Su Yan walked through the crowd in the market, his expression calm but his mind active.
'So many martial artists. They must all be chasing Pang Tianfeng. They look exactly like hyenas.'
The Jianghu men (itinerant martial artists) varied in strength, but all possessed some skill. Normally, they wouldn't gather in such large numbers in a market town like this.
Su Yan went to the Hundred Herb Hall shop. Although Song Qi was absent, the Hundred Herb Hall had already made arrangements. They had dispatched a new supervisor, a kind-looking man in his forties, stout with a pale face and thin beard. The new supervisor wasn't familiar with Su Yan, but the clerks like Bai Shan quickly explained Su Yan's connection to Song Qi. The new supervisor greeted Su Yan warmly and quickly purchased his mountain goods. The Bamboo Jade Tooth plus the other herbs amounted to a total of thirty taels of silver. While not the large sum he received for the tiger, it was still a significant amount.
Next, Su Yan visited the Tianfeng Weapon Shop. Perhaps because of the influx of Jianghu men, several people were inside selecting weapons. As Su Yan entered, the heat from the forge immediately hit him.
"Isn't that Brother Yan from Cloud-Front Village? Long time no sees! Are you looking for a suitable weapon?" A free clerk greeted him with a smile. The clerks rarely forgot a customer like Su Yan, whose superb archery and tiger-slaying feat made him a good customer of the weapon shop.
"A powerful longbow." Su Yan was direct.
The clerk's eyes lit up: "Is the old hardwood bow insufficient now? How about a 100-jin draw weight this time?" A 100-jin draw weight bow required high-quality oiled mountain wood, reinforced with four layers of beast sinew, and laminated with metal plates. If used correctly, its destructive power was four to five times that of his old hardwood bow.
"How about 200 jin?" With his Great Accomplishment in Skin Refining, Su Yan's raw strength exceeded a thousand jin. However, the force required for archery was slightly different from pure combat strength; simply having the maximum strength wasn't always the best.
Seeing Su Yan's hesitation, the clerk said: "If that's not to your liking, we have the Fine Steel Wolf-Pattern Bow. Although it's not a Second-Order Sharp-Tool, it's rated as a High-Grade weapon. It requires four to five hundred jin of force to draw fully."
"Bring it for me to see."
The clerk looked delighted and immediately retrieved a dark, metal-colored steel longbow with engraved wolf patterns. The ends of the bow resembled ferocious wolves swallowing the moon, giving it an excellent look. Su Yan gripped it firmly. With a pull, the longbow curved like a full moon, storing immense power. It was far superior to his hardwood bow.
'If I had this bow, one arrow would have been enough to severely wound the Bronze Fox Ape.' Su Yan slowly released the tension, letting the bow return to its original shape. Then he asked: "How much for this steel longbow?"
"27 taels of silver."
Quality came at a price. This steel longbow had been forged many times by master craftsmen. While not a Sharp-Tool, the materials and labor were costly. Su Yan frowned slightly but did not hesitate, handing the silver to the clerk. With the Desolate Mountain hunt imminent, he needed the best weapons possible. Given the turmoil in the forests, preparing now was essential.
The clerk quickly counted the silver and handed the longbow to Su Yan—a clean transaction. As Su Yan walked out, the clerk sighed to himself: "To draw a four-to-five-hundred-jin longbow so easily... how can the difference be so huge?"
Hmph. A man in black next to him scoffed.
The clerk looked at him. The man had a sallow complexion and thin lips like a knife. "Is something wrong, customer?"
"Nothing." The man's eyes swept over the clerk: "It's barely over a hundred jin of draw weight, just a Skin Refining level fighter. By the way, is he a local hunter?"
The clerk hesitated, unsure of the man's intentions. After a moment, he replied: "No, but Brother Yan is skilled. He's a phenomenal mountain-man and often finds Treasure Plants."
"Ah Long, don't stir up trouble." The man's companion, dressed in a gray hemp robe with a beast-skin belt, stopped him with a look. The man with the yellow face, Huang Jinlong, and his leader, Liao Shan, then left the shop.
Huang Jinlong explained in a quiet alley: "Brother, I didn't do anything. I just think that kid is a fat sheep." Liao Shan merely glared at his subordinate. He knew his brother's character.
"A fat sheep?" Liao Shan countered: "Pang Tianfeng is the priority. We need to watch Xu Guan's movements and find a way to track down Pang Tianfeng. He must possess a superior cultivation method, or he couldn't have progressed so quickly."
The itinerant martial artists were all desperate for a chance to advance, but most lacked either the silver or the high-level techniques. Pang Tianfeng's ability to reach the Vitality Nurturing stage while on the run proved he had a treasure.
"I understand, Brother."
Su Yan naturally had no idea his purchase of a steel longbow had attracted attention.
Returning to Cloud-Front Village, he took out the longbow and arrows and practiced outside the village until he was completely familiar with the bow's feel. With the longbow in hand, Su Yan re-entered the forest, heading straight for the Inner Mountain—he felt as if he had grown wings. He was ferocious, following the tracks of large animals.
The deep forest had many tigers, leopards, bears, and other fierce beasts. The impending Desolate Mountain hunt had increased activity, startling even more wild animals. During his extensive search, Su Yan first found several aged Serpent Grass (蛇草) and an old Wild Ginseng. Later, near a pool, he discovered a huge footprint.
"The hoof is pointed like a hook, and the sole is round like an ox's. This looks like a Desolate Beast." Su Yan examined the footprint, his eyes brightening with satisfaction. After days of consumption by the Dark Water Centipede and Velvet Fire Scorpion Bug, his Bronze Fox Ape meat was running low. The appearance of a new Desolate Beast was timely.
'Follow it.' Su Yan immediately commanded the Dark Water Centipede to track the print, following closely with his steel longbow. The Desolate Beast must have escaped from the deeper mountains, now treating this area as its territory. Its steps were unhurried and unconcealed; broken brush marked its path.
Hmph, hmph. After tracking for about ten minutes, Su Yan heard a low, thunderous grunt about a hundred meters away. He moved swiftly, hid behind a tree, and looked intently.
It was a huge wild boar with massive tusks, the size of a water buffalo. Its hooves were enormous and hooked like knives, and it sported a single black horn on its head, sharp as a dagger.
'The Tusk-Horned Boar.' Su Yan recognized the Desolate Beast. In Xu Zhongdao's mansion, he had read records of Desolate Beasts. The Tusk-Horned Boar was listed: its black horn was highly medicinal, used to strengthen tendons, bones, and refine the skin membrane, but its gallbladder was poisonous and inedible. Its strength usually ranged from First-Order Early to Mid-Stage, rarely exceeding the Tendon-Bone realm.
Su Yan drew his bow. The Tusk-Horned Boar was feeding, tearing into a gray rabbit beneath its feet. Crack, crack, went the sound of the rabbit's bones breaking.
Swoosh!Su Yan drew his bow to a full moon, instantly firing an arrow that streaked like a meteor and plunged into the Tusk-Horned Boar's head.