Three Thousand

Several months later.

Inside the courtyard.

A figure appeared and disappeared within the courtyard, like a ghost, moving without a sound.

Suddenly, the figure vanished and abruptly reappeared behind the screen wall of the courtyard, striking down with a palm before emerging again.

Fang Yu slowly withdrew his hand; the screen wall appeared completely normal.

He took a deep breath and blew gently.

Stone dust scattered, and a clear handprint appeared on the wall.

[Mysterious Armor Prison-Suppressing Art +1]

[Mysterious Armor Prison-Suppressing Art (Level 4): 1%]

After more than half a year of arduous training, Fang Yu's martial arts realm advanced to the next level, advancing from Subordinate Seventh Rank Battle Soldier to Sixth-Rank Strongman.

Sixth-Rank Strongman, as the name suggests, integrates all the body's Qi and Blood, blood, tendons, bones, and flesh together. With each strike, he can mobilize the power of his entire body. No matter which part of his body, whether it is his hands, feet, head, or shoulders, he can exert the power of his entire body. Therefore, he is also known as "Unified Strength" in folk terms.

Once they reach the Unified Strength stage, they are already considered top-notch in the martial arts world, and can even gain entry into ordinary gangs.

For example, in the Grain Gang, once you reach the Sixth Grade, you are qualified to serve as a hall master.

"From now on, I can consider myself a little expert!"

Fang Yu sensed the changes in his internal Qi and Blood, a smile spreading across his face. However, his brows then furrowed slightly.

Advancing to the Sixth Grade requires even greater Qi and Blood. Three catties of meat a day is probably not enough anymore; I estimate I'll need to add another one or two catties.

Let's assume five catties a day, that's five hundred taels of silver. He's already spent almost all of the ten thousand taels of gold he got from the Sun Household, so he needs to figure out how to get some more silver.

However, with such a large demand for silver, ordinary methods are probably not enough to earn it; some special methods are needed.

*****

Several days later.

Hu's Grain Shop.

Fang Yu placed the box containing the gold on the counter. "Two hundred catties of venison."

As usual, Shopkeeper Hu accepted the gold, went to the backyard, and brought back two hundred catties of venison.

After receiving the goods, Fang Yu did not leave as usual. Instead, he smiled and said, "Thanks to Manager Shopkeeper Hu's care, we have been able to avoid a shortage of Demon Beast meat. However, all good things must come to an end. We will be leaving Bei'an Prefecture in a few days. Before we leave, we would like to do one last big deal with Shopkeeper Hu."

Shopkeeper Hu narrowed his eyes and asked, "What kind of big deal is it?"

Fang Yu lowered his voice and said, "We have a batch of supplies, including gold and silver jewelry, cloth and silk, etc., with a total value of about 500,000 taels of silver. These things are not very convenient to carry away, so we want to convert them into 3,000 catties of mountain deer meat, or other Demon Beast meat of similar quality."

"This is indeed a big deal!" Shopkeeper Hu looked at Fang Yu. "The Demon Beast meat is no problem, but is that thing really worth 500,000 taels of silver?"

Fang Yu nodded and said, "Of course, to be honest, this batch of goods is currently in Gourd Mountain, and can be inspected at any time. There will be more than expected."

Shopkeeper Hu pondered for a moment and said, "Such a quantity is beyond my control; I must report it to my superiors before a decision can be made!"

"Of course!" Fang Yu nodded and said, "However, we need to hurry. I will be leaving in a few days, so the shopkeeper needs to act quickly. How about this: the shopkeeper prepares the meat first, and I will inspect the goods. After confirming that everything is correct, the shopkeeper will send someone with me into the mountains to inspect the goods. Once everything is confirmed to be correct, we can proceed with the transaction."

Shopkeeper Hu frowned slightly. "So eager?"

Fang Yu nodded and said, "It is indeed a bit urgent, but there's nothing we can do. The reasons are not convenient to explain to Shopkeeper Hu."

Shopkeeper Hu thought for a moment and said, "Three thousand catties of Demon Beast meat is no small amount, and it will take the gang some time to collect it all."

Fang Yu said in a deep voice, "I wonder if it's possible to raise all the funds in three days?"

Shopkeeper Hu thought for a moment, "There shouldn't be any problem!"

Fang Yu said in a deep voice, "Alright, then I will come again in three days. If there is no problem with the Demon Beast meat, the shopkeeper can send someone with me to the mountains to inspect the goods."

"Alright, it's settled then!" Shopkeeper Hu nodded.

Fang Yu immediately took his leave, carrying the two hundred catties of Demon Beast meat with him.

Shopkeeper Hu saw Fang Yu off at the door. Watching Fang Yu's departing figure, he was still hesitant. After a while, he couldn't resist the temptation of the goods worth 500,000 taels of silver and decided to go see the hall master.

"You guys keep an eye on the shop, I'm going back to the main hall!"

Shopkeeper Hu gave a few instructions, left the grain shop, and soon arrived at the Four Seas Hall, where he found the hall master, Chen Hai.

"Master, we have a big deal today..."

Manager Shopkeeper Hu explained the whole story.

Chen Hai pondered for a moment and said, "This Chun Shisanniang you mentioned doesn't have that name in the bandit world, and I haven't heard of any mountain strongholds in Gourd Mountain. I think it's best not to do this deal."

Shopkeeper Hu immediately said, "What the hall master says makes sense. Chun Shisanniang's origins are indeed unknown, but she has purchased more than 700 catties of Demon Beast meat from the shop, spending more than 7,000 taels of gold. Such a large amount of mountain deer meat cannot be consumed by an ordinary mountain stronghold, so she must have a large number of martial artists behind her. Her identity as a grain depot is probably true."

The fact that the other party is willing to use goods worth 500,000 taels of silver to buy 3,000 catties of deer meat is consistent with their status as bandits. Therefore, I think this deal is worth taking.

Chen Hai looked at Shopkeeper Hu and said, "Three thousand catties of meat is no small amount. What if something goes wrong during the transaction?"

"There's no need for you to worry about that, Master!" Shopkeeper Hu laughed. "I've already figured out the transaction method. These three thousand catties of meat will be placed in the backyard of the grain shop. After Chun Shisanniang inspects them, I will personally lead a group of people to Gourd Mountain to inspect the goods. Once we've confirmed that there are no problems with the goods, we'll first transport them to our warehouse outside the city, and then have Chun Shisanniang come to pick them up. They're in a hurry to move things, so they'll definitely agree."

Chen Hai pondered, "What if they don't agree? Or what if the pressure isn't enough to supply so many goods?"

Shopkeeper Hu's smile faded as he said, "If they want this Demon Beast meat, they must agree. If they don't agree, or if they don't have the goods and are trying to deceive us, then we'll wipe out these bandits on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hai's eyes lit up, and he said, "Your idea is not bad. I think we can wipe them out on the spot!"

Shopkeeper Hu was taken aback. "What does the Master mean?"

Chen Hai laughed and said, "The goods in the hands of a gang of bandits are definitely stolen goods. When you go to inspect the goods, first find out their strength, how many experts they have, and where they are gathered. Then we can just take them out directly. Why bother trading with them?"

"This... this..." Shopkeeper Hu hesitated, "What if the other side has a master in charge?"

Chen Hai laughed and said, "How could these bandits who roam around in different places possibly have any experts? At most, they might have a few Sixth-Rank Strongman. After I discuss it with my close elders in the gang, we will definitely be able to wipe out this band of roving bandits."