Stirring of the Heart

After learning the general situation from Zhao Hantao, Shen Changchuan fell into a spell of silent contemplation.

The other party had likely learned of his identity through some unknown channel.

Though among the more than fifty children of Shen Family Patriarch Shen Fuxing, he was nothing more than an utterly insignificant nobody.

Still,

he was ultimately descended from the Shen Family clan leader,

and the son of Shen Family Patriarch Shen Fuxing.

Though within the Shen Family, where everyone knew each other inside out, this meant little,

and perhaps not even a servant would take him seriously.

To outsiders, however,

he was still a highborn Great Figure!

Yet at the same time,

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly to himself.

He did not feel any pride because of the other man's respect and awe.

Shen Changchuan understood clearly

that what the other man revered was the Tiannan Shen Clan,

not him.

Nor did he possess the strength to inspire such awe.

Naturally, there was nothing for him to be proud of.

"By the way, Brother Zhao, is there a cultivators' Marketplace anywhere nearby?"

During their idle conversation, Shen Changchuan suddenly recalled the Giant Wild Boar he had slain. After devouring all its flesh, he had kept its hide, and so he spoke up to ask.

If that boar hide were crafted into leather armor, it would offer a certain degree of defense. It could withstand some spell damage and give cultivators an advantage in battle.

If he could sell it, it should fetch at least a dozen or twenty Spirit Stones.

"A cultivators' Marketplace? Well, our location is rather remote. The nearest Marketplace is in Qing City, more than a thousand li away."

"More than a thousand li away?"

Shen Changchuan's expression changed slightly upon hearing that.

That distance

was anything but close.

At Shen Changchuan's current pace, even traveling alone would take him more than half a month for a round trip.

And that did not account for accidents along the way, such as possible attacks by Demon Beasts.

If he truly set out,

the round trip could very well take a full month.

And the danger was far from low.

This left Shen Changchuan somewhat hesitant.

"Then where do you usually go to trade for cultivation resources? Surely you don't travel all the way to Qing City?"

"That is not necessary."

"Not long after the Spirit Grain is harvested each year, merchant caravans depart from Qing City and travel through the countryside and the Border Wasteland. Then, insignificant people like us who lack the means to travel far can bring the medicinal herbs we gathered from the mountains, the materials gained from slain Demon Beasts, the harvested Spirit Grain, and other accumulated cultivation Spirit Items to trade with them for what we need."

"The caravan's stopping point near us is Wu Family Market, two hundred li away. The time should be around four months from now."

"Since accidents may occur along the road, the caravan may arrive late or early. But there is no need to worry. If they are late, we need only wait in Wu Family Market for a day or two. If they arrive early, they will rest there for some time and will not leave until the trading days have passed."

"If Young Master Shen has need of it, four months from now, this humble one can lead the way and accompany you to Wu Family Market."

Zhao Hantao explained carefully to Shen Changchuan.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you four months from now, Brother Zhao."

Seated in the place of honor, Shen Changchuan felt somewhat helpless, but could only say so.

There was no helping it.

He could only go to Wu Family Market.

Forget it.

The Spirit Grain should be harvested by then. Hopefully, this harvest would be better, and he could trade for some cultivation resources at the market.

At the same time,

he could not help but grumble inwardly.

He knew Great Bay Village was remote,

but he had not expected it to be remote to such an extent.

Not only was there no Marketplace, even a market was held only once every half year or so.

It was truly so barren it left one nearly speechless.

Still, that was also good. If this place had not been so remote, it would not have fallen to him to guard it.

But looking at it this way,

his future cultivation would likely be even more difficult than he had imagined!

Shen Changchuan could not help but sigh inwardly.

"Not a trouble, not a trouble. Being able to help Young Master Shen is this humble one's honor."

Zhao Hantao said with obvious delight on his face.

During their subsequent idle chat,

Shen Changchuan also learned from Zhao Hantao much about the distribution of forces, local customs, and other matters in the region around Great Bay Village.

About an hour later,

Zhao Hantao bid farewell to Shen Changchuan, saying it was getting late.

Shen Changchuan personally saw him out of the village,

leaving the man overwhelmed with flattered surprise.

He departed with excitement written all over his face.

Shen Changchuan watched his departing figure in silence. Only after Zhao Hantao had completely vanished from sight did he turn and leave.

He returned to the main hall

and opened the gift Zhao Hantao had brought during his visit, wrapped and placed inside a jade box.

Inside was a mountain ginseng root containing considerable spiritual energy.

Judging by its spiritual energy, it would likely be worth around two Spirit Stones in a Marketplace.

It could greatly assist cultivation.

For a cultivator in the early to mid Qi Gathering stage, the value of this gift was not low.

Shen Changchuan sank into thought.

His fingers unconsciously tapped against the table beside him.

From their earlier conversation,

he could roughly understand why Zhao Hantao was so pleased.

Small cultivation forces like theirs were simply too weak.

In the Cultivation World, they were little different from weeds growing in the fields.

And because they lacked the ability to protect themselves,

they could only rely on a somewhat larger force, paying enormous protection fees every year in exchange for the larger force's nominal protection.

Otherwise, in a place where the strong devoured the weak and there were no laws, they would only become fat meat on the chopping board for bandit cultivators.

Shen Changchuan could imagine it:

without draping themselves in the tiger skin of a great power, bandit cultivators would surely tirelessly roam from village to village every year, robbing those small cultivation families and minor forces of the Spirit Grain they had painstakingly grown.

Killing people and wiping out villages

was not impossible either.

From what he had learned in their earlier conversation,

twenty years ago, Zhao Family Village had to hand over at least seventy percent of its annual Spirit Grain harvest to Great Bay Village.

Of course, Great Bay Village at that time would also send sixty percent of the tribute offered by villages such as Zhao Family Village to Wu Family Market.

The Wu family of Wu Family Market would, during each year's Spirit Grain harvest, dispatch powerful cultivators to patrol the region, driving away Rogue Cultivators who entered their territory. This ensured that no major problems arose during the harvest season and maintained a certain degree of order within the area.

Of course, the Wu family had even bigger fish above them,

but that was not worth mentioning for now.

Later, Great Bay Village came under the Shen Family, and the tribute from Zhao Family Village and several nearby villages naturally fell into the hands of the Shen Family cultivator stationed here.

With the prestige of the Tiannan Shen Clan,

there was naturally no longer any need to send the protection fees they received to Wu Family Market.

Thus, this portion of extra income

went directly into the hands of the cultivator guarding Great Bay Village.

"I never expected Great Bay Village to have such an additional benefit."

"With this, the gains Great Bay Village can bring are far greater than I imagined!"

At that moment,

Shen Changchuan once again felt

just how wise his decision had been to flee Shen Family Manor and seek an assignment here!

At the same time,

looking at the circumstances of Great Bay Village and its surroundings,

an idea stirred in his heart,

and he thought of something else.

"If I were stronger, reaching the Qi Gathering Late-stage, or even the Out of Body Stage realm, then the territory I could protect would be broader. Would I receive more 'tribute' from the surrounding areas?"

"This place seems to have much that can be done!"

But before Shen Changchuan could think any further,

a burst of shouting and commotion came from outside,

as though something had happened.

What was going on?

His train of thought interrupted, Shen Changchuan frowned slightly, but had no choice but to rise to his feet and walk outside.