Great Haul

After half a day, his proficiency had risen by fifty-eight points. It did not look like much, but Li Chengfeng was already satisfied with what he had gained in Archery.

Besides hunting that day, he had chopped down plenty of bamboo, cut the smooth stalks into arrow-length shafts, and used them as arrows, shooting again and again to practice Archery.

By now, his proficiency had made heartening progress.

However, drawing a bow and firing arrows was no easy task. Over the half day, he had needed to travel while drawing and shooting. Fifty-eight arrows had already left him exhausted.

For safety's sake, he no longer practiced recklessly afterward, instead saving his strength in case of danger. Besides, he still had to make the journey back, which would certainly require plenty of stamina.

Fortunately, when he entered the mountains to hunt, he did not climb to the mountaintops. He traveled in a straight line along the foothills or mountainsides.

Otherwise, with his current stamina, forget hunting—even crossing one or two mountains would probably drain him dry.

But so long as he traveled in a straight line without climbing upward, he could conserve much more strength.

With that in mind, Li Chengfeng immediately gave up on going deeper and began making his way back.

To encounter more prey, he took another route. Yet halfway along it, his expression suddenly shifted, and he looked ahead.

Two wild goats appeared in his sight!

"Goats!"

The moment Li Chengfeng saw them, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes and his heart leaped. He quickly suppressed his heartbeat, crouched low, and crept toward where the goats stood.

Luckily, the two goats were engrossed in grazing and failed to notice Li Chengfeng sneaking closer!

He stalked to within roughly thirty meters, not daring to approach any nearer. Besides, for someone whose Archery had reached the Minor Mastery level, this distance was more than enough!

"Creak~"

Li Chengfeng immediately drew an iron-tipped arrow. With a faint creak, he pulled the bow into a full moon. His Minor Mastery archery locked onto the goat's neck, and then he released his fingers.

"Twng~"

The bow snapped forward, and the arrow shot out in an instant. Both goats were startled and spread their hooves to flee, but just as they lifted their heads—

"Pfft~"

The hard bamboo arrow fitted with an iron tip spun on its fletching and instantly sank into the neck of one plump goat.

Li Chengfeng had been behind it. The arrow entered through its neck and pierced straight into the back of its head, the iron tip even protruding from its skull!

"Baa~"

The other goat let out a startled cry and fled wildly, while the arrow-struck goat collapsed at once.

Li Chengfeng rushed forward, pulled the arrow from the fallen goat's neck and put it away, then held one of the emptied water gourds he had brought beneath the bleeding wound to catch the blood.

"Trickle, trickle~"

The goat's blood flowed, and before long it filled the gourd. Li Chengfeng's eyes shone as he brought over the other empty gourd to catch more.

Only after filling the second gourd did he have no choice but to seal them, tie them at his waist, stuff the goat into the sack he carried, and hurry back with it on his back.

"I actually hunted a goat. I've struck it rich this time!"

Feeling the goat on his back, Li Chengfeng was beside himself with joy.

Not to mention anything else, the hide alone was worth three hundred copper coins!

As for the goat meat?

Li Chengfeng decisively chose to eat it himself.

"Use those three hundred copper coins to buy an iron pot for better cooking, then buy some grain and salt. With this meat, I can rest properly at home for a few days, practice martial arts, and nurse my body back to health!"

Thinking of the privileges enjoyed by martial artists in this world, Li Chengfeng's eyes lit up and his heart thudded. He hefted the goat with all his strength and hurried toward the exit.

He did not stop for a breather until he reached the place where he had encountered those two hunters last time.

Then, remembering something, he suddenly realized and hurriedly retrieved the steel saber, chopping knife, and iron pot he had hidden there.

He waited there a while longer. Before long, he saw the Old Hunter from yesterday approaching with his son, and his eyes immediately brightened.

"Heh, ran into you again today."

The Old Hunter raised his brows when he saw Li Chengfeng. Then, seeing the bulging prey sack on his back, surprise appeared on his face. He glanced at the steel saber, chopping knife, and iron pot beside him before saying, "Looks like you caught something today."

"Just luck."

Li Chengfeng smiled faintly, then pointed at the steel saber, chopping knife, and iron pot beside him. "Didn't you say hunters can trade things with each other last time? I brought some items today. See if there's anything you want."

"Let me see what shape they're in."

Hearing Li Chengfeng's words, the Old Hunter looked at the steel saber behind him, thought for a moment, and spoke.

Only the young hunter, his son, stood beside them with bright eyes and a broad smile, saying nothing as he followed along to learn from experience.

"Sure."

Li Chengfeng immediately handed the items over one by one for him to inspect.

When it came to the steel saber, Li Chengfeng held it in his hand and let the other man feel it over.

"The condition is all right. They're all still usable."

After inspecting the three items, the Old Hunter nodded. He pondered briefly, then looked at Li Chengfeng and said, "A regular steel saber like this costs five hundred copper coins. An iron pot costs two hundred, and a chopping knife costs one hundred."

"But these are used goods. I'll count the steel saber as three hundred, the iron pot as one hundred, and the chopping knife as fifty. That makes five hundred and fifty copper coins altogether."

As the Old Hunter spoke, he opened his own game bag and poured out three wild rabbits and three pheasants. Then he felt around in his pouch and took out a tiny piece of broken silver. "How about I trade these for your three items?"

Li Chengfeng gave them a quick look. The silver was tiny, worth roughly one hundred copper coins, but the three pheasants could sell for three hundred copper coins, while the three rabbits could fetch one hundred and fifty. He would not lose out.

"Fine. Then these things are yours."

Li Chengfeng stuffed the rabbits and pheasants into his sack, pocketed the broken silver, and handed over all three items with a smile. Then he looked around, his eyes sparkling. "You often take this path. How about we meet here every evening when we have nothing to do?"

"It's not good to stay in the mountains too long. Once it gets dark, we have to hurry back."

Hearing Li Chengfeng's words, the Old Hunter shook his head as he packed the items into his bag. "We hunt every day. If we run into each other, we can see whether there's anything to trade. If we don't, then so be it. We can't wait around for long."

"All right. May I ask how to address you, elder?"

Li Chengfeng immediately nodded. The Old Hunter smiled. "Call me Uncle Mountain."

"Fine, Uncle Mountain. Just call me A-Cheng. Then, until we meet again."

Li Chengfeng naturally gave a false name. Smiling broadly, he cupped his fist toward him.

"Fine, until we meet again."

Uncle Mountain nodded and smiled at him.

"My name is Xiao Wu."

Seeing the two exchange names, the young man beside Uncle Mountain could no longer hold himself back and spoke to Li Chengfeng.

It was clear that he was very interested in entering the forest. From yesterday until now, his face had been glowing with excitement.

"All right, Xiao Wu. Until we meet again."

Li Chengfeng smiled and cupped his fist to him as well. Xiao Wu immediately returned the gesture. "Brother A-Cheng, until we meet again."

After the three bid each other farewell, they each carried their belongings and headed in different directions, leaving the forest.

Li Chengfeng had returned early this time. While the sun had yet to set and had only just turned yellow, he emerged from the forest.

"With these things, I can properly practice martial arts at home for the next few days."

When he reached the city gate, Li Chengfeng tightened the rope of the sack on his back. A gleam flashed through his eyes, and he quickened his pace toward home.