She truly wanted to eat, but she wanted to survive even more. Only by staying alive could there be hope.
Suppressing her hunger, she said, "Those are poisonous mushrooms. I’ve known them since I was a child."
"Though they are delicious and fragrant, I advise you not to eat them."
Shi Yi held a chipped clay bowl—even the bowls used by beggars in town were better than the one he used at home. He ladled out a serving of mushroom soup and took a gulp; his mouth was filled with the savory taste of the wild. In his previous world, anything labeled "wild" fetched an exorbitant price, so he found this meal particularly satisfying.
After savoring the flavor, he replied, "Not all mushrooms are poisonous."
"Suit yourself," the woman replied coldly. She thought to herself that once night fell, she would just go to the forest nearby and strip some tree bark to eat.
Shi Yi needed to build a crossbow; that was the priority. Having beaten Liu Zhigao as he had, the man would certainly not let it go. A crossbow in hand would provide self-defense and the means to hunt in the mountains for money. This was the most urgent task.
Having heard her warning, he paid her no further attention. After eating his fill and setting a little aside for her, he immediately set to work. He took the mulberry wood materials he had brought back and headed to the side to busy himself.
Time ticked by. Liu Zhigao did not bring men to seek revenge, so the small cabin remained in peace as night slowly descended. The mountain breeze brushed past, the treetops rustling like whispers in the dark. Shi Yi’s hands were nimble, and the Zhuge Crossbow was quickly taking shape. This very weapon, nearing completion in his hands, would eventually change this world entirely.
Inside the cabin, the woman had fainted from hunger after speaking to Shi Yi. She woke up abruptly in the middle of the night. Instinctively checking her surroundings, she let out a sigh of relief.
"He didn't violate me?"
In her world, this was almost incomprehensible. Along the road of her exile, she had seen far too many women beaten, scolded, and violated by men. It was a world of male dominance, compounded by drought and war. With the male population of the Chu State having plummeted, leaving women far outnumbering men, it was perfectly normal for common households to have three or four concubines, and the status of women was exceptionally low. She had been lucky enough to be considered a consumptive due to her frequent coughing, which had kept her from being molested.
She had originally assumed that this backwoods rustic would have been unable to wait to violate her after buying her. *To think that even after I fainted, he didn't touch me? Or perhaps... he’s already been poisoned to death!*
Thinking this, she hurried to the doorway to peek out.
*Not dead? Impossible. Don't those mushrooms kill people?*
She saw Shi Yi bustling about, full of life. *Did I misunderstand him?* She frowned slightly. As she watched, Shi Yi suddenly let out a loud laugh. "Success!"
She saw him holding something that resembled a bow and felt a surge of curiosity. *Such a tiny bow—is it for the children in the village to play with?* The woman found it very strange, filled with questions as she peered through the door crack.
The Zhuge Crossbow had taken Shi Yi over two hours to complete. Because this dynasty lacked iron, his version lacked a metal trigger mechanism and was, essentially, a stripped-down prototype. He couldn't wait to test it. He carved a few more wooden arrows and loaded them into the magazine. Aiming at a tree, he pulled the trigger several times in quick succession.
*Thwip, thwip, thwip!*
The wooden arrows pierced the night and struck the tree with a series of dull thuds. The woman, watching through the crack in the door, was stunned. Her family had been in the military, so she was well-versed in weaponry from a young age. She had never seen such a bow! It could fire in rapid succession, and it didn't seem to require much strength at all! Her breathing quickened.
Shi Yi ran over to the tree to examine the results. Indeed, the arrowheads would be better if made of metal; the wooden ones lacked sufficient penetrating power. He tested the range of the Zhuge Crossbow, estimating it to be about sixty meters. It was significantly shorter than the range of the ones he had built in his previous life, but it was enough for self-defense and hunting in the mountains.
Once he made money from hunting, he would buy ox hide and horns to improve the tension of the bow arms. He would also buy bronze to craft a metal trigger and proper arrowheads. Once he did that, the weapon in his hands would become an unstoppable killing tool in this world.
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered that this world only had bronze, no steel. *If I can smelt iron and forge steel? Then craft a Ring-pocked Saber like those from my previous life's Han Dynasty? That would be a divine weapon in this world!*
At this thought, Shi Yi felt his heart race. He knew how to do all this handiwork! It seemed his time spent working in the factories in his past life hadn't been a waste.
Just as he was filled with ambition, the woman walked up behind him, feeling uncertain. "What is this object?"
Shi Yi turned around, feeling a sudden awkwardness. He finally understood why she had been hiding in the cabin. She was wearing very thin clothing, and her silhouette, vaguely discernible under the moonlight, was captivating. Specifically, the fullness of her chest was enough to make any man’s nose bleed.
Sensing him staring at her body, the faint bit of goodwill she had just felt instantly evaporated. She frowned and instinctively crossed her arms over her chest. "I am speaking to you. Why don't you answer?" Her tone was cold as ice.
Shi Yi swallowed hard. He was a man with a man's natural instincts, but he was no lecher. Suppressing the wayward thoughts in his mind, he said, "This object is called a Zhuge Crossbow."
"Zhuge Crossbow? Never heard of it." The woman knitted her brows.
Shi Yi had the device in his hands and was eager to head into the mountains to test it on a rabbit. "It isn't too late yet," he said. "I'm going into the mountains to hunt for some game. I've left some mushrooms over there for you. Eat them, then go back inside and don't come out. There's a cellar where the straw is spread out in the room. I'm worried that scoundrel Liu Zhigao might come to cause you trouble, so hide in there until I return."
After speaking, Shi Yi gathered and packed away the wooden arrows he had carved. The woman wanted to say something but held back.
As he was about to leave, Shi Yi turned back. "By the way, my name is Shi Yi. What is yours?"
The woman pondered for a moment before replying coldly, "Knowing my name won't do you any good. It's better if you don't."
*So cold and arrogant?* Shi Yi felt a headache coming on, though he thought to himself, *You can't escape anyway. I have plenty of time to break you.* He smiled. "Understood. I'm off."
He dove into the mountains, unable to contain his excitement. After Shi Yi left, the woman hurried to retrieve the long robe she had taken off earlier and put it on. Once dressed, she walked over to the tree where Shi Yi had tested the bow. Seeing two arrows firmly embedded in the trunk, she was deeply shocked.
*With wooden heads, they were still able to pierce the trunk! How much power must that bow in his hands possess?*