Li Xuejian finished eating and started to browse around the stalls nearby.

He didn't have any food at home and lacked the basic daily necessities. 

After thinking about it, Li Xuejian bought ten catty of white rice and coarse grains, spending one hundred twenty wen on it.

The salt was very expensive and was sold for 26 wen per catty but who let him be a rich man. Li Xuejian bought two catties without hesitation. It was no wonder that the people in the countryside weren’t able to consume salt every day.

Li Xuejian also found out that the seasoning here was very sparse. He could only get garlic, scallion, ginger, and rice vinegar.

Once the food more food was loaded such as flour, oil, and some vegetables, it was time to buy meat. Even if there was enough prey in the mountain, he cannot guarantee a successful outcome to catch something every day. 

The owner of the meat stall asked with a friendly tone: “What kind of meat would this youngster like to have? It was all slaughter today.”

Li Xuejian pointed to the pork and pig's trotters on one side: “I will take five catty of it with some bones.” He could always use pig bones to make a soup. 

“Okay, please wait a moment.” The meat seller cut off the front leg of the pig and didn’t remove the big bones from it. 

After estimating that he had cut five catty he weighed it: “Four and a half catty. It cost one hundred sixteen and eight wen.” 

Li Xuejian counted the money and thanked him.

He was about to go back when he passed by a stall that looked very small. There was no table but only a piece of gray cloth was placed on the ground, and a few thighs were scattered on it. 

The stall owner was a middle-aged man dressed in neat and clean clothes but his head was bowed and he did not shout to the guests to come over and buy things.

This aroused Li Xuejian's curiosity. The people in the surrounding stalls all watched him walk towards this weird person who can't do business with strange eyes and they couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

Speaking of which, this middle-aged man has been setting up a stall here for many days. Because he never took the initiative to greet customers, he has been sitting there gloomily and silently, and everyone has gradually developed towards this strange person some curiosity. 

Li Xuejian ignored the people around him and knelt down to take a look.

He had owned many weapons in his life and learned to use them but always favored the lighter and more manageable one that reached the target much more swiftly and along a flatter arc, which considerably reduced the possibility of its being blown off course.

Li Xuejian had used daggers for several years and couldn’t imagine another capable of outclassing them. But he had finally come across one.

He picked up the dagger and flexed it, it was incredibly light and quite simple. The blade was made from bronze, with a perfectly balanced riser, and flat. As for the handle, although it wasn’t long it had an impressive kick to its laminated wood and sinew limbs.

Li Xuejian asked for a price without hesitation or haggling but the middle-aged man only snorted at him.

Li Xuejian didn’t mind it and took out the tiger’s claws: “How about we trade?”

The man looked at it with obvious interest and smiled faintly: “I like it! It's a fair exchange.” He said that with an affirmative tone.

Looking at the rare beauty in his hands, Li Xuejian couldn’t help but praise him: “You are a true craftsman, a genuine professional.”

The other person said with a sneer again, finding a more comfortable position on the stool: “Indeed I am. Some earn money doing what they’ve learned and others do what they have to, but not many craftsmen have been as lucky in life as I am to make a trade I truly and honestly enjoy. Not even a top beauty of the brothel can say that.” He had a particular character and it was no wonder that the customers were scared away by him.

“How about you?” The man asked, raising black eyes beneath slightly greying eyebrows towards him.

Li Xuejian thought for a moment or two before shrugging his shoulders: “I’m just about to survive and stay alive.” Live an ordinary life and make a living. 

The challenge Li Xuejian has in front of him was the same one he faced. The world had changed, but actually, the world was the same as it’s always been, quite the same. And he was the same as he used to be.

The man thought it is not the right mindset for a young man, folding his arms on his chest, he said as though he were talking to himself: “Life is not only about self-preservation but to marry a wife, maybe even have a child, trying to leave something for people to remember you by.”

Li Xuejian cleared his throat but said nothing, the custom in ancient times was like this. A nod of the head and the flicker of a smile thanked the man for a word of advice.

He left the market and headed towards the docks. One of the reasons that the county town was this prosperous was that it was bordered by a canal which was the fast way for the people from the countryside to arrive there. 

At last, Li Xuejian paid the passage fee of ten wen coins and boarded the boat with his cart to get off close to Wuyuan village. 

At the entrance, he could see a lot of villagers gathered around one house who had been curious to see the bustle.

He frowned and continued to walk towards them without paying close attention to the situation around him but suddenly saw a familiar face in the center of the crowd.