The old hunter suddenly looked up upon hearing the commotion not far away, and his eyes met Li Zhichen's, who had stopped in front of the thatched cottage.
He was only slightly surprised for a moment, then his expression returned to normal.
He was the guardian of this mountain and usually lived in this thatched cottage, making a living by hunting.
Although the deep mountains were rarely visited by people, occasionally there would be those who lost their way and accidentally stumbled upon this place.
If he was in a good mood, the old hunter would be willing to do a favor and lead the lost person out of the mountains.
But if it happened to be one of his gloomy days, he wouldn't even bother to pay attention, no matter how much you cried or made a fuss.
The old hunter spat out a puff of smoke. Seeing Li Zhichen's delicate appearance, a hint of pity welled up in his heart.
He slowly stood up, patted the dust off his body, walked up to Li Zhichen and asked,
"How did you, a young girl, end up here? Did you get lost?"
Li Zhichen sized up the old man in front of her and guessed his identity. An idea came to her mind.
She was here to hunt in the mountains, and she couldn't count on that useless system. At the moment, no one was more familiar with the terrain in the mountains than this old hunter. With his help, she would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.
So Li Zhichen smiled and said loudly, "I'm here to hunt in the deep mountains. I wonder if you, Uncle, could show me the way?"
The old hunter was taken aback. He sized up the slender Li Zhichen from head to toe and said hesitantly, "Hunt? With what?"
Li Zhichen reached into the bamboo basket on her back, pretending to rummage around, but actually took out the Spiritual Treasure Bow from her spatial bracelet.
"With this."
The old hunter stared intently at the bow and arrow for a moment, then suddenly let out a scoff.
"Where did you pick up this old thing?"
The style of the bow was not bad, but the wood used for the bow arms was something he had never seen before.
Moreover, bows didn't have a long lifespan. This bow was too old. The paint on the bow body had already peeled off. It was obvious that it had been idle for many years and poorly maintained!
Looking at the dusty and uneven appearance of the bow body, its elasticity must be poor, and the toughness of the bowstring was also insufficient.
Such a defective bow would barely be suitable for physical training and martial arts practice on a normal day, let alone hunting. It was simply a pipe dream!
He sized up Li Zhichen's small frame again. He was afraid that she would hurt herself as soon as she drew the bowstring. Shaking his head and waving his hand, he said,
"It's not that I'm shirking. Even if I lead you to find the prey, you'll probably return empty-handed!"
Li Zhichen raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and said with a smile, "How do you know if it won't work if you don't try? Uncle, how about this? You show me the way, and I'll give you half of what I hunt!"
The old hunter was stunned. He didn't expect Li Zhichen to know the rules of hunting. A glint of appreciation flashed across his eyes.
Although he was sure that Li Zhichen wouldn't be able to hunt anything, he was also touched by her bright and confident youthful spirit. So he smiled.
He turned around and went back into the house to get a curved bow wrapped in animal hide, then led Li Zhichen along the mountain ridge towards the depths.
The old hunter had walked this mountain path many times. He knew that the deeper they went, the more difficult the path would be. In the past, there had been girls of Li Zhichen's age who got lost in the forest. When he led them out, he always heard their complaints and cries.
But Li Zhichen was different. Not only did she keep up with him, but she could even walk shoulder to shoulder with him. She was quiet from beginning to end and didn't even utter a sound.
The old hunter couldn't help but turn his head to look at Li Zhichen and deliberately quickened his pace.
But no matter how fast he walked, Li Zhichen could follow him closely without falling behind. There was even a faint tendency for her to overtake him.
The old hunter was puzzled. He had never seen a girl with such good physical strength!
After walking for about half a cup of tea's time, they came to a relatively low earthen slope.
The old hunter used a wooden stick to stir around. Before long, he found a low rabbit hole surrounded by dead branches. It would be difficult to find if one didn't look carefully.
"As the saying goes, among flying birds, nothing is better than the partridge, and among beasts, nothing is better than the rabbit. Rabbits are really good things!"
The old hunter led Li Zhichen to lie in ambush and whispered, "Have you heard of waiting by a tree stump for a hare? There are often hares in this area. But hares are good at digging holes, especially wild hares. They're very cunning. They'll run away at the slightest sign of trouble..."
The old hunter was just imparting his experience to Li Zhichen when he saw Li Zhichen's expression suddenly turn serious. Her bright black eyes stared straight into the distance.
The old hunter followed Li Zhichen's gaze and saw a gray figure appear behind the forest at some point!
It should be a wild hare coming out to forage. It had grayish-brown fur all over and was very plump.
Its two long ears were standing upright. It would stop at the slightest sound, tilting its small head slightly and warily looking around.
Li Zhichen quietly drew out an arrow and placed it on the bow. With the sound of the bowstring being tightened, Li Zhichen had already drawn the bowstring into a full moon and aimed at the rabbit!
The old hunter saw Li Zhichen's serious expression and laughed twice. He seemed to have already foreseen Li Zhichen's dejected look after shooting the arrow crookedly and scaring the hare away.
It wasn't that he looked down on Li Zhichen, but hunting relied not only on skills but also on luck.
Few people could hit the prey with a single arrow, not even experienced old hunters. And Li Zhichen had never even touched a bow and arrow before!
Li Zhichen's slender fingers had already clamped the end of the arrow and pulled it back forcefully.
With a soft "whoosh", the arrow cut through the air and flew out instantly!
The old hunter looked up casually and saw the gray figure in the distance tremble violently!
The next second, the arrow instantly hit the hare and pierced through its neck!
The hare didn't even have time to react before it was shot down to the ground!
The old hunter's smile instantly froze on his face.
Was he seeing things??
Li Zhichen didn't know what the old hunter was thinking. She excitedly stepped forward to check her prey.
The old hunter came to his senses and quickly followed. He saw that the lively hare just now had fallen to the side and was completely lifeless, and the arrow had firmly pinned it to the ground!
The old hunter was somewhat incredulous. He stared with wide eyes and couldn't say a word for a long time.
How could she really hit it?? How could this girl be so lucky!
It wasn't until Li Zhichen pulled out the arrow and picked up the rabbit and put it into her backpack that a black hole appeared on the originally flat ground!
Li Zhichen raised an eyebrow. She thought that although the Spiritual Treasure Bow looked ugly, it was really practical. It could actually break stones and drill into the ground!
The old hunter saw everything and was instantly stunned. "How much strength and accuracy must that be to shoot through the ground..."
Sure enough, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover! It seemed that the little girl's archery was not only accurate but also powerful!
Thinking of his previous contempt, the old hunter only felt his face heat up and a bit painful.