Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

At the start of the new year, the entire county town has fully recovered its vitality.

Inside Wang's Pharmacy, Wang Zhengyu was counting the medicinal materials Zhou Ye had brought, most of which were from wild animals and demonic beasts. When he saw the gall bladder of the demonic bear, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Tian, ​​this should be a demonic bear at the late stage of the Qi Refining realm, right? I can give you 500 taels."

"That's fine. But I'd like to switch to a mid-grade Qi and Blood Pill. I wonder if the young master has any connections?"

Zhou Ye had already inquired and found out that a mid-grade Qi and Blood Pill cost around 10 taels of silver. Having already tasted the benefits of taking pills and eating meat, he wanted to upgrade again.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this request, Wang Zhengyu smiled wryly and said, "Well... I'll try to get you a few pills! Currently, mid-grade Qi and Blood Pills are extremely rare in the county, with prices far exceeding availability. They are generally very difficult to purchase and must be transported from the prefectural city. Furthermore, once they are available, the government and major families will divide them among themselves, so they will almost never circulate outside the county."

"I see!"

Zhou Ye nodded. This should be considered a resource monopoly, preventing mid-grade Qi and Blood Pills from flowing into the outside world. However, if mid-grade Qi and Blood Pills are unavailable for the time being, low-grade Qi and Blood Pills can still be consumed with difficulty.

But just then, Wang Zhengyu suddenly asked, "Brother Tian, ​​since you're able to hunt and kill demonic beasts, what about their meat?"

"Oh? Young master, you want one too? I was just about to ask you to recommend a reliable source."

That's absolutely true. Zhou Ye had never seen anyone selling demon beast meat in the mountain market. If he were to take it out himself, wouldn't that attract attention? Not to mention the possibility of being double-crossed or forced into buying and selling. The possibility of his identity being exposed would also be a major headache.

After all, Zhou Ye had enough demon bear meat to ensure a sufficient supply for those in the Enlightenment stage. The demon python meat weighed over 100 jin, and the demon badger meat only weighed 5 or 60 jin. It wouldn't be of much use to him, and it would be a waste to throw it away. So Zhou Ye wanted to sell it all.

Upon hearing that Zhou Ye indeed had demon beast meat, Wang Zhengyu was overjoyed: "Then you can have all of yours, and I guarantee you a fair price. My clan will take a share, we'll give some to those two Ming Jin seniors as tribute, and we can distribute the rest outside. We can at least exchange it for some favors."

"Oh?"

"Brother Xiaotian, to be honest, things like demon beast meat only circulate internally. When hunting teams go deep into the mountains, they only choose the more valuable herbs, demon beast materials, and furs. Demon beast meat isn't actually that valuable, and it's heavy, so most of it is discarded."

"I see."

Zhou Ye nodded. Not every hunting team is like his, with a small, permanent campsite. And so much salt to preserve. It's impossible to carry that much just by people carrying it on their backs and shoulders.

"Indeed. That's why there's always a shortage. Each household in the county has its own channels. Even if a tiny bit is reserved, it will only circulate internally."

I understand, this is another form of resource monopoly. In that case, it doesn't matter who we sell to, right? Of course, we can sell to Wang Zhengyu. At least we already have a reputation there.

After finalizing the business deal, the two chatted casually.

"Brother Xiaotian, your junior brother Wu is doing quite well. I heard he's very diligent. He's already broken through to the mid-stage of the Entry-Level Strength realm and has also mastered a fast sword technique."

Zhou Ye smiled and asked, "Where did he arrange it?"

"Let him work night shifts at the warehouse first. Once he reaches the later stages of mastery, we can arrange for him to travel outside with the convoy."

"Just follow your pharmacy's arrangements! Don't worry about saving face for me. Opportunities are given by others, but you still have to seize them yourself."

"That's right. Don't worry, I haven't revealed your true identity. Your junior brother only knows that there's a senior in the medicine hall named Xiao Tian, ​​but he doesn't know that's you."

Zhou Ye smiled slightly. Actually, revealing his identity would be a bit troublesome, but only a bit troublesome. After all, his public identity was that of a mountain hermit; it simply meant others knew his strength.

However, I'm a cheat code; my cultivation speed is definitely not slow. Under the current conditions, I could break through the acupoints in my torso and reach the peak of Entering the Core stage ten months ago. In another year and eight months, I'll definitely be able to break through to the Manifested Core stage.

Therefore, others might assume that his strength lies in his exceptional martial arts skills. Given his ruthless nature, it's understandable that he possesses such skills. Furthermore, the difference in his internal energy level compared to ordinary people isn't significant, making his martial arts techniques all the more crucial.

But no one else would ever guess that he would break through to the Ming Jin realm so quickly. After all, his five-year-old Qi perception was one of the biggest jokes at the Feng Lei Martial Arts School. So there would definitely be misleading information, and no one would be able to guess his true strength.

And this also serves another purpose: it's a subtle test. Whether it's Wang's Pharmacy or Wu Jun, once they reveal their true nature, Zhou Ye will be able to see through them.

After all, no one can live in a vacuum. We need cooperation, friends, partners…

Keeping quiet isn't that difficult. As long as we can withstand the test, we can consider strengthening cooperation in the future.

Unexpectedly, Wang Zhengyu hesitated for a few moments before suddenly saying, "Brother Tian, ​​since you've been so generous, giving our pharmacy so many valuable medicinal herbs, I can't be ungrateful. How about this? I promise to lend you two of my family's medical books first. However, they can't be lent out; you can only look them up at our Wang family home when you have time. As for the others, we can talk about them later?"

Zhou Ye smiled, surprised by the unexpected delight: "Then thank you very much, young master!"

"..."

When Zhou Ye left Wang's Pharmacy, his pockets were bulging again. He had already buried the ten 100-tael silver notes near his small family home as a backup in case of emergency. As for his two homes in the county town, he had basically left behind very little money.

However, to be fair, for ordinary people at the bottom of society, it doesn't actually cost much money at all.

Was it the sack of copper coins left behind by those three thieves? Zhou Ye has only spent a small portion of it so far.

However, after a whole winter of hoarding, Zhou Ye had quite a few things around him. Besides medicinal herbs, he also had a considerable amount of fur...

He Family Fur Shop, the same fur shop Zhou Ye frequented. Examining the many high-quality furs, especially the large bear pelts, the shopkeeper was beaming with excitement.

Just then, an elderly man dressed as a wealthy man walked in. Zhou Ye's heart skipped a beat. Sensing the man's incredibly vigorous blood and energy, he knew this man must be a Ming Jin martial arts master.

To his surprise, the old man was very polite. He smiled warmly and said, "Young brother, I am but a humble old man, unworthy of being the manager of this place. Please accept my greetings. May I ask your name?"