After eating whatever scraps he could find or steal, Lin Shu drifted into sleep — just like every other night.
For an entire week, he'd been repeating the same cycle:
Kill. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
Seven bodies in seven nights.
Only five of those victims had anything of value — copper coins hidden deep in their pockets or tucked into belts. The others died for nothing.
But Lin Shu didn't feel regret.
It was all part of the hunt.
His fifth victim, a middle-aged woman carrying 10 copper coins, was the greatest prize he'd taken so far — a small fortune for someone like him.
By the end of the week, his hidden hoard had grown to thirty-one copper coins.
Wealth he had never even dreamed of.
But copper alone wasn't enough. Copper wouldn't protect him or help him rise above the filth.
He needed weapons — tools to climb higher.
Sitting alone in his rundown shack, Lin Shu's mind spun with possibilities.
With a bow and arrows, he could hunt animals or blood beasts — creatures whose flesh and parts could fetch silver if sold to the right people.
With a bow, he could kill from afar — pick off weaker prey without ever getting his hands dirty.
He could become a hunter instead of a scavenger.
The decision was made.
The next day, Lin Shu left for the town — hiding his copper coins deep in his ragged clothes.
But there was a problem.
No blacksmith would take him seriously if he looked like a beggar.
He needed to change.
Lin Shu found a small clothes shop tucked in a narrow alleyway — the kind of place that sold second-hand clothes to those too poor to afford anything better.
The shopkeeper barely looked at him, but Lin Shu's sharp gaze quickly scanned the shelves, picking out plain, used clothes — nothing too fancy, but intact enough to hide what he really was.
It cost him six copper coins.
The remaining twenty-five copper coins would go towards the bow.
With his new appearance, Lin Shu wandered from blacksmith to blacksmith — asking, bargaining, lying about why he needed weapons.
Most ignored him.
Some cursed him.
But after hours of searching and arguments, he finally managed to buy a bow for seventeen copper coins — small and cheap, but enough for a beginner.
Three arrows cost him six copper coins more — leaving him with only two copper coins to his name.
It didn't matter.
He had what he wanted.
But now another problem rose in his mind.
Rumors were spreading — the land where his shack stood was going to be cleared soon. Some said it would become a shop... others said houses would be built there.
He couldn't stay there much longer.
Lin Shu clenched his new bow tightly.
He had his first weapon.
He would need a new hunting ground...
...and more corpses to pave his way forward.
Lin Shu walked into the small, dusty library — the scent of old parchment and mildew filling the air.
Behind a creaky wooden desk sat an old man, half-asleep with his head resting on one hand. His cloudy eyes cracked open at the sound of footsteps, flicking toward the boy.
Lin Shu approached carefully, suppressing the instinct to lower his gaze like a street beggar. He needed to appear calm — like someone who belonged here.
He forced his voice to sound polite.
"Good evening, sir... I would like to ask if you have a book about animals and blood beasts around the city. I want to know more about them... since I usually don't find a hunt close to our town i might have to go further away."
The old man's eyelids drooped slightly as he gave the boy a slow, calculating glance.
Small scars marked Lin Shu's thin hands — not from weapons, but from years of hardship. His clothes were cheap but clean, and his sharp eyes flicked around the room like a cornered animal.
Not a common beggar... but not a real hunter either.
The old fox leaned back, scratching his scruffy beard.
"A young hunter, are you?"
Lin Shu nodded slightly, careful not to reveal too much.
The old man smirked to himself.
He doesn't know much.
A few scars on his hands meant nothing — any street rat could get those. This boy had probably only hunted rabbits or birds near the outskirts. If he was looking for books, that meant he was planning to go deeper into the forests — and deeper meant more prey and if he is unlucky a blood beasts.
A perfect chance to squeeze a few extra coins from him.
"We have books about the local beasts..." the old man said slowly. "But knowledge... isn't cheap."
Lin Shu's heart clenched.
His two copper coins were meant for food.
But...
He couldn't afford to not know what he was hunting.
If he blindly wandered into the forest, he'd be dead before he could fire his first arrow.
After a moment of silence, Lin Shu reached into his pocket and placed one of his last copper coins on the desk.
"I don't need the best one... just something that tells me what kind of beasts live around here... and how dangerous they are."
The old man's smirk widened.
He took the coins and slowly shuffled toward the shelves, his bony fingers tracing along cracked spines.
A minute later, he returned with a thin, yellowed book — half the pages missing, but enough information inside to be worth two copper coins to a desperate boy.
Lin Shu's fingers trembled slightly as he took the book.
No copper coins left.
He didn't have a choice but to buy that book other books would be more expensive the only reason he got this one for two copper coins was because of its state but from what he checked it did have the things that he wanted...
Without another word, Lin Shu left the library — clutching the book tightly as if it were worth its weight in gold.
That night, beneath the flickering light of a stolen candle, Lin Shu began to learn.
He would memorize every beast... every weakness...
And the possible ways to capture or kill them.
Lin Shu woke up in the cold morning, his stomach gnawing at him like a beast trapped in his gut.
The thin book lay open beside him, its yellowed pages worn from the night before.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember everything he'd read.
Most of the book was filled with common animals — deer, hares, foxes — creatures that wouldn't fetch much coins unless they were skinned perfectly.
But tucked between the lines were descriptions of blood beasts — creatures born from the strange energy that seeped into the world.
The Red-Eyed Wolf was a beast he wouldn't forget — a creature twice the size of a normal wolf with glowing red eyes.
Then there was the Wind Rabbit, capable of generating gusts of wind to increase its speed. The description reminded him of the cultivators he saw more then a weak ago.
Lin Shu's eyes sharpened.
No copper coins.
No food.
Only knowledge and a weapon.
He grabbed his bow, the three arrows wrapped in cloth.
Today, he'd hunt.
Lin Shu then went to the area where the Wind Rabbits lived — east of the town.
After leaving and reaching the forest, Lin Shu covered himself in dirt and mud to hide his scent from both prey and any unwanted predators.
He carefully hid behind a bush, his bow gripped tightly in his small hands. He wasn't here to make a profit — not yet. This was his first hunt using a bow.
He had practiced a little the day before, but those were just empty shots at trees. He was still a rookie with no real experience.
That's why he came — to gain the skills he needed for the future.
He scattered a few crumbs of bread as bait. Hours passed, filled with endless trial and error. The bowstring cut into his fingers, his hands growing numb from the cold.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a few birds fluttered down to the bait.
Lin Shu's eyes narrowed.
His breathing slowed.
He nocked an arrow, drawing the string back with all the strength his small body could muster —
— and missed.
The birds scattered.
But Lin Shu waited.
He stayed still, patient, forcing down the frustration boiling in his chest.
Another bird came.
He tried again.
Missed.
By the third bird, his hands were shaking from hunger and exhaustion.
But this time —
Thwip!
The arrow pierced the bird's chest.
Lin Shu's eyes widened. He felt a strange excitement bubbling inside him. He quickly jumped out, rushing to the dying creature and twisting its neck — just like he'd seen the hunters do before.
It was small... barely a handful of meat.
But it was his first kill with a bow.
Lin Shu carefully retrieved his arrow, wiping the blood off on the grass.
As long as they weren't rusted or broken, he'd keep using them — every copper coin mattered.
Now he just needed to find a bigger target.