Entering the Mountains Alone

After finishing his conversation with Manager Chen, Wang Meng walked over to the group and said:

"We sold today's hunt for a total of 224 coppers. Xiao Yi gets 44, and the rest of us each take one extra, making it 45. Any objections?"

Chen Liu nodded at the arrangement and replied, "No problem, Brother Meng."

The other two, seeing Chen Liu agree, found it hard to object and simply nodded, saying, "We agree."

Luo Yi noticed their reluctance and knew they were uncomfortable with him taking a share despite contributing nothing today. He was about to refuse Wang Meng when he felt something being stuffed into his pouch.

Watching Wang Meng sprint off after shoving the coins in, Luo Yi silently etched this debt of gratitude into his heart.

Arriving home, Luo Yi knocked on the courtyard gate and called out, "Xiao Xi, I'm back. Open the door."

Inside, Luo Xi heard her brother's voice and rushed to open the gate, throwing herself into his arms, tears streaming uncontrollably.

"Brother, you're finally back."

Looking at his younger sister clinging to him, Luo Yi reached out and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, Xiao Xi. Nothing's going to happen to me."

After comforting her, Luo Yi went to his room and took out the 44 coppers he'd been given, thinking:

"Under Great Qi's currency system, a thousand coppers can be exchanged for one tael of silver, and a hundred taels of silver for one tael of gold. But in practice, you need at least eleven hundred coppers to get one tael of silver."

The Autumn Tax had to be paid in silver, with copper coins not accepted. The exchange rate kept climbing, and it was hard to say whether the authorities were nudging it along.

After a full day's work, he'd only earned forty-four coppers. Scraping together the four taels of silver for the Autumn Tax by month's end seemed hopeless this way. Tomorrow, he'd have to go into the mountains alone to hunt.

Seeing her brother lost in thought, clutching the coppers, Luo Xi figured he must have skipped lunch after a long day. She hurried to the kitchen and brought out five Black Dough buns, handing them to Luo Yi.

Luo Yi didn't stand on ceremony. Exhausted and starving from the day's trek into the mountains, he wolfed them down. After finishing four, he noticed Luo Xi swallowing hard and offered her the last one.

When she tried to refuse, he forced it into her hands, grabbed his bow, and headed for the door.

With his archery skill improved from today's hunt, he'd stopped practicing. But remembering the powerful boost the skill upgrade had given him, Luo Yi wasn't about to waste any time.

He drew and loosed, drew and loosed, over and over.

Two hours later, feeling the soreness and fatigue spreading through his arm muscles, he knew he'd reached his limit. He stowed the arrows back in his quiver.

Silently, he called up his Attribute Panel:

Host: Luo Yi Age: 16 Realm: Mortal Skills: Archery (Beginner 58/200) Traits: None

Seeing his Archery Beginner proficiency at 58, he figured it'd take at most three days to level up. Luo Yi couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Worried about sore arm muscles the next morning, he did some simple stretches to ease the strain.

After that, the exhaustion of the day hit him hard. A quick wash, and he collapsed onto the floor of his room, falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after eating the Black Dough buns his sister handed him, Luo Yi thought back to Wang Meng and the others' warnings about the dangers in the mountains. "Going in alone today means I need to be fully prepared. Can't be as reckless as yesterday."

He went to the woodpile in the yard and pulled out his father's old Chopping Knife, tucking it into his belt.

Then he checked the kitchen stove. "Ever since I woke up, I've been eating nothing but Black Dough buns for seven or eight days now. I wonder how many Xiao Xi had stashed away." He rummaged through the entire stove and found only twelve buns. He ate ten a day to stay full, and his sister had one per meal, needing three a day.

The remaining twelve would barely last through today. A heavy pressure settled on him. With the Autumn Tax due at month's end and the household's dwindling food supply, if he couldn't bag any game today, they'd start going hungry tomorrow.

He stuffed four Black Dough buns into his pack, slung his bow over his shoulder, and headed toward Yunling Mountain.

After half an hour's walk, he reached the foot of the mountain. Spotting no sign of Wang Meng or Chen Liu, he breathed a sigh of relief. If he'd run into them, he wouldn't know how to explain going in alone.

He took down his Hunting Bow, nocked an arrow, and cautiously stepped into the Outer Area of Yunling Mountain.

Afraid of wandering blindly through the woods and losing his way, he carved marks into trees at intervals as he went.

As he pushed deeper into the Outer Area, signs of animal activity became more frequent.

Hearing the occasional animal calls in the silent forest, Luo Yi didn't recklessly chase after them. Instead, he found a centuries-old Banyan Tree, climbed up, and carefully surveyed the terrain.

Not far from his position, he spotted a small puddle. His heart leaped. Every animal needs water. If he found a water source, he had a good chance of bagging game today.

He wove a green hat from weeds, put it on, and crept toward the puddle. Near the water's edge, he saw a mess of animal tracks, confirming his guess that creatures came here to drink.

Slowly, he moved downwind, found a large rock to sit on, and settled in to wait.

About half an hour later, a few Wild Rabbits hopped over to the puddle. They glanced around warily, found no danger, and began to drink.

From his rock, Luo Yi picked the fattest one among the six. He drew his bow, aimed, and let fly. The arrow whistled through the air, piercing the plump rabbit and dropping it to the ground.

As the rabbit fell, a system prompt popped up, showing a 2-point increase in progress.

Looking at the panel, he guessed that besides practice, actual combat also granted skill progress points—though not many.

The other rabbits, startled by the twang of the bowstring, scattered in all directions.

Watching them flee, Luo Yi sighed. "If only I could've taken them all," he thought.

Watching the Wild Rabbit's blood slowly seep into the clearing beside the puddle, worried the scent would scare off other animals coming to drink, he quickly stuffed the rabbit's carcass into his specially-made backpack.

Whether it was the smell of blood or something else, by noon, no animals had come to drink. Just as Luo Yi was about to give up on the ambush, the few Wild Rabbits from earlier scampered back.

The rabbits gathered by the pool, sniffing the ground incessantly.

Fearing they'd bolt at the scent of blood, Luo Yi drew his bow and nocked an arrow, aiming at the largest one. A whoosh rang out, and the rabbit, still sniffing the air, was pierced through the head, collapsing to the ground.

As the remaining rabbits prepared to flee, Luo Yi didn't hesitate. He aimed at one at random and loosed.

Without enough time to line up the shot, the arrow missed the vital spot. The struck rabbit, arrow embedded, bolted into the woods.

Luo Yi ran to the pool, stuffed the dead rabbit into his pack, and followed the blood trail after the wounded one.

After tracking the blood for a few hundred meters, he found the rabbit in a thicket, unconscious from blood loss. He yanked the arrow from its flank and tossed the rabbit into his pack.

He glanced at the blood trail left by the fleeing rabbit, catching the occasional whiff of blood in the air.

He chose not to keep waiting by the puddle. After marking his path along the way, Luo Yi headed deeper into the mountain forest.