Chapter Summaries

Li Xuan used a sharpened reed to spear fish beneath the ice, and his new Under-Ice Perception trait helped him catch several more after Li Zhong scared the fish away. As Li Xuan, Li Zhong, and Wang prepared to continue to town with six fish, villagers arrived and saw his final catch.

• Li Xuan speared a plump crucian carp and gained the Under-Ice Perception trait.
• Li Xuan taught Li Zhong to fish, and Li Zhong caught a smaller crucian carp on his third attempt.
• Li Zhong struck the ice noisily and drove the nearby fish into hiding, but Li Xuan sensed they were still nearby.
• Li Xuan used the trait and a patient technique to spear three more sizable fish, bringing their total to six.
• Two groups of villagers arrived on the mountain path and asked Li Xuan and Li Zhong if they had caught fish on the ice.

Li Xuan led his family toward town after a successful ice-fishing haul, but bandits spotted them on the road and attacked. He killed their lookout with a thrown stone and rushed to seize the bandits’ bow and arrows.

• Li Xuan stopped fishing and led Li Zhong and Wang toward town, explaining why the villagers would likely fail to catch more fish.
• As they neared town, Li Xuan noticed suspicious tracks and warned Li Zhong and Wang to stay close and retreat quietly.
• A bandit lookout spotted the family, called them fat sheep, and summoned five or six armed bandits around the bend.
• Li Xuan told his family to hide, then killed the lookout by striking his temple with a frozen stone.
• When the bow-wielding bandit aimed at him, Li Xuan dodged the attackers and seized the crude hunting bow and an arrow.

Li Xuan defeated a bandit gang, discovered that killing people could grant him traits, and rescued travelers attacked nearby. He met Shen Qingyi, who thanked him, and urged the group to leave before more bandits arrived.

• Li Xuan killed the bandits who attacked Li Zhong and Wang, then searched their bodies and collected the usable arrows.
• Li Xuan gained several traits from killing the bandits and equipped the blue-quality Killing intent trait.
• Li Xuan returned to Li Zhong and Wang, then went to investigate cries from beyond the bend.
• Li Xuan found Chen An guarding Shen Qingyi and her younger brother beside their carriage, with the driver unconscious.
• Chen An explained that bandits had attacked their party, and Shen Qingyi thanked Li Xuan for saving them.
• Li Xuan warned the travelers that the bandits might have accomplices and asked whether their driver could still drive.

After helping Shen Qingyi and her party reach town, Li Xuan joined his brother and sister-in-law at the market to sell their mountain goods. He sold the goatskin and drew a young mother’s interest in his largest fish.

• Li Xuan agreed to travel with Steward Chen’s group, and they reached town safely.
• Steward Chen gave Li Xuan a calling card for the Shen Family Fengyu Rice Shop, and Shen Qingyi thanked him before departing.
• Li Xuan reassured Li Zhong and his sister-in-law, then set up their goatskin, fish, and herbs at a market stall.
• Li Xuan attracted customers with a confident sales pitch and sold the goatskin to a steward for six hundred and eighty copper coins.
• A young married woman carrying a child asked Li Xuan the price of his largest fish.

Li Xuan and his family sold their goods at market and used the proceeds to buy food and supplies. After secretly giving Li Zhong money for wine and purchasing rough iron arrowheads, Li Xuan was called by someone who recognized him as Warrior Li.

• Li Xuan sold the fish and medicinal herbs, and the family earned over twelve hundred copper coins from the market.
• Wang led Li Xuan and Li Zhong to buy rice, flour, salt, oil, bones, and sweets for Xiu'er.
• Wang went to the cloth shop, while Li Xuan gave Li Zhong twenty copper coins for wine and headed to the smithy.
• Li Xuan found that a bow and saber were beyond his means, so he bought a bundle of rough iron arrowheads for fifty copper coins.
• A breathless voice called Li Xuan Warrior Li and asked him to wait.

Li Xuan accepted Steward Chen’s invitation to the Shen residence, where Shen Wanjun thanked him and Head Constable Wang questioned him about the bandit attack. The constables then brought in a suspicious martial-trained traveler who might be connected to the robbery, leaving his identity and involvement unresolved.

• Steward Chen found Li Xuan and invited him to the Shen residence to meet Shen Wanjun and give the authorities an account of the bandit attack.
• Li Xuan agreed, and Steward Chen sent a servant to find Li Xuan’s elder brother and sister-in-law while he escorted Li Xuan to the residence.
• Shen Wanjun thanked Li Xuan, introduced Head Constable Wang, and Wang questioned Li Xuan about the bandits, their weapons, and their appearances.
• Constables reported that they had caught a suspicious traveler who had martial training, and Wang invited Li Xuan and Shen Wanjun to examine him.
• Wang tested the bound traveler, recognized his Stone Drum Stance, and asked whether he was connected to the robbery; the man refused to answer.
• Wang warned Shen Wanjun to take guards on future outings, and Shen Qinglian admitted she had been wrong to go out without them.

After witnessing Constable Wang’s martial skill, Li Xuan asked Shen Wanjun for help learning the Martial Dao. Shen gave him a recommendation to the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall, and Li Xuan spotted Xu Yulian as his carriage passed her stall.

• Li Xuan refused Shen Wanjun’s offered reward and asked him to help find a trustworthy martial arts teacher.
• Constable Wang explained the costs and requirements for joining the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall, and Shen Wanjun offered to recommend Li Xuan to Hall Master Lei.
• Shen Wanjun wrote and sealed a letter of recommendation, which Li Xuan accepted with gratitude.
• Shen Wanjun invited Li Xuan to dine at the Drunken Immortal House, and Li Xuan rode there in the Shen Household’s carriage.
• Xu Wang argued with a rouge-stallholder while Xu Yulian browsed beside her, then Xu Yulian saw Li Xuan inside the passing carriage.

Li Xuan’s return to town with Shen Wanjun exposed Xu Wang’s insults and led to her public humiliation. After Shen Wanjun praised Li Xuan for saving his children, Li Xuan reflected that the town would no longer look down on his hunter family, while Shen Qingyi addressed him as “Big Brother Li.”

• Xu Wang saw Li Xuan riding with Shen Wanjun and insulted him in front of the market crowd.
• Shen Wanjun revealed that Li Xuan had slain six bandits and saved his daughter and young son, a deed verified by Constable Wang.
• Shen Wanjun ordered his guards to throw Xu Wang and Xu Yulian out, and a guard slapped Xu Wang into a heap of rotten vegetables.
• Xu Yulian watched the crowd mock her mother and regretted not recognizing Li Xuan’s capabilities sooner.
• Li Xuan toasted Shen Wanjun at the banquet and considered how the town would now view his hunter family.
• Shen Qingyi looked at Li Xuan and called him “Big Brother Li.”

At the banquet, Shen Qingyi asked Li Xuan to take her into the mountains someday, and he agreed to show her the safer nearby hills. After saying goodbye to the Shen family, Li Xuan returned to the teahouse with a bundle of gifts, where his anxious brother and sister-in-law awaited him.

• Shen Qingyi asked Li Xuan to take her into the mountains, and he promised to show her a safe part of the nearby hills someday.
• Shen Wanjun gave Li Xuan a bundle of practical gifts for his family after the banquet.
• Steward Chen arranged a carriage to take Li Xuan to the teahouse where his brother and sister-in-law were waiting.
• Li Zhong and Wang hurried to check on Li Xuan and asked why Master Shen had summoned him.

Li Xuan decided to pursue martial arts training and went to the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall with Shen Wanjun’s letter of recommendation. After a disciple learned who had written it, he invited Li Xuan inside to meet the master.

• Li Xuan told Li Zhong and Wang that Shen Wanjun had given him a letter recommending him to the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall.
• Li Zhong and Wang worried about the cost and Li Xuan’s chances, but they accepted his decision to try.
• Li Xuan sent Li Zhong and Wang home with the Shen family’s gifts and traveled alone to the martial arts hall.
• A disciple named Zhao Meng initially tried to turn Li Xuan away because he lacked the thirty-tael apprenticeship fee.
• Zhao Meng recognized Master Shen’s signature on the letter, then returned and told Li Xuan that the master would see him.

Li Xuan entered the martial school as an outer-courtyard disciple and began learning the Thunderclap Fist Stance, but his ordinary root bone made even the basic movements difficult. After Zhao Meng explained how much root bone affected progress, Li Xuan resolved to keep practicing and hoped the strange panel would recognize his mastery of the basics.

• The master examined Li Xuan, accepted him because of Shen's recommendation, and assigned Zhao Meng to teach him the outer-courtyard rules and foundational fist routine.
• Zhao Meng explained that Li Xuan had six months to build his foundation and pass the master's assessment or leave or pay to continue training.
• Li Xuan met the other outer-courtyard disciples, who lost interest after learning he was a mountain hunter, and Zhao Meng taught him the Thunderclap Fist Stance.
• Li Xuan struggled through nearly an hour of practice, while Zhao Meng judged his coordination and physical foundation to be poor.
• Zhao Meng told Li Xuan that low-grade root bone slowed martial progress, but Li Xuan resolved to keep practicing until the panel recognized that he had learned the basics.

Li Xuan practiced at the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall until the weekly medicinal broth helped him reach beginner level in Thunderbolt Fist Stance. He returned to the village, where his family waited and Wang recalled how ruthlessly he had defeated the bandits.

• Li Xuan practiced Thunderbolt Fist Stance until Zhao Meng distributed medicinal broth to the outer courtyard disciples.
• After drinking the broth, Li Xuan saw that Thunderbolt Fist Stance had reached beginner level at 0/20.
• Zhao Meng explained the broth’s cost and warned Li Xuan that infrequent attendance and missed assessments could slow his progress or get him dismissed.
• Li Xuan left the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall and headed back to his mountain home.
• At the village, Li Xiuer waited for Li Xuan while Wang admired the household supplies and told Li Shan how he had quickly defeated the bandits.

Li Xuan returned home after the martial arts school accepted him, though his family worried about his poor root bone and the risks of training. He told Li Shan he had killed the bandits on the road and heard his father warn that rising banditry could make future travel more dangerous.

• Li Shan worried that Li Xuan lacked the talent for martial arts and might be disappointed at the school, while Li Zhong praised his change in courage.
• Xiu'er greeted Li Xuan when he returned, and he gave her candied fruit and malt sugar candy.
• Li Xuan told his family that the school had accepted him after reading Master Shen's letter and that he would train mostly on his own, visiting weekly for medicine and guidance.
• Li Shan and Wang worried about the dangers of martial arts, but Li Xuan calmly insisted he would be careful, and the family shared a celebratory meal.
• In private, Li Xuan told Li Shan that he had killed the bandits with arrows after catching them by surprise.
• Li Shan warned that banditry was returning to the area and that trained martial artists might be able to withstand Li Xuan's arrows.

Li Xuan used all thirty available points to raise Archery Mastery to Expert and learned the Consecutive Arrows technique. After practicing it, he worked with Li Shan to fit five iron arrowheads and discovered that his new arrows greatly boosted his physique and dexterity.

• Li Xuan checked on the growing wolf cub, then spent thirty points to advance Archery Mastery to Expert.
• Li Xuan gained new archery insights, including Consecutive Arrows, and tested the technique by hitting a tree with three arrows in quick succession.
• Li Xuan realized the consecutive shots strained his muscles and decided he needed to improve his physique.
• Li Xuan asked Li Shan to help fit iron arrowheads onto five shafts, and they finished the arrows together.
• Li Xuan discovered that the fine iron arrows raised his physique to 1.6 and dexterity to 1.8, bringing his total attributes with the bow's bonuses to 1.8 and 1.9.

Li Xuan set out for East Mountain with new iron arrowheads and adjusted his traits for hunting. Before leaving the village, he met Wang Kui, a powerful hunter whose presence and interest in Li Xuan made him wary.

• Li Xuan packed his five Iron Arrows and food, declined Li Zhong’s offer to accompany him, and left for the mountains.
• Li Xuan warned villagers not to venture too far into the mountains and to hunt in groups.
• At Widow Zhao’s gate, Li Xuan met Wang Kui, a hunter from Wang Family Gully who asked about his recent luck and inspected his bow and arrows.
• Li Xuan noticed Wang Kui’s unusually high physique and dexterity, suspected something was amiss, and made a note to stay wary.
• Before entering East Mountain, Li Xuan equipped Mountain Dweller and changed his other traits to prepare for hunting.

Li Xuan found that someone had destroyed his pheasant trap and discovered unfamiliar snares that might have belonged to Wang Kui. He moved into East Mountain’s old-growth forest, where he followed a squirrel to its hidden food cache and took the nuts before continuing deeper into the woods.

• Li Xuan found his trap wrecked, its cord cut, and signs that someone had taken the pheasant caught in it.
• Li Xuan discovered two skilled snares and suspected Wang Kui might have set them, though he had no proof.
• Li Xuan avoided the other hunter’s area and entered the more dangerous old-growth forest on East Mountain.
• Li Xuan spotted a squirrel and followed it to a buried cache of pinecones, acorns, and hazelnuts.
• Li Xuan emptied the squirrel’s cache into his bag and continued deeper into the forest.

Li Xuan tracked and killed a female wild boar with three arrows, earning 55 hunting points and two blue traits. He collected Thick Hide and considered whether to take Reckless Charge, which increased physique but reduced dexterity.

• Li Xuan found fresh wild boar tracks and prepared an ambush in an oak tree near a creek valley.
• A roughly two-hundred-jin female wild boar approached, and Li Xuan shot it in the neck.
• The wounded boar charged and rammed the tree, but Li Xuan killed it with a third arrow to its throat.
• Li Xuan received 55 hunting points and the Thick Hide and Reckless Charge traits, then collected Thick Hide.

Li Xuan brought half of a huge wild boar home and prepared to retrieve the rest with Li Zhong. Before they left, Li Xuan asked Li Shan about Wang Kui, whose identity and criminal reputation Li Shan revealed.

• Li Xuan butchered the wild boar, hid half of its meat on the mountain, and carried the other half home through the rain and mist.
• Wang, Li Zhong, Li Shan, and Little Xiu'er were astonished by the boar, and Li Xuan told them he had shot it from a tree.
• Li Xuan stopped Li Shan from joining the trip and set out with Li Zhong to retrieve the remaining meat.
• Li Xuan asked Li Shan about Wang Kui, and Li Shan said Wang Kui had trained at a martial arts school, formed a gang of idle men, and engaged in dirty business.

Li Xuan learned that Wang Kui and his gang had a history of robbing hunters, then found that they had stolen the wild boar meat he had hidden. He tracked the thieves to their camp and discovered Wang Kui dividing the meat with two men, leaving Li Xuan poised to confront them.

• Li Shan warned Li Xuan that Wang Kui had trained at a martial arts school and that his gang preyed on hunters who were alone or easy to bully.
• Li Xuan and Li Zhong went into the rainy woods to retrieve the hidden meat but found only bloodstains and human footprints.
• Li Xuan identified the thieves’ trail, and he, Li Zhong, and Wang followed it through the woods.
• The three men found Wang Kui and two companions cutting up Li Xuan’s stolen wild boar meat by a campfire.
• Li Xuan listened as Wang Kui and the others mocked him and claimed the meat, then watched with a cold gaze and gripped his woodcutter’s blade.

Li Xuan stopped Li Zhong from confronting Wang Kui and his two companions, then stayed behind to find a way to recover their stolen boar meat. As Wang Kui sent the other hunters away with most of the meat, Li Xuan circled the clearing through the dark forest, preparing to strike.

• Li Xuan restrained Li Zhong and told him to return home to warn their family while he dealt with the thieves.
• Li Zhong reluctantly left, warning Li Xuan to flee if he was in danger.
• Li Xuan slipped into the woods and circled the camp, searching for a good position and an opening.
• Wang Kui told Monkey and the stocky hunter about a nearby shack where he planned to spend the night.
• Monkey and the stocky hunter carried most of the stolen meat downhill, leaving Wang Kui alone by the campfire.