Wild Boar

Lines of information surfaced in his mind.

Lu Chuan's breath caught, then steadied.

He forced down the surge of excitement, keeping his voice casual:

"Uncle Wang, this old bow—I've taken a liking to it. Since it's useless anyway and just taking up space, why not let me have it too?"

Wang the Blacksmith chuckled. "Chuanzi, this thing's just for show. Might fall apart any day. If you like it, take it—no need to talk about money..."

Lu Chuan shook his head, insistent. "No, Uncle Wang, business is business. Name a price, whatever it is."

Seeing his seriousness, Wang said bluntly:

"Since you insist... how about this: the new bow is three taels five mace. This broken one, call it half a tael. Round it up to four taels even!"

Lu Chuan didn't hesitate. "Done! Four taels, just as you said!"

Lu Danian, listening nearby, opened his mouth to ask why his son wanted a useless broken bow, piling on an extra half-tael debt.

But seeing Lu Chuan's unusually resolute profile, he swallowed the words.

Outside the smithy, Lu Chuan spoke first: "Dad, aren't you going to ask why I bought this bow?"

Lu Danian shook his head. "I figure you've got a plan. I won't pry."

Lu Chuan felt a little relieved but still made up an excuse:

"There's a senior brother at the Martial Arts Hall who likes antiques. I bought it to get on his good side..."

Lu Danian relaxed at that. "Good, good..."

With the bow in hand, Lu Chuan's first move was to test its power.

Avoiding his parents, he took the Worn Treasure Bow to his room.

[Weapon: Worn Treasure Bow]
[Quality: Mortal Grade, Upper]
[Description: A treasure bow crafted by a skilled artisan from a Century Ironwood Core and Tiger Sinew. Due to age and poor storage, the materials have severely degraded.]
[Collection Effect: Grants Basic Archery · Perfection]

Lu Chuan ran his hand over the bow again, eyes gleaming:

"Century Ironwood Core and Tiger Sinew—both are incredibly rare treasures."

"Looks like Uncle Wang was right. This bow really did come down from his great-grandfather. Lucky me."

[Collect?]

"Collect!"

The command came, and a torrent of information surged into his mind.

Vast experience and insight washed over his awareness, then swiftly merged, becoming part of him.

Lu Chuan opened his eyes, a profound sense of mastery over the bow rising within him.

[Basic Archery · Perfection: Open a Stone Bow; within a hundred paces, every arrow hits its mark]

That meant, as long as the bow had enough draw, he could place an arrow anywhere within a hundred paces.

Unable to contain himself, he grabbed the new Zhe Wood Heavy Bow, drew an arrow, and strode to the open ground outside.

No wasted motion. Lu Chuan spread his feet, settled into stance, nocked the arrow, hooked the string, and drew.

The one-stone hard bow, requiring a hundred and twenty jin of force to fully draw, opened steadily and firmly in his hands, the string taut as a full moon.

His target: an old tree a hundred paces away.

"Swoosh!"

The string sang, the arrow flew, and the next instant, it was firmly embedded in the old tree's trunk.

Nearby, Lu Danian, who had just witnessed the scene, was struck speechless.

He opened his mouth, voice dry: "Good... good shot."

Lu Chuan lowered the bow, turned back to his father, and grinned. "Dad, it's all your good stock. You passed the strength to me."

Lu Danian, pleased by the flattery, couldn't hide his pride:

"Of course! Don't forget your old man back in the day... ahem. Let's go. Pack up. While there's still daylight, you and me—we'll bag a boar!"

A wild boar wasn't a rabbit or a Mountain Pheasant. Both father and son knew the danger.

The old mountain saying went, "One Boar Two Bears Three Tigers"—not ranking strength, but deadliness to hunters.

Wild boars were thick-skinned and tough, especially mature males. They rolled in mud and rubbed against pine trunks to scratch itches, caking resin and mud into their hide until it hardened like armor.

That was "Wild Boar Armor."

Ordinary hunting arrows, lacking enough force or hitting at the wrong angle, couldn't pierce it—and would only enrage the beast.

Even with Lu Chuan's current strength and archery, he dared not be careless.

Bringing his experienced father along meant relying on his tracking skills and having an extra pair of eyes.

Lu Danian was indeed an old hand at hunting. Not long into the mountains, he picked out fresh boar droppings and hoofprints from the snow-muddied ground.

After examining a few more dug-up pits and snapped shrubs, he quickly locked onto a wild boar's movement trail.

"Hey, luck's on our side today," Lu Danian said in a low voice, pointing at a clear set of hoofprints ahead.

"Look at the gait and the dung pile—this one's a Lone Boar."

In the bitter cold of winter, wild boars usually band together to fend off the chill.

Hunting a herd carried extreme risk; it was easy to get surrounded and attacked.

A Lone Boar, though often larger and fiercer in temper, fought alone. For a hunter, the danger was relatively manageable.

Father and son followed the trail, lightening their steps and holding their breath as they crept forward.

Passing through a sparse patch of woods, they came upon a wind-sheltered thicket of grass.

A massive creature was curled up in the withered brush, letting out dull snores. This was the target they'd been tracking.

But when Lu Danian got a clear look at the boar's full form, his face changed abruptly. He grabbed Lu Chuan from behind:

"Chuanzi, we're in trouble! We were too hasty... This thing's at least five hundred jin!"

Lu Chuan stared hard, and his heart tightened.

That beast in the grass was far more imposing than he'd imagined.

Its black bristles stood like steel needles, shoulders and back humped high, neck thick and short. Judging by its build, Lu Danian's estimate of five hundred jin was on the low side.

"If one arrow doesn't drop it..." Lu Danian's palms were sweating.

"When something like this goes berserk, snapping a bowl-thick tree is nothing special. Our two legs won't outrun its four."

After the initial tension, Lu Chuan felt a surge of excitement instead.

Wild boar meat fetched a good price. If they took down this five-hundred-jin beast, the family would have an easy time for a while!

"Dad," he said, his voice steady, "find a sturdy old tree and climb up. Watch from a distance. Leave this one to me."

Lu Danian instinctively wanted to argue, but seeing the sharp calm in Lu Chuan's eyes and remembering his uncanny archery, he swallowed the words: "Be careful."

With that, he scrambled up an old pine tree, fixing his gaze below.

Lu Chuan slowly took down the Zhe Wood Heavy Bow and drew a hunting arrow.

The boar was sleeping soundly, its massive head buried deep in the grass, vital spots on its skull all covered.

If he couldn't kill it in one shot, the risk would multiply.

His eyes swept over the boar's bulky frame.

In the end, his arrow locked onto the spot just forward of the boar's ribs—where the heart and lungs lay.

Lu Chuan steadied his breathing, his heartbeat slowing.

The bowstring stretched wide under immense force.

"Swoosh!"

The arrow left the string, splitting the wind, and buried itself with pinpoint accuracy into the spot Lu Chuan had aimed for.

"ROOOAR!!!"

A shriek of savage, agonized fury exploded in an instant.

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