Heartbeat

After learning the general situation from Zhao Hangao, Shen Changchuan fell into a silent, wordless contemplation.

The other party must have learned of his identity through some unknown channel.

Although he was merely an inconspicuous, transparent figure among the fifty-plus children of the Shen Clan head, Shen Fuxing, he was, regardless, the bloodline of the Shen Clan patriarch and the son of Shen Fuxing.

Even if he counted for nothing within the Shen Clan itself—where everyone knew his background and perhaps even a servant wouldn't think twice about him—in the eyes of outsiders, he remained a personage of noble blood!

Yet, at the same time, Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly.

He felt no surge of pride from the other man's respect and awe. Shen Changchuan was very clear that the man respected the Tiannan Shen Clan, not him. He lacked the strength to command such awe himself, so there was naturally nothing to be proud of.

"By the way, Brother Zhao, do you know if there are any markets for cultivators in this vicinity?"

In the midst of their idle chatter, Shen Changchuan suddenly remembered the hide of the giant wild boar he had slain. After consuming all its flesh, the hide remained in his possession, and he couldn't help but ask. If that boar hide were crafted into leather armor, it would possess a certain degree of defensive power, enough to withstand some spell damage and grant a cultivator an advantage in battle. If he could sell it, he could fetch at least ten or twenty spirit stones.

"A market for cultivators? Well, the place we reside in is somewhat remote. The nearest market to us is in Qing City, over a thousand miles away."

"Over a thousand miles away?"

Hearing this, Shen Changchuan's expression shifted. This distance was not short in the slightest. At his current pace, even traveling alone, a round trip would take him more than half a month. That wasn't even accounting for the potential accidents or attacks by demonic beasts along the way. To actually make the journey, a full month might be required, and the danger level would be far from low. This left Shen Changchuan feeling 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 wouldn't be necessary."

"Not long after the spirit grain is harvested, merchant caravans formed by traveling traders depart from Qing City to roam the countryside and frontier lands. At that time, small figures like us, who lack the ability to travel far, can take the spirit herbs gathered from the mountains, materials obtained from slaying demonic beasts, and the spirit grain we've harvested—all the spiritual items we've accumulated—to trade for what we need."

"The caravan's stopping point near us is Wu Family Market, two hundred miles away. The time is roughly four months from now."

"Because accidents can happen on the road, the caravan's arrival time might be delayed or early. But there is no need to worry; if they are delayed, one can simply wait a day or two at Wu Family Market. If they arrive early, they will rest there for a few days and will not depart until after the trading day has passed."

"If you have need of it, Young Master Shen, I can lead the way to Wu Family Market four months from now," Zhao Hangao explained carefully to Shen Changchuan.

"In that case, I shall trouble you, Brother Zhao, four months from now."

Sitting in the primary seat, Shen Changchuan felt a sense of helplessness, but he had no choice but to agree. There was no other way; he would have to go to Wu Family Market. Forget it, he thought, the spirit grain should be harvested by then. I hope the yield increases this time so I can trade for some cultivation resources at the market.

At the same time, he couldn't help but inwardly grumble. He knew Dawan Village was remote, but...

He had not expected it to be this remote.

Not only was there no market town, but even the local bazaar only opened once every six months or so.

It was truly so dismal that it left him speechless.

However, this was also for the best; if the location weren't so isolated, it would never have fallen to him to come here and hold the fort.

Yet, looking at it this way, his future cultivation would likely be even more difficult than he had previously imagined!

Shen Changchuan could not help but feel a sense of lament.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all! To be able to assist you, Young Master Shen, is this humble one's honor."

Zhao Hangao said, his face beaming with genuine delight.

During the subsequent idle chatter, Shen Changchuan managed to glean quite a bit of information from Zhao Hangao regarding the distribution of powers, local customs, and other details concerning the area around Dawan Village.

About an hour later, Zhao Hangao used the lateness of the hour as an excuse to bid Shen Changchuan farewell and depart.

Shen Changchuan personally saw him out of the village, which left the man feeling flattered and overwhelmed, and he departed with an excited expression on his face.

Shen Changchuan watched the man's retreating figure, remaining silent for a moment, and only turned to leave once the figure had completely vanished from sight.

He returned to the main hall, and opened the gift brought by Zhao Hangao during his visit, which had been wrapped inside a jade box.

Inside was a mountain ginseng containing a fair amount of spiritual energy.

Judging by the density of its spiritual aura, it would likely be worth about two spirit stones if sold in a market town.

For cultivation, it could prove quite useful.

For a cultivator in the early or middle stages of Qi Refinement, the value of this gift was by no means low.

Shen Changchuan fell into deep thought for a moment.

His fingers tapped unconsciously against the table beside him.

Through their earlier conversation, he had been able to roughly grasp why Zhao Hangao was so pleased.

Small, minor cultivation forces like theirs were simply too weak;

in the world of cultivation, they were no different from weeds in a field.

Because they lacked the ability to protect themselves, they had no choice but to rely on a larger power, paying an exorbitant "protection fee" every year in exchange for the nominal protection of that greater force.

Otherwise, in a place where the strong preyed on the weak and there was no law, they would only end up as fat on the chopping block for rogue cultivators.

Shen Changchuan could well imagine that, if they hadn't draped themselves in the tiger skin of a major power, rogue cultivators would surely spare no effort to roam from village to village, plundering the spiritual grain that these small cultivation families and minor factions had worked so hard to harvest.

Murdering people and wiping out entire villages

was by no means an impossibility.

According to their earlier conversation, twenty years ago, Zhao Family Village had to hand over at least seventy percent of its annual spiritual grain harvest to Dawan Village.

Of course, back then, Dawan Village would also send sixty percent of the tribute collected from the villages under its protection, such as Zhao Family Village, to Wu Family Market.

The Wu Clan of Wu Family Market would, at the time of the annual harvest, dispatch powerful cultivators to patrol the four directions, driving away any rogue cultivators who entered their sphere of influence to ensure no major issues arose during the harvest season, and to maintain a degree of order within the region.

Naturally, the Wu Clan had even bigger fish above them, but that was a matter for another time.

Later, Dawan Village came under the control of the Shen Clan, and the tributes from Zhao Family Village and the other nearby villages naturally fell into the hands of the Shen Clan member stationed there.

With the prestige of the Tiannan Shen Clan, there was naturally no need to send the collected protection fees to Wu Family Market anymore.

Thus, this portion of extra income

went directly into the hands of the cultivator stationed at Dawan Village.

"I never imagined that Dawan Village would have such an additional benefit."

"In that case, the advantages to be gained from Dawan Village are far greater than I had imagined!"

At this moment, Shen Changchuan felt once again just how wise his initial decision to flee the Shen Family Estate and accept an assignment to this remote place had been!

At the same time, seeing the state of Dawan Village and its surroundings, a thought stirred in his heart, leading him to another realization.

"If my strength were greater, reaching the late stage of Qi Refining or even the Soul Formation realm, then the territory I could protect would be far wider. Would I then receive more 'tributes' from the surrounding areas?"

"This place seems to hold quite a lot of potential!"

However, before Shen Changchuan could ponder any further, a clamor of shouting and noise erupted from outside, as if something had happened.

What was going on?

With his train of thought interrupted, Shen Changchuan frowned, yet he had no choice but to stand up and walk outside.