Chapter 45 Winter Hunt Approaching, Meeting Old Friends
Li Xian condensed his Qi into threads, starting from his Dantian, and attempted to circulate Qi throughout the body once more.
The Qi circulates around the major acupoints of the body. When it reaches the 112th acupoint, the Qi in the Dantian is exhausted. The Qi can no longer maintain its form and dissipates into the flesh and blood.
"We are still very far from achieving the complete circulation of Qi throughout the body."
"But compared to last time, the progress is already very obvious!"
...
Jiang Yun, a second-class guard, was originally a famine refugee from Ziqiong County.
Fortunately, he was related to Qiuyue, the personal maid of Madam Wen, and through Qiuyue's introduction, he was able to work as a guard at the manor.
In the vast Zhuangzi, below the Lady, comes the Autumn Moon.
"Speak, what brings you here?"
Inside a scenic stone pavilion.
Jiang Yun bent over, her face obedient and docile, and offered tea with reverence. Qiu Yue slowly accepted it, glanced at Jiang Yun, and asked casually.
"Sister Qiuyue, I failed again in the last guard competition. I haven't been able to reach the first rank for a long time..." Jiang Yun said, sounding very flustered.
"oh?"
Qiu Yue shook her head and said, "It's not your fault. You are a woman after all, and your talent in martial arts is just average. If it weren't for my consideration for you and my support for you, you wouldn't even be able to get a second grade, let alone an A grade."
"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to Sister Qiuyue's great kindness," Jiang Yun quickly thanked her.
"Furthermore..."
"You are a woman, so you will always be at a disadvantage in a martial arts competition."
Qiu Yue took a sip of tea, then frowned. "What kind of tea is this?"
"It's Mingxiang tea, I specially..."
Jiang Yun was speaking when Qiu Yue slapped her across the face. Qiu Yue cursed, "This inferior tea is an insult to my mouth!"
Enraged, he smashed the teacup, shattering it on the floor and splashing tea everywhere. He then said impatiently, "What do you want to ask? Just say it already."
"Yes, yes."
Jiang Yun dared not get angry and said awkwardly, "It's like this, that kid named Li Xian seems to be quite active lately. I had a rather unpleasant encounter with him a while ago, so what do you think I should do..."
“Him…” Qiu Yue naturally remembered him; she was also present when the soup was being distributed.
Qiu Yue waved her hand dismissively. "No need to pay them any mind; they're just nobody."
Hearing this, Jiang Yun felt a great weight lifted from her heart. "And then there's the matter of the winter hunt..."
"Speaking of winter hunting, I just remembered."
Qiu Yue gestured for Jiang Yun to come closer, lowering her voice slightly, "This winter hunt might allow you to find a new path and advance to the top tier."
"Madam has been in a good mood lately, and the winter hunt is her favorite activity, so do your best."
Jiang Yun's eyes lit up, and she took out a piece of gold and jade from her bosom, presenting it with both hands, "Thank you for your advice, Sister Qiuyue. This is a gift for you."
Qiu Yue raised an eyebrow slightly. The gold and jade were of good quality, and the carvings of flowers and birds on them were quite exquisite.
Gold is a hard currency. Even in times of dynastic turmoil and changing circumstances, it remains valuable and no one ever thinks they have too much, so naturally, they accepted it.
Seeing that Jiang Yun must have gone to great lengths to get this, she softened her voice considerably, "You're quite sensible, don't tell her I was here." She then got up and left.
...
...
Several days have passed since the distribution of the fine food. Life goes on as usual, so calm that not a ripple appears.
Whenever the guards encountered Li Xian, they felt jealousy, fear, and resentment, but none of them dared to provoke him easily.
Li Xian didn't have many friends, nor did she actively seek them out. However, her gentle and kind nature earned her some goodwill.
"It's almost the end of October now, I wonder how my brother's exams are going?"
Li Xian's thoughts drifted as he leaned against a tree trunk, clutching his long sword.
"Master Li, after we finish our patrol, we'll go up the mountain."
Just then, a figure came running.
The man who came was named Le Zhitao. He was also a Class C guard. After the meat distribution incident, he took the initiative to curry favor with Li Xian.
Both were Class C guards, and they had a lot of free time on weekdays. Sometimes after patrolling, Le Zhitao would look for Li Xian and go to the vegetarian restaurant together for a meal.
Although they were close, their friendship was not deep.
Li Xian is outwardly warm but inwardly cold. He'll respond to anyone who tries to talk to him, and he won't refuse to keep someone company. But truly becoming friends isn't so easy.
"Going up the mountain? Why go up the mountain?" Li Xian asked.
Le Zhitao said, "You didn't know? The winter hunt is coming!"
“I have indeed heard of the winter hunt, but what does it have to do with going up the mountain?” Li Xian shook his head, slowly stood up, and brushed the snow off his body.
"You need to prepare your own bow for the winter hunt, don't you know? If you don't go up the mountain to cut down trees and make a bow, you won't be participating in the winter hunt," Le Zhitao explained.
Li Xian frowned. "Logging trees to make a bow? A bow and arrow are complex to make, taking at least several weeks. Isn't it too late to start making a bow now?"
“On the next mountain, there’s a rare type of wood with tough and flexible branches. Just tie some cow tendons to it, and you can make a bow,” Le Zhitao said matter-of-factly.
Li Xian thought to himself, "It's more like a toy." For a bow and arrow, the feel is extremely important. The bow arm and the string are secondary; the most important thing is the bond between the person and the bow.
Only when the person knows the bow, and the bow knows the person, can one hit the bullseye every time. Li Xiansheng was born into a hunter's family, and he was most skilled in this art. He had been making his own bows and arrows since he was five years old.
By the age of eleven, his hunting skills had surpassed those of his father.
Archers have always held a highly respected status, whether in the military or in the martial arts world.
Hearing that the winter hunt was drawing ever closer, Li Xian couldn't help but think, "Instead of making a new bow, why not... take out my old friend again?"
He immediately said to Le Zhitao, "You all go, I won't go."
"Ah!" Le Zhitao shook his head and said, "What a pity, what a pity."
...
After being reminded by Le Zhitao, Li Xian finished his patrol duty, asked Pang Long for half a day off, and set off for Qingning County.
It was late October, the weather was freezing cold, the ground was covered in silver, and wild geese flew by from time to time.
"Ordinary wild geese fly from winter to spring, but these cold geese do not follow the usual path. They flock to wherever it is cold."
Having not left the village for a long time, Li Xian walked along the road, his mind clear and peaceful.
After walking about seven or eight miles, they suddenly heard mournful cries coming from afar:
"Sir, sir, please spare me! I'll never do it again, I'll never do it again!"
"Ouch, stop hitting me, stop hitting me."
Turning around, I saw five guards beating a man.
Judging from the scene, the man was caught red-handed by the guards for illegally cutting down trees.
"It was him?"
Li Xian glanced again and realized that the man who had been beaten was actually Aunt Liu's husband, Wang Yonghou.
He immediately walked over quickly and said, "Stop for a moment."
"You son of a bitch, keep hitting him!"
These men were guards of the Lin family in Qingning County. They glanced at Li Xian, completely ignoring him, and continued to punch and kick Wang Yonghou.
Li Xian frowned, leaped forward, and kicked one of the guards in the buttocks, sending him sprawling and utterly disheveled.
The other guards were stunned. One of them cursed, "That bastard has reinforcements! Brothers, let's deal with him first!"
Four or five people rushed forward. Li Xian snorted coldly and charged straight at the guard who had spoken, throwing two punches at his face.
He then leaped up and swept his legs, kicking each of the surrounding guards once.
In no time at all, everything was taken care of.
"Who...who are you! You dare hit us? You just wait, you just wait!"
The guard howled and pointed at Li Xian, both afraid and angry.
"Wait?" Li Xian roared, "If I'm not mistaken, this is the mountain forest of Yihe Village. When did it become your Lin family's place to meddle?"
"This...this..."
Those waiting guards immediately fell silent.
They didn't really know whose forest this was. They just saw people cutting down trees, knew there was fun to be had, and started beating people for their amusement.
"Does your Lin family think you can afford to offend Yihe Manor? You should think it over carefully."
"If you have nothing to say, then shut up and get lost."
With the final two words, "Get out!", Li Xian channeled his inner energy and shouted, his voice resounding through people's hearts.
This immediately terrified the cowardly guard, who had been bullying the weak, causing him to flee in a sorry state.
(End of this chapter)
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