The speed at which she was skiing down the mountain was very fast.
In around an hour, Zhou Xiaoxiao arrived at a small town called Lijiatun at the foot of the mountain. This town was located on the south side of the mountain and was about twenty miles away from Qiong City which was northeast of the mountain. Zhou Xiaoxiao planned to stay a night in the town and buy an animal for transportation the next day before leaving.
Today was coincidentally market day and it was bustling with excitement. Even the villagers from the surrounding villages came here for market day.
The streets on the two sides of the road were uneven and full of potholes were bustling with activity. The streets were crowded with stalls selling all kinds of things like food, shoes, socks, and numerous other items.
The pedestrians attached straws to different items to indicate that it was on sale. Some held two geese, or a basket of eggs, while the others carried a load of firewood.
Because they were near the mountains, there were many hunters trading all sorts of products.
Right now, Zhou Xiaoxiao was wearing a two-eared dog skin hat and wore a cotton-padded jacket, with a tiger skin sleeveless jacket on the outside. She wore felt shoes and there were two visible patches of red on her dirty face. She dressed like a typical hunter in the mountains and attracted no attention within the crowd.
Zhou Xiaoxiao examined carefully but didnt see any eye-catching guards that were patrolling the area. She calmed down and thought that since this place and Lin Residences courtyard were in two different directions from the mountains, no one should have thought to come here yet.
However, the crowded and novel traditional market didnt make her excited.
She just felt her heart swelling and aching, after walking irritably within the crowd for a while, she saw a clinic with a sign that said purchasing all sorts of herbs.
Zhou Xiaoxiao knocked on the ancient wooden counter and the worker in the store was a young man in his teens, who smiled at her and revealed his perfectly straight rows of white teeth.
Is this customer seeking medicine or treatment?
Zhou Xiaoxiao placed the package on the counter and said, I have top-notch tiger bones and young deer antlers. Does the store accept this?
The young man turned around and shouted towards the room inside, Father, theres someone selling herbs here.
We accept, we accept. Please show us what goods you are bringing us first. An elderly doctor skilled in Chinese medicine with a white beard walked out from within the room.
The elderly gave her a reasonable price and because Zhou Xiaoxiao had stolen some money from the Lin Residence on her way out, she didnt bother to argue with them over the price. She gave them the goods bluntly.
If this brother has more quality animal skin, please give some to this elderly man. In such cold weather, this elderly man wants to make a coat for the child. The elderly doctor pointed at the sleeveless tiger skin jacket on Zhou Xiaoxiao.
Zhou Xiaoxiao recalled the pile of fur within the cave and Yu Xingzhi who laid underneath the pile. How was he now? Could he make it through?
She kept on feeling like she had done something extremely wrong and her heart was aching. When she left the medicine shop, Zhou Xiaoxiao came out with different types of medications. For example, she has medicine for injuries like burns, decreasing inflammation, frostbite, stab wounds, and a pair of bone setting clamps.
What exactly am I buying this for? Zhou Xiaoxiao thought inattentively.
She found a tavern in town and reserved a room.
She filled her stomach with food, despite not knowing what she had eaten. After that, she laid down on the warm kang stove bed, but couldnt fall asleep.
After struggling to fall asleep for a while, she finally fell asleep in a daze.
For a while, she dreamed of Yu Xingzhi being mutilated into bloody pieces by Lin Bingren, or dying in the cave, or his dead body being eaten by wild animals.
She woke up with cold sweat and saw that the sun was rising.