Chapter 68: Echoes of the Bow and Arrow

Seeing Gong Mei find arrows to pair with the bow so quickly, Yun Li smilingly took an arrow from the wooden tube and handed it to her.

"The bow and arrow need to be used together. Place the arrow on the bowstring, draw it back, then shoot. But this bowstring is made from ghost spider silk, so its resilience is a bit lacking. You're strong, so be careful not to snap it."

Listening to her explanation, Gong Mei raised an eyebrow, said "alright" with a smile, and following what Yun Li described, simply nocked the arrow and drew—the arrow shot out with a "swish."

Aside from Yun Li, the beastmen at the tribe entrance who witnessed this scene all wore expressions of astonishment.

What kind of weapon was that? How was it something they had never seen before!

Gong Mei clearly hadn't used much strength, and most importantly, unlike throwing stone spears, the noise made when shooting an arrow was almost as small as could be.

As a skilled hunter, Gong Mei of course understood that bow and arrow would be highly useful in actual hunting.

The smile on her face faded, and she turned to Yun Li and said, "A Li, do you mind if I use your weapon again? I mean, not the kind where you shoot for fun, but the kind for real hunting."

Yun Li of course didn't mind; she was only too eager for Gong Mei to take the bow and arrow and demonstrate the weapon's proper power.

"Then shall we go down the mountain now?"

There was nothing here for her to hunt, after all.

Gong Mei shook her head: "No need, right here."

She had already spotted a grey sparrow resting on a treetop. Even though it was her first time holding a bow and arrow, she was confident she could hit it.

A bow and arrow's killing power might not match a spear's, but it won in agility. As long as the timing was cleverly seized, it wouldn't draw a beast's attention.

Gong Mei took another arrow, aimed at the grey sparrow on the tree at the tribe entrance, and let it fly.

"Whizz!"

The arrow shot out swiftly. This time the beastmen at the entrance all saw it clearly—there was in fact wind noise from the arrow, just very faint. More importantly, by the time the prey heard that sound of splitting air, if its reaction was even slightly slow, it would become a soul under the arrow.

Along with something falling from beneath the tree, many beastmen's eyes lit up as they looked at what Gong Mei held in her hand.

They didn't know what Gong Mei was holding, but that didn't stop them from immediately thinking it was a good thing the moment they saw it.

However, the owner of the weapon was a precious female, and the two males beside her both looked like they were not weak in strength.

Even if some beastmen wanted to go over and ask what the weapon in Gong Mei's hand was, they feared being misunderstood by the two males beside her as approaching to hit on the female.

And in that moment of hesitation, Mu Qing and Leng Xiao, sensing those gazes prying at their female and her belongings, both turned cold-faced and unhesitatingly blocked all those gazes.

Whatever their thoughts, their female's belongings—unless she said she was willing to share with them—they would have to keep it bottled up.

The beastmen at the entrance, who had been restless, sensed Mu Qing's aura on the verge of breaking through to Blue Rank, and all involuntarily fell quiet.

But the gazes sizing up this side grew more and more numerous.

The protected Yun Li didn't notice those prying gazes. A look of shock surfaced on her face as she looked at Gong Mei and said in disbelief, "Your accuracy…"

Isn't it a bit too good? Not at all like a beastman holding a bow and arrow for the first time.

However, Gong Mei showed no surprise at her own performance. She looked at the bow in her hand with some dissatisfaction, then returned it to Yun Li and said:

"This bow of yours is too light, and the string material is also a bit poor. If you switched to a bigger one, I could shoot a Guru Beast right back for you."

Yun Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "If you think it works well, why not find an artificer to make one yourself? You've already handled the bow and arrow anyway, so you should have an idea of how to make them."

Hearing this, Gong Mei pondered for a moment, then nodded at Yun Li and said, "Alright! Just for that remark. Wherever you want to go today, we'll follow your lead."

To thank her for letting them handle the bow and arrow twice, whatever she wanted to do today, they would follow her.

The smile on Yun Li's face instantly became brilliant. With Gong Mei's words, she might just find what she was looking for today.

"Alright then! I won't hold back. Let's head down the mountain first."

Gong Mei gave an "mm." The two Beast Husbands behind her wanted to say something, but after a glance at their female, they sensibly kept their mouths shut.

The beastmen at the tribe entrance only began speaking freely one by one after Yun Li and the others had walked away.

"Did you see what Gong Mei had in her hand just now? What kind of weapon was that? How does it look so useful?"

"Very suitable for ambushes, or for covering a retreat during a hunt."

"I wonder who that little female Gong Mei knows is. Could I trade Crystal Cores and prey to get that weapon from her? If not, at least let me try it a couple of times!"

"Was it made by the tribe's artificers? Someone go ask and see which artificer made this new weapon."

Saying it and doing it—there really were beastmen who thought it was a new weapon made by one of the tribe's artificers, and soon went into the tribe to ask the artificers one by one.

Meanwhile, Yun Li, carried by Mu Qing, had long since followed Gong Mei and the others down the mountain.

As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, Yun Li told Gong Mei what she wanted to find on this trip.

"Are there any wild fruits or plants that are very sweet and juicy? Also, are there any prey with lots of fur that's very fluffy? I want that kind of prey's pelt. And lastly, are there any plants that taste very salty when eaten?

A Mei, do you know where I can find what I want?"

As she spoke, Yun Li linked arms with Gong Mei. Gong Mei glanced at the silent Mu Qing and Leng Xiao, whose jealousy was written all over his face, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Let me think. Sweet, juicy wild fruits are actually easy to find. I know a place where there are especially many wild fruits.

As for prey with lots of fluffy fur, I do remember such a beast, but it's hard to catch. It's timid and runs away at the slightest sound.

But those salty plants—I don't know about those."

Gong Mei asked her two Beast Husbands, "Guan Yu, Han, do you know where there are plants that taste very salty when eaten?"

Guan Yu was a male with dark skin but a resolute and rugged face. Hearing his female's words, he thought for a moment, then shook his head.

Han, however, said with a smile, "I don't know about plants that taste salty, but I do know where the soil tastes salty. The vegetation there is sparse, but there are often traces of black goats and rhinoceros pythons."

"Rhinoceros python? Now that's a good catch!"

Leng Xiao had stayed at the Silver Eagle Tribe for over half a month, so he naturally knew that the rhinoceros python was considered a treasure all over in the eyes of beastmen. It belonged to the higher tier among fierce beasts—the snake meat was delicious, drinking its blood was good for beastmen, the snakeskin could be made into body armor, and the snake fangs could be made into beast-tooth daggers…

In short, ever since Leng Xiao learned that rhinoceros pythons existed, he had been thinking about when he could go catch one.

Yun Li's eyes also lit up when she heard there were black goats. "Then let's go take a look there?"

She had seen horned sheep before, but horned sheep looked about like modern silly deer, except with two extra sheep horns.

She wondered whether the black goat was the sheep she was thinking of?