Coercion

Coercion

The Qian family had five brothers, all tall and burly. Though only Qian San was a hunter, if they backed one another up, how many residents around Little Ink Mountain could stand against them?

"Qian San came looking for me before, but I pretended to be sick.

"He didn't want to risk hunting beyond Second Layer Mountain alone, so he would definitely drag in someone else to take the blade for him.

"Now that Uncle Caihua was dead, he might seek out other hunters, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't come looking for me again.

"Unless I stopped hunting forever, nothing good would happen if he caught hold of me."

"Using people as cannon fodder, then wiping out their household once they die.

"If I had agreed to him back then, perhaps my family would be the one getting wiped out now."

"But my family isn't like Uncle Caihua's. If it really came to that, those few emergency Big Coins wouldn't be the only things they'd be after."

One thought after another flashed through Li Yuan's mind.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Yan Niangzi returned to the room in a huff, shutting the door behind her as she muttered, "Those people have gone too far. That Qian San is nothing but a bully!

"That poor widow and orphan can barely survive as it is. Fine, if no one wants to help them—but they actually held a feast to eat them out of house and home.

"So many people from the neighborhood even carried their bowls and chopsticks over to eat. We all live in the same neighborhood—how could they do this? Hmph."

Yan Niangzi stood with her hands on her hips, her chest rising and falling with anger. Yet there was also fear and terror in her eyes. She was afraid that what had happened to Uncle Caihua's family would happen to her and Li Yuan as well.

"Sister Yan," Li Yuan suddenly called.

Yan Niangzi answered, "Yes, Yuan Ge'er? Isn't it infuriating?"

"Sister Yan, get a piece of cloth and..." Li Yuan pointed at her full chest. "Hide it."

Yan Niangzi froze. Her face immediately flushed red as she murmured, "What's wrong with it? Aren't Aunt Wang and the others all like this?"

"But you're prettier and younger than Aunt Wang and the others," Li Yuan said. "Listen to me. Stuff some rags into your clothes too, make your body look a size fuller, a little fatter."

"Really?"

Hearing her man praise her, Yan Niangzi shyly lowered her head.

She usually knew to smear ash over her face before going out, but she had never bound her chest or "fattened" herself before. Finding it novel, she fussed around for a while and made herself ugly.

Looking at the ugly girl in the Bronze Mirror, Yan Niangzi giggled. But as she laughed, she thought of Caihua Sao's family again, and her expression dimmed. Her lips moved as she asked, "Yuan Ge'er, do you think... is there any chance we could help Caihua Sao's family?"

Li Yuan slowly shook his head. "It's already not easy just to look after ourselves."

That afternoon, Yan Niangzi went next door to Aunt Wang's house to gossip.

Li Yuan sat alone in the quiet earthen house.

He summoned the panel and looked at the plus sign after "Beginner Tracking (5/10)," tapping it five times in succession.

At once, a light, keen sense fused into his body.

It was as if he had suddenly gained a stretch of special training in tracking. He had tracked a savage beast, relying on his instincts and observations along the way to stay as far from it as possible without losing its trail.

For some reason, the beast had kept running farther and farther away. Ignoring exhaustion, he had gritted his teeth and followed. He could barely sleep, and had to stay alert to every change in the wilderness.

At last, his tracking ability improved.

Li Yuan glanced over himself. The value remained "0~1." When he picked up the great bow, it became "2~3."

"Looks like tracking doesn't show up in the overall strength value, but my reactions have genuinely improved. That's soft power.

"With tracking, I can pursue enemies more easily without being discovered, and I can counter-track them too."

Li Yuan continued adding points, tapping the plus sign after "Intermediate Archery (0/20)" twenty times in a row.

Immediately, the muscle memory of months of diligent, painstaking archery practice emerged in his body.

It also seemed that "tracking" and "archery" had improved his physical fitness. Li Yuan instinctively looked himself over. His value had already risen from "0~1" to "1~2." Once he picked up the great bow, it became "5~6."

Qian San, with his dog, was "3~5," while he was "5~6."

Li Yuan let out a soft breath, feeling somewhat more secure.

He glanced at the panel. The skill section had changed:

Skills: Advanced Archery (0/40); Intermediate Tracking (0/20)

"Twenty points left. How should I spend them?"

Li Yuan hesitated, then decided to leave them unused for now and see if he could save up forty points.

Archery could directly raise his overall strength, while tracking was only soft power. Naturally, he had to prioritize the former.

That afternoon, Yan Niangzi returned to cook, bringing new news with her.

"Yuan Ge'er, when they were holding that feast at Caihua Sao's house today, Monk Pan from the neighborhood actually went over to stand up for them. He cursed at Qian Er and Qian San right to their faces."

Yan Niangzi spoke excitedly at first, but then sighed. "But no one in the neighborhood helped him. The people sitting there just went on doing what they were doing, treating him like air.

"Monk Pan wanted to snatch the meat back and return it to Caihua Sao's family, but... before Qian Er and Qian San could even make a move, he got beaten.

"He was cursing Qian Er and Qian San, and Qian San just went up and kicked several of his teeth out. Blood was all over the ground.

"Good people really get no good reward..."

Li Yuan fell silent. He was beginning to understand more and more clearly what kind of hellish world he had transmigrated into.

Just then, a knock suddenly sounded outside the courtyard.

The fence rattled loudly.

Yan Niangzi peered through the window, her face draining of color. She said in panic, "Qian San is here. What does he want?"

Yan Niangzi was utterly at a loss, her little face full of panic.

Li Yuan rose to his feet, grabbed his bow and slung on his quiver. Reaching out, he held Yan Niangzi by the shoulders and pressed her into the wooden chair. "Rest for a while."

"Why has Qian San come?" Yan Niangzi was terrified.

Li Yuan said, "Stay in the house. I'll handle what's outside."

With that, he walked out beneath Yan Niangzi's anxious gaze.

Outside the door, the tall, burly man kicked the fence, knocking the gate crooked with a single blow.

Seeing someone emerge, Qian San raised his head. "Yuanzi, let's stop pretending. I know you've recovered.

"Here, I'll give you two paths. One, hunt with me, and from now on you'll eat rich food and drink fine liquor.

"Two, hand over your bow, arrows, hunting spear, and Hunter Permit. If you won't hunt, let someone else do it."

Li Yuan smiled bitterly. "Brother Qian, why are you targeting me?"

Qian San frowned. "Targeting you? What nonsense are you talking about?!

"There aren't many hunters in the neighborhood. We should have been hunting together in the first place.

"You're cut off from the news and don't know what's happening outside. Let me tell you, other neighborhoods are already doing this.

"Enough nonsense. Either hunt with me, or stop being a hunter."

Li Yuan rubbed his hands together. "Brother Qian, how about this? Give me a few more days. Once I recover, I'll hunt with you. All right?"

"Three days. I'll give you three days at most," Qian San said impatiently.

"How about five days? My injury has reached the bone."

"No! Three days from now, I'll come looking for you again!" Qian San snorted coldly and turned to leave. As he passed an old tree with mottled bark, a young man darted out from the side and followed behind Qian San.

The young man held a bow in his hand, with a blade tucked behind his back. Above his head floated the numbers "1~2."

Li Yuan's expression shifted. This young man seemed to be one of the village ruffians, someone who was usually close to Qian San. But he should not have had a bow and arrows.

Right...

Uncle Caihua had only just died. It was entirely possible that Qian San had taken his bow, arrows, and Hunter Permit while the iron was hot.