'It's been 5 years since I was reincarnated in this world'.
There was silence between the father and son duo as they made their way back home, it was almost pitch black now and the houses in the town were lit by candlelight, they had just made it out of the forest and were entering the outskirts.
'At first, I was surprised and overjoyed, never would I have thought my wish would come true, and soon my body caught up with my mind and I could move how I wanted, I realised the status of my family, this world has far less conveniences than my previous, but honestly that didn't matter, I had a healthy body and a happy family and that's all that mattered to me'
He looked up at the sky, the stars were beginning to shine brightly in patterns he only recently became more familiar with.
'Different sky, different landscape but people were still people, I did have… or still do have trouble getting along with those my age, after all I 'am not a kid'… or so I thought'
He looked down at his hands, they were small and the skin was still pink, the sun had barely kissed his skin and he hadn't even done much labour, they were the hands of a child, tiny and fragile.
'Just now, I actually put my life at risk because I thought because I knew more than the other children, because I thought I was smarter than my parents, that I could do what I want and get away with it, but that was just arrogance'
His fist tightened, he thought that even if he tried to punch someone it would hurt as much as a gnats bite.
'Even though I lived a previous life, how much did I actually 'live', I was too fragile to do anything, I never formed any real relationships and all I did was fill my head with books and useless knowledge, really, how was I any different from a child? Even though I should technically be older than my current parents… I can't see myself as so'.
He looked over at his father that was a few paces ahead, the broad and reliable shoulders and unshakable figure.
'Compared to him, I'm truly a child… I guess that's why I can accept what he said, I'm really immature'
His eyes returned to the night sky.
'I wonder if this is how the main characters in those stories felt, they had an unconscious sense of superiority, a sense of confidence almost bordering on arrogance that made them push themselves forward, as if they couldn't be stopped; And in those stories it almost always worked out for them'.
He shook his head.
'That isn't me, that can't be me, I need to look back and realise my mistakes'.
As he finished his train of thought they reached the front of their house and gentle aroma wafts towards them.
"Smells like the soup is ready, you go ahead I'm going to string this thing up and bleed it." He father said, patting the mountain of meat laying on his shoulder.
"Okay" Shu He nodded and ran ahead, opening the wooden door to the house his nose was blasted by the collective smell of vegetables and meat stewing together, realising he hadn't eaten since earlier in the morning his stomach growled.
"Little He, is that you?" His mother, Shu An's voice called out from the partition section of the main room, steam could be seen wafting out.
"Yes, I'm back mother!" He said, taking his cloak off and placing it on a hanger next to the door, he took off his satchel and went to carry it to his room.
"Is your father with you?" She called out causing him to pause and awkwardly reply.
"Uh… Yeah he's just stringing up some prey he caught…"
"He went and caught something? But why we don't need much else right now and no one has requested anything at the moment…" He could almost hear the gears turning in her head before he could hear panicked footsteps leaving the kitchen area.
"Did something happen?!" She ran up to Shu He before grabbing him on both shoulders before she looked him up on down.
"Yeah… I'm fine! Father saved me before anything happened".
"But your chin is red! Are you hurt?!" She pulled his face up so she could get a better look, her eyes filled with worry.
"It's okay I just tripped and fell!" He let out a smile at his mother's worry for him.
"Hmmm if you say so… just tell me if anything does hurt okay?"
"Yeah okay"
"Good!" She nodded "Now go change your clothes you've got dirt all over them, the soups all ready, I've been keeping it warm for when you were back, we will eat when your father comes in!" she said before returning to the kitchen.
Shu He smiled as he watched her go, before turning and going in to his room, he was actually very lucky to own his own room as the majority of the children in the village share a room with their parents, or rather the entire family sleeps in the same room.
His room was just big enough to fit his bed and a couple of storage units, nothing too fancy but it was a luxury most people his age didn't have.
Before he got changed there was one thing he had to do, he took the pot out of his satchel and checked it over once more to check for damage, it was still fine so he went to a door that led to the yard in his room, it led straight out in to a fenced off area where there were a few lines of plants all growing neatly, he went to the end where a slightly bigger plant was, it was a small tree that he was growing that grew fruit, while it wasn't that important to him it was a side project.
He dug up a hole that was slightly larger than the pot he used before and lined it with soil he had prepared before unpotting it and placing it in the ground beneath the tree, as far as he understood this plant had slightly parasitic properties and grew using trees or other plants, which is why it's called a 'Root-flower'.
After he was done he stood up and placed his hands on his hips proud of his work.
'Great, now if I let it grow for a bit longer, I should be able to take some branch cuttings and grow more of them! With this I can make some of the paste and hopefully make some money the next time the caravan rolls in'
He hadn't actually been to the caravan before when they've set up outside the village, they usually only stay for a day or two and children usually aren't allowed near, mostly because it's a place for trading both items and information so no-one wants to be annoyed by children running over the place.
Shu He has made medicine before, but he's only managed to make simple things like cold remedies or stuff for upset stomachs or headaches, mostly simple pain relief but it was hard to sell such things, the results aren't obvious or instant but more importantly the maker was a child, the placebo effect can go both ways and when adults hear that a child made the medication they often ignore positive effects because they can't believe it, thus he's barely managed to sell much in the past even with his father's help.
But this stuff is different, it's applied directly to wounds to quickly clot the blood to stop the bleeding and promote healing, it's an affect that can be seen in a few minutes! Nothing is better advertising than visual proof! Furthermore it can be combined with his other herbs to add numbing and pain relief affects, he was planning to make two different types, one just for closing wounds and the other for both closing wounds and reliving the pain.
Having done what he needed he went back to his room and changed clothes for clean ones, unfortunately he couldn't regularly take baths, the only source of water in the village was the wells and getting enough for a bath was just a waste of time and effort, at most they'd use a small bucket of water and wipe themselves down.
He made his way back in to the living room of the house to see his Father and Mother sitting at the table.
"What took you so long? It's going to get cold, come!" His mother exclaimed.
"Did you plant it properly?" His father asked.
Shu He nodded and he took his place at the table, his dinner was, like he smelled earlier, a soup made with a fatty broth, with meat and a variety of vegetables, with a side of bread which was brown and slightly hard, he didn't know exactly why but he assumes the grains used to make the bread leaves it like this, very different from modern grains in his old world, after all a lot of modern food was produced through painstaking generations of selective breeding and such.
"Did you find what you were looking for finally? I remember you talking about it months ago" His mother said, she tore a bit of bread and dipped it in the soup before popping it in her mouth and nodding.
"Mmm yeah, it's a bit young but it should be fine" Shu He replied before turning to his father and asking "Father, have you found out when the next caravan in coming along yet?"
"I'm hear it should be in about two months' time- Do you want to come this time?"
'Just near the end of the winter season… I'll be six by then' He thought to himself.
"Yeah! It might be a bit tight, but I think I'll have something to trade then!"
"I see, that's good then." With that, the family decided to quieten down while they ate their meal, if they spoke too much it would go cold.
---
"Father?" Shu He spoke to Shu Li, that was sitting on a chair with his eyes closed and tea in hand.
"What is it?" His father replied, curious, at this time in the evening his son was usually engrossed in reading or working in his room, so he felt it was unusual.
"Can you teach me how to use a bow?"
"…What?" Shu Li's face widened with surprise, and he almost dropped his tea.
"You, want to learn to use the bow?!" He almost exclaimed.
"Is it that shocking…" Shu He said with a slightly sullen face.
"No, I was just surprised since you've never shown any interest outside of your reading and plants".
"Ah well... I thought I didn't need to use them" He fiddled with his hands awkwardly.
"And you do now? I thought you wanted to be a herbalist or doctor, a bow is a hunter's tool"
"W-well I don't think I need it, but I could at least defend myself"
"Wouldn't a dagger or sword be better?"
"Maybe so but… It was cool!" He burst out with a smile.
However his Father didn't seem too enthusiastic.
"Shu He, what do you think a bow is?" He asked his son.
Shu He was of course confused by the question and answered with the first thing that came to him.
"It's a tool, a tool for hunting, a tool for killing".
His answer left Shu Li slightly stunned, he always seemed to forget how bright his child was, however he still shook his head lightly.
"That may be so for other people, but to me, the bow is my life"
"Your life?" His answer left Shu He stunned and confused, what did he mean, was he to take it literally?
"I see you don't understand, I don't mean that I'm obsessed with it, but that it is what gave me everything I have now, without the bow I can't hunt, without hunting I can't earn a living."
Light of realisation passed through Shu He's eyes.
"Without the bow, I wouldn't be here, thus the bow is my life, it has shaped my life and continues to do so."
"So… you won't teach me?" Shu He realised he took it a bit too lightly and felt guilty.
"Ha-ha, I didn't say that, just that I want you to take it seriously, no slacking off." He patted his sons head while chuckling.
"I will!" He yelled with determination.
"Good, we'll start in the morning, make sure to sleep properly tonight".
"Got it!" The young boy replied and decided to head straight for his room, he was full of excitement to start learning, seeing that arrow cleanly pierce the boars head had left a deep impression on him.
Back in the living room, his father looked at the closing door to his son's room before laying back in his chair and taking a sip of tea.
'Perhaps, this is for the best' He thought to himself.
He fully supported his son's endeavour in medicine, but he couldn't help but worry, as a hunter he understood.
As long as there were animals he could hunt, and as long as there were people there would be a need for food, his job as a hunter was both predictable and fairly stable, but for a doctor or herbalist it was different, in this area at least not many people got injured, and if they did they'd usually have stock of medicine if they needed it, otherwise they would be too poor to afford it in the first place, it would be different in a larger city or in a place with war, that's where the profession bloomed the most.
In the end, him being taught how to use a bow would mean he could always fall back on hunting to make money.
At least, this is how his Shu Li thought.