Chapter 895: The Caravan

A hidden path in the dense forest appeared before Wang Chen.

He had discovered this path not long ago while hunting, and fresh footprints from travelers or hunters were visible on the ground.

Wang Chen followed this path onward.

After walking for about ten miles, the path transformed into a proper mountain road—thick stone slabs lined the surface.

Each stone slab bore the marks of time, worn by countless footsteps, leaving deep impressions.

As he continued walking for another mile, he came upon a fork in the road with two paths ahead.

Should he go left or right?

Wang Chen hesitated for a moment and decided not to choose immediately; instead, he sat on a stone under a nearby tree.

This stone was clearly meant for travelers to rest, its surface polished from use.

Wang Chen took down the water pouch hanging at his waist and took a sip of the cool spring water.

He planned to wait here to see if any passersby would come by to ask for directions, so he wouldn’t be aimlessly wandering like a headless fly.

It turned out that Wang Chen’s decision was the right one.

After about half an hour of waiting, he heard sounds coming from a distance.

Soon, a small caravan of mules arrived at the fork in the road.

The caravan was not very large, consisting of four or five mules and about ten people, each mule burdened with heavy cargo. The members of the caravan all carried knives and bows, clearly martial artists.

The leader was an old man with graying hair, who cast a glance at Wang Chen with his dim eyes, hesitating but continuing onward.

He approached Wang Chen.

Wang Chen stood up and bowed respectfully, asking, “Excuse me, sir, I got lost in the mountains. Which way should I go to reach the nearest county town?”

“The nearest county town?”

The old man’s gaze was a bit strange.

Wang Chen, dressed as a hunter, claimed to be lost in the mountains and unsure of which path to take at the fork.

Was that reasonable?

Not at all!

However, the old man, having lived a long life, had seen many strange things and people. He had survived to this age with his own set of rules for dealing with life.

No matter how strange it was in his mind, he still smiled and replied, "The nearest county town is Yan City. Our caravan is headed there. If you don’t mind, young brother, you can travel with us."

His sharp gaze assessed Wang Chen, and finding him neither a villain nor a bandit spy, he was willing to form a Good Relationship with him.

Wang Chen expressed his gratitude, “Thank you very much!”

“Don’t mention it.”

The old man smiled and turned to call out, “Everyone, take a break here. We’ll set off again after noon.”

So the caravan stopped to rest by the roadside. Some ate, others drank water, while a few took care of the mules, feeding them fodder.

The old man put away his whip and sat down on the stone next to Wang Chen, curiously asking, “Young brother, where did you come from?”

Wang Chen did not answer directly but instead removed the tiger skin tied to his back. “Old man, do you buy pelts?”

“Let me see.”

The old man gave Wang Chen a deep glance before taking the tiger skin from him.

“We accept mountain goods and pelts.”

He unfolded the folded tiger skin and carefully examined it inside and out, saying, “This tiger skin is quite good, very complete, but the tanning technique could use some improvement.”

Wang Chen rubbed his nose. “Can you give me a price? I’ll sell it if it’s reasonable.”

His tanning skills were indeed average, mostly because he had not put much effort into it.

“If I take it…”

The old man raised a finger. “I can give you a maximum of one hundred taels of silver, but if you take it to Yan City and find the right buyer, you could get two or three hundred taels!”

He emphasized, “I’m not trying to cheat you; it’s just the way this business works. I can forgo a profit, but I can’t break the rules.”

“So if you want a high price, you should take it to Yan City!”

As he spoke, he was about to return the tiger skin to Wang Chen.

Wang Chen did not take it, waving his hand and saying, “Then let’s go with one hundred taels.”

He had little understanding of money from either his own experience or Ling Zhiyuan’s memories, so he was unsure about how much purchasing power one hundred taels of silver had.

However, the old man’s attitude was honest, and he spoke clearly, which made Wang Chen unwilling to complicate things further.

The old man was taken aback.

Two or three hundred taels of silver was no small amount.

To put it into perspective, a typical family of five could live on just ten to twenty taels for a whole year.

Three hundred taels could buy a decent house in Yan City!

Yet, Wang Chen appeared unconcerned about the difference in price and was willing to sell it at such a low rate.

But that was not the main point.

The focus was that Wang Chen’s calm demeanor was genuine; he gave off the impression of a privileged youth from a wealthy family, his words and actions exuding an aura of superiority.

This made the seasoned old man somewhat uneasy. He put away the tiger skin and, gritting his teeth, pulled out two silver notes from his pocket and handed them to Wang Chen. “Thank you!”

Wang Chen took the silver notes and saw that they were both one-hundred-tael denominations.

He was very familiar with silver notes, and he could tell they were genuine with a simple touch. The issuing bank was also a well-known establishment.

Ling Zhiyuan had spent a lot there.

Wang Chen returned one of the notes to him. “One hundred means one hundred.”

However, the old man insisted on not accepting it, smiling apologetically—he preferred to earn less than to offend someone whose background he couldn’t clearly discern.

Wang Chen grew tired of the old man’s reluctance and simply pocketed the silver notes. He then tossed him a pouch containing four freshly cut tiger claws.

“Let’s call it even!”

The old man didn’t even see where Wang Chen retrieved the pouch from, feeling puzzled but not daring to question further.

He rummaged through the cargo bags of the mules and pulled out some wine, inviting Wang Chen to share.

Wang Chen took one sip and stopped—a bit sour.

This only strengthened the old man’s impression of him, making his demeanor even more respectful.

After resting long enough into the afternoon, the caravan set off again.

This caravan had come from the left path, heading toward the right one. The old man led the way while chatting with Wang Chen, and no one else had any objections.

The old man was extremely experienced and clever. He effortlessly shared various interesting tales and stories from the world, making Wang Chen listen with great interest, feeling no boredom on the journey.

They traveled for about twenty more miles, approaching evening.

The old man said, “Young brother, there’s an inn three miles ahead. We’ll stay there for the night.”

Wang Chen nodded, remaining silent.

The old man called to the caravan workers to speed up so that they would arrive before it got completely dark. They soon spotted an inn with lanterns hanging from it in the mountains.

This inn looked quite sizable, with many mules already parked outside, clearly having attracted merchants looking for a place to rest.

Using the light from the lanterns hanging under the eaves, Wang Chen clearly read the sign of the inn.

Tongfu Inn!