Gao Wu Da Ming: Starting as a military household and ascending to the rank of Martial Saint

Upon seeing these lines of information, Yu Shaowu was overjoyed. He hadn't expected that his hunting trip into the mountains would yield a piece of wearable equipment.

Although this equipment is only of green quality and has only one effect compared to his own Zhenhai Xuntian Bow, it is still a pleasant surprise.

Without any hesitation, he immediately removed the black wolf armor from the giant wolf, took off his own outer garment, and put the armor on himself.

When this armor was worn by the giant wolf, it could only cover the neck and chest, but now that it's worn by Yu Shaowu, it can completely cover his chest and back.

In an instant, he felt his body become much lighter, and a constant stream of heat rose from his chest, nourishing his blood and filling his vital energy.

Sensing the changes in his body, Yu Shaowu had a thought and opened the panel:

[Name: Yu Shaowu]

【Strength: 1.9】

[Agility: 3.2]

[Endurance: 2.5]

First Equipment Slot: Zhenhai Patrol Bow

Second Equipment Slot: Black Wolf Armor

[Special Skill: Insightful Observation, Unerring Archery Skill]

Compared to the previous attributes, Agility and Stamina have undergone a surprising change. This should be an additional benefit of wearing the Black Wolf Armor.

Although he hadn't yet learned martial arts, Yu Shaowu felt that with his current physical condition, he was probably not much different from Ji Shouyi, a martial artist at the third level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Of course, this is only a comparison of physical abilities. If equipped with arrows and kept at a distance, Ji Shouyi would certainly be no match for him; similarly, in close combat, he, with no experience, would have no chance of defeating Ji Shouyi.

Everything depends on the battle scene and conditions, as well as how well you perform on the spot.

By this time, the hunters had already chased after the wolves, and the forest was filled with their cheers after their catch, like a festive celebration. Occasionally, hunters with bloodied wounds from wolf bites would be helped back by their companions. After some simple bandaging, they would return again; the seriously wounded would rest, while the lightly wounded would return to the battlefield.

There was no other way; after Yu Shaowu captured the alpha wolf and gained the upper hand, these hunters had to fight desperately if they wanted to share in the spoils.

Yu Shaowu didn't participate in these activities. He was very good at archery, but his martial arts skills were very weak. There were still many wolves, and if they were pushed too far, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

He took the initiative to care for the wounded, and then stepped on the giant wolf's head to remove the arrows that had been shot into its eyes one by one.

After all, these arrows were bought with money, so every little bit we can recover is a little bit.

However, after careful inspection, Yu Shaowu discovered that most of the arrows that had been shot into the giant wolf's eyes were worn out and unusable.

He hadn't expected that those seemingly soft eyes could bend iron, demonstrating the giant wolf's physical strength. Without the added benefits of his equipment, he really didn't know how to deal with this behemoth.

A day passed quickly amidst the intense wolf-hunting activity. It wasn't until midnight that the hunters returned from the depths of the mountains, carrying their prey and singing mountain songs.

Most of their prey consisted of hyenas, along with some rabbits and roe deer, which they caught incidentally.

After everyone registered their hunted prey, they piled it up there, making it as high as a small mountain. Combined with the giant wolf lying next to it, it was quite a sight.

Some hunters, looking at their prey, couldn't help but shed tears. All the game they had hunted in their entire lives combined didn't amount to this many.

Even without the government's reward of ten thousand taels of silver, with these prey, they wouldn't have to worry for at least a year or two.

And everyone knows that all of this is thanks to the arrows Yu Shaowu shot at the alpha wolf.

If it weren't for Yu Shaowu's skills, they would all have been dragged deep into the mountains by the wolves by now.

Ji Shouyi shifted his gaze from the mountain of prey, slowly approached Yu Shaowu, and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

When the other hunters saw Ji Shouyi kneel down, they all came to Yu Shaowu's side and knelt down in unison.

At this moment, Yu Shaowu was helping to move wild animals when he saw everyone suddenly kneeling down in such a dark mass, and he was immediately surprised.

He quickly stepped forward to help Ji Shouyi up, saying, "Uncle Ji, why are you making such a grand gesture? It's too much for me. Everyone, please get up."

"Young Master Yu, my benefactor!" Ji Shouyi said sincerely without getting up, "If it weren't for Young Master Yu's help, we good-for-nothings would probably be a pile of wolf droppings by now. We will never forget your great kindness."

Those kneeling behind him also praised Yu Shaowu's merits and kept kowtowing in gratitude.

Over the past few years, Yu Shaowu has witnessed the fickle nature of human relationships. He knows that these people may be very grateful to him now, but once they leave the mountain and some time has passed, this so-called life-saving grace will gradually be forgotten.

If one accepts their kindness and takes credit for it, then this life-saving favor will become a huge psychological burden for them. After all, everyone is poor and has little ability to repay.

The saying "great kindness can be as great an enemy" perfectly illustrates this point.

So Yu Shaowu insisted on helping Ji Shouyi up and calmly said, "Master Ji, you flatter me. It was you all who were in charge of the hunt; I merely caught you off guard. I also believe that you are all highly skilled individuals, and even without me, you could have dealt with these beasts."

After witnessing Yu Shaowu's display of such great power, everyone admired him without taking credit or becoming arrogant.

Standing in the crowd, He Huan also held Yu Shaowu in the highest esteem. He thought to himself that Yu Shaowu had only practiced archery for a few days, so how could he possibly have such superb archery skills? He couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Yu, could it be that the divine archery skills you just displayed were due to the blessing of Duke Wu Xiang in the unseen realm?"

Yu Shaowu's mind raced. The existence of extraordinary beings made this world more reverent towards ghosts and gods than ever before, and his previous combo attacks had indeed gone too far. If he could explain it away as ancestral protection, wouldn't that make perfect sense?

Thinking of this, Yu Shaowu looked bewildered and said, "Speaking of which, for a moment when I was shooting arrows, I felt like my grandfather had really appeared. I even felt him pat my shoulder and take the bow and arrow from my hand. I was still dizzy until after I shot those arrows."

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in chaos.

Who was Yu Shaowu's grandfather? He was a hero who fought against Japanese pirates, and was posthumously honored as the Duke of Wuxiang by the emperor—a figure almost like a god.

It's unbelievable that such a person, so long after his death, would still be able to descend upon Tumen Mountain and save his grandson's life. He also incidentally saved ordinary people like himself.

Immediately, Ji Shouyi ordered an offering table to be set up, and a wooden tablet was carved out as a memorial tablet, on which were written the large characters "The Divine Tablet of Lord Yu, the Martial and Protector of the Nation and People, Who Suppressed Bandits, Pacified the Seas, Assisted the Nation, and Protected the People." Led by Yu Shaowu, everyone bowed several times before the memorial tablet, shouting loudly, "Thank you, Lord Wuxiang, for saving our lives!"

With the blessing of gods and ghosts, everyone looked at Yu Shaowu differently.

After everyone rose, Ji Shouyi bowed several times to Yu Dayou with great reverence, saying, "My lord, please forgive the hasty execution of the sacrificial rites. Once I descend the mountain, I will certainly build a temple for you on Tumen Mountain and sculpt a golden statue to repay your kindness in protecting me!"

After the sacrificial ceremony was completed, everyone began to discuss the much-anticipated distribution of spoils in front of the memorial tablet of Duke Wu Xiang.

In the past, profits were the hardest thing to distribute. But now that everyone had escaped death and had an unprecedented bumper harvest, the spoils were quickly distributed.

First, the largest alpha wolf naturally belongs to Yu Shaowu alone, and no one objects to that. The group also discussed that if the government were to award the ten thousand taels of silver later, Yu Shaowu should receive at least three thousand taels.

Furthermore, Yu Shaowu was to share some of the spoils from each person's hunt.

However, Yu Shaowu firmly disagreed. He was already content with having the wolf as prey, and besides, these people were all from poor backgrounds, so why should he go and steal food from their mouths?

Once again, everyone felt Yu Shaowu's benevolence and righteousness, and their respect for him deepened.

After the distribution was completed, Yu Shaowu explained to everyone that he was currently under investigation and that if he made too much of a commotion, it might arouse the suspicion of the court, which would implicate everyone.

Therefore, this manifestation of Duke Wu Xiang must not be spread, lest it bring about a fatal disaster.

Upon hearing that they might be implicated, everyone swore that they would not reveal a single detail.

Because of the large number of these wild animals, it may take some time to sell them, but the summer tax is imminent.

In order to prevent Yu Shaowu from being in a predicament, Ji Shouyi took the lead and everyone contributed some of their savings to help Yu Shaowu get through this crisis.

Although everyone was poor, there were many of them, and in no time they had managed to scrape together eighty taels of silver, forty of which were provided by Ji Shouyi.

Yu Shaowu naturally accepted all the life-saving money. With these prey in hand, the eighty taels of silver were nothing more than small change, and there was no point in giving it up.

As for selling the game, the task fell to these hunters; Yu Shaowu only needed to collect the money.

After settling the main matters, Yu Shaowu packed the silver and copper coins into his cloth bag, bid farewell to everyone, and left Tumen Mountain satisfied.

It was already dawn. Yu Shaowu walked alone, carrying the heavy load of silver and copper coins on his back, yet his steps were lighter than ever before.

For at least a long time, I won't have to worry about money anymore. Next, I should consider how to improve myself.