Chapter 7: Farewell

Just as Wang Shu had expected, the sky was already pitch black, and those few young men were still nowhere to be seen.

Not long ago, the Zhai had been filled with an atmosphere of oppression and despair, but at this moment, it was brimming with laughter and joy everywhere, and the scent of meat drifted through the air—the enticing aroma released after meat is boiled.

"Gurgle."

Lu Yu's stomach growled at an inopportune time.

In truth, he had been hungry for a long time; what supported him in drawing his bow and nocking arrows time and time again was the sense of accomplishment brought by watching the progress bar of his Basic Archery climb bit by bit.

After his Basic Archery reached Level 1, Lu Yu clearly felt that pulling the bow to full draw was no longer as strenuous; he could shoot ten arrows in one go before his arms began to ache, and he still had the strength to continue.

But the bad news was that every time he shot an arrow, his proficiency increased by less than 0.5%, and even if he hit the bullseye, it only increased by a little over 1%.

In other words, he had to hit the bullseye at least one hundred times to raise 【Basic Archery】 from Level 1 to Level 2; the difficulty was more than two or three times what it had been before.

"It's okay, take it slow."

Lu Yu cheered himself on in his heart; this was only a matter of one or two days, and what if he counted the nights?

"You child, you're so absorbed in practicing archery that you've forgotten to eat and sleep, not even noticing that it's gotten dark," Wang Liang's voice came over.

"Wang Shu."

Lu Yu snapped out of his daze, turned around, and scratched his head in embarrassment.

Wang Liang looked at Lu Yu, his gaze full of gentleness. This afternoon, he had been idle and had been observing Lu Yu practicing archery, and the more he watched, the more shocked he became.

He discovered that this child's Archery was improving at an astonishing speed! In the morning, Lu Yu was clearly still a novice, struggling for a long time just to adjust his posture, but by the afternoon, his posture was not only standard, but for every three or four arrows he shot, one could hit the bullseye.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have dared to believe this was something a beginner could achieve.

Among those young men who started practicing archery, some had practiced for two days before accidentally hitting the bullseye once, and never hit it again afterward.

"Mm."

Wang Shu tried hard to keep his composure and said, "It's getting late, I should go to the entrance to see how the meat distribution is going; you should head back too, and come again tomorrow morning."

The scent of meat in the air also made him crave it uncontrollably; even if going now meant only getting some organs or the like, it was better than nothing.

"Alright, Wang Shu, you go ahead."

Lu Yu nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Wang Shu, can I light a torch here and practice a little longer?"

Wang Liang's eyes widened, having heard something unbelievable.

"You, you want to keep practicing at night?"

He was truly stunned; he had seen diligent people, but never anyone this diligent.

Let alone those few young men, one couldn't find anyone in the entire Zhai more diligent than this child.

"Yes."

Lu Yu said with a smile, "I won't be able to sleep when I go back at night anyway, and since I'm idle, I might as well keep practicing archery. Wang Shu, is it inconvenient? If it's inconvenient, then never mind."

He sighed inwardly.

Wang Liang waved his hand and said, "What's inconvenient about that? I'll light a torch for you in a moment; if you want to practice, then go ahead."

"Thank you so much, Wang Shu!"

Lu Yu was incredibly excited. According to the current progress, by this time tomorrow, the level of 【Basic Archery】 should be able to reach Level 2.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from afar, and the two looked over simultaneously. They saw a middle-aged man walking over carrying a piece of meat in his hand.

"Father!"

"Guohao!"

The two called out at the same time.

Lu Guohao nodded with a smile; it was clear he was in an exceptionally good mood today, and a rare trace of a smile appeared on his usually stern face.

"A-Liang, this is for you."

As he spoke, he handed the piece of hind leg meat, weighing nearly 2 jin, to Wang Liang.

Wang Liang's eyes turned red instantly, and looking at the hind leg meat in Lu Guohao's hand, he said with emotion, "Guohao, why did you bring this over yourself? And giving me such good meat?"

"What of it?"

Lu Guohao waved his hand, "The young people in the Zhai all rely on your guidance, and the future depends on them; you work so hard, so it's only right that you take this piece of hind leg meat. Everyone understands, no one will have any objections."

Only then did Wang Liang slowly reach out, take the meat, and ask, "The harvest was good today, right?"

"Yes."

The smile on Lu Guohao's face deepened, "We were lucky today and hunted two Huangyuan Lu. The big one was nearly one hundred and fifty jin, and after processing, there was over one hundred jin left; the small one was also about ninety jin. Every household in the Zhai can get three jin of meat, and there's still extra. Those who contributed more will get a bit more."

"That's great." Wang Liang also smiled and remarked with emotion, "I really hope there will be such a harvest every day from now on."

"Indeed." Lu Guohao nodded in agreement.

The atmosphere quieted down briefly, and then Lu Guohao fixed his gaze on Lu Yu, revealing a smile: "Xiao Yu, come home with me; the meat is already cooked, just waiting for you to return."

"Alright, Dad," Lu Yu replied, also full of anticipation.

After saying goodbye to Wang Liang, the father and son walked one after the other along the uneven dirt road.

"I heard from your mother that you practiced archery all day today? You came over right after eating lunch?" Lu Guohao asked while walking.

"Mm," Lu Yu replied simply. He still felt a bit uncomfortable being alone with this father.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels, alright I guess," Lu Yu answered tentatively.

"Alright is fine," Lu Guohao nodded, "If you really want to continue practicing archery, when your Liu Shu and the others are free, I'll have them give you some guidance. We owe today's big harvest to them."

"Alright," Lu Yu nodded in agreement.

He had heard Wang Shu mention that the Liu Jia Xiong Di could draw a one-hundred-and-fifty-jin bow; their Archery must be very impressive, and he would certainly benefit greatly from their guidance.

"Mm," Lu Guohao said, and silence fell between the two again. Fortunately, they were not far from home; they would arrive after turning the corner.

At this moment, Lu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and saw that in their main room, besides his mother and younger brother, there were three or four middle-aged men standing there—some standing, some sitting—clearly waiting for his father to return.

Could they be here to celebrate? He guessed to himself, and for some reason, a sense of unease welled up in his heart.

"Tianhong, Tianyao, why have you come?" A flash of surprise crossed Lu Guohao's eyes as he walked forward quickly, "You've come at just the right time. You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? Just eat here with me."

His mother nearby felt a start, but she still smiled and chimed in, "Yes, yes, the meal is already prepared, everyone sit down quickly."

After all, today's prey relied entirely on the Liu Jia Xiong Di's exquisite Archery; otherwise, how could they have caught up to the fleet-footed Huangyuan Lu on foot?

However, the few of them looked at one another, and in the end, they all cast their gazes upon the tall, slightly balding middle-aged man in the lead; he was Liu Tianhong, the eldest brother among the Liu Jia Xiong Di.

"Guohao," Liu Tianhong took a deep breath and looked at him, "The few of us have come tonight to bid you farewell."