Robbery and 'Fishing'

"Master, please, spare some change. My son and I haven't eaten in two days."

Cui Hao had just left the martial arts school. In the moonlight, an old man and a young beggar, holding a broken bowl, blocked his path. "You're not locals. Where are you from?"

"We're from Xitang County. Our hometown is suffering from famine and banditry."

Cui Hao's paternal grandfather's generation also fled from Xitang County in the west. History was repeating itself. He gave them four copper coins.

"Thank you, master, for your generosity!" The two bowed their heads to the ground as they spoke.

Dragging his weary body home, Cui Hao stepped into the courtyard and urged, "Make me some food, I'm starving."

"Master, the food has been kept warm for you," Su Yun said with a smile. "Please sit inside, I'll bring it to you right away."

Soon, a bowl of rice, fried Snake Meat with lard, and a quarter of a stir-fried chicken were served.

Seeing that there was still chicken at home, Cui Hao asked curiously, "Sister Yun, when I left, weren't you eating at home?"

"I was."

"Then why is there still chicken?"

"I mixed rice with wild vegetables fried in lard, or ate it with soaked flatbread. I eat better than most people in the village. You work hard practicing martial arts, so I saved this for you."

Practicing martial arts consumed a lot of energy. Cui Hao accepted her kindness. "I'll rest tomorrow. I'll go into the mountains to hunt and improve our meals."

"Will Master scold you if you rest?"

"We train for three days and rest for one. Master allows it."

Understanding her husband's schedule, Su Yun shook her head. "We have rice and meat at home. If you hunt, we can sell the game. We only have half a tael of silver left."

The first golden snake sold for six taels. Three taels went to taxes, two taels were used to buy rice, flour, meat, and cloth, and half a tael was lent to Aunt Hua. That left half a tael.

Cui Hao had found three and a half taels of silver on Zhou Menghu and sold the Snake Gallbladder for twelve taels. After paying fifteen taels for tuition, he was also left with half a tael.

In other words, together, he and Su Yun had less than one tael of silver in their household.

At dawn the next day, after eating rice, Cui Hao packed some dry rations, slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, and set off from home.

Su Yun watched her husband's figure disappear into the dark pre-dawn night. She closed the courtyard gate and secured it with two sturdy wooden poles.

Someone knocked on the door in the early morning.

Su Yun, who was in the main hall sewing cloth shoes for her husband, heard the knock. She ignored it, not responding or making a sound.

"Sister Yun, it's Lingdang."

Lingdang? Su Yun put down her needlework, walked behind the wooden gate, moved the poles, and unlatched the door.

"Sister Yun," Lingdang handed over a bunch of wild vegetables. "My mother and I just picked these this morning. My mother told me to bring them to you and Aunt Li."

Taking the vegetables, Su Yun saw a wild leek, six or seven shepherd's purse, and more than twenty dandelion greens.

She looked up at Lingdang, who was wearing thin summer clothes, her small face red with cold, her chapped skin showing through the dirt on her hands.

"Come in and sit," Su Yun moved aside. "I'll cook you breakfast."

"No need, Sister Yun, I've already eaten. I'll be going back now."

Su Yun didn't listen to her explanation. She pulled Lingdang inside, closed the courtyard gate from the inside, and cooked Lingdang a Snake Meat soup. Two pieces of coarse grain flatbread were placed on the side of the bowl.

It was ready after the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

Having not eaten meat in a long time, Lingdang couldn't resist the temptation of food. She thanked Su Yun and ate heartily.

Watching Lingdang devour the food, Su Yun thought of her own past, when she was the same.

Ever since Brother Hao started hunting in the mountains, her life had visibly improved. Indeed, it all depended on a man. Without a man in the house, life was simply unbearable.

Cui Hao, unaware of the guest at home, shot a Hog Badger with an arrow.

Hog Badger usually came out to forage at night and had distinct white stripes on its face. Cui Hao had left early, and the badger was returning home late, so they met by chance. It was truly fated.

Lifting it up, it weighed about 20 catties.

A catty of pork belly cost 20 copper coins. Although this was all lean meat, it was considered wild game. Wealthy people liked to eat it, and restaurants would pay up to 20 wen per catty. That meant 400 copper coins!

Thinking of this, Cui Hao couldn't suppress a smile.

Panel Update.

[Archery: Novice]
[Progress: 42/300]
[Effects: Soreness -5, Arm Strength +5, Accuracy +5]

The previous progress was 35. It had increased by 7 points, a significant effect. Hunting really was the way to go!

Whoosh!

An arrow suddenly shot out. Cui Hao only had time to use the Hog Badger to shield his head and upper body.

Splat! The arrow pierced flesh, hitting the Hog Badger.

If the Hog Badger hadn't blocked it, the arrow would have hit Cui Hao's chest. His heart skipped a beat. He rolled backward with the Hog Badger, hiding his body behind a Camphor Tree.

"Scoundrel! The Hog Badger you hunted is one I released... Hand it over!" a fierce voice boomed from the other side of the stream. "Otherwise, I'll kill you!"

Cui Hao took two deep breaths and tossed the Hog Badger in his hand to the side, where it landed ten meters away.

Whoosh! Another arrow flew past his eyes.

Fortunately, Cui Hao had thrown it sideways, not forward, so his body hadn't left the tree trunk.

Seizing the moment before the opponent could recover their strength, Cui Hao decisively emerged from the other side of the trunk. He spotted a figure and, with a rough aim, released the bowstring. The Wolf Fang Arrow spun as it flew forward.

Thwack! From a distance of fourteen to fifteen meters, it struck the enemy's chest, half of the arrow shaft embedding itself.

Severely wounded, the enemy turned to retreat, but after a few steps... they collapsed with a thump.

Cui Hao nocked a second arrow, maintaining his aim. Seeing the enemy fall, he glanced at his status panel.

[Archery: Beginner]
[Progress: 52/300]

Hunting Hog Badgers increased progress by 7, killing a person increased it by 10!

This made Cui Hao want to slaughter the entire village.

He retrieved his prey, waded across the four-meter-wide stream, and cautiously approached the corpse.

Crouching down, he examined it. It was just an ordinary Hunter. Even their bows were identical.

A search yielded a water gourd, three strips of dried meat, three wooden arrows, and not a single coin. The bow was the most valuable item.

Suddenly, Cui Hao's mind flashed back to the injured Grouse that had been fishing for the Golden Python.

He dragged the body across the stream, pulled out the arrow, and plugged the wound with mud.

Using a twisted grass rope, he hung the corpse upside down from a large tree by the stream, allowing the blood to drip out slowly. He then returned to the other side of the stream, lay down in the dry grass, bow and arrow in hand, and waited quietly.

Drip, drip... Blood trickled from the corpse's chest, neck, and head, falling onto the soft earth.

Before long, a faint rustling came from the dim forest. A terrifying-looking, muscular Mountain Demon appeared.

Cui Hao remembered his father saying these creatures were edible and expensive, but hunters who encountered them could only flee for their lives.

Even then, they would likely die. In summary: they couldn't defeat it, and they couldn't escape it.

Holding his breath, Cui Hao regretted his actions. He should have just caught some fish, hunted some chickens, or gathered duck down. Greed had led to trouble.

The Mountain Demon cautiously approached the tree closest to the hanging corpse. Its movements were slow and deliberate as it sniffed the air, appearing extremely wary.

Due to the wind direction, it didn't detect any danger, but it observed for a good fifteen minutes before leaping above the corpse and biting through the grass rope. The body fell to the ground with a thud.

Landing agilely, the ghost-like Mountain Demon plunged its claws heavily into the corpse's chest and slowly tore open its ribcage.

From across the stream, Cui Hao clearly heard the ripping sound of muscle being torn, feeling as if his own chest had been opened.

Reaching inside with its claws, the Mountain Demon retrieved a bright red heart. This made it involuntarily lick its lips with its tongue, opening its foul-smelling maw.

Just as it was about to feed, an accident occurred.