Suspicion

"Good grief, a hundred shots, a hundred hits within thirty meters!"

Fang Zhixing was overjoyed.

According to the archer rank system, apprentices were divided into four tiers: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and max level.

A max-level Apprentice Archer was naturally the strongest among apprentices, never missing within thirty meters.

So this is what a max-level cheat is like. As long as every condition is met, it takes you straight to the top! Fang Zhixing realized.

Then he moved farther away, stood roughly thirty meters out, aimed at the bullseye, drew his bow, and fired.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Hit! Hit! Another hit!

Not a single arrow missed!

"Holy crap, that's awesome!"

Skinny Dog was utterly amazed, his horizons broadened. "You barely practiced archery at all. You only spent half a month on it from start to finish, and you already earned the Apprentice Archer title. That's way too damn easy."

Fang Zhixing was delighted. He shot Skinny Dog a sidelong glance and smiled. "Don't get jealous yet. How about you? The [Bond Cheat] lets you gain the improvements in sync too, doesn't it?"

"Right!"

Skinny Dog immediately began to look forward to it, his dog eyes fixed intently on the panel.

But after waiting a while, nothing happened.

"What's going on? Why did my cheat stop working?" Skinny Dog could not help growing anxious.

Fang Zhixing analyzed, "A bond, a bond... could it be that the bond between you and me hasn't lasted long enough?"

Skinny Dog blinked and pondered. "The panel clearly says 'long-term companionship.' Maybe the half month we've spent together doesn't count as 'long-term.'"

The corners of Fang Zhixing's mouth lifted slightly as he reminded him, "This bond probably can't be an ordinary relationship. It has to involve some genuine sincerity, right? With you being so halfhearted and not treating me as your master, does that count as a bond?"

"..."

Skinny Dog fell silent, deep in thought.

From the bottom of his heart, he was unwilling to admit that he was a dog.

He and Fang Zhixing had to stand as equals.

But now, his cheat had stubbornly failed...

"Well, think it over carefully. I think the most important thing in being a person is sincerity, and the same goes for being a dog." Fang Zhixing said leisurely, unleashing a barrage of PUA.

The moment his words fell, the panel before Fang Zhixing's eyes flashed with light, and new information appeared.

[Ordinary Archer · Max-Level Conditions:

1. Hit a bullseye at least 50 meters away 10 times (Incomplete)

2. 100 jin of any one type of grain (Incomplete)

3. 50 jin of meat (Incomplete)]

"Oh, my archery skill can keep improving?" A gleam flashed in Fang Zhixing's eyes.

Seeing this, Skinny Dog snapped out of it and analyzed seriously, "The first condition is relatively easy. After all, you have an 80% hit rate within a range of fifty meters. Just shoot a few more times and you'll manage it. As for the second and third conditions, they're both just piling up resources!"

Fang Zhixing nodded. "The second condition is grain. Any one of the five grains will do. The third is meat, but it doesn't specify what kind. Pork, beef, fish, and so on might all work, as long as I gather fifty jin."

Skinny Dog considered it. "If that's the case, meat won't be a problem. We can catch it in the river. Grain is actually the hard part."

With famine raging, grain was what people lacked most.

After thinking it over, Fang Zhixing proposed a solution through voice transmission. "I can hunt, sell the prey for money, or trade it directly for grain."

Skinny Dog perked up. "Do you know how to sell it? Where would you sell it?"

Fang Zhixing searched his memories and recalled, "Leave Crouching Ox Village and head south along the great river for about eighty li. There's a market town there. Big Ox's father once went there to sell animal hides and medicinal herbs."

"Big Ox never went?" Skinny Dog asked.

Fang Zhixing shook his head.

Skinny Dog pondered. "This method is worth trying. If you can hunt enough prey, then naturally we won't need to keep fishing in the river."

Fang Zhixing nodded, swiftly forming a plan in his mind.

Before they knew it, night had fallen.

One man and one dog returned to the village.

Over the past few days, the two of them had left early and returned late, avoiding the other villagers as much as possible. They kept an extremely low profile, like a lone wolf.

Stars dotted the sky, and it was already late.

The village was exceptionally quiet. Looking around, not a single household showed any light.

There was no helping it. Conditions here were primitive. At night, people needed to light oil lamps or candles to have any illumination.

But oil lamps and candles were both luxuries. Who could afford to use them?

They had heard that the old village chief's house had quite a few treasures, but even his family could not bear to use them casually.

Fang Zhixing arrived at the eastern end of the village and, feeling his way through the darkness, entered from there and followed the familiar route home.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, Skinny Dog pricked up his ears and transmitted his voice.

Fang Zhixing immediately halted. Instinctively, he raised his bow, drew an arrow, and nocked it on the string. The entire sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one smooth motion.

At the same time, he asked through voice transmission, "What is it?"

Skinny Dog scanned the area back and forth and transmitted, "I just heard footsteps. Very light, not far away."

Fang Zhixing quickly looked around. Beneath the moonlight, the scenery was hazy, and the earth seemed draped in a thin veil.

Between the houses, shadows spread in patches, creating far too many blind spots.

He could not see a single figure.

Skinny Dog lay prone on the ground and listened. Suddenly, he raised his head and stared at a pitch-black narrow alley not far away. "There's someone there. I heard faint breathing. I'm sure of it!"

Fang Zhixing understood at once. Slowly, he drew his bow and aimed in that direction. Then he coughed heavily and suddenly shouted in an angry voice, "Who the hell took a dump in the road? I stepped in it and got it all over my foot!"

Everything around them remained silent. No one answered.

Skinny Dog listened carefully. After a while, he nodded. "That person left. The footsteps are getting farther away."

Fang Zhixing let out a breath, then quickly ran home, shut the door, and braced it from behind with a wooden plank.

Turning to Skinny Dog, he asked, "Did anyone follow us here?"

Skinny Dog had been listening all along. A dog's hearing was extremely sharp. He shook his head. "Probably not."

"That's good."

Only then did Fang Zhixing relax his taut body, though his face remained dark as water.

Skinny Dog squatted down and scratched his chin with a hind leg, pondering. "That person might have been the murderer who killed Second Dog."

Fang Zhixing shared the suspicion. "Half a month has passed. He must have finished eating Second Dog's two legs by now."

Skinny Dog shuddered and recalled, "I once watched a documentary. Psychology experts found that cannibals are extremely twisted. Once they eat human flesh, they become addicted and want to eat it a second time, a third time. Even if delicacies from the mountains and seas are laid before them, they still want to eat people."

Fang Zhixing nodded. "We'll have to be even more careful from now on."

In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. The sky had only just begun to brighten.

Fang Zhixing and Skinny Dog rose early, brought a set of bow-and-arrow equipment, and set out from the western end of the village toward the vast mountains.

"Well, if it isn't Big Ox?"

As they walked, a group of people suddenly emerged from the side.

Fang Zhixing turned to look, and his heart immediately tightened. There were many of them—more than twenty able-bodied young men.

Leading them were none other than the old village chief's three sons: Zhao Dahu, Zhao Erhu, and Zhao Sanhu. Their followers were all members of the Zhao family as well.

The way villagers banded together was often determined by bloodline. Those of the same clan were family, while everyone else was an outsider.

The old village chief's household was the largest in Crouching Ox Village. Counting his brothers, siblings, children, and descendants, there were sixty or seventy of them altogether.

By comparison, other surnames had at most around ten members and at least a family of three, making them look weak and isolated.

There were also a few households like Big Ox's, with no one to rely on.

Fang Zhixing immediately piled a smile onto his face, lowered his head, and greeted them meekly and humbly. "Hello, Uncle Zhao Dahu. Hello, Uncle Zhao Erhu, Uncle Zhao Sanhu."

Zhao Dahu nodded. "Haven't seen you in a while. What have you been busy with lately?"

Fang Zhixing pointed to the scar by his forehead and quickly said, "I went hunting some days ago and ran into a black bear. I got hurt in a fall, so I stayed home to recover for a few days."

Zhao Dahu understood and asked, "What, are you heading into the mountains to hunt?"

Fang Zhixing replied, "There's no food left at home, so I came out to try my luck."

"Want to come with us?" Zhao Dahu suddenly asked.

Fang Zhixing quickly replied, "No, I'm not capable of much. I'd only hold you back."

"Fine, then be careful. Don't go too far, or it'll be bad if you get lost. We'll be going now." Zhao Dahu patted Fang Zhixing on the shoulder and walked ahead with a beaming smile.

Fang Zhixing stood silently where he was, watching Zhao Dahu and the others gradually disappear into the distance. Then he headed in another direction.

After Zhao Dahu had gone some distance, something suddenly occurred to him. He looked back, frowning slightly.

"Big Brother, what is it?" Zhao Erhu asked.

Zhao Dahu hesitated. "Did any of you notice that Big Ox's face was rosy and he looked very well? I touched his shoulder just now. It felt like he had some flesh on him."

Zhao Erhu's expression changed as realization dawned on him. "Now that you mention it, that kid really did look quite spirited."

Zhao Sanhu said in surprise, "There's a famine these days. Everyone's been starved until they barely look human or ghost. How is he fine?"

Zhao Dahu mused, "After Big Ox's father died, he lived alone. His household should have been too poor to keep the pot boiling long ago. But looking at him, he doesn't seem like someone who has gone hungry at all."

The three brothers discussed it back and forth. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that there was something wrong with Big Ox.