Great Marsh Lake.
Aaron rowed across its waters, heading for one of the deserted islands he had explored before.
Great Marsh Lake stretched eight hundred li from end to end. It was said that deep within, there were even large islands suitable for reclaiming farmland and settling migrants.
Naturally, Aaron had not chosen such large islands. Instead, he had picked several barren islands with few fish and mostly mountainous terrain as his secret bases.
On those deserted islands, he had stockpiled quite a bit of rice, flour, oil, medicinal herbs, and salt...
Salt in particular!
If someone suddenly bought salt in huge quantities, it would inevitably attract attention.
But Aaron had spread those bulk purchases out over six years, picking away at them bit by bit, like ants moving house. He bought only a little each time, so it had drawn no notice at all.
Besides that, taking illness into consideration, Aaron had also stored up quite a few medicinal pills.
They had all been compounded according to Old Ge's Supplement to the Azure Satchel Classic. They were highly effective against several common illnesses—and were life-shortening medicines that specifically drained one's vital essence to make the illness improve swiftly!
With so many years to think, plan, prepare, and act...
Aaron believed there would be no more loopholes.
He had even considered the possibility of boats rotting away. He had brought his own axe, iron nails, and other materials, so he could fell trees on the island to repair one—or build a new boat from scratch.
Though wood that had not been shade-dried might fall apart only days after being put in the water, it was still quite useful as a one-use boat.
The night was like water.
After more than a day and night of rowing, Aaron finally arrived