The scenery before him constantly shifted. Li Yi estimated that they had probably run nearly twenty kilometers. One of them carried him while the other held his cart. After running nearly twenty kilometers, neither of them showed any signs of exhaustion, their faces not even flushed, their breath steady.

This made Li Yi reevaluate his understanding of human physical endurance in this world.

The two men’s pace gradually slowed as an ancient and primitive village appeared ahead, with many stone houses. But the most striking feature was the giant tree at the village entrance.

As they approached, Li Yi realized that the half-tree was not actually a tree, but a dead tree trunk, with a diameter of several meters, its surface scorched black. Apart from the massive main trunk, there was only a small, weak branch, still emanating faint life. The leaves shimmered in the wind.

Li Yi stared at the tree, and the two men gradually stopped.

"What’s up with this tree?" Li Yi asked.

"Ah, this tree? It’s our village’s spirit tree," Erhu said, letting Li Yi down. "The village elder once said it fell from the sky many years ago."

Li Yi was stunned by the words, his mind racing. "Spirit tree... fell from the sky many years ago."

"Who are the people in your village?" Li Yi asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Everyone in our village is named Shi," Erhu answered.

With Erhu’s response, Li Yi finally confirmed where he was. The Shi Village, the spirit tree—if nothing unexpected happened, he would soon see a certain child who loved drinking milk.

Now that he knew what world he was in, his inner anxiety and unease began to fade. This world could be dangerous for the protagonist in later stages, but for now, the Great Wilderness and Shi Village still had a period of tranquility.

Living in this village was safe, and Li Yi had read the book at least three times. While he couldn’t remember every detail, he still recalled the general plot. He just wasn’t sure how old Shi Hao was at the moment.

Shi Village had a few hundred households, with simple folk who lived peacefully. Li Yi felt he could trust them, and considering how valuable the white salt was, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring out anything else of greater value. It was a known fact that money could tempt people, and he had no way to resist or defend himself if they decided to take advantage of him.

As they approached the village, the villagers quickly gathered upon seeing the hunting party’s return, asking if something had happened. They eyed Li Yi curiously, and the crowd parted slowly to reveal an elderly man walking toward them.

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"Uncle Yunfeng, this is the person we met outside. He says he’s a traveling merchant, here to trade," Dazhuang said, pointing to Li Yi.

"You’re a traveling merchant?" asked the elderly man, Shi Yunfeng.

Li Yi nodded slightly and took out the jar of salt. "Salt," he said.

Shi Yunfeng dipped his hand into the jar. He had never seen such pure white salt. He had only heard about it from his travels in the past, when he had heard rumors of a tribe that possessed salt as white as snow. He had always thought it was just a legend, never expecting to see it for himself.

He tasted it. It was salty, and very pure, without any bitterness or astringency. "You’re here to do business?"

Shi Yunfeng had traveled to many tribes in his younger days, so he understood what merchants and trade were. Anyone who could carry such rare white salt and travel the Great Wilderness to trade was no weakling.

If he had seen Li Yi being carried on Erhu’s back earlier, he might not have thought so highly of him. However, since the spirit tree hadn’t reacted, it meant that Li Yi posed no threat. If there had been any ill intent, the spirit tree would not have allowed him into the village.

The people of Shi Village placed great faith in the spirit tree, but it wasn’t blind faith. The spirit tree had protected their ancestors for generations, allowing them to survive in the Great Wilderness. If a village lacked a spirit tree, it wouldn’t last long.

Thus, the people of Shi Village were less wary of Li Yi.

"Alright, everyone disperse," Shi Yunfeng said, and the crowd slowly dispersed, returning to their tasks.

"You two, go back to hunting," he added to Erhu and Dazhuang.

Erhu and Dazhuang nodded and left, moving like arrows, disappearing swiftly from Li Yi’s view. Li Yi thought to himself that if they had been running this fast earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up. Turning around, he found Shi Yunfeng smiling at him.

"Follow me, guest!" Shi Yunfeng said, leading him to a stone house.

"The conditions are a bit simple, not like the big tribes," Shi Yunfeng added.

Li Yi hadn’t entered yet, but he already smelled a strong, pleasant scent of milk from outside the door. The house was simply furnished—a stone bed, a stone table.

"If you don’t mind the simplicity, stay here for a couple of days before you continue your journey. To be honest, that jar of salt is too precious for our village to afford," Shi Yunfeng said.

This was the truth. Though the jar of salt wasn’t much, in the Great Wilderness, it was rare. Even if Shi Yunfeng wanted to buy it, they couldn’t afford it. He also had a thought in mind—if Li Yi lowered the price a bit, maybe they could afford it. But he was really thinking about trading the salt, not eating it.

For a small village like theirs, they could use the salt as a valuable trading commodity or as a gift when a man from Shi Village married a woman from another tribe. With fewer women willing to marry into their village, using this precious salt as a gift would make it more appealing to other tribes.

Li Yi, however, wasn’t a typical merchant. He understood that while the salt was valuable, it wasn’t worth much to him in this world. Building good relationships with the villagers was far more important than any short-term gain.

"Old man, I might stay here a bit longer. You can keep the salt, and I’ll stay with you, eat your food, and sleep here," Li Yi said, handing the jar of salt directly to Shi Yunfeng.

Shi Yunfeng was stunned. He had expected Li Yi to discuss pricing, but he never expected him to give the salt away. They would pay with food and lodging, which was a fair deal for both sides—a win-win situation.

"Grandfather," a sweet voice suddenly called from outside.

A child entered, with smooth white skin, big dark eyes that twinkled like marbles, and looking like a porcelain doll. Li Yi stared at him, realizing that this child would one day become the mighty Emperor of the Endless Wilderness—Shi Hao, but for now, he was just a milk-loving little boy.