Hunting Wild Boar

For several days, Li Yuan traveled back and forth between the county town and Blue Stone Village.

He had no house in the county town, and the tuition he paid did not include lodging, but fortunately, the two places were not far apart.

During this time, the death of Chen Qing also stirred up a wave of discussion in the village, even causing his older brother, Chen Xiao, to return to the village and cause a huge scene.

In the end, unable to find the killer, the matter had to be temporarily dropped.

However, as his food and silver were running low, he had to go up the mountain to hunt again.

On this day, Li Yuan rose early and was practicing his stance work behind his house.

[Skill: Five Animals Fist Stance (Entry)]

[Progress: 70/300 points (Cannot breakthrough)]

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

"At the current rate, I'm afraid it will take another half a month before I can achieve minor success in my stance work.

Internal training for the stance, external training for the fist techniques—only by combining the two can one make rapid progress."

It was the dead of winter, and in the past, no matter how thick the clothes Li Yuan wore, he would feel his hands and feet go cold after a while.

But now, as Li Yuan practiced the stance according to the essentials, he felt a faint current of air flowing throughout his body.

His body felt hot, and his hands and feet were burning.

"So this is what it means to temper one's blood and qi. Indeed, practicing martial arts is the right path, it's just expensive."

It was the first time Li Yuan had experienced this strange sensation, and he was somewhat surprised.

After finishing his practice, Li Yuan wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, feeling warm all over; the fatigue and soreness accumulated from the previous night had dissipated significantly.

This stance work was truly miraculous; not only could it temper blood and qi, but it also seemed to have the effect of restoring energy.

He was just calculating his plan for mountain trekking today when a familiar voice came from outside the door.

"Brother Yuan, Brother Yuan, are you home?"

Outside the door, a dark-skinned youth with a smile on his face was none other than Li Yuan's good friend, Chicken Brother.

"I'm home, why are you here?" Li Yuan opened the door.

Chicken Brother leaned in closer and lowered his voice: "I heard that Chen Qing sold a sable at the market and got over a dozen taels of silver, but he was killed in the county town that night."

"His brother, Chen Xiao, is acting like a madman, searching everywhere for the killer.

Besides, Pizi and Laizi also went missing that same day. They haven't been found yet, so they're probably gone too."

Chicken Brother shook his head. In their village, if someone couldn't be found for a few days, it was generally assumed they had died in the mountains.

"Chen Qing is dead? When did this happen?" Li Yuan feigned confusion; naturally, he couldn't admit that he was the one who killed him.

Li Yuan didn't care about the others anyway; he had already retrieved his silver.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these unlucky things." Chicken Brother rubbed his hands together and exhaled a puff of white mist.

He had only come over to give Li Yuan a heads-up.

Chen Qing had relied on his martial artist brother to run rampant in the village, and he wasn't well-liked; many villagers had secretly cheered at his demise.

"Brother Yuan, I came to find you today because I heard there are traces of wild boar activity in the old forest over at West Mountain, and some people have even hunted deer there.

Shall we team up and try our luck? If we bag a wild boar or a deer and take it to the county market, it'll be worth much more than rabbits or pheasants!"

Chicken Brother had followed his father into the mountains since he was a child; when it came to experience, he was no worse than an old hunter.

Wild boars were extremely fierce, and many hunters had suffered at their hands.

"Sure."

Li Yuan had the same intention; his food and silver were running low, and he needed meat to replenish his blood and qi.

After checking their gear, the two were ready and set off toward the old forest, braving the biting cold wind of the morning.

On the way, while trekking, Li Yuan silently practiced the breathing technique of his stance work, feeling the faint but continuous flow of hot blood and qi circulating through his limbs and bones, dispelling the cold and building up his stamina.

He discovered that his breath was much longer than before while walking mountain paths, and his footsteps were more steady.

As the two chatted occasionally, they arrived inside the mountain forest.

They carefully searched for traces left by wild beasts.

Chicken Brother had sharp eyes and soon discovered a string of messy hoofprints on a slope, along with some residual black fur.

"It's a wild boar! Looking at these tracks, they're quite large, and there's more than one." Chicken Brother bent down and picked up the black fur from the ground.

Li Yuan also confirmed: "Hmm, there are quite a few, at least two or more.

Judging by the state of the fur and the tracks, it shouldn't have been more than two hours ago."

They continued to track them along the trail.

In the past, Li Yuan would have needed to eat dried meat to replenish his energy by now, but today he felt exceptionally relaxed.

"This is the feedback from practicing martial arts."

Before long, the faint sounds of "oink, oink" and the noise of soil being overturned drifted from ahead.

"Found them!"

The two exchanged a glance and slowed their pace.

Pushing aside a cluster of withered, yellowed shrubs, the sight before them made their spirits soar.

In a forest clearing left in disarray by rooting boars, two wild boars were moving rhythmically, one of which was a boar of considerable size.

"Good heavens, that big one is at least two hundred pounds!" Chicken Brother licked his parched lips, his eyes burning with fervor.

Even the smaller one was likely around a hundred pounds or so.

Yet, he dared not act rashly; groups of wild boars, especially those led by such a dominant male, were extremely dangerous. When they went berserk, even a Big Worm would have to give them a wide berth.

Li Yuan scanned the area and spotted a relatively narrow ridge nearby, only thirty meters away from the boars.

The closer the distance, the greater the arrow's power, but the higher the danger as well.

He pointed toward that direction and signaled to Chicken Brother with a few gestures.

The two would strike simultaneously, each taking one.

Li Yuan unslung his bow and nocked a willow-leaf iron arrow designed for bloodletting.

He then aimed at the boar's lungs; to hunt a wild boar, one had to strike the abdomen for a lethal blow.

He took a deep breath, drew the bow, and aimed.

With his current strength, Li Yuan only needed to exert a little effort to pull the bow to its full draw.

"Whoosh!"

The string released, and the arrow flew!

The boar was suddenly struck in the abdomen by the arrow; it began to shriek and wail, trying to identify the direction and confirm where the arrow had come from.

Li Yuan did not panic; he continued to draw another arrow and fired it fiercely into the abdomen once more.

Upon spotting Li Yuan, the boar did not flee; instead, it kicked off its hind legs and came charging toward him with a series of snorts.

If one were to be gored by a boar's tusks, death or disability would be inevitable.

This was a truth proven by the blood of generations of hunters.

Li Yuan remained calm, retreating while preparing his next shot.

The boar had been struck in the chest cavity; it would soon be gasping for air, and the more violently it moved, the faster its blood would drain.

He then fired his third and fourth arrows in quick succession.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

With every arrow that struck, the boar's speed slowed further.

Sure enough, after a short while, the boar collapsed, its four limbs splayed on the ground, motionless.

Chicken Brother followed the same procedure, yet he was being chased up and down by the other boar.

Li Yuan shook his head and had no choice but to wave his hand to signal.

In just a short while, Li Yuan's quiver was empty, and both wild boars lay at their feet.

"Two wild boars; even if Chicken Brother and I split them, we'll still get a good amount of silver."

Chicken Brother was quick-witted and agile; he grabbed the wood-chopping knife tucked at his waist, cut a few branches, tied the boars up, and hoisted them onto his shoulders with Li Yuan.

The two carried the heavy boars, huffing and puffing all the way back to the village.

The weight of four hundred pounds, even split between the two of them, was far from easy to bear.

Chicken Brother began to pant before they had gone very far, sweat beading on his forehead, forcing him to stop and rest several times.

In contrast, although Li Yuan was also sweating, his breathing was noticeably longer and steadier, and his footsteps remained firm.