Hunting

To hunt, he needed a handy tool.

With his current strength, hunting bare-handed or with short weapons was out of the question. Only a bow and arrows, or traps, gave him any chance.

Li Chengfeng stepped out of the wooden hut and looked toward the Small Bamboo Forest in the clearing beside it. Then he glanced at a sturdy bamboo stalk he had just cut down, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Traps were difficult to deal with for now, but as for a bow and arrows...

"The power of a Laminated Bamboo Bow will be more than enough!"

Recalling the knowledge of bow-making from his previous life, Li Chengfeng could not help picking up the only kitchen knife in the house. He immediately took a freshly cut bamboo stalk and began making a Laminated Bamboo Bow.

Shaping the bow stave, boiling tree glue, layering bamboo strips, forming the recurve, wrapping bamboo sinew...

Finally, he cut down some slender three-year-old bamboo, whittled them into arrows, and tied them off with a sturdy vine rope.

Before long, a usable Laminated Bamboo Bow and thirty bamboo arrows were complete!

Li Chengfeng rubbed his calves, which no longer trembled under the effects of his skill, and felt satisfied.

The memories from his previous life really were useful!

He chuckled inwardly, then looked up at the sun overhead.

Judging that there were about five hours left until dark, he immediately shut the door, took up his bow and arrows, brought the battered kitchen knife and a cloth sack from home, and headed straight for the mountains outside the city.

As a county town built beside mountains and water, Clearwater County lay only three li from the foothills at the edge of the forest once one left the city.

Several big, burly men carrying blades and bows stood guard at the entrance to the mountain path. Seeing Li Chengfeng enter the mountains, they paid him no attention and simply remained where they were.

But Li Chengfeng knew that if the Forest Wardens scattered throughout the mountains caught him tampering with anything in the private woodlands, those men would not be so easy to deal with.

Li Chengfeng pressed his lips together, pretended not to see them, and walked straight along the mountain path.

He followed the road winding around the foot of the mountains. When he reached the middle of one mountain, he ran into a forest guard patrolling the woods. The man's shifty eyes fixed on him, but Li Chengfeng passed by expressionlessly.

In this way, he crossed five mountains in succession from the foothills and finally passed through the private forests at the outskirts, arriving in unclaimed woodland.

"Cluck-cluck~"

Just a few steps into the mountains, the cry of a pheasant suddenly came from ahead.

"Whoosh!"

Li Chengfeng looked up and instantly spotted a male pheasant with long tail feathers. His eyes brightened at once. He quickly raised his bow, took aim, and fired, the arrow shooting out with force.

The arrow flew out and landed in the mountain ground after grazing the pheasant's body. The pheasant was startled into flight as well.

Li Chengfeng twitched his mouth, realizing that this body was not like his own before he had transmigrated.

Although the power of the Bear Waist Stance made his hands steadier than an ordinary person's, his shooting was still nowhere near as accurate as it had been before his transmigration.

Just as he was about to shake his head and sigh, lamenting that he still needed more practice, the information before his eyes changed in the next instant. He froze.

[Skill: Archery]

[Level: Uninitiated (1/10)]

"Shooting arrows can form a skill too!"

Li Chengfeng looked at the panel information, joy rising in his heart. His eyes shone as he darted through the forest, shooting whenever he saw prey.

Before long, he had used another nine bamboo arrows.

[Skill: Archery]

[Level: Beginner (1/20)]

[Effect: Stability increased by 10%]

A strange stream of information flooded into his body and mind, and Li Chengfeng instantly felt his hands grow steadier.

Looking at the panel floating before him, a spark of brilliance flashed in his eyes as he continued forward with even greater excitement.

This time, however, he began looking for bamboo groves. Whenever he saw straight branches or saplings suitable for making arrows along the way, he cut them down and fashioned them into crude arrows.

Whenever he encountered prey, even if it was only a bird, he would immediately raise his bow and shoot.

It was not for the sake of catching prey, but for improving his archery.

Fortunately, bolstered by the Bear Waist Stance and his solid fundamentals, he did not feel tired.

And so, in the blink of an eye, an hour and a half after entering the mountains...

[Skill: Archery]

[Level: Proficient (1/80)]

[Effect: Stability increased by 30%; accuracy increased by 20%]

"I didn't expect the effects of the Archery skill to improve directly."

Seeing the progress displayed on the panel, Li Chengfeng's face glowed with vitality. In his hand were now a bamboo rat, two pheasants, and two large birds.

He raised his bow and felt his grip grow even steadier. Whenever he wanted to hit something, confidence spread through his heart.

"I should head back."

Feeling the improvements from his upgraded skill and looking at the prey beside him, Li Chengfeng was already satisfied. He glanced at the sky and knew that if he did not return now, he would likely fail to reach home before nightfall. He stopped lingering and carried the prey back home.

Under the scrutiny of the mountain guards, he left the forest. As he entered the city gates beneath the evening glow, Li Chengfeng felt hunger burning in his stomach like fire.

It seems the strength gained from improving skills doesn't appear out of thin air. It consumes the body's energy.

Feeling the intense hunger in his belly, Li Chengfeng understood that the strength in his body did not come for free.

Fortunately, he had caught prey today. Comforted by that thought, he carried the cloth sack and hurried home.

Before long, he reached the door of the small hut. But the instant he arrived, Li Chengfeng's expression turned ugly.

"Heh heh, little lady, your brother-in-law is a useless soft egg, all show and no substance. He wants to sell you to Master Zheng's household and doesn't care whether you live or die. Why not come drink with your big brother here? Before you're sold, you might as well let me have a taste first."

A man of medium build stood at the entrance to his home, blocking the pale-faced Liu Yuniang. He had a blue birthmark on his neck and a long, thin horse-like face. Smiling broadly, he said, "This master slaughtered a chicken at home. Just come with me, and I guarantee you'll get to eat something fragrant and delicious..."

"Whoosh!"

Before the blue-birthmarked man could finish speaking, a bamboo arrow shot past his calf and plunged into the ground. He shuddered in fright, the lewdness vanishing from between his brows as he looked up in shock and anger. "Who is it?!"

Liu Yuniang, her face pale and her expression furious, was also startled by the sudden commotion.

"Who? Your grandpa!"

Li Chengfeng strode forward with a dark expression, his icy gaze fixed on Liu Hong. "Liu Hong, you've got some nerve! I haven't even settled the score with you for robbing me of my wages last time, and now you dare molest my wife at my doorstep. Are you courting death?!"

"Forget it. I'll just butcher you and see whether the yamen will bother doing anything!"

As Li Chengfeng spoke, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He suddenly pulled a blade from his waist and made as if to charge at Liu Hong.

"Li Chengfeng, you... you just wait!"

The anger on Liu Hong's face vanished in an instant. Seeing Li Chengfeng seemingly gone mad and holding an iron blade, his expression changed. After throwing out one last line, he turned and fled in panicked haste.

"Liu Hong, don't let me see you again!"

Li Chengfeng chased to Liu Yuniang's side and roared at Liu Hong.

Only after watching the man's back disappear did he coldly sheath the blade.

Then he grabbed Liu Yuniang's hand and led her inside. "Yu Niang, come on. Let's go back and cook."

"Ah."

Liu Yuniang stared blankly at the bow on Li Chengfeng's back and the cloth sack that seemed to contain something. Thinking of what he had just done, her brows were filled with astonishment.

Only after hearing Li Chengfeng's words did she come back to herself. She answered softly and let him pull her into the hut.

Once inside, she ran over and placed the half-bowl of coarse flour she had earned washing clothes that day on the stone. She stared blankly at Li Chengfeng, but before she could ask anything, she saw him pull a heap of prey from the cloth sack with a swish. Her expression instantly turned stunned.

"Y-you... where did you get so much game?!"