Hunter

Jin Prefecture.

Wuxi County, beneath the Five Hundred Mile Great Mountain.

The sky was a hazy gray, and the cold wind, carrying goose-feather-sized snowflakes, constantly burrowed into Li Yuan's tattered cotton-padded jacket.

Li Yuan walked through the snow, which had already buried half his lower legs, with his bow on his back and a quiver slung at his side.

"I heard the war on the border is intensifying. After paying two taels in taxes a few days ago, everyone is struggling to even afford a meal."

"I haven't caught a thing these past two days. I set my traps a day early this time; I hope the Heavens will grant me a meal. I'll offer you two extra sticks of incense for the New Year."

Before coming down the mountain yesterday, Li Yuan had set a beast trap in a specific spot, placing a piece of dried meat on it to lure animals.

To prevent injuring any people, he had even specifically cordoned off the area with red string.

In this freezing weather, few people other than hunters would venture up the mountain.

Soon, Li Yuan arrived at the spot where he had set his trap.

Seeing a splash of bright red blood beneath the pristine white snow, Li Yuan's eyes immediately lit up.

He casually snapped off a tree branch and poked at the snow.

The dried meat was gone, but the small animal was gone too!

Li Yuan's expression turned ugly; he didn't even see a shadow of a person.

He couldn't think of any other possibility besides someone having scavenged his catch.

Don't let me find out who you are.

With no heart to dwell on the matter, Li Yuan had no choice but to go and search for other prey.

I do not know how much time passed...

A rustling sound not far away caught Li Yuan's attention.

With practiced movements, he unslung his bow, nocked an arrow, and crouched down.

He crept forward cautiously.

As the distance closed, a fluffy, snow-white rabbit appeared within Li Yuan's field of vision.

Li Yuan felt a surge of joy, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

In his eyes, this rabbit was already a fragrant, spicy roasted rabbit.

He turned his body sideways, tilted his head, nocked the arrow, drew the bow, and pulled the bowstring back behind him.

The bowstring was the cord that propelled the tail of the arrow.

He planted his feet firmly to generate power, then aimed the arrowhead at the rabbit.

Rabbits are animals with extremely high alertness.

Even the slightest sound could easily make them sense danger.

Watching the rabbit bolt in fright, Li Yuan felt not a shred of panic in his heart.

With a thought, a pale blue panel suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Skill: Archery (Entry)]

[Progress: 200/200 points (Breakthrough available)]

[Note: Heaven Rewards Diligence; as long as you put in the effort, there will be a reward.]

This was what had come with him three days ago when Li Yuan awakened his Past Life Memory—his Golden Finger.

Its meaning was simple: as long as Li Yuan mastered a "skill," he could continue to improve it through constant effort.

Effort itself was not terrifying; what was terrifying was not being able to see the progress of one's own effort.

Therefore, he had spent most of his time over the past few days practicing archery.

If he had possessed this Golden Finger in his past life, Li Yuan would have passed his English exams long ago!

Without any hesitation, Li Yuan willed it: "Give me... breakthrough!"

Immediately, the panel shuddered.

[Skill: Archery (Minor Achievement)]

[Progress: 0/800 points]

[Effect: Within forty meters, arrows fired have a fifty to sixty percent chance of hitting the target.]

There were no obvious changes to Li Yuan's body; perhaps because the increase in realm was small, he did not feel a strong physical sensation.

However, the results of his daily practice had already been integrated into his own being.

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes and tilted the arrowhead slightly upward.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew, and the bowstring vibrated.

The rabbit, dozens of meters away, was struck firmly by the arrow.

It struggled a few times before losing all signs of life.

Li Yuan's face lit up with joy, and he hurried over to pull the arrow out of the snow.

"Not bad, my luck is better today compared to yesterday."

An hour later, Li Yuan, his face flushed red and having found nothing else, could only shake his head and head down the mountain back to the village.

Even if his archery skills had improved, he still needed to encounter prey to put them to use.

The entire village made its living by hunting; whenever they caught an animal that fetched a high price, most people would choose to sell it in the county town after ensuring their own families had enough food.

After all, there were quite a few Martial Arts Halls in the county town, and many martial artists who focused on strengthening their bodies and tempering their blood-qi needed large amounts of meat for sustenance.

As he reached the entrance of the village, several children dressed in somewhat tattered cotton-padded clothes, their little faces rosy, were gathered together building a snowman.

One of the children with braided pigtails saw Li Yuan passing by with a rabbit and shouted loudly:

"Brother Yuan, my dad brought back a wild boar after two days, why did you only bring back one rabbit after two days?"

Hearing this, Li Yuan just smiled and said nothing.

Children speak without restraint, and he had no intention of arguing with a child.

"Wow, look, it's Uncle Chen, he brought back a wild deer!" the child with pigtails pointed a small hand into the distance.

"Uncle Chen, you're too amazing! You managed to find an injured rabbit yesterday, and today you caught a wild deer."

Several children surrounded Chen Qing, the village chief's youngest son, shouting excitedly.

Hearing these words, Li Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he continued to walk forward, though his grip on the bow tightened slightly.

Not long after, Li Yuan arrived in front of his adobe house.

The entire structure was built from a mixture of yellow mud and straw, with a thick layer of wheat straw covering the roof.

Inside the house, there was only a dilapidated table and a few stools with chipped corners.

To the side were a rice jar, some earthenware basins, and other items.

After closing the door and putting away his gear, he quickly lit a fire in the stove, scooped a ladle of snow from the doorway, and waited for the water to boil.

There was no one else at home; he was all alone.

Li Yuan was an only child; his father had passed away after an unfortunate encounter with a Grizzly Bear while hunting in the mountains, and his mother had followed not long after due to illness.

Counting the time, there were only three months left until his mourning period for them ended.

By then, he should have saved up enough silver.

Finding a Martial Arts Hall to practice martial arts was something Li Yuan had decided on even before he awakened his Past Life Memory.

Not to mention now that he had awakened his Past Life Memory and possessed a Golden Finger.

People strive for higher ground, just as water flows to the lowest point; this was an eternal truth.

Li Yuan thought to himself while adding firewood to the stove until the water began to bubble and boil.

He poured the boiling water into a bowl, took out a Wheat Cake that had frozen rock-hard, and broke it into pieces bit by bit to soak in the water until soft.

The Wheat Cake was made from very little water and ground wheat grains, baked into a thick, hard slab.

Its advantage was that it was easy to store and extremely filling; one cake could last for several days.

If he were to eat it dry, he could choke on it for an hour, until his saliva ran completely dry.

"Suddenly I'm thinking of the meat burgers and mutton soup from my past life; they were so delicious I wouldn't let go even if someone slapped me..."

After satisfying his hunger, Li Yuan let out a long sigh, the warmth spreading through his stomach making him feel exceptionally comfortable.

With the Golden Finger, his mind had become much more active than before.

He was currently in a village that relied primarily on hunting, known as Blue Stone Village, which had about fifty or sixty households and belonged to Wuxi County.

Wuxi County had about ten thousand households; whether they were tenant farmers, fishermen, merchants, or peasants, everyone lived and struggled there.

Between the taxes of the government, the oppression of the noble families, and the exploitation of the gangs.

For the common folk to simply have enough to eat in this world was already something to be thankful for.

If one were unfortunate enough to encounter disaster, having the men conscripted and the women sold into brothels was a common occurrence.