Chapter 12: The Vigor of Literature and Martial Arts Competing with the World

The sun rose, its red glow as brilliant as brocade. The autumn wind was bleak, and the yellow leaves covered the mountains like a carpet.

In the early autumn morning of Xiaolongwan, the rich red and yellow hues intertwined, the sky and mountains like a painting. The Jieshui River outside the village flowed continuously, the sound of the water adding a chill.

On a vacant plot of land by the Jieshui River, a hum of the bowstring was heard. An arrow shot out, hitting the center of a straw target twenty paces away. On the one-foot-wide circular target, six more arrows were already embedded, all clustering around the center without much deviation.

After a round of shooting, every arrow hit the mark, and a smile appeared on Han Gang's focused face. He lowered his hands holding the bow and took several deep breaths. Han Yunniang, standing beside him, quickly ran over, holding a light green handkerchief. She tiptoed and raised her hand to wipe the sweat from Han Gang's forehead.

The sleeves of her robe were loose, and when she raised her hand, they slipped to her elbows, revealing her smooth, white wrist. A faint, warm fragrance wafted from her sleeves. She was only as tall as Han Gang's chest, a head shorter, and had to press her whole body against him to wipe the sweat from his head. Through the thin layers of clothing, Han Gang felt the soft, warm body against his chest, and he couldn't help but feel a bit heated, with a mischievous thought in his mind. He wrapped his arms around her, and Han Yunniang let out a cute cry of surprise, finding herself in his embrace.

"Brother San, don't..."

Han Yunniang was blushing, her arms weakly pushing against him. Her soft, delicate body writhed in his arms, and Han Gang's heart was set ablaze. Just as he was about to take further action, a distant sound of people approached. The little girl's struggling suddenly became more intense. Being outside, Han Gang didn't dare to force himself, so he loosened his grip, and Han Yunniang quickly jumped to the side, pouting and turning her head away, refusing to come back.

The little girl was fuming, her face as red as the morning sun, her ears burning. Han Gang chuckled softly, then lifted his long bow again, not daring to tease her further.

The long bow Han Gang was using now was not the hard bow given to him by his elder brother, which could draw a stone and three dou. Instead, it was a seven-dou hunting bow that his father, Han Qianliu, had kept from the past. Due to poor storage over time, the bow's strength had diminished to about four or five dou. With his current strength, he could easily draw it.

For the past few days, Han Gang had been practicing archery every morning. It wasn't just to mimic his predecessor's actions to avoid exposing his identity, but also to recover his health and strengthen his body.

In this era, there were no antibiotics or modern medical care, and even a minor illness could be fatal. After his rebirth, Han Gang valued his life even more. Having been given a second chance, he was determined to strengthen his body. While he couldn't become invincible, he at least wanted to live a few more years.

He walked forward to retrieve the arrows from the target and returned to his shooting position. The bowstring vibrated rhythmically, and the arrows flew accurately to the target. The practice of these past days had not been in vain; his accuracy had greatly improved. The muscle memory was slowly returning, and both his shooting posture and the way he drew the string had become much better than before.

By mid-morning, Han Gang was drenched in sweat. The exercise he had started after getting up and washing up was almost over. He shot the last arrow with great force, leaving a deep indentation in the target. He and the little girl then tidied up the bow and arrows and walked along the riverbank back home.

Looking out from the Jieshui River, the city of Qin Prefecture appeared insignificant against the backdrop of the northern mountains, but in reality, the walls of Qin Prefecture were the most formidable in the northwest border region. Since arriving in this era, Han Gang had not yet visited the city, but he knew more about Qin Prefecture than his parents, who went to the city every day.

Qin Prefecture belonged to the Qin-Feng Road, named after Qin Prefecture and Feng Prefecture. Han Gang's knowledge of geography from his previous life was quite good, and he had traveled extensively, knowing the important cities across the country. However, he was still unfamiliar with the geographical terms of the Song Dynasty. Qin Prefecture and Feng Prefecture were unfamiliar terms to him. He vaguely remembered that there was a Fengxiang County in Shaanxi, which shared the same name as Fengxiang Prefecture to the southeast of Qin Prefecture. However, Qin Prefecture was also known as Tianshui Commandery, and it had a Tianshui County, a name that was familiar to Han Gang, who had read many stories of the Three Kingdoms.

From Han Gang's geographical knowledge, the area around Qin Prefecture, including the small village of Xiaolongwan, was in the Jieshui River Valley. The mountains to the north, called Changshan, were part of the Liupan Mountains, while the mountains to the south were the Qinling Mountains, which had never changed their name over the centuries. Tianshui County, familiar to He Fang, was still south of the Qinling Mountains, at the source of the Jialing River. The geography had changed over a thousand years, as Tianshui in the 21st century was on the northern slope of the Qinling Mountains, possibly where the city of Qin Prefecture now stood. Although it was a guess, it was indeed the case.

Tianshui belonged to Gansu in later times, but Qin Prefecture was part of the Qin-Feng Road. Qin Prefecture was not only part of the Qin-Feng Road but also under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Road, whose capital was Jingzhao Prefecture. It might seem confusing, but in reality, the governor of Qin Prefecture was the Military Governor of the Qin-Feng Road, while the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture was the Transport Commissioner of the Shaanxi Road. Although both were called "roads," one was a Military Governor's Road, and the other was a Transport Commissioner's Road, similar to the difference between a military region and a province in modern terms.

The east-west oriented Hengshan and Tiandu Mountains were the boundary between the Song and Xia dynasties. The Shaanxi border region was divided by the north-south oriented ridges extending from the Hengshan and Tiandu Mountains. The divided regions, separated by mountain ranges, were difficult to support and command uniformly. To better combat the Tangut cavalry of the Western Xia, the Song court divided Shaanxi from east to west into the Fuyan, Jingyuan, Huanqing, and Qin-Feng Military Governor's Roads, each handling military affairs independently. However, the Shaanxi Transport Commissioner's Road, representing the local administrative region, had been proposed to be divided into two to facilitate the supervision of local affairs and the transportation of grain and supplies, but it had not yet changed.

When he returned home, Han Qianliu had already gone into the city for some business, and Han Aili had prepared a pot of hot water. Han Gang, drenched in sweat from his exercise, needed to wash with hot water to prevent wind evil from invading his body. After nearly a month of recuperation since his recovery, although his body had not fully recovered, he was no longer as emaciated as before.

At home, the little girl was no longer shy—mainly because she had gotten used to it. Without Han Gang having to do it himself, she took the initiative to help him wash with a hot towel. After drying him off, she even helped him change into dry clothes, serving him meticulously. However, because they were at home and he was mindful of his parents, he did not dare to make any moves.

After exercising, washing with hot water left Han Gang feeling refreshed. He leaned back in a chair by the desk, watching Han Yunniang busily moving around the room, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart. Han Gang had fallen in love with this decadent life. In a thousand years, even the most powerful officials in the country might find it hard to receive such devoted care from a lovely young girl.

Half a month was neither long nor short. Han Gang read books and practiced archery every day. After his rebirth, the knowledge that had become vague and forgotten was gradually recalled and reinforced, and he had a preliminary plan for what to do next.

Han Gang spread out his books, ready to start his studies for the day. At this moment, Han Aili entered with a bowl of mutton soup and a steamed bun. Han Qianliu had gone out early in the morning, and Han Aili, being alone, could not go to the mountains to gather mountain goods, so she stayed at home waiting for Han Qianliu to return.