Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 107 Crazy Dog in the Wilderness
Li Wei turned his gaze away from the caravan and looked around. He saw several wooden sheds erected on higher ground, filled with a jumble of goods, ranging from fresh dead fish and rotten shrimp to shoddy farm tools, cloth, cheese, and dried fish—quite a variety.

Although the wooden sheds were simple, they all bore the emblems of the guilds, indicating that they had connections and had paid protection money; not just anyone could set up a stall here.

For example, farmers who can only stand in sewage pits can only obediently hold their roosters or lead their goats, waiting for customers to come to their door.

Li Wei first spent some copper coins to buy some simple food, which he ate without a care in the world, because he was almost starving.

After he had eaten his fill, he began to stroll around. Eventually, he actually found some kind of salted fish at a stall. This stuff was no different from table salt.

However, this thing should be very valuable, because the stall owner specially used a wooden bucket to hold it, and there wasn't much of it inside. Some of it was even yellowed and obviously about to spoil.

Even so, when Li Wei went up to inquire about the price, the shopkeeper, who smelled of rotten fish, quoted a high price of two silver coins for each salted fish without saying a word, with a limit of two per person.

He had clearly heard it when he was wandering around the stalls next door: a lively rooster was only worth two silver coins.

So should I grind some reputation with Kah?

The thought crossed Li Wei's mind, but he quickly suppressed it. He didn't want to kill another two-star blood wolf; the last time was purely by luck.

Moreover, gaining reputation in Kahe City brings no benefit whatsoever; it will only lead to the uncle and nephew recognizing each other and putting on a dramatic love-hate relationship!
Forget it!
Next, he spent four silver coins to buy two salted fish.

This was for his own consumption, since salted fish couldn't be used as payment for tasks. However, what troubled him was that there wasn't a single stall in the market selling salt.

Do we have to buy it in a store?
Are there any shops that specialize in selling salt?

"There should be," Li Wei thought to himself. He then left the market and headed towards the row of stone houses in the west district. He was lucky; there were indeed salt shops in Kahe City, and he was able to enter and buy some. However, there was a notice posted at the entrance of the salt shop by the lord, and the shop assistant was reading the contents of the notice. According to the instant translation, each person was limited to purchasing 50 grams per day!
In addition, anyone caught possessing more than 500 grams of salt is considered a salt smuggler and will be sentenced to 30 lashes. The punishment will be multiplied, and anyone possessing five kilograms will be hanged!

day!
That cheap, crazy uncle is really ruthless!
Without saying a word, Li Wei left immediately.

Five kilograms of salt—the conventional methods definitely won't work.

So after going around in circles again, Li Wei finally approached the caravan owner, a well-dressed middle-aged man with a neat mustache. He was sitting in a chair, overlooking the entire market, looking quite relaxed.

Li Wei estimated that no one entering or leaving the market could escape this guy's eyes, including himself.

This isn't like in novels or on TV where you can just cover yourself with a tattered cloak and then have no inhibitions.

However, Li Wei pretended to watch the performance on the caravan for a while before casually walking over. Well, that's how beginners are.

This is a last resort; rather than being seen as a novice, it's better to pretend to be one.

Because even he himself doesn't know how to pretend to be an expert?

"Young man, why don't you go find some fun?"

The shopkeeper asked with a smile, speaking in a tongue-twisting, incoherent way with a very heavy accent, quite different from the accent of the tax official at the city gate.

But Li Wei understood immediately; there's no doubt that the instant translation was amazing.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but didn't rush to speak. Instead, he awkwardly put on a practiced smile, as if he were unfathomable.

“Oh, sir, I’m not very interested in those kinds of goods. Perhaps you can give me a surprise.”

Li Wei pretended to reach into his pocket, and when he took it out, the shadow of a standard gold coin flashed by in his hand. He had to prove that he had enough purchasing power.

"Oh? Young man, what would you like to buy?"

The middle-aged boss across from them wasn't blinded by the gold coins; he still wore that same smile.

"I need two pounds of salt."

Li Wei mustered his courage and whispered a number; he didn't dare say five kilograms directly, that would be too alarming.

Sure enough, the caravan owner raised an eyebrow, his previously lazy gaze instantly turning sharp. After scrutinizing Li Wei once, he chuckled coldly.

“Young man, you’re asking for too much. If word gets out, you’ll be arrested and hanged as a salt smuggler. I’m a kind person and don’t want you to be hanged. So, can you tell me what you’re planning to do with so much salt?”

Li Wei, however, already had an explanation.
“Sir, as you can see, besides being a bounty hunter, I am also a witcher. Salt may be just food for you, but for me, it is essential for hunting witches and their abominable monsters! Without salt, I cannot fight against the witches’ terrible evil magic.”

"The Witcher?"

The caravan owner was visibly taken aback, as if he had never heard of the term before. However, he should know Li Wei's identity and the ferocious wolf head he had brought not long ago.

So after a moment’s thought, he held up two fingers.

"Two gold coins, I can sell them to you!"

Two gold coins? Damn it, that's a total rip-off!

Those unscrupulous merchants in Dog Month!
Li Wei was dumbfounded. At the salt shops on West Street, a pound of salt was only equivalent to four silver coins, but here it was more than double that price. However, since the caravan owner could sell more, he didn't have time to waste here, much less time to grind reputation with Kahe City. He was certain that if he had enough reputation, this matter would be much easier to resolve.

Damn it, whatever. As long as this task is completed, he will definitely be the head of the family next month.

You can earn it all back in the future.

"What if I want five kilograms?" Li Wei asked again in a low voice.

He bought everything at once, turned around and left without stopping.

"Impossible, that's too much. In fact, I don't have any salt readily available for you in my caravan. I have to find a way to purchase it from other channels. One kilogram a day is the maximum I can get. You should know that, for well-known reasons, fewer and fewer caravans are heading to Kahe City. In order to stabilize public morale, the lord has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards the private sale of salt. It's just that you came to me. If it were anyone else, you would have already been arrested, whipped sixty times, and paraded in public!"

"However, if you agree, I can try to get you a kilogram of salt every day."

So that's how it is. After listening to the caravan owner explain the reason, Li Wei was also at a loss. The plague could indeed cut off trade routes, so he was helpless in this extraordinary time.

After thinking it over, Li Wei finally gritted his teeth, took out two gold coins, and handed them over.

The caravan owner discreetly pocketed the salt, then gave a wink to one of the caravan workers next to him. The worker immediately led Li Wei into the caravan, and under the cover of several generous and wealthy young ladies, he emerged from another direction a few minutes later with a kilogram of salt.

The unsuspecting men outside were still mocking him for not lasting long enough.

moon!
He then wandered around the market, bought some odds and ends of food, and left the market to report to the tax collector. Using the pretext of hunting wild dogs, he left the city of Kah.

Only after leaving the city did Li Wei finally breathe a sigh of relief. The caravan owner was still trustworthy; otherwise, if he had turned around and reported him, everything would have been over.

But that guy was really shady; the salt was clearly hidden in a secret compartment in the caravan, yet he insisted on saying there was a daily limit of one kilogram.

“I can’t carry salt into the city. I have to transport it out of the city immediately after I buy it every day. So I have to find a place to hide it. That way, even if I get caught once, I’ll only get 60 lashes at most, not hanging.”

Li Wei smiled wryly, thinking that the caravan owner probably wouldn't sell everything at once for the same reason.

So where is it hidden?
At this moment, Li Wei's first thought was of that abandoned farm, where there were many thatched houses that had not yet collapsed. He wondered if it would be feasible to dig a pit in it and wrap the salt in a rainproof tent.

Especially under the guise of hunting wild dogs, otherwise, entering and leaving the city every day would inevitably arouse suspicion from those with ulterior motives.

"Okay! Let's do it that way."

Li Wei didn't take the stray dogs seriously. After leaving the militia's patrol area, he took out his two-star composite bow, nocked it, drew a hardwood arrow, and shot it at a stray dog ​​that was barking wildly.

Even though the wild dog was clever and tried to dodge, it couldn't change the outcome; the hardwood arrow blew out one of its eyes.

too easy!

[You shot and killed a wild dog in Kah City, and you gained 5 hunting experience points. After cutting off the dog's head and handing it over to the tax collector, you will receive 1 standard copper coin. Once you collect ten dog heads, you will gain 1 point of Kah City reputation.]

This seems pretty good?

As Li Wei was thinking, the wild dogs in the wilderness suddenly began to bark wildly in unison, one after another, and started running around erratically as if their fathers had died.

Then a pack of wild dogs came running from a distance, barking wildly at Li Wei as if to show their support. But as soon as Li Wei drew the hardwood arrow, the wild dogs immediately turned around and ran away, running incredibly fast!

After running seventy or eighty meters in one go, it turned around and continued barking wildly.

Li Wei chased, and they ran.

Li Wei didn't chase after them, but walked towards the farm. As a result, dozens of stray dogs followed him, howling and barking provocatively.

Normally, Li Wei wouldn't be worried, but he was going to bury salt, and how could he bury it if he didn't deal with these damn lackeys?

The key is that they are extremely cunning.

Li Wei turned around and ran without saying a word, even running more than a hundred meters away, leaving Li Wei helpless despite his confidence in the two-star composite bow!

Got it!
Now I know why these stray dogs are so rampant.

Li Wei was almost laughing in anger. Fine, follow me then. If you're so capable, then keep following me.

He strode quickly toward the abandoned farm.

And dozens of stray dogs followed behind, howling and barking, like rabid dogs in the wilderness!
They chased them all the way to the abandoned farm, but the stray dogs still wouldn't give up, continuing to bark and follow.

Well, that's it. I originally planned to bury it in the abandoned farm, but now I have to find another place.

Okay, let's get started!
With long strides, Li Wei headed straight for the mountains, walking quickly and determined to exhaust these bastards!

(End of this chapter)