The Eternal Way

"Pant... pant." Li Qi panted heavily, staggering along the path.

He was already over a hundred li (approximately 31 miles) away from Lizhou City. Although still within its jurisdiction, the area had become sparsely populated.

Honestly, this was the first time Li Qi had traveled so far in this world.

Here, most people never left their hometowns. In Lizhou, villagers rarely ventured beyond the county seat; county residents seldom went further than the prefectural city; and those from the prefectural city might never leave it throughout their lives.

Li Qi had never left the city during his three years here, except for helping pull boats upstream to the outskirts where the water flowed more smoothly.

If not for being forced into a corner by murder, he wouldn't have wanted to leave the city.

Working at the docks, pulling boats, listening to various guilds' gossip, he knew the dangers of the wilderness.

Water contained monsters; sometimes lucky encounters with carp spirits or turtle demons would only result in teasing without harm, but unlucky ones could meet water monkeys that would kill everyone aboard unless protected by skilled cultivators.

Avoiding water meant taking mountain paths filled with dense forests, swamps, snakes, insects, rodents, and fierce beasts.

Only human settlements were truly safe.

Traveling outside meant danger.

He had been gone for a day now, spending the night in a tree fortunately without incident, eating some wild fruits. According to his plan, he aimed to reach Feng County, three hundred li (approximately 93 miles) away.

Feng County was said to be a relatively peaceful small town where Li Qi could lie low for a year or two before returning to Lizhou City.

Walking a hundred li in a day on rugged mountain paths while wearing straw shoes was exhausting even with his current physical condition.

The only silver lining was that it was still winter, so animals hibernated and insects hadn't emerged yet, making the journey merely tiring rather than torturous.

"Even if I don't get lost, there's still three hundred li... really." Li Qi walked through the wilderness, looking around for roadside tea stalls or water shops. He had been walking all day.

After searching for a while, luck was on his side as he found a roadside tea stall.

He quickened his pace, reaching into his bag for two copper coins.

In Dalu Kingdom, these coins were called Dalu Wu Zhu, purple in color, somewhat thin, weighing about half a qian each. He carried roughly one thousand coins, equivalent to one guan.

Dalu Wu Zhu was the official currency of Dalu Kingdom, but it wasn't very valuable. The most valuable coin was De Yuan Tong Bao, made mostly of copper, widely circulated, seemingly from Tang Kingdom, where one De Yuan Tong Bao could equal five Dalu Wu Zhu.

In fact, "one qian" referred to the weight of a De Yuan Tong Bao.

Using another country's currency for weight units alone showed how powerful Tang Kingdom was in this world.

Though this Tang Kingdom likely had nothing to do with his original world's Tang Dynasty.

One difference here was that although there was official minting of coins, silver was not commonly used in economic activities, which relied mainly on copper coins, with gold used only in rare cases.

Even bills were denominated in copper coins, with gold notes used only in large transactions.

Silver seemed to have been excluded from the economic system, though Li Qi didn't fully understand why.

Carrying one thousand Dalu Wu Zhu, equivalent to one thousand qian, provided decent purchasing power—enough to buy a portion of a pig, around 300-400 jin (approximately 400-533 pounds) of meat.

Typically, one jin of meat (approximately 1.333 pounds) cost two to three qian, so two copper coins could buy a pot of tea and two small snacks at a tea stall.

However, under normal circumstances, Li Qi wouldn't spend such an amount carelessly.

Two to three qian could buy two to three jin of rice (approximately 2.666 to 4 pounds). People here generally ate large portions, often consuming ten jin (approximately 13.33 pounds) of food per meal. Two to three jin of rice, when cooked, amounted to about ten jin.

Moreover, pork was cheap compared to beef and mutton, which were two to three times more expensive, making them unaffordable for him. As a boat puller, he needed to eat well to maintain strength, usually relying on plain rice with pickles or salted water plants.

Occasionally, fish supplemented his diet, but eating river fish without seasoning was torture; Li Qi preferred plain rice unless nutrition was essential.

At least, plain rice was plentiful.

Thanks to the farmer who cultivated spirit rice, countless lives were saved, allowing widespread cultivation techniques.

Regardless of the technique, sufficient nutrition was crucial; otherwise, everything else was meaningless.

Oh, except for techniques like the Ox Strength Technique, whose source of power remained a mystery to Li Qi.

Spirit rice kept laborers like him from starving, and although he didn't know the inventor, he often prayed for that elderly person.

Such contributions deserved veneration.

While respecting the elder, Li Qi approached the tea stall.

With his new technique, perhaps he could explore other ways to earn money.

The knowledge in his mind came from Qi.

But what exactly was Qi?

He didn't understand, but he'd learn eventually. Divine transmission techniques weren't common, and obtaining another skill like the Ox Strength Technique might take a long time.

Holding the two copper coins tightly, Li Qi reached the tea stall.

"Tea master, a pot of tea!" Li Qi slapped down the coins and shouted loudly.

There were many people around despite the winter season, as traveling merchants gathered at the tea stall for rest before continuing their journeys between villages.

Merchants sat in groups according to their affiliations, leaving Li Qi sitting alone between two merchant teams, feeling out of place.

"Coming right up!" The tea master responded quickly, wiping the table and serving a pot of tea with two complimentary cakes.

These were millet cakes made from spirit rice.

As complimentary items, they couldn't be too expensive, so using millet cakes was quite generous.

Li Qi took a bite, finding it tastier than plain rice, especially satisfying given his hunger.

After finishing a cake, he drank a cup of warm tea.

The tea wasn't scalding hot but just pleasantly warm, suitable for hardworking travelers who couldn't wait for tea to cool. It lacked fragrance, barely tasting like tea leaves.

"Ahh..." Despite this, Li Qi felt content. At this rate, he should reach Feng County by tomorrow evening.

Just then, someone behind him spoke, "Brother, traveling alone?"