Chapter 59:

The standard equipment for the archers of the Song Dynasty Army is a stone bow. But the one in Xu Yi's hand didn't even draw the bow as hard as a three-dou bow. When the wooden arrow was shot, the hand holding the wooden arrow was still shaken.

He shook his arm, looked at the dumbfounded Zhang Tiegou next to him, and asked: "When can you give me the thumb ring?"

Zhang Tiegou opened his mouth, the shock on his face still lingering: "Have you practiced before?"

Xu Yi answered sincerely . : "No."

Zhang Tiegou had an expression on his face: "Do you think I look like a fool?" He ran to the target to look at the wooden arrow in disbelief. He saw that the arrowhead had not even entered the target. When he pulled it out, he even took some The hay was pulled out.

He walked back in a daze and said to Xu Yi: "I practiced archery with a veteran back then. He taught me for a month and a half before my arrow hit the target. It took another five years of practice before I could achieve the accuracy I have today.

" After finishing this, he regained his energy and asked mysteriously, "Brother Xu, are you really a god descending to earth? I have never seen you in all these years. You know it at a glance."

Xu Yi analyzed it with him seriously . : "You taught me well. The moves and techniques of drawing the bow are very important. You taught me everything. Also, this bow is not heavy. My arm is strong enough. This wooden arrow is stable when shot."

Traditional bows and arrows are difficult to practice, and Xu Yi was a little surprised to suddenly be able to shoot so accurately.

He thought that at most he could hit the target.

One success does not mean success every time. Xu Yi shot two more arrows under the expectant eyes of Zhang Tiegou, A Xu and A Jin.

An arrow misses the target, and an arrow hits the mark, but misses the mark.

This is Xu Yi's true level.

Xu Yi has a peaceful mind, but A Xu and A Jin feel a little pity. In their eyes, Lang Jun is the most powerful person, and no one can compare with Lang Jun.

"You two really think highly of me." Xu Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I'm a novice, it's good if I can hit the target."

Zhang Tiegou strongly objected: "Brother Xu, you are really strong. You can hit two out of three arrows, but you can't." A novice like you."

Xu Yi blinked: "..."

He felt that he might have mentioned the "novice protection period."

Xu Yi asked: "What does a wolf bone finger ring look like?"

Zhang Tiegou heard him ask and took out a bone ring finger from his arms and showed it to him.

He made this wolf bone wrench from a wolf's leg bone. After grinding it for more than two years, the bone turned slightly yellow and had an oily luster. There was a small groove on the inside. The arrow should be placed here.

After Xu Yi finished observing, he returned the wolf bone finger to him.

But Zhang Tiegou confiscated it: "This one is yours, I will make another one."

Xu Yi smiled: "A gentleman does not take what others like, I'd better wait for your new one."

The next time, Zhang Tiegou said His hands were itching to hunt two prey, so he told Xu Yi that he wanted to take A Xu to see what hunting was.

During this time, some small animals are about to return to their nests, and the probability of catching prey is quite high. Children of A Xu's age are full of curiosity about new things. Especially when he followed Zhang Tiegou to hunt sparrows last time, he was very curious about hunting.

Seeing that he wanted to go along, Xu Yi agreed.

He also told him that the small cloth bag tied around his waist contained snake repellent medicine and could not be left behind. He took out another cloth bag, took out some medicinal powder and applied it on the clothes of his limbs.

A Xu had been following Xu Yi for a long time and knew that the powder was used to repel insects. He said gratefully: "Thank you, sir."

Xu Yi patted his head with his powdered hands, straightened up and said to Zhang Tiegou: "Watch this kid."

Zhang Tiegou puffed up his chest: "Don't worry. I know this mountain well. Very well, where there are many venomous snakes and where there are few venomous snakes, we are all clear."

"Yes." Xu Yi nodded to him.

Seeing A Xu and Zhang Tiegou leave, Xu Yi turned back to see A Jin who was staying quietly beside him.

The little girl's eyes fell on the two people's retreating figures, slightly yearning for them.

Ah Jin noticed Xu Yi's gaze, blinked her eyes, and whispered, "Mr. Lang."

Xu Yi asked her, "Is it boring?" Ah

Jin shook her head quickly. This was the first time she followed her brother into the mountains. In the past, when her brother went to dig herbs in the mountains, she would be worried every day, fearing that something would happen to him in the mountains.

Only then did she realize that the mountain road was so difficult to walk on. Her husband and brother were both very good and hard-working people.

On the contrary, she is the most leisurely person in the family.

Ah Jin suddenly said: "Lang Jun, please give me the work. You will give me fifty cents a month, but I can only do some work of lighting fires and cleaning tables. Lang Jun, you not only give me monthly money, but also It’s really a shame to teach me how to read, write, and practice boxing.”

Xu Yi: “…”

Something happened to this child suddenly.

So it is true that it is not easy to raise children, but he often cannot keep up with the brain circuits of these two little guys.

He couldn't figure it out and couldn't figure out the reason after asking. Xu Yi said that he should continue practicing archery.

Practicing archery and practicing martial arts are the same. The only way is to study hard and practice hard. There are no shortcuts. Even for people with extraordinary talents, if they don't study hard, their innate talents will gradually disappear over time.

There were only ten wooden arrows in the quiver Zhang Tiegou left for him. Xu Yi had to run back and pick them up every time he shot one.

After going back and forth more than ten times, Xu Yi suddenly heard a rustling sound in the distance. His eyes were slightly sharp, and he quickly came to A Jin's side.

"Mr. Lang?" Ah Jin didn't know anything. He looked at Xu Yi, who suddenly became alert, and looked around blankly.

Xu Yi has good ears, a skill he developed while studying medicine.

This voice doesn't sound like a human being.

More like the sound a reptile makes when it moves.

The rustling sound suddenly stopped, Xu Yi frowned, and suddenly looked to the right.

Three meters away from him and Ah Jin, there was a venomous snake with a white head and light brown markings around it. Xu Yi thought for a moment and remembered that this was a highly poisonous white-headed viper.

Xu Yi: "..."

He touched the quiver hanging on his waist and took out a wooden arrow.

When Ah Jin next to her saw this, she poked her head out and saw the white-headed viper. She instinctively exclaimed.

At this time, the white-headed viper moved its head and spit out snake letters in their direction, seeming to lock them in.

Xu Yi whispered: "Ajin, please don't bark later. If it comes, run to the left as soon as I yell. Don't run too far. Open the cloth bag I gave you, grab a handful of powder and sprinkle it on Around."

Ah Jin bit his lip nervously: "What about Lang Jun?"

Xu Yi said, "I have my own ideas."

Before they said a few words, the snake slowly crawled towards them.

Snakes rely on their sense of smell, vibration and body temperature to identify surrounding objects. At this time, escaping is the most dangerous.

However, the white-headed viper moves slowly and is not as aggressive as some land snakes. It will quickly and continuously expand and contract, speeding up its crawling speed to attack.

But no matter what, this is still a poisonous snake.

Xu Yi pulled up the bow without any further hesitation, pointed at its seven-inch position, loosened the bowstring and fired.

The moment the wooden arrow flew out, Xu Yi drew the bow again and shot without hesitation.

This white-headed viper was more alert than he thought. Before the wooden arrow hit it, it ducked away, then accelerated towards them.

"Run." Xu Yi shouted.

When Ah Jin heard this, although he was very scared, he still obediently ran towards the left side pointed by Xu Yi.

In an instant, due to Xu Yidao's shout and Ah Jin's actions, the white-headed viper rushed over and paused, as if it was judging something.

Xu Yi was waiting for this moment. When the snake slowed down, he squatted down and hit the snake on the head with a stone.

It was a little stunned by the smash, and its entire body curled up in a defensive posture.

After Xu Yi smashed it, he backed away. With a cold face, he took out the wooden arrow and drew the bow to shoot.

This time, he successfully shot the snake in the belly. The white-headed viper felt the pain and twisted on the spot.

"Rust, rustle -"

As it rolled and twisted, the surrounding sounds became louder and louder.

Xu Yi let out a sigh of relief, turned around and looked in the direction A Jin left without adding any more arrows.

All the snake repellent medicine on his body was given to A Xu A Jin. The only weapons he had for self-defense were a bow and seven wooden arrows.

Fortunately, Ah Jin didn't run too far. She hid under a camphor tree and sprinkled a circle of snake repellent around her as Xu Yi said.

Seeing Xu Yi, Ah Jin's eyes instantly turned red.

"Lang Jun." Ah Jin ran over and threw herself into Xu Yi's arms. When she saw the snake, she was so frightened that her brain was in a daze. After running away, she realized that Lang Jun didn't have any medicine.

Seeing that Xu Yi was safe and sound, tears fell from his eyes.

Xu Yi smiled and reassured her: "Okay, I'm fine. The snake is injured and can't hurt us anymore. But we have to go back, otherwise Tietou and A Xu won't find us."

"Yeah." Ah Jin wiped his tears and nodded.

The kid was a little frightened.

I think so, but she is just an eight-year-old girl. Her life has been difficult before, but she has never experienced such a dangerous situation.

When they returned to the target position, Zhang Tiegou and A Xu had already arrived. They killed the white-headed viper and were thinking of looking for Xu Yi and Ah Jin.

"Lang Jun, sister!"

A Xu ran to the two of them anxiously when he saw Xu Yi coming back with his sister.

Zhang Tiegou was relatively stable and said to Xu Yi: "I knew you would be fine. Such a poisonous snake can't stop you."

Xu Yi said: "It's better to bring a machete into the mountains. It's easier to use."

"That's right. !" Zhang Tiegou patted the machete on his waist. He had just used the machete to cut the injured white-headed viper in half.

"This snake is very narrow-minded. If we let it go, it will attack people when it recovers. We cannot keep it alive," Zhang Tiegou said.

Xu Yi nodded and asked him what he could hunt.

"Look."

Zhang Tiegou pointed to the ground on one side, where two wild pheasants were tied, but they were both hit by arrows and could not be captured alive. We can’t keep them and raise them, so we have to pluck them and cook them when we bring them back.

They followed the original path down the mountain. Dusk was approaching, and the sunset in the west was very beautiful. It was as red as a fiery flame, and the flaming clouds formed a magnificent spectacle.

"Wow, those clouds are so beautiful~" Ah Jin shouted happily.

Zhang Tiegou: "It's so ordinary. I'm tired of seeing it every day."

Xu Yi nodded and admired the beautiful sunset: "The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's almost dusk."

It's time to go back.

Zhang Tiegou scratched his head. He didn't quite understand, but he also knew that if he didn't go back now, the city gate would be closed later.

"Brother Xu..." he shouted, "take this pheasant back later. You can roast it, stew it, or stir-fry it. I see that A Xu can cook it. He knows how to cook it.

" Yi was not polite, A Xu got his signal and took the chicken handed over by Zhang Tiegou.

Zhang family.

Uncle Liu was guarding the house at the foot of the mountain, which was boring, and fell asleep warmly in the early autumn sun.

He woke up and saw the sunset, thinking why Dr. Xu hadn't come back yet.

When I walked out of the hospital, I saw them coming back in twos and twos. Not only did he come back, he also carried prey in his hands, which were two fat pheasants.

Uncle Liu was envious in his heart. It would be great if he knew how to hunt. He could eat meat every day.

The light in his eyes was about to turn into reality. Xu Yi couldn't help but smile when he saw it. Uncle Liu was indeed a very interesting old man.

Just as he was thinking about what to say, he saw Zhang Tiegou taking the lead and pulling Uncle Liu to say a lot of words.

"I thought you were just a big talker, but I didn't expect what you said was true. Brother Xu is not only good at fighting, he is also quick at learning archery. He can shoot a snake today."

"Snake?" Liu Bo was stunned. .

Xu Yi paused slightly.

When Zhang Tiegou wanted to continue talking, he immediately stopped him. No joke, if Uncle Liu knew that he could shoot snakes, many people would know about it within a few days.

Zhang Tiegou was stopped by him and looked at him confused.

Xu Yi urged: "It's getting late. If we don't go back, it will be too late."

Only then did Zhang Tiegou give up talking to Uncle Liu about what happened on the mountain earlier. He asked Xu Yi and the others to wait a moment, and quickly went to the kitchen to take out a piece of dried meat and gave it to Uncle Liu.

Uncle Liu never thought that he also had meat to take, and he laughed from ear to ear.

Because of this little incident, Liu Bole forgot to ask Xu Yi about shooting the snake on the way back.

...

for the next period of time.

Xu Yi took the bow Zhang Tiegou gave him and went up the mountain to practice archery every day.

As usual, he went out in short brown clothes with narrow sleeves, wrapped his wooden bow and arrows in cloth and put them in a bamboo basket. No one knew that he went to the mountains to practice archery for half an hour, and to dig for medicinal materials for another hour.

Uncle Liu didn't know either. Last time at Zhang Tiegou's house, he thought Xu Yi was hunting with Zhang Tiegou.

Unexpectedly, Xu Yi learned how to use arrows, and his accuracy was pretty good. Although not all arrows hit, he still hit six out of ten.

Unfortunately, the power of wooden arrows is too low and the range is short. If it exceeds 20 meters, the speed of wooden arrows will slow down.

The slowed-down wooden arrow was teetering in the air, and would fall from the air in a short while. Not to mention hitting the target tree, if a person's reaction speed is fast, he can catch it with his bare hands.

This is also a kind of helplessness. The government strictly controls the amount of iron and copper used by the private sector. For example, the Song Dynasty's "Xingtong" clearly stipulates that "anyone who privately prohibits weapons will only serve for one and a half years." With such a law, who dares to practice weapons privately? However, knives used by ordinary people in daily life are not prohibited. Therefore, Xu Yi and Zhang Tiegou can still buy tools such as machetes and axes. [Note 1]

But arrows... this kind of thing will never work.

Bows and arrows are weapons in the army. How dare those blacksmiths make iron arrowheads for you in private? They might be itching to move.

Xu Yi had to give up this idea.

Although the wooden bow is inferior, it can still be used as a life-saving weapon.

That day he came down from the mountains, sat in Uncle Liu's ox cart, and told Uncle Liu that he would not come to Xu's house to pick him up tomorrow.

The next day was the day when Xu Yi and Ji Shitang traded Xiaoshi Pills.

When he came to Jishi Hall to find Dr. Yan, he saw his eyes were dark and bloodshot, and asked him in surprise what was wrong.

When I saw people in the past five days, I was not in such a compassionate state.

Doctor Yan smiled bitterly, his eyes full of unspeakable pain, and he said: "Everything in the world is unpredictable. I, Yan, have been a doctor in Jishitang for more than 20 years. How could I have thought that in the end I would end up doing nothing?" The end."

Xu Yi frowned: "What's the point?"

"It doesn't hurt to tell you. After all, you should know about this in a short time." Doctor Yan looked at him with complicated eyes.

"Do you still remember the young master's family in Jishitang?"

he asked.

Xu Yi was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

A long time has passed since the last time the young master of the Shen family left Yanting County angrily.

Xu Yi almost forgot about this person.

Could this matter be related to Xiaoshi Pills? Recalling that Doctor Yan once spoke for him, what if he was not implicated for this reason? If this is really the case, then the young master of Jishi Hall has gone too far.

Doctor Yan continued: "When he returned to Fucheng, he summoned many doctors in the house to study the prescription for Xiaoshi Pills. In recent days, friends wrote to me, saying that although the prescription for Xiaoshi Pills was not completely broken, they made it. A pill with similar effects has come out."

Speaking of this, Xu Yi almost guessed it.

"Could it be that the young master of the Shen family wants to transfer you away from Yanting County?" Xu Yi asked calmly.

Doctor Yan closed his eyes with a sigh, held his forehead and said, "Yes, the young master's family feels that it is difficult for me to stay in the county for a long time, so they ordered me to set off in the near future to serve as the sitting doctor in the branch of Jinmao County, Maozhou."

Xu Yi was surprised: "Maozhou has been invaded by Qiang people all year round. The road is full of deep mountains and wild forests. How can you be allowed to go to dangerous jungles?"

At Dr. Yan's age, if he catches a fever and catches cold on the way, the probability of death is extremely high. high. Besides, if you really go to Maozhou, I'm afraid it will be difficult to return to Yanting County in this life.

What's more, Maozhou is still located deep in the mountains, and the city wall has not been built around it, so there is often unrest. People living in the city are very unsafe, and people from outside the city often sneak into the city in the middle of the night to rob. [Note 2]

Xu Yi could tell what the young master of the Shen family had in mind when he placed Doctor Yan in such a place.

Xu Yi frowned: "Doctor Yan, you can't go."

Dr. Yan remained silent.

Xu Yi said: "You will have a narrow escape from death if you go there. It is too dangerous there. It cannot be compared with Yanting County."

"I know." Doctor Yan sighed. When he received the letter from his friend, he didn't believe it either.

Even though he didn't do anything for Jishitang, he worked hard for Jishitang every day. There was hard work without credit.

Who knew that it would be because of this little Xiaoshi Pill?

It was because of this Xiaoshi Pill that he saw many things clearly that he had never thought about before. This Shen family is no longer worthy of his continued service.

"Doctor Yan." Xu Yi called him.

Doctor Yan waved his hand: "Instead of worrying about me, you should think about yourself."

Xu Yi said: "My matter is not important. The Shen family can make imitations. It is his ability. It will not prevent me from continuing to sell Chen's digestion products." Pills. And the Shen Jishitang family is not the only one in the county,

so there is nothing he can do to stop me. "He is unwilling to sell the prescription to the Shen family because he feels that the prescription does not belong to him alone.

So, whether the Shen family can really do it or not is not important. What is important is the people who benefit from it. Without Ji Shi Tang as a way to sell Xiaoshi Pills for him, he can continue to sell at his own stall.

However, this matter involves Dr. Yan...

Dr. Yan nodded in agreement, saying that he was indeed young and promising.

"I wish I had your courage back then."

He said with emotion, and facing Xu Yi who wanted to continue to persuade him, he said: "Actually, the reason why I agreed to go to Maozhou was not because of the Shen family, but because of the people there. You need me."

He told Xu Yi that the Jishitang branch in Maozhou has not had a doctor for five years. It only relies on two clerks and a shopkeeper who is responsible for handling Fucheng affairs. With these three people, it can barely operate. This branch.

In fact, it is wrong to say that there are no doctors. There are still doctors in Jinmao County, but there are too few. Only one doctor is not enough.

When Dr. Yan received the letter, he stayed up for two whole nights. He thought a lot during these two nights, but he still couldn't let go of the obsession in his heart.

When he was studying medicine when he was young, he wanted to hang a pot to help the world and leave a name to the world.

It's not too late now that it's been a few decades.

"I'm an old man. If I don't go out and take a look, I'm afraid I won't have a chance in the future." Dr. Yan smiled at Xu Yi.

The sadness on his body slowly dissipated with his smile.

After talking to Xu Yi about his true feelings, Dr. Yan felt relaxed and had a wonderful feeling of meeting a "confidant".

Xu Yi stood up and bowed in admiration: "Doctor Yan is so righteous, but I am vulgar and shallow."

"No, no, no, you have a kind heart." Doctor Yan shook his head and said, "Now, you can rest assured "Excuse me."

Xu Yi knew that he couldn't persuade Doctor Yan, so he didn't say anything disappointing.

He changed the subject and asked, "Doctor Yan, when will you set off?"

Doctor Yan said, "Three days from now, at Chenshi."

He didn't have to come to the hospital to sit in the hospital the next day, and he could make travel arrangements in the remaining two days. salute.

It is not easy to travel far away. You have to hire a donkey cart from the Ya people, and then exchange the money you have saved over the years into half silver and half handcun for storage. There is also no shortage of dry food to eat. Yanting County is far away from Jinmao County in Maozhou, more than 400 miles away. I don’t know how many days and nights I have to stay in the wild. If I don’t have enough food, I will be in trouble.

There are mountains and forests along the way, which makes it very difficult to travel. If you want to get there, you must prepare all the medicines you need.

This time, only the coachman went with Dr. Yan.

Xu Yi suggested that he should hire a bodyguard to accompany him.

Doctor Yan smiled: "I'm just a doctor, there's no need to hire a guard to protect me."

One more guard means more rations, which is a burden to him.

The two talked about some preparations before going out. Xu Yi benefited a lot from listening to his arrangements. It turns out that it is not easy for people nowadays to travel far away.

In the Song Dynasty, you did not need to go to the government to issue a road guide when traveling, and civilians were allowed to move freely.

However, transportation is very important. Just hiring a donkey cart will only cost you a lot more every day. There are also compasses and maps, which must be prepared in advance. Inconvenient transportation is also a big problem. If you encounter something that the donkey cart cannot pass, you have to take a long way around.

Later in the conversation, Xu Yi was thinking about whether to hold a practice banquet for Dr. Yan.

He was alone, with no wife or children, and his friends were still in the capital and could not come to see him off. There were very few people in the county who could chat with him so freely.

When Dr. Yan heard that Xu Yi wanted to practice it for him, Doctor Yan was filled with emotions and couldn't say no.

So Xu Yi made an appointment with him to have a farewell dinner at the restaurant owned by Tao Qinghao's family at noon tomorrow.