Chapter 19

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The Fan family had been rooted in Huyang for over three hundred years, with vast wealth and influence. Although Fan Jian and his group all perished in Baocun, they left behind five fine horses. Zhang Xun, who had his own regular mount, paid no attention and went on his own. Bao Chu selected two strong and powerful horses to build a cart, gathered some weapons and tools to arm the villagers, and set off early to escort his mother.

The remaining three horses were all left for Qin Yu.

In addition to Qin Yu and Zhang Ren, Bao Chu specially assigned a villager skilled in planning and management to accompany the two. This villager was named Wen Zou. When Bao Chu and his mother fled south from Jingzhao, they had saved several people along the way, one of whom was Wen Zou. Later, Wen Zou and the others settled with Bao Chu at the foot of Wudang Mountain, gradually displaying significant management skills. Bao Chu, who was impatient with such trivial matters, eventually entrusted the daily affairs of the village to Wen Zou.

Wen Zou, grateful for Bao Chu's rescue, worked diligently and transformed a village with chaotic finances and severe debt into a well-organized community.

This time, heading south, Qin Yu planned to "borrow" a batch of military supplies prepared by three major families for Zhang Xian. Wen Zou was just the right person to handle such a task.

The three of them finished lunch, rested for a while, and then led the three fine horses southward.

The journey from Wudang to Jiangling was not short, and with frequent human disasters and icy conditions, and the three only having a basic knowledge of horseback riding, they did not dare to rush. Following Wen Zou's advice, they proceeded slowly along the main road, taking the opportunity to practice their riding skills.

Zhang Ren, on the other hand, was diligently practicing a new skill he enjoyed: archery!

Ever since Zhang Ren obtained the copper ring, he developed a great interest in horseback archery and began to practice day and night.

Clearly, he had a particular fondness for ranged weapons. He was already proficient with the crossbow, his speed and accuracy rivaling any expert in the martial world. This time, he threw himself into the practice of archery with such intensity that he neglected sleep and meals.

The difference between a bow and a crossbow is significant. To quickly familiarize himself with the horsebow, Zhang Ren took a shortcut. He found a longer and larger horsebow, with the string in front and the back of the bow behind, slung over his right shoulder. Then, with his left hand stabilizing the bow, his right hand would draw the arrow and shoot it from under his armpit.

Surprisingly, this unique technique was impossible for others to replicate.

Because Zhang Ren had exceptionally long arms, far exceeding the average person's, others couldn't even pull the string.

This shooting method was inspired by the crossbow, but instead of using the crossbow's arm, he used his own body.

The bow's power is much stronger than that of a crossbow, and the feathers on the arrow's tail support it for a high and long flight. Unlike the short and thick arrows of a hand crossbow, which tend to drop quickly.

Mastering archery, Zhang Ren became like a porcupine, his combat effectiveness more than doubled.

Qin Yu happily called Zhang Ren "Arrowman" because, in this state, he could easily complete the shooting process even while lying on his side, capable of continuous operation for twelve hours.

Zhang Ren, who had already been influenced by Qin Yu, knew the nickname was unflattering and immediately protested his second master brother's bad taste.

However, the protest was, of course, ineffective.

Three days later, around five or six in the afternoon, the group arrived at a quiet small town. There were only about forty to fifty households, and the town was called Shenmu Town.

Qin Yu's eyes tightened slightly. A few miles to the left of the town was the edge of a large forest, the Shennongjia.

Ten days ago, he had just passed through this area.

That cold mountain cave, the sharp sword light, how could it be just a memory?

To avoid being pursued by certain forces, he deliberately did not take the direct road to Xiangyang and then south to Jiangling, but had Wen Zou choose a longer route.

However, no matter which way they went, they could not avoid the Shennongjia.

At least this time, there was a town on the official road where they could stay.

Shenmu Town was not large, with only a simple small inn at the north end of the town, with about ten small rooms. It looked smaller than the row of houses Master Brother had built on Wudang Mountain. The damp smell inside suggested that it had been unoccupied for many days.

The innkeeper was somewhat embarrassed; running an inn in such a place was not profitable. Apart from mountain travelers and merchants, few people like Qin Yu and Zhang Ren, who had such a distinctive appearance, were seen.

The innkeeper glanced at the white jade ring on Qin Yu's left index finger, secretly guessing that these people's backgrounds were probably quite extraordinary.

They took two rooms, and Wen Zou busied himself with lighting the stove and tidying up the beds and furniture. Qin Yu put on a crane cloak and, pulling Zhang Ren, went for a stroll around the town.

Zhang Ren didn't see what was so interesting about this "snow town," with nothing but white to look at. They slowly strolled from the north end of the town to the south, which took less than half an hour, and he was already getting impatient.

"Second Master Brother, what are we doing wandering around in such cold weather? Let's go back and warm up by the fire."

Qin Yu smiled, "Little Master Brother, you can go back first. I'm going to check something out over there." He pointed to the large forest visible to the left.

"It's dark and a bit dangerous, isn't it?" Zhang Ren, though younger than Qin Yu, had more experience hunting in the mountains. With just one look, he could sense that the forest was vast and filled with dangerous animals. Although they were less likely to come out in the snow, if they encountered one or two, it would be very troublesome.

"Without hiding it from you, I'm planning to hunt some rare beasts and gather some herbs."

Zhang Ren laughed, "Since Second Master Brother has the intention, I will naturally accompany you." When it came to hunting, he was always interested, especially since this forest looked very special, and they might be able to hunt some rare and exotic animals.

Qin Yu said, "If that's the case, let's go take a look."

"Then wait a moment, Master Brother, I'll go get some hunting tools."

The two had only brought hunting knives and short crossbows, which were not enough for a dense forest.

Zhang Ren took two steps as one, sliding back to the inn.

Qin Yu smiled and wandered around outside the town, silently reciting the Jade Sword Heart Sutra.

Over these three days, he had been practicing his riding skills and, whenever he had time during the day, he would review his books to deepen his understanding of the sword techniques of his school. At midnight, he would get up alone to practice.

Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation on his face and looked up to see a few small snowflakes quietly falling.

Not far behind, someone sighed, "It's snowing again!"

Qin Yu frowned; the voice sounded familiar.

His right hand involuntarily rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist before he turned his head to look.

His eyes widened, and his pupils rapidly contracted.

Under the purple cloak, she wore black clothes, a short sword at her waist, and her lively eyes and charming face were captivating.

"It's you?" Qin Yu calmly said, his right foot drawing a half-circle, his body turning back without a sound.

His muscles were as relaxed as possible, but his heart tightened involuntarily.

The girl was none other than Xi Zhilan.

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