Heavy Bow

"Bow?"

Xu Bin was originally planning to go home for dinner.

He didn't live with his father; instead, he lived in the military settlement near the garrison, and he had a wife at home.

"You come with me."

Xu Bin frowned, his expression displeased.

The two arrived at the garrison's armory. After explaining to the clerk in charge of guarding it, they proceeded to the warehouse specifically for bows and arrows.

"You're going to use it for hunting, aren't you?"

Xu Bin said, "Normally, soldiers cannot privately possess weapons before being formally assigned to their units. However, I don't use bows and arrows, and there's a vacant Officer position. You can take this one for now."

He paused. "Also, I'm very busy. If there's nothing important in the future, you can just find your own superior."

The meaning in his words was clear: he helped with the bow and arrow, and didn't want to be bothered again.

"Alright, Sanshi will remember Officer Xu's help."

Chen Sanshi was not someone who liked to trouble others.

He had to shamelessly ask for help just to improve.

The clerk unlocked the door and pushed open the warehouse gate.

Xu Bin left after giving his instructions, letting Chen Sanshi choose for himself.

On the wooden boards of the storeroom, an entire wall was covered with bows.

The standard bows and arrows of the Great Sheng army were mostly of two types.

The Small Taper Bow and the Large Taper Bow.

The Large Taper Bow was also called the Kaiyuan Bow.

Their draw weights ranged from four li to two shi.

The clerk guarding the warehouse said, "Take a bow with a draw weight you can handle, and you'll be given twenty arrows and a quiver to go with it.

"However, the heaviest standard bows and arrows here are only the Two-stone bows.

"Heavier bows are only used by military officers and need to be custom-ordered from the army's forging workshops.

"But most people don't need them."

He watched as Chen Sanshi took down a large bow from the corner and quickly said, "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? That's the heaviest Two-stone bow."

"I want the Two-stone bow."

Chen Sanshi's panel data indicated he could easily draw a One-stone bow, not that he could only draw a One-stone bow.

Being able to draw it easily meant his strength was far beyond that.

He estimated that he could draw the Two-stone bow, though it would be quite strenuous.

But considering that his strength would continuously increase after practicing martial arts, it was better to get a heavier one in advance to avoid having to switch bows in a few days.

"Two-stone?"

The clerk looked Chen Sanshi up and down, clearly not a military officer based on his attire.

He quickly said, "Don't fool around! I'm warning you, there's a target range outside. You need to hit the target at sixty paces to take it."

"No problem."

Chen Sanshi didn't waste any words and headed straight to the target range outside the warehouse.

He held the bow and arrows, examining them and getting a feel for them.

This bow was the heaviest Kaiyuan Bow, made with special quality purple bamboo as the core, mulberry and elm wood for the tips, and ox horn and hardwood for the grip. Its structure was much more complex than a recurve bow.

He drew the bow and nocked an arrow, realizing that after two days of posture training, his strength had noticeably increased.

Was the effect of practicing martial arts really so immediate?

No wonder it consumed so much energy from the body.

A Two-stone bow, which was three hundred jin.

Chen Sanshi gritted his teeth, his back muscles working in conjunction with his arm muscles, veins bulging on his forehead. He nocked the arrow and slowly drew the bowstring.

"Hummm—"

A heavy sound echoed.

The bow was like a startled thunder, the arrow like a crashing bolt!

"Bang—"

Almost instantly, the arrow hit the target with a loud bang, leaving a large hole in the two-inch-thick target before falling to the ground far away.

"The bullseye?!"

The clerk rushed into the target range in a panic, staring at the hole in the target in shock. "Seventy paces, Two-stone bow, bullseye?!"

This was Chen Sanshi's first experience with a heavy bow, and he himself was startled by the heavy recoil.

If this were used to shoot people, I'm afraid even ordinary armor wouldn't be able to block it!

"You're new, just started practicing martial arts?"

The clerk ran back after picking up the arrows: "He hasn't even started Blood Tempering yet, and he can already draw a two-stone bow. Xu Bin has a fellow villager like this?"

Chen Sanshi asked, "Can I take it now?"

"Yes, yes."

The clerk nodded vigorously: "Come here, I'll give you twenty more arrows.

"Let me make it clear first, you'll have to pay for any damage outside of combat. Each arrow costs fifty wen, so use them sparingly."

A heavy bow naturally required heavy arrows.

The price would also be more expensive than ordinary arrows.

Chen Sanshi felt his proficiency increase significantly after shooting that arrow just now.

Skill: Archery (Proficient)

Progress: (230/500)

Effect: Innate archer physique, easily draws a one-stone bow. Within seventy paces, can shoot a hundred arrows accurately in the blink of an eye. Combined with the hunting experience from the past few days, his proficiency was nearly halfway there.

With the heavy bow, he should be able to advance to the next stage soon.

"I'm so hungry!"

Chen Sanshi had expended too much energy that half-day. A single flatbread was hardly enough. He simply carried his bow and arrows home.

The garrison's discipline was lax.

Furthermore, the soldiers lived in the nearby military farming village and could go home anytime after reporting for duty.

Chen Sanshi hadn't even been assigned a unit yet, so no one cared to manage him.

As he neared Yanbian Village, his equipment of a blue tunic and red hat attracted the attention of the villagers.

"No wonder I haven't seen you around these past two days. So you've become a military men."

"Don't say it, Little Stone, you really look the part in that uniform."

"It looks imposing, but I think you won't have many good days ahead."

"Baldy, you really deserve to die!"

"Heh, you don't believe me? Just you wait and see!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Sanshi stopped and walked up to a middle-aged man with a bald, scabby head. He asked, "Uncle Baldy, what did you mean by that?"

Baldy glanced around, then lowered his voice: "I heard from Ergou and a few others that Qin Xiong's brother is planning to kill you."

"Qin Feng?"

So he'd come looking for me after all.

Chen Sanshi wasn't surprised at all, nor was he scared.

He had the status of a military men. Without evidence, the other party absolutely couldn't harm him casually.

Not to mention that there were constant conflicts.

The status of military mens was completely different in peacetime and wartime.

Harming a military men without reason was equivalent to offending the imperial court.

Moreover, Qin Feng wasn't someone with high authority. Otherwise, his brother wouldn't have to rack his brains every day to get silver to support his martial arts training. At most, he would resort to underhanded tactics.

"Thank you for the warning, Uncle Baldy."

Chen Sanshi strode forward.

As soon as he entered the village, he saw several ruffians under Qin Xiong scurrying off to deliver the news.

"Second Brother!"

"Chen Sanshi is back in the village, but..."

At the Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy.

Qin Feng put away the sword in his hand and said coldly, "But what?"

"He's wearing a soldier's uniform."

The ruffian said, "I inquired. It seems he joined the army these past two days. With that uniform on, it might be difficult for us to act directly."

"..."

Qin Feng closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation.

From his understanding, that hunter named Chen was the only one with the capability and possibility of causing his brother's disappearance.

He had originally planned to capture the person and chop off an arm to force out his brother's whereabouts, but now...

"I didn't expect him to become a military men."

The Great Sheng Dynasty was in a period of constant warfare. He was merely a disciple of a martial arts academy; drawing his sword and attacking military mens in the street was simply suicidal.

"No, I absolutely cannot let him learn martial arts!"

Qin Feng suddenly felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. "This kid used to be a scholar whose fingers never touched dirt, but the moment he picked up a bow and arrow, he could make a living. His physical foundation isn't bad.

"If I truly let him become a Warrior Recruit and he gains power over time, won't I just be increasing my own difficulties?

"I can't let him have an easy time of it. Absolutely not."