Two Arrows

Two Arrows

Caw.

Caw, caw, caw.

The Earthen Bow creaked as if it were about to snap, seeming to let out a trembling wail.

As Li Yuan exerted force, the powerful muscles in his arm bulged. His arm was far thicker than that of an ordinary grown man, thick and solid as iron, all of it plainly exposed before everyone.

Brother Xiong and Qian Er saw it clearly, and both were secretly alarmed.

Before coming that morning, they had already gotten word from that hooligan called Little Hu and guessed that Li Yuan was a vicious man who had hidden himself well.

Now, seeing this display, it was as if they had glimpsed the true face of that vicious man, confirming their suspicions.

Subtle changes began to arise in both their hearts.

Thud!!

Li Yuan released the string.

The first arrow shot toward the Old Poplar Tree on the left.

After firing, he did not even look.

But a man shouted from afar.

"Hit!"

"He really hit it!!"

Brother Xiong's face darkened, while Qian Er looked rather pleased.

With the left target hit, Brother Xiong had no hope left.

Only two possibilities remained: either the right shot missed and Li Yuan followed Qian Er, or the right shot hit and Li Yuan helped neither side.

Qian Er gave a low chuckle and hurriedly raised his offer. "Li Yuan, make this arrow miss a little. Join me, and this afternoon I'll help you marry another pretty concubine, so you can enjoy The Bliss of Having Multiple Wives."

He was raising the price, but he was also trying to interfere.

Li Yuan did not answer. With a flick of his right hand, he drew another arrow between his middle and index fingers.

He drew the bow and nocked the arrow.

Whoosh!!!

The arrow flew, and he slowly lowered his hand.

Everyone looked over to see the arrow pierce clouds and chase the wind, reaching the stone between the poplar trees on the right in an instant.

Bang!

The stone flew out. The arrow tore through the air and traveled another dozen meters before barely falling to the ground.

This time, Qian Er was stunned as well.

The air seemed to fall silent.

Then Li Yuan's laughter quickly shattered that silence.

"Hahaha!! I luckily hit both arrows today. Looks like Heaven wants me to help neither side!" Li Yuan let his left arm hang at his side and stood motionless.

Brother Xiong, Qian Er, and all their lackeys looked at him.

The young man who was usually somewhat listless now had eyes like lightning and stood like a tower. Calm and composed, he seemed like a towering mountain pressing down upon them, majestic and imposing.

They looked at him, but the moment their eyes met his, they all looked away.

Brother Xiong was the first to recover. Clapping his hands, he laughed. "Brother Li, you really are a fine man!! I'm convinced today!!"

With that, he waved his hand. "Let's go."

Swinging his arms, he headed back where he had come from.

Qian Er clicked his tongue as he glanced at Li Yuan. In truth, he was quite satisfied with this outcome. He had never truly hoped for Li Yuan to join the Qian Family; he had only come to ruin Brother Xiong's recruitment attempt. "Li Yuan, farewell."

The group had arrived in grand fashion, but they left just as quickly.

Before long, they had vanished completely.

Li Yuan put away his bow. He had only used thirty percent of his skill just now, enough to make Brother Xiong think, If I were in good condition, I could do that too.

That was good. It would not make people feel too threatened, but neither would they dare target him again. From now on, when he hunted Roe Deer meat, he could swagger down the road without concern.

Just as he was about to turn around, Little Hu came up from behind with three or four hooligans.

Their faces were full of admiration.

"Brother, after seeing your skills today, it truly is..." Little Hu's voice was ingratiating.

Li Yuan cut him off. "Bring the meat."

"Yes, yes, yes." Little Hu hunched his back as he followed behind Li Yuan. Seeing Yan Yu peering out from the window, he hurriedly bowed and scraped, calling out, "Sister-in—"

Before he could finish "sister-in-law," a sharp knock landed on his head.

Li Yuan looked at him coldly. "Did I acknowledge you?"

Little Hu gave a bitter smile. "Brother Yuan, just let us brothers follow you.

"We don't want to follow you just to eat meat. Every one of our families still has some grain stored away.

"The main thing is, in Little Ink Village, we're just a pack of stray cats and wild dogs. We may seem able to bully people everywhere, but in truth, we're nothing.

"You're a true man, and you showed us that skill just now. All the brothers admire you.

"Once you become our boss, whatever you tell us to do, we'll do."

Li Yuan looked at him coldly, then turned and went inside. He took up a Firewood Chopping Knife, cut off a piece of Roe Deer meat, and tossed it to him from afar.

Little Hu caught it firmly with both hands.

Li Yuan said, "Three jin. It's yours.

"If you have a connection to the Black Market, you can come find me again.

"Use your brain when you speak next time.

"There's Brother Xiong and the Qian Family in the village. If I took you in too, would I not be setting myself against them?"

Little Hu froze.

Li Yuan waved his hand. "Go!"

Little Hu turned and hurried away, even gently closing the fence gate behind him.

Li Yuan returned inside. Yan Niangzi had also stepped back from the window. Her watery almond eyes blinked as she stared at him blankly, her little hand nervously pinching the hem of her blue clothes.

Li Yuan laughed loudly and stepped forward to scoop Yan Niangzi into his arms.

Yan Niangzi lightly punched him and asked resentfully, "When did you become so amazing?"

"When you thought I had a Demonic Obstruction," Li Yuan said.

Yan Niangzi immediately had nothing to say.

What was there left to complain about?

Her man had not hidden it from her. She simply had not believed him.

But before she could vent her emotions, she added, "Now that you're so capable, go marry a concubine this afternoon."

"I won't. I only have eyes for Sister Yan," Li Yuan said.

Yan Niangzi blushed. "What are you saying? Why are your words so crude? Can't you speak properly?"

Before transmigrating, Li Yuan had been a pig butcher. Though he had been a literary youth before becoming a butcher, the two identities had never fused, nor had they allowed him to change classes into some "midnight pig-butcher poet." Aside from giving him a bit of inferiority at class reunions, they had done nothing else for him.

"Sister Yan, I'm a crude man by nature. How could my words not be crude?"

"A crude man? How did I not know that?" Yan Yu thought about it. Brother Yuan had seemed quite normal before; she had never noticed how crude he was.

Li Yuan raised a brow and asked, "You didn't know?"

Hm?

Yan Niangzi froze for a moment, then her face turned red. She began punching him again, coquettishly complaining, "You're awful!"

Li Yuan laughed, set Yan Yu down, and said, "We've delayed long enough. I need to go up the mountain."

"There's still meat at home."

"I'll hunt a Roe Deer today and exchange it for some money tomorrow." Li Yuan took the Firewood Chopping Knife and tucked it behind his back. "Isn't the Foxtail Millet nearly gone?"

Yan Niangzi said irritably, "You say you'll hunt a Roe Deer, and you hunt a Roe Deer? Are the beasts on Little Ink Mountain raised by your family?"

"Yes, they are raised by my family." Li Yuan answered with complete composure, then walked out under Yan Niangzi's blank stare.

By evening, Li Yuan returned carrying another Roe Deer under Yan Niangzi's blank stare.

Light snow had begun to drift from the sky.

Li Yuan tossed the Roe Deer into a corner.

In this freezing weather, it would not spoil even if left overnight.

After bathing, the two of them lay on the bed in each other's arms.

After a round of lovemaking, Yan Niangzi lay gently in Li Yuan's arms, whispering pillow talk.

"Brother Yuan, Feng Er came to apologize to me today. She said she should not have spoken about you that way that day."

"When I went out today, quite a few people came specifically to talk to me.

"But I still only approached Aunt Wang.

"I told Aunt Wang that my man had meat to sell.

"Aunt Wang said she would have her husband ask the restaurant tomorrow whether they were buying meat when he went there.

"If the restaurant buys it, the price will definitely be much better than what the grain merchant offers."

Li Yuan thought for a moment. "All right, let Uncle Wang ask.

"But I still need to sell this Roe Deer tomorrow, otherwise the meat won't be fresh."

Heavy snow fell through the night.

The next day, the snow was already past their knees.

At the door, Yan Niangzi used her hands to help steady the Roe Deer on her man's back. Breathing out a cloud of warm air, she said, "Come back early."

Li Yuan answered, then carried his bow and the Roe Deer, trudging into the distance through deep and shallow snow.

In this snow-white, pure, lonely world, far fewer people were out and about, and there was much less activity.

The grain merchant doing business in the village was not the Fu Lin Merchant Guild familiar to the Qian Family, but another guild Li Yuan had not paid attention to before.

Now, when he reached the grain shop with the sack on his back and looked up, he saw the sign reading "Four Rivers Merchant Guild," so he stepped inside.

For some reason, it was rather noisy inside, as though something had happened.

A man stopped him and asked, "What do you want?"

Li Yuan said, "I'm selling meat. Do you buy it?"

"Open it and let me see."

Li Yuan set down the sack and opened its mouth.

The man leaned over to inspect it. Seeing a whole Roe Deer inside, he frowned in thought, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Are you Li Yuan?"

Li Yuan said, "I am."

The man smiled. "You've really made quite a name for yourself these past two days."

Li Yuan smiled bitterly. "I only barely managed to keep some meat in my mouth and provide for my family."

The man looked him over, then suddenly said, "Let's get acquainted. My name is Zhao Feng, and I oversee this grain shop."

Li Yuan looked at him and saw "2~3" floating above the man's head. Clearly, he had not entered the ranks, but among ordinary people, he was already a powerful man.

"Brother Zhao, pleased to meet you." Li Yuan cupped his fists.

Zhao Feng said, "I'll pay you the county price for this Roe Deer. I won't cheat you."

"Thank you, Brother Zhao," Li Yuan said.

Zhao Feng called for someone, and a person from the grain shop immediately took the Roe Deer away to weigh it.

Zhao Feng said, "I know you're a good man, and you're skilled with a bow. Are you interested in joining our Four Rivers Merchant Guild?"

Seeing Li Yuan about to speak, Zhao Feng waved his hand. "Listen to me first."

He smacked his lips, paced two steps with his hands behind his back, then fixed his gaze on Li Yuan. "I'll be frank with you. In a few days, our grain shop will withdraw from Shanbao County."

"Why?" Li Yuan asked curiously.

Zhao Feng lowered his voice. "The Red Lotus Bandits have risen in rebellion. Shanbao County is too close, so we have to withdraw! Right now, our guild is recruiting fierce men everywhere to leave with us. Do you want to join us?"

Li Yuan hesitated. Only after the grain shop worker brought over the Big Coin did he say, "Brother Zhao, let me go back and think it over."

He did not want to agree.

They barely knew each other; whether Zhao Feng could be trusted was still a question.

And in these troubled times, serving as a merchant guild guard was dangerous work.

The merchant guild traveled everywhere, and he would have to travel with them.

Were not the bandits in the wilderness, as well as the Red Lotus Bandits Zhao Feng had mentioned, precisely the sort who targeted merchant guilds?

Zhao Feng said, "All right. If you decide, come here and tell me within three days."