Chapter 28: Chu Ning, the Skilled Archer (Extra Monthly Ticket Chapter)

Three days later.

Chu Ning had gathered fifteen hundred taels.

When Jin Le and the other two learned they were to lend money, they generously gave three hundred taels each.

The extreme disparity between the rich and the poor in the Liang Dynasty stemmed from the affluent becoming wealthier while the impoverished masses lingered on the brink of subsistence.

The root cause of this was the rigid stratification of classes.

Martial Artists held power, leaving the lower classes with no chance to revolt. The ancestors of families like Jin Le's had yielded Seventh Grade martial masters, establishing a formidable foundation.

The substantial costs of martial training made it increasingly difficult for the poor to cultivate a Martial Artist, thus making it even harder to turn their fortunes around.

"Teacher, here is fifteen hundred taels."

"Why is there an extra five hundred?"

Liu Junshan, taking the two silver notes and looking at Chu Ning somewhat surprised, heard him explain, "I was afraid it wouldn't be enough for you, Teacher, so I got a little more."

"That's thoughtful of you."

Chu Ning wondered if his teacher was moved by the gesture and was thinking about taking a wife for himself. A regular wife wouldn't require that much money.

But given the teacher's age, this would be an old tree blossoming anew, like an old ox eating tender grass, thus requiring a more substantial betrothal gift.

In his past life, those women who claimed to like mature men were not really into the men themselves, but rather the bills in the men's wallets; they liked successful men.

A disciple is like half a son, so as a disciple, he ought to do his utmost.

If Liu Junshan knew what Chu Ning was thinking right now, he probably would take back his earlier words and slap this unruly disciple right then and there.

After briefly retiring to the bedroom, Liu Junshan returned with two additional medicinal bottles in hand.

"Inside these bottles are Elixirs for expanding the meridians. They'll broaden your meridians if you take one every seven days. There are ten pills per bottle, and the two bottles should last you about half a year."

Frozen in slight shock, Chu Ning accepted the bottles handed to him by his teacher and was about to speak when Liu Junshan raised his hand to stop him.

"Save your tearful gratitude for your Uncle Huang. Besides, you paid for these Elixirs, not me. I, as a mere instructor, do not have the wealth that you do."

Chu Ning's mouth twitched. His teacher really had a way of spoiling a touching teacher-disciple moment.

Chu Ning was aware of what the Elixir was. It could be described as the best medicine available below the General Level, only available in the Medicine Pavilion of a city. It was priced at a hundred taels per pill, and even at that price, there was no guarantee of availability.

His teacher likely used connections to acquire the two bottles and, running out of money, had asked him for a thousand-tael silver note.

An academy instructor, unlike an arrest officer who collected protection fees, made extra money through arrangements with the canteen and medicine shops of the school.

But from what he knew of his teacher, the man likely didn't partake in such deals and relied solely on the salary provided by the government, which was just over a hundred taels a year.

As his disciple, Chu Ning felt he might have depleted all his teacher's savings this time.

Ashamed indeed.

"What are your thoughts on weapons?"

Weapons?

Chu Ning's eyes lit up. Since coming to this world, he had only practiced unarmed combat and had yet to handle any weapons.

"Do you have any suggestions, Teacher?"

"Clubs for months, sabers for years, and a lifetime for spears—these are the three mainstream weapons."

"No swords?"

Surprised that swords—the foremost among weapons—weren't practiced by his teacher, Chu Ning couldn't help but feel astonished.

"The way of the sword is deceitful, involving entanglement and piercing and requires speed and precision. If you are inclined towards swordsmanship, better to practice the saber, particularly since your strength far exceeds that of a typical martial master. When it comes to slashing and chopping, the saber reigns supreme."

"Are there other options?"

Chu Ning furrowed his brows. His teacher's urgent procurement of Elixirs and now the discussion of weapons appeared to stem from concern over the upcoming struggle for the head of the Huang Family, which might affect him.

He wanted Chu Ning to have more means to protect himself.

Becoming proficient with a saber wasn't something that could be quickly achieved; at least, it wouldn't significantly enhance one's combat capabilities in a short time.

Liu Junshan fell silent for a moment, then went back inside the house. When he returned, he held a longbow in his hands.

"Try and see if you can draw this bow."

The bow felt heavy as soon as Chu Ning took it—surely it was no less than two thousand catties.

Considering Chu Ning's ease in taking the bow, Liu Junshan's mouth twitched. How strong was this disciple of his?

He seemed to handle the bow effortlessly, which would have required Dark Energy, yet Chu Ning was able to hold it steady without any preparation, suggesting his natural strength exceeded two thousand catties.

"This bow weighs one thousand and eight hundred catties, forged from mystical iron, with a bowstring made from the dorsal tendons of a Tang crocodile. Treated with a Secret Technique, it cannot be drawn without a force of five thousand catties. Its power is immense; give it a try."

Liu Junshan took back the bow, gripped the handle, and slowly pulled the string until it reached a full draw.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot out, emitting a sharp whistling sound as it sliced through the air.

Following the direction of the arrow, Chu Ning looked on as a locust tree, several dozen meters away in the courtyard and merely as thick as an arm, was pierced through, leaving an arrow hole.

"Teacher, what a shot to hit such a small tree from this distance."

Liu Junshan somberly remarked, "I was aiming for the larger locust tree beside it."

Chu Ning: ...

"This arrow has tremendous force, and its speed is incredibly fast. Even a Martial General would be injured without preparation, but as you've noticed, accuracy is hard to come by."

"Teacher, I'll choose the bow and arrow," said Chu Ning.

However, Chu Ning had already made up his mind. He had thought it through.

For long-range he would use the bow and arrow, and once the opponent closed in, he'd use chili powder—who would expect a person wielding a bow and arrow to also have chili powder hidden up their sleeve?

As for accuracy, that could be improved over time. His own strength combined with the Dark Energy made drawing the bow no difficult task. The issue of accuracy could be resolved with overwhelming firepower.

If one arrow wasn't enough, then he'd shoot several arrows.

After saying goodbye to his teacher, Chu Ning, carrying the bow and arrows, a quiver on his back, and clutching an archery manual and opening meridians elixir, returned to Xiazhen Town.

In the following three months, Chu Ning spent an hour each day practicing archery, and his progress was remarkably fast.

It was then that Chu Ning felt reassured for the first time that not all his martial arts talents were mediocre—at least in archery he was exceptionally gifted.

He was naturally a good shot!

Over the fields of Xiazhen Town, a flock of white egrets took flight.

Nocking the arrow, drawing the bow, letting it fly...

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Chu Ning acted in one fluid motion, releasing three consecutive arrows.

Three egrets fell to the ground, without so much as a single cry of distress.

An arrow to the throat with each shot.

"Being strong sure is suited for practicing archery," Chu Ning mused.

Chu Ning now understood why his teacher didn't practice archery; most martial masters couldn't even draw the bow fully with their brute strength. Although it's possible with the use of Dark Energy, that lacks the purest and most natural bodily reaction to the bow and arrow.

His own strength was great, solely relying on power to draw the bow allowed his body to form a conditioned reflex.

Nocking the arrow, drawing the bow, shooting the arrow...

His speed was much faster than the average martial master.

Faster speed meant that in the time it took others to shoot five arrows, he could shoot seven, increasing his margin for error.

"I now possess the strength of three thousand catties and two-thirds of my twelve meridians have been opened. When I unleash my full power, a single arrow carries a force of twenty thousand catties, and I fear no one below the ranks of Martial General can withstand it," Chu Ning thought.

No matter how much a martial master practices, their iron skin and strong muscles have limits.

But above the level of Martial General, with the exterior release of Dark Energy, one could form a protective shield of True Qi, and my arrow, unfortunately, might not affect them, unless I launched a sneak attack.

After making a comprehensive analysis of his abilities, Chu Ning carried the three egrets back, where he encountered the waiting butler of the Huang Family in the front hall of the patrol house.

Chu Ning immediately asked, "Butler Huang, did Uncle Huang want to see me?"

Butler Huang seldom left the Huang Residence, and his presence here surely meant something urgent from Uncle Huang.

"Young Master Chu, the master has resigned from the position of chief and has set off for Qingzhou Prefecture early this morning."

Chu Ning's expression turned grave. So, the struggle for the Family Head position had officially begun?

During this time, he had also learned from his teacher that the Huang Family's process for determining the future Family Head was first to decide on an heir. The competition within Uncle Huang's generation was for the position of this heir.

Whoever became the heir would be fully nurtured by the family and take over as the new Family Head after three years.

"The master asked me to relay a message to you, 'Securing Xiazhen Town will suffice.'"

Chu Ning understood the underlying meaning of Butler Huang's words. Two months prior, Butler Huang had purchased a residence in Xiazhen Town, and soon after, a mother and son moved in.

The woman was beautiful, but what really mattered was the young boy. Chu Ning recognized instantly that the boy must be Uncle Huang's son—the facial similarities were too striking; he was a miniature version of Uncle Huang.

Upon their arrival, Chu Ning realized why Uncle Huang had wanted him to keep his martial mastery hidden—it was to secretly protect this mother and son. If anyone found out their whereabouts and tried to harm them, Chu Ning could catch the attacker by surprise.

To secure Xiazhen Town was to ensure the safety of Uncle Huang's wife and child.

But this also indirectly indicated that Uncle Huang's current situation was bleak; he could not even spare anyone to protect his own family.

"Young Master Chu, you might have guessed already that the residents of the house are indeed the lady and the young master. The young master is the master's only kin. All arrangements have been made, and no one above the level of martial master can leave without a pressing issue to come to Daning County," the butler explained.

"Rest assured, butler, I will do my utmost to protect them," Chu Ning declared.

The butler lightly patted Chu Ning's shoulder, "If it truly cannot be done, save yourself. The master won't blame you. These were the master's exact words."

"Please tell Uncle Huang that Chu Ning knows what he has to do," Chu Ning responded.

Having sent Butler Huang on his way, Chu Ning pondered in the courtyard for a moment before quickly leaving the town.

He owed a debt of gratitude and was determined to repay it. That was Chu Ning's principle in life.

He would protect Uncle Huang's wife and child here; however, if someone of General Level approached, he wouldn't actually sacrifice his own life.

But before that, he had to ensure the safety of his great-aunt.

The great-aunt was his grandmother's sister. When his grandparents died early, out of pity for his father being an orphan, the great-aunt decided to come to the Chu Family to look after his father.

However, the great-aunt had her own relatives. Just a few days after Chu Ning ranked first in the constables' competition, a grandnephew of the great-aunt came forward to acknowledge the relationship.

Even though Chu Ning knew the reason behind this recognition, it didn't bother him; as long as he remained a constable, the family would be kind and obedient to the great-aunt, which would make her happy.

An hour later, Chu Ning returned to Xiazhen Town.

A quarter of an hour after that, the great-aunt's grandnephew came to invite her to stay at his place for a few days.

Chu Ning saw the great-aunt off, then visited the spice shop to stock up on a large amount of the improved version of the Five Poisons Chili Powder. Just last month, the spice shop's shopkeeper had made new advances; he added some salt to the original formula, which had significantly better effects.

To Chu Ning's surprise, the shopkeeper seemed to have a real talent for this; he managed to make the powder very light in color. It didn't even need to be scattered; a light squeeze would disperse it on the spot, and it was nearly imperceptible if one didn't look closely.

PS: 100 monthly votes for an extra update. I've just been reminded by the editor that there are a lot of monthly votes at the end of the month, and with this sort of addition, it won't be long before the new book period arrives, which will decrease exposure quite a bit. But it doesn't matter, if the new book doesn't make the top ten, it's all for naught. But let's aim for a small increase, two hundred tickets for an additional chapter.