Early the next morning, before the thin mist over Emerald Mountain Village had dispersed, Lin He was already taking his stance in the courtyard.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three fine-steel wolf-fang arrows shot out in succession, pinning themselves precisely into a dead stump thirty paces away, their fletching still trembling slightly.
"Phew-" Lin He let out a long, stale breath and lowered the powerful black-python-sinew bow with its hundred-and-twenty-jin draw weight.
He rubbed his slightly aching shoulders and grinned. The increase in strength from tempering his body with essence of the sun was simply outrageous. Compared with yesterday, his strength seemed to have grown a little more.
"Quack, quack!" A duck's cry came from beside his feet as Goudan trotted over eagerly on four short, thick dog legs.
"Go play somewhere else." Lin He nudged Goudan aside with his toe in distaste, then turned and went inside.
Inside, Su Qiuran sat in her wheelchair, eating a white-flour steamed bun with a bowl of porridge. Seeing Lin He come in, she raised an eyebrow. "Finished practicing?"
"Finished. Feels like I could beat an ox to death now." Lin He plopped down, grabbed a steamed bun, and stuffed it into his mouth. "I'll head into the mountains with Elder Sun again in a bit and see if we can bring back something substantial. Eating nothing but vegetables all the time-body tempering takes so much out of me that my body can't handle it."
Su Qiuran rolled her eyes at him. "You ate more than half that pheasant last night, and you call that eating nothing but vegetables? Be careful. Don't go too deep."
"Don't worry. I know my limits." Lin He polished off breakfast in a few bites, slung his bow and arrows over his back, casually grabbed the short-handled woodcutting saber, and went out.
Goudan tried to follow, but Su Qiuran caught him by the scruff of destiny. "You stay right here and behave."
In the mountain forest, sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering dappled light and shadow.
"Elder Sun, which way are we going today?" Lin He asked quietly, following behind Old Man Sun.
Old Man Sun stopped and narrowed his eyes as he examined the traces around them. He extended a withered finger toward a thicket diagonally ahead. "Over there. A few sets of fresh tracks. Judging by their depth and spacing, they should be from Fanged Rabbits."
"Fanged Rabbits?" Lin He paused. That name didn't sound much like a proper rabbit.
"Mm. A kind of wild game in these mountains. A size larger than ordinary rabbits, with brown-black markings all over and two little fangs in their mouths."
Old Man Sun lightened his footsteps as he explained. "Extremely fast, with firm meat. They fetch a good price in town. But these things are very wary. Not easy to catch."
Lin He's eyes lit up. They fetch a good price? Now that's great!
The two crept along the tracks for about the time it took two incense sticks to burn. Suddenly, Old Man Sun gestured for Lin He to stop.
Lin He followed Old Man Sun's gaze and saw a rabbit the size of a small dog, covered in brown-black markings, crouching beside a bluestone a dozen or so paces ahead, gnawing on grass roots.
The two fangs protruding from its mouth gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
"Your turn, lad." Old Man Sun lowered his voice, giving him an encouraging look.
Lin He nodded, drew a deep breath, slowly took the powerful bow off his back, and nocked a wolf-fang arrow. He recalled the essentials Old Man Sun had taught him yesterday: regulate his breathing, steady his mind, lock his gaze on the target...
He drew the bow into a full moon!
"Whoosh-"
The arrow shot out like a meteor, whistling through the air.
The Fanged Rabbit was extremely alert. The instant the arrow flew, it sensed danger and kicked hard with its hind legs, trying to escape. But the wolf-fang arrow was simply too fast. It pierced straight through its hind leg and pinned it firmly to the ground.
"Squeak, squeak-" The Fanged Rabbit let out piercing screams and struggled desperately.
"Fine shooting!" Old Man Sun couldn't help praising him. "These things react incredibly fast. Hitting one on your first hunt-there's just no faulting that talent of yours."
Lin He ran over, grabbed the Fanged Rabbit by its long ears, and lifted it. The thing really was heavy, at least ten jin or so. "You flatter me, Elder Sun. It's all thanks to your teaching."
The two returned to Emerald Mountain Village with their prey.
Lin He gave half the rabbit meat to Old Man Sun, then carried the remaining half back to the wooden house, along with a little Fanged Rabbit they had luckily caught alive on the way.
"Oh, you really did get something good." Su Qiuran looked at the little Fanged Rabbit still baring its teeth in Lin He's hand, somewhat surprised.
"Of course." Lin He proudly tossed the rabbit into a battered bamboo basket. "This thing's called a Fanged Rabbit. I hear its meat's good, and it sells for money too."
Su Qiuran looked thoughtfully at the rabbit in the basket. "Lin He, do you think... essence of the moon and essence of the sun work on animals?"
Lin He paused. "Well... we haven't tried. Goudan hatched from an egg, so he doesn't count. Shall we give it a try?"
They acted on the idea immediately. Lin He poured a wisp of essence of the sun from the jade gourd, diluted it with clear water, and dripped a drop into the little Fanged Rabbit's mouth.
The rabbit, previously listless from fright, instantly perked up. The tiny wound where an arrow had grazed it healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even its struggles grew stronger, making the bamboo basket bang and thump.
"It works!" Lin He's eyes lit up.
Su Qiuran perked up too. "What about essence of the moon?"
She carefully took out a wisp of essence of the moon mist, diluted it in the same way, and fed it to the rabbit. A moment later, the rabbit's eyes seemed a little more intelligent. It was no longer as frenzied as before, instead lying quietly in the bamboo basket, its fur growing glossier as well.
The two exchanged a look, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
"It seems essence of the moon and essence of the sun both work on living things," Su Qiuran analyzed, stroking her chin. "But why can't you use essence of the moon, and why can't I use essence of the sun?"
Lin He scratched his head in frustration. "How would I know? We're both fumbling around in the dark when it comes to the cultivation world. Could there be something seriously wrong with our constitutions?"
Su Qiuran rolled her eyes. "There's something seriously wrong with you. But this really is strange. We'll have to investigate properly if we get the chance. Forget that for now. What are you planning to do with this rabbit?"
"What else? Take it to town and sell it for money, of course," Lin He said matter-of-factly. "And cut some Green Spike Grass to sell while I'm at it. That's our financial mainstay right now."
Su Qiuran nodded, then frowned again. "You can sell Green Spike Grass, but don't take too much at once. We only just sold over a hundred jin a few days ago. If you haul another whole cartload over today, that old fox Shopkeeper Qian is bound to get suspicious.
"How could an ordinary mortal possibly get so much top-grade Green Spike Grass every day? Don't you understand that an innocent man's jade makes him guilty?"
Lin He's heart tightened. Su Qiuran was right. Though he had a bit of strength now, he was still trash with a combat power of five before a real cultivator. If they really attracted trouble, the two of them wouldn't even be able to escape.
"All right, I'll listen to you. A thin stream flows a long way. I get it."
Lin He went to the abandoned vegetable patch behind the house and drew a deep breath as he looked at the lush patch of top-grade Green Spike Grass with its plump seed heads. He cut only about thirty jin, filling a little under half a burlap sack.
"Wife, wait for me at home. I'll be right back!" Lin He hoisted the sack and the bamboo basket holding the Fanged Rabbit onto his shoulder and called to Su Qiuran inside.
"Get lost, and come back early!" Su Qiuran's irritable retort came from inside.
Lin He chuckled and sprinted toward town, heading into the sunlight.