Heavy Bow

"Bow?"

Xu Bin had been getting ready to go home for dinner.

He did not live with his father, but in the Military Colony near the garrison, where his first wife was also waiting at home.

"Come with me."

Xu Bin frowned, his expression displeased.

The two came to the garrison armory. After speaking with the clerk in charge of the watch, they entered the warehouse specifically for storing bows and arrows.

"You're using it for hunting, right?"

Xu Bin said, "Normally, before recruits are officially assigned, they are not allowed to possess weapons privately. But I happen not to use bows and arrows, and there's an open banner officer's quota. You can use it for now."

He paused. "Also, I'm very busy. If there's nothing urgent in the future, just go to your own superior."

The meaning behind his words was obvious: he would help Chen Sanshi get a bow and arrows, but Chen Sanshi should not come bother him again afterward.

"Understood. Sanshi will remember Officer Xu's help."

Chen Sanshi was not someone who liked troubling others, either.

But for the sake of improving himself, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and do this.

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

After finishing his instructions, Xu Bin left, allowing Chen Sanshi to choose for himself.

The wooden racks inside the storeroom held bows covering an entire wall.

Most standard-issue bows used by the Great Sheng army came in two varieties.

The Small Taper Bow and the Large Taper Bow.

The Large Taper Bow was also known as the Kaiyuan Bow.

Their draw weights ranged from four li to two stone.

The clerk guarding the warehouse said, "Take whichever weight you can draw. You'll also be issued twenty matching arrows and a quiver.

"The heaviest standard bow here is only a Two-stone bow.

"Anything heavier is used only by military officers. You have to order those yourself from the army forge.

"Though ordinary people have no use for them anyway."

He watched Chen Sanshi take down a large bow from the farthest corner and hurriedly said, "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? That's the heaviest Two-stone bow."

"A Two-stone bow is exactly what I want."

Chen Sanshi's System Panel said he could easily draw a One-stone bow, not that he could only draw a One-stone bow.

If he could draw it easily, that meant his strength went far beyond that.

He reckoned he could probably draw a Two-stone bow, though it would be considerably strenuous.

But considering that his strength would keep growing after he began practicing martial arts, it was better to take a heavier one in advance, lest he have to replace it with a new bow again in a few days.

"Two stone?"

The clerk sized up the young man's clothes. He was clearly no military officer.

He hurriedly said, "Don't mess around! Let me remind you, there's a target range outside. You need to hit the target from sixty paces away before you can take it."

"No problem."

Chen Sanshi did not waste words and headed straight to the target range outside the warehouse.

He held the bow and arrows in his hands, examining them as he familiarized himself with their feel.

This was the heaviest Kaiyuan Bow. Its core was made from specially selected purple bamboo, its limbs from mulberry and elm wood, and its bow ears from ox horn and hardwood. Its construction was far more complicated than that of a Recurve Bow.

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

Were the effects of martial training really this immediate?

No wonder it consumed the body so enormously.

A Two-stone bow weighed three hundred jin.

Chen Sanshi gritted his teeth. The muscles in his back and arms exerted force together, veins bulging across his forehead as he fitted an issued arrow and slowly drew back the bowstring.

"Bzzzz—"

A heavy hum sounded.

The bow cracked like thunder, the arrow flashed like lightning!

Bang—

Almost instantly, the arrow slammed into the target with a tremendous blast, punching a large hole through the target more than two inches thick before dropping to the ground in the distance.

"The bullseye?!"

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

It was Chen Sanshi's first time experiencing a heavy bow, and even he was startled by its crushing impact.

If this were used against people, ordinary armor probably would not stop it!

"You're new here? You've only just started practicing martial arts?"

After retrieving the arrow, the clerk ran back. "You can draw a Two-stone bow before even beginning Blood Refinement? Xu Bin has a fellow villager like you?"

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

"Yes, yes."

The clerk nodded like a pecking chicken. "Come over here. I'll give you another twenty arrows.

"Let me make this clear first: if you damage them outside of battle, you'll have to compensate for them. One arrow costs fifty coins, so use them sparingly."

A heavy bow naturally required heavy arrows.

They were also more expensive than ordinary arrows.

After that one shot, Chen Sanshi could clearly feel his proficiency improve.

Skill: Archery (Proficient)

Progress: (230/500)

Effect: Innate archer physique, easily draws a One-stone bow; within seventy paces, fires three arrows in the blink of an eye, every shot hits the mark

Together with the hunting he had done over the previous days, his proficiency was nearly halfway full.

With a heavy bow, it should not take long to advance to the next stage.

"So hungry!"

Chen Sanshi had burned through far too much stamina that day. One flatbread was nowhere near enough, so he simply slung the bow and arrows over his back and headed home.

Military discipline at the garrison was lax.

Besides, the recruits lived in the nearby Military Colony village, so after reporting in each day, they could return home whenever they wished.

Chen Sanshi did not even have an official assignment yet, so nobody was willing to bother managing him.

As he neared Yanbian Village, his blue armored surcoat and red conical helmet drew the villagers' attention.

"I was wondering why we hadn't seen you these past two days. Turns out you went and became a military household."

"Say what you will, Little Stone really does look the part in that outfit."

"Impressive, sure, but I'd say his good days are numbered."

"Scabby Head, you really deserve to die!"

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

"..."

Hearing this, Chen Sanshi stopped and walked up to a middle-aged man whose head was patchily bald and covered in ringworm. "Uncle Scabby, what do you mean by that?"

Scabby Head looked around, then lowered his voice. "I heard from Ergou and the others that Qin Xiong's younger brother is planning to chop you to death."

"Qin Feng?"

Had he come looking for him after all?

Chen Sanshi was not surprised in the slightest, nor was he afraid.

He had the status of a military household. Without evidence, the other side absolutely could not simply harm him at will.

Especially now, when war raged without end.

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

Harming a military household without reason was no different from picking a fight with the Imperial Court.

Besides, Qin Feng was no great figure. Otherwise, his elder brother would not have had to rack his brains every day to scrape together silver for him to practice martial arts. At most, Qin Feng could use underhanded schemes behind the scenes.

"Thank you for the warning, Uncle Scabby."

Chen Sanshi strode deeper into the village.

The moment he entered, he saw several hooligans under Qin Xiong's command dash off in a line to report the news.

"Second Brother!"

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

Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy.

Qin Feng put away the longsword in his hand and turned his eyes sideways, his voice cold. "But what?"

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

One of the hooligans said, "I asked around. It seems he enlisted these past two days. Now that he's wearing that skin, wouldn't it be hard for us to make a move directly?"

"..."

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

From what he had learned, that hunter surnamed Chen was the only one with the ability and the possibility of being connected to his elder brother's disappearance.

He had planned to capture the man, chop off an arm first, and force him to reveal his brother's whereabouts, but...

"Who would have thought he'd become a military household."

The Great Sheng Imperial Court was in an era of unceasing war. He was merely a martial arts academy disciple; chopping down a military household in the street would be nothing but courting death.

"No, I can't let him practice martial arts!"

Qin Feng suddenly acted as though facing a great enemy. "That brat used to be a scholar whose ten fingers never touched water, yet the moment he picked up a bow and arrows, he immediately had food to eat. His physical foundation isn't bad.

"If I really let him become a Warrior Recruit and give him time to grow into something, wouldn't I only be making things harder for myself?

"I can't let him have smooth sailing. Absolutely not."