Chapter 6: 06 Bow and Arrow
"Both legs gone?!"
Fang Zhixing's heart skipped a beat, judging from the scene, Ergou had been killed with stones, and his legs had been chopped off.
Why go through the trouble of chopping off the legs after killing someone?
Unless...
At that moment, Fang Zhixing's mind raced, and he couldn't help but think of six words:
During the great famine, people ate each other!
Xigou squeezed through the crowd and, upon seeing the bloody scene, exclaimed, "Holy shit!"
Soon, he too envisioned the horrifying image of cannibalism.
Fang Zhixing slowly stepped back from the crowd, and Xigou followed him out.
Standing on the outskirts, they observed the villagers with sunken eyes and sallow, gaunt faces, feeling a chill in the depths of their hearts.
Before long, the old village chief arrived, stepping forward. He glanced at the body on the ground, his brows furrowing and his face turning sour, silently taking out his dry tobacco pipe.
In a remote mountain village like Funiu Village, far from the heart of the county and in a lawless zone,
how to handle such incidents was largely up to the village chief alone.
After all, the village chief was nominally the head of the village.
As for Ergou, a bachelor with no relatives in the village, no one mourned his death or sought justice for him.
After a short while, the village chief exhaled a puff of smoke and asked, "Did anyone see Ergou yesterday?"
Uncle Bai answered, "Last night, he came to my house asking to borrow some food. I didn't lend him any, and he left."
Auntie Wang chimed in, "He came to my house too, asking for food. I chased him away."
"Right, right, he came to my house to borrow food as well..."
Suddenly, many villagers started talking all at once.
Well, it turned out Ergou was going from house to house asking for food. Unfortunately, his relationship with everyone was so poor that no one was willing to lend him any.
The village chief nodded and declared with finality, "It seems to me that last night, a thief must have sneaked into our village to steal food and happened upon Ergou, who was going around asking for food, and killed him to silence him."
Upon hearing this, the villagers unanimously agreed, "Yes, yes, that must be it."
"Hmm, it seems we need to strengthen our patrols, beware of thieves stealing food," the village chief concluded, and without further ado, called a few people over to instruct them to take Ergou's upper body outside for burial.
And with that, the matter was hastily closed, handled very carelessly.
Fang Zhixing and Xigou returned home, feeling inexplicably heavy-hearted.
Xigou sent a telepathic message, "Tsk, tsk, the village chief really is a master of playing dumb, like an ostrich in the desert, burying its head in the sand as soon as danger approaches, pretending not to see."
Fang Zhixing nodded as he analyzed the pros and cons, saying slowly, "The village chief is the wealthiest man in the village, with a family of dozens. They have the numbers and no one dares to mess with the Zhao family. So, whoever chopped off Ergou's legs, it won't pose a threat to the village chief. But if the village chief doesn't let go of this incident, he might drive the killer into a corner."
Xigou hummed in agreement, responding, "Never mind, it doesn't concern us."
"How can it not concern us?"
Fang Zhixing looked grave, "Ergou's murder means someone was desperate with hunger and targeted him. But think carefully, why would they target Ergou specifically?"
Xigou pondered, "Ergou's a bachelor, living alone..."
Suddenly, he snapped to attention, staring at Fang Zhixing, and said with a start, "You could be a target too!"
"Both of us! If I'm killed, could you survive on your own?"
Fang Zhixing's expression darkened as he muttered, "Damn it, why did I have to end up in such a shitty world?"
Xigou didn't dare respond, after all, it was his excessive actions that lead to their transmigration.
Suddenly, Fang Zhixing stood up and strode over to a corner of the room where a pile of junk was stashed.
He rummaged through it and pulled out a rusty hunting knife.
"Out of everything in the house, the only thing that can be used as a weapon is this hunting knife."
Fang Zhixing picked up the hunting knife, but a smile wouldn't come to his face.
Because the hunting knife was broken in the middle, the blade was either cracked with notches or rolled over; it was clearly worn out and utterly useless for chopping people.
Xigou suddenly reminded him, "Did you forget about the bow and arrows?"
Fang Zhixing said speechlessly, "Can a bow and arrows be used as a melee weapon? That thing is useless for close combat when carrying it on your person."
Xigou thought about it and agreed; the danger came from fellow villagers, people you see all the time, who might stab you in the back all of a sudden and definitely go for a close-range attack.
He consoled, "Having them is better than nothing."
Fang Zhixing sighed, walked under the eaves, and reached for the recurve bow.
[Cold Weapon: Bow, made of soapberry wood, 72 centimeters in length, maximum range of about 60 meters]
The moment Fang Zhixing's hand touched the bow, a shocking sensation hit him unexpectedly, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
Fang Zhixing's eyes widened as a translucent, rectangular panel with a faint glow appeared out of nowhere before him.
[Apprentice Archer · Full Level Conditions:
1. Do 20 consecutive push-ups (unfinished)
2. Hit the bullseye of a target at least 10 meters away 5 times (unfinished)]
"What is this..."
Fang Zhixing froze on the spot.
"Holy shit, what's this?" Xigou suddenly jumped, staring wide-eyed at something in front of him.
Fang Zhixing looked down and saw a translucent panel above Xigou's head too, flickering with glowing text.
[Species: Canine]
[Talent: Dog's Bonds (When you spend a long time by someone's side, you are able to gain a synchronous boost and awaken more talents)]
[Life Remaining Times: 2]
"Fang Zhixing, look..." Xigou looked up, then he also saw the panel in front of Fang Zhixing.
The man and the dog, staring at each other, both uttered exclamations.
"The cheats are here!"
"Golden Finger has arrived!"
It was thrilling, such a surprise!
The unlikely companions could never have imagined that cheats would appear out of the blue like this, taking them completely by delight.
Was it triggered because Fang Zhixing touched the bow and arrows?
Xigou, looking at Fang Zhixing's panel, asked in surprise, "What kind of cheat is this? What do Full Level Conditions mean?"
Fang Zhixing pondered, "Based on my years of gaming experience, this should be 'Full Level Cheats,' meaning, as long as I meet the respective conditions, I'll instantly achieve a result. For example, to become an Apprentice Archer there are two conditions, so, I just need to meet these two mandatory requirements."
Xigou exclaimed in shock, "Do you mean, skip the intermediate steps, reach the goal in one step? Plant the seed and see the flower bloom, and upon the bloom, see Buddha?"
Fang Zhixing nodded, "That should be the case."
Xigou found it incredible and hard to believe, he muttered in astonishment, "If that's true, it's way too awesome."
Fang Zhixing then said, "Your cheat looks pretty amazing too."
Xigou pondered, "This [Bonds Talent] seems to need to bind with a person to take effect, who should I bind with?"
Hearing this, Fang Zhixing scoffed, "What do you mean, you're thinking of not binding with me? Are you waiting for a better offer?"
Xigou chuckled, "Let's not mince words, we're family, you know me. After all, I'm a dog with cheats, not seeking a few beauties to accompany me feels like a disservice to myself!"
Fang Zhixing understood, this damn dog showed its true colors as soon as it got cheats, totally carried away.
He became solemn and said seriously, "What about this [Life Remaining Times: 2] business, you mean you have two lives?"