The Little Hunter on the Border

"Little Yi, I know this sits poorly with you, but don't forget, your life was saved by Brother Erniu back in the day. What's wrong with helping him out?"

"Besides, you wouldn't be losing out. Truth be told, my sister was still a virgin when she married into his house, and Erniu was crippled right after. She's still a maiden in all but name."

"I know 'taking on a partner' doesn't sound great, but you need to think about your own situation. Why do you care about what those gossips say?"

Listening to Liu Ru's incessant nagging in his ear, Li Yi briefly wondered if he were dreaming.

Otherwise, what era was this, that someone would actually try to persuade him to become a live-in provider for another man's wife?

Only minutes ago, Li Yi had just finished the paperwork to sell his martial arts gym, only to meet with a stroke of "great luck" on his way home.

It had dumped him directly into a completely unfamiliar era.

The place he now occupied was called Blackstone Town, a small settlement on the border of the Chen Kingdom.

Neither the background nor the timeline matched any ancient dynasty he remembered.

Yet, in some respects, it bore a slight resemblance to the weak Song Dynasty.

The original owner of this body shared his name, Li Yi.

Both parents were dead, and he had a younger brother and sister to look after.

He usually relied on hunting to sustain the family, living a life of extreme hardship.

Not long ago, his younger brother, Li Xin, had fallen deathly ill, draining their meager savings and forcing them into debt to pay for the cure.

Now, let alone future prospects, they didn't even have rations for tomorrow.

Li Yi turned to look at Liu Ru, a widow living next door with whom he had a decent relationship.

She wore a coarse hemp tunic that clung to her slender, graceful frame, her modest chest still drawing the eye despite the fact that she rarely had a full meal.

Her face, devoid of any makeup, was exquisitely beautiful, her natural, flirtatious eyes seeming to cast sparks at everyone at all times.

Even having grown accustomed to modern internet celebrities and all manner of beauties, Li Yi couldn't help but marvel.

Seeing Li Yi remain silent, Liu Ru grew even more agitated.

Liu Fang was her younger sister, married to Li Erniu in the next village. On the very day of the wedding, Li Erniu had gone to the shed to feed the oxen, only to be gored in the groin by a suddenly crazed beast, leaving him a cripple who had lived like a widower in his own home ever since.

Recently, Li Erniu's health had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer go out to work.

That was why she had thought to ask Li Yi for help, to take some of the pressure off the household.

Otherwise, the moment Li Erniu passed, her sister would likely be stripped of everything by the greedy relatives.

She figured that since Li Yi was already raising his own siblings alone, looking after the Erniu household as well would be a win for both parties, which was why she had come to talk to him.

By now, Li Yi had sorted through his thoughts.

He was, by nature, a man of traditional values.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent nearly a decade guarding his family's martial arts gym in his past life, practicing day in and day out.

Unfortunately, despite mastering lethal techniques, there had been no room to use them in the modern world.

Now that he had transmigrated, Li Erniu had saved the original owner's life. Li Yi had inherited this identity, and that debt had to be repaid, but... whether it should be done by becoming a "partner" was up for debate.

To avoid further nagging from Liu Ru, Li Yi stood up and walked outside.

The original owner's living conditions were poor, the house constructed simply from wood and thatch.

The furniture was mostly handmade by the original owner, though his carpentry skills could only be described as painful to behold.

This shack was even worse than the stables Li Yi had seen in his previous life. A family of three living inside was incredibly cramped, especially since his brother and sister were growing up and needed their own private space.

Looking at this house, the idiom "four bare walls" was no exaggeration.

The only thing of value in the house was the longbow passed down by Li the Elder.

Unfortunately, the original owner hadn't inherited Li the Elder's exceptional archery skills, or he wouldn't have lived in such squalor.

After taking down the longbow and quiver, Li Yi stepped into the courtyard. He glanced left and right before spotting a wooden target standing to the side.

The longbow in his hand was a one-stone draw, with an effective range of about seventy meters.

He had played with bows and arrows before transmigrating, but he was hardly an expert.

However, as Li Yi nocked an arrow and drew the bow, a familiar sensation welled up in his heart.

This was muscle memory left behind by the original owner. With this, he would surely be able to master archery in no time.

Yet, an even greater surprise was yet to come.

As Li Yi released the string and sent the arrow flying, a panel suddenly popped up before his eyes.

[Archery (Not yet initiated): 0/100](250)

[Effect: None]

[Eight Extremes Fist (Not yet initiated): 0/100](600)

[Effect: None]

This was...

After reading so many web novels, had his turn as a cheater finally arrived?

The number following the experience points should represent the usable experience.

The experience in archery was left behind by his predecessor, while the Eight Extremes Fist was a family martial art Li Yi had practiced in his previous life.

Having practiced for nearly thirty years, five hundred points of experience was not considered much.

As long as he added these experience points, he could raise the levels of both the [Archery] and [Eight Extremes Fist] skills.

Moreover, with this cheat, Li Yi was certain he could train these two skills to a terrifying level.

He had [Archery] for long-range attacks and [Eight Extremes Fist] for close combat.

Wanting to play that game of "not eating beef" was only a matter of time.

However... according to the memories left behind by his predecessor, this world was likely not as simple as it appeared on the surface; for instance, there seemed to be some spirits and monsters lurking in the mountains and forests.

Casting those messy thoughts to the back of his mind, Li Yi focused his attention back on his skill panel.

With a whole family waiting for him to provide for them, the problem he needed to solve right now was putting food on the table.

He had to raise [Archery] first.

After exhaling a long breath, Li Yi added all his experience points into [Archery].

The status instantly jumped from "Uninitiated" to "Novice," and a wealth of archery knowledge flooded Li Yi's mind.

Not only was it more comprehensive than what he had known before, but most importantly, his body had undergone changes as well.

Li Yi could clearly feel a strange power emerging within his body, coursing through his limbs and bones, continuously strengthening his physique.

Looking at the skill panel again, it had already changed.

[Archery (Novice): 150/200]

[Effect: Capable of drawing a one-stone-five-peck bow; never missing a target within a hundred paces!]

Seeing the newly appeared effect, Li Yi gasped in shock.

If it could have this effect at just the novice level, then further down the line, it might truly lead to supernatural power.

With this archery skill, the upcoming hunting trip would undoubtedly be much easier.

However, it would be even better if he could raise [Archery] to level two as soon as possible!

Thinking of this, Li Yi once again raised his bow and arrow to practice.

Just then, a roar suddenly reached his ears.

"Li Yi, get your ass out here!"

Li Yi turned his head to look and saw a burly, shirtless man standing outside the fence with a few thugs.

Seeing Li Yi look over, the burly man kicked the fence and swaggered toward Li Yi with his underlings in tow.

"Well, well, Li Yi, I've finally caught you! What, did you really think you could avoid corvée labor by hiding? Dream on! The imperial court has issued an order to conscript young men from all over the border regions for labor.

If you keep hiding, that's defying an imperial decree, and that's a capital offense!"

Li Yi frowned, digging through his memories to find information related to this person.

The burly man before him was Wang Dagui, originally a well-known hooligan in town. Not long ago, after gifting his own sister to the county's household registrar as a concubine, he transformed into a local official in charge of labor conscription.

He was specifically in charge of managing corvée labor and even had the authority to decide whether the conscripts would be sent to garrison duty or manual labor.

For years, the Chen Kingdom and the neighboring Qing Kingdom had been at constant war; if one were truly sent to the battlefield, they would only end up as cannon fodder.

What made Li Yi frown was not the matter of the corvée labor, but another memory left behind by his predecessor.

While he was lost in these recollections, Wang Dagui assumed Li Yi was frightened, and a smug smile appeared on his face.

"We're all neighbors, so don't say I didn't look out for you. My house is currently short of someone to pour tea and fetch water; you can let your younger sister come work for me, and in return, I can arrange for you to do odd jobs.

You won't have to repair the city walls, let alone go to the battlefield. What a great deal, right?"