he went missing and was later found in the water, all swollen up.

This wasn't the first case... People are saying it might have been done by the Wei Family."

"Is that so?" Qian Da slightly frowned, his eyes rolling as if pondering something, evaluating something, and after a while, he muttered, "Young Master Li... What a Young Master Li!"

After speaking, he looked at his other brothers and said, "Did you all hear that?! From now on, we're following Young Master Li! Whatever tasks they give us, we must do them well!"

"Yes!"

"Old Five, tell me, what's the most important thing when following someone?"

Qian Wu replied, "Loyalty and righteousness!"

Qian Da said, "Before following someone, it's okay to have doubts, but once you do follow them, you must hold loyalty and righteousness in your heart!"

In the future, even if the Heavenly King comes, we'll only listen to what Young Master Li says.

Unless... he himself is no longer capable."

"Yes, big brother!"

...

That night, Li Yuan held Lady Yan in his arms, whispering sweet nothings under the warm blankets.

But before that, they had experienced another great battle.

I must say, a well-read girl like Lady Yan, when well-fed and well-dressed, has been nurtured into a more voluptuous and charming woman.

The most crucial thing is, this lady even knows how to seduce.

With a light makeup, a silk dress, she gracefully sits down swaying her hips, teasing but welcoming, with a coolness in her eyes, she seduces to the utmost.

But she only seduces Li Yuan, and refuses to wear that alluring tight silk dress when stepping out.

At this moment, the silk dress was already ripped off, she lay lazily in Li Yuan's embrace wearing a newly bought half moon bra, somewhat worriedly said: "Husband, the Qian Family used to be the local bullies, is it really alright doing business with them?"

"What's the problem?"

"Like... like..." Lady Yan muttered, unable to say anything, then lightly laughed, "That's right, my husband is Young Master Li, and he's a Ninth Grade Martial Artist himself, what can they do?"

Li Yuan leaned closer to his wife's ear and boasted softly, "Let me tell you, across the whole Shanbao County, there isn't a single Ninth Grade Martial Artist who can beat me."

His most explosive strength can reach 140, while Master Li only has 145.

Though Master Li is injured, he still can control the Black Market.

With his 140 comprehensive strength, ask which Ninth Grade in Shanbao County can stand against him?

Lady Yan giggled, "Really?"

"Absolutely true, but I won't tell others." Li Yuan smiled.

...

The next day, in the afternoon, Li Yuan left home and headed towards Little Ink Workshop with silver in his pocket.

Halfway there, he darted into a grove, quickly put on a windproof cloak he bought earlier in spring, and donned a mask he purchased for five cents, then hurried back to Silver Creek.

As he passed a blacksmith's shop, he spent six taels of silver to buy a good "sleeve blade."

According to the blacksmith, it was already made with the best materials, the sharpness of the blade was comparable to the swords carried by sect disciples.

This "sleeve blade" usually hides its blade within the handle.

The handle is hollow, with a spring inside.

When needed, you pull out the handle, press the button, and the blade springs out of the handle.

It's total length is just over a foot, considered a type of "surprise attack" and "easy to carry" short knife.

The reason for purchasing this short knife was because it's convenient to carry, easy to store, and won't be easily detected.

Having done all this, Li Yuan reboarded the boat, heading to the Black Market...

As Young Master Li, he naturally already knew which stall in the Black Market had the best Demon Beast Meat, where it was located, the surrounding environment, the overall strength of the people around, the sellers' personalities, how likely he'd be robbed after buying, how much to buy and how much strength to show when buying to avoid being targeted, and which route to take after leaving.

At this moment, once he stepped into the Black Market, he skillfully navigated through, demonstrating the Ninth Grade exclusive trick of squeezing silver in hand and turning silver yuanbao into silver balls, then spent 20 taels of silver to buy 30 jins of Ninth Grade Demon Beast Meat, and immediately returned hastily, taking a slight detour, by the time he got back it was already dark.

Upon seeing the darkened sky, Li Yuan groped back to the house in the dark, first cutting five jins to clean, then squatted by the stove, lit some firewood, and began cooking.

This Demon Beast Meat is particularly slow to cook, it took Li Yuan over an hour to simmer until it could become tender.

While it was still hot, he gobbled it down quickly, then after taking a brief rest, he seized the opportunity to hone his Shadow Blood.

Sure enough, after eating the Demon Beast Meat, the Shadow Blood grew much faster, elevating at a perceptible speed.

However, the side effects came as well.

After cultivating, Li Yuan felt his body unbearably feverish, the Shadow Blood stirred many distracting thoughts, which urgently needed to be dealt with.

He turned his head to see Lady Yan lounging by the window in a seductive tight-fitting skirt.

Even though it was past midnight, Lady Yan was still waiting for him.

Li Yuan felt touched, and called out with a smile: "When did you buy this?"

"During the day." Lady Yan also giggled.

The night wind filled the garden, even though there was only an unopened apricot tree, it was full of spring vibes.

Li Yuan immediately reached over.

Lady Yan put a finger on his forehead, stopping him from getting closer, giggling, "You're not allowed to come over."

Li Yuan was puzzled: "What's this about?"

Lady Yan said, "During the day I had drinks with the owner of Hengwu Restaurant, she taught me some interesting little tricks... I'm trying them on you today."

Li Yuan wanted to step forward again, but Lady Yan once more resisted, softly saying, "No touching, okay."

Li Yuan, stirred up, pulled her hands apart...

"No touching, okay~" Lady Yan continued resisting...

The night, gradually heated up...

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