The path to immortality through martial arts begins with being forced into marriage!

The nearest county town after leaving Cuijia Village is Qinglin County.

Although Qinglin County is not particularly prosperous, it is much more lively than the dilapidated Cuijia Village.

Following his memory, Cui Yi found a pawnshop that wasn't large but looked fairly decent.

The pawnshop clerk was a thin, middle-aged man with droopy eyelids, looking somewhat listless.

After taking the jade pendant from Cui Yi, the shopkeeper held it up to the light, rubbed it between his fingers, and said casually, "Ordinary green jade, of average quality. I'll give it to you for ten taels of silver at most."

"..."

Cui Yi remained silent for a long time.

A piece of jade that Uncle San treasured was only worth ten taels of silver?

That old man's taste is really terrible.

Cui Yi didn't haggle over the price. He knew the jade pendant wasn't worth much money, and he was happy to get some cash for it.

With the spare change he got from Cui Li, he now had fourteen taels of silver, enough for him and Tang'er to live on for a while.

As soon as Cui Yi came out of the pawnshop, he saw a crowd gathered in front of the notice board.

Official decrees or reward notices are usually posted there.

At this moment, the crowd was pointing and gesturing at a large new notice posted on the wall, most of them with expressions of fear on their faces.

"That monster in Black Wind Ridge ate thirteen people?! My goodness, that's terrifying!"

"That's right! I heard that two more people went out to gather herbs the day before yesterday and never came back. They must have met a terrible end too!"

"Three hundred taels of silver! I've been working myself to the bone all month and only earned five taels. This is truly a generous reward!"

"What's the use of a hefty reward? You have to be alive to claim it!"

"This beast has devoured more than a dozen people; it's probably already a demon beast. We'd need at least a celestial master to subdue it, right?"

"Don't joke around, where would we find a divine master in this poor, remote place!"

Cui Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously walked over.

Sure enough, there was a reward notice on the bulletin board, issued by the Qinglin County government, with black and white lettering and a bright red official seal.

Recently, demons have been causing trouble in the Black Wind Ridge area, killing a total of thirteen woodcutters and merchants. The people are outraged and the harm is immense.

We are now offering a reward to talented individuals from all directions to venture into Black Wind Ridge to investigate and vanquish the demon.

Bounty: 300 taels of silver, quota for the Jing'an Division

Cui Yi was tempted by the three hundred taels of silver, but he was even more tempted by the so-called quota for the Jing'an Division!

The so-called Jing'an Division was an organization for cultivators set up by the imperial court.

To put it bluntly, it's a secure job; as long as you don't make any fatal mistakes, the imperial court can support you for life.

Of course, this is only one reason.

Cui Yi mainly wanted to come into contact with more cultivators and demonic beasts, as well as all the cultivation techniques and martial arts skills he might come across.

The Qi-Inducing Technique and the Three Demon-Subduing Forms are, after all, just the most basic martial arts techniques. No matter how much more lifespan he sacrifices later, the upper limit he can reach will ultimately not be very high.

With the Pagoda of Floating Pagoda in existence, Cui Yi will not experience any bottlenecks or lack of energy.

The more martial arts techniques and skills one has, the better.

......

At this time, in the Qinglin County government office.

"Secretary Zhang, what's the deal with this reward money?"

"Fifty taels of silver for gathering information? How can you call that gathering information if you haven't even seen a shadow of a monster?"

"Exactly! Three hundred taels for a life is a lot, but there has to be a procedure!"

"We brothers are all trained in martial arts; three or five ordinary men can't even get close to us. Dealing with a beast is definitely better than dealing with those scared out of their wits!"

The clerk, known as Zhang Shuban, was driven crazy by the noise and raised his voice, shouting, "Quiet! Quiet down! The reward has been decided by the government!"

"That thing at Black Wind Ridge is malevolent; it's already killed several groups of people!"

"If you're going, leave your fingerprints and get a pass. Your fate is in the hands of heaven! The government only cares about the outcome!"

Cui Yi stood quietly on the periphery of the crowd, watching them noisily register.

From the government's perspective, this reward was probably intended for these daring hunters who valued money over their lives, or strong men who had practiced martial arts.

Cultivator?

Just as the onlookers said, for a place like Qinglin County, such a person is probably a legendary figure who wouldn't show up for a few hundred taels of silver.

The government probably didn't really expect to be able to persuade the cultivators; they just hoped to gather some civilian martial arts forces and use human lives to achieve their goals.

After the first batch of signs were distributed, the room became much quieter.

Zhang Qiming rubbed his temples and then noticed that Cui Yi was still standing at the door.

Seeing that Cui Yi, though not exactly thin, appeared much more refined than the rough men from before, and that his face was somewhat pale, he frowned and asked, "Are you here to accept the bounty too?"

"Did you hear what they said just now? Black Wind Ridge is no joke; that monster really eats people!"

"You're so young, you don't seem like someone who's into the ways of the world. Your family is waiting for food to be cooked, so don't take this deadly path."

"Let's go back!"

Zhang Qiming's tone was impatient, but it also carried a hint of admonition.

The main reason is that people feel that Cui Yi going there in this state would be a death sentence and a waste of a plaque.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I still want to accept this bounty."

"Sure?"

Zhang Qiming sighed. He had said what he needed to say. Could he refuse Cui Yi's insistence on picking him up?

"Name."

"Cui Yi".

Place of origin.

"Cuijia Village in this county."

"Cui Family Village?"

Zhang Qiming paused as he was registering, as if he had remembered something. He looked up at Cui Yi again, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

But in the end, he didn't say anything, he just shook his head.

"Put your fingerprints here, take the tag, and you're on your own."

After registering and receiving his badge, Cui Yi left the yamen directly. Instead of going home, he went to a rice shop and bought some grain and a few pounds of pork, as well as two kinds of new cloth.

Considering that he was going to Black Wind Ridge the next day, Cui Yi went to the blacksmith shop and had an iron sword made.

As he passed the rouge shop, Cui Yi paused.

Although he had never been in a relationship, he still understood some of the nature of women to love beauty.

Now that we have food and fabric for making clothes, it's time to work on the superstructure.

The owner of the rouge shop was a warm, slightly plump woman who looked to be in her thirties. When she saw a young customer who looked quite bookish, she immediately came over to introduce the product.

"Young man, are you buying this for your wife?"

"How old are you? What's your favorite color?"

"We have rouge that you can't even imagine!"

The proprietress asked with a smile, and a series of questions left Cui Yi a little bewildered.

Whether in his past life or this one, Cui Yi didn't know much about cosmetics, but when he thought of Tang'er's still-childish face covered in bright red and purple makeup, he couldn't help but feel that it was a bit too exaggerated.

"Sister, please help me choose two rouges. One of them is for a young child, so it doesn't need to be too complicated. Just choose something gentle that won't irritate the skin."

"Oh my!" The proprietress beamed with joy at being called "sister," covering her mouth and laughing, "Young man, you have such a sweet tongue. Since you've called me 'sister,' I won't let you call me that for nothing."

"Don't worry, I've got your back!"

She turned around quickly and started picking things out from the shelf.

Before long, two small packages were wrapped in two different colored oil papers.

The proprietress handed over two oil paper packages, smiling, "I've picked out all my best stuff for you, I guarantee it'll be both suitable and presentable."

"In total, it'll be... well, since you're so sweet-talking, I'll just give you the cost price!"

Cui Yi smiled. This proprietress knew how to do business; she even picked out the items thoughtfully.

After buying everything, Cui Yi didn't dare to delay for a moment and immediately headed home.

By the time he got home, it was almost dark.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, and it was quiet inside.

Just as Cui Yi was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, he heard a creak, and the old wooden door was gently pulled open a crack from the inside.

"Young Master! You're finally back!"