Li Yuan knocked on the door a few times, then stopped, waiting patiently.
He stepped back a little, taking the opportunity to survey the houses in Baiyun Alley at Silver Creek Square.
There was nothing upscale about them, just ordinary houses with black tiles and white walls, looking rather modest.
The ground was uneven dirt, with no flooring or the like.
The alley was not wide, even somewhat cramped.
Yet the houses were quite close together; a couple of steps from the door, and you'd be at the neighbor's house.
Still, such an ordinary residential area was considered middle-class in Silver Creek Square.
Like that steward yesterday, he lived in a place with only a wooden shed, even simpler than Little Ink Workshop, with the only advantage being its proximity to the main road of Silver Creek Square, making it convenient for shopping.
Just as Li Yuan was thinking this, he suddenly heard the soft creak of a door opening.
A door at the side had opened.
He turned his head slightly and saw a gaudily dressed girl with make-up yawning and walking out from next door.
The girl had "0~1" floating beside her, glanced at him arrogantly, then walked away without a backward glance.
This left Li Yuan somewhat dumbfounded.
Could it be that the girl saw through him at a glance as an outsider?
However, seeing the girl walking out, coupled with what he observed from the Celestial Fragrance Square railing last night, Li Yuan confirmed that the security here was indeed better than Little Ink Workshop.
Girls dressed so prettily still walked outside at such a late hour, and ordinary people were seen on the streets, indicating security here was many times better than at Little Ink Workshop.
After a while, the door of the house he was waiting at was finally opened by someone.
It was a stranger dressed as a maid, looking quite attractive.
The maid glanced at Li Yuan and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Li Yuan handed over a breakfast box from Yichan Pavilion, smiling, "My name is Li Yuan, and I'm here to see Brother Cai Ze... Please inform him for me."
The maid glanced at the breakfast box, stepped forward to take it, and said courteously, "Wait a moment, sir is not up yet."
Li Yuan smiled and said, "No rush."
After some time, a young man dressed in a government official's uniform came out, saw Li Yuan standing at the door, and smiled, "Brother Li, you're here, come on in."
Li Yuan said, "I know Brother Cai is busy during the day and didn't want to disturb, but I've gathered enough silver taels and came to deliver them."
As he spoke, he took out two prepared small bags, one containing small silver ingots worth 10 taels, and the other containing 5 silver coins.
Cai Ze took the two bags, looked them over, and said with satisfaction, "Managed to gather it so quickly?"
Li Yuan replied, "Yes, I ventured into the forest yesterday, hunted hard, and was lucky to catch a wild pig, which I sold for some money."
Cai Ze nodded and said, "Brother Li is a capable and skillful person. This matter... I'll have it done in five days. Come to get your residence permit from me in five days."
"Thank you, Brother Cai!" Li Yuan expressed his gratitude sincerely, and then added, "If Brother Cai has no other instructions, I won't keep bothering you."
...
...
After a series of operations, 30 taels of silver turned into 7 taels.
His heart ached, but these were necessary expenses.
Scrimping could result in unfulfilled tasks, and that would be a deep regret.
Returning to Little Ink Workshop, Yan Yu looked at her husband's red eyes and the smell of alcohol and makeup on him, saying nothing as she silently boiled water to assist him with bathing and then persuaded him to take a rest.
Just as Yan Yu was about to go wash clothes, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Lady Yan looked back.
Li Yuan was holding her hand.
Their eyes met, and Li Yuan said, "Sister Yan, I haven't slept with another woman."
"Mm..." Lady Yan smiled happily, though winter had not yet passed, her bright eyes seemed to be blooming with the arrival of spring.
After a brief silence, Lady Yan playfully scolded, "Spent money but didn't indulge in it, where can one find such a foolish man as you?"
With that, the young woman seemed genuinely pleased, took the changed clothes, half-embraced the wooden washbasin, and went to the river with Aunt Wang to do the laundry.
...
Li Yuan woke up in the evening, had dinner, and was about to go out for a walk.
He walked to the courtyard, glanced at the distant Xiao Mo Mountain, feeling a bit heavy-hearted.
A few days ago, he went hunting on the mountain but did not see Xiaohuang.
Usually, Xiaohuang would follow his scent to find him.
Even when he was in Little Ink Workshop, Xiaohuang would sneak down the mountain path to him.
But it had been so long, and Xiaohuang still hadn't shown up.
He remembered how Xiaohuang tried desperately to stop him from moving forward, gave timely warnings, and quickly escaped; Li Yuan sighed deeply.
This was a debt of gratitude owed to a mere beast...
As for going back to the mountains to look for Xiaohuang, that was out of the question.
In the unfrequented deep mountains and old forests, he would never return.
This was a lesson learned after nearly losing his life.
He walked for a while, and suddenly a middle-aged man came out tremblingly ahead.
Upon seeing Li Yuan, the middle-aged man hurriedly approached with caution, "Brother Yuan..."
Li Yuan looked closer, wasn't this Uncle Youcai?
Uncle Youcai was Tian Bao's father, what was he doing looking for him?
Uncle Youcai approached, his eyes surprisingly red, "Brother Yuan, Ah Bao wouldn't let me tell you, but I..."
"What is it, Uncle Youcai?"
"Ah Bao... was beaten up yesterday when he came back, and one of his eyes was blinded. He's lying at home right now."
"What?!"
...
A moment later.
Li Yuan arrived at Uncle Youcai's house.
On the bed, the tall, skinny boy had his right eye wrapped in bandages, with bloodstains visible. When he saw Li Yuan approaching, he angrily glared at Uncle Youcai and screamed, "Who told you to tell Brother Yuan?! Who told you..."
Li Yuan waved his hand and asked, "What happened?"
Tian Bao instantly calmed down and said, "Brother, it's nothing..."
"Didn't I tell you to speak up?"
"No... Brother, it's just that when I was coming back, three people mugged me.
They asked where the money from selling the wild boar was. I said I kept it in the bank, but they couldn't find the receipt, so they beat me up, and my eye got blinded then...
But, hey, I scratched one of their faces, so they're not having it easy either...
They also asked where you were, what your name was. I didn't say anything; I would never betray Brother Yuan."
Li Yuan's expression shifted slightly.
As expected, if there's any benefit, someone will target it.
That whole wild boar could sell for quite a bit. No one noticed at Little Ink Workshop, but someone else managed to target it.
"Take care and heal well."
Li Yuan gave some advice, then went back home and brought five pounds of meat to Uncle Youcai.
As he was leaving, Tian Bao's voice came from behind.
"Brother Yuan, when I recover, I want to follow you again."
Li Yuan paused, then said, "Focus on getting better first."
...
Two days later.
Li Yuan hunted a wild boar and expended much effort using a cart to bring it out of the mountain.
He skillfully went to Hengwu Restaurant, collected 30 taels of silver, took a short break, ate a bowl of noodles, and then pushed the cart back the same way.
He didn't take the main road back but took a shortcut through a small path.
On one side of this path was a yellowish reed marsh, and on the other side was a dense little forest, with only a few households scattered before and after.
Li Yuan confirmed that this was the same route Tian Bao took a few days ago.
At this moment, the sky was dim, with a faint moon just emerging.
The pale moonlight illuminated the path...
Li Yuan sped up his pace.
Suddenly, he stopped because he spotted a figure coming out of the forest beside him.
Immediately, figures appeared from the side and the back as well.
The person coming from the side had a face that was red and bloodied, as if scratched out.
The person leading smiled and said, "I told you they'd come back. This time, there should be no escape."
The other two chuckled silently without speaking.
Li Yuan, seeing two "2~3" and a "3~4", was startled and stammeringly said, "You three... you three..."
The person in the lead said, "Pay some money for peace; this time, we have brought knives..."
The person behind added, "You can earn more money, but you only have one life."
The person from the side didn't speak, just approached menacingly, holding a knife.
The three closed in more and more.
Li Yuan trembled uncontrollably.
The person in the front reached Li Yuan and was about to intimidate him.
Suddenly, Li Yuan's right hand drew out the firewood blade from his waist and made a fierce slash.
The person froze momentarily and hurriedly raised a knife to block.
Bang!!
The raised knife was smashed away by immense strength.
With a "crash," the firewood blade obliquely decapitated him.
The two people on the side and behind were stunned. The one behind didn't see clearly and thought the fight had started, so he brandished his knife to rush over. However, the person on the side was terrified and turned to flee.
Li Yuan, having decapitated one, charged forward, turned, saw the person behind, and thrust forward like an arrow, slashing the man's knife into the air and then striking out again.
Another bloody head flew into the air.
Seeing the remaining person running away, Li Yuan inserted the firewood blade into the ground, flipped his left hand to grab the large bow behind him, drew an arrow with his right hand, and nocked it.
The bowstring pulled tight like a full moon.
Thud!
Just as the sound rang, the fleeing person fell, an arrow piercing through the back of the neck and protruding from the throat.
Li Yuan re-slung his bow, drew out the firewood blade, ran up and dealt a final blow, decapitating from the neck to hide the arrow wound.
Next, he quickly dragged the three bodies one by one into prepared burlap sacks, filled them with some stones, tied the mouths securely, then ran to the riverbank and threw them into the river from a distance through the reeds.
After disposing of them, he also threw the three knives far into the river.
The river was deep, and once submerged, it wouldn't be found anytime soon.
Having done all this, Li Yuan left the cart on the path, hid quickly in the small forest, waited for half an hour, and, seeing no one, emerged again to push the cart back.