Chapter 5: Finding Joy in the Process

"How long do you think he can last?"

Taking advantage of a break, several young men gathered together and whispered.

"Two days at most, I'd say."

"Two days? I think even one day is a stretch. Didn't you notice? It hasn't even been an hour, and his right arm is already barely able to lift. I bet he'll be throwing in the towel by this afternoon."

"Now that you mention it, I remember when I first practiced archery for a day. When I went back that night, I couldn't even hold a bowl steady, and my fingers were peeling."

"Heh, who's to say otherwise? By comparison, practicing with a gun is easier. If only we could have a handgun, that would be the best," a young man said with a silly grin.

"You're dreaming. Those black-hearted merchants drive the price of firearms to ridiculous levels. Just a tiny bullet like that costs several catties of grain to trade for. It's just too heartless!"

The group chatted back and forth, and the topic gradually shifted away from Lu Yu.

In truth, Lu Yu did indeed feel a bit overwhelmed at this moment.

His body was already inferior to the average person's; every time he drew the bow fully, it nearly exhausted all his strength. After drawing it a dozen times in a row, his entire right arm wouldn't stop trembling, as if it no longer belonged to him.

However, there was one benefit: the proficiency of his Basic Archery had increased quite a bit.

【Basic Archery: Lv0】

Among them, there was one arrow that missed the bullseye by just a tiny bit, which instantly increased the progress bar by 5%.

Lu Yu took a deep breath and once again laboriously lifted his somewhat numb right arm, attempting to draw the bowstring. But this time, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the string to its full length.

Following that, the arrow flew out crookedly and landed just three or four meters away.

"Are you being a fool, kid? You're out of strength, don't you know when to take a break?"

Wang Liang's voice came over.

Lu Yu turned around, smiled awkwardly, and said, "You're right, Uncle Wang. I'll rest for a bit."

As he spoke, he sighed inwardly, thinking that haste makes waste. Although he was desperate to max out his proficiency, his body simply wasn't up to the task.

"Come here, let me rub your arm."

Just then, Wang Liang spoke again.

At this, not only Lu Yu but also the several young men sitting nearby resting were stunned. Their expressions seemed to say: We didn't get this treatment when we were practicing archery?

"Hmph."

Wang Liang glanced at them and said disdainfully, "You call that practicing archery? It's all soft and limp. Those who know will know you're practicing archery; those who don't would think you're just flailing about."

The group's faces turned red instantly.

Although they had indeed slacked off a few times... that was only because their arms were so sore they truly had no strength left.

"This..." Lu Yu felt a bit embarrassed. "Uncle Wang, isn't that too much trouble?"

"If you don't want to be unable to even pull up your pants later, I have no objections." Wang Liang shrugged.

Lu Yu gasped, hesitated for a moment, then bit the bullet and said, "Then, then I'll trouble you, Uncle Wang."

"Should've done that sooner, so much fuss." Wang Liang muttered as he limped over.

Although the words were rough, one only needed to use their brain a little to hear the concern within them.

Lu Yu extended his right arm. Before long, a wave of comfort and ease washed over him. The previous fatigue seemed to vanish instantly, and he could control his right arm freely again.

The massage lasted for about twenty minutes. During this time, Lu Yu tried to pull his arm back several times, but was stopped by Wang Liang's gaze each time.

When the massage ended, Lu Yu felt even more embarrassed and hurriedly said, "Uncle Wang, thank you for your hard work."

Wang Liang waved his hand and said, "Compared to what your father has done for the Zhai, this little thing is nothing."

Lu Yu was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood.

What Uncle Wang meant must be how his father had always done his utmost to ensure the livelihood of everyone in the Zhai, young and old, allowing them all to survive, right?

"Kid, take a piece of advice from Uncle Wang: archery isn't so easy to master. Even if you can hit the target every time now, once you're out in the wild, you'll be facing moving targets. Hitting them is hard."

He glanced at the Long Bow and said earnestly.

"Uncle Wang, I understand, but if I give up now, wouldn't all my previous efforts go to waste?" Lu Yu looked straight into Wang Liang's eyes and said seriously.

The progress bar for Basic Archery had finally reached nearly 30%. If he gave up now, wouldn't he have to start all over again? All the physical strength he'd spent would have been for nothing.

"Fair enough."

Wang Liang nodded, said "Go on and keep practicing," and then turned and left.

Of course, the several young men on the other side didn't get this "treatment" and could only continue their arduous practice.

Lu Yu watched Uncle Wang's back, thinking to himself that while this Uncle Wang looked rough and always used slang, he was actually very observant. If it weren't for his crippled leg, he would surely be his father's capable right-hand man.

He sighed secretly, picked up the bow and arrow again, and walked toward the target.

In the eyes of others, drawing the bow and nocking an arrow over and over again was a dull task with no visible results.

But for Lu Yu, every shot with proper form increased his proficiency, and the closer he got to the bullseye, the more the proficiency increased!

This greatly boosted his Spirit, and as he continuously corrected his posture during each shot, the fatigue in his body seemed bearable.

"It seems I underestimated this kid."

Wang Liang looked back and nodded slightly.

Just based on this drive to do his best every single time, there really wasn't a second person in the Zhai who could compare. Perhaps he really could keep it up?

Time slowly passed. At noon, Lu Yu went back for lunch. The so-called lunch was no different from last night's dinner: still a bowl of thin porridge.

However, after learning that Lu Yu was practicing archery, his mother specially added an extra ladle to his bowl.

"Xiaoyang, if it's too hard, don't practice anymore."

His mother looked at Lu Yu's red, raw hands, her heart aching terribly.

Although she was pleased that Lu Yu was sensible and wanted to share the pressure for his father, she was even more worried that if the father and son went out hunting together and something happened, how would she, a woman, live while raising the child?

Lu Yu, however, smiled and shook his head. Hard? He didn't think so; on the contrary, he found joy in it.

He quickly finished the thin porridge and hurried back to practice archery, leaving behind his mother, whose face was full of heartache, and his younger brother, who looked on in ignorance.

"Sigh, no choice. Time is tight; I must race against the clock."

Lu Yu sighed to himself; this camp was already very fragile now, and if it were to suffer any further blows, the consequences would be unimaginable. His experiences in his past life made him understand that disasters often followed one after another, and he had to become strong as quickly as possible.

While quickening his pace, he checked his attribute panel.

After a morning of practice, the proficiency of his Basic Archery had already reached 52%; if nothing unexpected happened, he would be able to upgrade this Skill to Level 1 before dark.

By then, there would surely be some unexpected changes!