Chapter 22
Blacksmith Sun still had a certain amount of prestige and connections in the village.
When Su Wangchuan agreed, Blacksmith Sun immediately brought him to the village’s guard captain.
“Wangchuan, come. This is the village militia captain, and also the finest hunter in our village—Captain Zhao Heiniu.”
“Captain Zhao, this is Wangchuan, my disciple. He is very capable.”
Su Wangchuan had seen him before. Captain Zhao was well-proportioned in height and build, with sharp eyes and a body brimming with explosive power. He held a spear, with a wooden bow and quiver on his back, fully armed.
“Captain Zhao.”
Zhao Heiniu also studied Su Wangchuan. He nodded and smiled. “I know. Most of the armor-piercing arrows we used were made by him. He has some skill… but tell me, Old Sun, why are you not staying at the blacksmith shop in the middle of the night? Why did you bring your disciple to me? What is the matter?”
“The blacksmith shop cannot turn funds right now. Since my disciple is idle anyway, I would like you to take him along and teach him the spear and the bow.”
“Sure.” Zhao Heiniu actually agreed without hesitation. “Your disciple hammers iron every night until midnight. If he picks up a spear and bow, he will definitely be a capable hand.”
“Then it is settled. Starting today, he will follow you?” Blacksmith Sun grinned. Zhao Heiniu said to Su Wangchuan, “There is usually nothing going on in the village. You will patrol and stand guard with us. It will certainly be less grueling than forging iron.”
“Then I will be in your care,” Blacksmith Sun said, as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart. He turned his head and instructed, “Wangchuan, follow Captain Zhao and learn some real skills. It will benefit you.”
“Yes.” Su Wangchuan nodded, watching Blacksmith Sun leave.
Zhao Heiniu led him toward a corner of the village.
Several guards were warming themselves by a fire. Late autumn was still quite chilly.
“Captain.”
“How did you bring Old Sun’s precious treasure out here?” The guards naturally recognized Su Wangchuan and teased him.
Zhao Heiniu did not respond. After stopping, he pointed toward the distant straw dummy stake standing opposite them and ordered,
“Since you are a blacksmith, your arm strength and stamina should be adequate. Using a spear will not be difficult…”
“Practice archery first.”
“Let me see your accuracy.”
Zhao Heiniu tossed him a wooden bow and a quiver of arrows.
Su Wangchuan had encountered archery in the gym before. Although he had used a compound bow, the difference was not that great.
He took the wooden bow, pinched an arrow feather between his fingers, smoothly nocked it, drew the string, and completed his aim.
The guards fell silent, watching quietly.
The straw dummy was about twenty paces away.
The wooden bow was easily drawn to full.
The moment he released, the arrow pierced straight through the straw dummy’s head.
“Not bad.” Zhao Heiniu did not skimp on praise. He clapped his hands and smiled. “Your accuracy is good, and your arm strength is very good. Keeping that kind of accuracy under such dim light at night means you will not be bad in daylight. As expected of Old Sun’s disciple.”
“But in real combat, remember this—do not stand still. You will become an easy target… it is best to do it like this…”
Zhao Heiniu took down his bow from his back. With the strides of a tiger, he moved as he nocked and drew in one swift motion.
Almost the instant the bow reached a full moon, the arrow flew.
WHOOSH!
As soon as it left, he nocked another arrow. His movements did not look fast, yet they were both precise and ruthless.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Three arrows in a row—all struck the straw dummy’s head twenty paces away.
Su Wangchuan stared in astonishment.
So strong!
He shot the moment he drew, and while maintaining movement, his accuracy was terrifying.
No wonder his master said he was the village’s finest hunter.
He truly was formidable.
“Captain Zhao, you are amazing.” Su Wangchuan applauded with force.
Someone beside him said, “Hitting a dead target is nothing. Wait until you see the captain shoot down beasts that move at high speed—then you will know what ‘amazing’ really means.”
“Right!” The others joined in, egging him on.
Zhao Heiniu smiled and said, “Standing in place and shooting is only the first step of our training. Next, like what I just did—move while shooting at a fixed target. That lets you maintain your rhythm, further improving your rate of fire and accuracy, while also ensuring your safety. Third, shoot a moving target—release quickly and hit during the prey’s movement. Finally, move while hitting a moving target. Only then can you be said to have truly mastered archery.”
“I have already told you the method. Go practice.”
“For each stage, complete ten thousand repetitions. Only hits count. Then you can proceed to the next stage.”
After speaking, he did not forget to remind him,
“Also.”
“In the early phase, do not use arrowheads. Use arrow shafts without heads as much as possible.”
“Alright.” Su Wangchuan followed the instruction.
He removed every arrowhead from the arrows in the quiver, then began shooting one arrow after another.
After shooting, he picked up the shafts himself.
Then continued.
The next day, after logging in and returning from mining, he continued practicing archery.
Su Wangchuan trained with seriousness.
Although many hunters and villagers nearby could not understand why he had to shoot ten thousand times.
His accuracy was clearly already quite good.
Zhao Heiniu gave no explanation.
Su Wangchuan understood.
This was to cultivate muscle memory.
As a fitness enthusiast, he knew accuracy was one thing, but only through countless repetitions, carving it into muscle memory, could he complete repetitive actions in the shortest time possible.
It was the same as the Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique.
After enough practice, he could hammer iron even with his eyes closed.
Ten thousand stationary shots would brand the draw-and-release sequence into his heart, etching it into the muscles of his very bones.
Indeed, he discovered that his shooting speed grew faster and faster.
When the first stage ended, Su Wangchuan already had a thorough grasp of the wooden bow’s weight and the arrow feathers. He could nock and release in the shortest time.
After another half-day of training, he finally moved on to the next stage.
The second stage was much harder.
Shooting while moving.
At first, every shot missed. Only lucky arrows struck the target.
Su Wangchuan logged off to look up key points for archery. After he understood more deeply, he began adjusting his breathing rhythm, controlling his steps and the height of his body.
He ensured his breathing would not disturb his aim.
He ensured his steps remained within a controllable range and would not drift off target.
He ensured his upper body would not be affected by his lower body.
His heart became calmer.
His movements grew gentler.
The way he held the bow and nocked the arrow became increasingly steady.
Gradually, his arrows began to land on the target.
Although his hit rate was not high…
Each hit still brought him a sense of achievement he had never felt before.
Su Wangchuan trained like this for five full days.
This week, he submitted only two taels of silver.
It felt as though he had returned to the old days.
Yet Su Wangchuan truly improved quickly.
After five days, he had completed ten thousand hits. Now he could achieve ten shots out of ten hits, and he could imitate Captain Zhao Heiniu’s rapid nocking and release.
Even if he could not compare to Captain Zhao Heiniu, it was enough to earn the admiration of the village’s hunters.
That day…
As usual, he went to the iron mine to work during the day.
But there was one less person in the team.
“Brother Lin, why did Heipi not come? Did he take leave?”
The company’s group had grown to twelve people, but today Old Li had no partner. The mine tunnel seemed a little less lively.
Lin Dahai sighed and said, “You do not know? That fellow Heipi wanted to recommend his girlfriend to join the company. The company refused. Then he had his girlfriend search for 《Spirit realm 》 online, which violated the contract, and he has already been dismissed.”
Old Li and the others shook their heads with sighs, as if they had known this long ago.
“Heipi has always spent lavishly with his girlfriend. He owes a lot of money. Debt collectors came to his door, and he could only beg the company for help.”