Making Amends

"Over three hundred pounds of grown hog, plus five piglets."

"Enough to pay my taxes, with plenty left over!"

"Getting them back might be a bit troublesome, though."

This was already deep in the mountains, dozens of li from the County Town. Never mind whether one person could carry them—the prey was simply too much to take alone.

After some thought, Chen Sanshi fired a Marrow-head arrow into the sky.

"I'm far from where we split up."

"I wonder where Uncle Zhao is, and whether he can hear my signal."

Before long.

Footsteps sounded outside the bamboo grove.

But the one who came was not Zhao Qiao, but a burly, rough-looking man with a knife scar across his face.

When he saw the wild boars on the ground, envy flashed across his face. Then, seeing that they belonged to a young man he had never met before, he found it unbelievable. Finally, his expression turned strange.

"Brother!"

The man strode over and looked Chen Sanshi up and down. "Never seen you before."

Chen Sanshi introduced himself. "Uncle Zhao Qiao from Yanbian Village brought me up the mountain. My name is Chen Sanshi."

"I've been wandering around here for three or four days and haven't gotten anything valuable."

The man narrowed his eyes. "On your first day in the mountains, you got your hands on this many treasures."

"Just luck."

Chen Sanshi clasped his fists. "Please help me carry the prey to the County Town. I'll naturally pay you according to the local rules."

"Of course I can help."

Though the man said so, his eyes rolled restlessly. "It's just that the County Town is quite a ways from here, and as for the price..."

He had gone days without any haul, and his family was nearly unable to keep the pot boiling. Now that he had finally caught an opportunity, how could he not squeeze out a few extra Copper coins?

Just as the man was scheming to himself, a thunderous twang of a bowstring exploded beside his ear.

He looked up and saw that Chen Sanshi had somehow already fired an arrow.

In the distance, a rabbit in full flight fell at the sound.

The distance was a full seventy paces!

With the vegetation so thick, the man had not even noticed there was a rabbit there.

Most crucially, he had noticed that when Chen Sanshi drew the bow, he seemed to have exerted force with only one finger. His other finger merely hovered there to steady the arrow and had not applied any strength at all!

The strength of one finger, easily drawing a Four-force bow to full draw, coupled with that accuracy...

If conditions allowed, wouldn't he be able to draw a One-stone bow?!

When had Poyang County produced such a young Master Archer?

The man no longer had any crooked thoughts. He immediately forced out a brilliant smile. "Brother Sanshi—no, Brother Shi!

"Don't move. I'll go pick it up for you. I won't charge you for carrying the prey either. Let's be friends!"

As he spoke, he dashed toward the rabbit.

Chen Sanshi put away his bow and gently shook his head.

His perception was so sharp that he could see even individual hairs. How could he fail to notice that this fellow had been harboring crooked intentions from the start? That was why he had deliberately shown off a little.

If he did not want to be bullied, he still had to show his strength!

The man chopped down two pieces of wood with his machete. Then he and Chen Sanshi carried the wild boars down the mountain, one in front and one behind.

He introduced himself. "My name is Wu Da. I live in the village next to yours. I'm sixteen this year. Brother Shi, please look after me from now on."

"?"

Chen Sanshi looked at the scar-faced man grinning at him and was speechless for a moment.

This bastard was sixteen?!

"Wild boars!"

"Brother Shi caught a whole wild boar!"

"..."

They had only just reached the entrance of Yanbian Village when the villagers erupted.

A three-hundred-pound wild boar was something people caught often enough, but usually it took two or three people working together!

To take down an entire litter of wild boars alone—he was absolutely a top-tier hunter.

What was more, to the villagers, Chen Sanshi was merely a scholar who had turned to hunting because he could no longer survive otherwise.

One person told ten, and ten told a hundred. Within less than half an hour, he had become famous throughout several nearby villages.

Eight Treasures Restaurant.

"The sow weighs three hundred and twenty pounds, eighteen coins per pound.

"The piglets are twenty coins per pound. The five together weigh sixty pounds and two taels.

"The total comes to 6,964 coins. I'll make the call for the owner and give you seven taels of silver outright. If you catch fresh game in the future, don't take it to anyone else, Little Stone!"

Shopkeeper Liu Hongda waved a hand and tossed him a money pouch.

In theory, one thousand coins equaled one tael of silver, but silver was harder currency and could not always be exchanged for. The exchange rate often rose.

The other party had paid him directly in silver, clearly as a favor.

"Thank you, Uncle Liu."

Chen Sanshi took the money pouch and felt its satisfying weight.

Seven taels of silver!

Not only did he have enough for his taxes, he even had money to buy winter clothes.

"You really are something, kid."

Liu Hongda clicked his tongue in wonder. "At this rate, it won't be long before you can move into the city. If you learn a few martial skills as well, you'll have truly risen above the rest."

"Does Uncle Liu have any recommendations for martial arts schools?"

With his immediate predicament solved, Chen Sanshi naturally had to start considering martial training.

"The most famous martial arts schools in Poyang County are naturally Tianyuan, Tailei, Yunhe, and Zhao's. But they only take disciples during a fixed period each year, and you're already too late this year.

"If you ask me, common folk like us don't need to insist on going to the big schools. Learn a couple of stances at random—enough to scare people—and that's good enough.

"If you insist on a major school, you can ask Shunzi."

"Shunzi?" Chen Sanshi did not quite understand.

"That kid's been treating martial arts school disciples to meals lately. They're right across the street. There, there—they just came out."

Liu Hongda pointed behind him.

Across from Eight Treasures Restaurant stood a comparatively cheap eatery.

Chen Sanshi turned around and happened to see Zhang Shun walking out of the restaurant with two young men in white robes.

"Brother Shi?"

When Zhang Shun saw him, he immediately left the two young men behind and ran over, an apologetic look on his face. "Brother, I've been meaning to find you these past two days. About what happened last time..."

Chen Sanshi interrupted him. "Shunzi, you don't need to worry about me. I've gathered enough money."

"Your Brother Shi caught an entire litter of wild boars today and earned seven taels of silver from my place."

Liu Hongda spoke for him.

"Really?! Brother, you're amazing! How long would I have to fish to earn seven taels of silver?!"

Shunzi was incomparably envious.

But his envy was pure, without anything else mixed into it.

"Oh, right. This is for you."

Chen Sanshi took out three qian of broken silver, intending to repay the money in full, principal and interest included.

"Brother, I can't take it. I didn't even help you last time."

"One thing is one thing. Your father's leg treatment costs money too."

After pulling back and forth for a long while, Chen Sanshi finally managed to stuff the silver into the other man's pocket. Changing the subject, he asked, "Are you treating martial arts school disciples to a meal?"

"Yeah."

Shunzi lowered his voice. "Didn't I miss Tailei Martial Arts School's disciple recruitment period? I wanted to try some tricks and see if they could make an exception and take one more disciple."

He had happened to run into two disciples outside the martial arts school. They had voluntarily said they could put in a good word for him, so he had treated them to food to build a relationship.

This was already the third meal.

Even if the small restaurant was not as extravagant as Eight Treasures Restaurant, it had still cost quite a bit.

"I see."

Chen Sanshi looked at the two martial arts school disciples across the street.

One had a toothpick in his mouth, while the other patted his round belly and belched. They seemed tired of waiting and urged, "Little Shunzi, what are you doing? Come on, weren't we going to drink with the courtesans? The senior brother I'm introducing you to is someone Master thinks highly of. You get what I mean, right?"

"Don't be angry, Senior Brothers. I'm coming right away!"

Zhang Shun hurriedly said goodbye.

Chen Sanshi watched them walk away, feeling that there was something unreliable about the way those two martial arts school disciples looked.

"I should remind Shunzi to be careful later."

He did not linger either, hurrying without pause to the yamen and paying the full three taels of silver in taxes.

Watching the tax officer personally check off the record book, the huge stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

"Only the one surnamed Qin remains..."

"I wonder if he'll find some other way to cause trouble."

"I need to get home quickly, or Lan Jie'er will start worrying again."

Chen Sanshi hurried back home.

At the entrance to their home, Gu Xinlan was being held by several women chatting idly. Their words were all filled with envy for how capable her man was.

He could read, earn money, and was handsome too.

In short, once a man could earn money, even his faults could be praised as virtues.

"Xinlan, you need to hurry up and bear your Brother Shi a child!"

"We don't need to worry about that. Xinlan's hips are so wide, she'll definitely bear a son."

"..."

The women spoke one after another, making Lan Jie'er's cheeks turn bright red.

"Xinlan, look! Your man is back."

"Brother Shi!"

Gu Xinlan had no mind left for chatting. She jogged over to greet him.

"We're having rabbit tonight."

Smiling, Chen Sanshi held up the rabbit he had not sold.

Gu Xinlan did not even glance at the rabbit. Her hands kept touching him here and there. "How was it, Brother Shi? You weren't hurt, were you? I heard wild boars are vicious!"

Chen Sanshi froze briefly. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Brother Shi, don't you ever provoke something that frightening again!"

Only after confirming that her man was unharmed did Gu Xinlan let out a breath of relief. She helped take the things he was carrying as well. "You must be hungry. I'll make dinner."

Watching Lan Jie'er bustle around, Chen Sanshi suddenly felt an unusual sense of belonging.

He had a home in this world too.

Before long, the fragrance of food from the kitchen came rushing at him.

It stirred the greedy worms in Chen Sanshi's belly into a restless frenzy.

Bang, bang, bang—

Just as they were about to eat, someone lightly knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Me! Qin Xiong!"

At the sound of that name, Gu Xinlan's face turned deathly pale. She grabbed Chen Sanshi's sleeve, signaling for him not to go out.

"It's fine. I'll take a look."

Chen Sanshi tucked the kitchen cleaver behind his waist and went outside to receive the guest.

He had thought that Qin would come looking for another excuse to make trouble after learning he had paid his taxes, or simply resort to force. Yet the actual situation seemed completely opposite.

Qin Xiong stood there with a broad smile, holding a jug of the cheapest Yellow Wine. "Hahaha, little brother!"

Chen Sanshi frowned slightly. "What is this?"

"Little brother, I came to apologize!"

As Qin Xiong spoke, he pretended to casually pat Chen Sanshi on the shoulder, but secretly applied force. Yet Chen Sanshi did not budge in the slightest.

Damn it!

Where did this brat get such strength?

He had only returned home today when he heard that the scholar surnamed Chen had brought back a wild boar all by himself.

It was autumn now, the season when wild boars gave birth and were at their most frenzied. In the past, there had even been hunters eaten by wild boars.

Taking down a wild boar single-handedly was absolutely no easy feat.

Yet this fellow had clearly been a useless scholar!

Could he have been born strong, only to take the wrong path and waste his talent?

In any case, Qin Xiong had decided to give up on Gu Xinlan.

The reason he had been able to thrive throughout the surrounding villages for years, raise his younger brother alone, and send him into the best martial arts school was not truly because of the recklessness he showed on the surface.

He knew perfectly well whom he could offend and whom he should not provoke.

If he truly offended a formidable hunter, he would not dare set foot in the mountains again for the rest of his life.

Otherwise, who knew when an arrow might pierce straight through his heart from behind!

As for women, he could simply find another family!

Chen Sanshi was not easy to bully, but there were plenty of families who were.

"Little brother! We had a few misunderstandings before. In front of all the villagers, let's wipe the slate clean, what do you say?"

Qin Xiong deliberately raised his voice, drawing out the neighbors who were cooking at home to watch.

Seeing the other man remain silent for a long while, just as he thought the brat did not know what was good for him, he finally heard the reply he wanted.

"Brother Qin, you jest."

Chen Sanshi wore a genial smile. "I've never been one to hold grudges. Besides, what lay between us could hardly be called a 'grudge.'"

"Little brother truly is magnanimous, worthy of a scholar."

Qin Xiong set down the wine jar in satisfaction. "Let this wine serve as my apology. I won't disturb you any longer, little brother."

"Fine. Take care, Brother Qin."

After shutting the door, Chen Sanshi looked toward the Recurve Bow hanging on the wall.

Write it all off?

When I fell on hard times, you fanned the flames and tried to destroy my family. Now that I'm no longer so easy to bully, you think you can simply brush it aside?

Where under heaven could there be such a cheap bargain!