Deep within the mountains, few people ever ventured.
The area was filled with dangerous beasts, and ordinary people rarely dared to enter. As a result, there was far more game here than in other places.
A pheasant was pecking around in search of food.
It pecked here and there with its beak, occasionally raising its head to scan the surroundings with great caution.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a bamboo arrow shot out from somewhere.
Moving at incredible speed, it instantly struck the pheasant and pierced straight through its body.
“Husband is amazing! He hit another one!”
Song Yufei ran out from the woods, picked up the pheasant, and placed it into the bamboo basket, her face filled with excitement.
“Husband’s archery skills truly qualify him as a master marksman.”
Song Yuwei was equally thrilled.
They had a cousin serving in the military who had once told them about archers.
In the army, archers were indispensable.
Outstanding archers enjoyed high status and generous.
Among them, the highest honor was earning the title of Master Marksman.
However, achieving that title was extremely difficult and required exceptional skill.
Judging from Qiu Huang’s hunting performance, every arrow he fired hit its target perfectly.
He had not missed a single shot.
Wasn’t that exactly what their cousin described as a master marksman?
“If he’s really this good at hunting, why was he living in such poverty before?”
Unlike Song Yuwei and Song Yufei, Wanyan Meiling wasn’t blindly impressed.
Looking at Qiu Huang’s strong physique, she felt deeply puzzled.
Setting aside his incredible strength, his archery alone was extraordinary.
A hunter with skills like his would have needed years of practice.
As for herself, her father had begun teaching her archery and hunting when she was only five years old.
She had trained for more than ten years and considered herself quite skilled.
If the military accepted female soldiers, she would have wanted to enlist as an archer.
Yet compared to Qiu Huang, her skills weren’t even worth mentioning.
With abilities like his, it made no sense that he had been so poor that there wasn’t even a grain of rice in his house.
Someone with this level of talent should have become wealthy long ago.
Sigh.
Qiu Huang shook the bow in his hand.
“This bow is almost useless now.”
His strength was simply too great.
Possessing the power of ten adults, even a slight pull put tremendous strain on a bamboo bow.
Before this, he had already ruined three bows.
At most, this one would survive another shot or two before breaking as well.
“Forget it. I’ll make do for now. Once I get home, I’ll find proper materials and build a real bow and arrows.”
Bamboo bows and bamboo arrows could no longer satisfy his needs.
He wanted weapons with greater power and stronger killing capability.
“Husband, I never imagined we’d catch so much game on our very first hunting trip.”
Song Yufei walked over carrying the basket, her face full of excitement.
This trip had yielded more than ten pheasants and rabbits alone.
In addition, they had caught various other animals.
Their harvest was abundant.
It was enough food to feed the entire family for several days.
Wanyan Meiling said,
“Husband, quite a bit of time has passed, and we’ve already caught plenty of prey. I think we should head back now.”
“This is deep mountain territory. There are all kinds of dangerous beasts here. Every extra minute we stay increases the risk.”
She couldn’t help thinking about her father.
He had entered these mountains to hunt and never returned.
His death had plunged their family into hardship.
Now that she finally had a new home and a husband, she didn’t want another tragedy to destroy everything they had just begun to build.
Qiu Huang looked up at the sky.
Judging by the sun’s position, it was probably around two or three in the afternoon.
It was indeed time to return.
The journey home would take a while, and after returning they would still need to process all the game they had caught.
That would require plenty of time as well.
“Alright. Let’s head back.”
The four of them stopped moving deeper into the mountains and began their journey home.
The forest was filled not only with birdsong and fragrant vegetation, but also with clear streams that flowed gently through the woods.
“Husband, I’m thirsty. I really want some water.”
Song Yuwei suddenly spoke.
Since entering the forest, they had already finished all the water they brought with them.
Her throat felt dry and parched.
“I’m thirsty too.”
Song Yufei nodded in agreement.
Qiu Huang looked at them and didn’t object.
“If I remember correctly, there should be a stream over there. Let’s go drink some water.”
“Let’s go.”
Before long, the four of them found a small stream.
The water was crystal clear, with very few impurities. Qiu Huang tasted it first and found it cool and refreshing.
“It should be fine. You can drink it.”
If he had the proper tools, he would have preferred to boil the water first to kill any bacteria before drinking it.
The three women were already extremely thirsty.
The moment they heard him say it was safe, they could no longer hold back and eagerly began drinking.
After taking a few sips, Qiu Huang looked around.
“I wonder if there are any fish in this stream. If we could bring some fish back, that would be pretty nice too.”
He immediately put the idea into action.
His eyes scanned the water, searching for fish.
“Husband, where are you going?”
Wanyan Meiling asked curiously.
“I’m checking to see if there are any fish in the stream.”
Fish?
Wanyan Meiling instantly understood his intention.
He wanted to catch fish to bring home and eat.
“Husband, let me help you.”
With that, she prepared to join him in catching fish.
Splash!
Just then, a large spray of water suddenly flew toward her.
Caught completely off guard, she was drenched from head to toe.
Wanyan Meiling turned around and immediately became annoyed.
She discovered that Song Yuwei and Song Yufei had started splashing water and playing in the stream.
“If you’re going to play in the water, then play. Why are you splashing me?”
Wanyan Meiling put her hands on her hips, clearly displeased with the two sisters.
“Meiling, come on! Join us!”
The sisters weren’t afraid at all.
They scooped up more water and splashed it at her again.
“Fine! Who’s afraid of you?”
Wanyan Meiling immediately joined the battle, scooping up water and throwing it back at them.
“Hehe!”
Just like that, a full-scale water fight broke out between the three women.
“This…”
Qiu Huang, who was busy searching for fish nearby, heard the commotion and looked over.
He couldn’t help feeling a little speechless.
They were already married, yet they were still so playful.
Still, he didn’t interfere.
Let them have some fun. It wasn’t a big deal.
Ignoring them, Qiu Huang continued walking along the stream and searching for fish.
“There’s one here.”
Not long afterward, he spotted a crucian carp.
It wasn’t small either—about three fingers wide.
There was no way he was going to let such a good catch escape.