Old Man Sun stopped and looked Lin He up and down. His gaze settled on the powerful black python sinew bow on his back, and a flicker of surprise crossed his cloudy eyes.
"Lad from the Lin Household, are you going hunting too?" Old Man Sun's voice was a little hoarse.
"Yeah, just fumbling around for practice." Lin He smiled and patted the bow on his back. "I only just bought it. I don't really know how to use it yet."
Old Man Sun stepped closer and studied the bow for a good while before slowly speaking. "That's a hundred-and-twenty-jin bow, isn't it? You... can draw it?"
Lin He blinked, thinking that this old man had a pretty sharp eye.
He made no attempt to hide anything. Taking down the bow, he exerted a little strength and drew it into a full moon.
Twang! The bowstring gave a crisp ring.
Old Man Sun's eyes suddenly widened, filled with shock. "This... how is this possible? With that build of yours, how can you have so much strength?"
Lin He chuckled and lowered the bow. "Born with divine strength. Just born with divine strength."
Old Man Sun gave him a long look and asked no further questions.
In this cultivation world, there were always extraordinary people and strange happenings. Having lived more than half his life, he had learned not to be surprised by the unusual.
"Since you've got that kind of strength, why not come into the mountains with me?"
Old Man Sun suddenly suggested, "I can see that you're strong, but your posture when drawing the bow is still a little stiff. Hunting is a craft. Strength alone won't do-you need to know the tricks of the trade."
Delight rose in Lin He's heart. Here's a free coach! He had been worrying about getting nowhere by blindly fumbling around on his own.
"That'd be great! Thank you for teaching me, Elder Sun!" Lin He hurriedly thanked him and eagerly trotted along behind Old Man Sun.
The two entered the outskirts of Green Mountain, one behind the other.
Old Man Sun led the way with light steps, looking nothing like an elderly man. As he walked, he quietly passed on his experience to Lin He.
"When hunting, the first thing you need to learn is how to read signs." Old Man Sun pointed at a branch on the ground that had been snapped underfoot. "Look at this break, and the footprints around it. A wild boar left these, and it passed through not long ago."
Lin He leaned closer for a careful look. Sure enough, it was just as Old Man Sun had said. "Elder Sun, your eye is incredible!"
"This is nothing. Practice makes perfect, that's all," Old Man Sun said mildly. "Also, when you enter the mountains, you need to walk into the wind, not with it. Animals have very keen noses. Walking with the wind will carry your scent toward your prey."
Lin He nodded repeatedly, quietly committing these details to memory.
They continued onward. From time to time, Old Man Sun stopped to teach Lin He how to judge where prey might be hiding from the surrounding terrain, how to choose the best place to shoot, and how to adjust his breathing and frame of mind.
Lin He listened, utterly enthralled, as though a door to a new world had opened before him.
With Old Man Sun's guidance, he felt his theoretical knowledge of archery soar.
After walking for a while, the two stopped to rest in a mountain hollow.
"Elder Sun, you're so skilled. How come I've never seen you take an apprentice?" Lin He took out his water flask, had a sip, and asked casually.
Old Man Sun sighed, his gaze turning somewhat forlorn. "An apprentice? I couldn't even teach my own son properly. What business do I have taking an apprentice?"
Lin He paused in surprise. "You have a son? How come I've never seen him in the village?"
"Him..." Old Man Sun gave a bitter chuckle. "Years ago, he thought the village was too poor and longed for the dazzling world outside, so he ran off to toil like an ox or a horse for the immortals."
"Immortals?" Lin He's brows lifted slightly. He knew all too well what life was like for mortals at the bottom of this cultivation world.
"Yes, doing menial work for those cultivation lineages." Old Man Sun shook his head.
"I don't blame him. If anyone's to blame, it's me for being useless, for not giving him a spirit root at birth. If he had a spirit root, even a mottled spirit root, he could cultivate openly and with dignity, instead of having to swallow that humiliation."
Lin He fell silent. He himself was a useless wretch without a spirit root, swept out the door by the Lin Household.
In this world, having no spirit root meant forever remaining at the bottom, at the mercy of others' knives.
"Actually, mortals have their own ways of living too," Lin He said softly, as though comforting Old Man Sun, but also speaking to himself.
Old Man Sun glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Yes, mortals have their own ways of living. Take you, for instance. You might not have a spirit root, but with that strength, you can still scrape together a living in these mountains."
As they were talking, Old Man Sun's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he gestured for silence.
Lin He immediately understood and followed Old Man Sun's gaze. In a patch of bushes not far ahead, he could just make out a splash of bright color moving about.
"A pheasant," Old Man Sun said in an extremely low voice. "Your turn."
Lin He took a deep breath and slowly took the powerful bow from his back. Recalling the essentials Old Man Sun had just taught him, he adjusted his stance, nocked an arrow, and drew the bow.
The hundred-and-twenty-jin bow remained as steady as Mount Tai in his hands.
He held his breath, fixed his gaze on that moving splash of color, and released his fingers.
Whoosh!
The fine-steel wolf-fang arrow shot out like lightning, pierced the bushes, and struck with a dull thud.
A flurry of flapping came from the bushes, then all fell still.
"Got it!" Lin He exclaimed softly in excitement, running over with his bow in hand.
Pushing aside the bushes, he found a plump pheasant pinned firmly to the ground, the arrow driven straight through its neck.
"Not bad. Your aim's decent." Old Man Sun walked over, looked at the pheasant, and nodded approvingly.
Lin He pulled out the arrow and lifted the pheasant, which weighed a good four or five jin, feeling thoroughly pleased.
"Hehe, we're in for a treat tonight. I'll have Qiuran stew some chicken soup when I get back!"
Watching Lin He's delight, a trace of envy flashed through Old Man Sun's eyes.
Though this young man had fallen on hard times, the vigorous vitality he carried made others feel at ease just looking at him.
"All right, that's enough for today."
Old Man Sun glanced at the sky. "It won't be safe if we go any deeper. You've got good talent. Keep practicing, and you won't starve in these mountains."