Chapter 59: Bamboo Crossbow

Later, Yan Lao’er learned that the Hu brothers were exceptionally skilled with slingshots.

The only two tendon slingshots in the village belonged to them.

It was said that they had gone to great lengths to acquire them, and they cherished them dearly, planning to pass them down to their descendants.

The men in the village quickly mastered the art of archery.

A small notch made shooting arrows significantly easier.

Now, these guys were eagerly anticipating the arrival of wild pheasants.

Since wild rabbits had already appeared, could wild pheasants be far behind?

Craving meat was secondary; the real necessity was pheasant feathers—for making feathered arrows…

Yan Lao’er returned, looking dejected.

The iron crossbow in his hands no longer felt special!

Yan Yu had run off to play with her friends. Apparently, the little girls planned to release the other two small rabbits. The children considered this a grand event, something that needed to be done with the utmost solemnity.

They gathered all the village children under nine years old to bid farewell to the two little rabbits together…

Li Xuemei had been feeling drowsy, but seeing her husband sulking, she asked what was wrong.

Yan Lao’er, as if finally finding someone to complain to, started rambling on and on. From this, it was clear who Yan Yu took after.

“So?” Li Xuemei listened for a while but couldn’t tell if Yan Lao’er was more frustrated about his own poor crossbow skills or the fact that everyone else had a bow while he was the only one without one.

“This iron crossbow is a bit too powerful. Honestly, it’s fine when I’m alone, but when hunting rabbits with those kids, I don’t even dare to shoot, afraid that a slight miscalculation might hurt someone,” Yan Lao’er admitted. “You have no idea how terrifying this thing is. When it hits a tree, the bolt sinks halfway in—if it hit a person, imagine the consequences.”

Li Xuemei thought for a moment and said, “Go get the charcoal pencil I gave our daughter.”

She straightened her back and took out a piece of linen she had cut.

Yan Lao’er found the pencil and handed it to her, asking, “What are you drawing?”

As she sketched, Li Xuemei explained, “Take a short piece of bamboo, split it in the middle, remove the excess, leaving just the upper and lower halves. Then, fasten them together with bamboo pegs—not iron ones. In the center, carve out a hole and insert a slightly pointed bamboo strip through it.

Look, it forms a cross. Next, add a small bamboo strip at this spot.

And here, carve a small notch with a knife…

Then, take three or four strands of thin hemp rope, twist them into a single cord, and tie both ends securely…

That’s it. This is a bamboo crossbow.”

Li Xuemei looked at her dumbfounded husband and asked, “Got it?”

It took Yan Lao’er a while to find his voice. “W-what? A bamboo crossbow? Leader! When did you learn this?!”

Li Xuemei sighed softly. “Did you forget? I told you before—one of my students’ parents was watching videos at home. They happened to have a small bamboo grove behind their house, so they tried making one.

And they didn’t stop there. They even recorded a video with their child. That little rascal brought it to school to show off, scaring their teacher half to death.

Later, we experimented with it ourselves. The bamboo crossbow really works. It’s lightweight, shoots pretty far, and the materials are easy to find—just bamboo and hemp rope. The bamboo arrows are even easier to make, just a few simple carvings.

The kid’s father was furious when he came to school and smacked him right there. Some teachers were curious, so he showed us the video. And honestly? It’s so simple that just watching it once was enough to remember how to make it…”

Yan Lao’er: …

“If you already knew how to make one, why did we even trade for that iron crossbow?” Yan Lao’er looked utterly exasperated.

Though the trade wasn’t a bad deal—just an iron pot—but iron pots were expensive in ancient times!

“I figured the iron crossbow had better range, so you could shoot from a safer distance,” Li Xuemei explained.

Yan Lao’er was touched. His wife wasn’t one for sweet words, but deep down, she always had his best interests at heart.

She continued, “Besides, I didn’t expect our villagers to be so skilled with their hands.”

“Hahaha! Once they see this diagram, their bows will be nothing compared to this!” Yan Lao’er said eagerly. “I’ll go show them right now. We’re lucky to have stumbled upon a bamboo grove—who knows when we’ll find another one if we miss this chance?”

Li Xuemei smiled and nodded, watching him rush off.

She yawned, then slowly lay down. In her drowsiness, she thought: So… he was feeling left out because he didn’t know how to make a bow and couldn’t join in with the others?

Her daughter still looked like a child, and it didn’t feel out of place.

But even her husband was growing more childish.

Subconsciously, Li Xuemei touched her belly. She wondered what this little one would be like…

—

The bamboo crossbow design Yan Lao’er brought back sparked another wave of DIY enthusiasm.

Through his half-baked explanations and countless rounds of trial and error, they actually managed to make working bamboo crossbows!

The biggest advantage of bamboo crossbows was their light weight. They could be made in any size, and the materials were incredibly easy to find. Unlike before, they didn’t even need pheasant feathers for arrows.

After a second round of guidance, Yan Lao’er told them they could simply clip a leaf onto the back of the bamboo arrows…

However, in terms of sheer power, the bows they had made earlier were still stronger.

It was hard to choose between them.

So, they decided to carry both.

The kids also upgraded their gear.

Their crude wooden bows were tossed aside, replaced with small bamboo crossbows.

Both the younger and older children were satisfied.

During their breaks, they couldn’t sit still, running around in groups.

And, surprisingly, they actually managed to hunt two hedgehogs, a squirrel, and three birds they couldn’t even name.

Yan Lao’er strongly suspected they were just firing arrows randomly and got lucky.

Regardless, the result was that everyone had now developed a taste for hunting—and it was addictive.

Water was still getting scarcer by the day, but the occasional bits of meat kept spirits high.

Especially when they finally saw the mountain Yan Yu had been longing for.

The scattered greenery on its slopes dazzled their eyes.

They didn’t have poetic words like “we’ve found hope.”

They only knew that their journey of escape was becoming brighter and brighter.

—

“Looking at a mountain makes a horse drop dead from exhaustion.”

Yan Yu silently recited the saying.

She thought: How true!

She had seen this mountain ages ago, and it had taken them forever to finally reach it.

By their estimated travel distance, they should have left Qishan Prefecture’s territory.

They were now within the borders of Leshan Prefecture.

Sanbao pointed toward the other side of the mountain.

Now, they faced two choices:

First, go around the mountain’s base—safer, but farther.

Second, cut across the mountainside—closer, and with a high chance of finding something they desperately needed: a water source.

Yan Huaiwen looked at the eager crowd.

Then, at the mountain full of life.

“Tianyou!”

Yan Lao’er answered immediately.

Yan Huaiwen said, “We’re going in.”

“Got it!”

Sanbao took steady steps and led the way.

Behind him, the men murmured among themselves:

“You think we’ll find water?”

“If it’s there, we’ll find it.”

“Animals in the mountain need to drink too. If we follow them, we can’t go wrong.”