20 Curved Shots

"Crack, crack, crack!"

Suddenly, there was a sound of joints cracking inside Xigou's body, and his frame visibly swelled up, sprouting a stripe of white fur on his back, fluffy and dense.

He now looked more like a Siberian Husky, albeit still mixed with a bit of the Maned Wolf's temperament.

[Species: Canine]

[Talent: Dog's Bond]

[Bloodline: Maned Wolf]

[Life Remaining Times: 2]

"Damn, my bloodline has awakened!"

Xigou howled with delighted laughter, beyond control of himself.

Here it came, finally.

Fang Zhixing had already gone through three upgrades, and it was finally his turn!

A direct bloodline awakening!

"Maned Wolf Bloodline, sounds freaking awesome!"

Xigou brimmed with pride, feeling stronger even to the naked eye.

Strong legs, sharp canines, both fearsome and cute!

Even better, his life count had reset to two, so he could die one more time.

Hahaha, time to be cocky again!

Glancing over.

At that moment, Fang Zhixing hadn't yet noticed his bloodline awakening, engrossed as he was with the system panel.

[Common Archer·Perfection: Within a hundred meters, not a shot misfires]

[Burst Skill: Curved Shot]

...

...

[Elite Archer·Full Level Conditions:

1. Become a full-level common archer (Completed)

2. One eye from each of three different animals (Unfinished)

3. Any kind of mixed grains weighing 300 kg (Unfinished)

4. Meat weighing 200 kg (Unfinished)]

"Curved Shot?"

Fang Zhixing's brow furrowed slightly, then he walked outside and set up his bow and arrow.

He drew the bow!

Aimed at a tile on the earthen wall fifty meters away!

Fang Zhixing and that tile were in a straight line, but there was a Chinese parasol tree in between them.

"Burst Skill·Curved Speed!"

Fang Zhixing executed his ultimate skill, his arm muscles swelled rapidly, generating a strange and superb power technique.

In an instant, the arrow on the bowstring bent.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot out, drawing a beautiful arc, bypassing the parasol tree.

Dong!

The arrow struck the earthen wall, shattering the tile.

"Damn, an arrow can actually curve in flight?" Xigou exclaimed in amazement.

This is totally a trick shot!

Fang Zhixing smiled, very satisfied, and looked askance at Xigou, his eyebrows lifting slightly.

"Good boy, Maned Wolf Bloodline! You've upgraded too!"

He clicked his tongue in wonder, "Got any special skills?"

Xigou hesitated for a moment, then replied, "My sense of smell has clearly been enhanced, I can distinctly remember and track each kind of scent."

But that wasn't all.

In fact, he possessed one unique skill, but he didn't want to tell Fang Zhixing.

Fang Zhixing was crafty and adaptable, able to be both flexible and firm.

When weak, he would bide his time, acting submissive as a grandchild, seemingly harmless.

But once he became strong, it didn't matter who you were, he would take everyone down, a ruthless man!

The old village elder was incredibly cunning and shrewd, yet he never caught on that this guy was trouble until his death!

Probably, Fang Zhixing had been scheming how to kill the old village elder a long time ago.

Fang Zhixing, a born rebel, would one day wave his hand and flip the East Sea across thirty thousand li.

Havi...

"Enhanced sense of smell? Hmm, that's not bad."

Fang Zhixing nodded.

After all, Xigou was still a young pup, it was too much to expect him to transform into a mighty barks-at-heaven dog overnight.

Both master and pet had made progress, so naturally, their mood was doubly joyful.

Next, Fang Zhixing checked the food supply.

"Only two pieces of cured meat left, no more soybeans and flour, but there's still some rice."

He filled a bag with all the rice from a sack, estimating that it weighed about eighty kilograms.

At that moment, Xigou telepathically said, "I've found three old hens, half a basket of eggs, and a donkey. In the kitchen, there's also a bag of salt!"

"A donkey!"

Fang Zhixing was thrilled.

He quickly led the donkey over, then lifted the bag of rice onto the donkey's back, securing it with a rope.

T...

They seized three old hens, tied their legs, and took the half-basket of eggs with them.

Moments later, they exited through the main gate.

Xigou asked, "Where are we going?"

Fang Zhixing replied, "We're leaving this poor place to go somewhere more prosperous."

Xigou pondered, "Zhao Dahu and his men, when they come back, they'll surely pursue us."

Fang Zhixing sneered, "Of course, we have to deal with them before we go, cut the grass and remove the roots!"

Xigou instantly understood.

They left the village, walked through the woods, and reached the sandy area.

They slaughtered one old hen, sprinkled some salt, barbecued it, and enjoyed their lunch.

Xigou, craving for more, insisted on eating the eggs, so Fang Zhixing fried two eggs for them too.

They ate till they were full!

An unprecedented satisfaction!

"Salted food just tastes different," Xigou remarked profoundly.

"Hmm, salt is very important," Fang Zhixing nodded and said, "If people don't eat salt for a long time, they lose their appetite and strength, and their muscles tend to cramp."

As they chatted, a beam of sunlight pierced through the clouds, brightening the earth greatly.

The weather finally cleared.

...

...

In the evening, the sky was not yet completely dark.

Zhao Dahu and his group emerged from the deep mountains, each beaming with joy and engaging in lively conversation.

Today they were lucky, though they didn't catch any large wild animals, they did find a warren of rabbits and shot five of them.

Hunting requires patience and luck, you can't expect to hunt wild boar or deer every day.

As the group approached the village, they suddenly heard crying.

The cries were particularly sharp; Zhao Dahu felt they were eerily familiar, possibly his wife's voice, and his brows furrowed.

They hurried home, and from a distance, saw many villagers gathered in front of the house.

"What happened?"

Zhao Dahu shouted anxiously.

The crowd of villagers immediately dispersed.

Suddenly, Zhao Dahu's pupils shrank, seeing his wife collapsed on the ground, crying her heart out.

Several daughters-in-law of the Zhao family were at the scene, huddled together crying, some had already fainted from grief.

On the ground lay a decapitated corpse, shockingly identified as his son, Zhao Zikun.

The other three corpses were the sons of Zhao Erhu and others.

"What?!"

Zhao Dahu was extremely shocked, his mind momentarily blank.

"My son!" Zhao Erhu and the others were dumbstruck, all taken aback.

The horrific scene assaulted their retinas, driving them to madness.

"Who did this?"

"Who killed my son?"

...

They glared at the villagers, bellowing out their questions.

However, no one answered.

The villagers all moved back, some coldly watching, some sneering under their breath, reveling in the misfortune.

"Dahu, dad and mom too..." Zhao Dahu's wife pointed towards the main house.

Zhao Dahu's face changed dramatically, and he hurried into the house, only to see two corpses under the eaves.

At that moment, a great chill shot up from his feet to his head!

Zhao Dahu froze on the spot, at a loss.

But soon, he came to his senses, ran out, and roared at the villagers, "Who did it? If you don't tell me whether it was you, I'll kill all of you!"

The villagers instantly panicked, Wang Dashen shrugged and said, "We don't know, we just came back from outside, and found out that something happened to your family."

"It didn't really rain today, everyone went out of the village to look for food, some gathered wild vegetables, some went hunting, only your household had people around."

Zhang Datie sneered, "Isn't your wife at home? Ask her."

Zhao Dahu quickly looked at his wife, who shook her head and said, "We went to the riverbank to wash clothes, and when we came back at noon, we saw everyone dead."

Zhao Dahu was driven to madness, turning to look again, the villagers scattered, nobody wanting to be involved in the trouble.

Zhao Sanhu examined the bodies and said, "Brother, they were all killed with a single stab, the killer is not an ordinary person, definitely skilled in blade techniques."

Zhao Erhu rushed over, stamping his foot, "Oh no, all the grain and cured meat are gone!"

"What?!"

Zhao Dahu's head spun, his breath catching.

Someone continued, "Could it have been passing bandits?"

"Possibly!"

"Or maybe someone in the village is trying to get back at us!"

People discussed this from all angles.

Zhao Dahu was agitated, utterly unable to clear his thoughts.

They had been out hunting all day, tired and hungry, and suddenly encountered this bizarre tragedy, anyone would be unable to make sense of it in the moment.

Zhao Dahu said gravely, "First, take care of the bodies, then cook and eat. No matter who the killer is, we need to eat well before we can seek revenge."

Everyone agreed, and someone with the rabbits went into the kitchen to skin and cook them.

Zhao Dahu and others sat around the table, starting to eat.

Men ate first, women ate later.

Each person received at least a little meat.