"What's this?" said Rong Lan. She bent down and picked up the small bundle placed in front of the infirmary doors. Looking around, she couldn't find anyone who seemed to be the owner of the bundle. As she unwrapped the cloth, a boot fell out and a few small red coins clattered on the stone steps of the infirmary. "This...hold on, didn't I give this to?..."

Kai smiled.

He stood up from behind a stack of boxes and merged with the bubbling, rushing crowd, completely invisible to Rong Lan's eyes. He soon reached a street lined with carpenters, blacksmiths, and builders; his militia coat was in his hands, so as to avoid creating a stir.

I need a decent sword too, but that isn't a priority...the bow comes first

Xing Kai wandered through all the carpenter workshops to get an idea of who he should commission a bow from and had a quick look around the blacksmiths to get a sense of the market. Many of the businesses were family run, with sons busy carving and daughters busy painting or polishing. The blacksmith's shops were predominantly full of burly senior men, with a few young men grinding in the background.

Why do none of them make bows?

Xing Kai entered back into the street again with a sigh. There was a lingering scent of wood on his clothes from the smears of sticky sap on his dark shirt, and the sawdust that covered his hands and arms.

This better be good or else I'll have to make the bow myself

Xing Kai looked across the front of the building. It was small, cramped between two other buildings, and with only a single level above the shop it was also short. The front had light wood panels exposed and a door that was lifted up like a garage door. The shop window showed off a few choice furniture items crafted of similar light wood as the shop. With a hopeful expression he stepped in.

Xing Kai marvelled at the furniture displayed across the small shop. There were many small pieces of wood carved and jointed to form complex looking puzzle boxes and scenes.

It's better than the other places...but no weapons?

Xing Kai sighed and made his way back out. Suddenly, above the door frame, he spotted what he was looking for. A bow and arrow. There was even a price tag.

Great bow

Xing Kai peered up at the meter long bow admiringly. There was no bowstring on display, but that made Kai all the more satisfied with the craftsmen who made the bow.

"You looking to commission a bow, officer?"

Kai turned around, surprised at the address he was given, to find a figure walking towards him. It was a young women with sharp blue eyes, long blonde hair and a fairly muscular figure, who had called out to Kai.

"You have a good eye for quality eh?" she said as she grinned proudly. Her face was one that seemed used to being in a grinning expression.

You have a good eye for noticing my stripes

Kai dropped his coat to the side and brought out his tools to speak.

Can you bring me the bow, its string and the arrow to look at?

The lady peered at Kai curiously as he wrote on the parchment.

"I can't read" she said.

Xing Kai paused for a moment before twisting his mouth in a helpless manner; he tapped his throat with his pencil and shrugged. Understanding his message, she went behind the counter and up some steps leading to the top floor of the shop. She returned with a very muscular fellow her own age, in tow.

"Ri, he can't speak. Help me out" she said to the brown eyed and black haired fellow beside her.

"Alright honey" he said with a smile. He took the note from Kai and read it out.

"Good, good. You should always check the quality of the string, I'll go get it for you." she said. Kai looked between Ri, the rippling ox and the forthright lady beside him, in confusion.

Who's the craftsmen here?

The girl went back upstairs and returned with a box and a long pole.

"Here, have a look at the string" she said as she passed the box to Kai. Using the long pole she began lifting the bow and arrow off of the wall display. Xing Kai looked down at the box in his hands.

Opening it, he found a slightly red looking sinew wrapped in cloth, and resting on fine sawdust and talcum powder.

Animal sinew eh...only a few of the more freakish forest beasts have red sinews

Xing Kai examined the sinew between his fingers; it was waxy, slightly sticking to the fingertips.

It's been very well kept...probably waxed recently to prevent humidity from ruining the sinew

"Here's the bow and arrow too" said the girl. Kai accepted them with an expectant look in his eyes. "It's made out of the common trees from the forest edge...nothing too special. But I did manage to get a draw of 80kg from it...I could do better but the wood can't handle the processing." She retied her ponytail while Kai put the string onto the bow.

"Will you need a smaller bow officer?" Ri said with slightly narrowed eyes. He folded his arms and stepped aside to allow Kai the space to draw fully.

Kai glanced at the young man...before a faint crackling sound was produced from the bow, as Kai achieved a full moon with the bow.

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"Ohh" Ri sighed admiringly as he unfolded his arms. "Good form." He gazed slowly up and down Kai's stance. "The esteemed officer will need one of your genuine bows, Kiri dear."

Kiri grinned and rubbed her hands together.

"If you told me you weren't a punk soldier from the start I would have showed you the good stuff from the start." Not giving a chance for Xing Kai to complain, she dashed upstairs before returning with two more bows in her hands; both very familiar to Kai. They were the bow used by Fan and Hong and the bow used by the archer Captains.

Xing Kai smirked slightly.

So they didn't get this from the city huh

Xing Kai carefully and calmly removed the string from the bow he was already using, and returned it to Ri. He didn't bother looking at the arrow at all.

"It seems you recognise the previous sales I made of these bows...which captain are you with?" Kiri said. Writing a quick note, in displeasure, he told them his company attachment. He also added a quick scribble saying that he was a semi-captain himself, under Shen Han's personal command.

Seeing Ri's sudden pause as he read the note aloud, Kai felt rather satisfied.

"Well...that's rather encouraging eh. Let's see if how you match up against the Captains then" Ri said. He glanced at Kai with an expectant look in his eyes.

"Ohh, so our lad's a tough guy huh?" Kiri said with a burst of laughter. Thrusting a bow towards Kai, she locked her blue eyes with Kai. "Hong and Fan can both open this bow...with a bit of effort that is..." A wicked fire flashed in her eyes.

Xing Kai's eyes narrowed as he focused on the bow presented to him.

The bow was a spliced core type. Two different woods used to provide extra bend and snap to the overall bow which would be missing if only a single wood was used. The joining of the two woods had been done so well that Xing Kai couldn't see the seam...had the Captains not told him themselves, he wouldn't have known.

There's no way I could craft the bow this well

Admiring the bow, he rubbed the dark brown string.

"It's taken from one of the beast leaders of the forest according to the Captains" Kiri said.

Let's check the difference between us then

Kai went into his familiar drawing stance and began pulling. Pulling with gentle ease...until it was full moon.

"Excellent...excellent indeed lad. You must have been fed with lion hearts when you were born, eh" Kiri muttered in wonder.

"Superb strength." Ri nodded with an admiring look in his eyes. "Withdrawn with care too...marvellous."

Xing Kai looked down at his palms and the bow, feeling a rush of excitement.

The Zhou were right then...the Captains may be in the Soul condensing stage, but their bodies are not much better then Peak stage militiamen...and since I'm stronger then the Peak stage militiamen now, it's obvious that I can draw a bow better then Fan and Hong!

Xing Kai's eyes burned as he returned the bow and he expectantly stared at the other bow in Kiri's hand. With an equally excited grin, she passed him the second bow.

She slapped his shoulder fiercely all of a sudden, producing a clear sound as if she had slapped a tree.

"Only uncle Ken can pull this bow open easily, so his bow had to be a one time special make. All new resources and a totally experimental technique...but I'll agree to making you a unique one-of-a-kind bow...if you manage to open this bow open for me just once" Kiri said. Her eyes burned with a gambler's passion, demanding the impossible to happen no matter the cost.

"Oi,oi that's going a little to far no? When you made that bow for Ken it almost put us into debt" Ri said. He grimaced and tried to dissuade his wife but seeing her stubbornly glare at him, he backed away.

So she really is the maker

Kai looked back at the two, Kiri itching to see a spectacular display and Ri quietly watching with his arms folded again.

Better not lose control again...

Writing a quick note, he waited for Ri to read it aloud.

"You don't want us to reveal this? Why? If you showed how strong you are you'll get lots of benefits, so why miss out?" Ri asked with a puzzled expression.

Kai shrugged his shoulders, evading his questions.

Kiri shook her head.

"Hiding your strength can also invite trouble eh. Sometimes it's better to reveal then to hide" she said. She pointed back at the bow in Kai's hand, signalling for him to begin drawing. However seeing Kai staring back at her with a blank expression, she threw up her hands. "Fine, we won't say anything to anyone, ok? Now...show us what you got."

Kai locked eyes with them, making sure that they were both sincere, before he entered his stance. He calmly regulated his breathing and adjusted his grip.

Let's open this thing up then...

Silently, the bow formed a crescent.

Then, a three-quarters gibbous moon.

And finally with a slight creak, the full moon was formed.

Kiri leaped and cheered while Ri pulled some glasses out of his shirt pocket and looked Kai up and down. As Kai relaxed the bow, his arms shuddered and the bow suddenly snapped back into a relaxed shape.

"Great, great, great. Only Ken is better then you , eh" Kiri said. She ruffled his hair affectionately and winked at Kai as he stepped out of her reach. Kai grabbed the parchment and began writing to stop Kiri from pushing his head about, and passed it to a thoughtful Ri.

"How deep's his pocket Ri? We gotta make him a super bow, just like the one I made for Ken."

Ri read slowly before turning to Kiri and removing his glasses.

"He has about 300 coins he says. And he will be providing the resources himself, so the 300 is all for the labour..." Ri glanced at the excited girl before him with a serious expression.

"Ohh? If you're bringing the resources then why don't we play a game? I'll use all 300 to make the bow no matter what. If you give me good resources like Ken did, then you got a discount...but if you don't get any decent resources for the bow, I'll just make you a generic bow like the one above the door. Deal?" Kiri said.

Staring at the outstretch calloused hand before him, Kai deliberated for a moment.

"It's a good offer. Ken spent close to twice that much on his bow for the labour fees, while you might get away with just half the price...as long as you manage to get everything that he did from the forest" Ri said.

Twice as much? Hah, let's see if I don't make you regret this deal

With a fierce competitive grin on their faces, Kiri and Kai shook hands, confirming their deal.

......

"This is a sample of the things that Ken found for the bow. Ri's included a note with the weight and special conditions etc. of the resources needed, so you know what to aim for." Kiri passed Kai a small cloth bag and a note describing the things that he needed to collect. "And make sure not to go too far into the forest. You don't need me to tell you why."

Kai accepted the things, and tied them to his waist. He removed 3 double marked coins and passed them to Ri, without any hesitation.

"It'll take about a week to make the bow, so the sooner you gathering everything the sooner she'll start" Ri added.

Xing Kai lifted his coat off the ground and with a salute he walked out of the small cramped shop and was back in the bustling street. The noises of furnaces, hammers and saws could be heard from almost all the shops as well as hearty laughter and shouting.

It probably wasn't necessary to hold back some of my strength...but at least I know 2 things now.

The Captains don't have better physiques then me, only better techniques to unleash their strength...and Captain Ken is the best archer...at least he has the strongest shot

Xing Kai pouted his lips.

I'm probably not that far behind him in archery, but he has those techniques...so he's still much stronger then me

Xing Kai sighed and followed the crowd back up the street. He didn't bother spending his remaining 20 coins on a sword since at that price the swords on offer would not be any better then the swords the militia already supplied them.

Right now, I need to tell the Zhou brothers that I want to train in the forest, otherwise if Shen Han finds me leaving he'll assume I'm deserting

Kai tapped his fingers against his lips.

Then...I can train and cultivate in the forest on my own