Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

The heart of the slum, "Seven Turns Alley," was so narrow that only a single carriage could pass through alone.

The low shacks stood shoulder to shoulder, vying for cramped space, with the sky relegated to a thin, elongated crack.

Upon entering the alley, Zhang Shuyuan was forced to slow his pace as the once-wide streets narrowed.

Suddenly, seated on the cart, Shen Qing tensed up, gripping the arrow tightly, his heart like the taut string on the bow, his expression solemn.

He ducked to avoid a protruding eave and said, "Xiao Hu, draw the bow to the full, and hide well."

"Okay."

Seeing Shen Qing in such a serious state, Shen Xiaohu quickly placed an arrow on the bow, drew it fully, ready for battle.

The quiet in the vicinity was unnerving.

It gave Shen Qing a bad premonition.

As they turned the first corner, the nag pulled the cart onto a short, straight section of the alley.

Then, Shen Qing saw about six or seven young men leaning against doorways.

Behind them lay a few farm tools like hoes, more or less.

When they heard the hoofbeats, they looked up in unison, exchanged glances and signals.

Shen Qing reacted instantly, drawing the bow to a full crescent and releasing.

Whoosh!

An arrow shot through the air, like a meteor streaking through the night, leaving only its piercing whistle to echo in the air.

The short-haired youth leaning against a door jolted; he had just received a signal to wait but had no time to react before his legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground.

The arrow was deeply embedded in his forehead, blood instantly seeping across and obscuring his face, as if the surrounding air froze in that moment.

Shock and disbelief flashed across everyone's faces, but one of them quickly realized, "He's onto us! Don't wait, attack!"

At the leader's command, six or seven men each grabbed a tool and surged out.

Without a second thought, Shen Qing shouted, "Xiao Hu, do it!"

"Ah... Okay..."

Shen Xiaohu, shooting a person for the first time, was flustered, and his first arrow was way off mark.

Just as he was about to notch a new arrow, Shen Qing had already fired another.

The arrow struck an opponent's shoulder blade, throwing him off balance and to the ground, with blood rapidly soaking his clothes, immobilizing him.

"Fuck your mother! They are hunters, tough bastards!"

The scene descended into utter chaos.

The other side came charging over, cursing.

Luckily, there was some distance between them, and Shen Qing's bow and arrow held a great advantage due to his excellent archery skills and precision.

In just one confrontation, two or three of the opposition were downed.

Zhang Shuyuan, seeing the situation, quickly crouched and lashed the horse's hindquarters with a whip.

Neigh!

The small nag neighed sharply and suddenly sped up.

Shen Qing's footing was incredibly stable, unaffected by the motion, and arrows kept flying from his hands.

Unfortunately, lacking experience with shooting from a moving horse, his accuracy suffered as the small nag picked up speed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shen Qing, relying purely on instinct, fired three arrows before killing one.

As they drew closer, one furious youth swung a hoe high, aiming to strike down Shen Xiaohu.

Shen Xiaohu, pale with fright, almost subconsciously released his grip.

The arrow turned into a flash of light, racing forth.

It pierced straight through the man's chest, causing him to drop the hoe slightly off target, missing Shen Xiaohu by an inch behind him, narrowly escaping death.

If it weren't for the arrow he had shot just now, there was no doubt that the hoe would have split his head open.

Shen Xiaohu's mind went blank in an instant, without further thought, he quickly shot two more arrows.

At such a short distance, his arrows went right through the man.

The last remaining skinny young man, seeing how fierce Shen Qing and his companions were, had already lost any thought of making a move, and watched helplessly as they disappeared from his sight.

The surviving skinny young man looked at the messy scene with a gulp of saliva, his heart pounding with residual fear.

Usually, they pretended to be ordinary people, and when these "fat sheep" got close, they would relax their guard and then strike unexpectedly.

It had always been foolproof.

They had done it so many times, and not once had it been like this.

Before they even started, the other party seemed to have "foreseen" their move, striking them down first in a manner much more decisive than theirs.

The surviving skinny young man steadied his spirit and went up to check the breath of each of his comrades.

All dead.

His expression changed, and without hesitation, he took the money pouches and some valuable items from his brothers' bodies and quickly ran towards the core area of the shantytown.

The matter had gotten a bit out of hand, and he must report to Old Ba Zi, asking him to avenge his brothers.

After emerging from Seven Turns Alley, the shantytown began to thin out, and the roads became much wider.

Zhang Shuyuan let go completely, continuously whipping and racing the horse at a breakneck speed.

After a short while, the three of them had left the Outer City of Taiping County.

Only after the city walls of the county town were far out of sight did Zhang Shuyuan slow down somewhat.

"We're safe now, they won't be able to catch up," he said.

Shen Qing put away his longbow and sat cross-legged on the plank cart, showing a hint of relief.

Seeing that Shen Xiaohu looked a bit pale, he patted his shoulder and said, "What's the matter, not used to it?"

Shen Xiaohu nodded vigorously.

He hadn't wanted to kill the man at first; he had been confused at the moment and shot several arrows instinctively.

Shen Xiaohu clearly remembered that his arrows had struck vital spots, and the man was surely dead.

He had killed someone.

Shen Qing offered consolation, "Killing someone is nothing. The first time is the hardest, the second easier. It's no different from hunting in the mountains. If you hadn't killed him, he would have killed you. That's just the way the world works; don't overthink it."

Shen Xiaohu looked up at Shen Qing, who seemed to take it lightly, and couldn't help feeling envious. He consoled himself by thinking, "My cousin is right. I didn't really want to kill him. He brought it on himself by running into my arrow. He had it coming."

With that thought, he felt somewhat better inside.

...

Outer City, shantytown area.

A young man with a crewcut ran in flusteredly and gasped, "Old Ba, not good, the brothers at Seven Turns Alley are all dead."

"What did you say?" Old Ba Zi, who was sitting in a chair and gnawing on chicken feet, rose abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief, "Say that again!"

"They're all dead. The fresh faces we encountered today were tough. Our brothers couldn't handle them and got wiped out. Only Little Six managed to escape and bring us the news," the crewcut youth explained.

Old Ba Zi's face immediately turned very ugly.

For all the years he had been operating, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Just then, a young man wearing straw sandals walked in and reported, "Old Dog has sent word, the guy we were watching is a rootless hunter."

As soon as he entered, he saw the crewcut youth with a face full of sweat and asked in surprise, "Hey, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Seven Turns Alley?"

The crewcut youth wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "There's been trouble at Seven Turns Alley. The brothers are all dead."

"What?" The young man in straw sandals exclaimed in shock, staring blankly at Old Ba Zi.

Old Ba Zi slowly sat back down in the chair, the folds on his face gathering into a somewhat fierce expression, "Since he's a rootless, then I don't have to worry about any consequences."

"Let the brothers keep watch. Next time they come to Taiping County, I will personally take action and twist their heads off to hang from the roof beams. They will learn what happens when they cross Old Ba!"

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