After finishing their meal, the family of three arrived at the abandoned hunter’s cabin.
“Back when Fourth Brother and I were roaming around the forest, we discovered that Wu Shifu was not only highly skilled in martial arts and never missed with his arrows, but he also knew how to set many kinds of traps. Fourth Brother dragged me along to become his disciples.”
“I was older and already had a family, so I didn’t want to spend too much time practicing martial arts. I chose to learn archery and trap-setting. Later, when we heard there was a war outside, Wu Shifu said he was going to kill the corrupt officials of the previous dynasty and left for the battlefield just like that. Fourth Brother secretly followed him a few days later…”
Yu Sanlang stood in front of the abandoned cabin, telling his wife and daughter stories from those days. Before Fourth Brother left, he had asked if Yu Sanlang wanted to come along, but he had a wife and child. What if something happened to him? How would his wife and child survive? Moreover, Yu Sanlang had to admit that compared to Fourth Brother, he was more afraid of death.
Yu Hongdou watched as her mother gazed at her father with admiration in her eyes. She felt like she had eaten a bit too much of the pheasant earlier. To avoid the discomfort of seeing them like that, she turned around and tapped the check-in icon.
[Sign-in Location: Abandoned Hunter Cabin of Wu Chenggong. Consume 3 points to sign in?]
[Sign-in Successful: Acquired Archery Skill.]
It really was a skill! But why didn’t it turn gray? Yu Hongdou checked the check-in icon again and noticed it hadn’t turned gray like the previous Embroidery Skill. Instead, it had changed to a light yellow color, and the location icon and text had also updated accordingly.
[Sign-in Location: Abandoned Hunter Cabin of Wu Chenggong 1/3 (Cooling Down)]
Recalling what her father had just said—that Wu Shifu was highly skilled, never missed with his arrows, and knew how to set many kinds of traps—Yu Hongdou guessed that the “1/3” represented three skills.
Wow, Yu Hongdou couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly.
System, you really know how to milk us for points.
Even if she didn’t know whether the remaining two skills would also cost 3 points, it was clear that this was one location and one person, yet the system was forcing her to spend sign-in points three times. This wasn’t a Sign-in System—it was a scammer’s system!
Regardless, the main goal of today’s trip had been accomplished. Who knew how long it would be before they came back here again? So, Yu Hongdou put aside thoughts of the follow-up for now and happily followed her parents to dig up orchids.
The family of three had a great time. Since Yu Hongdou still wanted to check out other sign-in locations in the mountains, she begged Yu Sanlang to take the other side of the cliff on their way down.
Yu Sanlang also thought it would be better to delay a little longer. Once it got dark, everyone would go back to sleep. As for tomorrow, they could deal with it then.
With a freshly bloomed Orychophragmus violaceus tucked into her hair and riding on her father’s shoulders, Yu Hongdou gazed into the distance and automatically set the lush green mountains and clear waters before her to an exciting soundtrack in her mind: “Anticipating a stroke of luck and an impact, what a marvelous opportunity.” Scaling the mountain peaks and layers of white clouds ahead, the green light is over ‘there’…”
Wildflower patches, locust groves, wild jujube trees, Zhenzi bushes… Anything that could yield something was glowing green, most requiring 1 sign-in point.
Yu Hongdou skimmed over them casually, roughly guessing what these locations would offer, so she didn’t feel tempted to spend her points.
However, when they passed by the village chief’s house, Yu Hongdou took a few extra glances. She couldn’t stop thinking about [Zhi Xiang Cult’s Jialan Incense]. She wondered if the clues her father and the others had found in the mountains were related to this Zhi Xiang Cult.
However, the young and weak Yu Hongdou could no longer hold on. When she saw the gate of the Yu Family, her eyelids grew heavy, and she sank directly into a deep slumber.
In the dead of night, when even the mud daubers in the mountains had fallen asleep, a small figure suddenly sat up on the northern heated brick bed—none other than Yu Hongdou, awakened by the urge to relieve herself.
Rubbing her eyes, she drowsily climbed down from the bed to attend to her needs. Returning to the room, she picked up the small earthen jar by her pillow and gulped down half a jar of water before burrowing back under the covers, suddenly wide awake.
Pricking up her ears, she listened to the breathing of her parents on the opposite bed, relieved that she hadn’t disturbed them.
Yu Hongdou rolled over, hesitating between forcing herself back to sleep or entering the teaching mode to grind some embroidery experience, when she suddenly remembered she had learned a new skill that day.
Clicking on the 【Archery】 skill to enter teaching mode, after the familiar fade to black and back to light, the scene shifted to the wilderness.
Yu Hongdou gazed with interest at the somewhat familiar woods ahead, wondering if the scenery might be a location near the village.
“You’ve arrived, young lady. I am your Archery Master, Wu Chenggong, an obscure mountain hunter. My knowledge is varied, but at most, I can help you raise your archery skill to level 3,” a weathered man in a fur robe with a full beard appeared before Yu Hongdou, cutting straight to the point without unnecessary words.
So this was Wu Chenggong, the master of her father and fourth uncle? Yu Hongdou studied the man for a moment, thinking he resembled Huang Rihua’s portrayal of Qiao Feng in the Hong Kong version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
It was a pity that this Wu Shifu had already passed away. She made a mental note to ask her father if he knew where Wu Shifu was buried, so she could pay her respects someday.
Without any small talk, Wu Chenggong got straight to the point: “Archery, as the name implies, is the skill of shooting. It includes: Flying Stone, Slingshot, Crossbow, Arrow… Each type of archery corresponds to different weapons. Let’s start with the simplest one.Wu Shifu’s explanation was thorough, even including the allusion of the Flying Stone technique, as well as detailed theories on the principles and materials for crafting the tools corresponding to archery.
Considering that the Flying Stone technique was too ancient and had little practical use in daily life, and given that Yu Hongdou was too young to draw a bow, it was decided that she would start by learning slingshot shooting.
Mastering shooting requires not only good eyesight and arm strength but also diligent practice. However, it consumed several times more energy than embroidery, so after a short while, Yu Hongdou felt exhausted.
Exiting the teaching mode, she slept until the sun was high in the sky. By then, her father had already been summoned to the village chief’s house to discuss medicinal herb cultivation.
After a late breakfast, with nothing else to do, Yu Hongdou took a piece of Songjiang Cloth specially allotted by her mother and sat by the doorway, intending to embroider a complete pattern to showcase her talent and see if she could earn a little money with her level 2 embroidery skills.
Spring plowing was about to begin. The men were either at the village chief’s house for meetings or watching the excitement, or out in the fields turning the soil. The women stayed home selecting seeds and preparing fertilizer.
Zhang Shi, the wife of Yu Dalang, was in the yard sifting through seeds to remove the bad ones. Seeing the troublemaking girl who had thrown the household into chaos and brought shame upon the family wearing a pair of brand-new hair ornaments, she couldn’t help but feel envious and bitter: “The hair accessory on Hongdou’s head is quite pretty. Did your father buy it for you?”
Having encountered countless white lotuses and green teas in her life, Yu Hongdou, well-versed in the art of tea, looked up at her sharp-faced aunt with an innocent smile and nodded brightly. “Yes, do they look nice, Auntie?”
Zhang Shi choked back her anger. This wretched child was truly infuriating. She glanced around—the second branch had gone to transport manure, the third branch was picking vegetables in the backyard, and none of the children were home either. Malice rose in her heart. Putting down the seeds in her hand, she moved to snatch the hair accessories from her rival.
Unexpectedly, someone rushed in from outside, startling Zhang Shi. Before she could react and curse, the newcomer grabbed her arm urgently. “It’s terrible! Mother—Liu Shi, Liu Shi, she…”
Only then did Zhang Shi recognize her eldest son. Seeing his anxious expression and halting speech, her own irritation flared. She pressed him urgently, “What about Liu Shi? Spit it out!”
Even Yu Hongdou stood up, staring at her elder cousin. Why had she never noticed before how painfully slow her cousin was with words?
Hurry up and finish! What happened to Liu Shi? Did she give birth? Is it a difficult labor? She was practically dying of suspense!