The carriage moved steadily on the official road.
This was the third day out, and now they had already left the jurisdiction of the Commandery and entered the wilderness.
Yes, it was indeed the wilderness.
Upon reaching here, there were no more teahouses or inns by the roadside. Apart from the abandoned farmlands and half-collapsed villages that suggested this place was once densely populated, all traces of civilization were rapidly disappearing.
Tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves had regained dominance, and they no longer feared humans. In broad daylight, they dared to stare at the caravans passing on the official road from the distant forests.
If they saw someone alone, they would pounce without hesitation and enjoy a delicious meal.
With the situation deteriorating to this point, Zhao Ya knew that the Great Yan, which had enjoyed prosperity for hundreds of years, was thoroughly decaying and beyond salvation.
It was only a matter of time before it completely fell.
Thinking of this, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but sigh slightly.
In times of chaos, human lives were as insignificant as grass. This great turmoil, who knew how many lives it would claim.
Roar!
A beast’s roar came from the nearby forest, and then a striped tiger leaped out, charging straight at the carriage.
The two horses pulling the carriage trembled violently, their legs already weak, incapable of running.
But just then, the fierce tiger, initially pouncing aggressively, suddenly seemed to see something extremely terrifying and turned to flee.
Yet it was too late. A hand, resembling a jade sculpture, suddenly appeared and grabbed its tail.
The tiger let out a scream of utter terror, struggling like a frightened kitten.
But all was in vain. With a light force from the hand, the tiger, as large as a calf, was dragged back forcefully.
Then Zhao Ya reached out and gently tapped a spot on the tiger’s spine.
With a crisp crack, the tiger instantly collapsed to the ground, let out two weak cries of sorrow, and then died.
The whole process took only a few seconds, after which Zhao Ya bent down with interest to examine it.
"Hmm, the tiger skin is nice this time, not a single scratch."
Zhao Ya was quite satisfied.
Meng Shiwen, however, felt a bit helpless.
Throughout the journey, Zhao Ya deliberately concealed his presence to lure these forest beasts to attack, only to suddenly kill them.
This had happened over a dozen times already.
Just the tigers, leopards, and black bears killed by Zhao Ya numbered in the twenties or thirties.
The key was that Zhao Ya greatly enjoyed it, much to Meng Shiwen’s helplessness.
"What do you need so many tiger skins for?" Meng Shiwen asked.
"To sell them, of course. A complete tiger skin can fetch quite a sum of money," Zhao Ya replied with a smile.
Meanwhile, his hands continued moving swiftly, skinning the tiger skillfully.
After skinning it, Zhao Ya carefully inspected the corpse, then frowned. As expected, it was another polluted beast.
Zhao Ya wasn’t doing this just for something to do, opening up a slaughterhouse for a few skins.
The reason he did this was that he found these beasts’ sizes had increased significantly compared to before.
Previously in Wuxiang City, Zhao Ya often hunted in the forests and had encountered these beasts.
But even the fully mutated beasts were not this large.
So Zhao Ya hunted a few to research further.
He discovered that although these beasts hadn’t mutated into Exotic Beasts, their blood and flesh contained a strange toxin, as if they were polluted.
This was likely the reason for their increased size and greatly enhanced aggression.
This new phenomenon gave Zhao Ya a sense of unease, feeling it was not a good omen.
But at this moment, Zhao Ya had no clues, so he could only keep this phenomenon secretly in his mind.
The polluted meat naturally couldn’t be eaten, and to prevent other wild beasts from consuming it and causing further spread.
Zhao Ya poured some kerosene on the tiger’s corpse and set it ablaze.
As for the tiger skin, Zhao Ya hung it on the back of the carriage to dry.
During their busy work, a caravan slowly passed by them.
Upon seeing the massive tiger skin, many in the caravan appeared astonished.
Among them, a man in his forties, looking like the caravan’s commander, clasped his fists toward Zhao Ya.
"Friend, did you hunt this giant tiger?"
Zhao Ya nodded.
Surprise flickered in the man’s eyes.
As someone who had regularly traded in Yunxiao County in recent years, he naturally knew how formidable these newly appeared giant tigers were.
Even three or five ordinary martial artists couldn’t get close to them, and they could easily be harmed by the beast.
Only martial artists of the third stage had the ability to hunt such creatures.
Considering this, the man’s attitude became more respectful.
"What impressive skills. I am Tian Heng, the guard commander of the Gao Family Trading House from Yiyang City."
Although Yunxiao County wasn’t considered a large county in Great Yan, it was quite expansive, dotted with numerous cities, but most were small towns like Wuxiang City.
Yiyang City was one of them.
Zhao Ya nodded slightly, "Commandery, Zhao Ya."
Although well-known in the Commandery, it had only been a short time, and given the inconvenient transportation in this world, the news hadn’t spread widely yet.
Therefore, Tian Heng hadn’t heard of Zhao Ya’s name, merely clasping his fists upon hearing it.
"So it’s Young Hero Zhao. May I ask where Young Hero Zhao is headed this time?"
"Wuxiang City!"
Upon hearing the name Wuxiang City, Tian Heng’s expression changed drastically, then he glanced at Zhao Ya and the distant carriage.
"May I ask one more question, Young Hero Zhao, are you going to Wuxiang City with a trade convoy this time?"
"No, I’m going alone."
"Then I advise you not to go."
"Oh? Why?" Zhao Ya became interested.
It seemed that this Tian Heng knew something.
Tian Heng looked around before lowering his voice and said, "To be honest, I had a colleague who passed by Wuxiang City not long ago. When he returned, he told me that the situation there is dire. Not only are there bandits from Cyan Bamboo Ridge causing havoc, but it also seems there’s an outbreak of plague."
"Plague?" Zhao Ya was startled.
"Yes, although he didn’t enter the city, according to my colleague, almost all the local people around Wuxiang City have died, and the wild beasts in the forests act like they’ve gone mad, attacking people openly in broad daylight. Now all trading houses have avoided Wuxiang City, marking it as a perilous place; unless necessary, it’s best not to go there lightly."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
It sounded like the situation in Wuxiang City was indeed grim.
But would the Hong Family and Yang Family just let this happen?
Although in the eyes of these people, the lives of ordinary people are insignificant.
But if a place is to prosper and be lucrative, a large population is a prerequisite.
Without enough people, everything is just a castle in the air.
So even the most ruthless people cannot just watch their people being ravaged by beasts and plague and remain indifferent.
However, based on Tian Heng’s words, he didn’t really know what’s happening inside the city either.
Despite this, Zhao Ya was very grateful.
Because Tian Heng had no obligation or duty to tell him all this.
Especially in these tumultuous times, any piece of information is precious.
The fact that he was willing to tell Zhao Ya for free showed his good character.
Therefore, Zhao Ya earnestly clasped his fists together, "Thank you, Commander Tian, for informing me."
"No need to be polite. Times are so tough, if we don’t help each other when something happens, life becomes even harder," Tian Heng remarked and then took his leave.
Watching him leave, Zhao Ya increasingly felt that this was a good person.
He turned and returned to the side of the carriage.
"Ya, what’s wrong?" A voice from inside the carriage came from Meng Shiwen.
She had heard the sound of hooves just now and lifted a corner of the curtain to see, noticing it was a trade convoy and Zhao Ya was talking to one of the guards.
Being a woman and wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, Meng Shiwen didn’t get off the carriage.
It wasn’t until Zhao Ya returned that she asked.
"Oh, it’s nothing, just happened to meet a passing trade convoy and chatted a bit."
Zhao Ya didn’t mention the situation in Wuxiang City because it would only add to their worries.
He sat on the driver’s seat, swung the whip, and continued on their way.
At the same time, after Tian Heng returned to the convoy, he came to the central carriage.
"Young Master!" He called respectfully.
A moment later, the carriage window lifted, revealing the face of a man.
This man was about thirty years old, quite handsome, but his eyes sparkled with a certain depth of thought.
"What happened?"
"Well, just now I...," Tian Heng briefly recounted the events.
The man slightly frowned upon hearing it.
"A twenty-year-old third-realm Martial Artist? Old Tian, are you sure you weren’t mistaken?"
"I shouldn’t be wrong. After all, that giant tiger isn’t something ordinary people can hunt."
"Then again, he might have used clever means. Is he on his own?" the man asked.
"There’s also a carriage, but no one came out from it. I guess there might be women inside."
"Heh, traveling alone with women, quite bold." The man sneered and then looked at Tian Heng.
"Old Tian, I told you, you’re too kind-hearted, always willing to help anyone you meet. Why did you tell him about Wuxiang City? If he wants to go, let him go. It’s no loss to us if he dies."
Tian Heng lowered his head, speaking softly, "I just think if you can help someone while traveling, you should. Besides, it didn’t take much effort."
"It’s hard enough to take care of yourself these days. Where do you find the energy to help others?" The man said with dissatisfaction.
"Besides, you can’t help everyone. What if he gets scared and decides to latch onto our convoy? Are you really going to let him hitch a free ride?"
"Yes, Young Master, I understand!" Tian Heng said softly.
"In the future, steer clear of such things. Even though this information might not be worth much, it shouldn’t be given away for free."
"Also, tell everyone to speed up and lose this guy, so he doesn’t follow us and mooch off us."
Tian Heng said nothing, but clasped his fists and left dejectedly.
Watching this, Gao Cong sneered slightly, then closed the window.
As the second young master of the Gao Family, he had been learning the business from his father since youth, and now he could stand on his own.
His upbringing had fostered a meticulous nature, unwilling to spend even a single coin more.
Thus, he disdained people like Tian Heng and their ways.
To him, it was simple foolishness being overly kind.
Everything has a price, and Gao Cong would never help anyone without adequate compensation.
This was his unwavering principle.
Under his command, the convoy accelerated, soon overtaking Zhao Ya’s carriage, and quickly moved away.
Watching the departing convoy, Zhao Ya was slightly taken aback, then understood their intention, leading him to smile faintly.
Interesting.