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

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: A Snowy Day is Good for Killing

Snowflakes drifted down, and the chilling wind was piercing.

In the silver-clad forest, a sudden aura of grim resolution filled the air.

"We're bound to make a move on those siblings sooner or later, better sooner than later. After all, in the forest with its wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards, a person dying is nothing out of the ordinary. A snowy day is perfect for killing."

Snowflakes landed on Chen An's expressionless face, his icy gaze daunting to behold.

Listening to Chen An, the calm-faced Chen Tai nearby began to continuously weigh the pros and cons.

Indeed, as his elder brother said, if the eldest sister of the Shen family was wise enough to sell herself into lowly status, it would indeed be safer.

They, the Chen family, dominated in Hongshan Village; killing someone was trivial to them, but the government office of Taiping County still carried some authority, and forcing a decent person to degrade herself was not a small matter.

Avoiding it would be best if possible.

After considering comprehensively, Chen Tai's expression turned ruthless, and he nodded heavily, saying, "What the third brother said makes sense, a snowy day is good for killing!"

Seeing Chen Tai agree, Chen An's face relaxed, revealing a hint of a smile, and said, "Then second brother, you go that way, I'll go this way; surround him, let's not let him escape."

"Alright."

The two brothers immediately split up and took action.

In their eyes, Shen Qing in the snowy forest had already become their prey.

Shen Qing, who was tying up a roe deer, frowned slightly and looked toward the nearby forest.

Seeing nothing unusual, he withdrew his gaze and continued to secure the roe deer, slinging it over his shoulder.

By then, he had pulled out all the arrows shot into the roe deer.

Since the arrow quiver was used to hold roe deer blood, the arrows that had been in it were now attached to his belt, and the bow was in his hand.

After roughly identifying the direction, Shen Qing started heading back the way he had come.

The Chen brothers, lying low in the snow, glanced at each other simultaneously as they hunted.

Indeed very sharp.

He almost detected them just now.

Chen An gestured, and he and Chen Tai quietly headed in different directions, following the trail.

They saw Shen Qing carrying the roe deer, his steps in the snow uneven.

Behind him, the blood dripping from the roe deer left a twining red line in the snowy forest, conspicuously eye-catching.

Moments later, Chen Tai, following behind, was suddenly surprised by the direction Shen Qing was headed.

It did not seem to be the direction back to the village.

The path in the mountains was covered by heavy snow, and the original trail was no longer discernible.

It seemed that Shen Qing had lost his way.

This suited their intentions perfectly.

Chen Tai held his breath, his hunting bow in hand, and carefully continued his pursuit.

Gradually, the forest ahead became denser.

The branches were laden with thick snow.

A gust of cold wind stirred up a flurry of fine snow particles, blurring the vision.

When the wind passed, Chen Tai unexpectedly discovered that Shen Qing's figure had disappeared from his field of vision.

Chen Tai narrowed his eyes, focusing on the red line of blood on the ground, extending into the depths of the forest. He signaled Chen An, and together they moved to encircle from both sides.

Seeing Chen Tai's signal, Chen An, knowing it was time to act, couldn't help but lick his lips.

"Once we've sold the eldest Shen sister and gotten the money, my hopes of entering the Martial Arts Hall will also increase. By then, I might have a chance to join the ranks of the gentry in the county town."

While he was excited, he suddenly realized after walking a distance that the fresh red trail of blood in the forest had disappeared.

And so had Shen Qing.

"What's going on?"

Unable to contain himself, Chen An rushed over, searching around.

Closely following after him, Chen Tai also dashed out.

"Where is he?"

The two exclaimed in unison.

Chen Tai was the first to calm down and dashed along the original trail of blood, only to find the roe deer hanging high in a tree.

And the blood trail broke off right at that spot.

Chen An, frustrated, said, "Damn it, that kid is cunning; he managed to escape."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Qing, holding a bow and arrows, pointed at them from behind a large tree, about a dozen steps away.

The Chen brothers were startled, a trace of panic appearing on their faces.

Shen Qing instantly understood that they harbored malicious intent.

Chen An shouted instinctively, "Attack!"

Whoosh!

Shen Qing's expression turned serious, and he let go of the bowstring decisively, a step ahead of them.

The deer tendon bowstring vibrated gently, accompanied by a low and mellow humming sound, sending the arrow flying at a startling speed.

The arrow hissed through the air, leaving a silver trail behind.

Phut!

The arrow struck Chen An squarely in the chest.

At just over a dozen steps away, the force contained by the Elm Wood Bow and deer tendon string was enough to puncture Chen An's chest cavity.

Chen An looked down, his gaze fixated on the arrow shot by Shen Qing, the pain and the cold shaft causing him waves of dizziness.

His eyes widened, his face showing an expression of disbelief, filled with astonishment and confusion.

Chen An had not expected Shen Qing to be so decisive, even quicker to act than him.

"Third brother!" Chen Tai saw this scene, his face turning pale with shock.

Chen An broke the arrow in his chest fiercely, and roared, "Second brother, kill him!"

The arrow had pierced the middle of his chest, but since it wasn't where the heart was, it wasn't immediately fatal.

Chen An gasped in pain, his consciousness still intact, he knew he still had a slim chance of survival.

However, no sooner had he spoken than Shen Qing had already shot another arrow.

Shen Qing's hands moved incredibly fast, the black arrow shadow shooting toward Chen Tai. Unexpectedly, at the moment of life and death, Chen Tai disregarded brotherly loyalty and used Chen An as a shield.

"Phut."

Chen An's form halted, and looking down, he saw fresh blood drenching his chest, the arrow shaft trembling.

He covered the wound, but the bright red blood still seeped through his fingers, staining his palms.

In an instant, his face turned pale, his breathing rapid, his eyes shining with a mingling of shock and pain as he collapsed onto the snowy ground.

Chen Tai had not expected Shen Qing's archery skills to be so formidable, hitting the heart with a single arrow. If he hadn't reacted swiftly, he would have been the one to fall.

"Dammit!"

Realizing something was off with Shen Qing, Chen Tai could not care less, he took cover behind a tree to use as a shield, and returned fire with his bow.

But the hastily fired arrows lacked accuracy and hit a tree near Shen Qing.

The accumulated snow on the tree fell rustling down.

Seeing he had lost the opportunity, Shen Qing did not linger and quickly maneuvered to the side, not planning to let Chen Tai get away.

The cold wind blew in gusts.

Snow particles mixed with snowflakes danced in the mountain forest.

Shen Qing, tightly clutching his longbow, moved through the mountain forest like a nimble snow leopard, his figure elusive.

Chen Tai repeatedly fired two arrows, both missing their target.

In contrast, the arrows returned by Shen Qing were extremely accurate.

Every time Shen Qing's arrow passed close by, Chen Tai felt a rush of relief.

Chen Tai found it hard to believe that a man barely known in the village, someone who almost couldn't afford meals, could possess such exceptional archery and hunting skills.

Unbelievably cunning.

It suddenly made him feel as if he was the prey in this snowy forest.

Being dominated by such a petty person, Chen Tai felt deeply humiliated at this moment.

Shen Qing, with a sharp gaze in the mountain forest, noticed the change in Chen Tai's expression, knowing he was pushed to his limit.

He pulled back the longbow again, aiming at that figure.

Suddenly, a cold arrow shot from Chen Tai's direction. Shen Qing rolled swiftly to the side, narrowly avoiding the arrow.

He quickly stood up, his eyes colder, and shot another arrow without hesitation, then reached toward his waist.

Shen Qing's expression faltered.

His hand felt empty; he had used up all his arrows!