Outside the camp, the heavy snow had yet to melt.
However, there were many footprints on the ground.
These were left by the Scavengers who, unable to bear their hunger, had ventured out to search for food and hunt.
Tang Wen arrived at the frozen stream, used a rock to break the thick ice, and picked up the iron tongs used for handling charcoal. He continuously fished out pebbles of various sizes from the icy, bone-chilling water.
The stones weren't large, and he managed to gather about a hundred of them, each roughly the size of an egg.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
He launched a triple shot in quick succession. The first stone struck the bark, the second followed immediately, hitting the first pebble, and the third collided with the first two.
Bang! The stones embedded themselves deep into the hard tree trunk.
Tang Wen stepped forward to inspect and found that the three stones had penetrated the trunk by more than half a foot.
If this were a tree, what if it were a person clad in iron armor?
He took out a string of iron armor plates from his basket, wrapped them around the tree, and secured them.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The pebbles flew in a straight line, striking the armor with a metallic clang.
He approached to examine the damage and saw that the armor was severely twisted and deformed, with the middle section broken. The pebbles had embedded themselves a few centimeters into the tree.
As he pulled the armor off the tree, the powdered stone debris fell with a rustling sound.
"Even if someone were wearing iron armor, taking these three hits would likely be fatal."
Achieving the Three Stars in a Line was relatively easy.
Next, it was time to test the Spiral Force.
At the moment of throwing, he twisted his wrist, and the pebble flew out, striking the tree.
Sizzle!
The pebble drilled into the trunk, emitting a sizzling sound like a red-hot iron branding human flesh.
Tang Wen moved closer and noticed a burnt smell coming from the tree. The pebble had drilled a hole nearly five centimeters deep!
The panel flashed.
[Flying Stone, Proficient → Expert (1/6000)]
Tang Wen's mind was flooded with various throwing techniques and methods.
After absorbing all the information, he picked up a thin, flat stone perfect for skipping across water.
Whoosh! He threw it.
Whiz!
The sound of the stone breaking the air echoed.
"Was that a sonic boom?"
Could it really be that fast?
Boom!
A tree as thick as a bowl was shattered. The stone's momentum didn't stop; it flew a hundred meters further, colliding with a large rock and sparking a series of fiery bursts.
"It shattered." Tang Wen's eyes gleamed with excitement. If that had hit a person...
Well, even if it had struck a Martial Apprentice or a Martial Practitioner clad in armor.
The damage would have been devastating.
However, hitting a Martial Apprentice might be manageable, but to strike a Martial Practitioner, he'd need to be even faster.
Tang Wen felt a surge of excitement because this proved that as long as his skill level was high enough.
Even something as simple as throwing stones could kill strong, formidable opponents!
Boom, boom, boom!
He continued to experiment with the pebbles, the sounds of impact echoing repeatedly.
The nearby wild animals quickly fled the area.
Once the excitement of leveling up his skill subsided, Tang Wen returned to the stream to observe the animal tracks.
Now, his strength far surpassed what it had been before. Even if he wandered outside the camp at night... well, perhaps not.
He focused on a donkey hoofprint on the ground and followed it. Moments later, he found a wild donkey.
The donkey glanced at him and bolted.
Whoosh!
The donkey stumbled, tumbling to the ground.
By evening, Tang Wen led a limping donkey back home.
Tang Tang was both excited and conflicted: "I've heard donkey meat is delicious. But now that the weather is warming up, and you usually eat at the canteen, we won't be able to finish all of it."
Tang Wen nodded. He had already considered this: "Donkey meat is quite rare. It's perfect for making Meat Buns."
"Hmm? Not bad! We should set the price a bit higher."
"For the first three days, we can make it cheaper to attract more customers."
"Cheaper? No, no!" Tang Tang shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum: "That won't do! You don't understand business matters."
Tang Wen: ???
During these three days, Tang Tang wasn't idle. She first went to the carpenter's house and ordered a handcart similar to the ones used for selling roasted sweet potatoes on the street.
Later, she thought that since the goods were to be sold in the inner city, they shouldn't be prepared in the outer city.
Otherwise, pushing such a fragrant pot of meat from the outer city to the inner city every day would eventually cause trouble.
So yesterday, somehow she managed to contact Zhou Bing, who was in training, and got the key to her house. She directly set up the meat cooking area in Zhou Bing's courtyard.
This arrangement was quite suitable.
Zhou Bing's courtyard was occupied by her alone, but it had several rooms including a main hall, east room, west room, plus a kitchen, a woodshed, and a large courtyard.
Tang Tang tidied up the east room where she could rest.
She cooked the meat and made the buns in the kitchen, then took them to sell at the entrance of the martial arts hall or on the street.
However, the inner city had its own rules, and setting up a stall randomly was not allowed.
Tang Wen carried the first batch of Meat Buns made by his sister, a total of 30, to the district office of the Guard Barracks.
He showed his hunting squad ID badge and distributed the Meat Buns to several clerks in the office.
Soon, he received a flag that was urgently embroidered by a seamstress: on the front was a circle with the character "Tang" inside.
On the back were the words "Meat Bun."
After eating three Meat Buns, the clerk, with his mouth greasy, patted his chest and assured Tang Wen: "Brother Tang, rest assured! This is your family's invention, we all witnessed it. Unless you agree, there won't be a second seller in the camp!"
This assurance was quite impressive.
Tang Wen smiled knowingly, chatted with the clerk named Zhang Li for a while, and then took his leave.
Early the next morning, the siblings appeared in front of the martial arts hall pushing a brand new wooden cart.
The old man guarding the martial arts hall had just frowned and hadn't yet spoken when Tang Tang handed him three Meat Buns.
Smelling the enticing aroma of meat and seeing the good-looking pastry with the red minced meat, he swallowed his saliva, his face showing some conflict.
According to the rules, the martial arts hall master had instructed that no one was allowed to set up a stall at the entrance.
Tang Tang quickly introduced Tang Wen's identity beside her. Seeing Tang Wen's badge, the old man's expression improved.
But a guard from the hunting camp was clearly not enough to make the martial arts hall break its rules.
So, Tang Tang added: "I'm currently staying at Team Zhou Bing's house, but I don't want to stay for free. I thought of selling some food to help with the household expenses."
The old man thought for a moment and smiled: "Little girl, the Team Zhou Bing you mentioned, is she the captain of the first hunting team? That makes it easier! Wait here."
After getting a positive answer, he entered the martial arts hall, and a few minutes later, he came out accompanied by a bald, burly man.
Seeing Tang Wen's appearance, the burly man immediately understood that the backer behind him should be Zhou Bing, the niece of General Zhou.
He was present during the selection of hunting guards that day.
He witnessed Tang Wen take first place and saw him leave with Zhou Bing.
So, he had no doubts.
The bald, burly man stepped forward, and the old man guarding the hall introduced: "This is our Wu Master."
"Tang Wen, right?"
"Hello, Wu Master."
"Mm, the meat smells good, but don't set up your stall on the road. Go over there." The bald man pointed back, and Tang Wen looked toward the relatively spacious eaves of the martial arts hall.
It was a place that could shelter them from wind and rain.
"Thank you, Wu Master."
"Don't mention it! Let me try two?"
"Sure!"
In the early morning, the Martial Apprentices arrived one after another.
Seeing the small cart of Tang Wen and his sister at the entrance, they were inevitably drawn by the aroma of the meat.
Someone went over to ask the price.
"4 copper coins for one, 10 copper coins for three!" Tang Tang smiled slightly.
This pricing wasn't cheap; 4 copper coins could buy 4 pounds of white flour, and if buying foxtail millet, you could get two more pounds.
But the Martial Apprentices from the inner city didn't even blink: "Give me three to try."
The Meat Buns were only the size of a palm; one was hardly enough.
Three Meat Buns wrapped in double-layered yellow paper were handed over.
The Martial Apprentice held them in his hand, hm, the yellow paper was torn?
No matter, huff, it really smells good!
"Give me three more. Here's the money."
"Alright!"
Martial Apprentices have big appetites.
Seeing him enjoy the food, others stepped forward.
Indeed, no one bought just one; the minimum was three. Even if the girls couldn't finish them, they would buy three to share with friends around.
Tang Wen stayed with his sister until noon.
Except for the guard dog at the martial arts hall, all the apprentices knew that the girl selling Meat Buns was the sister of Tang Wen, the top recruit.
Seeing Tang Tang getting more and more skilled, Tang Wen left with peace of mind and went to the Guard Barracks.
Quartermaster's office.
Tang Wen found the Quartermaster: "I want to sign up for a session to comprehend the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist Visualization."
The Quartermaster looked up at him, took out a book,
and flipped through it: "The earliest is in seven days."
"No problem."
"Then register."
"Alright!"
"Oh, so you're Tang Wen. Not bad, prepare on the eighth day and come back, you need to stay for 12 hours."
"Thank you for the reminder, sir."