But the scent of the guardrail stopped them, and they just snorted and grunted.

Cheng Zongyang grabbed them one by one and tossed them inside the guardrail, letting them run wild.

With the guardrail in place, outside animals generally didn’t dare approach. Likewise, the little wild boars inside didn’t dare venture out.

After a moment’s thought, Cheng Zongyang decided to let out the two black pigs as well, allowing them to play with the seven little wild boars.

’I’ll have to get so much food to feed them. I might as well take these seven little wild boars outside later and let Mother and Aunt raise them.’

’Compared to wild boar, the meat from black pigs tastes much better.’

Ignoring them for the time being, Cheng Zongyang built a simple wooden fence, washed up, put on his Armor and a black cloth mask, and left the Wilderness World.

He reappeared in the back room and, after a quick check revealed no issues, left for Li Lu’s house in South City.

He needed to find out the location of the warehouse where the Medicinal Materials were stored.

Once he had the Medicinal Materials he needed, he would leave the city to inspect that Soul Crystal Stone.

But when he arrived at Li Lu’s door, he found two simple, small, white paper lanterns hanging by the entrance. The lanterns were inscribed with the character for "Li."

"This..." Cheng Yang’s expression faltered, but he walked over and knocked on the door anyway.

"Who is it?" a wary male voice called from inside.

’Hearing the familiar voice means Li Lu isn’t the one who died. And the lanterns don’t bear the name of Mrs. Wang of the Li Family, so he and his wife must be alright.’

’Then the ones who died must be...’

"It’s me, Uncle Li," Cheng Zongyang replied in a low voice.

Inside, Li Lu was standing at the entrance to the main hall. When he heard the familiar voice, his expression froze for a moment before he hurried to the door.

Seeing Cheng Zongyang, Li Lu was in disbelief. "You... Get inside first."

Li Lu quickly cut himself off and ushered Cheng Zongyang inside. He then peeked outside, looking left and right, before immediately shutting the door.

Standing in the courtyard, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but smile.

’The fact that he still dared to let me in proves Li Lu hasn’t abandoned me just because I’m a wanted man.’

"Didn’t you leave the city? Why are you here all of a sudden? You’re all wanted men, yet you still dare to walk around?"

Li Lu asked in a low voice, but he didn’t invite Cheng Zongyang to come further into the house.

Two coffins were laid out in the main hall, making it an awkward time to ask a guest to sit.

Cheng Zongyang shook his head slightly. "It’s a long story. By the way... what happened here?"

Cheng Zongyang glanced toward the main hall.

Li Lu sighed and briefly explained what had happened. He then added, "Thankfully, because of the Medicinal Materials you left behind, my wife managed to survive."

Cheng Zongyang started walking toward the hall. "I made a promise to you, Uncle Li. It was the least I could do. Besides, if you hadn’t helped me back then, I couldn’t have gotten nearly as much done."

With that, he entered the main hall, picked up a few ordinary incense sticks from a nearby table, lit them from an oil lamp, and paid his respects to the deceased.

"Uncle Li, I apologize for bothering you so late, but I came to ask you something." After offering the incense, Cheng Zongyang walked back outside, getting straight to the point.

"Go on," Li Lu said without hesitation, knowing Cheng Zongyang was a man of great ability.

After what his family had just been through, he felt an urgent, desperate need to become an Entry Grade Martial Artist!

’He had a wife, a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter, and a young grandson to protect! He couldn’t let anything happen to them again!’

Back in the courtyard, Cheng Zongyang asked in a low voice, "All the clinics in the city have been sealed, and all the Medicinal Materials confiscated. Was that an order from the County Magistrate?"

"It was."

Li Lu nodded. "My superior and I sealed three clinics in South City. All the Medicinal Materials were taken away, but they were registered. They said that after the epidemic, everyone will be compensated according to market value so that the people won’t suffer a loss."

Cheng Zongyang was stunned. "Chang Younian said that?"

A sarcastic smile touched Li Lu’s lips. "Ridiculous, isn’t it? But it’s the truth."

’He wants to have it both ways.’ Cheng Zongyang gained a new perspective on Chang Younian.

"Then do you know where the Medicinal Materials are being stored?" Cheng Zongyang asked.

Li Lu grew thoughtful. After a moment, he nodded.

"I do. There’s no harm in telling you. They’re in the Wang Family’s storehouse in the north of the city, at Number 121, Yu Hua Fourth Lane. But I have a request."

He didn’t care what Cheng Zongyang planned to do, but he wanted his help in return.

"Please, Uncle Li, go ahead," said Cheng Zongyang.

"I know that for you to have become a Martial Artist, you must have some special experience or method. I’m not young anymore, and I know my future in the Martial Arts is dim, but I can’t accept being stuck here. So, I’d like to ask for your guidance."

Cheng Zongyang was astonished. He never imagined Li Lu would make such a request.

’It’s not that the request is unreasonable, but he seems to have become much more determined. The impression he gave me before was never this intense.’

’But then he thought about it and understood.’

’It’s all for his family.’

After some thought, Cheng Zongyang said, "Uncle Li, circulate your qi and blood and hit me with a full-force punch. I need to get a feel for your Power."

Hearing this, Li Lu nodded in delight.

A moment later, having prepared himself, Li Lu threw a sudden punch at Cheng Zongyang.

SMACK!

Fist met palm with a crisp sound.

Cheng Zongyang immediately felt a surge of Power.

But the Power wasn’t strong—it wasn’t even as powerful as the charge of a wild boar.

It wasn’t a direct comparison, but the analogy was apt.

Next, he had Li Lu perform other tests, such as lifting heavy weights.

In the end, after a rough assessment, Li Lu’s normal Power was about three hundred pounds. For an ordinary person who had not yet reached Entry Grade, this was already very impressive.

The punch he had just thrown, however, could reach about five hundred pounds with a full-force burst.

A Ninth Grade Martial Artist, the lowest of the Entry Grade ranks, has a normal lifting Power of about five hundred pounds. With a full-force burst, they can reach about a thousand pounds.

In other words, Li Lu wasn’t far from reaching Entry Grade.

His qi and blood were simply insufficient for him to increase his Power any further.

This meant that if he could just strengthen his qi and blood, he would be able to break through.

’Frankly, reaching Entry Grade isn’t difficult. You just need guidance and enough money to buy Medicinal Materials that replenish qi and blood.’

"Uncle Li, given your current level of qi and blood, it won’t be difficult to reach Entry Grade. Eating more tonics that replenish qi and blood should be enough to do the trick."

Li Lu gave a wry smile. "I know. But I don’t know how much I’ve already eaten... I’ve nearly eaten through my family’s savings, but there’s still been little improvement. Last time you gave me advice, I corrected my training method as you suggested, and it was genuinely effective. That’s why I’m asking you now."

Cheng Zongyang said, "My second uncle left behind some aged Tiger Bone Wine. That should be able to help you. I’ll bring half a pound for you to try later. It should be effective."

"Thank you, thank you! How much will it cost?" Li Lu was so grateful he thanked him over and over.

Cheng Zongyang smiled. "Just try it first. We can talk about price if it works."

"Alright." Li Lu’s heart pounded with excitement. ’Befriending Cheng Zongyang is absolutely the best decision I’ve ever made,’ he thought.

Now that Cheng Zongyang knew the location and their business was concluded, he prepared to leave. But Li Lu quickly added:

"Oh, right, there are guards there, so be careful. As for the Medicinal Materials, they’re in almost every room."

Cheng Zongyang smiled, nodded, and slipped away from Li Lu’s home. ’So what if Li Lu can guess my intentions? I’m not worried.’

He avoided the patrolling County Soldiers as he rushed toward the north of the city.

Half an hour later, he found the correct address.

Li Lu had been right. From the corner of the wall, he could hear footsteps inside—someone was patrolling or walking about.

He circled the building once. Its footprint was about the same size as his own house. It appeared to be a two-courtyard residence.

’Since these Medicinal Materials are vital to Chang Younian’s relief plan, the guards must be Martial Artists.’

Cheng Zongyang considered this. He moved to the left courtyard wall, bent his knees slightly, and with a light leap, easily caught the top of the wall with his hands.

He peeked over the top. As luck would have it, three guards were just passing through the front courtyard, meandering toward the back.

Seeing his chance, Cheng Zongyang swiftly vaulted over the wall, landing silently and tiptoeing toward a nearby building.

However, the door was locked.

Cheng Zongyang hadn’t expected them to be so careful. ’Are they afraid someone will try to steal the Medicinal Materials?’

’Besides me, who else would come?’

Just as he was wondering how to get inside without a sound, four figures dressed in black suddenly vaulted over the wall, their faces also concealed by black cloth. Their landing, however, was slightly less quiet.

’Someone else is really here to steal them?!’

Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang immediately retreated, ducking into the kitchen to hide.

Once hidden in the kitchen, Cheng Zongyang cautiously peeked out to observe the four black-clad figures.

He watched as the four of them split up. Each pulled something from within their robes and crept toward the different rooms.