Huang Yuan'an sat astride his Mechanism Beast, Flower Leopard, looking somewhat bewildered at Li Chen. Li Chen had already put on his Puppet Master's Robe, with a single silver stripe embroidered on its collar to mark his rank.
"An artisan? Brother Li, you really are a master who keeps his true colors hidden! We've had drinks and chatted several times these past few days, yet you never told us you were an artisan!"
"Exactly, Brother Li. You're truly young and accomplished!"
"Most of us Puppeteers are only apprentices. At our age, we really have to hang our heads in shame!"
His companions chimed in with praise.
"You're too kind, brothers. I merely happened to be in the right place at the right time," Li Chen said with a smile.
After they chatted for a while, Huang Yuan'an said to Li Chen, "Let's have another drink when we get the chance, brother. We're heading out first. This time we're planning to hunt demons beyond Third Mountain in the eastern outskirts. It's several dozen li away."
"Then I wish you all a smooth journey and a haul of rare treasures," Li Chen said.
"May your good words come true!" Huang Yuan'an replied with a smile.
With that, he called to his companions and led them out through the city gate.
"Third Mountain in the eastern outskirts?"
Seated on the back of his Mechanism Beast, Fang Tiger, Li Chen watched them race away in a trail of dust. Soon, they rounded a bend in the main road and vanished from sight.
"It looks like I'll have to go and see it for myself when I get the chance. I just don't know how to bring it up. Perhaps I should wait until they come to me to have their Mechanism Puppets repaired, or for some other matter, then ask."
Rogue cultivators generally preferred to travel in groups, for they understood that strength lay in numbers. One person's wealth and power were limited, but several people joining forces could change things entirely.
Especially at the lower cultivation stages, strength in numbers was no empty saying.
But no matter how much Li Chen wanted to enter the trade, he would not rashly join a band of rogue cultivators like this.
Being bullied as a newcomer and shortchanged when dividing the profits would be minor concerns. If he joined a band of notorious brigands and had his head chopped off in his sleep so they could steal his treasures, that would be a truly unjust end.
Although his observations over the past few days had led him to believe that Huang Yuan'an and the others were honest, dependable Demon Hunters who made their living hunting demons, he could not rule out some dark history.
Anyone roaming the world had to keep their guard up against others.
Besides, just as he would be wary of them, they would be wary of him. It certainly would not be easy for them to accept one another at first.
Most bands of rogue cultivators were temporary arrangements. Some did become friends who would trust one another with their lives, but not many.
Li Chen recalled how his father in this life had told him many stories about the rough-and-tumble world of wandering cultivators. His greatest good fortune had not been all the places he had visited or all the sights he had seen, but meeting Li Chen's mother in this life.
They had fallen in love and married, supporting each other throughout their travels. They had truly been a rare husband-and-wife partnership among those wandering rogue cultivators.
United in heart and effort, they could always bring both their strengths to bear together, and had even made a name for themselves in several cities.
Sadly, a single calamity had left them forever separated by death. His father in this life had lost all courage to keep roaming, so he found a place in the countryside to settle down and raise his young son.
It was already noon when Li Chen returned to the city. Rather than return to the inn where he was staying, he went straight to the nearby Market Fair.
This time, he had business at the Hong Family Slaughterhouse, where he had previously watched the bustle.
At the same stone-paved space beneath the large awning, several bare-chested butchers slaughtered wild beasts, while the Demon Hunters who had brought in their prey chatted and laughed in the tea shelter nearby.
Li Chen knocked on a wooden workbench, startling a boy who looked like an apprentice out of his absorbed work skinning a dog.
"What can I do for you, sir?" the boy asked, his dark eyes wide.
"Do you have ordinary hides in bulk here, such as rabbit skins?" Li Chen asked.
The boy's eyes lit up. "We do! Let me think. We've probably got thirty to fifty left. Are you looking to buy rabbit skins, sir?"
"How much?" Li Chen asked. "If the price is right, I'll take them all. Not just rabbit skins, either. I want dog, pig, sheep, and cattle hides, along with any other wild beast hides."
Although the Eastern Victory Continent had agriculture, its scale was small due to the encroaching wilderness and rampant demons. The humans of this world ate more like fishing and hunting peoples. Only those near the Creation Sect's headquarters, or those who styled themselves nobles and magnates, ate grain-like foods as their staple.
During his stay with the Lei Family, those wealthy locals had served Li Chen rice every few days. All manner of mountain delicacies and seafood had merely been accompaniments.
However, the cultivated grains of this world all possessed spiritual essence and could be classified as spiritual materials. They could not be spoken of in the same breath as those of his previous life.
The Hong Family's slaughterhouse, a business founded by Old Hong, who was famed for his skill, did very well, as the endless stream of customers made clear. Wild rabbits, roe deer, water deer, wild deer, wild sheep, and the like all thrived in the wilderness outside the city and were hunted for food. Li Chen had certainly come to the right place to buy hides.
The boy smiled at Li Chen. "Sorry, sir, but the leatherworkers in the city have already reserved the larger hides. I can only sell you all the rabbit skins. Still, if you only want a few of the others, I can make the call and let you have them first."
"All right." Li Chen felt somewhat helpless, but the thought of the few Talisman Coins left in his pocket soon put him at ease.
Then Li Chen went to the market to buy some ordinary timber and other supplies before returning to the inn.
The Eastern Victory Continent was vast and sparsely populated. Even a small inn had dedicated spaces where guests could cultivate and practice their crafts. Li Chen rented an empty room resembling a storeroom in the rear courtyard and began working with his purchases inside.
He started by carving the wood.
As his small knife sliced, shaved, carved, and smoothed without pause, a wooden rabbit gradually took shape beneath his deft hands.
The wooden rabbit had clearly defined ears and eyes, with its legs tucked against the ground, and looked remarkably lifelike. Had the wood's natural grain not remained visible on its body, others might well have mistaken it for a real wild rabbit.
Thanks to the legacy of this world's myriad crafts, Li Chen was willing to bet that his skills far surpassed those of eighth-grade fitters and master carpenters in his previous life. Making a wooden rabbit of this quality in so little time was mere child's play.
If necessary, Li Chen could also carve all kinds of metal, wood, and stone into numerous intricate, precision components. He could even manufacture electronic chips by hand, imbue them with rune script and restrictions, and refine them into spell arrays!
"Next, it's time to show some real skill!"
After setting the wooden rabbit in place, Li Chen looked at the rabbit skins beside him and drew a deep breath.
With the true essence of the legacy imparted by the magical artifact blending into his own insights, Li Chen was now like a master craftsman who had spent years immersed in this art. His mind brimmed with relevant experience and tricks of the trade. He swiftly seized a rabbit skin with one hand and poured magical power into it, stirring a faint spiritual glow.
The next instant, he abruptly clenched the entire rabbit skin in his hand, turning it into a mass of hazy radiance that swept over the wooden rabbit.
"Creation Art, Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting!"