Zhou Paotou hung many bells high and low on the clothes drying pole and asked Zhao Lin to stand seven feet away and shoot.
Zhao Lin practiced for a few days and was basically able to make the bell ring when the gun came out, and his shots became more and more stable.
"You have no problem with your skills and eyesight. Let me see if you have the courage."
Zhou Paotou took an egg and placed it on his head, then sat on a chair, "Here, use the spear style to pierce the egg."
Zhao Lin didn't move, stared at him and asked, "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy."
"You put the egg on top of your head, aren't you afraid that my hands will shake?"
Zhou Paotou said slowly: "There was a master of archery in our village, who was proficient in eighteen kinds of martial arts and had all kinds of skills. The first time he went hunting in the mountains, he encountered a wild boar. Guess what?"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm so scared that I'm trembling all over. I can't even draw my bow! What's the reason?"
Zhao Lin pursed his lips, knowing that Zhou Paotou was right.
In the past life, many athletes were extremely strong and had no opponents in small and medium-sized competitions. However, when it came to the big competition, they performed abnormally because their psychology was not up to standard and their movements were deformed under high pressure.
No matter how strong your ability is, it's useless if you can't display it.
"I want to know if you are brave and courageous!" Zhou Paotou said word by word.
Zhu Dachun and Liang Song, who were practicing archery, also came over.
Zhu Dachun hugged his arms, looked at Zhou Paotou and Zhao Lin, and said with a smile: "Old Zhou, if you are really open-minded, are you not afraid of something happening?"
Zhou Paotou said calmly: "I admit that something happened. It's better for me to die alone than for us all to be killed by Xiong Zhi."
"good!"
Zhao Lin suddenly stepped forward, flicked his spear, and headed straight for Zhou Pao's head.
Zhou Paotou thought he would have to persuade Zhao Lin repeatedly before agreeing, but he didn't expect that he would just take action without even saying hello. He opened his mouth wide and was speechless for a long time.
Zhu Dachun and Liang Song were also stunned.
Zhou Paotou felt a cold feeling on his head, and something wet and sticky flowed down. He asked in surprise: "Is it bleeding?"
"It's egg white."
Zhao Lin stood with his gun in hand, feeling relieved.
He did this because he didn't want to give himself time to think and hesitate and win it all at once. Otherwise, the more he thought about it, the more likely he would be nervous and make mistakes.
…
The day before departure, Zhao Lin only practiced spear training for half a day to conserve his energy for going into the mountains tomorrow.
He followed Liang Song and Zhu Dachun's example and applied poison into the blood groove of the iron gun, then wiped the gun body repeatedly to calm his mood.
"Are you nervous?" Liang Song came over and sat next to Zhao Lin.
Zhao Lin said half-jokingly, half-seriously: "Don't be nervous, just look at it and see if it can be a one-time deal."
After hearing this, Liang Song smiled and said, "I guess you're not nervous either. When you stabbed Zhou's cannon head with your gun, you didn't even blink."
Zhao Lin laughed twice and suddenly thought of a question, "By the way, Zhou Paotou said that no other hunters were willing to kill bears with him, why did you agree?"
Liang Song fell silent, and after a while he said, "I want to save money to learn martial arts."
"Learn martial arts?"
Zhao Lin's eyelids twitched. This was the first time he heard someone think the same as him. He couldn't help but ask: "Are you learning martial arts to get ahead, or do you want to be more confident in hunting?"
"neither."
Liang Song shook his head and said calmly: "My father and my brother were killed by Huzi, and I want revenge."
Zhao Lin's face darkened when he heard the word "beard".
People in Yingzhou often refer to bandits as beards.
It is said that in the early years, bandits loved to use red tassel guns. When they lined up, the gun barrels were stuck on the ground. From a distance, the red tassels fluttered like a red beard on their chin.
So people call the bandits "beards", and they themselves call them "shouzi".
Most of the bearded people came from poor backgrounds and went to the mountains to become bandits because they could no longer survive. However, these people brought harm to the common people and their methods were ten times more ruthless than those of the government.
Not to mention, Sanjia Village is such a poor place. In addition to paying grain to the government every year, Huzi also gets a share of the harvest.
If you can't pay the government's grain, you'll be forced to do hard labor at best. If you don't pay enough, you'll die on the spot.
Liang Song stroked the long bow in his hand, as if talking to Zhao Lin, or talking to himself.
"My home was originally in Guangde County, a hundred miles away. Three years ago, my father and my brother were transporting goods with a caravan. When passing through Mount Paektu, they met a group of men with beards and leopards."
"My brother had an argument with Huzi to protect his packhorse, so Huzi took off my brother's clothes and tied him to a big tree on the edge of the cliff."
"It was summer, and there were so many mosquitoes in the mountains that they were everywhere at night. My brother's body was covered with blood-sucking mosquitoes and he was dying."
"My father couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to go up to save my brother, but he was split in half with an ax from Beard."
"When the news came back to Zhuangzi, my mother vomited blood and couldn't even make it through the night."
Liang Song's calm tone made people feel a chill coming from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhao Lin unconsciously clenched the iron gun in his hand.
Liang Song continued: "I was afraid that the bandits would ask me to eradicate the roots and bury my mother in a hurry, so I changed my name and joined my cousin to seek revenge. Only Zhou Paotou and Brother Zhu knew about this."
Zhao Lin sighed and patted him on the shoulder, "You did the right thing. If it were you, I would do the same thing."
Liang Song thanked him and said, "I've heard that the master of Zuanshan Leopard is a Qi realm master. He is much stronger than the ordinary force realm warriors. He also has eight great Vajras under his command, all of whom are very skilled."
"I have only learned the farming technique for two years. If I want to kill them for revenge, it is difficult!"
Zhao Lin consoled him: "A gentleman's revenge is never too late. Look at Zhou Paotou, who endured it for twenty years in order to kill Xiong Zhi."
At this time, Zhou Paotou came over with a bag and said to Zhao Lin: "You have never practiced bow and arrow, I prepared this for you."
As he spoke, he opened his pocket, revealing five polished small axes with cold blades.
"Flying axe?" Zhao Lin asked.
"right."
Zhou Paotou handed the bag to him, "I'm afraid you'll be distracted, so I'm giving it to you now. If you have a chance, throw it with your ax vigorously. Whether you can hit it depends on whether the mountain god can protect it."
"Okay." Zhao Lin nodded in agreement.
"I have practiced axe-throwing, I can tell you about it."
Zhu Dachun came over, took out a throwing ax from his pocket, and explained: "When holding the ax, keep the handle of the ax pointed at your body. Don't hold your thumb straight, wrap it around the handle."
"When throwing, start from the side and above. When you see the ax handle out of the corner of your eye, let go, and then complete the swing of your arm."
As he spoke, he threw the ax out and hit the wooden pier hanging on the courtyard wall.
Zhao Lin called out "Hello" and practiced for a while. Although the accuracy was not good enough, he could still ensure that the ax blade hit the target.
When the sun was about to set, Zhou Paotou called everyone together.
"Everything is ready. Let's go into the mountain tomorrow. If you have anything to worry about, please tell me."
This is the rule of hunters in the mountains: when hunting wild beasts, casualties are inevitable. If the prey is finally captured, the dead person should also receive a pre-agreed reward.
It is also considered as a gesture of kindness for the living to give money to the family of the deceased by explaining the funeral arrangements in advance.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhou Paotou said carelessly: "Let me tell you first, I am a single man. If anything happens, buy me a coffin and bury it next to my parents. You guys will share the rest of the money." .”
"But it's best if you don't die. Otherwise, when I get underground, my dad will ask me how I got in. I said that he was beaten to death by a bear just like you. He was probably so angry that he wanted to beat me to death again."
Everyone laughed when they heard him speak so freely.
Zhu Dachun said to Liang Song and Zhao Lin: "You guys say it first, and I'll think about it later."
Liang Song simply said, "Give all the money to my cousin."
Zhao Lin thought for a while and said, "My family is in Sanjia Village. My father's name is Zhao Baotian. Let's leave the money to them."
"Besides, my brother is doing hard labor. Please tell my father to go find Qian Sanming with ten taels of silver."
After saying these words, he let out a breath.
In fact, he does not need to participate in this hunting, so his life is not in danger.
But when a person is alive, he must bear some responsibilities. Blindly escaping and living is no different from a dead person.
It was Zhu Dachun's turn, and a nervous look suddenly appeared on his face.
Zhou Paotou urged: "Old Zhu, you are also a bachelor, what is there to worry about?"
Zhu Dachun hesitated and said: "What, if I die, the money will be given to Widow Wang in Wujiang Village..."
"What?"
The three of them all looked at him, their big eyes staring at the small ones.
Liang Song said in astonishment: "Cousin, you don't go home these days. You say you're visiting relatives, but you're actually visiting Widow Wang's house to play?"
Zhou Paotou laughed loudly, "I said you are still a bachelor in your thirties, but it turns out someone is warming up your bed!"
"No wonder Widow Wang has been a widow for so many years and her skin is still as tender as a little girl's. You have been watering the pear fields for a long time."
Zhu Dachun's face turned red, and he held back a sentence for a long time: "What's wrong with the widow? The widow knows how to love people!"
