Archery

The next morning, after breakfast, Zhao Youlin and Zhao Feng went to the home of their eldest uncle, Zhao Youfu, at the western end of the village.

Zhao Youfu had always lived in the second courtyard of the Zhao family's old residence. After renovations, it looked even more spacious and bright.

When Zhao Youlin and Zhao Feng entered, their eldest uncle Zhao Youfu and his wife sat rigidly in the main hall without moving, as if they were receiving servants.

Zhao Youfu was visibly in better health than Zhao Youlin, with a healthy sheen to his face. Though he was two years older than Zhao Youlin, he looked much younger.

Their eldest aunt, Qian Shi, had her hair coiled neatly. Though her clothes were also made of coarse cloth, they had no patches and were far more presentable than Yang Shi's.

Their second son, Zhao Sheng, sat to one side filing his fingernails with a rasp. When he saw Zhao Youlin enter, he did not even raise his eyelids.

"Second Brother's here. Had breakfast?" Zhao Youfu asked with a smile.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, we have."

Zhao Youlin greeted them.

"Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt." Zhao Feng greeted them as well.

"Feng'er came too." Eldest Uncle nodded.

"Oh? Is your madness any better? Everyone in the village says you've gone foolish. If you ask me, you're lucky you picked up your life at all." Eldest Aunt Qian Shi teased. In her mind rose the vivid account the aunt next door had given her—of Zhao Feng howling as he was beaten, then being thrown into the water.

Unable to hold it in, she burst out laughing.

Seeing his father's face turn livid in an instant, Zhao Feng lowered his head.

Eldest Uncle laughed along for a while, then put away his smile, a trace of sternness appearing on his face.

"You're already grown. Hurry and find something proper to do. Don't keep making your father and mother worry about you all the time. It's unbecoming." He assumed the airs of an elder and rebuked him.

Damn it, a man who licks other people's ditches is lecturing me. Zhao Feng recalled how, when Eldest Uncle was young, he had clung to Grandfather and inherited the old residence, then became a rich young master's lackey in the county town. Later, he had sent his eldest son there to continue being a lackey.

He was not much better than the previous Zhao Feng, that idle good-for-nothing.

"Brother, I came this time to find something proper for Feng'er to do," Zhao Youlin said.

"Our family can't help you with much. Besides, with his madness, what work could he possibly find?" Eldest Aunt hurriedly said from the side.

"I want to take back the five taels of silver our father left me," Zhao Youlin said.

The moment he spoke, the air abruptly fell silent.

"What do you want the money for?" Zhao Youfu asked with a frown.

Eldest Aunt's expression darkened as well, her face turning grim.

"Brother, Father left that for me. I need it back for an urgent matter," Zhao Youlin said.

"What exactly do you need it for?"

"I want to send Feng'er to learn martial arts." The moment he said it, the atmosphere became strange.

Pfft! Zhao Sheng, who had not spoken until then, snickered.

"Second Uncle, do you think just anyone can learn martial arts? That wastrel can learn martial arts? Don't go making a fool of yourself."

Zhao Youlin's face instantly flushed purple-red.

"Second Brother, it's not that I want to criticize you, but what nonsense are you making? Sending a fool to learn martial arts? My family has no money." Eldest Aunt's face sank.

"Elder Brother, Elder Sister-in-law, you just bought an ox, and you even sent Sheng'er to learn martial arts. Why can't I take back my silver and let Feng'er learn martial arts? Our households were divided long ago. That is my silver," Zhao Youlin said.

"Second Brother, I'll be blunt. The family needs to support Sheng'er's martial arts training, so we have no money to give you. And Feng'er simply isn't cut out for martial arts. As the elder brother, I cannot stand by and watch you make a mess of things," Zhao Youfu said coldly.

"You know perfectly well what Feng'er is like. Sending him to learn martial arts would only waste money, end in nothing, and make people laugh. Hasn't he already brought enough shame upon our Zhao family? Don't say we have no money now—even if we did, I wouldn't give it to you to squander recklessly."

"If you ask me, everyone has a different fate. You must accept yours. Look at our Sheng'er—the martial arts school master just praised him for his talent. He is the hope of the Zhao family." Eldest Aunt spoke with a proud expression.

"Second Brother, I'm considering the whole Zhao family. If the Zhao family is to produce a qilin child, it will certainly be our Sheng'er. So our two households must work together, shoulder to shoulder, to lift up our Sheng'er. When Sheng'er passes the martial examination, your family will benefit from his glory too, won't you? Letting Feng'er learn martial arts is nothing but wasting money, making a mess, and bringing ridicule upon us for no reason, shaming our ancestors." Zhao Youfu spoke as though pouring out heartfelt advice.

"Yes, the martial examination! Our Sheng'er is so outstanding, he will definitely pass the martial examination!" Eldest Aunt's eyes shone as she imagined herself dressed in silks and satins, with the surrounding villagers dying of envy.

"Father, Mother, once I pass the martial provincial examination and become a nobleman, not only can we be exempt from taxes, our whole family can move into the inner city and live in a grand residence!" Zhao Sheng said with his chin raised, a trace of pride in his expression.

"Good, good, good!"

"With Sheng'er, all we have to do is wait to enjoy our blessings." Zhao Youfu and his wife beamed, their mouths stretched so wide they could not close them.

The inner city of the county town was the place they had dreamed of all their lives.

The two had completely forgotten Zhao Youlin and his son, immersed in fantasies of glory and wealth.

Zhao Feng watched coldly and knew there was no hope of getting that money back.

"Father, let's go." He rose, took his father's rough, icy hand, and walked out.

"What rubbish. He actually daydreams about practicing martial arts." Zhao Sheng's muttering came from behind them.

After leaving the old residence, Zhao Feng looked back once. He would never come to this place again.

"Feng'er, Father is useless. I've let you down," Zhao Youlin said shamefully.

"Father, don't place other people's faults on your own head. Let's go home and talk."

The two returned to their own courtyard on the eastern side of the village.

"Husband, did you get it back?" Yang Shi asked cautiously.

Zhao Youlin shook his head, his face livid.

He was full of pent-up anger. Not only had he failed to get the money back, he had suffered humiliation for nothing.

"What? Why not? That was Father-in-law's money. What right do they have not to give it?" Tian Cuihua exploded the moment she heard.

"I'll go find them!" She rolled up her sleeves and was about to go argue.

"Sister-in-law! Forget it. Let them consider that silver fed to dogs." Zhao Feng stopped her.

"One day, even if they bring money to our door, they won't be able to get it through."

"At worst, I'll hunt and save up silver myself."

For the next several days, Zhao Feng went up the mountain to practice archery whenever he was not working. As the weather grew colder, there was less and less work in the fields, so he devoted most of his energy to practicing with the bow.

[Archery, Minor Accomplishment (235/2000)]

Today was another day of grueling practice until both his arms were numb with soreness. After finishing his archery practice, Zhao Feng entered Great Green Mountain as usual to try his luck.

This time, he planned to venture deeper into the mountains. Over the past few days, he had only moved about on the outskirts, hoping to encounter rabbits or pheasants, but his luck had been poor and he had gained nothing.

Though entering the deep mountains was still quite dangerous for him, wealth and honor were sought amid danger. If he wanted to hunt valuable prey, he had to go deeper into the mountains.

By the time he reached North Peak of Great Green Mountain, nearly an hour and a half had passed. North Peak was already covered in a thin layer of snow, and as far as the eye could see, everything was a vast expanse of white.

Then Zhao Feng noticed several scattered hazelnut shells that had been gnawed apart in the snow. The teeth marks along the shells' edges were fresh.

There are animals nearby! Zhao Feng immediately became alert.

He looked carefully around in all directions, and finally spotted a faint trail of animal hoofprints. The prints were clearly split into two halves, slender as willow leaves. They left only shallow marks in the snow, showing how light the animal's steps had been.

"It's a roe deer!" Based on the knowledge his father had taught him, Zhao Feng recognized it immediately.

Fortunately, only a thin layer of snow had fallen here on North Peak. Otherwise, such shallow hoofprints would soon have been covered over.

Joy rose in Zhao Feng's heart. As the saying went, a roe deer was foolish—if he could quietly get close, he could kill it with a single arrow.

He followed the barely visible hoofprints in silence.

The cold wind howled through the mountains, whipping dead leaves across his cheeks. Finally, more than two hundred paces ahead, he spotted three roe deer constantly searching for food in the snow. One moment they gnawed on branches, the next they rooted through dead leaves and soil, busier than ever. They looked like a family of three.

Without betraying a hint of emotion, Zhao Feng turned around and circled a wide arc to reach the downwind side of the three roe deer, so that they would not catch his scent.

Though roe deer were foolish, this was a chance he had come upon with great difficulty. Even a lion used all its strength to catch a rabbit; he had to make absolutely certain.

He lowered himself and quietly approached the three roe deer until he was within a hundred paces. At last, he could clearly make out their forms. The largest had two short, forked antlers standing atop its head. Its fur gleamed brown beneath the setting sun, and it was fat and sturdy, weighing more than fifty jin. It should have been a male roe deer.

The slightly smaller one without antlers should have been the female, while the smallest was the fawn.

Zhao Feng fixed his target on the male roe deer. He had only one chance. If he was going to shoot, he would shoot the biggest one.

Only when I'm within thirty paces will I be sure. Zhao Feng thought that everything had to be foolproof, so he lay down and crawled closer to the roe deer inch by inch. Fortunately, he was in a low earthen gully that concealed his body.

"Ninety paces..."

"Eighty paces..."

"Seventy paces..."

"Fifty paces..."

Crack. A branch beneath him snapped. The sound was faint. Zhao Feng's heart leaped into his throat, but the male and female roe deer merely lifted their blank, innocent heads, slowly turned to look around, then turned back again.

Only the little roe deer curiously swayed its head in every direction, searching for the source of the sound.

So what the old people said about foolish roe deer was true indeed. If they had been mountain goats, wild deer, or anything else, they would have been startled into fleeing long ago.

Zhao Feng held his breath, keeping his body low and motionless. Then the wind grew stronger, whistling past and stirring the fallen leaves into a rustling sound.

Using the sound of the strong wind as cover, Zhao Feng crawled closer bit by bit. Finally, by his estimate, he was just over thirty paces away. Any closer, and he would alert them.