Chapter Fourteen: Practicing Archery

  Li Qinfu supported Xu Xiaoni's shoulder and jumped off the car, saying: "Fellow villagers, help out, move things in, and find a place to pen up these sheep."

  He turned around and said to the three Liu family servants who followed him, "I'm troubling you three, not only do I have to hurry with the sheep and carriage, but also serve me while riding a horse, it's really making me feel uneasy!"

  Liu's servant Zhang was stunned, hearing Li Qin's polite words left them at a loss. Then they saw Li Qin take down three pieces of dried meat from the carriage, each weighing two or three catties, and stuff them into their hands.

  "It's just a small token, take it back home and add some dishes for your family!"

  The Liu family servants were shocked, they were in the Liu family, although Liu Sheng was also generous, but only to people of the same status and position, not to mention being generous to the lower class, Xiao Fang was just so-so.

  At the end of the Han Dynasty, the social hierarchy was strict. People with high status and good birth always looked down on those with low status, who in turn did not think there was anything wrong with that. But Li Qian was different from others. Not only was he sincere to Liu Sheng, but also righteous to his fellow villagers, and even gentle to his subordinates. This was extremely rare in this era, naturally giving people a sense of closeness.

  Liu's servant took the dried meat with a quiver, not knowing what to say, stuttered for half a day, and finally said with gratitude: "Young Master Li, you are righteous!"

  Li QIN had Liu's servant return to the city, and at this time the villagers also moved all their belongings into Li's house, and the black horse and sheep were also settled in a place.

  Li Qin laughed and said, "Today is a happy day, I'll treat everyone to food and drink again. I've brought back some wine, those who can drink will drink more, and those who can't will also take a sip. When life is going well, one should make the most of it! The men are slaughtering sheep and cutting meat, while the women are boiling water and cooking rice, everyone is busy!"

  Xu Xiaoni muttered to himself, "Life is short, one should make the most of it, Brother Li said it well!" He followed Li Qian everywhere, even imitating his movements. Wherever Li Qian went, he would follow, and whenever Li Qian sat down, he would squat beside him.

  The matter of the stolen donation was resolved as soon as Li Qin returned, and there was food, meat, and wine. His prestige in the village rose rapidly, almost surpassing that of Li Tian. Li Tian saw the villagers surrounding his son asking questions, and he felt happy in his heart. He looked at his old wife and saw that she too had a joyful expression on her face.

  Li Tian asked in a low voice, "Are you heartbroken?" The twenty sheep they had just gotten, fifteen were donated, and now two more were killed, leaving only three. He was afraid his old wife would be heartbroken.

  He felt a little heartache, but seeing his son being respected and yet content, he replied in a low voice: "My son is destined for great things, what are a few sheep worth? With my son around, our Li family will surely regain its former glory!"

  "Not bad, not bad, it will definitely be like this!" Li Tian nodded heavily, planning to supervise his son's learning of the Li family's martial arts well, and make a name for himself as soon as possible.

  The villagers slaughtered two fat sheep, and He took out a whole stone of good millet. Li Tian prepared the wine as well. After a flurry of activity, the village was filled with the aroma of meat and rice.

  The whole village gathered in the threshing ground, everyone indulged in eating and drinking. The mutton was tender and delicious, the millet was fragrant, and regardless of men, women, old or young, they all got a taste of wine. This meal could be called a grand feast. The older men surrounded Li Tian, the women surrounded He Shi, and the young men all gathered around Li Qin, chatting and laughing. They enjoyed this meal more than when they ate leopard meat the other day, and didn't disperse until the sky was dark.

  At night, after closing the door at home, Li Qian told his parents about curing the sweat-blood horse and let them see those medicinal materials. He said that he had never cured equine plague before, but somehow suddenly knew how to do it, possibly due to meeting an old immortal in a dream.

  Li Tian and Mrs. He, however, did not believe it and said in unison that it was not true. They did not disbelieve because they thought such a strange thing was impossible, but rather because they firmly believed that their son had changed from before, not due to the blessing of some old immortal, but because the ancestors of the Li family had shown their divine power, so their son had become enlightened, all thanks to the credit of the Li family's ancestors.

  Li QIN did not argue, thinking so is also good, after that whatever happens can be said to be the manifestation of Li's ancestors, which would save him a lot of trouble.

  The next day, before dawn broke, Li Qin was still fast asleep. He heard someone calling him from outside the door and responded with a groggy "huh?" but didn't get out of bed. Just a moment later, he was slapped on the forehead. Li Qin jolted awake from his dream, opened his eyes to see Li Tian standing beside his bed.

  "Son, to eat bitterness is to be a superior man. If you don't practice well the ancestral martial arts, how can you stand out from the crowd? The rooster has crowed three times already, hurry up and follow your father to practice martial arts!"

  This slap made Li QIN sleepless, so he had to get up and put on his clothes and shoes, following Li TIAN out of the door to practice martial arts in a small forest outside the village.

  Li Tianzhu walked ahead with a wooden spear, while Li Qin followed behind with a bow and arrow. After entering the small woods, Li Tian looked around cautiously to ensure no one was present, then said: "Son, let's start with some simple exercises. You and I will practice our punches and kicks together to loosen up our bodies!"

  The two men put their things down by the tree and stood side by side, father and son, and began to practice that set of punching techniques. This set of punches is mainly fast, of course, all Li's combat skills are mainly fast, this set of punches is still one of the slowest, but even so, it didn't take long before they finished practicing, Li Tian was missing an arm, in terms of fist technique, he was far inferior to Li Qin.

  Li Tian took a deep breath and smiled at Li Qin, "Son, your punching technique has improved a lot compared to before! I'm not saying you're faster with your punches and kicks, but you've added a few more ferocious moves. You used to punch quickly, but lacked momentum, so even a few rascals could beat you up. Practice your marksmanship again, Zhao Baifen said that with one breath, you knocked down Tang Biao and the other five people, your marksmanship must have also improved, show me."

  Li QIN responded with a sound, picked up the long gun, aimed at the tree trunk, and started stabbing. Whether it's boxing or spear technique, there is a guiding technique that guides the body's breath, making it possible to make moves faster. This basic kung fu is relatively simple and easy to learn, but the difficulty lies in practicing it well, and on the premise of practicing it well, how to use the surrounding environment to give the enemy a fatal blow, this is the most critical!

  Li Qin's wooden spear didn't stop, in one breath he stabbed out 81 spears, only then did he put away his spear and stand up straight, his forehead already covered in sweat. He looked at Li Tian, but saw that Li Tian first shook his head, then nodded.

  Li QIN asked: "Dad, is it because I didn't practice well?"

  "Son, it seems like you've regressed a bit in terms of drawing your sword. You're not as good as you used to be. However, you now have a hint of ferocity and killing intent when facing an enemy, which is the most important thing. You didn't have any of that before, and neither did I. So, you've taken a step back in some ways, but also made progress in others. I don't know what to say, but overall, it's more progress than regression!"

  Li QIN put the gun aside and smiled: "Maybe it was a fierce fight with Tang Biao and others, in order not to get beaten, they could only desperately fight back, so I had some murderous aura!" Suddenly thought of, Tang Biao got beaten, but there was no movement, didn't come for revenge, should be Liu Sheng helping himself to settle the matter!

  At this time, the sun was rising in the east, and outside the forest, it was already bright daylight. The sunlight shone into the woods, casting dappled shadows on Li's father and son.

  Li Qinn took up his bow and arrow, preparing to practice archery. From Li Guang's generation onwards, the Li family had placed great emphasis on archery skills, and it could be said without exaggeration that the Li family's archery was the strongest in this era. Furthermore, when combined with the Guiding Technique, which stimulated one's inner potential, every single member of the Li family's direct descendants were skilled archers. However, they had not caught up with the good times, and even if the Li family's direct descendants had exceptional abilities, the imperial court did not make use of them. On the other hand, there were quite a number of people who claimed to have connections with the Li family and achieved some merit.

  With one hand holding the bow and the other holding the arrow, Li Qin closed his eyes, first silently thinking through the guiding techniques in the silk book, before drawing the bow and nocking the arrow, aiming to shoot a small tree not far away.

  Suddenly, Li Tian shouted: "Wrong, wrong! Son, how could you even forget the basic stance?"

  Li Qin was taken aback, could it be that he had recited the book wrongly?

  Li Tian walked up and said, "You're aiming for that small tree twenty steps away, right?" He pointed with his hand, and it was indeed the small tree Li Qian was aiming at. Seeing Li Qian nod, he continued, "To shoot something so close, you should slightly tilt your left foot inward, keep your center of gravity even between both feet, and have them bear weight evenly. Only then can you add force to your shot, and the arrow will have power!"

  Li Qin's left foot turned inward, and he did as Li Tian said.

  "Think about it, our Li family's archery skills are so strong, and yet you've let an enemy get this close without killing him. He must be a fierce general wearing iron armor. If your arrow doesn't have enough force to penetrate his armor and take his life with one shot, you won't have the chance to shoot a second arrow, unless you're using a rapid-fire arrow, but since you've let the enemy get this close, it's clear that you haven't even mastered that yet!"

  He finished speaking and with a wave of his hand, Li shot an arrow out with a whoosh!

  The arrow whizzed through the air, making a loud "thud" as it hit the trunk of the small tree, exactly where Li QIN had aimed earlier. Splinters flew everywhere, and the entire arrowhead was embedded in the trunk, with the arrow shaft vibrating loudly and the feathers quivering nonstop!

  Li Qindai was overjoyed, this is the first arrow he shot out in this era, not only did it hit the target, but also with a shocking momentum, the arrow shook like this, enough to scare people! He looked at Li Tian beside him, but saw that Li Tian's face didn't look good.

  Li Tian stamped his foot heavily and said, "Son, how can your archery skills have regressed so much? At such a close distance, you should be able to shoot an arrow that only leaves a smooth-edged hole, without any splinters flying out. The arrow shaft shouldn't be shaking like this either. If the force of the shot is dispersed and it doesn't penetrate the iron armor, you'll lose your chance!"

  Li Qin only then realized that his arrow had been shot so poorly, he put down the wooden bow, scratched his head and said: "Having been ill for this period of time, I haven't practiced archery, my technique has become rusty, Father please don't blame me!"

  Li Tian nodded and said, "Fire again!"

  Li QIN drew his bow and shot arrows again, but the more anxious he was, the more he wanted to practice well, but the more he practiced, the worse it got. He shot for nearly half an hour, but saw no progress at all. The last few arrows were even a clear step backward, and he couldn't even hit the tree trunk!

  Li Tian sighed and said, "Haste makes waste, forget it for today. Let's go home and have dinner, after you've eaten, come back to practice, I won't accompany you anymore. The more I'm by your side, the worse you'll practice. It was the same when your grandfather taught me archery!"

  Li QIN's arms were sore and he really couldn't practice anymore, so he put away his bow and arrow, shouldered his spear and slung his bow over his shoulder, and headed home to eat with Li Tian.

  ——

  Work hard and practice diligently, all for the sake of standing out in the future. Ping An also wants it! Asking brothers and sisters to collect, vote, and support. Long live brothers and sisters!