Embarking on the Journey to Southern Xinjiang, Baoping Town

Huang Donglai enthusiastically recommended with a face full of excitement:

"Brother Li, take a look at this first. This is the 'Emerald Forest Herbicide,' an excellent product for eliminating pests and weeds when cultivating rare herbs and treasures. Not only is it highly effective, but it's also very affordable."

"The downside, though, is that the smell is extremely pungent—you can detect it from far away."

He pulled out a porcelain bottle and uncorked it, immediately releasing a sharp, acrid odor.

"Brother Huang, I’m not going to the Southern Border to start a farming business," Li Mo said, puzzled as to why Huang Donglai would recommend such a thing.

Carrying a bottle of herbicide while traveling?

What use would that be?

"Brother Li, you don’t understand," Huang Donglai glanced around and lowered his voice.

"I have a secret recipe—if you process it with wisteria fruit, it neutralizes the herbicide’s pungent smell, turning it into a colorless, odorless lethal poison!"

"So that’s what you meant by 'highly effective,'" Li Mo mused, analyzing the medicinal properties of the two substances.

From his experience in cooking and alchemy, it did seem feasible.

"And who might this master be, from which temple?" Huang Donglai didn’t forget to address Murong Xiao.

"I am Murong Xiao, a fellow disciple of Brother Li," Murong Xiao said with a solemn expression.

"You’ve misunderstood, my friend. Aside from having lost all my hair, reciting Buddhist scriptures daily, and maintaining a vegetarian diet—what else about me resembles a monk?"

All of this was to suppress the power of his bloodline.

Li Mo: "..."

Does anything else even need to match?

As he spoke, Murong Xiao scanned the room before his eyes lit up.

He spotted an elderly monk.

Murong Xiao then stood beside the old monk and declared,

"See? The differences are quite obvious."

"Which temple do you two venerable masters hail from? Would you like to try our Prosperity Trading House’s wooden fish? As a devout Buddhist myself, I can offer you a discount."

"I’ll knock your head off!" Murong Xiao trembled with indignation.

"Amitabha," the old monk chanted softly.

"Master, we meet again," Li Mo remarked, raising an eyebrow.

The old monk was none other than Hengyuan. It was unclear whether he had just arrived or had been waiting there all along.

Li Mo suspected the latter.

He asked, "Master, do you have any guidance for our journey to the Southern Border?"

"..."

Hengyuan had taken a vow of silence—aside from Buddhist chants and scriptures, he could not speak other words.

Instead, he gestured with his hands, making a series of motions.

Li Mo was baffled.

But Murong Xiao blurted out,

"Do good deeds... and ask not about the future?"

"?"

Li Mo gave him a surprised look. He had never seen Murong Xiao learn sign language.

How could he understand the old monk’s meaning?

"Amitabha."

Hengyuan’s chant still echoed in their ears, but when they looked up again, he had vanished without a trace.

Li Mo couldn’t quite grasp the intentions of this powerful Zen master, who had reached the External Scenery realm.

But according to the insights from his Heavenly Eye of Fate, there seemed to be no ill will.

In that case, there was no need to dwell on it too much.

The real task was more pressing.

"Brother Li, I have many more recommendations for tools effective in ambushing others. Would you like to take a look? Or perhaps you could tell me—what exactly are you going to the Southern Border for?" Huang Donglai remained true to his purpose, pulling out a small notebook.

Inside were recorded numerous tricks for ambushes and poison formulations.

"Actually, I’m mainly going to the Southern Border to find someone," Li Mo said, his lips twitching as he glanced at the notebook.

The cover boldly read: The Laws of Survival in Martial Arts. The first page’s Rule Zero stated:

[Beware of Hammers!]

What kind of nonsense was this?

Huang Donglai pondered for a moment before replying,

"Then I know exactly what Brother Li needs most."

"What is it?" Li Mo asked.

Huang Donglai pointed at himself. "Me."

Li Mo: "?"

"The Southern Border’s terrain and political landscape are both extremely complex. Not only is there the Great Yu’s stationed Southern Border Army, but also demon tribes and the Summoning Demonic Sect."

"The border army is loosely managed, the Summoning Demonic Sect lurks in the shadows waiting to strike, and the demon tribes—well, they’re even more fragmented, with factions everywhere. What you need is someone who understands the Southern Border’s situation inside out. My hometown is there."

Hearing this, Li Mo fell into thought.

The chaos of the Southern Border was something he had long heard about.

It was a region even the Great Yu Dynasty had never fully controlled.

Ahem...

Honestly, Huang Donglai’s overly cautious personality was proof enough—only a place like that could forge someone so wary.

If he and Murong Xiao barged in blindly like headless flies, who knew how long it would take to reach the territory of the Mingjiao Tribe?

Li Mo nodded. "I plan to head to the Mingjiao Tribe’s territory first. Brother Huang, you still haven’t saved enough to buy those medicinal herbs, right?"

"Those herbs are quite expensive... Brother Li, you should focus on purchasing what you need first. The Mingjiao Tribe’s lands are very far away."

Huang Donglai hesitated.

Aside from poisons and ambush tools, he wasn’t sure what else to recommend.

Everything seemed useful—this could help, that could help.

He had never been in such a luxurious position before; usually, he could only afford the bare essentials.

"Brother Huang, have you ever done the math?"

"What math?"

Li Mo smiled faintly.

"This deposit note of mine should be enough to clear out the trading house’s inventory and still have leftovers."

Huang Donglai: "..."

What kind of person even calculates something like that?

But upon reflection—if they avoided purchasing martial arts manuals or weapons—

it really was possible.

And so, the Prosperity Trading House witnessed the highest single-day sales record in its history.

When Sun Gui received the news, he was stunned.

Just as he was about to ask for the sales champion’s name...

He received the person’s resignation letter.

Sales Champion Huang had already transformed into Little Boss Li’s exclusive Southern Border guide.

A low-key carriage rolled straight out of Yunzhou City.

Though the carriage appeared plain, its materials were incredibly sturdy, and it was equipped with various emergency measures.

There was also an extremely precise map inside.

Huang Donglai stood before the map and pointed.

"Brother Li, this is the Mingjiao Tribe’s habitat—Blackwater Marsh."

He carefully plotted their route:

"After passing through the Silent Sea Forest and exiting the Southern Pass, our first stop will be here!"

Li Mo straightened up to look.

Written clearly on the map was:

"Treasure Vial Town."

......

Thousands of miles away.

From above, the small town was nestled between three mountains, as if placed inside a bottle.

The green slopes were covered in lush terraced fields.

The sky blazed with three suns scorching the earth, distorting the figures of laborers toiling in the fields, their sweat dripping freely. The clothing of these common folk varied—some wore styles completely different from those under Great Yu’s rule.

As they worked, the villagers chatted among themselves.

"Ah, this year’s harvest isn’t good."

"After handing over a portion to the garrison, we might not even have enough to feed ourselves through the year."

"But if we don’t support Commander Qi and his troops, what’ll happen when the demon tribes come to raid our village?"

"True... Our village is still peaceful. Haven’t you heard? A village eight hundred miles away couldn’t pay their grain quota, so the garrison withdrew. The entire village was devoured by calamity beasts."

"Oh, right—that girl who passed through the village earlier, she seemed extraordinary."

......

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, their gazes inevitably drifted toward a nearby spot.

Under a simple awning,

stood a maiden as serene and cool as the moon, her eyes fixed on the distant horizon.

With slender fingers, she retrieved a mooncake from within a large-headed doll.

The pattern on the mooncake bore an uncanny resemblance to the doll itself.

.....