Wanderers

Su Yan passed through the crowds in the Market Ward, his expression calm and his mind occupied.

So many martial artists. Most must have come chasing Pang Tianfeng. They really are like hyenas.

Wanderers varied in strength, but all had some skill to their name. Ordinarily, they roamed the world rather than gathering in a Market Ward like this.

At least, not in such numbers.

Su Yan went to the Hundred Herbs Hall's shop. Although Song Qi was gone, he had completed the handover with the Hundred Herbs Hall.

They had sent over a manager in his early forties, a broad, plump man with a fair face and a wispy beard. He seemed amiable enough.

The new manager did not know Su Yan, but Bai Shan and the other assistants were still there and volunteered an explanation of his connection to the shop.

Naturally, the new manager greeted him warmly too, and Su Yan soon sold his mountain goods.

The Bamboo Jade Tooth and the other medicinal herbs fetched a rounded total of thirty taels of fine silver.

Though less than he had earned from the tiger that day, it was still a considerable sum.

Perhaps because of the influx of Wanderers, several people were actually browsing weapons when Su Yan arrived at the Heavenwind Armory.

As he entered, he could already feel faint waves of heat rolling off the forge.

"Isn't this young Yan from Yunqian Village? It's been a while. Looking for a weapon that suits your hand?"

An unoccupied assistant came over with a smile.

The armory's assistants might not have remembered someone else.

But someone like Su Yan, whose archery was superb and who could kill a tiger, naturally had more relevance to their trade.

Thus, the assistant recognized him.

"A longbow with a heavier draw."

Su Yan went straight to the point. The assistant's eyes lit up. "Is the Hardwood Bow you bought last time no longer enough? How about moving up to a hundred-jin draw?"

A hundred-jin draw required fine oilwood, coated with four layers of beast tendon and wrapped with reinforcing strips. That would give it a two-hundred-jin draw, and, used properly, more than four or five times the killing power of the Hardwood Bow.

"Two hundred jin?"

With his strength at the great completion of skin refining, he had long since exceeded a thousand jin. However, exerting force in combat differed somewhat from drawing a bow. Pushing his strength to its absolute limit was not necessarily best.

Seeing Su Yan hesitate, the assistant said, "If that doesn't suit you, there's the Fine Steel Wolf-Pattern Bow. It isn't a Second Tier Mortal Weapon, but it still ranks as top quality. You need four or five hundred jin of strength to draw it fully."

"Bring it over for me to see."

Delight appeared on the assistant's face. He immediately brought over a fine steel longbow with a dark metallic finish and wolf patterns. At either end, the bow resembled a ravenous wolf swallowing the moon. It looked quite fine.

Su Yan took it and exerted his strength. His arms tensed, and the longbow bent into a full moon, brimming with stored power.

It was indeed far stronger than the Hardwood Bow.

With this bow in hand, even one arrow should be enough to seriously wound that Copper Fox Ape.

Su Yan slowly eased the force in his hands, letting the bow return to its original shape, then asked, "How much is this fine steel longbow?"

"Twenty-seven taels of fine silver."

You got what you paid for. There was no telling how many times the craftsmen had hammered this fine steel longbow. Though it was not a Mortal Weapon, materials and labor accounted for much of the cost.

Su Yan frowned slightly, but did not hesitate long before taking out the silver and handing it to the assistant.

The opening of the Wild Mountains to hunting was imminent, so he needed suitable weapons ready. With unrest in the woods as well, there was no telling what might happen. Preparing early was best.

The assistant worked briskly too, counted out his change, and handed Su Yan the longbow, completing the transaction.

As Su Yan walked out, the assistant marveled to himself, "He drew a four- or five-hundred-jin bow so easily. How can the gap be so great?"

"Heh."

A man in black nearby suddenly let out a disdainful laugh.

The assistant looked over. The man had a sallow face and lips as thin as blades.

"Is there something you need, sir?"

"Nothing."

The man's gaze swept over the assistant. "Only a few hundred jin of strength. Skin refining at most. By the way, is he a local hunter?"

The assistant hesitated, unable to tell what this man wanted.

But after only a moment, he answered, "No, though young Yan has skills of his own. He's excellent at Mountain Trekking and finds treasure plants throughout the year."

"Long, don't stir up trouble."

Huang Jinlong wanted to probe further, but a man beside him in gray hemp clothing and a beast-hide belt stopped him with a pointed look.

The two left one after the other. Huang Jinlong said, "Big brother, I didn't do anything. I just thought that kid looked like a fat sheep ripe for fleecing."

In a secluded spot, the sallow-faced man spread his hands in explanation.

Opposite him, his elder brother Liao Shan, a dark-faced man with a short beard, merely glanced at him.

How could he not know what his own brother was like?

"A fat sheep?"

Liao Shan simply said, "Pang Tianfeng is what matters. Watch Xu Guan's movements first, then find a way to locate Pang Tianfeng. He must have a cultivation method on him, or he couldn't have improved so quickly."

These unaffiliated Wanderers all wanted to fight for a chance to advance. Unfortunately, most lacked either silver or cultivation methods, leaving their abilities stuck where they were.

Pang Tianfeng had managed to enter the Origin Nurturing Realm even while fleeing for his life. Clearly, he did have something precious on him.

"Understood."

Naturally, Su Yan had no idea that merely buying a fine steel longbow had already drawn extra attention.

Back in Yunqian Village, he took out his arrows and longbow, found a deserted spot outside the village, and practiced for a long while.

Only after familiarizing himself with every aspect of the fine steel longbow did he finally stop for a brief rest.

With the longbow in hand, Su Yan entered the forest again and headed straight for the Inner Mountain, like a tiger granted wings.

He was utterly fierce, following the tracks left by large animals without hesitation.

Tigers, leopards, and bears were plentiful in the hostile woods to begin with. With the Wild Mountains about to open for hunting, the increased traffic in the forest had startled even more beasts into movement.

Through his extensive searching, Su Yan first found several mature stalks of snake grass and one old mountain ginseng.

Later, beside a pool, he discovered an enormous footprint.

Hooked hoof tips and a rounded base like an ox's. It looks like a savage beast.

As Su Yan examined the footprint's shape, his eyes brightened with a trace of delight.

After so many days of feeding the Darkwater Centipede and the Velvetfire Scorpion, the Copper Fox Ape's flesh and blood were nearly exhausted.

Now that another savage beast had appeared, he ought to take a look.

"Follow it."

Su Yan immediately ordered the Darkwater Centipede to follow the trail, then went close behind with the fine steel longbow in hand.

This savage beast had perhaps fled from deeper in the mountains and now regarded this area as its territory.

Its steps were leisurely and unconcealed, with broken shrubs marking its passage all along the way.

"Grunt, grunt."

After tracking it for a little over ten minutes, Su Yan heard low, thunderous grunts coming from more than a hundred meters away.

Moving lightly, he hid behind a tree and peered ahead.

What an enormous tusked boar. It was the size of a water buffalo, with huge hooves, slightly hooked like blades, and a pitch-black horn jutting from its head like a dagger.

A Fang-Horned Boar.

Su Yan recognized the savage beast. Aside from reading medical books at Xu Zhongdao's residence, he had also sought out records concerning savage beasts.

The Fang-Horned Boar was among them. Its black horn could be used medicinally to strengthen sinews and bones and refine skin and membranes. Its gallbladder was poisonous and inedible.

Its strength usually ranged from early to middle first tier, no higher than the Sinew and Bone Realm.

Su Yan raised his bow while the Fang-Horned Boar continued feasting, tearing at the gray rabbit beneath its feet.

Each bite brought a crunch, the sound of the gray rabbit's bones breaking.

Whoosh!

Su Yan drew the bow into a full moon. In an instant, the arrow flew like a shooting star and pierced the Fang-Horned Boar's head with a wet thud.