Zou Jianghe’s eyes lit up, and he leaned forward. "So what kind of goods will they accept in trade?"

Luo Gang thought for a moment before saying, "Rare ores, as well as mountain goods like animal hides, ivory, deer antlers, and bear paws. They also take well-aged medicinal herbs."

"So far, the two groups of traveling merchants we’ve encountered both come from a dynasty called the Great Yong. They’re from a historical period."

"What about weapons?" Zou Jianghe pressed. "Can we buy weapons from them?"

Luo Gang shook his head with a wry smile. "That might be difficult. I’ve asked around. The common folk of the Great Yong are strictly forbidden from privately owning weapons like crossbows, spears, and swords. The punishment for possessing a single weapon is ten strokes with a rod, and five or more is a death sentence. Moreover, iron goods from Jiangnan are prohibited from being transported north, so there are essentially no weapons for sale among the people. We can only trade for daily necessities."

"They’re really that strict." Zou Jianghe leaned back in his chair, disappointed. "And I still think ranged weapons are best for dealing with these beasts."

Zou Jianghe changed the subject. "So, will there be a merchant caravan today?"

"Hard to say." Luo Gang shook his head. "These traveling merchants arrive at random times. However, once they do arrive, we can talk to them and ask them to stay for a while. I can notify you then."

Zou Jianghe nodded. "That works."

Luo Gang picked up his cup and took a sip of water. "Besides the merchants, there’s one more thing. Over the past couple of days, our students conducted a search of the nearby area. They found an altar in a canyon to the east, and a group of Gobi Desert Giant Lizards is living near it."

Hearing this, Zou Jianghe froze for a moment, his eyes glinting. "You mean..."

"I hope we can all work together in good faith," Luo Gang said. "There are more than ten of those Gobi Desert Giant Lizards. As long as we’re united, completing a mission shouldn’t be impossible."

"How would we cooperate? The mission to hunt the Gobi Desert Giant Lizards requires ten kills. Can you ensure one person delivers the final blow on all ten of them?" Zou Jianghe’s brow furrowed. "I think that would be extremely difficult."

"Perhaps... it doesn’t need to be so troublesome," Qin Ziwen said from his chair.

Seeing them both look at him, Qin Ziwen said calmly, "After I took first place, my Home rewarded me with a Guild Card."

He went on to explain the Guild Card’s advantages when it came to hunting: progress on quests was shared among all members of the guild.

Zou Jianghe felt a pang of jealousy. "I can’t believe guilds have that kind of perk."

Luo Gang said gravely, "You should have told us sooner."

Then, Luo Gang seemed to realize something and said apologetically, "Sorry, that was presumptuous of me."

If Qin Ziwen had said this before last night, Luo Gang would have suspected him of having ulterior motives.

But after their life-or-death battle with the Giant Hyena last night, they had come to truly understand the difficulty of this mission.

"If what you’re saying is true, then the twenty slots in your guild are crucial!" Luo Gang said in a solemn voice. "It would greatly increase our chances of completing the mission."

After a moment of hesitation, Luo Gang said, "The best course of action would be to select an elite unit from the Gated Community and form a core team of twenty. Of course, the guild is ultimately yours, so the choice of members is up to you. Still, I hope to get one spot. I’d like to recommend someone: Cao Biansheng. He is very suitable."

The hand Zou Jianghe was using to hold his cup trembled slightly. He gave Luo Gang a suspicious look. ’Are you serious?’

’I’m not familiar with that Cao Biansheng, but from what I’ve gathered over the last couple of days, he’s one of the top five students, isn’t he? He’s highly respected among the boys, especially in the Hunting Team.’

’Fine, fine, fine. So that’s the game you’re playing.’ 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

’Using a "recommendation" as a pretext to push out one of your own! I never would’ve thought you were that kind of person, Teacher Luo.’

Zou Jianghe exhaled softly, the corners of his mouth quirking into a smirk.

"Cao Biansheng?" Qin Ziwen was surprised. ’I only brought up the guild to get the leading role in the hunt. I never dreamed I could actually poach Cao Biansheng!’

’He’s the student group’s heavy hitter.’

Luo Gang looked at him, his gaze steady and open.

Qin Ziwen asked, "What about Cao Biansheng himself? Does he agree?"

Luo Gang said softly, "He’ll agree."

Watching the two of them seemingly exchanging meaningful glances, Zou Jianghe coughed twice. "Ahem, Chairman Qin, since you’re giving Teacher Luo a spot, my Alliance Association would like one as well."

Qin Ziwen smiled. "Of course. But we’re forming an elite Hunting Team this time, so Chairman Zou, you’d best recommend someone who can fight."

’Someone who can fight?’

Zou Jianghe sensed something was off and immediately became evasive. "Right. I’ll go back and think more about who to choose."

Luo Gang then sent someone to summon Cao Biansheng and proposed that he join Qin Ziwen’s guild.

Cao Biansheng was stunned. "Old Luo, are you kicking me out?"

Luo Gang said, "I’m not kicking you out. This mission requires everyone to cooperate. I had to go and request this spot from Chairman Qin! You have the skill, so you should be using it to do your part for the Gated Community."

Cao Biansheng lowered his head and was silent for a long time. Finally, he nodded. "Okay."

"Saying ’okay’ isn’t enough," Luo Gang said plainly. "If you join, you have to act like a true member of the team. If not, you might as well stay behind."

Cao Biansheng turned around and said seriously, "Captain Qin, I look forward to working with you."

Luo Gang then turned to Qin Ziwen. "Captain Qin, Xiaocao was my student for three years, and we’ve been through a month of hardship together, so I know him quite well. He can be a bit dense in daily life, but he sharpens up during a hunt."

Cao Biansheng’s mouth twitched. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Old Luo was praising him or insulting him.

"I know. Let’s all work together in good faith!" Qin Ziwen laughed heartily.

He then sent a guild invitation to Cao Biansheng. Cao Biansheng accepted and joined the guild.

"Okay. For the hunt tomorrow, we’ll do our best to support you. We’ll draw up a plan on our end tonight."

"Now that the team members are decided, I wish us all a resounding success in tomorrow’s hunt," Luo Gang said.

"Good. Tomorrow, I’ll have my Hunting Team cooperate with you." Zou Jianghe stood up. "Alright, it’s getting late. Teacher Luo, if the merchant caravans show up later, remember to contact me."

After Zou Jianghe left, Qin Ziwen asked, "Teacher Luo, do you have any professional Carpenters here?"

Luo Gang pondered, then nodded. "We have one."

Qin Ziwen said, "I’d like to ask this master Carpenter for a favor, to build some things."

"What things?"

"Car-Mounted Crossbow," Qin Ziwen uttered the three words.

"You actually know how to make those... Good! I’ll have Master Wei go over to your place to help right now." Luo Gang agreed without hesitation. He paused, then continued, "If you can really make Car-Mounted Crossbows, then we shouldn’t rush into the hunt tomorrow. We can go deal with the Gobi Desert Giant Lizards after they’re built; it won’t be too late. Do you have enough manpower? If not, I can send over some of our cleverer students to try and build several at once."

...

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