Chapter 73 Archery
Nowadays, even poachers rarely use eagle feather arrows, and the best ones are only used to hunt geese and swans.
Goose feathers are not bad, at least they are better than chicken feathers.
Take the large root of goose feathers at the tail, split it in two halves vertically, and then split it again horizontally in the middle.
A goose feather was divided into four equal parts.
Mu Xi: "Help me get the resin."
Zhao Yeqing did as he was told, turned around, opened his backpack, took out the resin and handed it to him.
Thinking that he might need a torch, he brought out the pine resin he had collected from the pine tree. Fortunately, after Mu Xi came back, he didn't see the wild boar coming again, so he didn't light a fire very often, and there was still a lot left.
Mu Xi smeared rosin on the arrow tail, took a small section of goose feather and removed a little of the fluff on it to expose the hair stem, and stuck it on the arrow tail dipped in resin. He then tied the exposed hair stem with a thin rope to fix the feather on it.
After the feathers are tied, the edges need to be shaped with fire to prevent the feathers from spreading and changing direction during flight.
A small groove needs to be made at the tail end of the arrow to hold the bowstring.
I made five more by following the same method.
By the time Mu Xi finished, Zhao Yeqing had roasted both corns. She had already eaten one, and when she saw Mu Xi was done, she handed him the other one.
Before they reached the bottom of the cliff, she was worried about Huhu and Xuebing going out to find food on their own, so she took out some dried meat from her backpack and fed them.
The two were happily chewing on the dried meat. She came over to look at the arrow, feeling a little curious, "This feather is so troublesome to make, can't it be made without it?"
Mu Xi picked up a finished arrow and explained, "Yes, and the arrow without feathers can still shoot very fast. The disadvantage is that it makes the arrow very unstable. The feather at the end of the arrow can keep it balanced and not deviate from the direction. Otherwise, the arrow will easily go sideways when shooting from a distance."
Zhao Yeqing nodded in sudden realization. She had never touched a bow and arrow before, and she was a little itchy. "Can I try it?"
Mu Xi nodded, handed her the bow and arrow, and stood behind her to help her adjust her posture and movements.
"Open your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the bow with your left hand and pull the string with your right hand. Don't pinch the tail of the arrow with your fingers, as this requires too much strength and you won't be able to pull the string if you don't have enough strength. Pull the string with your middle and ring fingers, and hold the arrow between your index and ring fingers, with the tip of the arrow resting on the base of your left hand..."
Zhao Yeqing adjusted her posture as Mu Xi said, and Mu Xi reached out to help her correct any parts that were not standard.
Mu Xi took a slightly rotten persimmon and placed it on a big rock ten meters away.
She raised the bow and arrow and aimed at the persimmon. It was her first time and she had no experience, so no matter how she aimed it seemed a little off. She took a deep breath and shot the arrow!
Passing by persimmons.
The arrow shot straight into the ground.
Zhao Yeqing walked over, picked it up, and continued trying.
The arrows she shot were either off target or too far or too close. It was not until Mu Xi had almost finished eating the corn in her hand that the arrow she shot grazed the skin of a persimmon for the first time.
It was the first time for Huhu and Xuebing to see archery. They were curious and ran after the arrows, as if they were trying to compete with them to see who was faster.
Mu Xi finished the last bite of corn and threw the remaining corn cob into the fire. He clapped his hands, walked over, took the bow and arrow from her hand, and glanced at her meaningfully.
Without saying a word, he raised the bow in his hand and shot an arrow forward. The arrow went straight into the middle of the persimmon.
Although he didn't say anything, Zhao Yeqing understood from his arrow that the look in his eyes just now was full of sarcasm.
She still didn't believe it.
Zhao Yeqing pulled the arrow out of the persimmon, took the bow from Mu Xi's hand, got ready, and prepared to try again.
Suddenly she felt a heat source approaching from behind, and she straightened her back instantly, her body a little stiff.
Mu Xi's hand reached out from behind and held her arm holding the bow and arrow. She swallowed her saliva, but before she could get used to the warmth of his palm, a hot breath suddenly sprayed behind her ear...
"Focus, don't be distracted."
The voice is hoarse, and because of the height, he needs to bend down, which squeezes his throat, and his words are inevitably accompanied by a slight wheeze...
Zhao Yeqing didn't know how she shot the arrow in her hand. When she came to her senses, the arrow had hit the center of the persimmon.
The people behind him had already distanced themselves from him. Zhao Yeqing turned around and threw the bow and arrow to Mu Xi, pretending to be calm.
"Nothing more."
She walked a few steps back to sit by the fire, trying hard to ignore the heat of the fire, just wanting to use it to cover up the slight blush on her face.
Mu Xi took out a sleeping bag from his backpack and spread it flat on the ground. In this weather, there was no need to open the sleeping bag and get in, just spread it on the ground and lie on it.
There was only one sleeping bag, and the two men discussed it and decided that one of them would sleep for half the night, and someone had to keep watch when sleeping in the woods at night.
Zhao Yeqing guarded the first half of the night, and Mu Xi guarded the second half.
The second half of the night in the mountains is much more dangerous than the first half. Not all animals have good night vision, and many animals will wait until the moon rises overhead before coming out to look for food in the moonlight.
Mu Xi woke up at one o'clock in the morning and asked Zhao Yeqing to go to sleep. He guarded the cave entrance with a gun and was alert to the depths of the cave from time to time.
Fortunately, nothing happened on the first night and we spent it safely.
Zhao Yeqing took out a pack of wet wipes and a bottle of mouthwash from his backpack. They each took a bottle cap of mouthwash and wiped their faces with wet wipes. After a simple wash, they put out the fire, packed up and prepared to set off.
The further down the cliff you go, the denser the vegetation becomes.
Fortunately, she finally left the territory of thorns. Her clothes were torn in several places, and her hands were inevitably cut.
She was still like this as she was clearing the remaining thorns in the back, and Mu Xi, who was leading the way in the front, had no idea how many wounds on his hands he had.
The two men braved the scorching midday sun and finally reached the bottom of the cliff in the middle of the afternoon.
Mu Xi glanced at his watch. "We are heading in the right direction. If we keep going west, we will reach the village if we don't encounter any more forks in the rift."
Starting at seven o'clock in the evening, it will gradually get dark. If they don't find another cave, they will have to set aside time to build a temporary shelter.
According to the worst-case scenario, they could only walk for another two hours. If they didn't find the cave before five o'clock, they would have to prepare to spend the night nearby.
The two cubs are now agile. After reaching the bottom of the cliff, they walked in front to clear the way. In a flash, they jumped onto the tree in front and looked forward. Only when they saw that there was no danger ahead did they come down and continue walking forward.
Zhao Yeqing was very pleased to see this, and felt a bit like his daughter growing up.
The scenery at the bottom of the cliff is very different. The vegetation is blocked by the mountain for half a day's sunlight. Unlike the forest near my home in the south where most of the vegetation has withered, the plants here are almost the same as before the high temperature.
The lush greenery relieves some of the heat from the area, making you feel refreshed.
Both of them observed the growth direction of the plants and the condition of the soil under their feet. This is a skill learned by people who grew up in the mountains - finding water sources.
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