Li Da'erduo, along with the old man, numbered six in total. Five of them were armed with knives, and two had already been injured by Xiao Fei.
The one who had been stabbed in the stomach was now curled up on the ground, howling, clutching his belly. Blood pooled on the ground. With no good medical facilities here, he was unlikely to survive.
The other, a gaunt middle-aged man with an injured arm, was silently bandaging his wound with rags to stop the bleeding.
The remaining few, witnessing the miserable state of their companions, were terrified. They stood frozen, shouting curses but daring not to advance.
Li Da'erduo, a ruthless man, picked up a knife and thrust it into the old man's hand.
"Let's all go together and chop him!"
"Wuwu... Kill!"
Li Da'erduo charged forward first, roaring and brandishing his saber at Xiao Fei with great momentum.
The two remaining lackeys by his side, as well as the old man, were still somewhat fearful of Xiao Fei's previous display. They instinctively slowed their pace, falling a step or two behind Li Da'erduo.
After all, they were all ordinary farmers before. They could bully the weak when they had the advantage, but when they truly encountered a formidable opponent, they lacked that unwavering courage.
As for the old man, he had even less courage. He took the knife Li Da'erduo forcefully shoved into his hand, not daring to refuse. He could only follow behind, shouting and making noise to boost their morale.
Li Da'erduo charged forward a short distance, glancing left and right with his peripheral vision.
"My god! Why is it just me left?"
He looked back and saw those cowards were still several steps away from him.
At that moment, he truly wished he could just turn around and leave with his knife. This fight was impossible to win.
He used to swagger around with his five or six followers, yelling at everyone. He would walk up to children by the roadside and slap them twice. He would insist on approaching other people's young wives and pinching them.
He never expected to encounter someone a bit tougher and have them become so cowardly!
Alas! It's so hard to lead a group!
Now, Li Da'erduo could only brace himself and charge forward. As the leader, he couldn't show any weakness in front of his subordinates, otherwise, the group would be even harder to lead in the future.
As a man, he could only put on a brave front!
During this period, Xiao Fei had been consuming grains produced in his space and cultivating the "Evergreen Skill." Not only had he gained some weight, but his physique had also greatly improved.
His speed, strength, and reaction time had all increased significantly.
In the instant of their previous clash, even he himself hadn't expected that his strength, speed, reaction time, and overall physical capabilities would be so much faster than others. He had startled himself.
Seeing Li Da'erduo charging at him with a roar, while his followers behind him were still several steps away, was the perfect opportunity.
He immediately lunged forward, parrying with his woodcutter's axe and thrusting his black saber.
"Pfft!"
The black saber plunged directly into Li Da'erduo's abdomen. Xiao Fei held the hilt and twisted it half a circle before drawing the black saber out diagonally. A gush of blood mixed with intestines erupted.
Li Da'erduo was indeed a tough man. Despite his intestines being ruptured, he let out a roar, ignoring his injury. The sharp knife in his hand slashed towards Xiao Fei, following the woodcutter's axe.
Xiao Fei quickly retracted his saber and retreated. His speed was slightly slower, and he was still cut on the arm, leaving a bloody gash.
Li Da'erduo clutched his abdominal wound with one hand and scanned his surroundings. He saw that his three remaining subordinates were hesitant and afraid to advance.
He was furious!
"Chop him for me! What are you afraid of? We all have two shoulders carrying one head!"
But the remaining two lackeys were already intimidated by Xiao Fei's ferocity and dared not step forward to fight to the death. They quickly went to support Li Da'erduo.
"Boss!"
"Your injury is serious!"
"As long as we keep our lives, we'll have plenty of firewood!"
"Quick! Let's take Boss to Renxin Hall to see Doctor Huang."
The two lackeys supported Li Da'erduo by his arms and carried him, preparing to run towards Qingyang Town. They looked back and saw that the old man was also following.
While the old man was not paying attention, the two lackeys snatched the knife from his hand.
"You old scoundrel! You're the one who got Boss into this mess!"
"I'll chop you today to avenge Boss!"
"Die!"
"Ahhh... Spare me! Old man, I was telling the truth, he really has grain hidden!"
"You dare to babble again! Boss fell into this situation because he listened to your honeyed words."
"Ahhh... Spare me..."
The few lackeys stabbed the old man several times, finally avenging Li Da'erduo. Now they could feel at ease and no longer had to risk their lives fighting Xiao Fei.
Seeing them leave, Xiao Fei picked up the tattered clothes he had dropped earlier and put them on.
Fighting naked like this was really uncomfortable. Fortunately, his opponent wasn't a woman, otherwise, even if he won, it would have been a loss.
He shook the dirt off his clothes. This outfit was too tattered. He would have to get a new one made in town next time.
When Xiao Fei walked back to the refugee camp, the refugees there looked at him with fearful and evasive eyes.
Many people had seen the battle between Xiao Fei and Li Da'erduo at the entrance of the camp earlier.
Li Da'erduo was a notorious bully in the refugee camp, and many people there had suffered at their hands.
Today, they saw Xiao Fei single-handedly defeat Li Da'erduo's entire group, showing everyone his ruthlessness.
In a chaotic place like a refugee camp, formidable individuals always inspire fear.
Even some people along the way offered him goodwill, wanting to pledge allegiance, but Xiao Fei refused them all. He would be leaving here soon.
The refugee camp was merely a temporary shelter, not a place to stay long-term.
He would spend some time preparing, accumulating some money, and then he planned to find his second sister. No matter what, he had to rescue his second sister from the inferno.
People bought by human traffickers were, if lucky, bought by wealthy families to be maids or the like. They were often beaten and scolded, and even beaten to death without anyone intervening.
But most were sold to brothels. The fate of women in brothels in this world was very tragic, completely different from those women in his previous life who willingly entered the profession and sold their bodies but not their art.
Moreover, once people fell into the hands of others, they became their cash cows. It wasn't as simple as redeeming them; it required a large sum of money.
He only had grain on hand now, but it wasn't convenient to sell large quantities. The ginseng hadn't been planted yet; it would take at least another year to be valuable.
Xiao Fei returned to his thatched hut, closed the door, and then brought some straw and other materials from his space to pile behind the door to prevent outsiders from breaking in.
Only then did he enter his space, clear an area with his woodcutter's axe, and sow all 15 seeds he had.
The next day, when Xiao Fei entered his space to check, the ginseng had already sprouted. All 15 seeds had germinated.
On the third day, the ginseng seedlings had grown a leaf.
During this time, Xiao Fei continued to cultivate the "Evergreen Skill." His physique had improved, and he didn't know if it was the effect of the "Evergreen Skill," but he practiced whenever he had time.
He also used his spare time to weave baskets from branches and straw to store the grain, making it easier to store.
One day, Xiao Fei carried a load of grain towards Qingyang Town. He planned to sell some of it every ten days or half a month to slowly accumulate some money.
After this period, he found that his physique had strengthened considerably. He strode with a load of grain on his shoulders as if he were flying.
Upon arriving in Qingyang Town, he sold the grain directly to the grain store. Although the price was thirty percent lower than the retail price in the market, it saved him a lot of trouble.
The two large baskets of grain sold for two guan of money. Xiao Fei took off his shirt, wrapped the money in layers, and carried it in his hand, which weighed over ten catties.
Two guan of money was a huge sum for both refugees and tenant farmers.
Xiao Fei took the money directly into a tailor shop.
The owner of the tailor shop was a hunched middle-aged woman. Seeing Xiao Fei enter shirtless with a heavy bundle, her eyes lit up, and she immediately put on a smile, her wrinkled face creasing so much it could catch mosquitoes.
"Young master, do you need clothes made?"
"Indeed!"
"Do you have your own fabric, or will you buy it here? We have all sorts of fine fabrics for you to choose from."
The proprietress glanced at Xiao Fei's bare chest. She assumed he didn't have fabric, so she could earn more from the cloth itself.
Before Xiao Fei could answer, the proprietress led him to a pile of fabrics to choose from.
Industry was not developed in this world, and cloth was an important commodity that could be used directly as money.
The price of fabric mainly depended on the fineness of the weave and the type of raw material.
Qingyang Town was a small place, with no silk. The fabric materials were only cotton, hemp, and ramie.
Ramie fabric was made from the vines of wild ramie plants in the mountains. The vines were soaked in water and repeatedly beaten until only flexible fibers remained, which could be woven into fabric. Although less comfortable, it was relatively inexpensive and durable.
Additionally, there was a type of thicker yellow paper in the tailor shop that was also used as clothing material.
Clothes made from this paper were stiff and stylish, with a beautiful cut, and were inexpensive, making them popular among town residents.
The drawback of paper clothes was their poor comfort and tendency to tear. A strong gust of wind could leave one exposed.
Xiao Fei chose a relatively coarse cotton fabric and had the proprietress measure his height, shoulder width, and other data on the spot.
In this world, ordinary families only bought new clothes every few years or decades, so they were very cautious about tailoring, and clothes were made to order.
As for shoes, there were ready-made soles. The proprietress would usually paste together scraps of cloth, then cut and stitch them into layered soles.
Better quality soles were also brushed with several layers of tung oil, making them waterproof and durable.
Xiao Fei also picked out a pair of soles brushed with tung oil, and had the tailor cut out the uppers on the spot, then tightly stitched them together with coarse hemp thread.
The middle-aged woman had her two daughters help out. In just half a day, they made a set of clothes and a pair of cloth shoes.
A set of new clothes and a pair of shoes cost a total of 1600 wen. The two guan of money he had just received was reduced to only 400 wen.
As he was leaving, Xiao Fei spent another 150 wen to buy a piece of ramie cloth to use as a wrapping cloth.
Although he had his space and could store his belongings there, to avoid exposing its existence, he still needed to carry a bundle as a disguise.