Dao of the Deal

Muchen pulled on a warm set of clothing and stepped into the courtyard, sparing a smile for the sun overhead. Setting aside the temperature, it was a beautiful day to spend outside. He was also riding high on the previous day's success. Now that he'd proven he could create at least one viable product, Muchen was confident that he'd be able to build a successful business on top of this mountain.

Of course, before he did that, he needed to make sure that the mountain was deeded over to his name. He hardly wanted to put his blood, sweat, and tears into building a factory only to have it snatched out from under him. At some point in the next two weeks he'd be making a trip to town in order to talk with the Li family patriarch and buy the land.

This was not that journey. Before Muchen bought the mountain, he wanted to see more of it with his own eyes. After all, it would be foolish to buy real estate without doing his homework first.

After a moment of thought he pulled his knife from his cart and secured it to his waist. He didn't think any big predators would be out and about in the winter, but it was better safe than sorry. Fully prepared, he called out a farewell to Chuhua and set off down the mountain.

Yize was off hunting, while Xinyi had been meditating in her room the last time Muchen saw her.

Muchen had never been one for hiking, back on Earth. On the Qianzhan Continent, of course, walking long distances was the main way to get around, but since his arrival he'd been able to rely on Huichen to pull him and his wares across the countryside. Walking down the hill now, a fresh breeze blowing in his face, moving his body just enough to get his blood pumping but not enough to be a strain... Muchen could see the appeal of hiking for fun.

It still wasn't something he'd do for a hobby, but he could understand.

The woods around him thinned out as he moved down the mountain. Soon enough Li Village came into view, albeit little more than a vague shape off in the distance. Muchen took a moment to take in his surroundings. The villagers had concentrated on developing the easiest, most fertile fields. There were a good couple of miles between where the mountain flattened into level ground and where the rice paddies began.

Muchen kept walking, continuing on until he reached that level ground. He hardly boasted any experience as a farmer, but the land around him didn't have anything wrong with it at first glance. The fields in the village were probably better, but he didn't see any reason crops couldn't be grown here, if he put in the effort to properly develop the land.

Muchen wasn't looking to start a farm right away, but getting some kind of rice production going was in his long term plans. For now he could make fortified spirits by distilling rice wine, but in the long run he didn't want to have to rely on somebody else's winery. He'd prefer to control the whole fermentation process, turning rice into wine and then into spirits. A small place like Li Village wouldn't necessarily have enough surplus rice to support a brewery. In the end, it would be more reliable to grow his own.

Vertical integration wasn't always the most efficient way to structure a business, but on the Qianzhan Continent reliability was more important than pure efficiency. Muchen would be able to rest easier when the entire production process was under his control. Of course, until he had the money to put those plans into motion he would just have to stomach the risk and do his best.

He walked around the base of the mountain. As he moved away from the village, the ground grew more rocky and uneven. Muchen frowned. Turning something like this into farmland would be a lot of work. Well, in the end it was a problem that could be solved with money. More money than he was willing to spend at the moment, but that could change.

He shook the thought off and continued his circuit. He found a nice surprise at the back half of the mountain. An offshoot of the river that supplied water to the village extended to the base of the mountain, running alongside it for a quarter mile or so. The mountain itself marked the end of the village, so extending the purchase of the back half to encompass a decent stretch of the river shouldn't be too hard. It would certainly be useful to have a source of running water under his control.

Muchen reached the three quarter mark while the sun was still almost directly overhead. He'd walked far enough to get a feel for the size of the mountain. It was more of a large hill than a true mountain, but it was still big enough to support his plans. If he was more successful than he expected and needed to expand, well, there was another mountain next door.

Rather than complete the circuit, he decided to climb up the back half of the mountain. He wanted to see the woods with his own eyes and enjoy the view from the elevated vantage point.

The climb was more of a challenge than the descent had been. Muchen was once more grateful for the blessing of cultivation. Even if he was far from being able to split a mountain with one blow, simply being able to climb one was a big step up from where he had been.

By the time he was halfway up, he was also feeling renewed gratitude for Huichen's efforts in dragging him up and down hills from one end of Qianzhan Continent to the next. Even with his cultivation, he was still breathing heavily.

He barely saw any other living creatures on his hike. It was to be expected. Any migratory birds had long since traveled south for the winter. The animals stuck up north had retreated to their burrows, riding out the cold safe and sound underground with whatever they'd managed to stockpile throughout the year. Muchen had spotted one or two rabbits, but that was about it.

It was impressive that Yize managed to come up with fresh game as often as he did, this time of year.

Muchen pressed higher. The whole mountain, outside of the cabin, was more or less undeveloped by human hands. The lower half was still criss-crossed by trails and saw the occasional hunting party or daring gatherer. The upper reaches were truly wild, forcing Muchen to break his own trail on land barely trod by human feet.

Muchen paused when he reached the three quarters mark. The forest up ahead looked dark and foreboding. He'd walked enough of the mountain to have a good idea of its economic value. Logically speaking, he should head back to the cabin and enjoy a warm meal.

Something in him rejected the idea. Maybe he'd been listening in on too many bedtime stories about daring cultivators, but having come this far, he wanted to see the top. After the moment of indecision, Muchen strode forward once more.

He regretted it less than a minute later when he heard a growl from the underbrush ahead of him. Muchen stopped, drawing his knife. A moment later the gaunt form of a wolf stalked out from between the trees, its mouth stained with blood. Craning his neck, Muchen could just make out the form of a deer lying dead on the forest floor. He thought he saw a pair of shadows moving above the corpse, but another growl from the wolf in front of him commanded his attention.

He held his knife in front of him, not in a true defensive posture but more just to have a sharp piece of metal between himself and the wolf's teeth. It didn't seem to be much of a deterrent as the wolf stalked forward. Having come this close to their precious store of meat, it wasn't going to let Muchen simply walk away.

He took a step back, putting himself in the center of the small clearing. He didn't have any special moves to help him deal with this situation. Xinyi had refused to teach him any swordplay more complicated than "chopping really hard until your target was dead" and Muchen was still miles away in cultivation from being able to throw lightning bolts at his enemies.

He felt a brief pang of regret that the knife in his hands wasn't something special like Stormbreaker. It probably wasn't healthy to go through life thinking that a magical sword was the solution to all of your problems, but that was the kind of issue he wouldn't mind contemplating at leisure after using a magical sword to solve his problems.

Movement at the edge of his vision brought him out of his little flight of fancy. One wolf in front of him, while others circled around to his flanks. This was starting to feel familiar.

He'd been doing a lot of physical training recently. He might be able to outrun them if he abandoned his dignity and sprinted down the mountain for all he was worth.

"Stop thinking so much and do what I taught you."

On the other hand, he had been doing a lot of training with his knife over the last month. Muchen wasn't sure if it was Xinyi's voice in his ear or the echo of a memory, but either way she was right. It was all well and good to make plans, but when it was time to act he needed to act, not think.

Muchen pushed forward, covering the distance between himself and the wolf in front of him in two quick strides. He heard a startled yelp from somewhere behind him and off to the side, but paid it no mind as he brought his sword down in a vicious chop. The wolf was torn between pouncing forward and backing off, and in the end it was able to do neither as he split its head open.

Muchen stopped and turned, swiping in front of himself with his knife just in case. He found two wolves bounding towards him, though they hesitated at the sight of his weapon, still wet with the blood of their companion. Muchen bared his teeth in a grin and sprinted forward again. Standing around to let them figure out what to do wouldn't do him any good.

His blood was pounding in his ears as he drew within range of the two remaining wolves. Part of him wanted to make a feint or change up his attack pattern. The rest of him was already lashing out with his knife. Another powerful chop caught another hesitating foe, this time in the side of its head. The blade bit deep into its skull. Muchen had to brace himself and wrench it free.

The final wolf leaped toward him. Muchen brought his arm up, getting it between himself and the wolf's snapping jaw. He managed to catch it in the chest with his forearm, bringing its momentum to a halt. He pivoted and plunged his knife deep into the wolf's unprotected belly. The beast gave a whimper as it slid back off his blade before collapsing dead on the forest floor.

Muchen shook out his free arm and scanned the forest clearing. He was all alone with the bodies of his defeated foes. His blood was still up. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, only gradually slowing down as he realized he was out of danger.

Muchen crouched down and wiped the blood off of his sword. The last time he had faced three wolves he had been injured to the point of falling unconscious and only survived due to outside intervention. This time, he had killed all of them himself. It hadn't even been that difficult.

Was this the difference that having a resolute mindset made? Xinyi had pounded into him over and over the need to act, to be decisive and bring the fight to his foe. Looking at the bodies dotting the forest floor, he had to admit that she had a point.

Of course, this was also the difference that opening meridians made. The battle wouldn't have gone so smoothly if he hadn't been able to attack with such overwhelming might, even if the overwhelming might wouldn't have done him much good if he hadn't been willing to bring it to bear.

Muchen laughed with relief. He had been doing his best to avoid fighting ever since he arrived on Qianzhan Continent. It was a relief to know that he could defend himself if he had to. Especially in what he was already starting to think of as his own mountain.

After he calmed down, he started looking for tree branches he could use to make a sled. It would be silly to drag these bodies back home just to brag about his victory, but it would be a waste to leave them here to rot on the forest floor.