Outside the camp, the heavy snow had yet to melt.
But the ground was covered in footprints.
These were left by Scavengers who, unable to bear their hunger, had gone out to find food and hunt.
Tang Wen went to the edge of the frozen stream. He broke the thick ice with a rock, then used a pair of iron tongs—meant for picking up charcoal for a fire—to continuously pull out smooth, oval stones of various sizes from the bone-chilling water.
The stones weren't large. He gathered about a hundred egg-sized ones.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH
He started with a three-shot burst. The first stone embedded itself in the tree bark. The second followed right behind, striking the first. The third immediately slammed into the previous two.
With a BANG, they blasted into the hard tree trunk.
Tang Wen went to inspect it and found the three stones had penetrated more than half a foot into the trunk.
'This is a tree. What if it were a person wearing Iron Armor?'
He took out a string of Iron Armor plates from his back basket, wrapped them around the tree, and tied them securely.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH
The three stones, flying in a perfect line, slammed into the Iron Armor, producing a loud clang of metal on metal.
He stepped forward to check. The Iron Armor was severely warped and deformed, with the center section ruptured. The stones were embedded several centimeters deep in the tree.
When he pulled the Iron Armor off the tree, powdered stone cascaded to the ground.
"Even if someone were wearing Iron Armor, they'd probably die from three hits like that."
The "three stars in a line" technique was easy enough to execute.
Next up was Spiral Force.
At the moment of the throw, he twisted his wrist. The stone flew from his hand and slammed into the tree.
HISS!
The stone bored into the trunk, making a sizzling sound like a red-hot brand searing human flesh.
Tang Wen moved closer to look. The tree gave off a scorched smell. The stone had bored a hole a full five centimeters deep!
The Panel flashed.
[Flying Locust Stone, Mastery → Expert (1/6000)]
A wealth of new throwing methods and techniques flooded Tang Wen's mind.
After absorbing it all, he picked up a thin, flat piece of stone, perfect for skipping.
With a WHOOSH, he threw it.
WHINE!
The sound of it tearing through the air was deafening.
'A sonic boom?'
'How could it be that fast?'
BOOM!
A tree as thick as a bowl was blasted in two. The stone's momentum didn't stop; it flew another hundred meters before striking a large rock, erupting in a shower of sparks.
"It shattered." Tang Wen's eyes gleamed with excitement. 'If that had hit a person...'
'Yes, even a Martial Disciple or Martial Artist wearing Armor.'
'The destructive power is terrifying.'
'However, hitting a Martial Disciple might be manageable, but to hit a Martial Artist, I'll need to be even faster.'
Tang Wen felt a thrill of excitement. This proved that as long as his Skill Level was high enough...
...even a simple ability like throwing stones could kill the strong, the experts!
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
He continuously picked up stones to experiment, the explosive impacts ringing out one after another.
The nearby wild animals all fled.
Once the excitement from the Skill upgrade wore off, Tang Wen returned to the stream to examine the animal tracks.
'His strength was now far greater than before. Even if he wandered outside the camp at night... eh, better not.'
He locked onto a donkey's hoofprint on the ground and followed it. A short while later, he found a wild donkey.
The wild donkey took one look at him and bolted.
WHOOSH!
The donkey's front legs gave out, and it tumbled to the ground.
That evening, Tang Wen returned home, leading a donkey with a limp.
Tangtang was both excited and conflicted. "I heard donkey meat is delicious. But the weather is starting to get warmer, and you usually eat at the canteen. We won't be able to finish so much."
Tang Wen nodded. He had already considered this problem. "Donkey meat is pretty rare. It would be perfect for making roujiamo."
"Oh? Good idea! We'll have to price it a bit higher, then."
"For the first three days, we can make it a little cheaper to attract more customers."
"Cheaper? No, no way!" Tangtang shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not! You don't understand business."
Tang Wen: ???
Tangtang hadn't been idle these past three days. First, she went to a carpenter and custom-ordered a handcart similar to the ones used for selling roasted sweet potatoes.
Then she figured that if they were going to sell in the Inner City, they couldn't prepare the food in the Outer City.
Otherwise, pushing a pot of such fragrant meat from the Outer City to the Inner City every day would sooner or later attract trouble.
So, yesterday, she had somehow managed to contact Zhou Bing, who was in the middle of training, and got the key to her house. She set up the meat-stewing operation directly in Zhou Bing's courtyard.
The arrangement was actually quite suitable.
Zhou Bing lived alone in her courtyard home, which had several rooms—a main hall, an east room, and a west room—in addition to a kitchen, a woodshed, and a large yard.
Tangtang cleaned up the east room so she could rest there.
She could stew the meat and make the buns in the kitchen, then take them to the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall or sell them on the street.
However, the Inner City had its own rules; setting up a stall wherever you pleased was not allowed.
Tang Wen carried the first batch of roujiamo his sister had made—a full 30 of them—to the Guard Battalion's local administrative office.
He flashed his Hunting Team identification badge and distributed the roujiamo to the few clerks inside.
He quickly obtained a flag that a seamstress had rushed to embroider. On the front was a circle, and inside the circle was the word "Tang".
On the back was the word "Roujiamo."
After devouring three roujiamo, one clerk, his mouth slick with grease, slapped his chest and assured Tang Wen, "Don't you worry, Brother Tang! We all bear witness that this is your family's creation. Unless you agree, there won't be a second vendor selling this in the camp!"
That was a very skillful promise.
Tang Wen smiled knowingly. He chatted for a while with this clerk, whose name was Zhang Li, before taking his leave.
Early the next morning, the brother and sister appeared in front of the Martial Arts Hall, pushing a brand-new wooden cart.
The old man guarding the gate of the Martial Arts Hall had just furrowed his brow, not yet having said a word, when Tangtang shoved three roujiamo into his hands.
Smelling the rich, meaty aroma and seeing the crispy bun filled with dark red shredded meat, he swallowed hard, a conflicted look on his face.
Ordinarily, the director of the Martial Arts Hall had given strict orders that no one was allowed to set up a stall at the entrance.
Tangtang quickly introduced Tang Wen. Upon seeing Tang Wen's chest badge, the old man's expression softened considerably.
But a single Hunting Camp Guard was clearly not enough to make the Martial Arts Hall break its rules.
So, Tangtang added, "I'm currently living at Captain Zhou Bing's house, but I don't want to live there for free. I was thinking of selling some food to help with expenses."
The old man thought for a moment, then a smile spread across his face. "Young lady, the Captain Zhou Bing you're talking about, is she the captain of Hunting Team One? If so, this is easy! You just wait here."
After getting an affirmative answer, he went into the Martial Arts Hall. A few minutes later, he came back out accompanying a bald, burly man.
When the burly man saw Tang Wen, he immediately understood that the backer behind him must be General Zhou's niece, Zhou Bing.
He had been present on the day of the selection for the Hunting Guards.
He had witnessed the entire process of Tang Wen taking first place and had seen him leave with Zhou Bing at the end.
Therefore, he had no doubts.
The bald, burly man stepped forward, and the old gatekeeper followed to introduce him. "This is our Director Wu."
"You're Tang Wen, right?"
"Hello, Director Wu."
"Mm, the meat smells pretty good. But don't set up your stall on the road. Go over there." The bald man pointed, and Tang Wen looked toward the relatively wide eaves of the Martial Arts Hall's entrance.
It was a place that offered shelter from the wind and rain.
"Thank you, Director Wu."
"Don't mention it! Can I have two to try?"
"You got it!"
In the early morning, the Martial Disciples began to arrive one after another.
Seeing the cart belonging to Tang Wen and his sister at the entrance, they were inevitably drawn in by the smell of meat.
Someone went over to ask the price.
"Four Copper Coins for one, or ten Copper Coins for three!" Tangtang said with a slight smile.
This price wasn't cheap. Four Copper Coins could buy four pounds of white flour, or six pounds of millet.
But a Martial Disciple from the Inner City didn't even blink. "Give me three to try."
The roujiamo were only palm-sized; one was hardly enough to be satisfying.
Three roujiamo, wrapped in a double layer of Yellow Paper, were handed over.
The Martial Disciple took them. 'Hmm, is the Yellow Paper torn?'
'Whatever. Haaaah, it smells so good!'
"Give me three more. Here's the money."
"Alright!"
Martial Disciples had big appetites.
Seeing how much he was enjoying the food, others flocked over.
Not a single person bought just one. The minimum was always three. Even the girls who couldn't eat that much would buy three to share with their friends.
Tang Wen stayed with his sister until noon.
Except for the gatekeeper's dog, every apprentice at the Martial Arts Hall now knew that the girl selling roujiamo was the sister of Tang Wen, the top-ranked new recruit.
Seeing Tangtang getting more and more comfortable with the work, Tang Wen left, feeling relieved, and headed to the Guard Battalion.
The quartermaster's office.
Tang Wen found the quartermaster. "I'd like to sign up to comprehend the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist Visualization Image."
The quartermaster looked up at him, took out a notebook, and flipped through it. "The earliest available slot is in seven days."
"No problem."
"Then go ahead and register."
"Alright!"
"Oh, so you're Tang Wen. Not bad. Be prepared to come back on the eighth day. You'll need to stay for a full twelve hours."
"Thank you for the reminder, sir."