Wolf-fang Arrow

Having made up his mind, Chen Sanshi began clearing the scene.

He had used too much force on the wild chicken and accidentally snapped the arrow shaft stuck in it.

"Secondhand arrows really are worrying quality!"

Chen Sanshi shook his head, retrieved the arrowhead, and carried his prey down the mountain.

After hunting all day, his stomach had long been growling with hunger, yet his Spirit Revitalized state remained full of vigor, letting him stay alert to every movement around him.

"It must be the effect of Spirit Revitalized."

"Looks like I need to make time to read more at night from now on. I can't just think about having fun with Lan Jie'er."

"Practicing archery, hunting, reading—I want to be a hardworking man."

It was still early today. As he passed through Yanbian Village, many villagers saw Chen Sanshi returning fully loaded, a chicken in his left hand and a rabbit in his right.

"You've got some skills, kid!"

"Little Stone is incredible. He only just started hunting, and he's already bringing something home every day."

"Tch. The son of a mouse knows how to dig holes."

"Scabby Head, listen to that sourness. You just can't stand seeing others doing well."

"What am I sour about? That little money isn't even enough to pay the taxes!"

"That's true, actually."

The moment taxes were mentioned, complaints rose everywhere.

How many people's savings from an entire year were squeezed dry and clean?

"Brother Stone, wait! I was looking for you!"

"Shunzi?"

Chen Sanshi watched the dark, skinny youth run toward him. "What is it, Shunzi?"

"Brother, do you need my help?"

The matter of collecting taxes in advance had caused a huge uproar. The moment Zhang Shun finished selling fish today, he had come over to ask about it.

"You... don't you still need to study martial arts?"

Chen Sanshi was somewhat tempted.

No one could be completely certain of gathering three taels of silver in seven days.

If he could borrow the silver in advance, that would naturally be even better.

At worst, once he saved enough, he would return double the amount and properly show his gratitude.

"Studying martial arts isn't urgent for these next two days. Paying taxes is the urgent matter."

Zhang Shun scratched his head and said honestly, "Brother, come home with me. My family has silver."

Three taels of silver!

For ordinary folk, that was absolutely a massive sum.

Chen Sanshi was touched. "Nine out, thirteen back. I can't use your money for nothing."

"Brother, what are you saying?"

Zhang Shun said, "Not to mention you taught me to read when we were little, do you remember that time we went into the river to play? If you hadn't pulled me up, I would've drowned long ago. Why are we even talking about this?"

Words were one thing, but being willing to help in difficult times was still rare.

"Brother, wait here. I'll go home and get the money!"

Shunzi did not even give him a chance to refuse before turning and sprinting away.

Since the other party refused to take interest, Chen Sanshi also felt too embarrassed to use the money for free.

He carried the wild chicken and rabbit after him, intending to give them as thanks.

Their homes were not far apart. They arrived in ten minutes, and Shunzi's front door was not even shut.

Just as Chen Sanshi was about to call at the door, a gust of wind blew toward him, carrying the sound of an argument.

"Shunzi, three taels of silver? Have you gone mad?"

"Mother, that's my Brother Stone! He saved my life when we were little!"

"So what if he saved your life? It's not like our family never repaid him. When he got sick before, didn't our family pay for his treatment?"

"Mother..."

"Our entire family has worked day and night for so many years, finally managing to save some silver. Wasn't it all so you could enter a martial arts school and become a martial artist? At the very least, shouldn't you spare a thought for your father? Your father has been lame for over half a year and still couldn't bear to spend money treating it, but you open your mouth and take three taels of silver for an outsider?"

"..."

Chen Sanshi stopped in his tracks, silently set down one wild chicken, and turned to leave.

Helping was kindness; not helping was one's duty!

He felt none of that resentment of "a liter of rice earns gratitude, a bushel earns hatred." Instead, he was deeply grateful for Shunzi's goodwill.

They were not some wealthy household. Everyone was having a hard time getting by.

He still had to rely on himself!

Chen Sanshi became even more determined to go to Second Mountain.

Before dark, he arrived at Eight Treasures Tower in the County Town.

The rabbit weighed about the same as last time and sold for seventy-one Wen Qian.

After taking the money, he did not hurry home. Instead, he went to the market again to prepare for entering Second Mountain tomorrow.

"Oh, Little Stone is here again?"

Old Xu greeted him warmly.

"Uncle Xu, I want to buy a few arrows."

The willow-leaf arrows Chen Sanshi had were fine for rabbits, wild chickens, and the like. But if he truly encountered large prey with rough hide and thick flesh, their killing power would not be enough.

"What kind do you want? Your uncle has them all."

Looking over the stall, there were seven or eight kinds of arrows on display, all of excellent quality. Some were clearly beyond what a common roadside smithy could forge and belonged to the category of military equipment.

There was a garrison fifty li outside Poyang County, so military equipment circulating through the market was nothing worth finding strange.

What was more, Old Xu came from a military household. After his son took over, he had even become a Squad Leader. Having channels to resell some ordinary military gear was perfectly normal.

Chen Sanshi's gaze moved across the stall.

The shafts of most arrows were made from poplar wood, with bird feathers attached to the tail. Their primary differences lay in their arrowheads.

Different arrowheads served different purposes.

Some had strong penetrating power, some created wide wounds, some were for shooting horses, some for naval battles, and some were whistling arrows specifically used to send signals. There were truly countless varieties.

In the end, he picked out an arrowhead with a distinctive shape.

Wolf-fang arrow.

As its name suggested, its arrowhead had three hooks on each of its two wings, resembling protruding wolf fangs.

Once this arrow struck its target, the barbs on both sides would lodge firmly in the body. Trying to pull it out would tear away a large chunk of flesh and skin with it. Leaving it in would keep grinding the flesh. Whether hunting beasts or men, its killing power was immense.

Old Xu said, "These Wolf-fang arrows are good goods. I sell them to others for twenty-three Wen Qian apiece, but I'll sell them to you for twenty."

"Can't you make it cheaper?"

"Any cheaper, and I'd be losing money."

Chen Sanshi gritted his teeth and bought five.

But he understood that sharpening an axe did not delay chopping firewood. If he wanted to bring in goods, he had to be willing to invest.

If circumstances allowed, he even wanted to buy a heavy bow.

After all, the main source of a bow and arrow's killing power lay in its draw weight.

He deliberately looked around a few more times. The heaviest bow at this stall was only a Four-force bow; there were no heavier bows.

Only a heavy bow could pierce armor.

It seemed that even reselling military equipment had its bottom line.

Money changed hands, and so did the goods.

The two previously damaged arrowheads were deducted for a total of eleven Wen Qian. In the end, he paid eighty-nine Wen Qian.

"A whole day's work for nothing, and I even lost a fair bit!"

Chen Sanshi put away the Wolf-fang arrows and headed home.

Halfway back.

Chen Sanshi ran into Qin Xiong and his gang of ruffians again. They were squatting along the road he had to take home, casting ill-intentioned looks his way.

They were clearly trying to intimidate him on purpose.

"Like a lingering ghost. There's no hiding from them."

"I'll pay the taxes first, then figure something out."

Chen Sanshi chose to ignore them and went straight home.

"Big Brother, he's pretty arrogant!"

"Why don't I go beat him up?"

The ruffians bared their teeth as they muttered among themselves.

"Beat him up?"

Qin Xiong pointed at the bow and arrows on Chen Sanshi's back and asked, "Do you know what that is?"

"A bow and arrows."

"A Four-force bow. It's enough to shoot straight through your heart! If he can handle that thing, do you think you can beat him?"

Qin Xiong was somewhat frustrated.

At first, he had thought the one surnamed Chen was merely a scholar and that going up the mountain to hunt was just a matter of luck.

But after asking around, he learned that this kid had brought back goods for two straight days. That meant he truly had strength in both arms and was no joke.

The hunters in the village were not easy to provoke in the first place.

Before, they had only dared bully this kid because his father was dead and he was a scholar.

Of course, in these times, strength was useless. Money was what mattered.

Rabbits and wild chickens were not worth much silver.

If he could not gather three taels of silver in a couple of days, Qin Xiong would still have him in the palm of his hand.

Late at night.

Chen Sanshi got out of bed with light, quiet movements.

As for Lan Jie'er, she had been worn out and had fallen asleep.

"I'm still too young and hot-blooded."

Chen Sanshi felt somewhat annoyed. He had said he would read after returning home.

The time for reading was gone, but he could not delay practicing archery any longer.

Before going up the mountain, he had to raise his archery to the next stage.

He took his bow outside and came to the clearing before the woods behind his home, where he began practicing archery under the moonlight.

As willow-leaf arrows flew out one after another, his proficiency continued to rise.

He practiced until the latter half of the night before returning to his room to sleep for a few hours. At the sound of a rooster crowing, he immediately got up to practice archery again.

"Whoosh—"

Another arrow flew out, shooting down a sparrow that had risen early to forage from the treetop.

At the same time, the System Panel changed.

Skill: Archery (Mastery)

Progress: (0/500)

Effect: Physique rises, born bowman, casually draws a one-stone bow; within seventy paces, three shots in a snap of the fingers, every shot hits the mark

This time, the instant the System Panel upgraded, Chen Sanshi's strength and archery improved dramatically. Even his muscles and bones changed, and his physique surged.

With this physique, even if he had never studied martial arts, he could easily draw a one-stone heavy bow and strike a palm-sized bullseye with every arrow within eighty meters.

One stone in the Great Sheng Dynasty was roughly equal to one hundred and fifty jin.

Bows of that draw weight were generally used only by those who studied martial arts.

A palm-sized bullseye, viewed from eighty meters away, was really no more than a black dot.

As for three shots in a snap of the fingers.

A Buddhist scripture once recorded: twenty finger-snaps made one luoyu, twenty luoyu made one xuyu, and one day and night contained thirty xuyu.

By that calculation, one "snap of the fingers" was roughly seven seconds.

Three shots in a snap of the fingers.

In other words, from drawing the bow, taking an arrow, nocking it, to firing—those four movements produced a precise shot in about two seconds.

A one-stone bow, eighty meters, two seconds.

Taken individually, none of those sounded exaggerated. But put those three phrases together, and they became terrifying.

Chen Sanshi was somewhat delighted.

Proficiency could not only improve technique; it could also improve his physique.

He could feel the bones throughout his body becoming denser and sturdier, while his arms and fingers had grown longer and more slender.

"I wonder whether this physique will help with studying martial arts later."

In any case, he had gained a few more measures of confidence in catching large prey within six days.

"Brother Stone, breakfast is ready."

The gentle voice entered his ears and brought Chen Sanshi back to himself.

After hurriedly eating breakfast, he took all the salted duck eggs left at home and packed another half sack of millet.

"What are you doing?"

Gu Xinlan was somewhat puzzled.

She could understand the salted duck eggs, but raw millet could not be eaten. Why bring it up the mountain?

"A gift."

Chen Sanshi gave a concise answer and was about to leave.

"Brother Stone, be more careful lately."

Gu Xinlan's face was full of worry. "When I came back yesterday, I saw that one surnamed Qin wandering around near our home again. I'm scared..."

"I know."

Chen Sanshi spoke firmly. "Don't worry, wife. He can't hurt you."

Wife?

Gu Xinlan's cheeks grew slightly hot.

After Brother Stone said that, she truly was not nearly as afraid.