Common Tongue

It was easy to tell who the experts were: just look at how many people had gathered to watch. The real experts always attracted plenty of attention.

Chen Shouyi wasn't in a hurry to practice. He watched one person after another.

Then he came to a sudden stop. A large crowd had gathered up ahead, and even the coaches from several nearby archery halls kept glancing over.

The man was middle-aged, with a cold expression and a lean, powerful build. Beneath his casual short-sleeved sports shirt, the muscles of his bare arms were slender and tightly defined, like twisted steel wires. Each time he loosed an arrow, it let out a sharp whistle.

His movements were full of rhythm, as if he were following some kind of beat. His pace was unhurried, yet his shots flowed on without a break, like a river running smoothly along.

Chen Shouyi quietly watched him for quite a while, then went to the rest area and leaned back in a seat, closing his eyes as if he were resting. He sat there for two hours. By the time he opened his eyes, the middle-aged man had already left.

But he didn't mind. He'd already gotten what he came for.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"I'd like a three-hundred-pound bow!"

Chen Shouyi collected a bow, some arrows, and three quivers, then went to an empty lane.

He tested the bow's draw weight and found it a little light for his current strength. Still, he had no plans to change it. A three-hundred-pound bow was already the standard for the Martial Apprentice exam for men.

Ordinary adults could generally manage a forty- or fifty-pound recurve bow. Once a bow went over a hundred pounds, it was no longer a hunting bow but a War Bow. At short and medium range, the power of a three-hundred-pound bow was already comparable to a rifle.

Just like swordsmanship, archery had a standard set of movements and ways to apply force. But it was much simpler than swordsmanship, relying more on eyesight, instinct, and the ability to anticipate. There weren't many tricks to it. Apart from natural talent, all it took was practice—over and over again.

For someone as skilled in swordsmanship as he was, getting started would be no trouble at all.

He closed his eyes and recalled the middle-aged man's muscle memory from the Memory Space.

The next moment, he opened his eyes and immediately raised his bow and loosed an arrow.

The movement flowed seamlessly, without the slightest awkwardness. It was practically perfect!

The arrow shot away with a whoosh, vanishing from sight.

Chen Shouyi shook his head and loosed another arrow. This time it hit the target, but only scored one point.

The third arrow missed again.

The fourth arrow scored three points!

By the fifth arrow, he was hitting the target every time.

He kept drawing his bow and loosing arrows. His stamina was immense, and his strength flowed without end. The three-hundred-pound bow took almost no effort to draw, and he barely felt himself getting tired.

Before long, he had shot all the arrows in his three quivers.

He retrieved them and adjusted the distance to the target. Without taking a break, he continued shooting.

For safety, each archery lane here was separated by a wall, and you could go retrieve your arrows whenever you wanted.

His scores improved at a visible, rapid pace. By the time the Archery Hall closed, his archery level had risen from (Not Started) to Beginner (10).

At half past nine that evening, he returned to the hotel with his briefcase tucked under his arm.

He had just reached the stairs when the front desk called out to him. "Hey, handsome! Your package is here."

"Oh, thanks!" Chen Shouyi thanked them, took the package, and hurried back to his room.

He shut the door, sat on the bed, and tore open the package. Inside were three thick books.

Common Dialogue for Interacting with Barbarians

Otherworld Common Language Dictionary

Learn Barbarian Language Through Pictures

For some unknown reason, every region of the Otherworld that humanity had explored so far seemed to have only one language. No matter how far apart two Barbarian Tribes were, no matter whether they worshipped Deities, even some intelligent creatures completely different from the barbarians spoke almost the same language.

It was an utterly incomprehensible phenomenon, beyond the bounds of human reason.

Many scientists had studied it countless times. It was only in the last few years, with the rapid development of genetics, that a relatively credible explanation emerged. Researchers had found that their genes contained an unusually large number of functional segments related to language—dozens of times more than humans had—yet their ability to use language was no greater than ours.

From an evolutionary standpoint, this was a serious waste, an enormous redundancy.

Some scientists had formed a startling hypothesis: perhaps their genes could pass down linguistic information.

But ever since it was proposed, this hypothesis had been highly controversial, because it led to an even more incredible conclusion.

That all life in the Otherworld came from the same origin.

This origin wasn't like Earth's first organic molecule, born in the primordial soup of the ancient ocean.

The "origin" of Otherworld Creatures must have been an intelligent being capable of communicating through language. After "it" perished, "its" cells and genes began to spread. Countless forms of life then sprang from this foundation and evolved.

And "its" language had been passed down through their genes.

But as far as Chen Shouyi was concerned, no matter how mysterious and incredible the origin of Otherworld Creatures might be, at least he didn't have to worry that Shell Girl spoke some bizarre, obscure language he'd have no way of understanding.

Thinking of Shell Girl, Chen Shouyi hurriedly opened the brand-new briefcase he'd bought not long ago.

He took out Shell Girl, who had been tied up inside.

He peeled the Tape off her mouth and cut the bindings around her hands and feet.

Shell Girl moved her hands and feet, glared at Chen Shouyi, then turned away with an angry look. But when Chen Shouyi offered her the multicolored glass beads, her face immediately lit up.

She held one up to the light. The shifting, mysterious colors caught her eye, and she liked it more and more. Sitting on the edge of the table, she began swinging her legs.

These glass beads were the kind children used for bead necklaces. One big box cost thirty yuan, and Chen Shouyi had bought a whole box. There had to be several hundred beads inside, in all sorts of colors. He figured they'd last her a long time.

After feeding her some honey, Chen Shouyi set her down beside the pillow, turned on the television, and switched to cartoons.

Then he left her to it.

She was completely absorbed in television now, especially cartoons. She couldn't understand a word, but the pictures alone kept her enthralled. She didn't even blink.

As for Chen Shouyi, he picked up the easiest book, Learn Barbarian Language Through Pictures, and began studying the language of the Otherworld in earnest.

After reading for a while, he suddenly said to Shell Girl, "Bozhaluokebaduo!"

According to the book, it meant, "We're friends!"

Shell Girl seemed not to hear him. Her eyes were fixed on the cartoon, and she was completely engrossed.

Chen Shouyi picked up the remote and turned off the television, then repeated the phrase.

Shell Girl was furious. She stood with her hands on her hips and shouted, "Beiqi! Beiqi! Beiqi!"

She wasn't very afraid of this giant anymore. As long as she found enough golden sand for him, he wouldn't care how much she acted up—unless he tied her up and locked her away, of course.

"Beiqi?" Chen Shouyi paid no attention to Shell Girl's anger. He listened closely to her tiny voice and silently repeated the word to himself. He hurriedly grabbed the dictionary and looked it up by its pronunciation, but after searching for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what it meant.

Had he heard it wrong?

"Beiqi, Taiqi, Peiqi, Peppa!"

"Peppa!"

Then he suddenly remembered the cartoon she'd just been watching, and a flash of inspiration struck him. "Peppa Pig!"