Village Tyrant

The panel appeared in an instant.

An information prompt came to him from within his mind!

Cui Hao understood how to use the panel. As long as he practiced more... he could build proficiency and level up!

Did this mean that as long as he was willing to work hard, this craft could steadily improve, perhaps... even reach a certain height?

At that thought.

Cui Hao's heart leaped with joy!

After all, in his previous life, he had not been good at hunting. Taking up a bow and arrows had merely been a helpless way to make a living.

He had never expected to awaken a cheat ability as well!

After thanking him again, Cui Hao rose and left. He stopped in front of a clean rice shop.

The owner was a lean, middle-aged man, dozing with his chin propped up.

"Shopkeeper, what's the price of coarse rice?"

The shopkeeper barely raised his eyelids. "One dou, one hundred and ten copper coins."

Cui Hao's heart sank. "Your rice price isn't right, is it?"

"River transport's been disrupted, so less rice is coming from the east. Naturally, the price has gone up. Buy it soon. In two days, it might rise again."

Cui Hao fell silent. He asked at two more shops. One quoted one hundred and five copper coins, while the other wanted one hundred and eight. They were all much the same.

In short, rising grain prices were a foregone conclusion.

He turned toward the meat stalls. In front of the largest one hung half a butchered pig. The stall owner was a burly man with a face gleaming with grease, chopping bones with a cleaver.

"How much for the fatty meat?"

"Twenty-five copper coins a jin, no bargaining," the burly man boomed, the cleaver flashing. "Lean meat's eighteen. Which piece do you want?"

Cui Hao looked at the half pig. The fatty portions were gleaming white and enticing, but far too expensive.

His gaze dropped an inch, landing on a skin-on, fat-and-lean section—the "three-layer meat."

Cui Hao raised his hand and pointed at it. "How much for this piece?"

The burly man glanced over. "Twenty copper coins a jin."

Cui Hao licked his slightly cracked lips. He had only one hundred and fifty copper coins left, so he had to make every coin count.

"Sorry for the trouble. I'll take a jin." After a pause, he added, "Try to give me one with more fat."

"Sure." The burly man brought his cleaver down, chopped off a piece, and weighed it. "A little over a jin. I'll only charge you for one jin. Twenty copper coins."

Next came the staple food.

Rather than buying the stubbornly expensive coarse rice, he bought a quarter dou of mixed flour blended with beans.

Then, gritting his teeth, he bought half a dou of the cheapest millet, mixed with plenty of husks.

Together, these cost another eighty copper coins.

With the last fifty copper coins, he bought a little coarse salt.

That used up the full two hundred and twenty copper coins.

He used a scrap of cloth to bundle the food tightly into a pack.

With his bow and arrows, he strode back to the village.

His stomach was empty and his steps unsteady, but the things on his back gave him some confidence—at least for the next few days, he and Su Yun would no longer have to live on wild-vegetable gruel alone.

More importantly, he had a bow and arrows.

And he had that panel, which showed him hope as long as he practiced.

When he arrived home, the courtyard was silent. Su Yun had not returned yet. After setting down his things, Cui Hao immediately began making a fire and cooking.

The firewood beside the stove was mostly weeds and thin branches, stacked in neat order—Su Yun gathered it bit by bit from the wilderness every day after finishing her odd jobs, dragging it home with her exhausted body.

The trees between the village and Qingyuan City had long since been cut down completely. The few large trees occasionally seen were certainly fengshui trees atop graves, which no one dared touch. Most of the rest belonged to someone.

Using a flint, he struggled to ignite the dry grass, then set the thin branches alight.

He first put the sliced fatty meat into the pot. With a sizzling sound, the rich aroma of meat spread through the air amid the crackling splatter of oil, instantly awakening every craving in Cui Hao's body.

Carefully, he ladled the rendered lard into a small clay jar. This would be a rare source of cooking oil for the next few days.

Then he used the meat-scented pot to steam the coarse-rice meal. He set a steamer rack on top and spread out the soaked dried vegetables and the remaining slices of three-layer meat to steam together.

While waiting for the food to cook, he glanced at the water jar and saw that it was nearly empty. Cui Hao picked up the wooden bucket from the corner and walked out of the courtyard.

Beside the old well at the village entrance, he had just set down the bucket when a burly figure blocked his path.

It was none other than the village tyrant—Zhou Menghu.

Two roguish lackeys trailed behind him.

Cui Hao's heart tightened, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Brother Zhou."

"That matter I mentioned last time..." Zhou Menghu stepped closer and lowered his voice. "How have you considered it, boy?"

Half a year ago, just after Cui Hao's original father had vanished, Zhou Menghu had come to their door and proposed buying Su Yun.

At the time, Cui Hao had been preparing for the xiucai examinations, so he had said, "Let's discuss it later."

"Brother Zhou..." Cui Hao looked up at Zhou Menghu's eyes, which flickered with greed and viciousness. Deciding to keep him placated for now, he said, "Let me think it over a little longer."

"What's there to think about?" Zhou Menghu's smile was false. "When you can't pay the tax silver and the government shackles you away, it'll be too late for regrets."

"The main problem is that my body is weak. I still need someone to look after me for the time being."

Zhou Menghu stared at him for several seconds before suddenly letting out a snort and patting Cui Hao's thin shoulder. The force was not light. "Fine, think it over a little longer. Brothers, let's go."

With that, he swaggered away with his lackeys.

Watching Zhou Menghu's retreating back, Cui Hao knitted his brows tightly. A frightening thought suddenly arose in his mind.

Zhou Menghu had probably set his sights on his family long ago. His predecessor's father had disappeared while hunting... Could it have... not been an accident?

What should he do now? Become stronger as quickly as possible?

Or strike first?

With the soul and mindset of a modern man, Cui Hao leaned toward striking first.

He quickly filled a bucket with water and hurried home.

He poured the water into the jar and carried the food to the table. Then the courtyard gate was pushed open.

Su Yun had returned. When she saw the bowl of glossy, fragrant millet rice and steamed meat on the table in the main room, her body stiffened.

"Go wash your face." Cui Hao pointed at the food. "The meal's going to get cold. There's meat today, so eat more. Look how thin you are."

Su Yun went to ladle water and wash her face, her steps stiff.

At the table, Cui Hao put the largest, glossy and fatty piece of three-layer meat into Su Yun's bowl. "Hurry and eat. Build up your strength."

Su Yun ate in small bites, but she looked as though her soul had left her body.

Noticing that something was wrong with Su Yun, Cui Hao merely assumed she was too tired.

After a short rest following the meal, he impatiently began his first practice session.

He hung a crude target made of straw bundled together with withered grass on the earthen wall to the left of the courtyard gate. It was about the size of a pillow.

He stood beneath the eaves, four steps away.

He nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring.

The bow was heavier than he had imagined. His arm muscles were stiff, and he did not dare draw it fully. He pulled it to roughly half draw, held his breath, and released by feel—

"Thwack!" The first arrow went crooked and stuck into the firewood gate beside the target, sinking three inches into the wood.

Cui Hao's heart ached. Please don't let me shoot up the only courtyard gate.

He adjusted his breathing and recalled the vague concepts his father had occasionally mentioned while giving him pointers, such as "three points in a line," before nocking another arrow.

The second arrow was still absurdly far off.

The third arrow skimmed over the top edge of the straw target, barely counting as a "hit."

The fourth arrow, the fifth arrow... his hand seemed to be slowly finding the feel of it. Although the points of impact were scattered, all of them landed within the straw target's area.

With a thought, he looked toward the panel.

[Archery: Early Stage]

[Progress: 50/100]

Sure enough! Practice worked! And the early-stage progress rose quickly, jumping straight from twenty to fifty.

At this rate, perhaps he could break through one hundred tonight and reach a new realm?

After a brief rest, Cui Hao began his second round of practice, focusing on adjusting his posture and feeling how he exerted his strength. His hit rate improved somewhat.

The progress had become seventy.

In the third round, his arms grew even more sore and heavy. Cui Hao gritted his teeth and persisted, bringing the progress to eighty-five.

"Brother Hao, take a break," Su Yun urged from the side. "One night won't make a difference. You can practice again tomorrow."

Thinking of Zhou Menghu's sinister gaze, Cui Hao shook his head. "I'm only drawing the bow halfway. I can still hold on. You go to sleep early."

Su Yun did not try to persuade him further and turned to go back inside.

Cui Hao continued practicing archery. After the fourth round, he looked toward the panel.

[Archery: Early Stage]

[Progress: 99/100]

Ninety-nine! It was stuck.

Cui Hao furrowed his brows. Was it because the practice distance was too short? Or because he lacked the pressure brought by real prey?

I have to enter the mountains tomorrow morning... Having made up his mind, he put away the bow and returned indoors, where his expression froze slightly.

Su Yun had slept in his bed, her entire body curled beneath the quilt.

"Sister Yun... you..."

Su Yun slowly lowered the quilt, revealing eyes reddened from crying. "Brother Hao... let's sleep together tonight."

How could Cui Hao sleep when the woman was crying like this? He moved over a stool and sat down. "Explain yourself."

"I... want to give you my body... before I'm sold." As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Yun's tears burst forth like a riverbank swept away by a flood, impossible to stop.

"Who said I'm going to sell you?"

"The money for the meat..."

"I sold the Four Treasures of the Study. I bought arrows and meat. I'm going hunting in the mountains first thing tomorrow morning. From now on, you and I will support the family together."

"Uh..." Su Yun's tears stopped at once, and her cheeks flushed crimson. "Brother Hao, hurry and go outside. I'm going to get dressed..."

"Why bother getting dressed..." Before he could finish speaking, Cui Hao pounced on her.