Practicing Archery

"Don't stiffen up." Li Youde stepped forward and pressed a palm lightly onto Li Xiao's shoulder, sinking it slightly. "Sink your shoulder and drop your elbow. Keep your back straight and firm like a door plank.

"You're all loose and slack like this. Before you've even drawn the bow, half your strength has already leaked away."

As he spoke, he lightly tapped the bend of Li Xiao's knee with his cane.

"Bend your knees more. Only by setting a steady horse stance can you stand rooted. Archery values 'standing like a pine'; if your foundation wobbles, how can your arrows have any accuracy?"

Li Xiao repeatedly adjusted his posture, and fine beads of sweat soon formed on his brow.

"Haha, silly boy, do you really think archery is an easy thing? Wouldn't everyone be able to become a hunter then?"

Seeing him like this, Li Youde grinned from ear to ear.

Back when he had learned archery, he had been even more of a mess than Li Xiao.

He dragged over a wooden chair from the side and sat down, then continued.

"Both arms need the strength of a hundred jin to draw this bow fully, and your lower body must be steady as well.

"Back then, it took me no small amount of blood and sweat to go from learning to draw a bow to being able to hunt prey."

Li Xiao did not rest, still holding the bow as he adjusted his posture.

"Don't rush to shoot yet. First, get familiar with holding the bow."

Li Youde droned on.

"Back then, your mother was always nagging me, saying I hugged this broken bow every day and wouldn't let it go. But how could she know? This bow could not only hunt prey, it could also trade for millet and make cotton-padded coats for you siblings."

Li Xiao listened as he prepared to try drawing the string, when he suddenly heard a fierce shout. "Stop!"

Li Youde's expression changed abruptly. He hurried forward and lightly knocked the bow body with his cane, his tone grave.

"You must never dry-fire a bow!

"The force of a dry fire rebounds entirely onto the body. At best, it can jar your wrist and Tiger's Maw; at worst, it can injure your muscles and bones, and then drawing a bow again will become difficult."

He reached out to straighten the bow in Li Xiao's hands, his fingertips rubbing over the polished bow limbs.

"When I was first learning, I showed off and dry-fired it once. My whole arm went numb for three days, and I couldn't even hold my rice bowl steadily."

Li Xiao hurriedly withdrew his fingers, secretly frightened in hindsight.

He had never touched a bow in his previous life. He had never known there were such rules to it.

Just then, an icy voice sounded in his mind.

"Basic Archery Technique detected. Whether to Record?"

"Yes!" Li Xiao's heart stirred, and he answered instinctively.

The Panel in his mind refreshed instantly. Beside the interface that had previously contained only "Herbal Compendium," a new line of text appeared.

Host: Li Xiao

Already Recorded: Herbal Compendium (Mastered), Basic Archery Technique (0/200, Not Entry Level)

Limit-Breaking Points: 0

Special skill: Herbal Mastery

"It works!" Li Xiao was startled and delighted, and even his movements slowed by half a beat.

He had originally worried that the system might not record this sort of verbal instruction, since it was not written down in any book. Now, the stone hanging over his heart finally dropped.

"Silly boy, what are you spacing out for?"

Li Youde tapped the ground with his cane. "You need to focus when practicing with a bow. If your heart is unsettled, your strength will scatter."

As he spoke, he handed over an arrow.

"When nocking an arrow, keep it close against the bow body. Fit the arrow tail into the string groove. Your left hand must hold the arrow steady, and your right hand must draw the string with even force."

"Oh, got it!"

Li Xiao came back to himself, gripping the bow as he accepted the arrow and nocked it as instructed.

The cold arrow shaft had turned damp from the sweat in his palm. He sank his shoulder and dropped his elbow, bent his knees a little further, and slowly drew back the bowstring.

This time, the aching swelling in his muscles was even worse, and veins faintly stood out on his forearm. But his steady horse stance made him far more stable than before.

He tried sinking the strength in his waist and abdomen into his lower body before gradually exerting force—the arrow shot out with a whoosh!

"Basic Archery Technique experience points +1"

Watching the number jump on the Panel, Li Xiao felt a surge of joy, and even the swelling pain in his hands seemed to lessen.

He retrieved the arrow, drew the bow again, adjusted his posture, and felt out the paths of force through his muscles.

"That's it."

Li Youde nodded as he watched. "Strength needs to be like flowing water, surging upward from beneath your feet, passing through your waist and shoulders, and finally gathering in your hands. You can't just rely on your arms to yank hard."

"Basic Archery Technique experience points +1"

"Basic Archery Technique experience points +1"

"You keep practicing. I'll go make food."

Li Youde rose to his feet. "Practice for a while, then rest for a while. Don't ruin your arms."

"Got it, Dad." Li Xiao answered, trying to blend the knack of "Strength Like Flowing Water" into his movements.

He pressed his heels downward, lightly exerted strength through his waist and abdomen, while deliberately relaxing his shoulders. Sure enough, the bowstring no longer felt so heavy.

Although he still could not draw it very far, amid the soreness in his muscles, he gradually found some of the trick to exerting force—so it truly was not about stubbornly pitting brute strength against it.

After practicing more than ten times in a row, his Basic Archery Technique experience had risen to 12 points.

His arms ached unbearably. As Li Xiao was shaking them out to ease the pain, Li Youde called out to him.

"Stop practicing for now. Come drink some porridge."

In the kitchen stove's pot, millet porridge steamed away. Unlike usual, tiny bits of green floated across its surface.

Li Xiao leaned over and sniffed. A faint medicinal fragrance mingled with the scent of rice and drifted into his nose. "Dad, what did you add to this?"

"The Dandelion Root you picked yesterday. I dried some, ground it into powder, and mixed it in."

Li Youde stirred the porridge with his spoon. "This stuff clears heat. You'll get overheated from practicing the bow, so it's just right for you to drink."

Only then did Li Xiao remember the effects of Dandelion Root. He had not expected Dad to keep it in mind.

He filled a bowl, blew on it until it cooled, and took a sip. The medicinal taste was not strong; instead, it gave the plain porridge a touch of fresh, soothing flavor.

"And those few Fang Feng plants you dug up—I sliced them and set them out to dry. Once they're fully dried, I'll steep them in water for you to drink."

Li Youde sat across from him, watching him. "That stuff dispels wind. You practice your bow in the courtyard every day and get blown on plenty. Drinking it will make you feel better."

Li Xiao's heart warmed. He knew Old Dad must have read that Herbal Compendium to figure out these uses.

"Dad, slaughter that beast this afternoon and stew it with the Gastrodia.

"I need to eat more meat while practicing archery. Once I learn the art of archery, I'll be able to shoot as many rabbits as I want."

"Fine, we'll do as you say."

Li Youde nodded. "But it won't do without seasoning. I'll go to Aunt Li's house to trade for some coarse salt. Only then will the stew have enough flavor."

Aunt Li's two sons worked in the city, and her family was fairly well-off. Trading some copper coins for coarse salt would not be difficult.

Now that Li Xiao was willing to learn archery and hunting, Li Youde naturally wanted to teach him well. At the very least, the boy would have a skill and would not go hungry in the future.

After drinking two bowls of porridge and resting enough, Li Xiao picked up the bow again.

His arms were still sore and numb, but though he was tall and powerfully built, he understood that archery did not rely on brute strength alone.

He wanted to test his limits, so he drew the bowstring—this time, he pulled it half an inch farther than he had in the morning!

"Basic Archery Technique experience points +1"

The number on the Panel jumped to "13." Li Xiao's spirits rose, and the soreness and numbness in his arms seemed to be suppressed by this progress.

When he released the string, he deliberately slowed his movements and felt the force of the bowstring rebounding. The next time he drew the bow, he learned to shed some of the force he had been resisting head-on, and sure enough, it became a little easier again.

"This boy sure knows how to think things through."

At some point, Li Youde had appeared at the courtyard gate, a small packet of coarse salt clenched in his hand.

Seeing Li Xiao's movements gradually gain some proper form, the corners of his mouth could not help lifting slightly.

But knowing only how to draw a bow and nock an arrow would not do. In archery, accuracy was the most important thing.

He needed to make a target for Xiao'er to practice on.