Even in his twilight years, he swept through the chaotic army of ten thousand warriors!

"A fine bow!"

The next morning, at the entrance of the Six Banners, Ji Yan held the bow in his hand and couldn't help but admire it.

Ma Wu borrowed the bow, intending to give it to Ji Yan yesterday so he could familiarize himself with it, but it seems he's run into some trouble.

I only gave it to him this morning, and I still looked a little embarrassed.

Judging from the other items on his waist, the agreed-upon date for going into the mountains remained unchanged.

"You should quickly familiarize yourself with it..."

But at this moment, although Ji Yan seemed to be holding the bow in his hand, his heart had already sunk into it.

This bow is different from the previous heavy bow with a weight of three stones; it is a long-tipped bow.

It felt quite hot to the touch, not the kind of heat that comes from being baked by the sun, but rather a heat that emanated from the inside out.

The bow was made of some kind of wood that Ji Yan did not recognize.

Looking at the dark, charcoal-like patterns on the surface, one might guess that the intense heat emanating from within comes from this.

The bowstring was quite beautiful, a translucent white jade color; I gently plucked it with my hand…

"Hmm!"

"A fine bow!"

Ji Yan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration again.

The moment he drew the bow, he could clearly feel that the intense heat emanating from it was not just an accessory!

As the force of the bow draw increased, the intense heat gathered like a vortex...

Ji Yan couldn't even imagine how much the power of this arrow would be amplified!

"Is this the bow used by martial artists?"

"Just pulling on it is so satisfying!"

Seeing Ji Yan's expression, Ma Wu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"That's right! Your fifth brother... I can find you a place, Elder Ji?"

"Wouldn't that be a disservice to your skills?"

"But I'm worried that since it's different from what you used before, it might affect you..."

As they were talking, they suddenly looked up into the distance and saw a man and a woman walking together.

"They're here!"

Ma Wu was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to introduce them.

"Professor Ji, these two are with us!"

He put his arm around the man's shoulder and introduced them familiarly.

"donkey!"

"My good buddy, he's not good at anything else, but he's got a great pair of legs!"

The moment they met, Ji Yan seemed to know why he was called Donkey.

His thick lips parted before he even spoke, revealing a gap in his teeth, making him look like a donkey snorting.

"Ma Wu, is this old man... alright?"

After all, Ji Yan is quite old, so it's already a sign of politeness that he didn't directly deny it.

Ma Wu was about to pat his chest when the woman next to him took a half step back first.

He put his hands on his bucket-like hips, his face full of disgust.

"Hey Xiao Wu, what kind of monsters and demons have you picked up? One's a spineless coward who can only run around, and the other's an old skeleton who's afraid of falling over after taking two steps..."

"And you said it was foolproof? I shouldn't have come!"

As she was speaking, a greyhound darted out from behind her and howled twice in response.

Xiao Wu hurriedly tried to step in and smooth things over, but the woman didn't seem to accept it at all.

He took another step back, and then spoke.

"I already said, ten taels of silver is only enough for me and my little darling to find that beast for you."

"I glanced at it and turned away!"

"Go and die yourselves, don't drag me down with you!"

Xiao Wu wanted to smooth things over, but the words stuck in his throat. Seeing that Ji Yan didn't say anything, he just smiled and nodded.

"OK!"

"When the time comes, Yunniang, you can just leave!"

After saying that, he stepped forward, put his arm around Ji Yan's shoulder, and spoke in a low voice.

"Mr. Ji, please don't mind. I'll give you an extra 10% if things go well."

"Time is short, please try out the bow on the way..."

After saying that, he straightened the knife at his waist, looking very confident.

"Let's go!"

Ji Yan verbally agreed, but with the effect of [Concentration], there was no need for him to familiarize himself with the bow, so he simply carried the bow on his back and set off.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Carrying a bow and wearing a straw raincoat, they headed west.

After walking two miles from the garrison, the bluestone slabs disappeared, and a dirt path led to the foot of the mountain.

Further up, it's clear that Ma Wu did his homework, but not much.

Instead, Ji Yan took his place and led the way, easily making his way up the mountain.

It took about half an hour to cross a mountain and find a small stream hidden among the vines and wild grass.

"This stream is called Fugui Gully, and beyond it lies Erchong Mountain."

As Ji Yan spoke, he stepped forward, broke off a branch, and swept away the annoying spider web.

"Professor Ji, you...have been here before?"

The donkey revealed its large gap in its teeth and stepped forward to ask.

He did initially have doubts about Ji Yan, but along the way...

Nowadays, demons are rampant, so going up the mountain is no easy task.

But Ji Yan held his bow horizontally, preventing Ma Wu from drawing his sword even once...

Later, when they encountered a wild boar as big as a small mountain, before the boar could even see them, Ji Yan would already have his bow drawn and arrow nocked.

An arrow pierced her chest, silencing the woman completely.

What was originally expected to be a difficult uphill climb that would take an hour turned into a leisurely stroll under Ji Yan's guidance, and they arrived here in half an hour.

Ji Yan bent down, scooped up a handful of stream water, and drank it with gusto.

"There's one advantage to living a long life: you see and experience more than others..."

"Besides, this place is not far from Jijia Village. I came here a few times with Xiao Gou's grandfather fifty or sixty years ago."

Ma Wu, being enthusiastic, also stepped forward and scooped up a handful of stream water.

"Refreshing and thirst-quenching!"

"But Elder Ji, this place is already deep in the mountains, so why is it called Fugui Gully?"

Most names that signify wealth and prosperity are meant to convey a wish.

But this place, so rarely visited, still retains this name...

Ji Yan sat by the stream, took the bamboo tube from his waist, and explained.

The Records of the Southern Regions states: "The southwestern region is hot and humid, and is also prone to miasma and plague."

"However, it is also recorded that there were countless wealthy and noble people in the mountains."

"Beyond this small ditch lies a desolate mountain pass, but also a land of wealth and prosperity."

"There are many treasures in the mountains, such as a place called Chicken Shit Grave if you go in from here."

"The chicken droppings are because golden pheasants often appear there, and catching one is worth two taels of silver."

"The grave is because..."

"The miasma there has killed countless people. Many were still dreaming of getting rich, and when they sat down to rest, they were no longer able to answer the call."

Ji Yan scooped up water from Fugui Ditch and drank his fill, then filled the bamboo tube at his waist.

"That's called getting a touch of wealth and status."

"The imperial court wouldn't let anyone live. Countless desperate people crossed this ditch with dreams of getting rich. Countless people, on their last breath, still thought about this little ditch..."

Boo!

Ji Yan put the bamboo tube back on and got up.

"But from now on, you'll have to lead the way."

"I've never been to Nijōyama..."

After saying that, Yunniang raised her head immediately.

Ma Wu patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry!"

"It's not far, and Yunniang's nose is famously sharp!"

After saying that, he took out a wooden box from his bosom, inside which was a tuft of fine down.

Bring the fluffy fur close to the greyhound's nose...

Sure enough, as soon as Hei Zi smelled it, it immediately found the direction and ran out happily.

only……

Ji Yan felt that he seemed to have gone in the wrong direction.

[Hunting (Beginner)]

[Progress: 92/100]