Outside the door stood two government officials.
One held a ledger, the other a long whip.
Tax collectors.
There was no need to ask what they were here for.
Chen Sanshi greeted them politely. "My lords, please give me just half a month more. I promise I'll have the tax silver ready by then!"
According to previous years, there should have still been twenty days left before the final deadline.
If he worked hard, scraping together three taels of silver shouldn't have been impossible.
But the tax official snorted coldly. "The northern barbarians keep invading, and now southern bandits are rebelling. The Great Sheng Dynasty needs its people's gratitude and contribution. Who has time to wait for you?"
Chen Sanshi asked calmly, "Then, my lord, how long do we have?"
"Seven days!"
The man raised three fingers, his tone sharp. "Within seven days, anyone who fails to pay the tax will be sent to Hezhou to dig the Grand Canal!"
Leaving those words behind, the two officers turned and left, banging loudly on the next household's door like grim messengers. If anyone dared to speak rudely, the whip cracked down immediately.
"The taxes are being collected early this year…"
"Must be because of the war."
Poyang County's Swallow-Edge Village lay near the northern border of the Great Sheng Dynasty. Beyond the border were the garrisons and the Great Wall. Past the Wall, the barbarian tribes roamed.
In the past ten years, their raids had only grown more frequent. There were even times when small barbarian cavalry squads crossed the border, looting entire villages before vanishing back into the wild.
Three years ago, the imperial court finally stationed an elite army there, which brought some stability. But even now, skirmishes near the Wall never truly stopped.
And the south wasn't peaceful either.
Though Chen Sanshi didn't have much access to news, he'd heard of repeated uprisings there. Each one was crushed swiftly—but soon after, another would rise.
"Seven days," he muttered.
"What's the point of rushing? It's not like the common folk can magically produce silver and grain!"
As someone with a modern mind and basic sense of history, Chen Sanshi knew exactly what this meant—this was the twilight of a dynasty, the edge of chaos. And the people's suffering had only just begun.
"Shi ge'er, what happened?"
From inside, Gu Xinlan's worried voice called out.
"It's nothing," he said lightly.
He didn't want her worrying. Pretending everything was normal, he went through his morning routine—practice archery, eat breakfast, pack dry food, then take his bow and head out.
Now that he was living at the bottom of a crumbling dynasty, all he could do was play by its rules and fight to survive.
But gathering three taels of silver in just seven days was no small task.
The pressure weighed heavily on him.
And he wasn't alone—throughout the village, cries of frustration filled the air.
As Chen Sanshi neared the edge of Swallow-Edge Village, he spotted a few familiar figures. His brow furrowed, and he instinctively tried to take another path.
"Little Shitou!"
Qin Xiong led two thugs straight toward him. "What's this? Trying to avoid me?"
It didn't take a genius to know what he wanted—to exploit the situation for profit.
Chen Sanshi didn't mince words. "Brother Qin, if this is still about that matter from before, there's no need to say more."
"Did you forget what the tax officer said?" Qin Xiong said with mock concern. "If you can't pay up, they'll send you to work on the canal. No one ever comes back from there alive."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice with feigned sympathy. "Tell you what. I'll take a little loss. Hand over that pretty little wife of yours, and I'll pay your tax for you. How about that?"
"If I really get sent to dig the canal, I'll accept my fate," Chen Sanshi replied coldly. "No need for your help."
Expressionless, he turned to leave.
After mastering Archery (Beginner), his strength and confidence had both grown, and his tone carried an edge that hadn't been there before.
Still, it wasn't the time for a direct fight.
For one, Qin Xiong had plenty of lackeys.
And two, his younger brother was said to be a martial artist—one not to be provoked lightly.
Qin Xiong didn't stop him, only watched with a dark, twisted smile as he walked away.
"Brother, why not just grab her now? What's the point of offering silver?" one of the thugs grumbled.
"Idiot!"
Qin Xiong smacked him on the forehead. "You think the Great Sheng Dynasty has no law left at all?"
Crimes like abducting women had once been common, but ever since the new Governor of Liangzhou took office, no one had dared to act so brazenly again.
"Then what do we do now?"
One of the thugs asked, "Didn't you say you needed that woman to send as a gift for Second Brother?"
"What's the rush? You think he can actually scrape together three taels of silver that fast?"
Qin Xiong sneered, his eyes narrowing with contempt. "When he gets hauled off to Hezhou to dig the canal, we won't have to spend a single coin."
…
"Seven days, and I need three taels of silver."
"Looks like I'll have to bag something big this time."
"Once the tax issue is settled, I'll deal with that bastard Qin Xiong."
Chen Sanshi climbed Tiger Head Mountain early that morning. Large animals usually only appeared around dusk, so he wasn't in a rush. He first found an open clearing and started practicing his archery.
By now, he could shoot with ease—his movements smooth and precise, his arms steady.
Within forty steps, every arrow hit dead center; even at fifty steps, his accuracy stayed above eighty percent.
But it was hard on the arrows.
Crack!
Another arrow pierced the center of the target but snapped in half.
Chen Sanshi winced.
A new arrow cost at least ten bronze coins—and that was for a low-quality one!
Still, arrows were consumables. Given that all his were secondhand, breakage was inevitable.
[Skill: Archery (Beginner)]
[Progress: (128/200)]
[Effect: Able to draw a six-strength bow; within forty steps, every shot hits true.]
The glowing panel flickered before his eyes.
"If I push harder tomorrow, I should reach the next level."
After eating a bit of dry food, Chen Sanshi went right back to work.
With his sharpened senses, he missed nothing—not a single bent twig or faint track. Before long, he spotted rabbit droppings near a bush and tracked down another hare.
One clean shot pierced straight through its chest. He slung the carcass onto his belt.
"Still not enough. Where are the bigger ones?"
Small prey like that couldn't satisfy him anymore.
Even with his [Tracking and Hiding] skill, he spent the entire afternoon searching without finding any signs of large beasts. Only when the sun began to dip behind the hills did he spot something—a few feathers caught in the brush halfway up the mountain.
He crouched down, focused his gaze, and raised his bow.
The arrow shot out like thunder, piercing clean through the wild pheasant's body and pinning it against a nearby tree.
"About four jin," he murmured, lifting it up.
"Pheasant meat's fine quality—second only to pork. This one should fetch at least seventy bronze coins."
He frowned. "Still not nearly enough."
At this point, Chen Sanshi was sure of one thing—there were no large beasts near the outskirts of Tiger Head Mountain.
With his [Tracking and Hiding] skill, not even the faintest sign of life could escape his eyes. If he hadn't found anything, it meant there truly wasn't any.
[Skill: Tracking and Hiding (Beginner)]
[Progress: (101/200)]
[Effect: Sharpened Observation; Silent Footsteps]
"This skill's about to level up too."
"Maybe it's time to try going deeper into the mountains."
The deeper one went, the richer the hunting grounds—but the danger also grew. Only seasoned hunters like Uncle Zhao dared to venture that far.
Beyond the Second Mountain, wild boars, tigers, and black bears roamed freely. Every year, some hunters never returned from there.
Before, Chen Sanshi had been too cautious to risk it. But now, his archery was close to advancing, and that gave him confidence.
"If I prepare well tonight," he muttered, gripping his bow, "then tomorrow—I'll head for the Second Mountain."