The exit of the cave is hard to find.
Shang Yanting spent a full two days before he managed to get out.
On his back, he carried a bag made of snakeskin (←Jia Xitong insisted on using it to hold her treasures), and in his arms, he held a dirty puppet Little Raccoon, making his walking pace particularly slow.
When Shang Yanting first picked up the little raccoon, Jia Xitong was completely overwhelmed.
She repeatedly said that the puppet could keep up on its own, but Shang Yanting still didn't put it down. His hands couldn't exert force, but his arms were very steady. However, he had to rest every now and then, and it took them a full three days to get out of the dense forest and reach the nearest town.
##
It was early morning.
The townspeople were going out for work in twos and threes, walking side by side, chatting about recent big events.
"Have you heard? The new Young Master of Shangmou City is going to marry the eldest miss of the Song Family."
"Haven't these two families intended to have a marriage alliance for a long time? It's a pity about the former Young Master Shang Mou, I heard he was truly unmatched and quite impressive."
"Pity? He was the ruthless person who designed the downfall of the potential disciples from the other Seven Great Families."
"Exactly! He even plotted to assassinate his uncle. He was so heartless and ruthless that even his own grandfather had to stand against him."
"Anyway, now that the new Young Master Shang Mou and the Song family's eldest miss have both become direct disciples, his great future was ruined for good, which is karma for his actions."
The matter of Young Master Shang Mou being deposed had already spread throughout Dongxu Country, even a small town was aware of it.
Jia Xitong frowned slightly when she heard the bystanders' discussion.
Shang Yanting was not just ordinarily good to the Shang Mou Family; the family must have done something to betray him, otherwise, he wouldn't have turned so dark in the original story.
She subconsciously looked at Shang Yanting.
His mindset was surprisingly calm, as he entered the town with an unchanged expression after listening to the entire conversation.
##
The small town was clearly not as prosperous as Shangmou City, most of the town was made up of low straw huts.
People here were dressed in coarse cloth and hemp, with animal skins covering their bodies. Shang Yanting, in his ragged clothes, unexpectedly blended in somewhat as he walked the streets.
The small town didn't have a proper market either, people just found a spot along the way to set up their stalls and trade. Shang Yanting mimicked them, found a spot to sit down, and then took out the things from his backpack.
He wasn't selling Jia Xitong's Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, but the various herbs he gathered along the way.
The purpose of coming to the small town was to heal his hands and feet, and earning money was the first step.
Shang Yanting had read widely since young, naturally having seen various herbs. He sat on the ground like the nearby vendors, waiting for someone to come and inquire about the price.
In the morning, there was no one.
In the afternoon, still no one.
By the time the surrounding people were packing up, not a single herb in front of him had been sold.
Jia Xitong was quite worried seeing this.
She sincerely suggested, "Host, why don't you call out to attract customers?"
Shang Yanting: ...he would not.
At that moment, the neatly arranged herbs in front of him were kicked flying by someone. Three thin men in tattered hemp clothes stood before his stall, gazing maliciously at Shang Yanting.
"You're new here, right? Setting up a stall all day, you need to pay stall fees."
Shang Yanting frowned slightly at the herbs being kicked away, "This place isn't yours alone, why should I pay?"
"You're on our territory now, so hurry up and pay the protection fee!"
The leading man stepped on the stall with arrogance, "Check what valuables he has on him, guys."
If not by words, they would take by force.
Unfortunately, they picked the wrong person to rob.
Although his hands and feet were wasted, the other injuries on his body had long since healed. His cultivation started from zero again, but as an Early Stage Martial Apprentice combined with his movement technique practiced from a young age, he wouldn't lose to these three wasted talents who were less than seven feet tall and with pointed ears and monkey faces.
Shang Yanting stood up, bent his knees, and elbow, and with agile movement techniques, he knocked the three to the ground.
The neighboring merchants found great satisfaction in seeing the three getting what's coming to them.
The few troublemakers were local hooligans, always bullying the weak and fearing the strong on this street. Seeing Shang Yanting was new, they observed for a day before daring to come and cause trouble.
They didn't expect to meet a tough opponent.
The three fled in embarrassment.
The surrounding people suddenly had a good impression of Shang Yanting. Someone even kindly went over, seeing that he hadn't sold anything all day, "Young man, are you selling herbs?"
"Yes, I am."
"If you're selling herbs, you should go to the herbal shop in town. Who recognizes herbs here? You're in the wrong place, young man."
Shang Yanting: ..."Thank you."
With that, he left with the bag on his back,
as the sun set in the west,
following the vendor's advice, Shang Yanting found the so-called herbal shop, which was preparing to close.
The owner carefully inspected the types and quality of the herbs, "Alright, I can give you twenty coins in total."
"So low?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Yanting frowned; he had previously spent around one tael of silver to buy these herbs.
"These herbs aren't rare, and the quality is ordinary; giving you twenty coins is already high."
The owner put the herbs aside but touched the snakeskin used to hold the herbs, "This stalked boa snakeskin is quite good! Young man, if you want to sell it, I can give you twenty taels; it's about the same price in a big city."
Shang Yanting: ...
He painstakingly picked so many herbs, yet they weren't as valuable as the snakeskin he brought out for the system's required herbs and fish fins.
Jia Xitong, squatting in the Sea of Consciousness, recalled Shang Yanting's hard history of finding herbs in the forest for the past few days upon hearing the owner's words.
She felt a bit sorry for him, and yet kind of wanted to laugh at him.
No matter what, they've finally got some money.
They found an inn to stay in the small town, finally having a place to rest after being in the mountains and forests for so long.
At night,
a large, simple wooden barrel was filled with hot water.
Shang Yanting sat in the water barrel, the steaming heat turning his handsome, fair face red. Having restrained the gloomy and radical emotions, even amidst the surrounding simplicity, he exuded a sense of nobility.
Except…
inside the barrel was a grayish-brown unidentified creature.
Even under the crab censorship mode, his neck was pixelated, and Jia Xitong still shrank in his Sea of Consciousness, not daring to move.
"Host, I think it's already good enough."
A puppet, after all, doesn't require such meticulous care.
"Do you even realize how stinky you are?"
Shang Yanting took the bristle brush the innkeeper prepared and carefully combed out the tangles in the little raccoon's fur.
Although he spoke words of disdain, his movements were laborious yet meticulous.
After changing two barrels of hot water, both the protagonist and the puppet were clean.
The Little Raccoon's limbs and tail bore bite marks from fish, and on its left side, a large patch of fur was rubbed bald. Shang Yanting placed it on the bed and gazed at it for a long time, with a slightly disdainful expression,
"Really ugly."
Jia Xitong was taken aback by what she heard; it wasn't like the raccoon hadn't gotten this way because of him.
She was just about to retort when the system's voice rang out again, "Congratulations to the task performer for gaining 5 points of trust from the male protagonist, current trust level 62/100."