Li Yan was somewhat surprised.
He recognized Gu Sheng.
Twice he had encountered Gu Erniu, and Gu Sheng had been by Gu Erniu's side each time. Their relationship was quite close, and Gu Sheng's archery skills were comparable to Gu Erniu's.
So earlier, he had no intention of showing any mercy, and that arrow was aimed at Gu Sheng's right leg.
But he didn't expect Gu Sheng to react so quickly, noticing it first and dodging swiftly while carrying a wild deer.
"Kid, you're alone? Where's Gu Erniu? Why isn't he with you?"
Li Yan chuckled as he spoke, trying to lower Gu Sheng's guard, while subtly signaling the three hunters nearby.
The three of them understood his intentions and immediately crouched low, dispersing to both sides.
Once they spread out, creating angles for shooting, Gu Sheng would have no escape!
Gu Sheng hid behind a tree, his chest heaving, and his eyes filled with anger and murderous intent.
Betrayal among the comrades!
Although he had encountered this scoundrel before, it was the first time things escalated to a straight-on confrontation without a word.
This was partly due to the tempting wild deer, and partly due to his relationship with Gu Erniu.
Because of Gu Erniu's previous marriage to Li Lian, there was irreconcilable conflict between Gu Erniu and Li Yan. Now the tensions had deepened, reaching a point of life and death. Gu Sheng became a target of this anger.
Li Yan pretended to ramble on, trying to disrupt Gu Sheng's focus.
But Gu Sheng was very vigilant. Hiding behind the tree, he breathed steadily, immediately sensing that the other three hunters were spreading out.
Once those four spread out, Gu Sheng was just an ordinary human. Even if his archery skills were near Perfect, he couldn't fight off four attackers at once.
If he got struck by one arrow, it would basically mean death for him.
"I've got to strike first!"
Gu Sheng's eyes were cold. He had never killed anyone before, but now, with his opponents pressuring him, he wasn't afraid.
His greatest advantage was that they thought his archery skills only matched Gu Erniu's, but in reality, Gu Sheng's archery was already approaching Perfect, much stronger than Gu Erniu's!
"I have to take advantage of this information gap to create an edge."
Occasionally, Gu Sheng glanced out of the corner of his eye. Li Yan was indeed the seasoned hunter, moving through the woods, using the trees to conceal himself. Ordinary people would hardly have a chance to shoot him.
Gu Sheng was highly focused, predicting the movements of Li Yan and the other three, while calculating his escape route.
Suddenly.
His eyes lit up as he caught a fleeting opportunity.
"Now's the time!"
Gu Sheng swiftly emerged, his eyes like a hawk, sharp and focused. His bow was drawn like a full moon, and he released the arrow with a sharp whistling, aiming straight for Li Yan's heart!
After that, Gu Sheng didn't even look back to see the result, confident in his own archery skills.
Without a backward glance, he rolled forward, carrying the deer as he sprinted away.
With his current physical stamina, running with the deer for a short period wasn't an issue, and it could even serve as a meat shield at a crucial moment.
Seeing him unwilling to give up the deer, the group might continue to pursue him. In such a chase, they might reveal flaws, and Gu Sheng's near-Perfect archery would teach them a lesson!
With a murderous intent in his heart, Gu Sheng buried himself in a wild sprint, using the trees as cover.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Gu Sheng moved like a fleeing rabbit, his archery skills displayed were frighteningly high. In an instant, he seized the opportunity when Li Yan slightly revealed himself, fired an arrow, and then quickly fled without a second thought.
Li Yan's eyes showed horror.
This change came so suddenly that he was caught completely off guard. Everything happened too quickly; he was still trying to distract Gu Sheng when this cunning arrow was already on its way.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot like a bolt of lightning, whistling through the air, rapidly enlarging in Li Yan's pupils, making it impossible for him to dodge.
Gu Sheng's archery skills far exceeded those previously displayed, and it seemed the arrow was going to strike his heart!
However.
The imagined scene of the arrow piercing flesh and Li Yan's miserable wail didn't occur.
Clang!!
A crisp metallic sound echoed through the forest. The arrow fell powerless, and Li Yan's face twitched. The Heart Protecting Shield managed to block the sharpness of the arrow, but the impact was formidable, causing a throbbing pain in his chest area.
His face was extremely unsightly, a mix of relief, fear, and anger.
Just a little, just a little more, and he would have been dead!
Seeing the three hunters about to continue their pursuit after Gu Sheng's arrow, Li Yan couldn't help but shout:
"Don't chase, come back!"
Gu Sheng heard the crisp 'clang' sound and immediately realized that the arrow was blocked by Li Yan. That scoundrel had some iron plate or similar Heart Protecting Shield on his chest!
He touched his own chest, where a similar iron plate was also tied.
Gu Sheng couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret. If he had a better angle earlier, that arrow would have been aimed at Li Yan's throat instead.
"This scoundrel is cautious, you're lucky!"
With agile movements, Gu Sheng knew that after revealing himself and shooting that arrow, the other three hunters would definitely launch their attack. However, he was not too worried as their archery skills might not have reached the Small Success realm.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three arrows came from different directions, but Gu Sheng had already calculated his path.
He shifted his position, two arrows embedded in the tree, and the other arrow grazed past the deer on his back, taking away a chunk of flesh.
Gu Sheng didn't dwell on the failure of that arrow and continued to sprint rapidly.
After breaking through the encirclement, if they dared to keep chasing, that's when the real challenge would begin.
...
A few hunters from the Li family stronghold gathered in front of Li Yan, asking in puzzlement:
"Brother Yan, why not keep chasing? That kid is carrying a deer; he can't run far. Even if we can't kill him, we should at least make him drop the prey. Are we just going to let this prize escape?"
There was a bit of unwillingness on their faces.
If they continued the pursuit, they would eventually catch up to Gu Sheng.
Li Yan's scarred eye kept twitching, looking grim. He took a deep breath and pulled out a palm-sized Heart Protecting Shield from his chest, which had shallow cracks on the surface.
"That kid has been keeping a low profile; he hid his archery skills all along. I was caught off guard and almost perished from that arrow. If it weren't for the Heart Protecting Shield my sister gave me, you'd be staring at my corpse!"
"Chase? Are you ready to trade your lives with his?"
Li Yan sneered mockingly, fear lingering in his heart.
Gu Sheng's displayed archery skills were terrifying, and he managed to release a fatal arrow even in such a dire situation. If they kept chasing, he couldn't imagine the consequences.
Even if they managed to kill the kid by sheer numbers, they might end up losing a few lives along the way.
Li Yan couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't be him.
So despite his anger, he chose to give up the pursuit.
The three men stared at the cracks on the Heart Protecting Shield and went pale. In that brief chaotic moment, they hadn't noticed, but Gu Sheng did hit Li Yan right in the chest.
In a moment.
The three felt an itch in their chest and broke into a cold sweat.
If that arrow had been aimed at them, and if they lacked a Heart Protecting Shield like that, they'd likely be cold corpses by now.
They instantly did not dare to mention pursuing anymore.