This Is What Living Is

With the newly bought clothes on, Du Chengfeng finally felt a little like he was out shopping.

Buy what he wanted, eat what he wanted—this was what living was. Thinking back on the previous few days, that life had simply not been fit for a human being. Heaven knew why one calamity falling from the sky had forced him to carry a broadsword out and fight for his life. He had even somehow formed a deadly feud with a humanoid monster, and one of them had to die.

So, in order to survive, he had to stake his life, all for the chance to accumulate even a little more strength.

But was that really the life he wanted?

"Here, big brother. One portion each."

Seeing a roadside stall selling braised pork, Du Chengfeng went over and had two portions of head meat sliced up, one packet for himself and one for Carpenter Li.

The braised pork head was rich but not greasy. Du Chengfeng and Carpenter Li ate as they walked, their mouths shining with grease, until they had no choice but to find another stall selling wine and buy two liang each.

The cheap wine went down, sweeping away the grease in their mouths. A few bites of meat, a sip of wine—the rising buzz of alcohol soon relaxed Du Chengfeng completely.

Yes. This was what he wanted.

Buy what he wanted, eat what he wanted—this was what living was. Since Carpenter Li did not know where the weapons seller had set up his stall, Du Chengfeng simply wandered the market with him. Whenever he spotted some interesting little trinket, he bought it, planning to give them to Carpenter Li's two children as toys.

Besides that, Du Chengfeng also added some furnishings for himself. Carpenter Li could make tables, chairs, benches, and the like, but pots, bowls, ladles, and basins had to be bought ready-made. There were also brooms, dustpans, quilts, mattresses, and so on. Starting from nothing and setting up a place to live really required buying quite a lot.

After only two rounds through the market, the cart that had originally been empty was already packed to the brim.

Even Carpenter Li was lying in the cart.

Only then did Du Chengfeng learn that his big brother could only handle two liang. A few mouthfuls of cheap wine, and the man had passed out cold.

With Carpenter Li drunk unconscious, this trip to the market could be declared over. It was a pity they had not found the weapons seller Carpenter Li had mentioned, but after thinking it over, Du Chengfeng realized that anyone capable of doing that kind of business probably would not come to a market like this and set up a stall like an ordinary vendor.

After all, buyers willing to purchase those vicious, Sha Qi-tainted weapons would definitely not be ordinary people. Since the people were not ordinary, neither would the prices be. Transactions involving such large sums would never take place in a common market selling daily necessities, just as a convenience store shelf would never display a heavy machine gun.

Speaking of convenience stores, he had actually considered opening one. His original plan had been to settle down in Yang Family Fort first, then try selling some things. He had plenty of ideas in his head, ideas certain to surpass this era. He did not need to become fabulously wealthy, but living in modest comfort should not have been a problem.

But now, Du Chengfeng could not be so sure. For one thing, a fight to the death could come at any moment, and he had no time for such things. For another, after hearing the weapons seller's story, he had suddenly realized that his ideas might not truly be enough to surpass the times.

Snakes had snake paths, rats had rat paths. Peaceful times had their way of life, while troubled times had their own way of surviving.

"I still need strength."

He took the silver ingot from inside his clothes and tucked it back into his breast.

At that moment, he had come to understand the way to survive in these troubled times.

Still, there was no use rushing the matter of growing stronger.

"Let's go back."

Taking hold of the cart horse's reins, Du Chengfeng prepared to bring Carpenter Li back to Yang Family Fort.

Compared to searching for some weapons seller who sounded like nothing more than a rural legend, it was more important to get his drunk big brother home first. Besides, the day had not been without gains. Not only had he acquired more than a dozen knives, he had even gotten another set of clothes.

This round-collared robe looked old and worn, but it was still far better than what he had been wearing. Several inner pockets had been sewn into the lining, and the kitchen knives he had bought earlier were tucked inside them. Du Chengfeng tried wrapping the robe tighter around himself. The blades did not cut him; instead, their steel surfaces covered his chest and abdomen, making it feel as though he had put on a layer of breastplate.

Du Chengfeng patted his chest, clearly feeling the hard steel beneath the cloth.

With such a layer of protection over his chest, ordinary blades and swords would probably be unable to harm him.

But if it were a vicious blade tainted with Sha Qi, that was another matter.

Take Hexi Xuan's great axe, for example. When swung, it could smash a fortified manor gate apart in one blow. If an attack like that struck him head-on, no armor would matter—though Du Chengfeng had done something similar himself. Even though Hexi Xuan had worn heavy armor and resembled a humanoid war chariot, Du Chengfeng had still cut off his head with a single stroke.

Against opponents wielding vicious blades, armor had already lost much of its meaning. Once Sha Qi entered the body, the weapon's wielder could gain inhuman strength in mere moments.

What was more, that was not the only way Sha Qi worked. Like the Unlucky Curved Blade from some unfortunate blacksmith that he had sharpened before, or the murderous kitchen knife Carpenter Li had spoken of, the one that had nearly scared his entire family to death—though the effects of those two unlucky things had acted upon their wielders, they were enough to show that the Sha Qi of weapons was far more complicated than Du Chengfeng currently understood.

Fortunately, this protection was not entirely useless. At the very least, he no longer feared the chopping, hacking, smashing, and pounding of ordinary weapons. Besides, wrapping himself in a sturdy robe also gave a person a solid sense of safety.

It let him truly blend into this desolate northern land.

Wrapped in the old robe and driving a cart piled high with goods, Du Chengfeng finally looked like a true man of Jizhou as he traveled the road.

Before the sun had fully set, Du Chengfeng had already returned to Yang Family Fort. This spared Carpenter Li, reeking of alcohol, the trouble of being nagged by his wife. After giving toys to Carpenter Li's two children and speaking with Carpenter Li, who had just woken up, Du Chengfeng borrowed Carpenter Li's cart and hauled the pile of household goods back to his small courtyard.

But just as the cart reached the entrance of the courtyard, Du Chengfeng suddenly frowned.

Because someone was kneeling outside the courtyard gate.

By the moonlight, Du Chengfeng saw the newcomer's face clearly.

It was Yang Sanlang, the very man he had nearly beaten until he shit and pissed himself.

"What, do you want to fight again?"

Du Chengfeng could not help shaking his head.

"I don't have time to play with you today."

"Give me back my knife."

Hearing Du Chengfeng's voice, Yang Sanlang turned around and immediately slammed his forehead to the ground.

"Please return my Yang Clan's ancestral treasured blade. I beg you."

Thanks to Roadside Passerby Himself for the recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, and thanks to Guardian Tyrannosaurus for the monthly tickets. Everyone's support is what drives me forward. Thank you, everyone.