In the mountains, both sides faced off.

Li Yi opened his arms, signaling a gesture of goodwill while showing that he was unarmed. He smiled and stared into the eyes of the middle-aged leader of the group. "Hello, I am a traveling merchant."

"Traveling merchant? What’s that?" one of them asked.

"I’ve heard the village chief mention it," another person said. "Some very large tribes have merchants who trade."

"Trade? What’s that?"

"It’s when we trade our meat for other people's meat."

"Why trade our meat for other people's meat? Can't we just keep our meat and eat it ourselves?"

...

The group of people on the opposite side murmured among themselves. Li Yi stood still, not making any sudden moves.

To be honest, he had no idea what kind of people they were, whether they were good or bad. But from the arrows they shot, which could pierce through a wild boar, he could tell that if they wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t even have a chance to run.

"We are from Shicun, and this is Shicun’s hunting ground. What are you doing here?" After only a brief discussion, the middle-aged man gave an order to send Li Yi away.

He didn’t know much about merchants or trade, but he was curious about what Li Yi was up to. If Li Yi was just passing through, even though this was their hunting ground, it was only one person, and they couldn’t possibly eat much. Even if they hunted a few wild beasts, it wasn’t a big deal, as long as there was no hostility.

"I’m here to do business, to trade," Li Yi said, slowly stepping back to his cart. He opened the small door and carefully took out the jar of salt.

As soon as he touched the cart, it was obvious that the group became tense. Those with weapons raised them, those with shields lifted them, and arrows were nocked, though not drawn yet—clearly, they were on guard.

Li Yi could tell that they didn't harbor ill intentions, and possibly some goodwill. If they truly wanted to harm him, they would have drawn their bows at the moment he reached for the goods. Instead, they only nocked the arrows, which was less likely to cause accidental harm.

"Salt," Li Yi said as he slowly moved closer to them. As the distance shortened, he could see the true appearance of the group—bronzed skin, wearing coarse cloth or just animal pelts.

They were muscular and sturdy, and their weapons made Li Yi’s skin crawl. Three or five of them had bows, each one towering over their heads, with strings made from the tendons of wild beasts.

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Two others held massive two-handed swords. Li Yi had thought that these swords only existed in games, but seeing the size of one, it likely weighed three to five hundred kilograms. No normal person could wield such a sword. Even stranger, two men carried shields made of stone, not wood.

This group’s combat power was off the charts. Li Yi, seeing the wild animals they had killed and the weapons they wielded, couldn’t help but wonder if he was in a world like that of Monster Hunter.

As Li Yi approached, the group spread out, surrounding him with their towering figures, giving him an immense sense of pressure.

He opened the jar, and the snow-white salt grains instantly appeared before the crowd.

"Is this salt?" asked Shilin Hu, the middle-aged leader. "How can salt be this white?"

Li Yi dipped his finger in the salt and tasted it, then pushed the jar towards Shilin Hu.

"Try it. Is it salt?" Li Yi asked.

Shilin Hu looked cautious but seeing that Li Yi had tasted it, he decided to give it a try. He dipped his finger in and tasted it—salt, very salty, but not bitter or astringent. It was completely different from the salt they typically ate, which was coarse, bitter, and a bit sour.

Li Yi handed the jar to another burly man beside Shilin Hu. He glanced at Shilin Hu before tasting the salt as well.

"It’s salt, not bitter, not astringent. It’s different from ours," the man exclaimed.

Hearing this, many others looked at the jar, eager to try the salt themselves.

Li Yi felt slightly reassured. As he had predicted, white salt was likely quite valuable in this world.

Based on their appearance and what they said, most people in this era seemed to live in villages or tribes. They had the ability to make salt, but the salt they made was likely rough, either gray or greenish, and tasted bitter and astringent—nothing like the pure white grains Li Yi held.

"I got lost and can’t find my way out. The wilderness is dangerous at night. Can I stay with you in your village for a while?" he asked, hoping to find a safe place.

Shilin Hu paused in silence. While there had been other outsiders who came to Shicun before, Li Yi's appearance seemed unusual—he was so thin, almost unreal. He seemed weaker than even a child or a woman.

Shilin Hu felt a bit relieved. Since Li Yi was so frail, there was no need to worry about him causing any trouble. Besides, they had spiritual protection in their village.

"Erhu, Dazhuang, take him back to the village," Shilin Hu ordered, giving a subtle look to the two men.

"Li Yi, brother, let’s go," said Dazhuang.

Li Yi quickly nodded, a smile unconsciously forming on his face. For now, this was the best plan—heading to the village would at least give him a place to stay for the night. Without it, if he stayed out in the forest, he would certainly die if a beast attacked at night.

He recalled the terrifying image of the giant centipede earlier.

He packed up the salt jar, pushed the cart, and followed the two men.

"Our village isn’t far from here," Erhu said.

Li Yi thought the same, but soon realized their definition of "not far" was very different.

"Hold on, let me catch my breath," Li Yi said, setting the cart aside and leaning against it, panting heavily.

He estimated that he had walked almost three kilometers. The roads here were completely unpaved and natural, and he had been pushing the cart the whole way. While the cart wasn’t heavy, Erhu and Dazhuang had been moving incredibly fast, much faster than Li Yi could keep up with. Eventually, they slowed down, but they were still moving quickly.

"What’s wrong?" Dazhuang asked, stopping and coming to Li Yi’s side.

He thought to himself, how could this person be so weak? Even though they had slowed down, he still couldn’t keep up. How had he even survived in the wilderness last night?

"Let me rest," Li Yi said, but before he could finish, he was suddenly lifted up.

Erhu had picked him up and was carrying him on his back, while Dazhuang effortlessly lifted the cart. The two of them sprinted toward the village.