Buying Weapons

The next day, before dawn.

Luo Yi got up early.

He walked to the square where the people of Dongsheng Town gathered. After looking around and seeing no one, he took out his bow and arrow and aimed at a large tree fifty meters away.

A sharp whoosh rang out as the arrow cut through the air. The Hunting Bow didn't have enough power, and the arrow struck below the spot he'd aimed at.

He fired two more arrows in succession and found the same thing happened. The Hunting Bow his father had left behind was only a Five Dou Bow, with an effective range of around thirty meters. Beyond that distance, its power dropped sharply.

Luo Yi opened the Attribute Panel. Just like when he practiced at home, firing three arrows only added one point of progress. He put away the bow and arrows.

He walked to the biggest Blacksmith Shop in town. The clang of hammers rang from inside, where several blacksmiths were working on various farm tools.

After confirming he hadn't come to the wrong place, Luo Yi stepped inside.

The shopkeeper, who was resting behind the counter, saw a young man dressed like a hunter walk in.

He asked warmly, "Young fellow, tell me what you're looking for, and this old man will recommend something to suit your needs."

Looking at the smiling shopkeeper, Luo Yi asked, "Do you sell Hunting Bows here?"

Hearing that a customer had come in so early, the shopkeeper hurried to say, "We do, we do! This way, sir."

The two of them went to the area where the bows and arrows were displayed, and the shopkeeper began his pitch. "Our shop is the best Blacksmith Shop in town. You can't go wrong buying a bow here, young brother."

Watching the shopkeeper boast without pause, Luo Yi interrupted him. "Bring me a One Stone Bow and a Two Stone Bow. I'll try them first."

The shopkeeper showed no sign of displeasure at being interrupted. He went behind the counter, took out two Hunting Bows, and handed them to Luo Yi as he explained, "These are two of the most popular Hunting Bows in our shop. You can try them out first."

Luo Yi took the Hunting Bow from the shopkeeper and drew it with ease. The One Stone Bow felt no different from the Five Dou Bow to him now, so he set it on the counter.

He picked up the Two Stone Bow and drew it with half his strength. It was quite easy. The Two Stone Bow will be obsolete after, at most, one more upgrade.

"Bring me a Three Stone Bow to try."

When the shopkeeper heard the young man wanted a Three Stone Bow, a flicker of shock showed in his eyes. He's so young, yet he can use a Three Stone Bow. Could he be from the Town Martial Arts Hall?

Putting aside his earlier disregard, the shopkeeper hurried to take out a Three Stone Bow and handed it to Luo Yi with both hands.

Noticing the change in the shopkeeper's attitude, Luo Yi couldn't be bothered to guess why. He picked up the Three Stone Bow and put his arm into it, drawing the string. This bow felt just right for him.

"Shopkeeper, how much for this bow?"

Hearing his question, the shopkeeper answered cautiously, "If you want it, sir, six thousand copper coins will do."

The price made Luo Yi wince. He knew bows and arrows were expensive in ancient times, but he hadn't expected them to cost this much.

Thinking of how powerful Skill upgrades were, he gritted his teeth and took five taels of silver from his robe.

"I don't have six thousand copper coins. Will five taels of silver be enough?"

Seeing that his customer was paying in silver rather than copper, the shopkeeper's suspicions were confirmed. He hurriedly said, "That's enough, sir. Five taels of silver are worth far more than six thousand copper coins. Our little shop will even throw in twenty arrows for you."

With the Hunting Bow and the twenty gifted arrows on his back, he felt the single tael of silver he had left in his robe.

Luo Yi felt no affection for his former father, whose Hunting Bow he held in his hand.

He placed the Hunting Bow his father had left behind on the counter.

"Shopkeeper, do you buy back Hunting Bows?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly replied, "We do, sir." He carefully picked up the weapon from the counter and examined it. It was just an ordinary Five Dou Bow.

"Sir, our shop is willing to buy this bow back for fifteen hundred copper coins. What do you think?"

Hearing that even this lousy bow could fetch fifteen hundred copper coins, Luo Yi nodded.

After completing the transaction, he slung his newly bought bow and arrows over his shoulder and headed for Yunling the Mountain.

He spent the whole day waiting beside a water hole, but only caught four squirrels and three pheasants. His hope of catching a roe deer or some other valuable animal every day was shattered.

When it grew dark, Luo Yi didn't dare linger. He returned to town and sold the day's catch to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, earning one hundred and seventy copper coins.

When he entered the courtyard, his younger sister had already cooked dinner and was waiting for him. After the two of them had eaten their fill,

Luo Yi went into the courtyard to see whether the new Hunting Bow could speed up his Archery Skill's progress.

He planted his feet, nocked an arrow, and drew the bow. The arrow pierced the straw dummy in the corner of the wall and buried itself in the wall behind it.

Seeing this, Luo Yi was startled. The Five Dou Bow and Three Stone Bow were worlds apart.

He pulled out the arrow, its head buried completely in the earthen wall. Seeing that the arrowhead was damaged, he stopped using the new arrows.

He took out the arrows he'd used before and stacked all the straw dummies together, making sure the arrows wouldn't hit the wall directly.

By deep night, Second Uncle Luo Wei, who lived next door, had been woken by the sounds outside.

He went into the courtyard and followed the noise. To his surprise, it was coming from Luo Yi's house.

Thinking of how the deadline for delivering the goods to Mister Li was almost here, Luo Wei cursed under his breath. "If you brat hadn't woken up, I'd have had five hundred taels of silver in my hands already. Not only are you stopping me from making money, now you dare disturb my sleep too."

Thinking that Luo Yi was deliberately keeping him from getting a good night's rest, the murderous intent in Luo Wei's eyes grew ever stronger.

Luo Yi kept practicing archery, unaware that someone had set his sights on him.

He silently thought, Open the panel. Looking at the panel, he saw his Basic Archery progress had gone from Minor Accomplishment 36/300 to Minor Accomplishment 102/300.

Basic Archery (Minor Accomplishment 36/300) → Basic Archery (Minor Accomplishment 102/300)

Tonight's practice had added sixty-six points of progress. At most, he'd need only three or four more days for the Skill to level up.

Over the next two days, Luo Yi hunted in the Mountain during the day, sold his catch to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion at dusk, and practiced archery in the courtyard at night.

Every night, just after Luo Wei fell asleep, the racket from Luo Yi's archery practice woke him up again. The fury in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

On the third day, before dawn, Luo Yi got up early. Seeing that the panel showed his Archery at Minor Accomplishment 238/300, only sixty-two points from leveling up, he went into the courtyard to practice.

Luo Wei, still in the middle of a dream, was woken by the noise from next door. Looking at the pitch-black sky, he could no longer conceal his murderous intent. Practicing late at night and keeping people from sleeping was bad enough, but now he'd started in the morning too.

He went to the home of the younger brother who lived closest to him and kicked the front gate.

The younger brother, who'd been asleep, was terrified by the thunderous crash outside and hurried out to see what was going on.

He opened the gate and saw Luo Wei shaking his foot. He cursed inwardly, Look at you, acting all high and mighty, kicking the door like that.

Luo Wei looked at him and said, "Go notify the other brothers. Bring your weapons and meet at the town entrance. We're going into the Mountain with Luo Yi today. When we get the chance, we'll send him on his way."

After giving his orders, Luo Wei didn't hurry home. Instead, he slipped into his younger brother's room. Seeing the mature woman asleep on the bed, a burst of lust flared in his belly, and he pounced on her.

Half asleep, the woman felt someone who'd come in from outside press down on her. She thought her husband wanted to play some exciting game with her.

She closed her eyes and said, "Husband, I can't see a thing. Please punish me."

Hearing that, Luo Wei blew out the oil lamp by the bed. Sounds of pleasure soon came from the room.

After notifying the other brothers, the younger man returned home and saw his boss in bed with his wife. His eyes turned bloodshot, and just as he was about to fight Luo Wei, Luo Wei slapped him across the face.

Looking at the younger man's blood-red eyes, Luo Wei said, "What, you've grown some guts lately? You want to fight me?"

Hearing that, the younger man thought of Luo Wei's strength and hurriedly backed down. "I wouldn't dare, boss. I'm sorry for interrupting your fun by accident."

"Good that you know your place. Get lost, and don't spoil my fun."

After sending the younger man away, Luo Wei continued his business with the mature woman.

Standing guard outside the door, the younger man heard the sounds coming from the room. The firewood cleaver in his hand clenched tighter and tighter, and a flash of humiliated resentment crossed his eyes.