The cold wind was piercing.
Large goose feather-like snowflakes drifted leisurely down from the sky.
After a night of accumulation, it had already passed the height of his calves.
Shen Qing, wrapped in a worn "yun" coat, carried a bow, walking on the snow, his footsteps crunching beneath him.
The snowflakes landed on him, quickly melting from the heat, seeping into his clothes.
The cold wind made them stiffen, leaving him shivering.
"I hope I can harvest something today, beg the heavens to grant us a meal, we really can't continue like this."
Shen Qing clasped his hands in his sleeves, his gaze fixed on a clear set of tracks.
These footprints deeply imprinted in the snow formed a winding path extending to the sunny slope ahead.
From his experience, this should be a young deer.
"Ayo, ayo..."
The sudden sound of a deer's cry interrupted Shen Qing's thoughts.
There's something there!
Shen Qing immediately heightened his alertness, carefully taking down his bow and placing a feathered arrow on the string.
He hunched his body, cautiously moving forward.
As he drew nearer, a young deer came into Shen Qing's sight, and he moved even more carefully.
Suddenly, the young deer seemed to sense something, raising its head sharply.
Shen Qing thought, "This is bad."
Deer are timid and suspicious by nature, with keen senses, afraid of the "human scent." Any slight disturbance would send them running.
Shen Qing hurriedly rushed out, shooting an arrow hastily.
Whoosh!
The arrow turned into a black streak, shooting into the white snow.
But in the blink of an eye, the young deer in sight disappeared into the vast snowy landscape.
Missed again.
Shen Qing's face immediately turned a bit grim.
"Darn, my arrow!"
Shen Qing hurried to the snow, fumbling around.
However, as far as the eyes could see, it was all white in the snow—no sign of the arrow.
Time ticked away, Shen Qing searched every spot where he recalled the arrow landing, all in vain.
The last arrow was gone!
...
At the foot of the mountain.
A village surviving on hunting nestled there.
The village had over thirty households, all earthen huts with straw roofs.
Among all the huts, a dilapidated earthen house stood out conspicuously in the wind and snow.
Its walls were compacted with a mix of mud and straw, deep yellow with specks of blotches.
The roof was covered with thick straw, now blanketed by a layer of snow, making the already fragile house appear on the brink of collapse.
Shen Qing easily made his way to the front door of the earthen house, pushed hard, and walked inside.
"Sister, I'm back."
The interior was furnished extremely simply, with a tattered wooden table, a few chairs missing arms or legs, and a wooden board barely qualifying as a bed as the only furniture.
Shen Qing shut the door behind him, taking off his hat and hanging the bow on the wall along with some farm tools and ragged clothes.
In the corner of the room, a frail woman quickly stood, looking at Shen Qing, "Why are you back so late today? I thought something happened to you outside."
This was Shen Qing's elder sister, Shen Fang.
Since arriving in this world, Shen Qing had depended on her for survival.
Shen Qing said, "Today didn't go well, I lost the arrow on the way, caused some delay."
Shen Fang briskly moved to the door, brushing the snow off Shen Qing.
The light through the door crack cast on her face, revealing a delicate countenance.
However, due to long exposure outside, her skin was somewhat dark and rough, hiding much of her beauty.
"Lost is lost, as long as you're okay. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't be able to face our deceased parents."
After a while, Shen Fang suddenly said, "Today Chen Yuan came by again."
While speaking, Shen Fang unconsciously tugged on her sleeve, covering the bruise on her wrist.
Shen Qing looked up, "Chen Yuan?"
He couldn't help but furrow his brows.
Chen Yuan's family consisted of three brothers, with their father being the village chief, quite reputable, and having some connections in town.
The three brothers, relying on their father's influence, were arrogant and domineering, with many in the village either fearing or currying favor with their family.
Not easy to deal with.
"What did they come for?"
"They said in the county town someone like me could serve as a maid in a wealthy household, worth five or six taels of silver, asked if I was willing, Qingzi, maybe…"
Shen Qing interrupted her, "Sister, we have no backing, no one knows where they'd sell you if you self-sell. What if they sell you into a brothel, how would you handle that? Don't listen to their nonsense."
"You're the only male in our family, and before our parents passed, they advised me to take good care of you, not to end our family line..." Shen Fang said softly.
Shen Qing remained silent.
All these "mountain drivers" who hunted lived off the mountains, with no land.
Women around here could only contribute so much besides housekeeping.
"By the way, sister," Shen Qing changed the topic, "Is there any meat left at home?"
"It's all gone," Shen Fang hesitantly said, "now there's only some bran cake left."
Shen Qing's face fell, "... Take it out and eat it first, I'll think of something else tomorrow."
"Alright."
Shen Fang stood up, took two pieces of bran cake out from a broken jar, and placed them in Shen Qing's hands, "Qingzi, don't worry too much, as long as I'm around, I won't let you go hungry."
"Got it." Shen Qing took the grayish bran cake.
He looked down at the bran cake in his hand, its surface uneven, dotted with tiny flecks of bran, resembling a piece of yellow earth eroded by time.
Heavy.
It didn't look much different from other cakes.
However, when you took a bite, the sensation was indescribable.
Unlike ordinary soft and delicate pastries, it was coarser, hard to swallow.
Each bite accompanied by a gritty sound, as if chewing sand.
The bran rolled in the mouth, bringing about an indescribable foreign sensation.
If there was a taste, it would be a faint, slightly bitter, grassy flavor, more of a challenge to the taste buds than actual food.
For someone like Shen Qing, used to modern life, it was undoubtedly a torment.
Yet for families like Shen Qing's, as long as it filled the belly, taste wasn't important.
Shen Qing exhaled deeply, forcing it down with snow water.
Though the bran cake was hard to eat, once his stomach was full, Shen Qing felt an unprecedented comfort.
His tired body gradually warmed, and there was more life in his face.
At that moment, gazing at the bare earthen house, Shen Qing's mind couldn't help but stir.
After over a month in this world, he had figured out where he was now.
He was in a village named Hongshan Village, relying mainly on hunting, with roughly thirty households under the jurisdiction of Taiping County.
Taiping County had mountains to the north, a large lake to the south, and several tens of thousands of families making a living here.
The county had four markets: north, south, east, and west, controlled by the Four Great Eastern Families.
People from Hongshan and other mountain drivers, tenants, fisherman's sons, and woodcutters all relied on the Four Great Eastern Families for a livelihood.
However, the Four Great Eastern Families in the county town were not benevolent figures.
Each of them was ruthless, not caring about anyone's well-being.
Together with the tax officials from the Great Zhou Government, the local people found it hard to even achieve subsistence.
If unfortunately met with natural disasters or calamities, it would lead to the ruin and destruction of families.
In such times, the situation could be simply summed up in one word: difficult!
Fortunately, reborn in this world, he had not been without support.
With a thought, a spark flickered in Shen Qing's eyes, and an invisible ripple suddenly waved in his vision.
A section of inked text unfurled before him like a painting scroll.
[Skill: Bow Technique (Entry Level)]
[Progress: 98/100 points]
[Status: Cannot be upgraded]
[Note: The movement of heaven is full of power, so the superior man makes himself strong and untiring! Continuous practice can break through skill progress.]