Once his mind was made up, Chen Sanshi began cleaning up the scene.
He had pulled too hard while handling the pheasant, accidentally snapping the arrow shaft that was stuck in it.
"These secondhand arrows really are terrible quality."
Shaking his head, he retrieved the arrowhead, slung the prey over his shoulder, and started down the mountain.
After a full day of hunting, his stomach was growling, but his mind stayed sharp and alert to every sound around him.
"This must be the effect of [Clear Mind]."
"Looks like I'll need to make time for reading every night. Can't just keep fooling around with Lan jie'er."
"Archery, hunting, reading—I'll make myself into a hardworking man."
It was still early when he passed through Swallow-Edge Village. Many villagers saw him returning with a pheasant in one hand and a rabbit in the other, a satisfied grin on his face.
"Not bad, kid!"
"Little Shitou's amazing—just started hunting and he's already bringing home game every day."
"Pfft~ mouse's son sure knows how to dig holes."
"Ha! You're just jealous, baldy. Can't stand seeing someone else do well, can you?"
"Jealous? Please. That little bit of money's still not enough to pay the tax!"
"Now that's true."
The moment someone mentioned taxes, the cheerful mood died, replaced by complaints and sighs.
For most families, a whole year's savings was drained completely by the collectors.
"Shi ge'er! Wait up—I was just looking for you!"
"Shunzi?"
Chen Sanshi turned to see the thin, dark-skinned boy running toward him. "What's wrong, Shunzi?"
"Brother, do you need me to help?"
The sudden tax collection had thrown the whole county into chaos. Zhang Shun had sold his fish early today just so he could come ask about the situation.
"You're not supposed to be saving up for martial training?"
Chen Sanshi was tempted.
It wasn't easy to gather three taels of silver in just seven days.
If he could borrow that amount ahead of time, it would make everything so much simpler.
He could always pay it back double once he earned more.
"Training can wait a few days," Zhang Shun said, scratching his head with his usual honest look. "Taxes can't."
"Come with me, brother. I've got silver at home."
Three taels of silver!
For an ordinary family, that was a fortune.
Chen Sanshi felt a deep wave of gratitude. "Then how about I pay you back thirteen for every nine you lend me? I can't take it for free."
"Brother, don't say that."
Zhang Shun waved his hand. "You taught me to read when I was a kid. Remember that time we were swimming in the river? If you hadn't pulled me up, I'd have drowned right there. So don't talk about paying me back."
He might sound casual, but helping someone during hard times like this was no small thing.
"Brother, wait here. I'll go home and get the money!"
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Zhang Shun sprinted away.
Chen Sanshi didn't feel right about taking the money for nothing.
He followed with the pheasant and rabbit in hand, planning to offer them as a thank-you gift.
Their homes weren't far—after about ten minutes, they arrived. Zhang Shun's door wasn't even closed.
Just as Chen Sanshi was about to step inside, a gust of wind carried out the sound of an argument.
"Shunzi, three taels of silver? Are you out of your mind?"
"Ma, it's for my brother Shitou! He saved my life when we were kids!"
"So what if he did? Haven't we already repaid him? When he got sick before, wasn't it our family that paid for the medicine?"
"Ma…"
"We've been working day and night for years, finally saved some silver—and it's all for you to join the martial academy and become a warrior! Can't you think of your father for once? He's been limping for over half a year, and we still couldn't afford to treat him. Yet you're ready to hand out three taels to an outsider?"
"…"
Chen Sanshi stopped in his tracks. He quietly set the pheasant down by the door, then turned and walked away.
Helping was kindness. Refusing was not a crime.
There was no bitterness in his heart, only a deep respect for Zhang Shun's goodwill.
They weren't rich people. Everyone was just trying to survive.
'In the end, I can only rely on myself.'
His resolve to enter the Second Mountain hardened.
Before nightfall, he made it to the Eight Treasures Restaurant in Poyang County.
The rabbit he brought this time weighed about the same as before and sold for seventy-one bronze coins.
After collecting the payment, he didn't head home right away. Instead, he went to the marketplace to prepare for his trip to the Second Mountain tomorrow.
"Yo, Little Shitou, back again?"
Old Xu Tou greeted him warmly.
"Uncle Xu, I'd like to buy a few arrows."
The willow-leaf arrows he currently had were fine for rabbits and pheasants, but they lacked stopping power against larger, thicker-skinned prey.
"What kind are you looking for? I've got all sorts here."
Spread across the stall were seven or eight different types of arrows, all of fine quality. Some were so well-made that they clearly came from military stock, not something a civilian shop could forge.
Fifty li outside Poyang County stood a military garrison, so weapons circulating in the market weren't unusual.
And since Old Xu Tou was from a military family himself—his son now serving as a squad leader—getting access to standard military gear was nothing out of the ordinary.
Chen Sanshi scanned the stall.
Most of the arrows had shafts made from poplar wood and fletching from bird feathers. The main difference lay in the arrowheads.
Each head served a different purpose.
Some focused on penetration, some on creating wide wounds, some were designed for shooting horses, others for water battles, and a few were signal arrows that whistled through the air.
The selection was vast.
In the end, his eyes settled on one particular design.
The Wolf Fang Arrow.
As the name implied, the arrowhead had three hooked barbs jutting out from each side, shaped like sharp wolf fangs.
Once it pierced its target, the barbs locked inside the flesh. Pulling it out would rip away a huge chunk of meat, but leaving it in meant the barbs would keep tearing with every movement.
Whether used on beasts or men, its lethality was terrifying.
Old Xu Tou said, "These Wolf Fang Arrows are top-quality goods. I sell them to others for twenty-three bronze coins apiece, but for you, only twenty."
"Can't make it a bit cheaper?"
"If I do, I'll be losing money."
Chen Sanshi gritted his teeth and bought five of them.
He understood perfectly well the saying—sharpening the axe won't delay the woodcutting. If he wanted results, he had to invest.
If he had the money, he would've bought a heavy bow as well. After all, most of a bow's killing power came from its draw weight.
He glanced again at the stall. The heaviest bow there was a four-strength bow—no heavier ones in sight.
Only a heavy bow could pierce armor.
It seemed even the illegal sale of military goods had its limits.
Money in one hand, goods in the other.
The two broken arrowheads he traded in were deducted for eleven bronze coins, leaving him to pay about ninety in total.
"One day's hunting gone—and I even lost money."
He tucked the Wolf Fang Arrows into his quiver and headed home.
On the way back, he spotted Qin Xiong and his gang loitering on the path he always took, watching him with mocking grins.
They were clearly waiting there on purpose to intimidate him.
'Persistent bastards. No point in avoiding them.'
'First, I'll pay the tax. Then, I'll settle things with him.'
Chen Sanshi ignored them and walked straight past without a glance.
"Boss, he's getting cocky," one of the thugs snarled. "Want me to rough him up a bit?"
"Rough him up?"
Qin Xiong pointed at the bow strapped to Chen Sanshi's back. "You even know what that is?"
"A bow?"
"That's a four-strength bow. One shot and it'll punch a hole clean through you. Think you can take on someone who can handle that?"
Qin Xiong's expression darkened.
He'd thought that bookworm surnamed Chen only went hunting out of desperation. But after asking around, he learned the kid had brought in game for two days straight. Clearly, he had real skill and strength—not some weak scholar's luck.
Hunters in the village were never easy to mess with.
He'd only dared pick on the boy before because his father had died, leaving him defenseless.
But in the end, strength meant little. In this world, money ruled everything.
A rabbit and a pheasant weren't worth much silver.
Give it a few more days—when he still couldn't pay the three taels, he'd be completely at Qin Xiong's mercy.
…
Late that night, Chen Sanshi quietly got out of bed.
Gu Xinlan was fast asleep, exhausted from the day.
'I'm still too hot-blooded,' he muttered with a sigh. 'Said I'd read when I got back, and look at me now.'
He had wasted time on other pleasures. Archery, however, couldn't be delayed.
If he was going into the mountains tomorrow, he had to push his Archery skill to the next stage first.
Taking his bow, he stepped outside to the clearing behind the house and began practicing under the moonlight.
Arrow after arrow flew into the target, his precision and steadiness improving with each shot.
He trained until deep into the night, only sleeping a few hours before the first rooster's crow pulled him up again.
"Whizz—!"
Another arrow flew, striking a sparrow on a distant branch dead-on.
At that instant, the glowing panel appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Archery (Mastery)]
[Progress: (0/500)]
[Effect: Enhanced Growth; Born Archer; Easily Draws a One-Stone Bow; Within Seventy Steps, Three Shots per Flick—Every Arrow Hits True]
The moment the skill advanced, his entire body changed. His strength surged, his archery sharpened, and even his muscles and bones felt denser—his whole physique transformed.
With his current body, even without martial training, he could effortlessly draw a one-stone bow and hit a palm-sized target dead center at eighty meters.
In the Great Sheng Dynasty, one stone equaled roughly 150 jin.
Bows of that weight were typically used only by trained warriors.
A palm-sized target at eighty meters was little more than a speck to the naked eye.
As for "three shots per flick"…
According to old Buddhist texts: 20 flicks = 1 luoyu, 20 luoyu = 1 shuyu, and a full day and night equaled 30 shuyu.
By that math, one flick was around seven seconds.
Three shots per flick meant he could draw, nock, aim, and release one arrow every two seconds, each one precise and deadly.
A one-stone bow, eighty meters, two seconds per arrow—individually, not too crazy. But together? Terrifying.
Chen Sanshi couldn't hide his excitement.
The proficiency not only improved his technique—it enhanced his entire body.
He could feel his bones tighten, his muscles strengthen, and even his fingers grow more flexible and defined.
'I wonder if this physique boost will help when I start martial training someday.'
Either way, he felt far more confident about hunting big game within the next six days.
"Shi ge'er, breakfast's ready."
Gu Xinlan's soft voice pulled him from his thoughts.
He wolfed down breakfast, packed the remaining salted duck eggs, and filled half a bag with millet.
"What are you up to?" Gu Xinlan asked curiously.
The salted eggs she could understand—but raw millet? That couldn't be eaten uncooked. Why bring it?
"A gift," Chen Sanshi replied simply as he slung his bow over his shoulder.
"Shi ge'er… be careful, please."
Her face clouded with worry. "When I came home yesterday, that Qin fellow was hanging around near the house again. I'm scared he's up to something."
"I know."
Chen Sanshi's tone was steady. "Don't worry, my wife. He won't hurt you."
"Wife?"
Gu Xinlan's cheeks flushed crimson.
But hearing those words, her fear melted away. Somehow, she actually felt safe.