Encountering a Wild Beast

Liu Fang was just an ordinary village woman. She had seen people fight before.

It was not as if she had never seen people beaten until their heads bled, but she had never seen a murder scene like this.

Even as fear gripped her, she was more worried whether Li Yi would get into trouble for doing this.

At that moment, all was silent save for the chirping insects. At another window, two pairs of eyes watched without fear or trembling, bearing only a calmness utterly at odds with their age.

"Since you've seen it all, how you choose to act is up to you."

Liu Fang's expression shifted again and again. In the end, she lifted her faintly trembling legs and walked toward Li Yi, her eyes filled with determination.

"Brother Yi, I'll help you."

After staring steadily at Liu Fang for a moment, Li Yi suddenly smiled.

He nodded and said, "Just help me clean up the traces on the ground. I'll handle everything else."

With that, Li Yi hoisted the corpse over his shoulder and headed into the mountains.

Watching Li Yi's retreating back, Liu Fang collapsed to the ground.

The air was thick with the stench of blood. Blood on the ground mixed with the dirt, bubbling with tiny froth.

Gulp.

Liu Fang forced her weak legs to hold her up, picked up a bucket, and prepared to wash everything clean.

Since she had chosen to stay, she had to do what needed to be done.

Though she had been forced into this arrangement, Liu Fang had already come to truly accept Li Yi.

"Sister Fang, we'll help you."

The door creaked open, and Li Yue stood in the doorway, holding Li Xin's hand.

Liu Fang looked at them and opened her mouth, but for a moment, she did not know what to say.

She suddenly realized that the three Li Family siblings seemed completely different from what she had believed before.

In the mountains, a man carrying a corpse raced through the dense forest. The cries of wild beasts occasionally echoed around him.

Li Yi looked at his status panel.

[Archery (Beginner): 195/200]

[Effect: Can draw a one-stone-five-dou bow; within a hundred paces, every shot hits its mark!]

That was right. When he had just shot Qingpi dead, his experience had increased again.

It seemed actual combat granted more experience.

If that was the case, then his cheat was best suited for the battlefield.

Just as Li Yi was thinking about this, a strange sound suddenly came from ahead.

Li Yi immediately stopped, standing where he was with a deep frown.

Before transmigrating, he had rarely entered the mountains and forests. In his era, many wild animals were protected species and could not be touched at all.

But the Li Yi of this world had been a professional hunter. Though he was not skilled at hunting, he knew everything he was supposed to know.

The sound coming from ahead now resembled that of a wild boar.

The previous owner had gone up the mountain so many times, yet he had not even encountered a single wild chicken, much less a wild boar.

Who would have thought that on his first trip to bury a corpse after killing someone, he would run into a wild boar?

Fortunately, he had brought his bow and arrows along when he came up the mountain.

In the mountains and forests, wild boars were even harder to deal with than fierce tigers.

If he had been empty-handed, Li Yi would have turned and run without another word.

But now, he wanted to see whether he could take down this beast.

So, under the moonlight, he moved forward.

Before he had gone far, Li Yi spotted the adult wild boar in the distance.

Its tusks gleamed, and its orange-red eyes looked especially terrifying in the darkness.

Just from its size alone, Li Yi knew he could not confront it head-on. He could only outwit it.

The boar snorted and wheezed, its orange-red eyes fixed firmly in Li Yi's direction, as though it knew someone was there.

Seeing this, Li Yi viciously slashed Qingpi's main artery with his skinning knife, making the scent of blood in the air even stronger.

He then tossed down the corpse and hid to one side.

The wild boar caught the scent of blood and instantly became alert, backing away several steps.

After a while, the wild boar still had not moved, and Li Yi could not help cursing inwardly.

There were many mosquitoes and insects in the mountains. His whole body itched unbearably, yet he did not dare move.

He crouched there with his bowstring drawn, ready to fire. Whether he could eat meat tomorrow depended on tonight.

After a while, the wild boar ran over. Seeing that it was a corpse, it warily scanned its surroundings. Once it confirmed there was no danger, it began tearing into Qingpi's body.

Seeing that the wild boar had lowered its guard, a sharp glint flashed through Li Yi's eyes.

Now!

With a whoosh, an arrow shot forth.

"Awooo!" A howl rang out.

The arrow sank directly into the wild boar's eye.

Yet it did not die. It glared furiously around, seemingly trying to find out who was shooting arrows at it from the shadows.

After firing one arrow, Li Yi gave it no time to react and immediately loosed another, striking a vital spot behind its rear.

This time, the entire arrow sank into it.

An ordinary wild boar should have died after suffering such heavy injuries in succession.

But the beasts of this world were clearly different. Even now, it could still move.

Li Yi finally understood why the previous owner so often returned empty-handed. The beasts of this world were simply too tenacious!

He looked at his one remaining arrow, then at his wooden bow, and decided that he absolutely had to get a better bow.

After being struck by two arrows, the wild boar's fury reached its peak. It would not rest until one of them was dead.

It had already discovered Li Yi's presence and charged straight at him.

Ten meters, nine meters...

It drew ever closer, until he could even hear the wild boar breathing.

Li Yi knew that he absolutely could not get injured.

His home had nothing but four bare walls. If he got hurt, there would be no medicine to treat him.

Moreover, he would soon be conscripted for corvée service. If he carried an injury, there was a ninety-percent chance he would die on the battlefield.

Li Yi gritted his teeth and decided to risk it all!

He aimed at the wild boar and fired his last arrow.

That arrow did not hit the wild boar, but it still increased his proficiency.

And at that very moment, the [Archery] skill leveled up!

[Archery] (Proficient): (1/500)

[Effect: Can draw the Three-Stone Horn Bow; arrows carry Armor-Piercing Force!]

At that instant, a warm current rose from his dantian. The fatigue in his body vanished completely, strength filled him from head to toe, and his slightly trembling hands became as steady as stone.

Li Yi took a deep breath and, without another word, ran in another direction.

The wild boar changed direction as well and charged straight after Li Yi.

But Li Yi had already seized the chance to climb a tree.

When the wild boar crashed toward him, he leaped directly to another spot.

That was exactly where the arrow he had missed with earlier lay.

After picking up the arrow, Li Yi nocked it and drew the string in one smooth motion, his movements flowing like drifting clouds and running water as he aimed at the wild boar.

"Die!"

Whoosh!

The wild boar sensed the breath of death and desperately turned to flee, but it was already too late. Accompanied by a muffled thud—

The sharp arrow pierced its eye and burst out through the back of its skull, ending its life.

Li Yi panted heavily. The wooden bow in his hand had snapped completely. The brush with death just now had made his heart pound wildly, but it had also greatly improved his abilities.

Proficient-level [Archery] truly was extraordinary.

It was just a pity about his only wooden bow.

Still, being able to bring down prey made it worthwhile!

Thinking this, Li Yi grinned, then picked up the prey at his feet and set off.

By the time he came down the mountain, it was the Hour of the Ox. Li Yi calculated the time—he would get home just as dawn broke. His family must have been worried sick.

"Useless trash! You can't even find one person! What am I feeding you for?"

With a crash, Wang Dagui smashed the bowls on the table to pieces. Several thugs knelt on the ground, not daring to move.

The night before, Wang Dagui's mind had been filled with Li Yue's image. His heart itched unbearably, so he had sent his men to check on Li Yi's home. If all else failed, they were to sneak in and force themselves on her.

But unexpectedly, after waiting the entire night, the men he sent out to search still could not be found.

"Come on. We're going to Li Yi's house."

Wang Dagui knew his men might be incompetent, but they would never dare disobey him.

Something had to be wrong.

Even riding a horse, it would take two quarter-hours to get from the county town to Li Yi's home. Wang Dagui could not afford a horse, so he could only walk.

As a result, his group ran into Li Yi, who was coming down the mountain, halfway there.

"Well, well."

When Wang Dagui saw the wild boar Li Yi was dragging, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and the greed in them was undisguised.

Though Wang Dagui lived fairly well, wars had raged year after year. Even he rarely got to eat meat once a month.

Li Yi also spotted Wang Dagui at that moment. Killing intent flashed through his heart, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Well, if it isn't Li Yi? Did dog shit luck fall on your head? You actually found a wild boar!"

The thugs around them burst into laughter.

Li Yi looked at them without saying a word.

Wang Dagui stepped on the wild boar's belly and looked at Li Yi with blatant provocation.

"But this thing isn't so easy to find. Don't tell me you stole someone else's prey?"

"What did you say?"

Li Yi stepped forward. The aura he gave off actually made Wang Dagui freeze for a moment.

A flash of shame and anger crossed Wang Dagui's face. He had actually been frightened by this brat just now.

"I asked whether you stole this thing!"

Li Yi frowned. He wanted to take out his bow and arrows, but then he realized his bow was broken, while the arrows were nearly ruined after repeated use.

Most importantly, he had encountered the wild boar only because he had gone up the mountain to dispose of a corpse. There was no way he could explain it.

When Wang Dagui saw that Li Yi remained silent, his confidence grew even stronger.

"Li Yi, I won't say anything else. Hand this over to me, or don't blame me for spreading rumors."

Li Yi looked at Wang Dagui's face and sneered inwardly.