Ambush

The sky shifted from dark to bright, the sun overhead blazing with scorching heat. Standing in the yard, Luo Yi kept practicing his archery, utterly unaware of the passage of time.

By noon, Luo Xi had finished making lunch and was about to call her brother to eat.

She watched the figure in the yard, who had been drawing and shooting arrows since before dawn, without a break.

Ever since their father went missing, her brother had changed like a different person. A flicker of worry crossed her eyes.

After nearly three hours of continuous practice, Luo Yi was completely exhausted. Seeing the progress bar on the panel just a few points shy of completion, he used the last of his strength to fire a few more arrows, then collapsed flat on the ground.

Lying there, Luo Yi felt his whole body burning up, as if he were about to explode, swelling and contracting endlessly.

He struggled to his feet, stumbled to the well, drew a bucket of water, and poured it over himself.

The well water hit his body, steaming up like clouds of mist.

Worried that his internal organs couldn't withstand such high heat, he dunked his head into the bucket and gulped down mouthfuls.

The whole ordeal lasted only two or three minutes. Luo Yi felt the inner heat gradually fade, along with the fatigue from the morning's archery practice.

He caught a whiff of the stench wafting from his body.

Seeing Luo Xi's worried expression, he signaled that he was fine, told his sister to go back to her room, and began drawing water to scrub off the grime.

After washing up, Luo Yi looked at the handsome face reflected in the well water and his robust, tiger-like physique, and grinned.

He silently called up the panel:

Code
Host: Luo Yi
Age: 16
Realm: Mortal
Skills: Basic Archery (Mastery 1/400)
Traits: None

Seeing that Basic Archery had reached mastery on the panel, he picked up the Three Stone Bow that had fallen to the ground. Before the skill upgrade, he'd needed full strength to draw the Hunting Bow; now, half the effort sufficed.

He felt his physical fitness had nearly doubled.

He realized that the higher the skill level, the greater the boost to his body.

Curiosity stirred within him—how did his current strength compare to a martial artist who had entered the realm?

He walked into the house, and his sister's surprised voice rang out.

"Brother, you, you, you—are you possessed by an Evil Spirit? How did you change so much?" Luo Xi's mouth hung wide open.

He ruffled the girl's head.

"Don't talk nonsense. Your big brother here is a real person. When have you ever seen an Evil Spirit this handsome?"

Hearing her brother's cocky explanation, Luo Xi helplessly nodded.

Not wanting to dwell on the topic, he looked at the Millet Porridge and Dried Rabbit Meat set on the floor and gestured for his sister to sit down.

After today's archery skill upgrade, Luo Yi found his appetite had skyrocketed. Glancing at his current build, he figured that explained it.

He took out a string of copper coins and handed them to his sister.

"Xiao Xi, make a bit more food from now on. Practicing archery takes a lot out of me, and I need enough nutrition. You're still growing too—you have to keep up with your diet."

After lunch, he looked up at the scorching sun overhead.

It was already late September, and only seven days remained until the end of the month, when the Autumn Tax was due.

He felt the one tael of silver in his pocket—not even enough to pay the tax, let alone fund martial training. Silently, he grabbed his bow and hunting pack and headed toward Yunling Mountain.

Luo Wei, who had been lounging at the town entrance soaking up the morning sun, was about to call his men for a drink when he saw the younger brother tasked with tailing Luo Yi come running over.

"What's up?"

The younger brother panted for nearly a minute before catching his breath.

"Just left home, heading toward Yunling Mountain."

Certain that his good nephew was going to Yunling Mountain, and worried about being spotted on the road, Luo Wei took some of his men ahead to lie in wait there.

He sent the rest to split up and report Luo Yi's movements to him at any time.

Just as he stepped out of town onto the dirt path toward Yunling Mountain, Luo Yi noticed that more people than usual were heading in that direction today.

He discreetly checked a few of their outfits. They were going into the mountains to hunt, but none carried a Hunting Bow? Sensing something off, he grew alert and quickened his pace toward Yunling Mountain.

The men trailing behind Luo Yi saw him suddenly speed up.

They exchanged glances, remembering that their boss was already lying in wait up in the mountains.

One of them said, "Brothers, with the boss's strength, he can easily take this guy out. Going there would just be a waste of time. If the boss can't handle him, we'd just be walking to our deaths. I say we go have some fun and wait for the boss to come back. What do you all think?"

Hearing the suggestion, the others nodded.

Running all the way to the foot of Yunling Mountain, Luo Yi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one had followed.

As a well-behaved youth from the 21st century, he'd never even killed a chicken. If it came to killing a person, he didn't know if he could bring himself to do it.

Sure that no one was tailing him, he found the markers he'd left and headed toward the water pit.

Luo Wei had set up an ambush in advance with his men. When he saw Luo Yi enter the mountains, he turned to the two members of the Wang Meng Hunting Team beside him and said, "You two, I paid a hefty price to bring you here. I hope you won't disappoint me—otherwise, you know the consequences."

Hearing Luo Wei's threat, the two chuckled nervously. "Don't worry, Bro Luo. This kid's just a hunting novice. He won't slip through our fingers."

Seeing their confident promises, Luo Wei smiled back. "You'd better live up to your words." With that, he signaled his men to follow.

Arriving at a watering hole, Luo Yi spotted a Roe Deer drinking. The thought that a single Roe Deer was worth three taels of silver sent a surge of excitement through him.

He drew his Hunting Bow, took aim, and the arrow pierced straight through the Roe Deer's skull.

Walking over to the watering hole, he picked up the Roe Deer's carcass and was about to stow it in his hunting pack when—

A sharp sense of danger struck him. He dodged in an instant, ducking behind a tree by the watering hole.

The moment he left his spot, two arrows flew from different directions, striking the exact ground where he had just stood.

Eyeing the two arrows, Luo Yi had no idea who was targeting him or their numbers. Knowing his position was compromised, he chose not to fight back and instead bolted into the depths of the forest.

Seeing Luo Yi's decisive retreat, Luo Wei was startled. He realized his nephew wasn't as useless as the two had claimed. "Don't let him escape! After him!" he shouted to his men.

With that, Luo Wei charged ahead, leading the pursuit.

Weaving through the mountain woods, Luo Yi heard Luo Wei's voice behind him.

So he couldn't hold back anymore and was going for the kill?

Ever since waking up, Luo Yi had spent his days either hunting or training in martial arts. He hadn't gone out of his way to provoke Luo Wei, yet Luo Wei had been targeting him at every turn. Fine—today, we'll see who kills who. A wild grin spread across Luo Yi's face.

Putting some distance between himself and his pursuers, he hid behind a large tree and carefully observed Luo Wei and his men.

Luo Wei was at the front, followed by over a dozen underlings and two men carrying Hunting Bows.

Recognizing the two with the bows, Luo Yi realized they were the same pair from the Wang Meng Hunting Team who had entered the mountains for the first time.

So those two arrows at the watering hole had come from them.

He racked his memory. As far as he could recall, he had only met them once, with no major grudge between them. Yet they had tried to kill him.

Drawing his Hunting Bow, he aimed at the two men trailing behind Luo Wei. Two arrows whistled through the air.

The two, still running, had no time to dodge. The arrows pierced their chests, and they crumpled to the ground.

With their last breaths, regret flickered in their eyes.

Having dealt with them, Luo Yi turned and sprinted deeper into the woods.

Luo Wei, leading the chase at the front, saw that Luo Yi wasn't just running—he had the nerve to strike back. Luo Wei pushed off with his legs, leaping forward in a single, massive stride.

Watching Luo Wei cover nearly three meters in one step, Luo Yi's heart jolted. Seeing the distance between them shrink rapidly, he stopped running.