Chapter 41

"Mountain-raiding husband"...

What a distant term. The last time someone called me that, it was Water Monarch.

But Water Monarch was truly formidable—so formidable that even now, with Zhu Jiusi having entered the Third Realm and both his life and vitality stats exceeding 200, he still couldn't withstand a single blow from him.

However, this Strongwoman before me didn't possess that kind of power... Wait!

I'm a pig, for heaven's sake!

Once the realization clicked, Zhu Jiusi looked at the Strongwoman with a hint of disgust, as if looking at a pervert.

The Strongwoman's gaze toward him had already shifted into that of someone looking at food.

"Roasted pig head, braised pig intestines, soy-sauce pig trotters..."

The more she spoke, the more she drooled. Finally, unable to restrain herself, she stomped her foot and charged forward with a thunderous boom.

Zhu Jiusi shook his head, tossing that hellish thought out of his mind with his flapping ears, then retreated and charged back.

BOOM!

The two behemoths collided and instantly recoiled, only to charge and slam into each other once more.

Again and again, the violent impacts sounded like muffled cannons, keeping everyone else from daring to approach.

The expressions of the few people behind the Strongwoman shifted.

They had dared to cross districts because the Strongwoman was their absolute trump card. They hadn't expected her to be intercepted by a single opponent the moment they arrived.

They tried to circle around, but suddenly, a cold light flashed. Sword Seven's figure flickered, her sword shivered, and a corpse tumbled into the water.

The battle ignited instantly.

Sword Seven's strike was the signal; both sides crashed into each other with a roar.

The group of merchants, however, had been well-prepared. Their small boats scattered instantly, clearing a space for the battle.

Yet, the fight began quickly and ended even faster. With Scholar and White Beard both present, they managed to slay two of the intruders and bind three others within mere moments of contact.

Even after the battle ended, the remaining intruders stood there in a daze. Is this district really this strong?

It couldn't be that they had just happened to run into the strongest people in the entire district, could it?

Shouldn't a district be divided into several factions, with one powerhouse leading a group?

The three of them looked around in astonishment, unable to distinguish which one was the top-ranked fighter of this district.

They could only stare longingly toward Zhu Jiusi's battlefield.

Yaya hadn't lost yet; as long as Yaya hadn't lost, they were bound to win...

The three of them took one look and fell silent.

Although the Strongwoman was colliding with Zhu Jiusi time and again, she was ultimately being pushed, inch by inch, into the river by him. It was becoming difficult for her to even climb back onto the bank.

Though she hadn't lost yet, she could no longer help them.

The Strongwoman watched as her companions were tied up one by one, wailing and shouting. Every time she tried to rush over, she was blocked by Zhu Jiusi.

Neither the human nor the pig could get the better of the other.

The crowd on the shore watched, stunned.

Who fights by purely relying on brute strength like that?

Sword Seven turned her head away, her cold, aloof persona preventing her from making any overly strange expressions.

Scholar was different; he looked as if he were constipated or had swallowed a fly, already cursing and spitting several times.

Rain Seeker rolled her eyes. "What are you all standing around for? If they can come here, why can't you go there? The market next door is open and selling goods!"

The remark snapped everyone out of their stupor. Sword Seven flicked her wrist, and a flash of sword light severed the ropes tethering the small boats to the Dolphins.

Six or seven people jumped onto the boats, two pairs of large hands grabbed the oars of the Small Market cargo boat simultaneously, and with a powerful stroke, the boat surged toward the mist.

"Waaaah! Don't you dare hurt my Dolphins!" the Strongwoman shrieked, rushing toward the water's edge. But halfway there, she was rammed in the thigh by Zhu Jiusi and tumbled headlong into the water.

The girl didn't care about anything else; she didn't even turn back to counterattack. She scrambled and rolled until she reached the Dolphins, scooping them up into her arms.

Then, she struggled to climb back onto the bank, curling up on the side and watching Zhu Jiusi with a defensive glare.

She looked like she wasn't quite right in the head.

Was her brain filled entirely with muscle?

Zhu Jiusi and the Strongwoman, one pig and one human, stared at each other with wide eyes.

Time ticked away.

On the Scroll, the combined strength figures of the two districts rose and fell.

At first, District 33 was far in the lead, but as the Gourd from District 66 began to sell, the numbers chased after them like a leaping pulse.

Step by step, they pursued relentlessly, the gap between the two sides narrowing to the limit.

Nearby, Rain Seeker huddled inside her water vat, blowing bubbles in boredom, not even bothering to glance at the combined strength values of the two districts.

Calculating the psychology of all Path Seekers in the district and computing the purchase of items to maximize value—for her, it was as if there was no pressure at all.

She simply blew a bubble and that was that.

It wasn't until the Gourd was more than half empty and the Small Market was less than ten minutes from closing that she finally slowed down.

Instead of continuing, she gradually eased the pace of transactions before coming to a complete stop.

The Fox Waiter was confused.

He watched as the comprehensive strength value of District 33 paused for a moment, then immediately began to climb rapidly again. Each increase was small, but the frequency was higher than before.

The Monkey was baffled.

Rain Seeker boredly blew a bubble.

"The previous trades were all about buying items that provided the highest value, not necessarily the most useful ones. Now that we've quieted down, they think we've run out of Gourd resources. They're currently buying things that aren't the most cost-effective, but are things they desperately need."

"It's almost over; let's burn through their Gourds."

The Monkey scratched his scalp: "Why didn't we do that from the start?"

Rain Seeker rolled her eyes at him: "The Small Market is almost over now, so they'll actually believe we're out of Gourds. If we did it at the start, do you think they're really that stupid?"

"So we just wait here?"

"Of course not!" Rain Seeker turned her body to look at the mist over the water.

A small boat broke through the fog, and trailing behind it, five or six more boats were strung together and pulled out.

"Those on the shore, unload the cargo!" White Beard's Fist roared in a rough voice.

The people who arrived today were all very distinctive. White Beard's Fist lived up to his name; he looked seventy percent like the White Beard from the anime, especially with that crescent-moon mustache pointing toward the sky.

The people waiting on the shore immediately rushed forward to unload the goods with a clatter.

Unidentified stones, tents, rain gear, kitchenware...

On the Scroll, the comprehensive strength of District 66 suddenly surged, instantly surpassing District 33.

District 66 Path Seeker Zone: 3724301

District 33 Path Seeker Zone: 3670034

The comprehensive strength value of District 33 suddenly froze for a moment, then began to erupt, surging forward in fits and starts.

It looked like it was about to catch up again.

In the water vat, Rain Seeker popped a bubble and looked at the Fox Waiter beside her: "Second cargo list, hand it over."

"Coming right up!" The Fox chirped an acknowledgment and immediately began the handover with nimble movements.

The comprehensive strength of District 66 jumped up by another seventy thousand.

The next moment, the great river suddenly reversed its flow, dragging the cargo boats into the thick fog.

Time was up; the Small Market closed.

The Strongwoman, who had been huddled to the side clutching a Dolphin, stared at the great river, at a loss for what to do.

The Dolphin in her arms leaped, carrying her as it dove into the reversing river water.

The moment she entered the water, the rushing river suddenly vanished, as if it had never been there at all.

The mountain path was restored.

The Small Market had ended, and they—had won!

But Zhu Jiusi had no time to rejoice; along with the Small Market, everyone who had come for the Dao Discussion had also vanished.

The time for the Dao Discussion and the time for the Small Market had ended almost simultaneously.

A mountain of cargo landed on the path, leaving Zhu Jiusi stunned.

"Uh..." Zhu Jiusi sent a message to Rain Seeker.

These goods didn't belong to him alone; they belonged to the entire District 66.

A large amount of cargo had already been sold, but the shipments hadn't been sent out yet.

He couldn't handle this kind of thing by himself.

"I'm here!" A sound of bubbles popping came from behind him.

Zhu Jiusi turned his head to see a Big Red Carp in a water vat.

This fish was truly thoughtful.

"You've gotten smarter than you were a few days ago," Zhu Jiusi said, tilting his head earnestly.

At the beginning, this fish had been dazed, not even daring to leave the pond.

Today, however, it was completely different.

Rain Seeker blew a bubble: "Swallowed a bottle of Moon Essence Dew last night, +4 to nature, got three points of IQ back."

Zhu Jiusi: "??"

Three points? She really managed to act all high and mighty!

Wait—why did I also swallow a bottle of Moon Essence Dew, but only get +2 to nature?