Xiao Fei, dragging his injured body, walked for five to six hours and finally reached the foot of the mountain safely. At this point, he could no longer hold on.
He found a secluded, deserted spot with a rock at his back and threw out a pile of dry grass from his spatial dimension, then collapsed into the hay.
The dry grass he carried in his spatial dimension proved invaluable. It could be used for fire and also served as a portable sofa bed, comfortable and warm.
After lying in the grass for a while to relieve his fatigue, he reluctantly climbed out.
He glanced around again, confirming that no one was nearby, before taking the Rock Wolf carcass out of his spatial dimension.
Because time flowed faster in his spatial dimension, he feared the wolf carcass would spoil. During this time, he had brought in several piles of ice and snow and piled them around the wolf carcass.
He checked it; thankfully, the carcass showed no signs of decay and the meat was still fresh.
Finally, he could eat meat!
He sharpened his wood-cutting knife on a stone repeatedly and then began to skin the Rock Wolf. His technique was not yet skilled, and it took him a full half-hour to peel off a relatively intact wolf hide.
Wolf hides were a high-value luxury item, capable of fetching several taels of silver. For any refugee, this would be a fortune.
One tael of silver was equivalent to one guan of copper coins, and one guan was a thousand wen.
If he sold this wolf hide, he could buy some grain seeds and a new set of clothes, and then he could live a comfortable life.
He disemboweled the wolf carcass, setting the offal aside first.
He cut off a wolf rib, placed it into his ancestral black pottery pot, added some unmelted snow, and set it over the fire.
Only then did he carefully clean the wolf's offal.
He set the wolf's heart and liver aside. The most troublesome part was cleaning the stomach and intestines.
He cut open the wolf's stomach and found the piece of flesh that had been bitten from his leg.
It was, after all, a part of his own body. Xiao Fei did not want to discard it carelessly, and with no place to store it, he dug a hole in his spatial dimension and buried his own flesh.
It took him another hour to finally clean the wolf's stomach and intestines. In reality, there wasn't much meat, only a handful.
For someone who still had to subsist on tree bark and grass roots, even a small amount of meat was worth the great effort to process.
By this time, the aroma of meat was wafting from the pottery pot on the fire.
He took a deep breath of the enticing aroma; just smelling it was a divine pleasure.
Xiao Fei’s consciousness entered his spatial dimension. As expected, the fern roots he had planted the night before had grown into a large patch of tender fern shoots.
Each tender sprout was over a foot long, plump, and looked very delicate, making one's mouth water.
Xiao Fei picked a large bundle of fern shoots and brought them out of his spatial dimension, then grabbed a handful of fern shoots and put them into the pottery pot to blanch.
He then found two relatively long branches to use as chopsticks, effectively making it a hot pot meal.
Xiao Fei eagerly picked up a piece of wolf meat and put it into his mouth. Immediately, the rich flavor of the meat, mixed with the broth, melded in his mouth, stimulating every taste bud.
He then picked up a fern shoot, dipped in the thick meat broth, and found it to be very tasty, tender, and fresh. His body hadn't eaten such delicious food in months.
But Xiao Fei ate with tears streaming down his face, the tears sliding into his mouth with the fern shoots, carrying a hint of saltiness.
Since becoming a refugee, he had never eaten a proper meal. His parents and siblings had all died one after another. He was the youngest in the family but had survived.
He still remembered his mother distributing their last bite of food to him and his siblings before she died.
He still remembered his second sister selling herself for two guan of money and giving him all the proceeds.
"Xiao Fei! You're the only male left in our family. You must live on."
This was his second sister's last instruction to him before she left.
But he was useless, unable to protect the two guan of money his second sister had traded her life for. In the end, he was beaten severely and robbed of all his possessions.
Xiao Fei swallowed all the fern shoots and wolf meat with his tears, even chewing and swallowing the wolf bones.
No matter what, he had to survive!
He would earn a lot of money and redeem his second sister!
After he finished eating, it was already dark. He would have to spend the night here.
Taking advantage of the night, Xiao Fei cut the wolf meat into small pieces and dried them by the fire, which made them easier to preserve.
Such an opportunity to replenish protein was rare, occurring perhaps once a year. This time, he had a whole wolf, and if he was frugal, it would be enough for him to eat for one to two months.
When Xiao Fei climbed out of the hay pile the next morning, he almost fell to the ground.
He felt his head was heavy and his feet were light, his limbs weak.
His wounds seemed to have become inflamed. The areas around the wounds were red and swollen, and they hurt with the slightest touch. Especially the places on his leg and stomach where flesh had been bitten off, they looked even more terrifying.
This situation was beyond his ability to handle; he needed to find a doctor.
A little over three li east of the refugee camp was Qingyang Town, the largest market town in the vicinity. Nearby villagers came here daily to purchase daily necessities.
Because of his leg injury and the fever from the infected wound, Xiao Fei's journey was arduous. By the time he returned to the refugee camp, it was completely dark, and he could only sleep in his straw hut for the night.
He did not sleep soundly that night. All his wounds constantly transmitted intense pain. With every pulse in the wound area, the wound would throb with severe pain.
He endured until dawn. When he got up from the hay pile, he felt dizzy and unsteady, his hands and feet trembling.
Xiao Fei wrapped the wolf hide in a large bundle of dry grass and found a wooden stick to lean on. He stumbled forward, one step trembling, three steps tottering. The mere three li journey was incredibly difficult.
Along the way, he saw many people heading to Qingyang Town. Most of them hurried past, and no one offered him any help.
Some even looked at him with ill intentions, giving up when they saw he had nothing valuable.
Occasionally, a few people cast sympathetic glances his way, which was the greatest kindness he received.
Qingyang Town had a marketplace where nearby villagers brought their surplus items to sell, exchanging them for money to buy necessities.
The items sold in the market were mainly agricultural products, as well as handicrafts like linen cloth and shoes woven by village women.
In a corner at the end of the market, there was a place specifically for selling people.
Those to be sold had straw markers in their hair, making them easy to identify. Most of them were children and young girls.
There were also some married women in their twenties or thirties. These women were not widows but were brought to the market by their husbands to be sold or rented out.
Xiao Fei's second sister had also sold herself for two guan of money in a market like this.
In this difficult time, people were not worth much. Human traffickers were picky and would try to drive down prices.
Xiao Fei found an empty spot and sat down. He untied the bundle of dry grass on his back and took out a complete wolf hide, placing it on the dry grass.
Wolf hides were very valuable, and ordinary people could not afford them. However, there were not many wealthy individuals in this small town.
The wealthiest family in town was the Zhu family. It was said that the Zhu family was a branch of a large clan from the county. At least half of the land in Qingyang Town belonged to the Zhu family. In Qingyang Town, the Zhu family could truly be considered all-powerful, their influence reaching everywhere.
Xiao Fei's wolf hide remained there for most of the day with little interest. He sat behind his stall, his head swimming, and he nearly fainted several times.
At this moment, he vaguely saw two people approaching his stall. As they got closer, the two figures merged into one.
It turned out his eyes were seeing double.
"Hey! Beggar, how much are you selling this wolf hide for?"
Xiao Fei held up a hand.
"Five taels of silver!"
The person picked up the wolf hide, shook it in his hand, and said with a look of disdain.
"This is a Rock Wolf hide. It's too small and not worth much. And look at this large cut from the knife, and the head here, it's all smashed to pieces."
"At most, I'll give you one tael of silver. I'll buy it!"
Although Xiao Fei had a high fever and his mind was muddled, he knew that a Rock Wolf hide was definitely worth more than that. He still struggled to extend five fingers.
"Five taels!"
"You stinking beggar! Don't push your luck! Zhu Gui says it right here today, this wolf hide of yours is only worth one tael, just one tael!"
Zhu Gui stood in front of Xiao Fei's stall, his gaze sweeping around.
"See if anyone will offer an extra copper coin!"
The pedestrians coming and going in the market knew he was from the Zhu family and dared not meet his gaze, keeping a safe distance as they walked.
Zhu Gui was very pleased with this. Now, in the entire market, no one else would buy Xiao Fei's wolf hide except him.
"It's an honor for you to be able to make a deal with this young master. It's enough for you to brag about for a lifetime."
"Don't be ungrateful!"
As Zhu Gui spoke, he took out a silver ingot from his embrace, threw it into Xiao Fei's lap, and walked away with the wolf hide, without regard for Xiao Fei's agreement.