Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen quickly noticed the anomaly.

Not far ahead, scattered across the snow were some messy, deeply embedded footprints. The footprints were as large as large bowls, shaped like plum blossoms, with several sharp claw marks clearly imprinted at the front, deeply embedded in the frozen earth!

The footprints spanned a great distance, demonstrating the owner's astonishing strength and speed. Beside the footprints lay several pieces of dark brown, frozen fur and a few cleanly gnawed, broken bones—the remains of an adult roe deer. The tooth marks on the bones were large and powerful, clearly not left by a wolf or leopard.

Wei Chen's heart pounded slightly, not from fear, but from the instinctive excitement of a hunter encountering his primal prey. He cautiously followed the footprints and the scent of blood, each step as light as a feather, leaving almost no trace on the snow. His mental energy, like an invisible spiderweb, carefully spread forward, probing for every rustle of wind.

After crossing a low ridge, a mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest stretched out before us, backed by a massive rock face. The footprints became clearer and denser here, pointing to a patch of flattened shrubs in the forest. The pungent, fishy smell of apex predators in the air grew even stronger and more acrid.

Just then!

"Awooo!"

A deep, resonant roar, filled with supreme majesty and terrifying power, suddenly erupted from the depths of the dense forest ahead! The sound seemed to carry tangible sonic waves, causing the snow on the pine branches to fall in a rustling sound, and the air itself to tremble slightly! An invisible, suffocating, and malevolent aura surged forth like a tidal wave!

King of beasts! Siberian tiger!

Wei Chen's pupils suddenly contracted, and he instantly held his breath, concealing his aura to the extreme, as if blending into the shadow of the rock. He silently climbed onto a huge weathered rock, and using the rock and a few thick larch trees as cover, looked down.

Below, in a clearing in the woods, a colossal creature was lazily pacing. It was extremely robust, with a shoulder height estimated to be over 1.1 meters and a body length close to three meters. Its golden fur shimmered with a magnificent sheen in the sunlight filtering through the trees, covered with clear and majestic black stripes.

Its thick, whip-like tail lashed out casually, striking the air with a soft "snap" sound. On its enormous head, a striking "king" character was branded on its forehead, and a pair of amber eyes were half-open, occasionally sweeping across the surroundings with a cold, disdainful gaze, as if it regarded everything as worthless.

As it moved, the muscles in its shoulder blades resembled undulating mountains, containing explosive power, and its four huge tiger claws left deep imprints on the snow.

The roar that had just declared its territory seemed to have exhausted some of its energy. It strolled over to a flat rock that was warmed by the sun, and slowly lay down, leisurely licking its thick forepaws.

What a perfect tiger skin! Wei Chen's gaze was instantly drawn to this masterpiece of nature. Such a complete, glossy, and clearly patterned tiger skin would be an absolute priceless treasure in this era! Not to mention the valuable medicinal materials such as tiger bones and tiger penis.

Using a gun? Absolutely not! The immense impact of a bullet would inevitably leave irreparable holes in the tiger skin, greatly reducing its value.

Without the slightest hesitation, Wei Chen gently removed the canvas gun pouch from his shoulder and stored it in his spatial storage. In its place was the hard bow that had been with him for a long time, its body entirely black and gleaming with a cold, hard metallic sheen.

He drew a specially made three-edged armor-piercing arrow, its tip gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Like a lifeless stone, he lay silently behind the rock, adjusting his breathing, his heartbeat slowing and becoming strong, all his energy focused on the bow and arrow in his hand and the target below.

His mental energy spread silently, like the most sophisticated radar, locking onto the enormous tiger's head that was swaying slightly. The distance was approximately fifty meters. The wind was blowing from the tiger's direction, in his favor.

Time ticked by. The tiger on the rock seemed to have completely relaxed its guard. After licking its forepaws, it rested its majestic head on its powerful forelimbs, its amber eyes narrowing contentedly, and even letting out a low, satisfied growl, like muffled thunder.

It's now!

The moment the tiger's eyelids completely closed and its snoring became the most steady and long, Wei Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light! Like a cheetah that had been lying in wait for a long time, he suddenly sprang up from behind the rock, his movements as fast as lightning yet as silent as a whisper!

Drawing the bow! Nocking the arrow! The entire movement was executed in one smooth motion, as if it had been practiced a thousand times! With fifty-five years of refined skill poured into it, the bowstring was drawn into a breathtaking full moon!

His mental power, like the most precise laser guidance, locked onto the tiger's slightly closed left eye! Release the string!

"Tap!" A faint, almost negligible, vibration of the bowstring!

The triangular armor-piercing arrow, brimming with terrifying power, transformed into a streak of dark light almost invisible to the naked eye, tearing through the air and striking its target with unparalleled precision at a speed exceeding the speed of sound!

The tiger's apex predator instincts were triggered the instant the arrow left the bowstring! It snapped its eyes open, its cold amber pupils instantly filled with shock, rage, and ferocity!

However, it was all too late! The arrow was moving at incredible speed! Just as it raised its head, its muscles tensed, preparing to dodge or roar—

"Thud!" A soft yet chilling sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out! The jet-black arrow, like a hot knife cutting into solidified fat, pierced with unparalleled precision into the tiger's open left eye! The immense kinetic energy penetrated the relatively fragile eye socket bone without any resistance, carrying shredded brain tissue, and protruding an inch-long, blood-stained arrowhead from below the occipital bone at the back of the head!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The tiger's massive, mountain-like body stiffened abruptly!

His raised head froze in mid-air, the fierce light that had just ignited in his eyes dimming and dissipating instantly, like a candle flame being extinguished...

Before it could even let out a complete wail, its limbs, which contained boundless strength, lost their support, and its entire body, like a giant with its spine removed, collapsed with a thud next to the rock where it had just been resting comfortably!

Only the limbs and tail retained some nerve reflexes, twitching unconsciously a few times on the snow before falling completely silent.

Crimson blood mixed with white brain matter gushed from the arrow hole in its left eye and the wound on the back of its head, quickly staining the white snow beneath it and forming a striking and eerie red and white pattern.

One shot, one kill! A perfect hunt!

Wei Chen let out a long sigh of relief, his tense body slowly relaxing. He remained vigilant, observing for a moment to confirm that the king of the forest was indeed completely dead, before leaping down from behind the rock and landing lightly beside the tiger's massive carcass.

Looking closely at this lifeless beast, one can better appreciate its majesty and power in life. Its golden, glossy fur still shimmers with a magnificent sheen in the sunlight, and the black stripes, like a master's splash of ink, are full of powerful and majestic beauty.

Wei Chen carefully examined the wound. The arrow had entered through the left eye and exited through the back of the head. The wound was extremely small, minimizing the damage to the tiger skin.

"Good leather!" Wei Chen's eyes showed satisfaction. He carefully grasped the arrow shaft, channeled his inner strength, and slowly pulled out the deeply embedded arrow, wiped away the blood, and put it away.

Then, instead of immediately dealing with the enormous prey, he thought for a moment and put the tiger carcass, weighing several hundred pounds, along with the bloodstains and snow on the ground, into his inventory space in the game world.

The environment here is complicated, and the smell of blood could easily attract other predators or scavengers, making it an unsuitable place to process the animal. He needs to find a safer, more secluded spot to return and hire a skilled skinner to handle the precious tiger skin, ensuring it remains in perfect condition.

Having resolved this unexpected yet crucial outcome, Wei Chen felt even more relaxed. For the next two days, he felt as if he were simply strolling through this pristine, untouched mountain forest.

When he encountered a herd of wild boars, he simply kept his distance; when he startled a group of colorful pheasants, he casually drew his bow and shot down two; when he saw a silly roe deer curiously peering around, he just smiled and didn't raise his arrow.

Wei Chen didn't go hunting regularly, only occasionally taking a shot at animals he encountered that weren't in his spatial storage. He decided to leave the animals in the forest; after all, the animals in his game world refreshed daily.

He enjoyed this pure tranquility and freedom, breathing in the cold, clean air, feeling the solid earth beneath his feet, and listening to the celestial music of the wind rustling through the treetops.

When hungry, one can return to the hunter's lodge and cook a delicious meal using the abundant ingredients available; when tired, one can sleep peacefully on the soft and comfortable bed. Hunting in the mountains and forests has completely become a leisurely pastime and experience.

On the morning of the fifth day, when Wei Chen returned from the warm cabin to a snow-covered mountain forest, standing on a high ridge and gazing at the distant mountains that appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, undulating like the spine of a giant dragon, a feeling of "having had enough fun" arose spontaneously.

Five days have passed since I left, and with the four days before returning to the village, my vacation is nearing its end. I've done all the shooting I wanted, experienced all the wilderness fun I wanted, and even unexpectedly acquired a top-quality tiger skin.

As the initial excitement faded, the chill of the mountain winds and the feeling of loneliness became increasingly apparent. More importantly, the longing for his mother and sister grew clearer and more urgent as his return date approached.

"It's time to go back," Wei Chen murmured to himself, his breath condensing into a white mist in the cold air. He took one last look at the vast mountains that had given him a brief period of freedom and gain, his eyes showing no lingering attachment, only the tranquility of having completed a journey.

Without further delay, he determined the general direction of the return journey, slung his hard bow over his shoulder, and with a slight sway on the mountain ridge, he sped away like a snowflake merging into the wind, heading towards the world beyond the mountains, towards home.

The vast snow-covered mountains left only a few shallow footprints, quickly buried by the wind and snow, as proof that a traveler carrying a gun and bow and arrow had briefly stayed here.