Chapter 19 – The Might of the Ox Demon (1/2)

Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, autumn had arrived. The maple leaves in the mountains gradually reddened as the golden ears of rice swelled up bit by bit.

An ox cart slowly rolled through the path between the fields. No one controlled the black ox that pulled a cart covered in a thick layer of hides. Atop the hides was a young man with a piece of straw in his mouth, resting on his arms leisurely as he looked at the sky. Tied to his waist was a blade and a wooden tablet. He was Li Qingshan.

Currently, he was heading to Cypress Stream town more than five kilometres away with over a thousand taels of silver on him. In such a remote mountain hamlet, trying to spend money was really difficult.

If he wanted to make purchases, he could only go to larger towns or cities. Qingyang city had an abundance of goods, but it was simply too far away, and it definitely would not be cheap.

He could only fall back on his second choice and go to the town. At a set time every month, the town would hold a large-scale gathering. When that happened, the people of the nearby villages would all go to the town for the market and buy, sell, or exchange items. This was the best time to buy ginseng. He had gathered quite a number of beast hides as well, so he could use this opportunity to get them off his hands.

Originally, Li Qingshan did not want the black ox to pull the cart anymore, but the black ox did not mind continuing being an ordinary beast of burden.

When he arrived at Cypress Stream village, the sun had only just risen. The small town was bustling with people shuffling about. Many small pedlars called out loudly to sell their goods. It was an extremely lively sight.

Li Qingshan found an empty place and spread out the hides on the cloth canvas he had prepared beforehand. He did not copy others by calling out; instead, he simply sat by the side and meditated. He did not let this opportunity to cultivate pass by.

The sliver of weak qi in his body had already become much larger. He was like a child who just loved playing around, constantly controlling the sliver of true qi to move through his body.

He did not move, but this was extremely exhausting. Li Qingshan would open his eyes from time to time to answer customers who had come to ask for the price.

He possessed a tremendous sum on him, and he did not have any plans to make a lot of money from the hides. He only wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible so that he could buy ginseng. As a result, the price was extremely cheap.

Although he was resistant to bargaining, business was still extremely successful. It was almost winter, and Li Qingshan himself had first-hand experience of the agony of biting, cold winds. There was not a single normal person who did not want a set of leather shoes or a coat, so a great group of people gathered around him before long.

Li Qingshan opened his eyes. “What do you require of me?” His insight was no longer the same as before. He could tell with a single glance that these people were difficult to deal with.

Although all of them were young and none of them seemed particularly vicious, they all possessed a vigorous aura of murder. If patch-haired Liu was only a mangy dog that barked about, they would be vicious watch dogs. Any single one of them could easily kill patch-haired Liu.

A short, valiant man with a short beard asked, “Where did you get your hides from?”

His companions extended their hands and played around the hides and discovered that it really was just like the rumours. The hides did not have any arrow holes or any other traces of damage. They were rare hides of superior quality, but they were being sold for even less than regular hides.

“If you want it, then buy it. If you don’t want it, then leave. Don’t block the sunlight.” Li Qingshan could not be bothered to make up a lie and answer for these strangers. He shut his eyes again and continued to cultivate.

The people in the surroundings had already backed away, but they did not leave. Instead, more and more people gathered over. There were various discussions, but all of it was clearly audible.

“Aren’t they hunters from the Drawn Reins village?” “He’s actually bold enough to look down on people from the Drawn Reins village. How many lives does he think he has?”

Drawn Reins village! Li Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat. Even with how he lived under a rock, this place still reverberated through his ears like thunder. This was one of the villages near Cypress Stream town. It was located extremely deeply within the myriad mountains. The people that dwelled there were all hunters of several generations. No wonder they possessed such an aura.