Li Zhi

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Little Yuan, are you home?"

The voice interrupted Li Yuan's train of thought.

He stood up and said:

"Someone is here."

After he opened the door, a figure stood in the biting wind.

"Uncle, why have you come?"

This was Li Yuan's uncle, Li Zhi, and the only relative Li Yuan had left in this village.

Li Zhi handed the arrows and smoked jerky in his hands to Li Yuan and said:

"I made a few extra arrows while working on them these past few days. I got lucky and caught a bit more game, so I had some jerky left over. Take it; it's hard for everyone to get by in the dead of winter. Just make sure to ration it."

"Uncle, this..."

Li Yuan was at a loss; the cost of a single arrow was not low.

In their region, if one were to buy arrows, the most expensive part was the arrowhead.

In their village, they usually used animal bones, deer antlers, or hard stones to fashion arrowheads.

These cost almost nothing, so even if they broke, it wasn't much of a loss.

Whether making bows or arrows, it all required time.

Those with wives at home could at least get some help.

For someone like Li Yuan, living alone, he might have to spend his entire day on these tasks.

If one wanted better arrowheads or shafts, they had to prepare the materials themselves and go to the blacksmith in the county town for a custom order.

The price of a single iron arrow was usually around several dozen wen.

One had to realize that a day laborer working in the county town only earned about forty wen a day.

"Why are you standing on ceremony with me? We're family. Enough nonsense, take it!"

Li Zhi forcefully shoved the items into Li Yuan's hands. Without saying much more, he shook the snow off his hemp-padded coat and turned to leave.

"Uncle, let me walk you back."

Seeing this, Li Yuan did not refuse further; being coy was not his style.

Besides, he truly needed these things right now.

He who takes from others is beholden to them.

He would keep those who were kind to him in his heart.

As for those who were not, he would keep a record of them in his little notebook.

Uncle Li Zhi's house was not far from Li Yuan's; after turning past a few houses and heading down a long slope, he arrived.

Li Zhi had one son and one daughter, his cousin Li Wen and cousin Li Cuihua, along with Aunt Clan Han, making four mouths to feed in the household.

Li Yuan greeted Aunt Clan Han at his uncle's house, sat for a while, and then left.

Clan Han had a mole at the corner of her mouth, wore a headscarf, and was dressed in coarse cloth garments.

Li Wen and Li Cuihua were not at home.

As soon as Li Yuan left, Clan Han's face immediately darkened.

She looked at Li Zhi, who was sitting by the table preparing to smoke his dry tobacco:

"Tell me, do you have any idea how much a wild pheasant could sell for? And you just gave it away to Little Yuan for nothing?

With you going over there to give him things every now and then, how are we supposed to save up for A-Wen's martial arts training?"

Clan Han's tone was filled with dissatisfaction.

In these difficult times, just putting food on the table was hard enough.

She didn't object to Li Zhi helping Li Yuan, but it had to be within their means.

Their own two children had no prospects yet; even if they couldn't reach the path of martial arts or stand out from the crowd, they could at least learn a trade to make a living.

That would still be better than being a hunter here.

Even learning a trade required an apprenticeship fee.

Everything depended on money!

Li Zhi listened to these words he had heard countless times, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said:

"If I hadn't insisted on chasing that beast back then, A-Qing wouldn't have lost his life...

And perhaps Li Yuan's mother wouldn't have passed away either. All of this is my fault; I owe him this."

A-Qing, who is Li Yuan's father, Li Qing.

For these past two years and more, Li Zhi had always harbored a sense of guilt toward Li Yuan.

"Enough, you can help him for a moment, but can you help him for a lifetime?

It would be better to save up the silver and send A-Wen to learn martial arts. Once A-Wen makes a name for himself in the future, he can just reach out and pull him up then.

Can you not distinguish between what is light and what is heavy? Can you not look at the long term?" Clan Han complained.

"Alright, I know what I'm doing." Li Zhi waved his hand.

Li Yuan returned home, took down his bow, and brought out some wooden arrows he had whittled long ago, slinging them over his back.

He then went to the woods behind the house to practice archery.

This was the place where Li Yuan usually practiced.

The wooden arrows were specifically for practice; even the arrowheads were made from hard woods, such as jujube or hawthorn.

One must know that arrows are consumables. No matter how good an arrow is, it is easily damaged if it strikes a hard object.

If a hunter were to use hunting arrows for practice, the whole family would be left penniless and starving within a few days.

Li Yuan held the bow in his left hand, keeping it in a straight line with his chest.

With his right index and middle fingers, he gripped the nock of the arrow, skillfully nocking it onto the bowstring. He then used those two fingers plus his ring finger to draw the string, pulling his index finger and the web of his thumb until they were pressed against his jaw.

He did not aim at the wooden target in the distance, but rather at a single leaf on a tree further away.

The leaf was small, which helped him practice his precision.

He now possessed "Archery" at the minor accomplishment stage, so he perhaps did not need to worry too much about his hit rate. However, without precision, if he failed to kill the prey in one strike and let it escape, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Moreover, a cold wind was blowing at this moment, which was perfect for practicing wind resistance.

After all, the wind direction in the mountains was fickle, and prey would not only emerge when there was no wind.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew out, and the bowstring vibrated.

Hit!

Li Yuan felt a surge of joy in his heart and fired several more arrows in quick succession, aiming at nearby leaves.

Just like that, amidst the continuous practice, the sky darkened before he knew it.

Returning to his room, Li Yuan rubbed his sore arms, and with a thought, his panel appeared:

[Skill: Archery (Minor Accomplishment)]
[Progress: 15/800 points]
[Effect: Five or six out of every ten arrows fired will hit the target.]
[Note: Heaven Rewards Diligence; as long as you put in the effort, there will be a reward.]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

This knocking was more intense than the last, shaking wood shavings from the door.

Who is it this time?

Li Yuan frowned and opened the door.

The person standing there was Chen Qing, the village chief's youngest son, his face covered in rolls of fat and his eyes narrowed into slits.

He didn't stand on ceremony, looking at Li Yuan and smiling as he said, "How about it, Li Yuan? Have you considered the matter I introduced to you last time?"

Li Yuan searched his memory and suddenly recalled what it was.

It turned out that a month ago, Chen Qing had introduced him to a job: a young master from a wealthy family in Wuxi County had a particular fondness for handsome, slightly sturdy boys.

The price offered was extremely high, reportedly twenty taels of silver per person.

The condition was to accompany him for a month.

Li Yuan had clearly refused at the time, and he hadn't expected Chen Qing to be so persistent.

"Didn't I tell you I wasn't going? If you're so keen on asking, why don't you go yourself?"

Having said that, Li Yuan couldn't be bothered to deal with Chen Qing's gloomy expression and shut the door.

Pah!

Chen Qing spat on the ground. You think I don't want to? It depends on whether they'd even look at me!

Since they don't want me, I can only act as a middleman and earn a referral fee.

Li Yuan sat on the bed, unable to help himself, and cursed inwardly:

"What a fool. I've already transmigrated, and I still have people from Jin City chasing me down to kill me!"

A scholar can be killed, but his dignity cannot be insulted.

In a fit of rage, Li Yuan raged for a moment.