Linhe Village

The sky was a hazy gray-white, and the morning mist rose with it.

The red sun rose, its rosy glow piercing the morning mist. The view before him suddenly opened up.

From afar, Linhe Village in Qingyan Town looked to have a hundred or so scattered households.

"Qinglin, heading up the mountain?" A boy of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a short animal-hide jacket and carrying a longbow on his back, waved toward him.

"Brother Qingshi, yeah. Wait for me a moment."

At the sound of the voice, he turned to see a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy wearing hemp clothes and a felt hat. His features were rather handsome.

He gazed at the sky, lost in thought.

Hearing the call, Chen Qinglin's dazed eyes slowly came back into focus. He turned and answered.

Chen Qinglin looked into the distance. For a fleeting moment, he seemed to see tall buildings standing there, with cars streaming endlessly along the roads.

When he came back to himself, all he saw were a few wisps of cooking smoke rising.

As he walked toward the two thatched, earthen houses nearby, Chen Qinglin still couldn't understand why something like transmigration had happened to him.

Though "transmigration" wasn't quite right. Reincarnation was more fitting. He had already spent fourteen years in this world, which resembled ancient times.

It was just that when he woke up this morning, memories of the more than twenty years he had lived in another world suddenly came back to him.

He had no regrets. In his previous life, he had been just one among countless ordinary people, living a modest but peaceful life. Now and then, he had imagined going to another world and living a thrilling, eventful life.

After entering the house, he took down the longbow hanging there. No one else was home; his parents were busy with the farming season, and his younger siblings had gone to the fields with them.

Chen Qinglin had arranged to go up the mountain with Chen Qingshi a few days ago.

The strange symbols he had occasionally seen before finally made sense to him.

[Chen Qinglin]

Lifespan: 14/56

Realm: Mortal

Skills: Archery (Proficient 23/500), Spearfishing (Proficient 107/500), Farming (Great Accomplishment 43/5000)

Seeing Great Accomplishment next to farming, Chen Qinglin nearly lost it. With a thought, the data changed to:

Skills: Archery (Proficient 23/500)

He let out a long breath and turned to leave the house. He'd better keep these everyday skills hidden for now.

After meeting up with Chen Qingshi, he headed for the back mountain with him. They ran into a few familiar faces along the way, exchanged greetings, and continued on.

Whoosh!

A sharp crack rang out in the woods, and a pheasant dropped to the ground.

"Qinglin, your archery's getting better and better. Got any tricks? Teach your big brother here."

"What trick could there be? It's all down to hard work. Practice more and find your feel for the bow."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a kind of feeling you get when shooting. Once you let the arrow fly, you know whether you've hit the target or not."

"...⊙︿⊙"

"How about this? I'll think it over when I get home these next few days and teach you in a little while."

"Sounds good."

After picking up the pheasant, Chen Qinglin looked over the forest.

"Brother Qingshi, we've gone pretty deep into the woods. If we go any farther, it might get dangerous."

"We have gone pretty deep. Let's turn back. We've got enough." Chen Qingshi patted his hunting pouch.

This forest lay on the outskirts of the Qingyan Mountain Range. There weren't any large game animals, only the occasional wild boar, but it was safe.

Large beasts roamed deeper in the forest. It was said that Demonic Beasts prowled even farther in, and the village elders often warned everyone not to go too deep.

Chen Qinglin knew his own abilities. He wasn't foolish enough to throw his life away.

With that, the two of them turned back.

"Qinglin, in a while, my father's planning to send me to a martial arts school in town to train. After that, I won't be able to go hunting with you."

"Really? Congratulations. You've wanted to learn martial arts since you were little. Now your wish is finally coming true."

"Of course. Qinglin, why don't you talk to Third Uncle? Then we can go together."

"Well, let's talk about it. I'll discuss it with my father when I get home."

"Sounds good. I'll be waiting to hear from you!"

Once they left the forest, they chatted as they walked. Before long, they were back in the village. They divided up the game, then each went home.

"Big brother's back!" Chen Qinglin heard a voice and saw a small figure racing toward him.

He glanced at Chen Xiaoxiao, who had wrapped her arms around his leg. He set down the hunting pouch, and Chen Xiaoxiao immediately let go and crouched beside it, asking:

"Big brother, what did you catch?"

Chen Qinglin opened the hunting pouch. Inside were three pheasants and a hare.

"We're having meat tonight!"

"You little glutton."

He scooped up seven-year-old Chen Xiaoxiao and pinched her cheek as he carried her inside.

"You're back."

"Big brother!"

Looking up, he saw an ordinary-looking farmer, as well as his younger brother Chen Qingyun, who had just run over.

"Dad, where's Mom?"

"In the main room."

He looked to the side.

A woman dressed in coarse cloth, with a red silk skirt tied around her waist and embroidered with several flowers, was busy at work.

"Mom, I'm back. We're having meat tonight!"

"Hey, Qinglin's back."

"Qingyun, go bring in the game your brother caught."

"..." Chen Qingyun.

The family chattered and laughed together. Chen Qinglin was still thinking about learning martial arts, unsure how to bring it up.

Learning martial arts was no small matter. The cost was considerable, and there was no guarantee it would amount to anything.

It was only in the past two years, after Chen Qinglin learned to hunt, that the family's circumstances had gradually improved.

They had managed to save a little, but now that the time had come, he found himself hesitating to speak.

"Qinglin, what's wrong?" Chen Liangwu noticed his son was distracted and asked.

"Dad, I want to learn martial arts."

After a moment of silence, Chen Qinglin spoke.

Chen Liangwu looked at his son, then got up and rummaged around in the back room. When he came back, he said,

"If you want to learn, then go. Dad supports you."

"Thanks, Dad." Chen Qinglin beamed.

"The past few years have been good, so if you want to go, then go."

Chen Qinglin looked at his father, who had always supported him. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say, then finally said,

"I'll work hard at my training."

"I want to go too!" Eleven-year-old Chen Qingyun didn't know what was going on. He had only heard his big brother was going to learn martial arts, so he joined in.

"Don't make a fuss. Wait until you're a couple of years older."

Mother Chen smiled as she patted Chen Qingyun's little head.

At night, the stars glittered across the sky. Chen Qinglin sat in the courtyard, gazing up at them.

Chen Liangwu was sitting nearby, enjoying the cool air.

"Your great-grandfather once said that our Chen family had a martial arts inheritance. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it to Linhe Village when we fled."

"But it was all lost while we were fleeing. After we arrived in Linhe Village, we didn't dare reveal it, and now we don't even know if any of it remains."

Chen Qinglin listened quietly to his father. He thought about how the Chen family had never shown any signs of possessing an inheritance in Linhe Village, and realized that the martial arts knowledge was probably gone.

Otherwise, his uncle wouldn't have sent Brother Qingshi to town to learn martial arts.

His father's generation had five siblings: three brothers and two sisters.

When his second uncle was young, he went to work at a restaurant in town. After saving money for many years, he opened a noodle stall.

He had managed to leave farming behind, and the village land was farmed by his eldest uncle and Chen Qinglin's family.

Every year, his father and eldest uncle sent some grain to his second uncle.

One of his aunts had married into a neighboring village; the other had married a merchant in town.

They visited every few years, but Chen Qinglin didn't know much about their lives.