Curving Shot

Crack, crack, crack!

A series of strange grinding sounds came from inside Skinny Dog's body. His frame visibly swelled by a size, and a strip of white fur grew along his back, fluffy and soft.

He looked more like a husky now, though he also carried a hint of a hyena's ferocity.

[Species: Canine]

[Talent: Dog Bond]

[Bloodline: Hyena Wolf]

[Remaining Lives: 2]

"Holy shit, my bloodline awakened!"

Skinny Dog laughed wildly in ecstasy, unable to contain himself.

It was here, it was finally here.

Fang Zhixing had improved three times in a row. It was about time Skinny Dog got his turn!

And he had gone straight to a bloodline awakening!

"Hyena Wolf bloodline—just hearing it sounds badass!"

Skinny Dog was immensely pleased with himself. He did not even need to feel it to know that he had visibly grown stronger.

Powerful four limbs, sharp fangs—fierce yet adorable!

Best of all, he had two lives again. He could die one more time.

Haha, he could be cocky again!

He turned his head to look.

At that moment, Fang Zhixing had yet to notice that his bloodline had awakened. He was simply staring at the system panel.

[Ordinary Archer · Perfect: Within one hundred meters, every arrow hits its mark]

[Burst Skill: Curving Shot]

...

...

[Elite Archer · Max-Level Requirements:

1. Become a max-level Ordinary Archer (Completed)

2. One eye each from three different animals (Incomplete)

3. Three hundred jin of any kind of grain or miscellaneous staple (Incomplete)

4. Two hundred jin of meat (Incomplete)]

"Curving Shot?"

Fang Zhixing frowned slightly, then walked outside and raised his bow.

He drew the bow!

He aimed at a roof tile on an earthen wall fifty meters away!

Fang Zhixing and that tile stood in a straight line, but a parasol tree blocked the path between them.

"Burst Skill—Curving Speed!"

Fang Zhixing unleashed his ultimate move. The muscles in his arms rapidly bulged, faintly producing an incomparably wondrous technique for exerting force.

Then, the arrow nocked on the bowstring bent.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot forth, tracing a beautiful arc as it curved around the parasol tree.

Clang!

The arrow sank into the earthen wall, shattering the tile.

"Holy shit, arrows can actually curve after being fired?" Skinny Dog exclaimed in amazement.

This was clearly a trick shot!

Fang Zhixing smiled, very satisfied. He glanced sideways at Skinny Dog, and his brows rose.

"Well now, Hyena Wolf bloodline! You leveled up too!"

He clicked his tongue in admiration. "Did you gain any special abilities?"

Skinny Dog hesitated before replying, "My sense of smell has clearly strengthened. I can distinctly remember and track every kind of scent."

And that was not all.

In truth, he had another unique ability, but he did not want to tell Fang Zhixing.

Fang Zhixing was a sly and cunning bastard, capable of lying low or going all out.

When he was weak, he endured silently, acting cowardly as a grandson and harmless to man and beast.

But once he grew stronger, he would take down anyone, even the Heavenly King himself. He was ruthless!

The old village chief had been old and crafty, such a shrewd man, yet even until his death, he had failed to realize that Fang Zhixing could not be allowed to live!

Fang Zhixing had probably been plotting how to kill the old village chief long ago.

Fang Zhixing was rebellious by nature, slaying gods when he met gods. Sooner or later, with a wave of his hand, he would overturn thirty thousand li of the Eastern Sea.

Skinny Dog had seen through this man completely, so he wanted to keep a trump card for himself.

"Enhanced sense of smell? Well, that's not bad."

Fang Zhixing nodded.

After all, Skinny Dog was still just a puppy. For the time being, Fang Zhixing could not expect him to become an awesome Howling Celestial Hound overnight.

Both man and dog had improved, so naturally their happiness doubled.

Next, Fang Zhixing took stock of their food and meat.

"Only two pieces of cured meat are left. The soybeans and flour are all gone, but there's still some rice."

He packed all the rice from the sacks into one bag. By his estimate, it weighed around eighty jin.

At that moment, Skinny Dog sent him a message. "I found three hens, half a basket of eggs, and a donkey. There's also a sack of salt in the kitchen!"

"A donkey!"

Fang Zhixing was immediately overjoyed.

He quickly led the donkey over, picked up the sack of rice, placed it on the donkey's back, and secured it with rope.

He stuffed the two pieces of cured meat into the rice sack as well and took them along.

He caught the three hens and tied their legs, then took the half basket of eggs too.

A moment later, the two of them walked out through the gate.

Skinny Dog asked, "Where are we going?"

Fang Zhixing replied, "Leaving this shitty place for somewhere more prosperous."

Skinny Dog pondered, "When Zhao Dahu and the others return, they'll definitely come after us."

Fang Zhixing sneered. "Of course, we'll deal with them before leaving. If you cut the grass, you have to pull out the roots!"

Skinny Dog understood at once.

They left the village, passed through the woods, and arrived at that patch of yellow sand.

They slaughtered a hen, sprinkled it with salt, roasted it, and enjoyed lunch.

Skinny Dog was greedy and insisted on eating eggs, so Fang Zhixing fried two eggs as well.

They ate until they were stuffed!

They had never felt so satisfied!

"Food sprinkled with salt really does taste different," Skinny Dog said with deep feeling.

"Mm, salt is very important." Fang Zhixing nodded. "If people go without salt for too long, they lose their appetite and strength, and their muscles cramp easily."

As they chatted, a beam of sunlight pierced through the dark clouds, illuminating the land.

At last, the sky cleared.

By evening, the sky had not yet fully darkened.

Zhao Dahu and the others emerged from the deep mountains, all smiles as they chatted merrily.

They had been fairly lucky today. Though they had not hunted any large beasts, they had found a rabbit nest and shot five rabbits.

Hunting required patience and luck. One could not catch wild boars and stags every day.

When the group reached the village entrance, they suddenly heard crying.

The crying was especially shrill. Zhao Dahu found it vaguely familiar, as though it were his wife's voice, and he could not help frowning.

They hurriedly ran home. From afar, they saw many villagers gathered before the gate.

"What happened?"

Zhao Dahu shouted anxiously.

The villagers immediately moved aside.

Then Zhao Dahu's pupils contracted. He saw his wife collapsed on the ground, crying as if her heart had been torn apart.

Several women of the Zhao family were there, huddled together and sobbing. One had already fainted from crying.

A headless corpse lay on the ground. It was none other than his son, Zhao Zikun.

The other three corpses belonged to the sons of Zhao Erhu and the others.

"Ah?!"

Zhao Dahu was utterly shocked. For a moment, his mind went blank.

"My son!" Zhao Erhu and the others stared in disbelief, all of them stunned.

The gruesome sight struck their retinas and drove them mad.

"Who did this?"

"Who killed my son?"

They glared at the villagers and roared their questions.

Yet no one answered.

All the villagers backed away, watching coldly. Some lowered their heads with mocking smiles, taking pleasure in their misfortune.

"Dahu, Father and Mother too..." Zhao Dahu's wife pointed toward the main hall.

Zhao Dahu's expression changed drastically. He rushed inside and immediately saw two corpses beneath the eaves.

At that instant, an immense chill surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

Zhao Dahu froze where he stood, utterly at a loss.

But he soon regained his senses, rushed outside, and roared at the villagers, "Who did this? You won't tell me, is that it? If you don't, I'll kill every last one of you!"

The villagers were instantly terrified. Auntie Wang spread her hands and said, "We don't know either. We'd only just returned from outside when we found that something had happened to your family."

"It barely rained today, so everyone left the village to look for food. Some dug for wild vegetables, while others went hunting. Only your family still had idle people staying at home."

Zhang Datie sneered. "Wasn't your wife at home? Ask her."

Zhao Dahu hurriedly looked at his wife, but she shook her head. "We went to the river to wash clothes. When we came back at noon, we found them all dead."

Zhao Dahu was nearly driven mad. When he turned around again, the villagers had scattered in all directions. No one wanted to get involved in trouble.

Zhao Sanhu examined the corpses and said, "Big Brother, they were all killed with a single slash. The murderer was no ordinary person. They must have trained in saber techniques."

Zhao Erhu ran over and stamped his foot. "Oh no, all the grain and cured meat in the house are gone!"

"What?!"

Zhao Dahu's head spun, and his breathing stalled.

Someone said in quick succession, "Could it have been bandits passing through?"

"Possible!"

"Or perhaps someone in the village is maliciously taking revenge on us!"

Everyone spoke at once.

Zhao Dahu was vexed, completely unable to sort out the situation.

They had spent the entire day hunting, exhausted and hungry, only to suddenly encounter such a bizarre massacre. No one could have figured it out right away.

Zhao Dahu said in a deep voice, "Deal with the bodies first, then cook and eat. No matter who the murderer is, we need to fill our stomachs before we can avenge them!"

Everyone wholeheartedly agreed. Someone carried the rabbits into the kitchen, skinned them, and boiled them.

Zhao Dahu and the others sat around the table and began eating.

The men ate first, and the women ate afterward.

Everyone received at least a little meat.