Hunting The Wild Boar (Part 3)

The long-unused chest emitted a musty, dusty smell.

It wasn't very full, and Huo Tianzhou momentarily paused when he saw a wooden bow on top.

He then took out the bow and closed the chest.

Although he had seen Liang Hongyu's skills and knew she often hunted alone, hunting wild boars was different from catching pheasants and rabbits.

It was much more dangerous, and in the past, even groups from nearby villages had returned with injuries.

Liang Hongyu usually used a slingshot and was quite adept with it, but she still accepted the bow when Huo Tianzhou handed it to her.

The teak wood was heavy, hard, durable, and resistant to pressure and bending.

It gave her a very solid and reassuring feeling in her hand.

Liang Hongyu hadn't known that such a bow was kept in the house.

The bow's body was carved with a very detailed pattern, and it can be seen that it hadn't been used for a long time, with a thin layer of wax that had dulled over time.

After she took the wooden bow, Huo Tianzhou turned around and went into his own room.

When he came out, he held a bamboo quiver containing ten bamboo arrows, each with black and white feathers bound with thick twine.

Arrows that were made from bamboo are highly resistant to corrosion.

Huo Tianzhou, in his spare time, used small bamboo tubes to craft arrows.

After removing the leaf and burning the bamboo, it had to be dried before it was suitable for further crafting.

Even if it was left out in the sun, it would take about ten days to become usable.

These bamboo arrows were clearly newly made.

They seemed rushed, as the time for sun exposure wasn't sufficient, and the bamboo color wasn't perfectly matched.

Liang Hongyu picked up a bamboo arrow and examined it.

The arrow shaft was still quite rough because it was finished in a hurry.

She calculated the time in her mind; that when Huo Tianzhou made bamboo wares that day, she only saw the laths and did not set aside bamboo tubes for making bows and arrows.

It seemed that Huo Tianzhou had begun to make them as soon as he heard that she was going hunting in the mountains.

Liang Hongyu placed the bamboo arrow back, slung the quiver over her shoulder, and took the wooden bow, preparing to leave.

She noticed that Huo Tianzhou had been watching the wooden bow in her hand.

When she glanced up, he looked away while holding the oil lamp ahead to light the way.

...

They gathered at the entrance to the back mountain.

Liang Hongyu walked out of the yard and walked onto the road, where he heard a few dog barks nearby.

Turning her head, she saw Wu Erlang approaching her not far away.

Behind him were the people who were gathering for the mountain hunt.

Walking alongside him were Qian Huizhong and his older brother Qian Huihong.

Two hunting dogs rushed to Liang Hongyu's feet, sniffed around her, and then crouched beside her while looking back at their owner.

Everyone carried their tools: some carried sickles, others wooden sticks.

Many others had bows and arrows.

After exchanging greetings, they headed towards the back mountain.

"Hey, Xiaoyu, these bamboo arrows," Wu Erlang suddenly leaned in to examine them closely.

After a moment, he stepped back and said confidently, "It was made by Tianzhou, right?"

Wu Erlang sounded somewhat surprised.

So, Liang Hongyu replied, "Can you tell it? It's so obvious?"

After several days of hunting, it's quite appropriate to make some self-defense tools.

"To be honest, I couldn't tell in this dim light," Wu Erlang smiled and said, "I mainly saw the wooden bow in your hands. Since Tianzhou gave you the wooden bow, It's impossible for him not to make the arrows for it."

Wu Erlang said with rare joy.

She remembered before leaving, Huo Tianzhou couldn't help but glance at the wooden bow.

Liang Hongyu asked, "Is this wooden bow very special?"

Looking at Liang Hongyu's true ignorance, Wu Erlang felt that it shouldn't be, then suddenly said, "Yes, Tianzhou stored the wooden bow a long time ago, so it was nor Mal if you haven't had a chance to see it since you married to him."

Liang Hongyu turned her head to look at him, now somewhat curious.

The two of them walked behind the others, Wu Erlang who carried a long-handled firewood knife, seemed to have too much to say, so he took a few steps to walk before he figured it out where to start.

"Tianzhou liked to play with these things since he was a child, just a few years old. Other people's little sons only know how to play around, and he doesn't know where to learn it. He made a bamboo bow that looked good and brought it with him every day. At that time, Uncle Huo was still there and he made the wooden bow for him because he liked it."

"Uncle Huo at that time happened to have a good wood and thought that Tianzhou wouldn't be able to use it for a few years, so he made it according to his adult size and just let him play with his bamboo bow first." Wu Erlang said that he laughed, "But that little guy was so stubborn at that time, and he had to carry this wooden bow when he went into the mountains. However, where can he use this bow with that little body at that time?"

He chuckled and then sighed, "After that, Uncle Huo had an accident, and Tianzhou fell ill again. So, he put away the wooden bow and never used it again..."

After the sudden changes in Huo Tianzhou's family, when he was seven, he fell seriously ill again and could no longer speak.

Since then, his health deteriorated, and he had no chance to use the bow and arrow, let alone go hunting.

Liang Hongyu adjusted the wooden bow's straight bowstring.