A dilapidated station.
A large group of people led their caravan to check in.
The desolate and silent station quickly bustled with activity.
Jie Jia Cheng Ming and others found a secluded corner to settle their luggage.
Ever since the conflict with the bald strongman, Jie Jia had been excluded by the other guards of the Xue family’s warehouses.
Cheng Ming and these “relatives” of Jie Jia were also not welcomed.
Every day, they rested and stayed separate from the main group.
Cheng Ming found the quiet enjoyable.
He dug a pit on the spot, surrounded it with stones, tossed in some firewood to ignite it, and a simple fire pit was created. Two wooden stakes as thick as arms were erected on either side, with two wild rabbits suspended above the flames for roasting.
Cheng Ming constantly turned the meat, occasionally sprinkling some special seasoning, the fragrance wafting everywhere.
By the bonfire, Zhang Ye and Du Huai, who were gnawing on dry food, stared at the sizzling rabbits, their saliva secreted furiously.
“Brother Cheng, look, can you share a rabbit leg with me?” Zhang Ye said with a naive smile, moving closer to Cheng Ming.
“I’ll pay for it!” Zhang Ye quickly added.
Next to him, Du Huai couldn’t help but look toward Cheng Ming. In the wilderness, to eat a delicious barbecue and spend a little money was nothing.
“Not for sale,” Cheng Ming said indifferently.
Zhang Ye wanted to press further.
Cheng Ming’s eyes shifted, and he glanced over expressionlessly.
Zhang Ye immediately shrank his neck and obediently sat back by the bonfire.
Cheng Ming came to his senses and continued roasting the meat.
He himself was worried about where to get more food; how could he sell the rabbit meat to others?
The new Breathing Method was great, allowing him to practice whether he was walking, sitting, or lying down.
But it also consumed a lot, and his stored dry food wasn’t enough.
“Why are you so afraid of him?” the plump Du Huai asked curiously.
“You don’t know?” Zhang Ye was also puzzled.
Scared by the Sleeve Sword Technique? That’s hardly likely.
In any case, he didn’t know why, but from the first sight of Cheng Ming, he had instinctively felt intimidated.
He had never seen this person before. Strange…
Zhang Ye rubbed his head, unable to figure it out.
“If you want to eat, that’s fine,” Cheng Ming said, looking at Zhang Ye. “No need for money, but you’ll have to hunt all the game.”
“No problem!” Zhang Ye was overjoyed. “You just wait and see!”
After all, he was a Bone Transformation expert; catching some pheasants and wild rabbits was a piece of cake for him.
Cheng Ming nodded calmly.
Good, he had gained a useful ally.
That way, he would have more time to increase his Proficiency.
…
The next day, a cart in the caravan broke and delayed their journey, forcing them to camp in the wilderness.
Cheng Ming prepared the fire pit and got the pots and pans ready, sitting by the bonfire quietly practicing his skills.
Ever since he improved his Breathing Method, Cheng Ming took every opportunity to practice.
Today, his Proficiency in the Shape Cultivation Technique had already surpassed six thousand, making remarkable progress, and he became increasingly absorbed in it.
When he opened his eyes to the sound, he saw Zhang Ye standing by the fire pile, his face red with strain.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Ming asked, puzzled.
Zhang Ye reached out his hand, showing five bird eggs in his palm, each about the size of a quail egg, unidentified.
Cheng Ming: “…”
“Hahaha…” Daoist Cheng Ming held his belly and laughed uproariously.
Cheng Ming’s face darkened: “Don’t tell me you’ve been busy all this time, only to find five bird eggs?”
Zhang Ye’s face reddened even more, his bushy beard unable to hide it.
“It’s really not my fault, the game is too hard to find,” Zhang Ye said with a grievance.
Cheng Ming was speechless.
He had seen the man confidently taking up the task yesterday, thinking him an experienced hunter, but he turned out to be just a newbie.
Good skills but no experience; not finding game was useless.
It seemed that tonight he would have to satisfy his hunger with a Fasting Pill.
Just as he thought about getting up to find a secluded place to open his Five Ghosts Bag,
a burly figure appeared by the fire pile.
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A three-hundred-pound wild boar was thrown onto the ground.
The girl Cui Cui emerged from behind the burly figure, speaking softly, “May I trouble Young Master Cheng?”
Cheng Ming glanced at the figure next to Cui Cui, even larger and stronger than Zhang Ye.
At a height of 2.2 meters, with a broad waist and round figure, his arms were thicker than thighs.
If not for the women’s attire, Cheng Ming almost thought he had seen Kong Zi.
“Not a bother,” Chen Mu politely nodded.
I can’t afford to provoke them, ah, can’t afford to provoke them.
He then glanced at Zhang Ye. A big man like you, and yet you can’t even compare to a maid. Still calling yourself a gang leader?
Zhang Ye’s neck turned red, and bulging veins suddenly appeared.
However, after looking at Chen Mu’s calm expression and then at the “maid” who was even taller than him, Zhang Ye’s facial muscles twitched, and he chickened out.
…
Over the following few days, everything was calm and peaceful.
Aside from the occasional damages to the vehicles that delayed the journey.
Encounters like stumbling upon bandits or seeing fights among Jianghu travelers didn’t happen at all.
Chen Mu was quite disappointed.
He had wanted to witness the spectacle of ancient bandits robbing travelers.
It would have been even better to encounter a powerful expert. That way, Jie Jia could get some action.
Otherwise, wouldn’t his two hundred silver have been spent in vain?
What a pity…
…
Nanyang Prefecture is located to the southwest of Da Liang.
The climate is humid and rainy.
The vegetation is lush, and the river system is well-developed.
The caravan often encounters rivers that block the way. Sometimes just crossing a river could take a whole day.
By a wide river that was seven or eight meters across, the caravan set up camp to rest and repair.
After telling Jie Jia, Chen Mu left the caravan.
He sprinted up along the river, distancing himself from the caravan. Once far enough away, he found a secluded, calm spot on the river.
He took out some bait from his Five Ghosts Bag and scattered it, then he sat patiently by the river and waited.
He was mainly fishing to feed his bag.
Ever since that White Lady joined the ranks of freeloading off his meals, Chen Mu hadn’t lacked for meat.
The hefty maid had a name that was completely opposite to her stature—Cui Cui.
With Cui Cui around, wolves, leopards, wild boars, and mountain bears all became easy meals.
Zhang Ye was also busy hunting all day, but after all, he was a newbie.
The biggest game he ever caught was just a two-pound wild rabbit.
Zhang Ye, the gang leader of the Bailang Gang from Qingshan County, didn’t dare to show off in front of Cui Cui and respectfully called her Sister Cui with his head bowed.
Looking at her physique and then at her prey, Zhang Ye couldn’t muster any pride.
With Cui Cui’s help, Chen Mu’s food crisis was instantly resolved.
Every day he gained at least an extra two hours for training.
Like now, while waiting for the fish to bite, he continued to work on his Breathing Method.
Half an hour later, the river surface was strewn with fish belly up.
Chen Mu filled his Five Ghosts Bag and started walking back.
But not long after leaving the cove, Chen Mu suddenly came to a halt.
By this time the sunset left only thin threads of afterglow.
The riverbanks on both sides were dark and gloomy.
The sound of the flowing water was loud, but the chirping of insects and birds was completely absent.
In the shallow waters of the riverbank, a figure was bathing in the water.
With flowing long hair, the figure’s slender and white back above the water, dotted with water droplets on the shoulders, was enticing to the imagination.
Chen Mu silently watched for a while, then turned and entered the woods.
But after only a short distance, Chen Mu couldn’t help but stop again.
A beautiful, naked silhouette lay across the small path in the woods.
Round and slender legs side by side, they were irresistible to behold.
But a chilly feeling slowly permeated the forest.
Chen Mu stared for a long while again, then changed directions and continued walking.
Before he went far, Chen Mu stopped for the third time.
Staring at a familiar figure standing not far away, with her back toward him, Chen Mu frowned deeply.
In the wild outskirts, bathing in the river with no clothes on the shore.
Then quickly moving and blocking the path.
And this eerie chill that pervaded the forest.
Chen Mu suppressed his turbulent emotions and said with a solemn expression, “This is what you get for carelessly wandering in the wild!”
Immediately with concern, he said, “Miss, are you cold?”
“Did your clothes fall into the river?”
“I have spare clothing. How about I sell you one?”
“Just for ten silver, you can’t lose out, you won’t be cheated!”
“…”