Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Hunt

Snowflakes touched the ground, and rustling sounds filled the forest.

Shen Qing looked up and saw that Shicheng Mountain, under the cover of night, was nothing but a blur.

He gathered his thoughts and expressionlessly plucked all the arrows stuck in the wooden stake, then gathered them neatly into the Arrow Quiver hanging at his waist.

In the snowstorm, he turned and left the bamboo forest.

When he got home, his elder sister Shen Fang had already gone to bed.

In such a season, the villagers would generally go to sleep at dusk if there were no pressing matters.

Shen Qing removed the bow and arrow from his body, leaned it against the wall, grabbed a handful of straw, and plugged the three broken pot windows on the wall.

Then, he took off his coat and directly lay down on the other side of Shen Fang's bed.

In this village, many families couldn't afford to build new houses, even if they got married they would still sleep on the same kang as their parents.

Poor families didn't have many scruples.

Not to mention, Shen Qing and his sister had been sleeping together since they were little and were used to it.

The quilts at home were filled with hemp and wadding, and the insulation was very average.

When Shen Qing curled up under the quilt, however, he felt waves of warmth.

The bed had already been warmed up by Shen Fang.

Shen Qing lay flat on the bed, his hands behind his head, his eyes gazing at the ink script in his line of sight.

These hunters lived off the mountains and the waters, their regular means of livelihood were hunting animals, trading furs, gathering herbs, and chopping wood.

But if he wanted to change his situation quickly, that wouldn't be enough.

He must hunt some big game.

Preferably delicacies from the mountains.

Such things had an excellent effect on conditioning the body, and consuming them could invigorate his Qi-Blood.

The martial master in the county coveted them highly.

It was said that some mountain delicacies could save months of arduous training and were worth several thousand coins.

They were the dream of every mountain driver.

In the past, he wouldn't even dare to think about such things, but now, as his Bow Technique improved continuously, maybe he would have a chance to try for it in the future.

"Tomorrow I'll go to the mountains again, first solve the problem of food and clothing, then ask my uncle about the intricacies of mountain delicacies, and see if I can try my luck in the future."

"Without unexpected wealth, a man does not get rich; without night grazing, a horse does not fatten. Just hunting some birds and beasts won't make one wealthy."

Winter was the season for winter hunting, free from prohibitions.

Once spring arrived, the officials would ban hunting.

Then, these hunters could only hunt birds and waterfowl.

Even if they sneaked into the mountains, the animals, having depleted their energy over winter, were of poor quality and did not fetch high prices.

Their daily haul would necessarily be much reduced; to live well, they had to depend on this period.

He definitely couldn't miss this opportunity.

After thinking it through, Shen Qing's eyes flickered, and the Panel that appeared in his line of sight rolled up like a scroll, and he fell asleep.

The winter in Hongshan Village generally lasted until the fifth watch of the night.

Shen Qing timed his biological clock and woke up on time.

He rolled over to a pot hole in his bed, pulled out the stuffed straw, and took a glance outside.

The snow in the mountains hadn't stopped, but it had lessened considerably.

Judging by this trend, the heavy snow would probably stop in a few days.

Shen Qing crawled out of the warm quilt, and the sudden chill made him much more alert.

Shen Qing casually grabbed a yun garment from the wall, wore it, went outside, scooped up a handful of snow, and rubbed it on his face as a way of washing.

"Today I can take a turn in the forest behind the mountain; I probably won't come back empty-handed."

Shen Qing was mentally planning his day's work when his sister Shen Fang's call from behind interrupted his thoughts: "Qingzi, come have some porridge."

"Coming."

Thanks to the Hunting crossbows his uncle brought last night, there was a bit of meat to eat this morning.

Shen Fang had torn off a part of the Hunting crossbow early in the morning and then scraped some rice grains from the near-empty rice container to cook a bowl of thin meat porridge.

From afar, the fragrance of meat already wafted through the white water.

Shen Qing accepted the bowl passed by his elder sister, Shen Fang, and drank while blowing on it.

The warm porridge flowed down his throat into his stomach, making him feel as if he were immersed in a hot spring, his whole body relaxed.

After gulping down two large bowls and chewing a few slices of meat, Shen Qing put down the bowl and said, "Sister, you should have some too."

Shen Fang smiled and said, "I already had some before you woke up."

Shen Qing knew of Shen Fang's stubborn temper but did not point out her intentions. After finishing, he smacked his lips and said, "I'm heading out now; let's eat meat together in the evening."

Shen Fang expressed her worries, "Be extra careful in the mountains, and it's okay if you don't catch any game, I can always go to Chen Yuan if needed."

Shen Qing took the bow and arrows from the wall and strapped them onto himself, "Chen Yuan and his crew are no good either; you just stay at home and don't wander about. Wait for me to return before making any decisions, and please don't decide on your own."

"I know," replied elder sister Shen Fang with a nod.

"I'm leaving now."

"Wait a moment," Shen Fang said as she tore off a large piece of dried meat from the wall, stuffed it into Shen Qing's clothes, and cautioned, "Take it slow on the road, and don't try to be brave if you encounter a Black Bear or other fierce animals."

Shen Qing tucked the dried meat into his clothes and said, "I'll be cautious and not recklessly take risks. Just wait for me at home with peace of mind."

Having said that, he turned around and walked out the door.

Elder sister Shen Fang stood at the doorway, watching the figure of Shen Qing disappear into the snow-covered ground, gradually moving further away.

It was bitterly cold, and since Shen Qing left quite early, he encountered no villagers along the way.

Shen Qing warmed his hands in his sleeves, sighing to himself, "In this cold weather, anyone with a bit of ability would stay indoors, not lacking meat to eat."

"Those less fortunate, like my cousin, even have an uncle to support them, and might even have the opportunity to learn martial arts in the county city."

"Only someone like me, who has no one to depend on, would head to the mountain so early, relying solely on themselves."

"Without any capability, one would only end up frozen to death."

"What a terrible place!"

Shen Qing glanced at the sky, tightened his hold on the hunting bow, and followed the path frequently used by hunters in the village directly towards the back mountain.

...

Following the route remembered in his mind, Shen Qing found the bark he had marked a few days earlier.

Every time the hunters entered the mountain, they would chop off a section of bark about two-foot long from a large tree at the boundary of the area they had marked, roll it into a cylinder, and wedge it onto a tree beside the path leading deeper into the woods.

Subsequent hunters entering would see the bark roll and know this was someone else's territory, avoiding deeper intrusion to prevent accidental injury.

Shen Qing picked up the roll of bark from the ground and wedged it among tree branches, then proceeded along the mountain path into the woods, soon reaching the outskirts of Shicheng Mountain.

The area was teeming with bushes and thorns and overrun with shrubs.

The heavy snow also made movement quite challenging.

Shen Qing trudged through the thick snow, his steps uneven as he navigated through the forest.

Based on past memories, this area was rich in game; his father had frequented it, managing to secure some game more or less.

An hour later.

Shen Qing sat on the snow, took out the strip of meat Shen Fang had torn for him, and chewed on it to regain some strength.

Suddenly, he stopped chewing and cautiously removed his bow, gently parting the bushes in front of him.

A colorful pheasant flew down from the mountaintop and landed on an old tree nearby.

Hey, there's life!

Shen Qing slowly drew an arrow from the Arrow Quiver, placed it on the bowstring; he held his breath, almost instinctively adjusting his breathing and posture.

Previously, he wouldn't dare attempt a shot from such a distance, but now…

He slowly drew the longbow.

The bowstring tightened, and the arrow pointed directly at the pheasant.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot out like a meteor, piercing through the silence of the mountain wood.

The pheasant seemed to sense something but was too late.

After Shen Qing's breakthrough in Bow Technique, the arrow flew with unerring accuracy, piercing through its body.