Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 92 Snow Chapter County City

According to Zhou Ye's hunting plan, it's currently the bison migration season. In another ten days or so, the autumn fishing season will begin.

This time, a large quantity of salted fish and meat will also need to be cured. And after the fishing season ends, they will go to remote mountain areas to hunt the monsters that occasionally escape.

In this way, I will have enough inventory to sell gradually throughout the next year.

After all, it was already the final sprint. Therefore, Zhou Ye decided not to continue the spring hunting season next year.

After the winter military training ends, as soon as I return to the county town, I want to break through to the Ming Jin stage in one go. Ideally, I should also break through to the early stage of Ming Jin with minor success. That way, if I switch to other skills and start over, my Mirage Realm Free and Easy Skill won't drop below the required level. Otherwise, I'll have to break through from the Entry Jin stage again?

With his strength increasing again, Zhou Ye is now able to lift an entire bison. However, his original carrying pole can no longer bear such a heavy load, so he has to temporarily use the Black Dragon Spear instead.

And so, the days passed. Zhou Ye hunted during the day and cultivated at night. Time quickly passed, and a month had gone by…

On that very day, Zhou Ye stood at the edge of the deep mountains. Before him lay a vast swamp, with wisps of gray miasma floating above it.

Because of the previous battle, Zhou Ye dared not go to the Black Forest again, so he moved his temporary camp to this gray swamp.

Nearby, Zhou Ye found a cave. After clearing the cave and concealing the entrance, he had essentially established a semi-fixed forward camp.

The reason this gray swamp was chosen is because the miasma there is poisonous and makes it impossible to pass through. Therefore, those who venture deep into the mountains would never choose this place.

After observing the direction, Zhou Ye immediately unleashed his full agility of +11, leaving a trail of afterimages on the ground.

Covering his mouth and nose tightly with a scarf, Zhou Ye quickly circled around in the miasma and collected some of it with the empty leather bag.

For a martial artist like Zhou Ye, who is close to achieving the peak of his internal strength, passing through the miasma in a short period of time is not a big problem.

Finding nothing of interest to hunt nearby, Zhou Ye headed back to his cave. Since he had nothing better to do, he figured he might as well use the miasma to practice his Blood Exchange Technique!

Zhou Ye had previously used the venom of the bamboo viper. Later, he switched to this miasma, which unexpectedly proved even more effective than the snake venom. Therefore, the toxicity of this miasma must surpass that of the bamboo viper venom… right?

However, just as they were about to reach the cave, they suddenly noticed snowflakes falling. Before long, the snow had turned into a heavy, fluffy snowfall.

Zhou Ye frowned slightly. It seemed that the snow came earlier this year, and the winters were even colder than in previous years.

Although Zhou Ye couldn't yet achieve the same level of immunity to heat and cold as a Ming Jin martial artist, he was no longer particularly afraid of the winter cold. Heavy snowfall wouldn't affect him much either; no matter how deep the snow was, he could walk without leaving a trace.

After thinking it over, Zhou Ye decided to go back to the county seat. He could bring back quite a few things, and also bring some with him. Although he wasn't particularly afraid of the cold, he'd still like to be more comfortable in terms of food and lodging.

Furthermore, it's still necessary to show up at home in the outer city a few times regularly. I also need to sell some charcoal to the woodcutters' charcoal shop and pay the protection fee to the woodcutters' guild...

……

A few days later, Zhou Ye carried his belongings back to his home in the outer city. Passing by the butcher shop, he saw the Gao family there. He took a wild buffalo head from his sack and said to Gao's mother, "Aunt Gao, please braise this wild buffalo head. Just cut me a few pounds of meat."

To be fair, monster meat is indeed very nutritious, but most of it doesn't taste very good. Occasionally, you need to eat some delicious wild animal meat to satisfy your cravings.

Old Gao, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "The Lunar New Year is still more than two months away. Why are you eating this now?"

"Eat whatever comes your way. We ordinary folks don't have that many fuss about food."

"Then we'll leave you some more. One bowl should be enough for us."

"Give me so much, I can't possibly finish it all by myself."

"Then come to my house for drinks tonight."

"OK!"

Gao Xiaoyi asked curiously, "Brother Ye, I haven't seen you much lately?"

"I have something to take care of. A friend of mine left."

"Gone?"

"Yes! He died in an accident. Later I went into the mountains. When I saw it was snowing heavily, I ran back."

"Then you should be careful. Mountain running is indeed quite dangerous." Gao Xiaoyi seemed to have misunderstood something. "Brother Aye, you should go home first and come back early tonight!"

"Got it. Hehe."

It had indeed been a long time since they had drunk and chatted together. So in the evening, Zhou Ye chatted with Lao Gao and his son.

"Ah Ye, while you were gone, the Flower Snake Gang has gone almost insane. As far as we know, several of them have been killed by the Black-Clad Gang."

"Really? Do you know why they're fighting?" Zhou Ye asked curiously.

"Isn't it just that the Black Iron Gang has already declared war on the Woodcutter Gang? The Black-Clad Gang is allied with the Black Iron Gang. And the Flower Snake Gang used to be allied with our Woodcutter Gang. Now that the Black Iron Gang is at its peak, the Black-Clad Gang will definitely take advantage of the situation."

So that's how it is. I never imagined that a gang war could escalate into a proxy war?

However, the Flower Snake Gang is a subordinate gang of the Woodcutter Gang, which is understandable. Wasn't the house that Big Dog introduced—Zhou Ye's current home in the outer city—located on the Flower Snake Gang's territory?

However, at this moment, Lao Gao suddenly said, "Ah Ye, don't be fooled by the Black Iron Gang's aggressive approach. I don't have much faith in them."

"Oh? Uncle Gao, why do you say that? Doesn't the Black Iron Gang have the support of the Prefectural Governor's Office?"

"Is it because of the government? Actually, the older generation in the underworld all know that you should never get too involved with the government. Those officials are ruthless. They might give you benefits when they need you, but they'll show no mercy when they sell you out. What if the prefectural governor turns his back on you later? What will the Black Iron Gang do then?"

"That's true. But are we, the woodcutters' gang, just going to keep going like this? Just taking the beatings without fighting back?"

"What does it matter? Just get through this period. Anyway, you Shangwanshanke will always be here. Even if the Woodcutter Gang loses a few more leaders, elders, or hall masters, the foundation of the Woodcutter Gang will not be shaken at all."

"Uh-huh."

"Besides, none of this concerns us. Whoever has the last laugh, they won't care about us ordinary people. We'll continue living our lives as usual."

Zhou Ye nodded. These words did indeed make sense. For example, the Black Iron Gang and the Woodcutter Gang were already locked in a fierce battle, yet Zhou Ye and Blacksmith Sun continued doing business together. In fact, their relationship was quite good.

However, at that moment, everyone's expression changed; they all felt the entire house shake violently again...