Early the next morning, when Qin Ming woke up, he found that his wife was already gone.
After getting dressed and stepping outside, he saw a petite figure walking toward the house along the path, carrying a sack of grain.
“Fan Niang, what’s this?”
Qin Ming hurried over, taking the sack from her hands as he spoke with concern.
“I exchanged it for half a sack of coarse rice…”
“With your mother’s keepsake?”
“Mhm.”
There were still faint traces of tears on Fan Niang’s rosy cheeks.
“Don’t worry. I’ll redeem it as soon as possible.”
Seeing her like this made Qin Ming’s heart ache.
“It’s alright. Husband, your body is still weak. You should go back and rest. I’ll start preparing breakfast.”
As she spoke, Fan Niang rolled up her sleeves and headed toward the kitchen.
Qin Ming returned to the house.
The original owner of this body had been a hunter. If he wanted to earn money, hunting was naturally his best option.
The county where Qin Ming lived was surrounded by what locals called the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a vast and rugged mountain range filled with wild animals.
Yet very few people dared to venture deep into the mountains to hunt.
The reason was simple.
The forests were home not only to fierce beasts such as tigers and black bears, but also countless venomous snakes, insects, and poisonous creatures. A single bite could be fatal if treatment wasn’t obtained in time.
There were even local legends claiming that malevolent spirits roamed the woods. At night, eerie cries resembling human sobbing could sometimes be heard from deep within the forest, enough to chill anyone to the bone.
Because of this, only seasoned hunters dared to enter the deeper regions of the mountains.
Ordinary villagers stayed far away.
Qin Ming climbed onto the kang and retrieved a longbow hanging from the beam above.
Although his sudden death had allowed looters to strip the house bare, no one had dared touch this bow.
Under the laws of Great Zhou, all hunters had to be officially registered.
Bows and crossbows were considered restricted weapons. Only registered hunters were legally allowed to own and use them. For ordinary citizens, possession alone was a crime.
The bow in Qin Ming’s family had been passed down from his father.
Most hunters in ancient times used simple hunting bows.
These bows had curved limbs and relatively weak draw strength, making them suitable for close-range shooting.
However, the bow inherited by Qin Ming was a powerful horn bow.
Horn bows were crafted from water buffalo horn, cattle sinew, flexible bamboo, birch wood, thornwood, and other carefully selected materials.
The buffalo horn was usually collected in autumn and aged for a year before being cut into strips. The sinew ideally came from a cow’s back tendon, while the bamboo used for the bow core had to be dried for over a year.
Within the armies of Great Zhou, only soldiers renowned for their strength and archery skills were issued such bows.
Qin Ming’s father had once served in the military.
During a battle, he had shot and killed an enemy centurion, earning a significant military merit.
Although most of the reward money had been embezzled by his superiors, he was allowed to keep this horn bow and bring it home after the war.
The bow was rated at two shi.
An ordinary person couldn’t even draw it.
Neither Qin Ming’s father nor the original Qin Ming had ever managed to pull it to full draw.
Even at half draw, it was more than sufficient for hunting.
At a hundred paces, it could easily kill rabbits and pheasants.
Within ten paces, it could even penetrate the thick hide of a black bear.
Even so, Qin Ming had never dared hunt a black bear alone.
Back then, his father had once participated in an official bear-hunting expedition organized by local authorities.
It had been a coordinated operation involving numerous hunters and soldiers. Some fought with spears and blades while others provided ranged support, forming a battle formation around the beast.
Yet despite all that preparation, two men died and three more were severely injured.
Qin Ming’s father had managed to shoot through the bear’s left eye at close range.
Nevertheless, he was struck by the bear’s paw.
After being carried home, he lingered for three days and two nights before succumbing to his injuries.
Now, Qin Ming picked up the horn bow and a single arrow before stepping outside.
The muscle memory of the original owner still remained within this body.
He nocked the arrow and drew the bow in one smooth motion.
Aiming at a small tree twenty meters away, he released the string.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew straight and struck the trunk without the slightest deviation.
A surge of excitement immediately filled Qin Ming’s heart.
But what happened next shocked him even more.
He nocked another arrow.
This time, he exerted only a little force.
To his astonishment, the two-stone horn bow was instantly drawn to its full limit.
In ancient times, anyone capable of drawing a one-stone bow was already considered an elite warrior.
Most military bows were around seven dou in draw weight, and even those were difficult for ordinary men to use.
A person capable of fully drawing a two-stone bow was exceptionally rare and would be famous throughout the army.
At that moment, Qin Ming felt every drop of blood in his body boiling.
His eyes sharpened dramatically.
He could even make out tiny aphids crawling on leaves dozens of meters away.
Whoosh!
The second arrow slammed into the tree trunk.
This time, half the arrow disappeared into the wood.
This was true hundred-pace precision.
In his previous life, Qin Ming had been a martial arts instructor.
He could handle swords, spears, staffs, axes, hooks, and various traditional weapons, but most of it was performance training rather than battlefield skill.
As for archery, he had only practiced with modern compound bows.
Even then, he had never possessed such power or accuracy.
More importantly, none of the original Qin Ming’s memories suggested he had ever been capable of feats like this.
Could this be the benefit of transmigration?
“Husband, your injuries haven’t fully healed. Be careful not to damage your body!”
Seeing Qin Ming handling the bow, Fan Niang immediately hurried over in concern.
“My injuries are already gone…”
Just as Qin Ming was about to reassure her, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from the distance.
A tall military officer wearing padded armor rode toward them, accompanied by several yamen runners carrying willow-leaf sabers at their waists.
“Are you the hunter Qin Ming?”
The officer glanced at a register in his hand before looking up.
“I am.”
“By order of the imperial court, due to frequent warfare along the borders, all men between the ages of seventeen and fifty must prepare for military service. Upon receiving notice, you are required to report to the military office at the county yamen within five days. Those who refuse conscription shall be exiled a thousand li, sentenced to lifelong penal labor, and their families implicated and reduced to slave status. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
Qin Ming immediately nodded.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was constantly troubled by warfare.
To the north, the Jin Kingdom frequently harassed the borders with armies numbering over a hundred thousand men.
To the south, barbarian tribes launched repeated incursions.
Situated in the Central Plains, Great Zhou often found itself fighting enemies on multiple fronts.
“Military Sir, my husband is still recovering from his injuries. Could he stay home and recuperate for a few more days before reporting?”
Fan Niang suddenly stepped forward.
Yesterday they had lost nearly everything to taxes.
Today they were being forced to send her husband to war.
For the newlywed couple, it was almost unbearable.
“How dare you question military orders!”
The officer’s expression darkened.
“Please calm your anger, Sir. I will report to the military office within five days.”
Qin Ming quickly moved in front of his wife.
“At least you’re sensible.”
The officer snorted.
“If your injuries are truly serious, there is another option. A contribution to military funds can exempt you from service for one year.”
“How much is required?”
Both Qin Ming and Fan Niang brightened immediately.
“One hundred taels of silver, or three hundred shi of millet.”
“That much…”
Fan Niang’s face instantly turned pale.
Great Zhou allowed citizens to offset military service through financial contributions.
As long as one had enough money, conscription could be temporarily avoided.
But for commoners like Qin Ming and Fan Niang, ten taels of silver was enough to support a household for an entire year.
One hundred taels was an unimaginable fortune.
“If you fail to provide the contribution within five days, report to the military office as ordered. Anyone who misses the deadline will be severely punished.”
With that, the officer turned his horse and rode away.
“Husband…”
Tears had already gathered in Fan Niang’s eyes.
The border battlefields were unimaginably dangerous.
The soldiers of Jin were fierce and battle-hardened.
Anyone sent there faced almost certain death.
If her husband died in battle, Fan Niang would have little chance of surviving alone in these troubled times.
Although remarriage was possible, it was something she could never accept.
Raised on strict ideals of loyalty and chastity, she would rather die than remarry.
For her, preserving her honor would leave only one path.
“Don’t be afraid. Prepare some travel rations for me. I’ll make a trip into the mountains right now. If fortune favors us, we might be able to gather enough money for the exemption.”
After speaking, Qin Ming entered the house, retrieved several arrows, and sat on a bluestone slab outside.
There, he carefully sharpened each arrowhead.
Seeing his determination, Fan Niang immediately began preparing food for his journey.
Both of them understood the dangers of mountain hunting.
But they had no choice.
If they wanted to avoid conscription, they could only gamble their lives in the mountains.
A large prey animal could be worth a considerable amount of money.
After some time, Qin Ming finished his preparations.
Carrying his machete, bow, arrows, and the dried provisions Fan Niang had packed for him, he prepared to leave.
“Husband, please be careful. Come back early. It doesn’t matter if you fail to catch anything. As long as you return safely, that’s enough…”
Fan Niang bit her lip as she watched him go.
They had only been married for a single day, yet her husband was already heading into the mountains.
For a young girl like her, it was a painful ordeal.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be back before sunset.”
With that promise, Qin Ming turned and headed toward the forest.