"Uncle Zhang Shan, is something the matter?"
The two walked to the ridge beside the fields, and Chen Xuan looked at Zhang Shan before asking in confusion.
"Er Gou, I wanted to ask you something. Are you thinking of hunting Tiger and Leopard?"
Looking at the youth before him, Zhang Shan's feelings were extremely complicated. Yet after hearing Chen Xuan's question, he still hesitated before speaking.
"Hunt Tiger and Leopard?!"
Chen Xuan's heart stirred, and his gaze involuntarily turned toward Zhang Shan.
"That's right, Er Gou. You're highly skilled at hunting. If you lead the way and seven or eight hunters from our village enter the mountains together, we'll have a great chance of killing Tiger and Leopard."
"Chen San Ye said Tiger and Leopard would fetch fifty taels. You can take twenty taels directly, and I'll split the remainder equally with the others!!"
Seeing Chen Xuan's expression, Zhang Shan hurriedly added another sentence.
After speaking, he stared straight at Chen Xuan, his eyes full of anticipation.
Entering the mountains was dangerous, especially since the mountains had become even more perilous lately. Zhang Shan had not entered them for quite some time. Yet faced with Chen San Ye's offer of fifty taels of silver, he could not restrain himself.
Fifty taels—this was fifty taels! Even if Chen Xuan took twenty taels, with seven or eight of them, each person would get more than four taels. As the village's former number one and current number two, Zhang Shan felt that taking ten taels would not be a problem.
This was ten taels, enough to make him come crawling over without shame.
He also believed Chen Xuan would agree.
Twenty taels—this was twenty taels.
Yet when Zhang Shan looked at Chen Xuan with expectant eyes, Chen Xuan shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Zhang Shan, but Tiger and Leopard is still too dangerous. I have no plans to hunt it for now."
Chen Xuan spoke softly, directly refusing him.
"Fine!"
"Then let's prepare. We'll enter the mountains in three days!"
"Y-you, what did you say?"
Zhang Shan almost answered instinctively, but quickly came to his senses and stared at Chen Xuan in astonishment.
"Uncle Zhang Shan, I have no intention of hunting Tiger and Leopard for the time being!"
Chen Xuan shook his head and confirmed it once more.
Zhang Shan froze where he stood.
"Uncle Zhang Shan, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back!"
Chen Xuan spoke, ignoring Zhang Shan's expression as he turned and headed straight for home.
"Er Gou, this is fifty taels of silver!"
"Er Gou!"
Zhang Shan hurriedly called out again, but Chen Xuan had already entered the small courtyard.
Zhang Shan could not help stomping his foot, his expression full of unwillingness.
Of course, Chen Xuan had no mind to care about that right now.
As he walked back to the small courtyard, he was deep in thought.
He had not expected fifty taels of silver to truly make people brave death itself.
Others might not know, but did Zhang Shan not know how dangerous the mountains were? Did he not know how ferocious Tiger and Leopard was? He knew, yet he had still come.
The reason was simple: there was too much money.
Fifty taels of silver—even getting only ten taels, or even a few taels, was enough to make people risk their lives.
Just as Chen San Ye had expected, even Chen Xuan himself had been tempted before.
There was no helping it. This was fifty taels. Added to the thirty-odd taels he already had, plus whatever he could earn selling the game from before, would that not cover his family's expenses to move into the city? How could that not tempt a person?
Yet he quickly suppressed that thought.
Some things could not be obtained merely by risking one's life.
Hunting Tiger and Leopard was no joke. Even with the boost from his Conceptual Ability and this Strong Bow, his chances were still not high.
Even if he went, it would not be now.
His gaze could not help turning toward the Conceptual Ability list.
Target: Achieve mastery in archery within a short period of time (Pending Confirmation) Setup complete "Loading!" "Loading successful!" 'Path One: Sunset Sect in Cloud Sea City will open its mountain gates in three months. Reach Cloud Sea City within three months and offer one thousand taels of refined silver to Li Zhishi of Sunset Sect to join the Outer Sect. Complete Blood Refinement within three months to become an Inner Sect disciple. Select an archery manual from the Scripture Pavilion, and achieve mastery in archery within one month.' "Path Two: Your archery has already reached minor mastery, and the vitality within your body is unceasing while your five senses have been strengthened. Observe the hole in a copper coin every day without blinking. Supplement this with one hour of practice on a fixed target, one hour on a moving fixed target while you yourself move, and one hour on a moving target while you remain still. Fire no fewer than five hundred arrows each day, and achieve mastery in archery within three months."
The words appeared. This was the archery mastery setup he had begun after his archery reached minor mastery.
After trying the ordinary archery mastery setup before, he had changed the restrictions.
And he had not expected that achieving mastery in archery would not only have shortcuts, but also a training method.
For more than a month, he had been practicing archery according to the method of Path Two.
He glanced at the copper coin he had placed in the distance. At this moment, at a single glance, the coin's hole appeared as large as an egg.
He could even clearly see every speck of rust on the copper coin.
He withdrew his gaze.
Chen Xuan then picked up the bow and arrows beside him.
He began practicing.
As he had said before, he truly had been tempted by the fifty taels of silver.
Chen San Ye had not been wrong either. He could not resist it.
However, if he was going to hunt it, that would have to wait until his archery had completely reached mastery.
Although his archery had already reached minor mastery, his skin tempering was complete, and he had the assistance of his Conceptual Ability, giving him a great chance of killing Tiger and Leopard, the dangers of the mountain forests still made Chen Xuan decide to make every possible preparation before acting.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrow after arrow tore through the air.
Chen Xuan swiftly immersed himself in training.
Meanwhile.
Zhang Shan returned home.
Several young and strong men were already waiting inside.
"Uncle Zhang Shan, what did Er Gou say?"
A youth of eighteen or nineteen could not help asking, his voice urgent and impatient.
As he spoke, the remaining six people in the room could not help looking toward Uncle Zhang Shan as well.
"Er Gou doesn't plan to go hunting."
Facing their expectant and anxious gazes, Zhang Shan could not help smiling bitterly and shaking his head.
"Uncle Zhang Shan, w-what did you say?"
"Yeah, Uncle Zhang Shan, did you tell Er Gou that we'd be hunting together?"
"Brother Shan, tell him we only need thirty taels. He can have twenty taels."
The moment Zhang Shan's words fell, the room instantly erupted. Everyone's faces showed disbelief.
"I told him!"
"Er Gou said his strength isn't enough yet, and he doesn't want to take the risk."
Zhang Shan shook his head and explained again.
"Hmph!"
"His guts are actually that small!"
The first youth snorted coldly after hearing Zhang Shan's words.
"Enough. Everyone, tell me what we should do?"
Zhang Shan shook his head helplessly, his expression turning somewhat serious as he looked at the crowd and spoke slowly.
His words immediately plunged every figure present into silence. Even the youth furrowed his brow.
First learn not to blink; only then may one speak of shooting.
See the small as large, see the minute as clear.
After Ji Chang had exhausted Wei's techniques, he believed that among all under heaven, only one man remained who could rival him, and so he plotted to kill Fei Wei. They met in the wilderness and shot at each other. Their arrowheads struck together midway and fell to the ground, yet not even dust rose. — Liezi: Questions of Tang, "Ji Chang Learns Archery"
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