Chapter 13

Falling off a cliff and encountering something extraordinary is a plot that only exists in storybooks.

Yang Yu never thought that his old master would have such an opportunity, and his heart was filled with both joy and worry.

It was certainly a cause for celebration that the old master had an 'extraordinary encounter,' but the cliff seemed very, very high, with nothing but sheer rock walls, no water, and no food. It must be very difficult for him right now.

"I hope the old master can turn misfortune into good fortune and find a way out of trouble..."

After being dazed for a while, Yang Yu sighed.

The distance between Black Mountain City and Qingzhou was quite far, and a round trip would take more than a year, with many changes along the way and complex terrain.

Even if he wanted to search for the old master, he was currently powerless to do so.

Moreover, Black Mountain City was not very peaceful at the moment. If he left, his grandmother would be in even greater danger.

"How should I explain this to my grandmother?"

Yang Yu rubbed his temples, flipped out of the bed, and reached for the broken sword by the side of the tub. He held the broken sword in his hand.

After thoroughly refining it, he felt a difference.

Holding the sword now, he felt a sense of perfect harmony, as if the sword was not just a weapon but had become a part of his arm.

"Thoroughly refining it seems to make a real difference?"

Yang Yu's spirits lifted, and he then looked at the small tripod on his chest.

His diligent 'charging' over the past period had reduced the green color of the Gluttony Tripod to only a small part, even after thoroughly refining the broken sword.

This meant that in as little as three to five days or as long as eight to nine days, he could refine a second ingredient.

The speed depended on himself.

Swish~

Shaking off the water droplets from his body, Yang Yu held the sword and began to practice in the courtyard.

He held the sword in his right hand and formed a palm with his left, his eyes focused on the blade, his body moving with the sword. As he changed his sword techniques, he sometimes supported the blade to increase its power, sometimes pressed the back of the sword to roll it left and right, sometimes bent his elbow to hold it horizontally, and sometimes slashed it diagonally downward...

After a while, Yang Yu felt the broken sword as if it were an extension of his arm, moving with his will, feeling incredibly smooth and comfortable.

It was as if he had practiced for thirty to fifty years.

Huff~

But after a short while, Yang Yu sheathed the sword and stepped back, slightly out of breath:

"In my memory, the old master could swing the sword with full strength eight hundred times in one breath... My physique is not as good as the old master's?"

Yang Yu thought about it, and it was indeed true.

He had only been in this world for a year, and the first half of the year was spent recovering his health, while the second half was not particularly hard.

He had only been truly diligent for these few days.

In such a short time, even with medicinal baths, his physique could not match the old master's, who had trained for half his life.

"My skills might not be inferior to the old master's, but my strength and speed are far behind. In a real fight, the old master could probably kill me with just a few strikes..."

"The old master must have also taken medicinal baths, but I wonder if he successfully changed his blood?"

Wiping his body randomly, Yang Yu muttered to himself.

"I need to make money..."

...

"How can I make money quickly?"

As the sky began to brighten, Yang Yu was hunched over a table, writing and drawing.

It was really difficult!

In the year since he had crossed over, Yang Yu had thought about making money more than once.

But each time, it ended in failure due to various reasons. Even with the help of his past life's memories, he could not overcome the constraints of this world.

"Trading, selling salt and iron, brothels, gambling houses, smuggling, grain, land consolidation, being an official..."

On the paper, Yang Yu listed what he considered the most profitable businesses, from the lowest to the highest, and then crossed them out one by one based on his own abilities.

The first to be crossed out was being an official.

Being an official was undoubtedly the most profitable business, without a doubt.

"Three years as a clean prefect, and you earn ten thousand silver taels," was not just a saying.

The richest person in Black Mountain City was not the 'Chen, Wang, and Li' families, who had been deeply rooted in the city for decades, nor the Black Mountain Army stationed outside the city.

It was the county magistrate, 'Three-Zhang Liu.'

He had only been a county magistrate for a little over ten years, but he was already much richer than those gentry.

Three-Zhang Liu, who was three feet tall, was a well-known wealthy person in other counties as well.

Next was grain.

People cannot go a day without food; they can go without meat, but not without grain. However, this option also had to be crossed out.

Grain was Three-Zhang Liu's exclusive domain, and no one else could touch it.

Similarly, land consolidation was impossible.

Next, he crossed out smuggling, brothels, and gambling houses, leaving only salt and iron and trading.

"Salt and iron, trading..."

Circling these two options, Yang Yu bit the pen and pondered.

The Ming Dynasty did not prohibit private salt and iron businesses, and many people were engaged in them, but this industry was complex, controlled by several gentry families and gangs in the inner and outer cities.

Trading was the same.

Whether in the inner or outer city, if you wanted to do business, even just setting up a stall to sell calligraphy and paintings, you had to pay one-tenth to the government and two-tenths to the gangs and gentry.

The rest was yours.

Without a background, even if your business was good, you would be squeezed dry.

Moreover, he did not have the time to manage a business, let alone go out to buy goods.

Similarly, for salt and iron, although he had more efficient methods to refine them, where would he get the capital?

Of the old man Wei's many disciples, only a few like Hu Wan lived comfortably, while the rest were struggling.

"Difficult, so difficult!"

Looking at the densely written yellow paper, Yang Yu's head ached: "In this world, it's so hard to do anything..."

After a meaningless outburst, Yang Yu wrote four large characters on the paper.

"Rob the rich to help the poor!"

Gritting his teeth, Yang Yu finally understood why there were so many ruffians and gangs in the outer city.

Even if they died in waves, they still rushed forward.

There was no other way.

Because their land had been taken, they had no skills, no capital, no background, no connections...

With no other options, to survive and live better, they had to risk their lives!

To bully those who were even weaker than them.

Rip~

Yang Yu tore the paper into pieces, threw them around the room, suppressed the evil thoughts in his heart, and muttered:

"Obey the law..."

...

After washing up, he indirectly informed his grandmother that the old master might not be dead and comforted her for a while.

Yang Yu then wrapped the broken sword, took the last few silver coins he had extorted from Wang Liu, and went out.

North Street was not as prosperous as South Street, but it was still much better than the outer city, with no shortage of taverns, gambling houses, teahouses, pharmacies, and brothels.

Because the wealthy and powerful in the city mostly went to the south, there were more people and better business here.

There were more vendors, and the mix of people was more diverse.

Gentry, martial arts school disciples, gangs, ruffians, thieves...

All kinds of people.

Walking aimlessly on the street, Yang Yu was thinking about how to make money when he felt a slight vibration in his chest.

"The Gluttony Tripod? Could there be new 'ingredients'? I don't remember it having this ability before..."

Yang Yu was delighted and scanned the stalls on both sides, but found nothing unusual.

Looking back, he saw a man squatting by the roadside, sobbing softly.

The man was dressed in tattered clothes, with wounds and blood on his face, holding a ragged bag, looking miserable.

"What happened, brother? You're quite injured..."

Yang Yu's heart moved, and he approached to ask.

"Ah~"

The middle-aged man wiped away his tears, pointed to the bag, and sighed as he told his story.

The man's name was Han Liuzi, and he lived in the outer city. A few days ago, his child fell seriously ill, and despite spending all his savings, he could not save the child's life.

This time, he came to the inner city to sell the remaining things from his home to arrange the funeral.

However, because he could not afford the stall fee, he was beaten up by a few ruffians, his stall was overturned, and his money was taken to pay the stall fee.

By the end of the story, he was almost in tears again.

Yang Yu's heart softened, and he sighed: "What else do you have? Let me take a look."

In this era, there were too many people with hard lives, and too few with kind hearts.

Even he, if not for the vibration of the Gluttony Tripod, might have subconsciously ignored this man crying by the roadside.

It was not that he lacked compassion, but that such situations were too common, and he had no way to help.

"Thank you, little brother."

Wiping away his tears, Han Liuzi opened the bag, revealing some bottles and jars that did not look very good, and some old books.

"These books?"

Yang Yu casually flipped through them and shook his head.

These items had little value. The books were severely damaged and were just some old storybooks.

They were not worthless, but only worth a few coins.

None of them seemed to be...

Yang Yu's eyes flickered and looked at the leather wrapping the items.

At this moment, the vibration of the Gluttony Tripod in his chest intensified.

"Brother Han, how much do you want for these?"

Yang Yu reached into his pocket.

"I..."

Han Liuzi's face turned red, and he lowered his head, stammering: "Little brother, you decide..."

"I only have about seven or eight silver coins left..."

Handing over the silver, hesitating for a moment, Yang Yu also took out a silver hairpin and a silver bracelet from his pocket and gave them to Han Liuzi.

These were the accessories he had taken from Wang Liu's mistress, which he had not dared to sell.

"Where would I need so much?"

Han Liuzi's face turned even redder, and he waved his hands, feeling ashamed.

"Just take it!"

Forcing the items into Han Liuzi's pocket and taking the ragged items, Yang Yu felt a bit more at ease and smiled:

"Brother Han, you might not believe me, but this deal might be more beneficial to me."

"Little brother, you're joking."

Han Liuzi naturally did not believe that his old, broken items could be so valuable, thanked him repeatedly, and then took the money.

"To be honest, just now, I almost wanted to rob someone with my sword..."

Han Liuzi's expression darkened:

"This damn world doesn't let people live..."

Yang Yu was silent.

After a long while, he comforted him: "It will get better..."

"I hope so."

Han Liuzi did not have much hope, asked Yang Yu's name, and then cautiously returned to the outer city.

"What kind of leather is this?"

Now penniless, Yang Yu was in a much better mood, took out his last few coins, and went to a teahouse for a cup of tea.

Closing his eyes slightly, he saw a new line of text on the black wall of the tripod.

[Ingredient Found]

[Ingredient: Human Skin Scroll]

[Level: Acceptable (Lower)]

[Quality: Excellent (Upper)]

[Description: Skin taken from a living person, of good quality. More valuable is the 'Old Mother's Breath Cultivation Record' recorded on it]

[Refining will grant 'Old Mother's Breath Cultivation Record']

[Current Refining Progress: Cannot be refined]