Buying a bow on credit went much more smoothly than Zhao Xuan had imagined.
Disregarding all objections, the owner of the blacksmith's shop handed him a horn bow and twenty brand-new iron-tipped arrows. Not even a single piece of paper was signed. When an assistant raised a single doubt—what if Zhao Xuan ran off with the bow and arrows?—he was severely chewed out by the boss.
As repayment, Zhao Xuan didn't sell the rabbits to the blacksmith; instead, he took the whole lot to the butcher, netting four and a half taels of silver. His excuse was that he couldn't take advantage of the blacksmith and wanted to earn a full tael elsewhere to pay off his debt.
The truth was, he never intended to buy the bow in the first place; he had only wanted to pay a tenth of a tael as a rental fee.
After Zhao Xuan had walked far away, an elderly assistant approached the blacksmith, lowering his voice to ask, "Boss is looking to recruit this fellow?"
The blacksmith shook his fan. "Have you seen the rabbits he hunts? Nearly every single one is hit right in the eye socket—killed with a single shot."
"At such a tender age, with such raw talent, he has the makings of a master archer. Since you and I are under orders to lie low and gather intelligence, how can we not recruit such talent for the Cult?"
The old assistant chuckled. "Well said, Boss. If he truly becomes a master archer, not only will our Cult gain a powerful asset, but we might even use this merit to get transferred back to the main headquarters."
"Still, he doesn't look easy to recruit. What does the Boss plan to do?"
The blacksmith didn't seem to mind. "Wasn't he shaken down by the yamen runners once already?"
"In a couple of days, leak the news that he's carrying a horn bow, and let the runners shake him down again."
The old assistant gave a thumbs-up. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant."
"That way, not only will he harbor an even deeper hatred for the imperial government, but he'll also be deeply grateful to you. With just a little guidance, he'll surely be ours to use."
There was no trace of smugness on the blacksmith's face, only solemnity. "The imperial court is devoid of virtue, and the authorities have abandoned the Dao. If he can enter our Divine Cult, how is that not a form of salvation?"
***
"You have accurately predicted the evasive maneuvers of the wild rabbits. Ten shots, ten hits; your archery has improved significantly."
"Basic Archery: 100/100."
"Basic Archery has increased to 100, reaching the mastery level. Arm strength increased by one hundred catties, sensory perception extended by one hundred meters."
Zhao Xuan lowered his bow and arrows, exhaling a long breath of turbid air.
At his feet lay a pile of sixteen rabbits. A few were on the smaller side, weighing only about ten catties or so. He suspected he was nearly hunting the rabbits on the nearby mountains to extinction. Still, these creatures bred fast; give it less than two years, and their numbers would boom again.
Today was the third day.
Zhao Xuan first hurried to the market, selling his catch in batches to the post station, grain store, draper, and butcher. Calculating it alongside the earnings from the previous two days, he had a total of two taels and three qian of silver.
Having a good bow truly doubled one's returns.
After selling the goods and returning, Zhao Xuan made a trip up the mountain to retrieve his hidden silver, mixing it with his current savings. He packed them into several cloth pouches and tucked them securely against his body. Next, he gathered his clothes, shoes, and other daily necessities into a bundle, preparing to leave the village.
He would return the bow and arrows first, then take the post station's ox cart to the county town—it was right on the way.
When he left, Zhao Xuan made no attempt to hide; he walked out openly in broad daylight.
The villagers working in the fields saw him carrying a bundle and couldn't help asking, "Er, carrying your things like that, where are you headed?"
Zhao Xuan replied, "The Hu family is vicious. I'm afraid they'll come back, so I plan to go out and lie low for a while."
Unable to speak plainly, he could only do this much to warn the others as best as he could.
"Hahahahaha."
What he got in return was a burst of mockery.
A villager laughed, "Er, you're far too cowardly. The Hu family has left; they won't be coming back."
"Besides, the government is right here. What are you afraid of?"
Someone chimed in, "That's right! No matter how big the Hu family is, can they be bigger than the government?"
"You were hiding in the back that day and didn't hear it, but I heard it with my own ears—that official on horseback scolded the Hu family and demanded they release people."
"They cleared out the very same day."
Others chimed in as well: "Indeed! Chen Ergou and the village head brought all this on themselves, and they're both dead now. What does that have to do with us?"
"So cowardly, even less backbone than a woman. Ha."
They mocked Zhao Xuan's timidity to their hearts' content.
Zhao Xuan couldn't help thinking of a saying: *Abandon the urge to save others; respect the destiny of others.*
Some people loved stirring up trouble and ran off to notify Zhao Da.
Zhao Da hurried over and, without asking why, scolded him, "If you've got nothing better to do, come work the fields with me! Dragging a bundle around and making a fool of yourself—you've disgraced the whole Zhao family name!"
Zhao Xuan shook his head and instead advised, "Big Brother, don't you want to come with me?"
Zhao Da flew into a rage. "Have you lost your mind? You don't want the family's land and house anymore?"
"Let me tell you, if you dare leave today, not a single plot of the land Mom and Dad left behind will belong to you!"
Zhao Xuan let out a dry laugh. *I'm trying my hardest to save you, and you're trying to outsmart me?*
Truly a real elder brother.
"Fine, I'm leaving. The land is yours, and there's still a bit of grain in the old house—you can have it all."
With that, Zhao Xuan bathed in the autumn sunlight, waved goodbye to Dishan Village—the place that had raised him—and left without taking a single cloud with him.
***
On the mountain path.
With two bundles on his back, Zhao Xuan walked with the lightness of a flying bird. He needed to make it before noon to catch the post station's ox cart heading to the county town. Otherwise, if he failed to enter the city before dark, he would have to spend the night out in the wilderness.
Seeing someone approaching from a distance, he slowed his pace, not wishing to draw attention.
*Oh? Out in the middle of nowhere, how'd I run into yamen runners?*
*Tch, and they're "acquaintances," too! Isn't this the exact scoundrel who took my horn bow?*
The wretched bastard who used an investigation as an excuse to ransack his home.
His fists clenched. His knuckles hardened.
The other party spotted Zhao Xuan as well, his gaze lingering for a fraction of a second on the horn bow strapped to Zhao Xuan's back.
Not wanting to invite unnecessary trouble, Zhao Xuan lowered his head slightly, preparing to brush past him.
To his surprise, the runner suddenly drew his steel saber and blocked his path. "Halt! You look suspicious, nothing like a law-abiding citizen. Hand over that bundle right now and let me inspect it."
Before Zhao Xuan could speak, even as he hesitated for just a moment, a scolding barked out: "Daring to resist? Come on, you're coming back with me to the County Yamen. Once you're in the dungeon, you'll learn how to behave."
With that, he reached for his iron chain to shackle Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan was dumbfounded.
*Are you a yamen runner or a bandit?*
It felt as though the scene from a few days ago was playing out all over again right before his eyes.
He stepped back, dodging the runner's chain, and forced a smile. "Officer, don't get angry—anger hurts the body. Let's talk this out nicely."
Seeing him dodge, the runner grew even more brazen. He slashed at him with his saber, cursing away, "Wretched commoner, you still dare dodge? You're courting death!"
Forced to leave his homeland, no matter how broad-minded Zhao Xuan tried to be, there was still anger burning in his chest. Running into a yamen runner who acted worse than a bandit—mixing old hatreds with new grievances—made him even angrier.
When the runner actually resorted to a blade, it was adding fuel to the fire; his anger blew the roof off.
Scanning the front and back to make sure no one was around, Zhao Xuan slipped through the gap of the incoming blade, pulled out a bamboo arrow, and effortlessly broke through the runner's defense, driving it straight into his throat.
With over two hundred catties of arm strength behind this blow, could any mortal block it?
The bamboo arrow pierced straight out of the runner's neck. His eyes bulged wide. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the villager who had let him knead him like dough just days ago would actually dare to raise a hand and kill.
His hands instinctively went to his throat, making a gurgling *gurgle-gurgle* sound before he crashed to the ground, dead.
Zhao Xuan sighed. "I told you anger hurts the body, but you just wouldn't listen. Look at you, dead now."
He pulled out the bamboo arrow, deftly avoiding the spraying blood, and frowned at the corpse.
*You dying is one thing, but you're going to delay me destroying the evidence.*
*Why bother?*