My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 17 Introduction
West Market, Qingshan County.

As the sun rises, the number of people on the streets gradually increases.

After a quiet night, the West Market began its bustling day.

Tianyizhai Antique Shop.

The owner, Jiejia, with his snow-white beard and hair, opened the door on time.

First, thoroughly clean the already clean and tidy floor.

Then, he meticulously wiped the antique display shelf until it was spotless.

He was hunched over, his movements slow but steady.

She exuded a sense of tranquility, a stark contrast to the bustling crowd outside.

Chirp!

A flash of black light streaked past.

A small, jet-black bird, about the size of a fist, landed on Jie Jia's shoulder at some point.

Jie Jia seemed to be used to this.

Ignoring the little bird on his shoulder, he continued wiping the last corner of the display shelf. Only then did he reach out and grab the black bird, remove the small bamboo tube from its ankle, and pull out the slip of paper inside.

Above it was a series of numbers with incomprehensible meaning.

“Chen Mu, Chenjia Village, one hundred taels. Big business!” Jie Jia exclaimed expressionlessly.

Pinch the strip of paper between your thumb and forefinger and gently rub it.

With a wisp of black ash flying around, the note disappeared.

A young man in gray entered the shop, nodded respectfully to Jie Jia, and then obediently went behind the counter.

He took out a brand-new gray cloth from his pocket, placed it on the chair, and carefully sat down.

Jie Jia glanced at it, then walked out of Tianyi Zhai without expression.

The young man in gray breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wonder which unlucky fellow was so fortunate that he deserved to be personally taken care of by Elder Jie," the gray-clad youth remarked in amazement.

My arm instinctively reached for the counter, but froze the moment it touched the surface.

"I heard that Elder Jie is a germaphobe. I... I'd better just sit still." The young man in gray quickly put his hands back on his knees, still feeling a bit shaken.

As if being punished, I sat obediently behind the counter, trying my best not to touch any of the tables or chairs.

This is one of Zhu Yilou's top assassins, Master Jie.

It would be such a terrible injustice if he killed her just for dirtying the counter!
……

The back mountain of Chenjia Village.

A long, red-scaled snake dangled from a tree branch, its body reaching towards a bird's nest in the fork.

Waaah... Pfft!
The snake's head suddenly exploded.

The next moment, a figure suddenly darted past from under the tree.

Chen Mu runs like a cheetah in the mountains.

He would occasionally flick pebbles from his hands.

Thirty meters away, the palm-shaped leaf suddenly developed holes.

Nineteen meters away, a centipede on the ground suddenly broke in two.

Forty-three meters away, a wasp was suddenly smashed to pieces.

Twenty-three meters away, a wild rabbit that had been running happily had just jumped up.

Phew!

A pebble suddenly appeared and pierced his skull.

"It can really be used for hunting!" Chen Mu appeared beside the rabbit and happily picked it up.

Having tested that the mountain forest environment could improve his physical training technique, Chen Mu tried hunting with the Flying Locust Stone.

"With this trick, the pressure of eating meat can be alleviated a little."

It's not just Zheng Tu's place; meat prices are rising throughout Qingshan County.

Back at the hunter's cabin, Chen Mu began clumsily processing the wild rabbit.

"I'll probably be doing a lot of butchering in the future, so I'll start practicing with this rabbit," Chen Mu thought with a chuckle.

……

The hunter is in the forest above the mountains.

On a tree so thick that it would take two people to hug it.

Jiejia stood hunched over, hands behind his back, on a tree branch as thick as an arm.

Through the gaps in the leaves, I quietly watched Chen Mu busily working in the open space in the distance.

"found it."

Jie Jia remained completely unmoved.

He had been a hitman his whole life, and killing no longer caused him any psychological distress.

He's just a little weird.

Who could a frail scholar have offended that someone would spend a hundred taels of silver to kill him? "Never mind, he's just a target."

"Did he die from an accidental fall or from accidentally ingesting poisonous fruit?"

"Dying from a poisonous insect bite doesn't seem so bad."

"There are twenty-three kinds of deadly venomous insects in the southern mountains of Qingshan County. The wounds of the silver-ringed snake are too large, and the copper coin spider is too slow to actively harm people."

"Yes, the stinger of the golden-winged bee is thin and highly toxic. By quenching the poison in a silver needle and disguising it as a bee stinger, it can be easily mistaken for the real thing."

call!
A gentle breeze blew by, and the armor disappeared.

Only one leaf remained, swirling as it drifted down.

……

"Young man!"

Chen Mu, who was awkwardly skinning and cleaning a wild rabbit, couldn't help but turn his head.

An elderly man with a hunched back was walking along the path.

The old man's hair and beard were all white, yet he combed them meticulously, and his steps were slow but steady.

His clothes were clean and tidy, and he was clearly not a hunter or farmer.

"Young man, could you give me some clean water?" the old man asked, bending over as he slowly walked along the path to the hunter's hut.

"Sir, you're so old, why are you still going up the mountain?" Chen Mu asked in confusion.

"Don't let my age fool you, I'm still very healthy," the old man retorted.

"I'm a doctor, and I came to the mountains to collect medicinal herbs," the old man explained with a smile.

Doctor? Herb gatherer?
Why aren't you carrying a medicine basket when you're collecting herbs?

Oh well, it's just a sip of water.

"Wait a moment," Chen Mu replied, washing the blood off his hands.

He went into the wooden house, dried his hands, took off his water bag, and came to Jiejia.

"Old man, please." Chen Mu handed the bulging water bag to the old man with both hands.

Jie Jia smiled as he watched Chen Mu approach, a flash of silver light disappearing from his right hand behind his back.

He stretched out his right hand and reached for the water bag.

Suddenly, a dark figure descended from the sky.

Chirp!

A black bird the size of a fist suddenly landed on the armored man's shoulder.

Jie Jia's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

The Black Bird is Zhu Yilou's messenger bird.

The fact that it arrived so suddenly at this moment must mean that something went wrong with the mission.

The fake smile on his face vanished instantly.

He reached out and took down the bamboo tube, then retrieved the paper strip.

"Employer died, mission canceled?"

Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu expressionlessly: "You're very lucky."

Chen Mu looked at the other person with a puzzled expression: "What do you mean, sir?"

"Don't play dumb." Jie Jia stared at Chen Mu expressionlessly: "You're hiding lime powder in your sleeve, aren't you?"

"Old man, you've misunderstood. It's just a sachet," Chen Mu said sincerely, pulling a cloth bag from his sleeve.

"When I used lime powder to kill people, you weren't even born yet," Jie Jia sneered.

"Old man, you've really misunderstood. If you don't believe me, I can open it and show you." Chen Mu said with a serious expression.

"If you dare to open the bag and sprinkle it on me now, I'll kill you right now!" Jie Jia stared coldly at Chen Mu.

"Sigh, old man, you have a deep misunderstanding about me. I am really not that kind of wicked person." Chen Mu helplessly put the cloth bag back into his sleeve.

“You’re lucky. Your employer who killed you is dead. I never do anything that doesn’t pay off. You can rest assured,” Jie Jia said calmly.

Chen Mu looked at Jie Jia with astonishment: "Kill me? Old man, you must be joking. I'm just a scholar, how could anyone kill me?"

"Honest and dutiful? What honest and dutiful scholar carries lime powder to ambush people?" Jie Jia scoffed.

As he spoke, he reached out to take Chen Mu's water bag.

He had rushed here, searching for people and preparing assassination methods, and was indeed a bit thirsty.

"Forget it, people's prejudices are like a mountain, you can't move them no matter what. No matter how I explain, you won't believe me." Chen Mu walked back to the wooden house dejectedly, carrying his water bag.

Jie Jia's hand reached for nothing: "Hey... this stubborn scholar."

"Could I have really suspected something wrong?"

"That smell is from lime?"

"Something's not right!" Jie Jia's face darkened. "Could that little bastard have poisoned the water?"

Is prejudice like a mountain?

That's a really convincing act!
(End of this chapter)