A Bow at the Start

[Weapon: Ordinary Hunting Bow]

[Quality: Mortal Tier, Mid Grade]

[Description: This is a heavily worn hunting bow. Beyond hunting, you can't expect much more from it.]

[Collection Effect: Obtain Basic Archery Skill - Minor Accomplishment, Talent - Eagle Eye]

[Collect?]

"Just as I thought, the hunting bow is also a collectible weapon!"

Lu Chuan's mood lifted. Without hesitation, he issued the command to the system.

"Collect!"

As the command was given, a roar echoed through Lu Chuan's mind, followed by a flood of knowledge about basic archery pouring into his thoughts.

At the same time, a status panel abruptly appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Lu Chuan]

[Age: 18]

[Martial Arts: Basic Archery Skill - Minor Accomplishment (Draws a Six-Power Bow; within sixty paces, every arrow hits true)]

[Talent: Eagle Eye (When focusing on a specific target, perception sharply increases for a short time, allowing capture of the finest traces and movements)]

[Collectible Weapons Remaining: 2]

"Draws a Six-Power Bow; within sixty paces, every arrow hits true?"

Lu Chuan's eyes widened in surprise. "This basic archery skill is anything but basic..."

In Dagan, the unit of measurement for bows was Power. One Power equaled twelve jin, so Six Power meant seventy-two jin.

For an ordinary person to handle a Six-Power Bow, at least two years of practice were necessary.

What truly stunned him was "within sixty paces, every arrow hits true."

One pace was roughly the distance of two steps, about one meter and four.

Sixty paces came to around eighty-plus meters.

Every arrow hitting true within eighty meters—that level of skill...

Let's put it this way: not just in Kaoshan Village, but even in his past life, this would be Olympic-level performance!

"Just Basic Archery Skill - Minor Accomplishment has already reached this standard. I can hardly imagine what it'll be like at Major Accomplishment!"

Next, he tested his newly acquired Talent - Eagle Eye.

As he focused his attention, the finer details of the room gradually sharpened. Everything he looked at seemed magnified, as if under a lens.

What a talent!

With Eagle Eye, all traces of prey on the mountain would be crystal clear to him.

Lu Chuan had worried earlier that even with accurate archery, he might fail to find game. But Eagle Eye clearly solved that problem perfectly.

Coming back to himself, Lu Chuan realized the bow in his hands had vanished.

He smiled wryly. "So being collected really does make it disappear..."

Still, this wasn't a big problem. He had another bow at home, though it was even more damaged. For now, he'd have to make do.

He found the bow and gripped it. Information appeared once more.

[Weapon: Inferior Hunting Bow]

[Quality: Mortal Tier, Low Grade]

[Collection Effect: Obtain a slight increase in archery]

[Collect?]

Frowning, Lu Chuan decisively chose "No."

He only had two collectible weapon slots left. He'd have to find something higher-grade.

"I need to collect better weapons. It looks like stacking Minor Accomplishment on Minor Accomplishment to reach Major Accomplishment won't work."

While Mother Lu was cooking, Lu Chuan prepared the other items he'd need for the mountain.

There were arrows, snares, a leather water pouch, and flint...

By the time Mother Lu brought out a large bowl of corn porridge, Lu Chuan dug in eagerly.

Watching him wolf down the corn porridge, Mother Lu had little appetite herself. She took a few bites and even added some pickled vegetables to his bowl.

Finally, before Lu Chuan left, Mother Lu pressed a solid corn cake into his arms.

"Be careful on the mountain. If you can't find any prey, come back early. It's freezing out there..."

Seeing Mother Lu's endless warnings, Lu Chuan felt a warmth in his heart. He swallowed another mouthful of porridge.

"Mother, don't worry. I'll come back with game."

Out the door, a stretch of white greeted his eyes.

The snow that had fallen a few days ago still hadn't melted, burying most traces of prey.

For Lu Chuan, heading into the mountains to hunt, this made things all the harder.

He ran into quite a few villagers on his way out. They'd clearly all heard about the Lu family's business.

Now that they saw Lu Chuan, some eyed him with envy over the fox and sneered under their breath, while others offered words of concern.

"Just as I said, that family's got no luck for good fortune. How long did he even have that fox before the old man snatched it away..."

"Yeah, look at this kid's getup. He thinks he can go hunting up the mountain? Not that easy. With the snow sealing off the peaks, he'll be lucky to pick up a dead sparrow..."

"Chuanzi, watch your step out there. Your father's sick in bed now, so you need to be extra careful..."

Shrugging off this mix of cold and warm human sentiment, Lu Chuan set foot on the snow-covered path leading into the wilds.

He walked all the way out of the village, a few place names his father often mentioned surfacing in his mind.

Prey all had their regular haunts. For example, Thicket Slope—a sunny, gentle incline where the brush grew low and dense, the sandy soil soft and loose, a favorite spot for pheasants and rabbits.

Muddy Gully, in the mountain hollow west of the village. The gully floor stayed damp year-round, thick with all kinds of nameless tubers—a paradise for wild boars.

Even though Lu Chuan's archery was impressive now, he still didn't dare go where the big game roamed. After all, his body wasn't strong enough yet; even if he shot a large animal dead, he couldn't haul it back.

Besides, there was that saying about a child carrying gold through a busy market. He wasn't the only one hunting on this mountain.

So he settled on his destination for the trip: Thicket Slope.

Treading through the loose snow, Lu Chuan gripped the old hunting bow and made his way step by step toward Thicket Slope.

Along the way, he focused his mind several times, quietly activating Eagle Eye.

His vision sharpened abruptly. The tiny bumps and dips in the snow, the bark patterns on distant trees, even the drifting trajectories of falling snowflakes—all were crystal clear.

But he found no fresh traces of prey. What he did spot were plenty of human footprints and signs.

Seemed he wasn't the only one braving the bitter cold to try his luck up the mountain.

The chill on his body grew heavier with each passing moment.

His coarse cloth clothes couldn't block the bone-piercing damp cold of the mountains. The wind cut right through them.

"Good thing I had that big bowl of thick corn porridge before I left,"

he thought to himself with relief. "Otherwise, by now, I'd probably be too frozen to even draw the bow."

Just as he was scanning his surroundings, a flash of vivid red suddenly caught his eye!

That red was extremely bright, standing out sharply against the sea of white. It was located beside a thorn thicket half-buried in snow.

Lu Chuan's heart lurched. His breath caught instantly.