Improvement

A Treasure Hoarder Insignia identified a member of the Treasure Hoarders. No one else would carry one, lest someone discover it and haul them off to the Knights of Favonius for questioning.

The Treasure Hoarders scoured the world, going to great lengths to find treasures buried in secret, unknown places. They even stooped to robbery and theft, accumulating a long list of crimes.

They were despised by everyone across Teyvat.

It was not hard to guess why a Treasure Hoarder Insignia had appeared here. Some Treasure Hoarders might have passed by and happened to notice a rare, valuable fish caught in his net.

Given their determination to get their hands on Mora whenever they caught its scent, they certainly would not pass up wealth within easy reach.

He sucked in a breath.

To think the story he had casually made up about being robbed by the Treasure Hoarders had now come true!

There were other possibilities, but since he had found a Treasure Hoarder Insignia at the scene, this was the most likely one.

In that case, I can't just swallow this loss. Sooner or later, I'll make them cough up twice what they took!

Li Qiuzhi made that resolve silently.

This isn't just about Mora. I lost precious Experience Points, too! Does anyone think it's easy scraping together that little bit every day?

After standing on the verdant grass and thinking for a while, Li Qiuzhi decided to put the matter aside for now. Finding them would take time, and whether he could beat them was another question.

At only Lv.2, he might not be a match for the Treasure Hoarders. He needed to keep finding ways to earn Experience Points and improve himself first.

Still, he could start asking around for leads on the Treasure Hoarders.

By afternoon, Li Qiuzhi still had not tried buying fish with Mora to gain Experience Points and then selling them again. That method would waste his energy without earning him anything.

While waiting for Draff at the city gates, Li Qiuzhi asked the two Knights of Favonius guarding them for information. Both wore silver armor with gold detailing.

"By the way, Mr. Swan, Mr. Lawrence, have the Knights of Favonius received any news about the Treasure Hoarders lately?"

With the Wooden Hunting Bow Draff had given him on his back, Li Qiuzhi leaned against one side of the gate as he asked.

"The Treasure Hoarders? I don't think so."

Swan spread his hands, his arm armor brushing his breastplate with a faint metallic clink.

They knew this young man from Liyue whom Miss Amber had rescued in the wilderness and brought back. They also knew he had ended up in trouble after being robbed by the Treasure Hoarders, so his questions did not surprise them.

"Nothing? That's a shame." Li Qiuzhi was not particularly disappointed. These things could not be rushed.

"As for the Treasure Hoarders, I heard Captain Kaeya mention a few days ago that he'd encountered some suspicious people by the beach. He had urgent business at the time, though, so he left them alone. By the time he returned, they were gone, and nothing ever came of it. I hope that information helps."

Lawrence, who also wore Knights of Favonius armor, looked thoughtful before clapping his hands as though he had remembered something.

"Falcon Coast?"

Li Qiuzhi considered it. Since it had happened a few days ago, the information might no longer be of much use.

Still, the area was near the sea, with abundant Hydro energy and frequent appearances by Hydro Slimes. If he wanted to hunt monsters in the future, he could look there.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Lawrence. It's a lead, at least," Li Qiuzhi said with a smile. "Following it might turn up something."

"Perhaps." Lawrence scratched his head. "If you want to investigate, you'd best bring Miss Amber along. She's the Outrider of our Knights of Favonius, and this sort of work is her specialty."

"That's right. And if you really do run into the Treasure Hoarders, Miss Amber can protect you," Swan added seriously.

After all, as far as they knew, this young man from Liyue was not a Vision holder. He had only started learning to hunt from Springvale's head hunter over the past couple of days, so he probably was not very strong.

Seeing their concern for him, Li Qiuzhi replied just as seriously:

"Don't worry. I won't go until I'm confident I can handle it. Of course, if Miss Amber has time, I'll invite her to help."

"As long as you understand."

The two Knights of Favonius said no more.

Just then, Li Qiuzhi spotted Draff waving to him from the far side of Mondstadt Bridge. Knowing it was time to go hunting, he said goodbye to the two knights.

Carefully dodging the pedestrians crossing the bridge, Li Qiuzhi jogged over to join Draff.

"I saw you having a lively chat with Swan and Lawrence, so I didn't come over. But we'd better hurry now. The other hunters from our town have already entered the woods. If we're late, there won't be anything left for us."

Draff looked toward the Whispering Woods as he spoke with a smile.

"Surely not. You're such a skilled hunter, Mr. Draff," Li Qiuzhi said, playing along with a surprised expression.

"That has nothing to do with how skilled I am. The hunters of my generation in Springvale have all honed their skills for fifteen or twenty years. We're generally about evenly matched. If you want to return with a full haul, the key is getting there first."

Draff shared his experience as though speaking to a younger member of his family. "Get there a step ahead, and you'll reap the rewards a step ahead."

"That makes sense."

Draff's words reminded Li Qiuzhi that even a slow bird could get ahead by taking flight early. There was often only one worm, one opportunity. Fall a step behind, and that chance would be gone for good.

The comparison might not have been entirely accurate, but it captured the idea.

What followed was much the same as yesterday. Draff instructed Li Qiuzhi in the practical use of Hunter's Archery, wounding any prey he found before leaving it to Li Qiuzhi for practice.

Li Qiuzhi improved quickly through this hands-on experience. Just as Draff had said, hunting was the best way to practice Hunter's Archery.

He also gained a deeper understanding of it.

Hunter's Archery emphasized steadiness, accuracy, flexibility, and surprise. It also required coordinated body movements to conceal oneself and avoid being spotted by the prey first. Anyone who could manage these basics had reached the beginner level.

Over the following month, Li Qiuzhi accompanied Draff into the Whispering Woods and Windwail Highland. They returned with plentiful catches every day, then went straight to Mondstadt to sell their prey to several different buyers.

Li Qiuzhi earned an average of around ten thousand Mora a day. After a month, his savings had reached three hundred fifty-five thousand six hundred Mora, roughly equivalent to a little over three thousand yuan. It was nothing impressive, but he had at least escaped poverty.

Most importantly, Draff left most of the prey he found to Li Qiuzhi for practice, earning him a considerable number of Experience Points. Whenever he had enough to level up, he invested them immediately.

He had now reached Lv.6, while his own practice had raised Hunter's Archery to Lv.2. He still had several hundred Experience Points left, and he would soon be able to level up again.

Li Qiuzhi's Character Panel now looked like this:

Name: Li Qiuzhi

Level: Lv.6 (0/600)

Race: Human

Title: None

Innate Talent: Intertwined Affection

Skill: Hunter's Archery Lv.2 (122/200)

Specialty: [Descender]

Experience Points: 512

At Lv.6, his strength, speed, and every other aspect of his physical ability far surpassed his former self. According to Draff, Li Qiuzhi was now capable of hunting on his own.

Draff was also astonished by how quickly Li Qiuzhi had grown. Although his archery still needed improvement, his physical abilities more than made up for that shortcoming.

Of course, Li Qiuzhi knew he was only much stronger than an ordinary person. He still fell a little short of Draff or the Knights of Favonius, who had trained specifically for years.

Teyvat was fundamentally different from the real world. Its energy levels were far higher than Earth's, so the living beings it nurtured were also much stronger.

The two could not be judged by the same standards.