3: First pot of gold!

Temporarily putting aside that bold plan, Chen Yao looked at the Medicinal Pill shop, his eyes dazzled by the countless small Medicinal Pill bottles. Fortunately, with the System's help, he quickly distinguished between the different Medicinal Pills.

After politely inquiring about the prices, Chen Yao nodded imperceptibly and then left the Medicinal Pill shop.

The Medicinal Pills in Lu Town's Medicinal Pill shop could generally be divided into two categories: one was ordinary Medicinal Pills for treating illnesses, which were not expensive, with the most expensive costing only 10 copper coins.

The other category consisted of Medicinal Pills that could enhance Physical Body strength. These Medicinal Pills were much more expensive; the cheapest Blood Replenishment Powder cost 1000 copper coins, which was 1 silver coin per packet.

Moreover, the improvement from a single packet of Blood Replenishment Powder was not significant; the effect of taking one was very weak. One needed to take ten or more to see a noticeable effect, meaning that to improve oneself using Blood Replenishment Powder, one would need to prepare at least 10 silver coins.

This was a considerable sum.

From Chen Yao's understanding, 1 silver coin had strong purchasing power, enough to keep him from starving for an entire year.

"This is tough."

After leaving the Medicinal Pill shop, Chen Yao was not interested in other parts of Lu Town and walked directly out of town. He urgently needed a place to stay, and he had heard residents on the road say that a ruined temple not far outside of town would be a good place.

After many twists and turns, Chen Yao finally exited Lu Town from another side and continued walking a short distance before seeing the ruined temple. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Every small town has to have a ruined temple outside it!"

Upon arriving at the ruined temple, Chen Yao had been walking for most of the day and was exhausted. Disregarding the dirtiness, he gathered some weeds from around, made a makeshift bed, and lay down.

Closing his eyes, Chen Yao endured the hunger and slowly recovered his body's functions. He had seen wild fruits outside on his way, but he held back. He didn't understand enough about this world and dared not eat randomly.

If he ate something and got sick, it would be a disaster.

Chen Yao only wanted to get through tonight safely. If his plan succeeded tomorrow, he would have enough money to buy and resell Medicinal Pills. Compared to unstable wild fruits that might cause problems, Chen Yao preferred to go hungry for two meals.

Thus, after an unknown period, Chen Yao fell into a deep sleep.

...

The night passed without incident.

Chen Yao woke up and felt that his body had recovered quite a bit, but his stomach was incredibly hungry and began to rumble incessantly.

"Just a little longer, it'll be fine soon."

Chen Yao tidied himself up, then walked out of the ruined temple. His eyes were immediately drawn to the wild fruits ahead. After several glances, he swallowed hard, then averted his gaze, enduring the hunger, and did not pick them to eat.

Returning to Lu Town, it was early morning, so there weren't many people, but diligent men were already heading out to work.

Chen Yao stood in an inconspicuous corner, observing the passersby, hoping to find someone somewhat simple-minded to swindle his first sum of money.

However, he hadn't eaten anything since noon yesterday, and by now, he had missed three meals and couldn't last much longer. In this state, Chen Yao couldn't meticulously discern. After observing a few people, he quickly made a judgment, fixating on a man who looked very honest and simple, and quietly followed him.

This man was a Woodcutter who had come out early in the morning to chop firewood. As he walked out of Lu Town, he heard movement behind him. He suddenly turned around, his wary gaze fixed on Chen Yao.

This sudden change startled Chen Yao, and he also stopped, quickly thinking of what to say.

When the other person clearly saw Chen Yao, perhaps because of the latter's neat clothing, the wariness in his eyes lessened a bit, but he still asked, "Who are you? Why are you following me? You're not from Lu Town!"

He said the last sentence with certainty, clearly having stayed in Lu Town for a while and knowing most of the people there.

Chen Yao took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself. After adjusting his state, he looked directly at the man and said, "I am indeed not from Lu Town. I am from Qingfeng City."

"Qingfeng City? Where's that?" The man looked puzzled.

Not only did the man not know where it was, Chen Yao himself didn't know, but he couldn't show it. He bluffed, "It's a very distant small city, very prosperous. I am a young master from a large Family there."

After he finished speaking, the man's wariness lessened another bit. He actually nodded and said, "I can tell, you don't look like an ordinary person."

Nice!

Seeing that there was a chance, Chen Yao was overjoyed. Then he saw the man suddenly frown and ask, "Since it's very far, how did you get here? You said you're a young master from a large Family, but the young masters from large Families in our town all have guards. Where are your guards?"

Chen Yao sighed slightly, feigning helplessness: "You know, the rules in large Families are cumbersome and very boring, so I came out to see and travel through various mountains and rivers. But who knew I'd encounter a group of Yao Beasts on the way? I ran and ran, and I ended up here. My guards were all eaten by the Yao Beasts."

"It's also my fault. I didn't listen to my parents' advice to practice martial arts diligently at home. I came out and ran into this mess."

His tone contained sadness for the guards, hatred for the Yao Beasts, and self-reproach. Chen Yao was very satisfied with this performance.

The man opposite listened and nodded, saying, "Then you truly are a scoundrel. We want to practice martial arts but can't, yet you, who could practice safely at home, chose not to, ran out, and even got your guards killed."

"..." Chen Yao twitched his lips and said, "Brother, you're absolutely right, I am a scoundrel!"

"So what are you going to do now?" the man asked.

Chen Yao, judging by his tone, estimated that the other party had believed him seventy to eighty percent. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his face still showed a troubled expression: "I don't know what to do either. I want to go back, but my travel expenses were all lost when I ran away, and I'm afraid of Yao Beasts, so I don't dare go back to look for them."

"Then you haven't eaten for a long time, have you?" The man looked enlightened. "So you're following me because you want some food?"

"Hmm..." Chen Yao said, "Actually, I saw that Brother looked kind, and I wanted to ask you to lend me some travel money. When I return, I will definitely repay you threefold!"

"Are you serious? Thrice the repayment?" The man was surprised.

"Yes, exactly threefold. As long as you're willing to help me, I will certainly not mistreat you in the future!" Chen Yao made a promise.

The Woodcutter looked at Chen Yao, pondered for a while, and finally nodded, saying, "Alright, come to my house first. Let's eat something; you've been hungry for so long."

...

At the Woodcutter's house, there was only him and his elderly, dependent mother.

Chen Yao had been hungry for too long and ate two large bowls of noodles in one go. Under the man's concerned questioning, he felt a bit embarrassed and shook his head: "I'm full. Let's talk about the travel money."

"Alright, how much do you need?" the man asked.

This question stumped Chen Yao. After seeing the house, he estimated that this Woodcutter didn't seem like someone who could produce one or two silver coins. But without that one or two silver coins, he would have to resell ordinary Medicinal Pills, which would take a lot more time.

After a moment of thought, Chen Yao looked at the Woodcutter and asked with an uncertain tone, "One tael of silver?"

"That much!?" The Woodcutter exclaimed in surprise upon hearing that.

"As expected," Chen Yao thought to himself, then looked at the Woodcutter and said, "I know that's a bit much. If you don't have it, then never mind. Thank you for your hospitality, Brother. I will definitely repay this meal when I return!"

With that, Chen Yao got up and started to leave. Having eaten his fill, he had enough time to find his next target to swindle.

However, he hadn't taken two steps when the Woodcutter called out to him: "Wait, wait!"

Chen Yao stopped, his eyebrow involuntarily raising. This meant he didn't want to give up a good opportunity to get rich.

"I have a jade pendant here that should be worth one tael of silver. Wait for me, I'll go pawn it!" The Woodcutter said, rummaging through his house. Soon, he found a well-crafted jade pendant, grabbed it, and quickly ran out the door, instructing before he left, "I'll be back soon!"

Seeing this scene, Chen Yao smiled. These primitive natives of this different World were still easy to fool!