Abandoning literature for martial arts, starting by unleashing the beauty's bow.

After Lu Fengnian finished speaking, he snapped the bowstring in his hand and released it.

The bamboo arrow shot out and embedded itself in the pile of firewood in the corner of the wall.

Without deflection, it pierced right through the thirteenth piece of firewood from the left, a piece as thick as an adult's arm.

Liu Yunjuan and Lu Xiaoyu were both dumbfounded.

That wasn't all. Lu Fengnian continued, "The twelfth and eighteenth pieces of firewood from the right."

As soon as he finished speaking, he fired two arrows in quick succession. With two soft thuds, the targeted pieces of firewood were pierced through one after the other.

If it happens once by luck, but three times in a row, then that's real skill.

Liu Yunjuan and Lu Xiaoyu stood there dumbfounded, staring at Lu Fengnian in disbelief.

It wasn't until Lu Fengnian retrieved the arrows that the two came to their senses.

"Fengnian, how come I didn't know you could shoot arrows? And you're so accurate at it."

Liu Yunjuan rubbed her eyes, thinking that her eyesight was failing due to old age.

Lu Xiaoyu pinched her delicate cheek, and only when she felt the pain did she realize that this was not a dream.

She ran quickly to Lu Fengnian's side, her beautiful eyes blinking, "Big brother, who taught you such amazing archery skills?"

Lu Fengnian smiled slightly, "Don't you know that there is such a thing as a genius in the world?"

Previously, I thought I was a good student, but little did I know that I was a genius at archery.

"Once you touch a bow, you'll know how to shoot without any instruction."

Liu Yunjuan and her daughter Lu Xiaoyu looked at each other, full of suspicion, but there seemed to be no more reasonable explanation.

Lu Fengnian waved his hand, quickly changing the subject, "Don't ask so many questions, I'm so hungry I'm dizzy. Xiaoyu, hurry up and get your brother something to eat."

"Okay."

Lu Xiaoyu's face was full of smiles as she proudly said, "I was lucky today. I found a patch of wild vegetables and picked a whole bunch of them, enough for my family to eat for several days."

Lu Fengnian glanced at the colorful wild vegetables piled up at the bottom of the steps, and then saw the grain husks that Lu Xiaoyu was crushing as finely as possible in her hand, and his stomach churned.

He absolutely didn't want to eat that sticky stuff, but he had no choice but to save his life first.

Lu Xiaoyu was quick and efficient, and soon brought Lu Fengnian a large bowl of porridge.

Lu Fengnian forced himself to swallow the food, wanting to fill his stomach first.

While it was still early, I went to the back of the house to continue practicing archery.

Tomorrow, he will cross the Blackwater Ridge to hunt in the deep mountains.

If you can improve your archery skills to level two, the success rate of hunting will increase significantly, and your safety will also be guaranteed.

He figured that raising his archery skills from level one to level two wouldn't be too difficult, as his proficiency was only 1000. He figured he could manage it by working overtime tonight.

Moreover, progressing from beginner to level one only requires slightly drawing the bow and shooting the arrow to increase proficiency.

With his current physical strength, he feels no burden at all.

Behind the house was a small grove of white elms planted by the original owner's father.

When he planted the trees, he joked that once they grew up, the bark would be enough to sustain his family during a famine.

His words are likely to come true.

Wild vegetables can still be found on the mountain now, but after a while, when they can't be found anymore, we'll really have to peel tree bark to fill our stomachs.

Lu Fengnian found a relatively open spot in the woods, and without setting up a target, casually nocked a bamboo arrow onto the bowstring, drew the bow slightly, and then released the bowstring.

The bamboo arrow immediately flew out, traveling ten steps before landing on the ground.

However, to his surprise, the numbers on the blue panel did not change at all:

Archery: Level 1

Proficiency: 1/1000

Number of learnable skills: 0

My proficiency level didn't increase at all.

He was taken aback at first, then took out a bamboo arrow, drew the bow halfway, and shot the arrow out again.

The proficiency level on the panel has not increased.

Lu Fengnian frowned, pondered for a moment, and continued drawing his bow...

One arrow, two arrows... the sound of bowstrings being plucked echoed incessantly behind the house.

After the tenth arrow was fired, the numbers on the panel finally changed:

Archery: Level 1

Proficiency: 2/1000

Number of learnable skills: 0

It turns out that once archery skills improve, the difficulty of increasing proficiency also increases accordingly.

You have to draw the bow fully and the arrow has to fly at least ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) before you can increase your proficiency.

Lu Feng sighed. In this way, the difficulty of raising his archery skills to level two tonight would increase a hundredfold.

Lu Fengnian was able to overcome problems such as sore arms and physical fatigue.

The most crucial problem is that drawing the bow to its fullest extent is too physically demanding, and his body is currently being sustained by that little bit of gruel that has almost no nutritional value.

I reckon I won't be able to shoot more than a few arrows before my stomach starts to protest.

Left with no other choice, Lu Fengnian had to give up the idea of ​​leveling up, conserve his energy, and prepare for tomorrow's hunt.

…………

The Lu family home, under the oil lamp.

As Liu Yunjuan twisted the hemp rope, she said, "Fengnian, you insisted on going to the mountains, and your mother couldn't persuade you otherwise."

But Mother has to say a few more words: we can't just see the glory of the hunters carrying their prey out of the mountains without thinking about the dangers inside.

Your archery skills are amazing; your mother saw them. You're definitely the best in our Mao'er Village.

However, you have never been into the mountains before and are completely unfamiliar with the conditions there…”

"Also, you're going to cross the Blackwater Ridge to hunt there, and it's not just the people from our Mao'er Village who are going."

If you encounter people from other villages, you should be careful.

These days, when people are starving, they can be more ferocious than wild animals.

...............

Liu Yunjuan talked about whatever came to mind, in a disjointed and rambling manner.

Lu Fengnian didn't speak, but nodded from time to time, while he was sharpening the rusty short knife left by the original owner's father.

When going hunting in the mountains, you can't just carry a bow; you also need to prepare a knife.

It can be used in various situations, such as untying ropes, self-defense, and processing prey.

After sharpening the short knife, Lu Fengnian saw that Liu Yunjuan had already twisted a bundle of hemp rope, so he said, "Mother, there's no need to twist any more; this amount of rope is more than enough."

It's getting late, you should go back to your room and rest.

I'll be getting up very early tomorrow, so I won't be able to say goodbye to you and Xiaoyu.

Liu Yunjuan hummed in agreement, coiled the hemp rope, and slowly got up.

As she reached the door, she added with a worried expression, "Fengnian, it's not important whether you catch any prey or not. The most important thing is that you be careful and don't make your mother worry."

Also, this is your first time hunting in the mountains, so don't be like those old hunters who try to spend the night in the mountains. You must be back tomorrow.

Lu Fengnian nodded and smiled, "Mother, I know what to do, so don't worry."

Liu Yunjuan was still a little worried. "Fengnian, you've lied to your mother countless times before. This time, you absolutely can't lie to your mother. If you say you'll come back tomorrow, you absolutely have to come back."

Looking at Liu Yunjuan's wrinkled face and her worried, cloudy, and tired eyes, Lu Fengnian paused for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Mother, I promise you, I will definitely come back tomorrow, and I will bring a good catch."

…………