That night, both guest and host thoroughly enjoyed the welcome banquet.
Lin Yan could sense what they were thinking, but he knew the saying: ’If the water is too clear, there will be no fish.’ Besides, he wasn’t here to audit their books. As long as the Tang Family had no complaints, it was best to maintain the status quo.
「Half a month later.」
Lin Yan now had an excellent understanding of the surrounding region and was ready to begin the plan he had in mind.
Enter the mountains, find herbs!
He had requested a transfer to Sanshan County for two reasons. First, to escape the treacherous undercurrents of Guangping County Town. Second, because this was the only place where the True Understanding of Earth Veins could be fully utilized.
After packing some dried rations, Lin Yan left his courtyard and headed for the White Cloud Mountain Range.
There was no poisonous miasma on White Cloud Mountain. Along the way, Lin Yan encountered many hunters, a good number of whom were Skin Smoothing Martial Artists. He didn’t linger on the outskirts, instead heading directly into the mountain’s depths.
"Where the earth’s vitality emerges, the dragon walks and the serpent winds."
After crossing several peaks, Lin Yan applied his knowledge from the True Understanding of Earth Veins, constantly adjusting his direction. He finally stopped at an inconspicuous spot on the leeward side of a mountain.
He pushed aside the waist-high weeds, revealing a patch of crescent-shaped herbs below.
"Musk Grass!"
Lin Yan’s eyes lit up. Musk Grass was a key ingredient in crafting the Vital Tendon Pill and was quite valuable.
However, Lin Yan didn’t pick it right away. Instead, he mentally noted the location and covered it back up with the weeds. ’I’ll harvest this Musk Grass on my way back,’ he thought.
As he continued his search through the forest, Lin Yan abruptly stopped. The Longsword at his waist flashed from its sheath, a glint of cold light stabbing toward a black shadow that shot out from the bushes to his left.
The shadow fell to the ground, revealing a black snake that had been cut in two.
"Five feet long. Enough for lunch."
Lin Yan thrust the tip of his sword at the snake’s head. With a flick of his wrist, the head burst apart.
Anyone who has killed snakes knows that even when severed from the body, a snake’s head can still bite due to lingering nerve reflexes.
After sheathing his Longsword, Lin Yan took out a dagger to skin and gut the snake. He gave it a quick rinse with water from his canteen, then bounded onto a large boulder, planning to have his lunch right there.
There was no shortage of firewood in the forest. He skewered the snake meat, roasted it over a fire, and sprinkled on some seasoning. Before long, the savory aroma of cooked meat filled the air.
Before coming to Sanshan County, he had made a special trip to a spice shop to buy cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili flakes, which he had mixed himself according to his own recipe.
In his past life, after quitting his job and before setting off on a cycling tour around the world, he had learned how to barbecue and mix seasonings from a master grill chef. ’Never thought I’d get to use this skill from my past life, but here we are.’
ROAR!
Just as Lin Yan finished the snake meat, a beast’s roar suddenly echoed from the forest ahead. A flock of birds burst from the trees, flying away in a panic.
’This sound... could it be a bear?’
Among the five categories of rare game, bear meat was second only to tiger meat, and its price was exorbitant.
Since arriving in Sanshan County, Lin Yan had been eating deer meat. At a price of ten silver coins per jin, his funds were draining away like Flowing Water.
If deer meat was that expensive, the price of bear and tiger meat was unimaginable.
At first, Lin Yan assumed tiger and bear meat were so expensive because huge demand from Martial Artists had led to overhunting. He later learned that this wasn’t the case at all.
The Power of this world’s beasts far surpassed those of his past life. A Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist wouldn’t dare approach a full-grown tiger or wild bear alone; it would take several such Martial Artists working together just to have a chance at hunting one.
Putting away his spices and canteen, Lin Yan followed the sound. Soon, he spotted movement in a clearing up ahead.
Five young figures were surrounding a massive black bear.
The bear’s fur was matted with blood. Its left foreleg was caught in a steel trap, the teeth biting deep enough to expose bone. Despite the injury, it remained incredibly fierce. With a roar, it pounced at a young man in gray, its massive paw whistling through the air as it swiped.
The young man in gray scrambled backward, but the bear’s paw still grazed his chest. Fabric shredded, and three bloody gashes, deep enough to show bone, were torn across his chest as he stumbled back.
The black bear roared again and gave chase, its huge body ramming toward the gray-robed man like a small hill.
"Third Brother, run!"
To the side, a man in blue robes shouted anxiously. His left arm dangled uselessly, clearly dislocated, and his face was as pale as a sheet.
"You beast! Halt!"
Seeing his companion in danger, another young man roared and brought his long saber down hard on the bear’s back. The blade sank three inches into its flesh, but the pained bear spun around and swatted him away. He was sent flying, slamming hard against a tree and spraying a mouthful of blood.
Pained and enraged, the black bear roared and charged the young man on the ground.
"First Brother!"
From his place in the woods, a glint flashed in Lin Yan’s eyes. He pushed off the ground, his body shooting forward like an arrow. Just before the bear could land, he snatched the young man from the ground and retreated at high speed.
"Thank you for saving me, brother. I am Bai Qingrang, a disciple of the Cyan Pine Martial Arts Hall."
The rescued Bai Qingrang immediately introduced himself. He and his four fellow disciples were all at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing stage. They had thought that after injuring the bear with the trap, the five of them would be able to kill it. They never expected its Power to become so terrifying once it went berserk.
Having lost its target, the black bear didn’t continue its attack. Instead, its eyes locked onto Lin Yan. Then, a moment later, it turned and fled into the deeper parts of the mountain.
"First Brother, the beast is running deeper into the mountains!"
Bai Qingrang’s junior brothers and sister hurried over, sizing up Lin Yan with curious eyes.
"Brother," Bai Qingrang said, his expression urgent, "if you help us kill that beast, we’ll give you half of the meat."
He and his fellow disciples had all been injured hunting this bear. If it got away, their losses would be immense.

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