Lin Feng walked aimlessly along the mountain road, his mind filled with future plans.
The previous owner had been a registered hunter in the yamen, and in this world, no ordinary person can move without an identity—a matter of utmost importance. Since Lin Feng now found himself here, he might as well remain. He resolved to play his role well. Although life is like a play, its success depends on flawless acting. Yet he could not emulate the scumbrel of the previous owner. This persona had to be changed without a single flaw. He promised himself that he would devise the specifics of this transformation when he returned.
The previous owner's family was exceedingly poor. When his father was alive, he hunted in the mountains every day, and the family managed to live a respectable life. But after his father disappeared in the mountains, their fortunes deteriorated. The principal reason was that the previous owner—the sole male in the family—had failed to support them. Lin Feng resolved that he must first make the family rich and restore harmony to their home. Only then could they eat well, drink well, and allow him to concentrate on practicing martial arts.
As he walked, Lin Feng disciplined his mind so that he could quickly enter the role. "I am the hunter Lin Feng of this world," he repeated silently, over and over.
The thought of the previous owner's mother—who had suffered a head injury—and his wife—bedridden with a wind-cold infection—propelled him toward the county seat. The medical standards in this world were worrying; even minor illnesses could prove fatal. Determined, Lin Feng decided to purchase external medicine for bruises and injuries for the mother and several doses of decoction for treating wind-cold for the wife. His own injuries were trivial; he could improve his martial arts level twice in two days.
He had no desire to hold a funeral immediately after his crossing over. Along the way, he encountered people of every sort: farmers and hunters dressed as poorly as he was; Jianghu heroes riding horses and carrying knives; merchants driving carriages laden with goods; and nobles sitting in sedan chairs. When encountering the latter three, Lin Feng avoided them as much as possible to prevent any trouble. There were also groups of furtive figures squatting by the roadside—as if waiting for fat sheep to be slaughtered. In his former life, his shabby attire had kept him unnoticed, but now, laden with belongings, a roadside man stared at him intently. Sensing something amiss, Lin Feng quickened his pace, determined to finish his purchases and return early.
The closer he got to the county seat, the denser the crowd became. After about three hours of walking, he arrived at the county seat. Its city wall, standing five zhang high, was quite majestic. A row of wanted warrants was posted at the gate, listing notorious bandits who had committed major crimes; the lowest reward was two thousand taels of silver. Lin Feng knew that with his current strength, he would stand no chance against such murderers. The guard at the city gate merely cast him a cursory glance and did not stop him.
Inside the city, Lin Feng made his way toward Jisheng Medical Center, relying on the previous owner's memory. On the way, he passed a winery. The bearded owner stopped him, exclaiming, "Young Master Lin, how can you enter the city without buying wine? Come in, weigh half a catty, and I'll give you a discount." Lin Feng harbored no good feelings toward this man. The previous owner's habit of drinking had evidently rubbed off, and he was nothing more than a poor country drunkard. Too lazy to engage, Lin Feng merely turned his head and left. The winery owner was left stunned, convinced he had mistaken Lin Feng for someone else.
Upon arriving at Jisheng Medical Center, Lin Feng was surprised to see a long queue at the door. "Why are so many people sick in every era?" he wondered. Fortunately, he had arrived at the center on his first stop; had he come later, he might have been forced to queue until dark—and would have to stay in a hotel, incurring extra expense.
While waiting, Lin Feng looked around boredly. The road was densely packed with pedestrians, nearly one every three to five steps. Various shops lined the street, and vendors sold their wares along the roadside. The medical center was the largest establishment in the vicinity. Its plaque displayed four gold-plated characters—"Jisheng Medical Center"—and a pair of couplets were elegantly engraved on the pillars flanking its door, one of which read, "I wish there were no diseases in the world, why should I spare the medicine on the shelves?" Lin Feng sighed at the thought: how could ordinary people ever be free from disease? Those who had achieved martial arts mastery rarely suffered from illness. Perhaps he would visit the martial arts hall in the city another time. After all, Hunting Beast Fist had not yet been perfected, Hunting Bow Six Shots and the newly acquired Mad Demon Stick had not been mastered, so there was no rush to learn new techniques.
After half an hour, it was Lin Feng's turn. He described the mother's injury and the wife's condition to the doctor. The doctor dismissed the issues as minor, giving Lin Feng a packet of medicine powder for promoting blood circulation and removing blood-stasis, along with four doses of decoction for dispelling wind and cold, and explained the precautions for decocting the medicines. Lin Feng carefully stowed away these packets. Poor people truly could not afford to see a doctor—a few small packets of medicine cost him three taels of silver, an amount that, if spent on rice, would feed a family for two months.
Hastily, Lin Feng returned after buying the medicine. On the way, he purchased thirty pieces of osmanthus cake and five lifelike sugar figurines for the five children of the family. Noticing that his mother's cloth shoes were worn through at the toes—and knowing she had been reluctant to buy a new pair—he bought several feet of coarse cloth so she could sew a new pair herself. Recalling that his wife, Zhou Chunlan, had never enjoyed a day of happiness since their marriage and had once wished for a copper hairpin that he had never provided, Lin Feng gritted his teeth and spent another tael of silver to buy her a silver hairpin. With his growing ability, he vowed that he would never lack silver again, so this expense was insignificant.
After completing his purchases, Lin Feng hurried out of the city. Laden with his goods and dressed in tattered clothes, he looked like a nouveau riche on the road. Despite the burden, his training in Hunting Beast Fist had vastly improved his physical fitness—he still moved with the speed of flight.
Then, as he walked, he sensed something amiss. Three men carrying weapons appeared ahead of him, with another three emerging from behind. Both groups kept a wary eye on him, evidently plotting mischief. "Why am I so unlucky?" he thought. In this broken, chaotic world, even a modest load could attract unwanted attention. He was already far from the county seat, and darkness would fall before he reached the village—and he did not want to drag these thugs into his home.
Observing his would-be attackers, Lin Feng noted that their ages ranged between eight and ten, and two of them had even attained minor success in unranked martial arts. He knew that in a fight he would be outmatched. As he pondered a way out, the attackers exchanged glances and prepared to act.
Suddenly, a team of city guards riding tall horses—clad in soft armor and armed with wide-bladed long swords—galloped from the direction of the county seat. Their course was the same as Lin Feng's. Instinctively, Lin Feng tightened his grip on his load and ran alongside them. The two groups blocking him from the front and rear only quickened their pace upon noticing the guards. The city guards, recognizing the situation at a glance, ignored Lin Feng and focused on their patrol. Yet their presence was enough to deter the thieves from making a move.
These guards were inner- and outer-disciples of the city's affiliated sect, and their status far exceeded that of the attackers. Lin Feng's Hunting Beast Fist was complemented by the Deer Walking Step—a technique ideal for long-distance running—and he managed to keep close with the guards. The centurion of the guard team noticed that some of the attackers were trying to match the speed of his horse and remarked with interest, "Drive, drive," as he waved his whip to spur the horses forward. The sudden burst in speed made Lin Feng's heart skip a beat. How brazen these guards were! As government officials, it was one thing not to pursue thieves—but they even sought to shake him off. Without the city guards by his side, those thieves would have undoubtedly struck, and he would have been in grave danger.