[Huang Ba, the Diagram Master of the Rushing Fiend, slaying him may yield Evil Qi.]
Chen Ku's expression grew solemn.
This reminder is... The reminder from the Transformation Diagram, it must be correct! This Huang Ba is a harmful creature, just like the wild dogs that wanted to eat him!
Mother Chen said quietly, "That Huang Ba, he's targeting us precisely because he knows our current situation is dire—we don't have much money, and he's using the upcoming Autumn Grain as leverage..."
Autumn Grain... the Autumn Grain tax... Yet another tax.
Chen Ku temporarily set aside that line of prompts.
To kill a man... That thug has several underlings, and I'm all alone and weak. I don't have the ability to kill him, not right now.
A heavy silence fell upon them both.
Taxation was like a shackle on the common people, and Huang Ba was exploiting this to bully their family.
The Daji Dynasty levied two separate taxes on farmers within a single year: the Summer Tribute and the Autumn Grain Rice.
If they were unable to pay, they were forced into corvée labor—building bridges, repairing roads, and managing canals. The number of people who died during such labor was as countless as the stars.
Such was the reality of an ancient dynasty.
Thus, the Autumn Grain collection was also a time when landlords and local tyrants seized the opportunity to annex land and purchase property from others at low prices.
Seeing the despondent look on his mother's face, Chen Ku knew she was probably on the verge of succumbing to this tragic fate, like so many others.
And much of this is likely because of me.
"My son, the Autumn Grain tax is drawing near. Even if we don't sell our children, we probably won't be able to keep this house," Mother Chen said helplessly.
His sister-in-law, hearing they wouldn't sell her and her son, felt a brief sense of security. But the thought of losing their house, of having no shelter from the wind and rain, overwhelmed her with sorrow, and tears began to silently roll down her cheeks again.
Hearing this, Chen Ku furrowed his brows. "Mother, don't worry," he said. "I'll find a way to handle the Autumn Grain tax. We won't sell the house, nor will we sell anyone. If I had to resort to such means to pay the tax and avoid corvée labor, how could I live with myself!"
Although Mother Chen and his sister-in-law were moved, they didn't truly believe Chen Ku had a solution.
Mother Chen asked, "The Autumn Grain is taxed per head, even seven-year-old Hu Zi is counted. Our family of four will have to pay at least Two Guan of Wen Money this year. Where will you get that much money?"
"You don't need to worry about it. As long as there's still a man in this family, I'll make sure we all live better lives."
With that, he strode out the door and went to the village entrance to retrieve his handcart.
"I'll unload the firewood first. I bought medicine for Hu Zi's diarrhea at the market. Sister-in-law, please boil a few more pots of hot water later... Make sure Hu Zi takes his medicine," Chen Ku said while unloading the firewood. "Then, prepare some dry rations for me. I'm heading back into the mountains tomorrow."
Mother Chen, her heart aching for her son, said with concern, "Rest for a day before you go..."
Chen Ku shook his head. "Time is too tight. I can't afford to rest."
Then, turning to his sister-in-law, he said, "Remember, if that Huang Ba comes again, go find Big Brother Zhao first, and then wait for me to return. Don't worry, I'll handle everything."
Chen Ku tightened his grip on the sickle in his hand.
A chilling resolve formed in his heart. That bully has set his sights on our family, so he definitely won't let this go easily. But with my current strength, I'm outmatched. If I really clash with him, not only will I be unable to kill him, I won't gain anything either. I must learn how to protect myself. Next, just earning money isn't enough. I also need to train in martial arts. Only then can I deal with people like him!
「The next day.」
Chen Ku packed some boiled water, five times his usual amount of dry rations, put on his straw sandals, took his sickle, and set out with the basket on his back.
The nearest large mountain and forest area to the village belonged to Landlord Li, one of the prominent families in the county. The mountain he and Old Master Li's grandson had entered previously was their property.
The Li Family's Mountain Guards, leading wild dogs, patrolled the forest area.
As usual, he paid the Fifty Wen passage fee and entered the mountain by the main path.
Going into the mountains alone means I must leave by evening. Without companions, the dangers in these mountains are too great...
Especially after the recent incident where a white hound came down the mountain and attacked people, Chen Ku had an even clearer understanding of the terrifying wild beasts lurking in the mountains.
Tigers, leopards, packs of jackals—an encounter with any of these could cost him his life.
Filled with caution, trepidation, and an unprecedented sense of anticipation, Chen Ku activated the Skinny Dog Transformation once he was deeper in the mountains. This gave him the nose of a dog, capable of smelling for ten li.
[Skinny Dog Transformation]
[Current Level: Shape Shifting (Skinny Dog Nose)]
[Skinny Dog Nose: Smell for ten li]
With his canine senses activated, the forest assailed him with scents far different from those in the village.
The complexity and sheer number of smells in the forest were dozens of times greater than in the village.
The scents of different trees, flowers, plants, birds, and beasts...
Chen Ku recalled the myriad strange and diverse scents of medicinal herbs and firewood he had encountered in the Medicine and Firewood Market.
He began to climb along a mountain stream, roaming through the forest, his nostrils twitching continuously.
Soon, the scents of various Herbal Medicines reached him in quick succession.
Bupleurum, gastrodia, and poria—herbs usually hard to find—he found them all!
「Half an hour later!」
Chen Ku's basket already contained more than what a typical Herbalist would gather in an entire day in the mountains.
It was packed full of various common Herbal Medicines, including two Chicken Blood Orchids.
He looked at the harvest in his basket excitedly. "With the Skinny Dog Transformation active and the olfactory sense of a Skinny Dog, it only took me half an hour to gather this much! Although I haven't found any Treasured Medicine yet, all the Herbal Medicines in this basket combined are worth at least Seven or Eight Hundred Wen!"
That was the equivalent of earning seven or eight hundred yuan in just a few hours.
At this rate, he could become the richest man in the village in just a few months.
In three or four days, he could earn more than Two Guan. Why would he worry about not being able to pay the Autumn Grain Rice tax?
His golden finger hadn't let him down!
Before long, he even found a ginseng plant.
This ginseng... looking at the leaves, it's not as big as Master Li's, but it must be ten to twenty years old.
Chen Ku was immensely excited.
He carefully tied a red string around the ginseng. Then, little by little, he loosened the soil with a small wooden stick. After half an hour of meticulous work, he managed to lift the ginseng out intact.
"I've struck it rich! This ginseng can sell for at least Four or Five Taels of Silver!"
Earning Four or Five Taels a day! I'm simply raking it in! In my previous life, that would be a daily income of five thousand! Comparing my past and present lives, this is truly a windfall!
After digging out the ginseng, just as he was leaving this part of the forest and preparing to take the mountain path home, his Dog Nose suddenly picked up the sharp scent of blood.
The smell of blood made Chen Ku's expression change.
Because among the metallic tang, he distinctly recognized the smell of human blood.
His first instinct was to flee back home as quickly as possible.
But then, he heard several mournful cries, like the howling of wolves—AWOO! AOO!—coming from two or three li away in the forest.
Wild wolves?
Chen Ku immediately analyzed the situation. Someone in the mountains has encountered wild wolves? They're fighting.
After this assessment, his mind stirred, but he had no intention of approaching.
It wasn't that I don't want to save them, but... the threat to myself is too great.
His nostrils twitched. The scent of one person... and their opponents are sixteen wolves...
「As time slowly passed.」
His nostrils twitched again. The scent of that person's blood is even stronger now, while the wolves' scent has diminished by half. Can one person really fight sixteen wolves and kill half of them?
「After a while.」
Has he been killed? And the wolves... are almost all dead too?
Chen Ku was shocked. So formidable?