Making Plans

After returning to the house, Li Yuan didn't hurry to sell the sable.

He made a wooden box and shut it inside.

"Why not focus on martial arts first, build up my strength, and then hunt big game to make real money?"

Li Yuan planned to get his health back, sell the sable for cash, and then sign up at the Martial Arts Hall.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed. The hunters of Blue Stone Village still left early and returned late.

Li Yuan was one of them, of course. Every day, as soon as the sky grew light, he went up the mountain with Li Zhi to look for prey.

He also spent his spare time practicing archery in the woods behind his house.

But now that his Archery had reached Minor Mastery, simply practicing didn't raise his skill nearly as fast as hunting animals did.

"Lately, I've been eating meat from my hunts, and my haul's been getting smaller, but my body's become quite a bit stronger."

"I used to manage only half a chicken and two bowls of rice in one sitting. Now I can eat two whole chickens and still not feel stuffed!"

"My body's absorbing food better, and my vital energy and blood are slowly growing stronger, too."

Li Yuan stretched and felt his arm, quite pleased with himself.

It was just that his bow didn't seem to satisfy him anymore.

As his strength increased, the bow his father had commissioned three years ago had become easier and easier for Li Yuan to draw.

"Looks like I'll need a new bow."

Making one himself would take too long. He might as well have someone make it or spend silver to buy one.

However he looked at it, the problem came down to money.

In this world, if you didn't have silver tucked away at home, you were a head shorter wherever you went, forced to watch everyone else's mood!

Li Yuan's thoughts stirred, and the panel appeared.

[Skill: Archery (Minor Mastery)]

[Progress: 220/800 points]

[Effect: Within fifty meters, five or six out of every ten arrows hit their mark.]

[Skill: Consumption (Beginner)]

[Progress: 10/200 points]

[Effect: Digestion and absorption slightly enhanced]

[Hint: Heaven Rewards Diligence. As long as you're willing to eat, you'll be rewarded.]

"I wonder what the effect will be when Consumption reaches Minor Mastery. Probably another boost."

Suddenly, a rustling came from the distance.

Li Yuan raised his bow and fired at once. The bowstring twanged, and the arrow shot like a meteor, piercing a wild goat and pinning it firmly to the ground.

"It's been ages since I've had goat soup and mutton. This'll be dinner tonight!"

A wild goat weighed a little over a hundred jin. He could sell it for several taels of silver in the county town.

But for now, improving his skills and replenishing his vital energy and blood mattered more. Li Yuan hoisted the goat and headed back to the village.

"Uncle Chen Qing, how come you didn't catch anything today?" The children with their hair in little buns playing by the village entrance were as blunt as ever.

"I've seen you come down the mountain empty-handed for days!"

"Get lost, get lost! What would a brat like you know? Keep wagging your tongue and I'll teach you a lesson in your father's place!"

Chen Qing and his two lackeys, Pizi and Laizi, had wandered around the mountain all day without seeing a thing. He was already in a foul mood, and now this little brat dared to mock him.

As he spoke, he deliberately raised his palm, pretending he was about to hit them.

The frightened children turned and ran, crashing straight into Li Yuan.

Staring at the game he carried, they couldn't help but widen their eyes and shout:

"Brother Yuan caught such a huge animal! He's way better than Uncle Chen Qing!"

Li Yuan didn't say a word. Whatever Chen Qing was like had nothing to do with him. He kept walking home.

"Boss, I remember this kid used to be half-dead. It took him several days to catch a chicken or rabbit, just enough to keep him going."

"But these past few days, I haven't seen him come down empty-handed once. He brings back game every single day." Pizi wore a strange expression.

"Once or twice, sure, you can call it good luck. But who gets that kind of luck every day?"

"Did he have some kind of adventure deep in the mountains?" Laizi, who spent his days loafing around, had read plenty of storybooks and loved to speculate and let his imagination run wild.

"A few days ago, I saw him setting traps. I even swiped one of his catches while I was there," Chen Qing said expressionlessly.

What he didn't mention was that he'd approached Li Yuan several times to point him toward some good hunting spots.

But Li Yuan had turned him down again and again, acting as if he could push his luck. He really didn't know how to appreciate a favor.

This wasn't the county town. If someone died there, people would at least put on a show of investigating.

Out here, if someone died, you could toss the body into the mountains. In a few days, the wild beasts would pick it clean.

"How about we wait until he goes up the mountain tomorrow, then check his house? Maybe he really has something good hidden away."

Pizi's eyes shifted as he came up with a plan.

"Well..." Chen Qing hesitated.

"He's all alone. What's there to be afraid of?

"So what if he finds out? With his scrawny build, I could pin him down with one hand." Pizi sneered.

"If he's hiding something good instead of sharing it with us, then he deserves to die! Toss him into the mountains, and who'll ever find him?"

Hearing that, Laizi sneered. "Sounds to me like you're the one who wants to sneak in and steal something, and you're dragging us along."

"What are you talking about? I'm thinking of everyone!"

"Enough! Pizi has a point." Chen Qing fell silent for a moment, then agreed. He planned to wait until Li Yuan left the next day before going to take a look.

Seeing that Chen Qing had agreed, Pizi's face broke into a smile.

At dusk, Li Yuan lit a fire with firewood and set the prepared mutton over it.

Before long, it began to sizzle and drip with fat.

On the table sat a large plate of rice, a plate of fava beans, and a bowl of chicken soup.

The roasted mutton, sprinkled with a little coarse salt, was already delicious.

"Too bad I don't have any secret dipping sauce."

After polishing off the rice and meat in his bowl, Li Yuan patted his belly and looked satisfied.

[Skill: Consumption (Beginner)]

[Progress: 40/200 points]

[Effect: Digestion and absorption slightly enhanced]

[Hint: Heaven Rewards Diligence. As long as you're willing to eat, you'll be rewarded.]

Almost there. At this rate, it would probably reach Minor Mastery in a little over half a month.

Right now, he was only missing a martial arts skill.

"Once I pair a martial arts skill with Consumption, I bet my progress will shoot up."

"Tomorrow, I'll take that sable to sell, find a Martial Arts Hall first, and use whatever money's left to buy meat!"

As life gradually improved, Li Yuan began to relax.

"If there were fewer wars, lighter taxes, lower market fees, and fewer scoundrels like Yan Xiang, life would only get brighter and brighter."

"Give it a little more time, and I'll be able to hunt big game, too.

"Then I can sell it to Lin Youyu at the tavern. Maybe I can even build a good relationship with the Lin Family."

"If all else fails, I can enlist!" Li Yuan thought through his options as he tidied up. "A meal from the government is a good meal wherever you eat it."

Li Yuan lay on the bed. Once he'd thought everything through, he pulled up the covers and sank into a deep sleep.

The next day, as soon as the sun came up,

Li Yuan got out of bed. After eating a simple wheat cake, he headed up the mountain as usual.

He planned to hunt a few other animals that day and sell them together.

The heavy snow that had fallen the night before still hadn't stopped. Fine snowflakes continued to drift down.

Near noon, Chen Qing and the other two took advantage of the continuing snowfall and the lack of people in the village to sneak over to Li Yuan's house.

"The front door's locked. Let's check around back!"

After wandering around for a while, Chen Qing and the others finally managed to slip into Li Yuan's house.