As ti passed, the black night grew increasingly cool, and the bright moon overhead gradually thinned. If one listened carefully, intermittent light snoring from those deep in sleep could be heard.
Perhaps this was one of the rare monts of peace in Dongshan Village.
It was already late at night, and in the darkness of Dongshan Village, a single candlelight flickered in a thatched cottage.
Su Qi'an sat on a small stool, concentrating on modifying the longbow in his hands.
In his previous life, he was a professional archer, most passionate about making bows and crossbows. Though not a grand master, modifying this simple wooden longbow was child's play for him.
The bow seed largely unchanged, with just a sight added and the bowstring slightly thickened. But its power would surely surprise Li Hu and Zhao Da.
Su Qi'an blew off the dust from the wooden bow, lightly plucking the bowstring, producing a crisp, taut sound.
Satisfied, he turned his head to look at Qin Zi'yin sleeping soundly, reassured that he hadn't disturbed her.
Glancing out the window at the increasingly dark night, everything remained completely silent.
Su Qi'an furrowed his brow, muttering, "Could I be overthinking this?"
"Yes, perhaps I'm just being too cautious. This is good, I can sleep peacefully now."
Feeling relieved, he was about to lie down when suddenly, a sharp, piercing wind sound erupted.
The screech was so loud it could be heard throughout Dongshan Village.
"As expected, sothing's happened," Su Qi'an's expression dramatically changed.
The incident he had anticipated had indeed occurred.
The sharp sound was a warning arrow, a thod of transmitting ssages.
Initially used only by the military, it gradually spread throughout the Great Liang Dynasty as a quick warning system, especially in less stable regions.
Its production wasn't complex. Even old hunters could make them, and most villages would keep around ten warning arrows.
When Su Qi'an returned to the village, he had specifically asked Li Hu and Zhao Da to be vigilant these days.
As hunters who also protected the village, they naturally agreed.
This ti, three arrows were fired - a signal that either mountain bandits were descending or a large beast was approaching.
Within monts, the previously silent Dongshan Village erupted into chaos, with gong and drum sounds mixed with noisy shouting.
"Keep your won and children inside! n, follow to fight the beast!"
"Kill the beast! Kill the beast!"
Just as Su Qi'an had thought, the danger was indeed a wild beast from the forest.
Qin Zi'yin, awakened by the commotion, sat up and looked at Su Qi'an standing motionless. She knew what he wanted to do, worry etched deeply on her face. She opened her mouth but said nothing.
Su Qi'an placed the longbow beside the arrow quiver and embraced Qin Zi'yin, whispering in her ear, "Wife, don't worry. Your husband will return safely. After all, I haven't yet given you a good life."
Qin Zi'yin nodded, wrapping her arms around him and looking deeply into his eyes. She then whispered sothing in his ear, her ears turning red.
Su Qi'an laughed, ruffling her hair, nodded solemnly, and then shouldered his bow and quiver, striding out.
At the eastern end of the village, nurous torches and figures surged. In the firelight, a beast over 2 ters tall could be seen, its eyes emitting a gloomy light, baring bloody fangs and glaring nacingly at the surrounding people.
The village leaders were naturally the dozen or so hunters led by Li Hu and Zhao Da.
At this mont, both sides maintained distance, with no one daring to make a move.
Earlier, so bold young n had rushed forward with hoes and iron shovels.
Before they could react, this beast weighing at least 600-700 kilograms made a single pounce that knocked down these young n.
If Li Hu hadn't been quick to stop the villagers from counterattacking, these young n would have beco the beast's al.
The young n were saved, but at a cost - three seriously injured and two with minor injuries.
This was just an initial encounter. A full-scale attack would likely not succeed just by overwhelming numbers.
The beast was in its pri, with thick skin and a robust body. Even surrounded by so many people, it showed no fear, looking at them as if they were re prey.
Although frustrated and angry, Li Hu and Zhao Da knew that rushing was the greatest mistake in hunting such a beast.
It was late at night. If they could just hold out a few more hours, the beast would retreat at dawn.
Most importantly, Li Hu was eagerly anticipating one person's arrival - soone who could have predicted and warned about this potential attack. Li Hu deeply admired Su Qi'an.
Since Su Qi'an could precisely predict, he must also have a solution.
Just as Li Hu was thinking this, Zhao Da's voice suddenly rang out.
"Zhu'zi! Be careful! The beast is coming your way!"
When Li Hu ca to his senses, he saw the white beast roar and charge towards a young hunter on the right.
Everyone drew their bows and shot at the white beast, but its hide was too thick for their attacks to have much effect.
Instead, this only enraged the beast. It roared again and began charging wildly in all directions.
The young hunter was killed in a single bite.
Seeing Zhu'zi dead, Li Hu was completely enraged. He shouted, "Everyone stop! Follow my orders! Shoot at its eyes! If it gets close, use fire!"
With Li Hu's command, the previously panicked crowd found their backbone and began to counterattack.
This counterattack did have so effect, limiting the beast's movent. But having ruled the forest for years, this beast had extensive experience fighting humans.
After dodging a volley of arrows, the white beast roared and charged directly at Li Hu.
"Hmph! This beast!" Li Hu understood exactly what the beast was doing.
Experienced in dealing with humans, the beast knew the strategy of "capturing the king first".
Li Hu scoffed. He had the sa thought. Seeing the beast charging at him, he abandoned his bow and drew a rusty iron knife from his waist.
At close range, a knife was more useful than a bow.
The white beast was fast, ignoring arrows and torches. In just a few breaths, it had Li Hu pinned down.
The crowd cried out, "Brother Li Hu!"
"Zhao Da, I'm fine. Quick, control this beast," Li Hu's heavy voice ca from under the beast's massive body.
Looking closely, an iron knife was firmly lodged in the beast's mouth, its bloody saliva dripping down.
Li Hu's face was red, clearly struggling to hold on.
Zhao Da, Shui Sheng, Tie Niu, and other hunters threw ropes, binding the beast. The ropes tightened, controlling the beast's four legs.
The white beast growled low, understanding its situation, but didn't retreat. Its blood-red eyes remained fixed on Li Hu beneath its feet, seemingly determined to take his life.
Its massive head continuously approached, and no matter how the hunters pulled the ropes, they couldn't stop the beast's advance.
Suddenly, whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several sharp sounds ca from the distant darkness.
Unfortunately, only one arrow accurately hit the beast's left hind leg. The others missed.
The beast, wounded, began to tremble. The villagers' spirits lifted, focusing their strength on its injured leg.
With everyone's full effort, they managed to drag the massive beast two to three ters.
Simultaneously, Li Hu was quickly pulled away by waiting villagers.
Although the beast was temporarily controlled, no one dared to be careless. If not for the mysterious arrow that struck the beast, they wouldn't have montarily turned the situation around.
The beast and the villagers remained in a stalemate. Then, several more whooshing sounds erupted.
This ti, more arrows ca - at least a dozen, though the archer's aim was quite poor. Only one arrow hit its mark.
Then, Su Qi'an's figure slowly erged.
The villagers' faces showed astonishnt. A weak-looking scholar actually dared to co to such a dangerous place.
Their surprise quickly turned to admiration for Su Qi'an's luck. By appearing now, he faced much less danger.
Most crucially, his lucky arrow had sohow struck the beast's eye.
The already wounded beast was now half-blind. With so many people, they believed they could eventually subdue it.
The beast was valuable - delivering it to the authorities could earn a significant reward. If the officials took notice, their future prospects would be bright.
The villagers' eyes, previously filled with fear, now glead with greed. Su Qi'an was completely ignored.
Although events were proceeding as they hoped, they overlooked one critical point.
A already-savage beast would beco even more ferocious when wounded!
Indeed, after a few agonized howls, the white beast suddenly roared to the sky. Even children and won behind closed doors were terrified by this sudden roar.
Imdiately, the beast's massive body - like a moving mountain - violently attacked the villagers who had injured its leg, viciously biting and tearing.
[--------------------------------------------]
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