Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Boarding the Ship (Part 1) Longkou Town, Hundred Fragrance Tea House. On a neat square table with a reddish-brown hue, there was a plate of sliced beef, a plate of smashed cucumbers, a dish of peanuts, and a jar of opened rice wine. "I heard there’s black fog rising over Jiangtai Plain, nine out of ten people who go in can’t come out!" "On the land route to Jiang City, you must pass through Jiangtai Plain, those caravans are in trouble, luckily we’re taking the boat." Two men dressed in gray cloth garments and black headscarves were sitting at the table, drinking and chatting. "Brother Li, Brother Wang, I’m afraid tomorrow’s boat to Jiang City won’t leave on time." A moment later, another person approached the table, clearly an acquaintance, after sitting down he lowered his voice suddenly. "Oh, why?" "They say a villain has appeared in nearby Xinxiang, killed several officials, they are searching the whole city now, even the ferry has been affected!" "Hiss... Such an evil person!" The three were chatting softly, not noticing that at the table diagonally across from them, someone’s ear twitched. This person wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat that covered most of the face, dressed in a gray hemp garment. One pant leg was rolled up to the knee, dirty straw sandals carelessly stepped on the bench, looking very much like a farmer. He quickly shoveled a couple of bites of food into his mouth, then settled the bill and left. The farmer was, of course, Lou Yi. After leaving the tea house, he saw not far away a crowd of people gathered, watching a wanted poster with his portrait. Around the streets, several archers dressed in black patrol uniforms, holding broadswords, were vigilantly patrolling everywhere. ’Quick response.’ Lou Yi thought. It had been less than two days since he killed, and Longkou Town, not close to Xinxiang, had already reacted. It’s conceivable that other towns outside Tai City would be the same. "Hey, you, come here!" An archer focused on the tall figure of Lou Yi, suspiciously calling him over. Lou Yi walked within five steps of him and stopped. "Take off your hat!" The archer raised his broadsword, full of vigilance. Hearing the commotion, the other archers all came over. Lou Yi removed his hat, displaying an expression of fear. "Officer, what’s the matter?" The archer looked at him, compared him to the portrait, then waved impatiently: "Scram." After that, they lost interest in Lou Yi. Lou Yi nodded and bowed, with a face full of smiles: "Yes, yes!" At this time, his hair was shaved to a buzz cut, his face was dusty, and his chin was covered with stubble. His once thick eyebrows had become two slender willow leaves. The whole person had transformed from being heroic to looking like a scoundrel, a complete stylistic change. This was recommended by Cui Yuan, who hired a professional make-up artist named Su Laizi. In this era, portraits were primarily used to search for people based on distinct features. Since he had no scars, birthmarks, or missing limbs, with good enough makeup techniques, he wasn’t easily recognized. Of course, Lou Yi was gambling. If caught, he’d simply escape into the deep mountains and travel by land. Putting his hat back on, Lou Yi swaggered through the street. Several places had posted portraits of Lou Yi, and various discussions reached his ears: "Who is this Lou Yi? I heard he killed dozens of officials!" "I heard he’s a leader from Sunset Mountain, came here to kidnap people and take them back to make human char siu!" "Damn it, this guy is utterly despicable!" Hearing these nonsensical discussions, Lou Yi could only feel the veins on his temples throb. ’My reputation is completely ruined now.’ ’If dear Scholar Father heard this, he’d probably jump out of the coffin in rage.’ ’But reputation doesn’t matter, staying alive is the most important.’ Lou Yi headed to the harbor, noticing that security had tightened there as well, with significantly increased checkpoints. With the naked eye, he could see about a dozen archers blocking the entrance, meticulously questioning, inspecting, and letting people through one by one. Previously, a ticket was all that was required to board a ship, but now due to Lou Yi, a recommendation letter from a relevant person was also needed. Of course, Lou Yi didn’t find this difficult; with his current skills, picking a pocket was no challenge. Suddenly, Lou Yi’s pupils shrank. He saw several large black dogs, far exceeding the size of average hounds, emerging from behind the archers. In their mouths, they either held an old straw sandal, a hemp garment, or wore a tattered blanket. These were all items Lou Yi had used! ’Using scent to identify someone...’ Lou Yi took a deep breath, knowing he couldn’t be reckless now. He turned away, discreetly and slowly retreating, fearful of attracting those big dogs’ attention. ’I need to figure out how to eliminate my scent.’ Lou Yi couldn’t think of a good solution immediately. Bathing, applying scent, or deliberately making himself stink? None seemed very reliable. Suddenly, he recalled a trick he had heard of in his past life, eyes brightening. He immediately opened the map given to him by Cui Yuan, searching for something on it. The map was made of cowhide, covered with densely drawn routes in black charcoal pencil, many areas marked with red crosses for danger zones. ’This is it.’ Lou Yi found a danger zone near Longkou Town, and upon reading the description, his eyes lit up. ’Black Tiger Mountain, frequented by tigers year-round.’ Following the routes on the map, it didn’t take long for Lou Yi to reach the foot of a mountain. The mountain rose about two hundred meters high, densely forested, with strange rocks, insects chirping, birds singing, and a creek joyfully flowing below. "I must find a tiger quickly." Lou Yi entered the forest, climbing along the flowing creek. The paths were rugged, and Lou Yi walked carefully. Even though his strength was now formidable, he was still flesh and blood, a fall could be serious. Indeed, Lou Yi actively sought out the tiger’s whereabouts. He had read somewhere once. If a person contacts a ferocious beast, their scent will be tainted, ordinary beasts are easily confused and dare not come close. Unfortunately, tigers weren’t easy to find. After searching for a long time, he had only spotted a few wild rabbits and pheasants, without a shadow of a tiger. ’This isn’t working, I don’t have time to waste here.’ "Roar!" Lou Yi exhaled deeply from his Dantian, roaring out, mimicking a tiger’s call. His Blood Qi was vigorous, his voice powerful, the roar echoed like a train whistle, rustling the leaves around him. "Roar!" From a certain place on the mountain came another powerful and imposing roar, seemingly responding to Lou Yi, with a hint of provoked anger. "Roar!" Lou Yi roared back, refusing to be outdone. A moment later, a giant creature suddenly sprang from the dense forest beside him, staring fixedly at Lou Yi. This was a ’big black cat’ three meters long, covered in black and yellow stripes, with bronze bell-like eyes filled with puzzlement. It didn’t understand why this weak human before it made a similar sound. Lou Yi, however, leisurely pulled out his slingshot from his waist, loaded it with a ’bullet’ stone. With a flick, the stone landed on the black tiger, making it leap up painfully, eyes instantly filled with anger. The black tiger accelerated in place, leaping at Lou Yi from over ten meters away, intending to pounce him to the ground. Lou Yi sidestepped and at the same time delivered a side kick, precisely hitting the tiger’s body. At the moment of contact, he felt his straw sandal sink into a layer of soft yet resilient flesh. Utilizing the tremendous recoil force, he pulled back from the tiger. The black tiger, tripped by Lou Yi’s kick, fell to the ground. As it tried to get up again, Lou Yi attacked once more. ...