Winter Hunt Rules, Riding Here

Before the father of Li Xian, a hunter in Leaking Bottle Alley, passed away, he accumulated a massive gambling debt. Everything of value in their household had already been plundered clean.

The most valuable possessions of all were a hunter's bow and arrows.

At the time, Li Xian could not bear the thought of the bow and arrows falling into someone else's hands, so he buried them deep within a mountain forest.

Right now, he followed his memories deep into that stretch of woods.

Making sure there was no one to his left or right, Li Xian knelt, scraped away the dirt with his hands, and dug for over a quarter of an hour...

"Got it!"

He laid eyes upon a wooden box.

If a bow and arrows were hidden directly in the soil, they would suffer from corrosion and insect damage; they required a wooden box to remain buried for long periods.

He pulled the wooden box out and pried open the iron latch. A long bow greeted his eyes, just as familiar as ever.

Old friend, I never expected we'd meet again.

Li Xian was filled with deep emotion.

The surrounding mountain forests and trees all had owners, and Li Xian had originally thought he would find it difficult to ever draw a bow and hunt again in this lifetime.

He never expected... that inside One Accord Manor, there would actually be a bustling event like the Winter Hunt.

The wooden bow was decorated with tufts of animal fur.

These were the pelts Li Xian had harvested after previous hunts, pasting them onto the bow to serve as mementos.

Li Xian raised the wooden bow.

[Skill: Archery]

[Proficiency: 997/1000 Proficiency]

[Description: Standing shots, running shots, and jumping shots are second nature. You can fire precisely through complex terrain. More than enough to hunt deer and tigers.]

Because before activating Heaven Rewards Diligence, Li Xian had already achieved Proficiency in archery.

The moment he picked up the bow this time, a strange sensation welled up from deep within. With every inhalation and exhalation, he felt as though he had merged into one with the bow.

One who shoots well must cultivate a fine martial foundation.

The body is the bow, the tendons are the string.

Steady breathing...

The eyes are actually secondary.

Inside the wooden box were three wooden arrows. Li Xian skillfully nocked an arrow and loosed it. A crisp swish rang out as it flew.

The arrow traveled miles, piercing a falling tree leaf with pinpoint accuracy.

[Arrow intent natural, born with divine marksmanship, proficiency +15]

[Skill: Archery]

[Proficiency: 12/1500 Minor Accomplishment]

[Description: Flying arrows like shuttles, your shots will be more accurate, faster, and fiercer! You have comprehended Arrow Breathing, allowing your five senses to become sharper through breathing rhythms.]

Li Xian's eyes lit up. He nocked another arrow and slowed his breathing... Everything in his vision began to move in extreme slow motion.

His ears twitched, catching the faint buzzing of a fly's wings beating, while a sweep of his eyes allowed him to spot a distant elk, tracking the contraction of its muscles and the shifts in its posture as it bounded...

He could thus predict its next landing spot.

His fingers relaxed, and this arrow left the string, flying straight to split the previous arrow.

A crisp crack echoed.

The rear arrow cleaved the front arrow apart.

The difference between the two arrows was enormous. It looked like a step from [Proficiency] to [Minor Accomplishment], but it actually concealed a chasm-like gap.

Li Xian's archery had stalled at that level for several years, unable to break through to Major Accomplishment, blocked by a bottleneck in between.

Yet now, that bottleneck had easily broken open with such effortless simplicity.

Seven days later, the sky was just turning bright over Bear-Tiger Mountain.

The sky looked slightly dim, as if wisps of dark clouds were brewing.

The terrain here was unique, forming a feng shui layout that nourished fierce beasts and ferocious creatures.

As it was the dead of winter, the forest here grew lush. Beneath the snow, the greenery had not withered or faded away.

Standing at the entrance of Bear-Tiger Mountain.

Gazing inward, one truly didn't know what to say. The scenery of spring and winter was blended together, looking gorgeous at a glance, yet looking further into the dark, gloomy depths of the forest couldn't help but make one shudder.

Not to mention...

The roars of bears and tigers that echoed from time to time, shaking one's heart and lungs until they felt uneasy.

"You asked me last time how to enter the Idle Martial Pavilion?"

"Now you have your answer."

Pang Long wore tight martial attire, carrying a giant bow on his back, his rugged facial features showing a fair bit of excitement.

Every year's Winter Hunt was the most lively event in the manor.

Because the mistress liked it.

Li Xian had caught a glimpse of the mistress once. Judging purely by her appearance, she was dignified, refined, quiet, and noble—not looking at all like someone who enjoyed hunting.

"Commander Pang, you mean to say..."

"That's right, it's the Winter Hunt. You'll understand in a moment."

Pang Long stretched his muscles, his flesh and blood popping rhythmically. He had put in every ounce of effort to prepare for this Winter Hunt.

"By the way, your bow looks quite unique."

Pang Long noticed Li Xian's wooden bow. "Does it have a name? The bow I carry is called the Giant Stone Bow, and its draw weight reaches a full five stones."

Li Xian clicked his tongue in secret.

If an arrow were fired from that, wouldn't it snap trees in half and blast prey into minced meat? If so, how could that even be considered "hunting"?

"My bow is called the 'Deer-Shooting Bow'. It's only two stones, but it's enough," Li Xian said with a smile.

"A two-stone bow... a bit weak, but it'll do."

The two men chatted idly for a moment, seeing that all the house guards in the manor participating in the Winter Hunt had arrived one after another. Pang Long shouted three times, gathering all the guards before him.

Every year during the Winter Hunt, guards of all ranks were allowed to participate.

However, Grade-D House Guards had to go in batches and could not flood into Bear-Tiger Mountain all at once.

At that moment, Li Xian spotted many familiar faces.

Hua Hanying, Fang Tianyu, Jiang Yun, and a number of others had all arrived at the scene. The bows and arrows they carried varied, looking quite impressive in quality.

"The mistress has passed down her orders."

"This year's Winter Hunt has generous rewards."

"Shoot a deer, and the reward is seven hundred copper cash; shoot a tiger, and the reward is one liang and two qian of silver; shoot a bear, and the reward is one liang and five qian of silver."

"As for ordinary small beasts, rewards will be determined based on circumstances."

"Those who shoot three deer will be granted an additional Deer Blood Pill as a reward."

"Those who shoot three tigers will be additionally permitted to enter the Idle Martial Pavilion to select a martial art, along with a Tiger Blood Pill."

"Those who shoot three bears will additionally receive a Bear Gallbladder Pill, and their guard rank will be promoted by one level."

"If they are already Grade-A House Guards, it will be converted into other rewards."

Pang Long recited the rules of the Winter Hunt. Hearing this, the house guards cast heated gazes about.

"Wild deer are rare creatures, and every part of them is a treasure, worth at least a dozen liangs of silver. When all is said and done, these so-called rewards are still just a little grease squeezed out from between the mistress's fingernails."

Li Xian kept thinking about that prize money.

Yet on second thought, the entire mountain belonged to the mistress. The deer, tigers, and bears in the mountain... naturally belonged to the mistress as well.

"Commander Pang, tigers, deer, and bears are massive in size. Even if one hits them, it would be very difficult to transport them back out of the mountain, wouldn't it?" Li Xian raised a question.

"No need to worry about that. Just listen to me finish."

Pang Long continued, "According to the mistress's regulations, Grade-A House Guards are rewarded with twenty Swiftfeather Arrows, Grade-B House Guards are rewarded with fifteen Swiftfeather Arrows, and Grade-C House Guards are rewarded with ten Swiftfeather Arrows."

"As for Grade-D, they only get five Swiftfeather Arrows. Only prey struck down by a Swiftfeather Arrow counts as true game."

"However, you may also bring your own bows and arrows to harass the prey. But whoever uses a Swiftfeather Arrow to kill the prey first owns the game."

"The mistress dislikes deception, so don't even think about pulling wool over her eyes. Who is the mistress? She can tell simply from the arrow marks what angle you shot from and how you brought the prey down."

Pang Long went on with another round of praise.

At the very end, he produced dozens of small "pouches".

"This item is called the Meat-Shrinking Bag, and it's crafted from the stomach pouch of a Gluttonous Python. When you bag prey, you only need to wrap the Meat-Shrinking Bag around the game, then channel Inner Qi into it to compress the prey down to the size of a fist."

Li Xian was startled upon hearing this.

He recalled how, back in the snowstorm when the mistress slew the Snow Demon Monkey, the corpse of that fiendish beast had vanished in the blink of an eye.

She had probably used this very item back then to pack away the Snow Demon Monkey.

While the [Meat-Shrinking Bag]s were being distributed, the mistress arrived in the distance, riding a horse.