Chapter 19: 19
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 .
Compared to a village that mainly focused on agriculture like Crouching Ox village, the people of Drawn Reins village were much fiercer . They would face off against wild beasts within the mountains every day . They even practised martial arts that had been passed down by their ancestors . Not only were they beyond the government of Qingyang city’s control, but they never even paid taxes either .
There had once been people from Qingyang city who had tried to launch a punitive expedition against the village . However, before they could even reach it, they fell for countless traps and ambushes . By the time they arrived at the village after much difficulty, they had already lost half of their men, and their morale was at an absolute low . The leading general could only draw in his reins before the village and flee back to Qingyang city in dejection .
As a result, the original name of the village had been forgotten by people, being changed to ‘Drawn Reins village’ . As a result, it was obvious just how proud the people from there would be for being part of a village that could repel an army . If a half-grown teenager wanted to stand against them, it would be utterly hopeless without a doubt .
The short young man said furiously, “You can’t sell these hides here!”
“How come?” Li Qingshan opened his eyes; light seemed to flash through them .
It made the young men think of the beasts in the mountains . The shining eyes in the dark made them raise their guards instinctively, but they were not afraid . They were hunters who fought against such wild beasts . At the same time, they saw how Li Qingshan was dressed as a farmer, so they looked down on him even more . “Because I don’t want you to!” He extended a hand and tried to flip over Li Qingshan’s canvas .
A large, coarse hand clamped down on the young man’s hand like a metal lock, actually causing him some pain .
The young man was surprised . This guy is strong . However, his reaction was not delayed at all, and he directly threw a punch with his left hand at Li Qingshan’s face .
His companions showed no intentions of interfering, only watching on from one side . They seemed extremely confident, and they even smiled with contempt .
Speaking of which, this was the first time Li Qingshan had actually fought against someone . Patch-haired Liu was unable to put up any resistance at all when he was drunk, while the witch had died when the Ghost Mist backfired . The punch pierced through the air, giving him no time to think . However, he had not been cultivating all these days for nothing . Li Qingshan twisted his head to one side instinctively, stamped with his right foot, and twisted his body forwards .
Using his spine as his core, the muscles throughout his body pulsed, and his shoulder slammed towards the young man with tremendous force .
A shoulder slam was an extremely common move among fist styles . The Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength included it as well . He also fused the three forms into it when he used this move .
The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves consolidated his footing and allowed him to draw strength from the ground . The Ox Demon Forges its Hide toughened his body such that he was immovable . The Ox Demon Butts its Horns allowed him to use his body as a horn to butt his opponent . He completed all of this in one stroke .
The black ox was crouching on the ground behind and nodded in satisfaction .
However, the young man paled in fright . He felt like he had been struck by a charging bull . His chest ached as he was thrown away, falling into the crowd . He felt like all of his bones had become dislocated .
The discussions within the surrounding crowd were silenced, while the young man’s companions were stunned . They attacked him furiously .
Li Qingshan grew stern . Fighting a single opponent and taking on many at the same time were two completely different matters altogether . Unless the difference in strength was tremendous, it was difficult to take down several people with just two hands . Once a bull became encircled by a group of vicious hunting dogs, the only fate that awaited it was being ripped to pieces and dying .