Wang Dahai and his companions had spent the entire night struggling in the mountains, only to return with three small rabbits. Even so, they considered it a great harvest, as the animals near the mountain stronghold were far more alert than average.
Wang Dahai held a bow, basking in the admiration of his peers. He felt truly gratified, preaching to the group and sharing his various hunting techniques. But just as he was beaming with pride, one of his men froze, staring in a certain direction.
"He... how did he catch so many rabbits?" the man pointed out. "Did one person catch all of these?"
Wang Dahai and the others looked over. In an instant, their expressions went blank. Walking toward them was none other than Shi Yi, carrying over twenty rabbits. They were strung together with hemp rope, and the blood from the small animals had soaked into his clothes. To the onlookers, he looked like a heartless demon who had crawled out of hell.
Shi Yi remained expressionless. He didn't acknowledge them at all, simply walking right past.
He hadn't gone far when Wang Dahai scrambled to pull himself together. "Stop! Did you catch all these by yourself this morning?"
Shi Yi halted and slowly turned his head to look at them. That cold, icy gaze made their hair stand on end once again. It was the look of a dead man—utterly devoid of warmth. They immediately recalled how Shi Yi had stared at them under the moonlight the night before. No one dared to speak.
"Yes," Shi Yi said, looking at them. "What, are you planning to rob me?"
One man quickly stammered, "No, we didn't mean that at all."
"If you didn't mean it, then shut your mouths and stop bothering me." With that, Shi Yi turned and walked away.
The group behind him immediately erupted into a clamor.
"What kind of method did this Shi Yi use to catch so many rabbits overnight?"
"It’s impossible! We didn't see him take a bow into the mountains yesterday. With his marksmanship, he couldn't hit a bull standing right in front of him!"
"He must have just gotten lucky and stumbled upon a trap set by someone else in the village!"
Wang Dahai could not bring himself to accept the reality. If this fool truly had such skills, he wouldn't be living in such a miserable state. The others, upon hearing this, decided it was the only logical explanation. They thought back to the way Shi Yi had spoken to them and suddenly felt humiliated. *This loser, who usually begs for mercy on his knees whenever we slap him, how dare he look at us with such murderous intent? Damn it, we should have punched him a few times just now to teach him a lesson.*
They continued to bicker as they walked.
Every morning, the women of the stronghold would head into the mountains to dig for wild vegetables. Thus, along the way, many women saw Shi Yi covered in blood, carrying his haul. They were all stunned into silence.
"Isn't that Shi Yi? How did he catch so many rabbits?"
"Wait, why does the boy look so different today?"
"He looks rather terrifying."
A few women wanted to greet him, but seeing his frigid expression, they didn't dare open their mouths. Some even harbored thoughts of snatching his prey, knowing he was the village idiot who usually wouldn't put up a fight. However, after Shi Yi locked eyes with each of them, they were all paralyzed with fear. They felt a chill in their hearts, as if this Shi Yi had become someone they didn't recognize at all.
Shi Yi ignored them. Upon returning home, he found the woman had already woken up and was tidying the place. Although she looked down on this unrefined villager, she desperately wanted to learn how to make that bow, so she was content to stay for the time being.
When she saw him covered in blood, she asked, "You... are you hurt?"
"Not bad. I bought myself a good wife; the first thing she considers when her man returns is whether he’s injured."
"I'm not hurt. This is just rabbit blood. Can you process the pelts?"
"I can," she replied. "Go get some rest." She felt a lingering disgust toward his words, which struck her as overly flirtatious. Without another word, she moved to process the pelts.
Shi Yi muttered to himself, "Cold as a block of ice—life would be dull without you." He called out to her, "If you can't finish it all, leave it. Don't force yourself. I'm going to sleep for a bit, and when I wake up, I'll make us something to eat."
With that, he ducked into the house. The woman stood there, stunned, watching his retreating back with confusion. *He’s going to cook? In the lands of Da Chu, if a woman doesn't cook, her husband would beat her half to death. And here he is, saying he’ll get up and make me food?* This country bumpkin seemed a bit different from other men.
She looked at the pile of game and was inwardly shocked—there were over twenty rabbits. Yet, thinking back to the bow he had made the night before, she felt it was perhaps expected. Her desire to uncover the secrets of that bow intensified. Without further thought, she carried the rabbits to the creek to process them.
Inside the house, Shi Yi discovered that the place had been tidied up. In the host's memories, this room had been no better than a dog kennel. There was no bed—just straw spread on the ground and a quilt. He had grown used to lying down wherever he fell, but now, he found the straw neatly rearranged. A home really is better with a woman in it.
He lay down and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.
Shi Yi’s shack sat on higher ground, about two or three hundred meters away from the main stronghold. His father had once been the village chief, a renowned hero of Qingniu Mountain. A hero throughout his life, he had been betrayed and murdered by his own brother—Shi Yi's uncle—who had collaborated with the great bandit Hu Mazi. After his father's death, the uncle seized the family property and exiled Shi Yi to this shack.
Among the villagers were many of Shi Yi's aunts and uncles. His fourth aunt, Shi Fengxian, was the most notorious for taking advantage of him. Every time Shi Yi returned from a hunt, she would be the first to arrive, using all sorts of familial pretenses to swindle his catch away.
By late morning, news of Shi Yi’s twenty-rabbit haul had spread through the stronghold. Shi Fengxian was ecstatic. Her mind was racing with calculations: *A pelt sells for one coin; twenty of them is twenty coins! A pound of rabbit meat is two coins, and there’s over ten pounds of meat there—that’s thirty-some coins! Has this kid had a stroke of luck? Hahaha!*
With that, she jogged toward Shi Yi’s house, laughing like a pig the entire way. She already considered the spoils her own. After all, the fool was easy to trick.
At midday, she arrived at Shi Yi's home, overflowing with feigned warmth. "Yi-er, are you here? Your Fourth Aunt has come to see you again. All these years, Fourth Aunt has been so worried about you... worried about..."
She stopped suddenly, her eyes landing on the woman. Her expression hardened with suspicion. "Who are you?"