Chapter 3: Hunting on Ling Mountain

Li Qing’an was 1.8 meters tall and had immense strength since childhood. The weightlifting team immediately recognized his potential and had him train for two years. Worried that he wouldn’t grow taller, his parents stopped him from continuing weightlifting and instead had him practice archery. After ten years of hard training, he joined the army and became part of the military archery team, winning the national archery championship at the age of 23.

Although he didn’t understand what “heavy crossbow” meant, Li Qing’an nodded—he wanted to give it a try.
“Good! Follow me.”

A group of Tang soldiers followed Li Fei Yuanli to the third floor of the fortress. Everyone’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. They knew what the fortress commander intended to do—no one had ever managed to pull that massive crossbow alone. It had been unused for decades. Could it be used today?

They reached the third floor, the highest point in the area, with shooting holes all around offering a wide view. The beacon tower was also on top, accessible via a set of stairs. Li Fei Yuanli pointed to a huge crossbow in the corner. “Try pulling that one.”

Li Qing’an slowly stepped forward and picked up the dusty crossbow. Its frame was thicker than his arm, and the bow arms were over two meters long. The mechanisms were slightly rusty, indicating it had been stored for many years.
“Commander, I don’t know how to use a crossbow.”
“It’s simple. I’ll teach you.”

Li Fei Yuanli took a smaller, ordinary crossbow and demonstrated for Li Qing’an. “See, just like this. Use the strength of your waist and legs, step on the back of the bow, pull the string upward with both hands, and secure it in the mechanism.”

Arrows required precision, while crossbow bolts needed range. Thus, the requirements for crossbow bolts weren’t high—only sufficient strength was needed. Normally, three people were required to operate that massive crossbow. With few people in the fortress, it had remained unused. If Li Qing’an could pull it alone, it would be equivalent to three people working together.

Li Qing’an grasped it quickly. Following his example, he placed the bow on the ground, stepped on it with his feet, and grabbed the string with both hands. He took a deep breath and slowly applied force. With a creaking sound, the string was gradually pulled taut. The Tang soldiers around him stared in astonishment—this was a ten-stone heavy crossbow, yet he had pulled it!

Li Qing’an secured the string in the mechanism and handed it to Li Fei Yuanli. “Commander, is it okay like this?”

Li Fei Yuanli glanced at Li Qing’an with mixed emotions. He loaded a crossbow bolt into the slot and pointed to a target 200 steps away. “Try shooting another bolt.”

Actually, Li Qing’an had also practiced with a crossbow, but he knew that crossbows in the Tang Dynasty were military weapons strictly forbidden for ordinary people to use. If he showed off his skill right from the start, it wouldn’t fit his status. Now that he had overcome his initial clumsiness and could demonstrate his abilities, a competitive spirit gave him great courage. He stretched out his long arms to support the crossbow, hooked his fingers around the trigger, and slowly aimed at a small black dot resembling a horse post in the distance. The Tang soldiers held their breath, watching him nervously. Li Qing’an pulled the trigger, and with a soft “click,” the arrow was shot powerfully, whizzing straight toward the horse post and embedding itself precisely in it. A Tang soldier rushed over to check and shouted, “It hit!” The soldiers immediately erupted in cheers. This time, Li Fei Yuanli was truly convinced. He patted Li Qing’an’s shoulder firmly and said with a wide grin, “From now on, you’re the fire leader of the Fifth Fire Unit. I’ll arrange for you to be officially registered in the army.” He turned around and ordered, “Someone, give him a set of armor.” …… A sage once said that politics is a construct of economics—this is true, but not entirely so, at least not when applied to Li Qing’an. The fire leader was equivalent to today’s squad leader, in charge of ten soldiers. Though it was a small position, it was still an official role, improving his political status. However, his economic status was far from matching his position. He was still the poorest person in the fortress. Although he owned an unnamed gemstone, it was like real estate—its value could only be realized if sold. He surely couldn’t use the gemstone to buy wine! In fact, aside from that gemstone, his entire wealth amounted to only 500 coins. He had received some money from Li Fei Yuanli for hunting eagles. Those 500 golden coins were stored in an earthen pot. With this amount, he could buy a hundred large meat-filled flatbreads, ten bottles of high-quality Gaochang wine, or visit a brothel twice and a half. But if Li Qing’an wanted to buy a decent bow and arrows, like the six-stone bow that Li Fei Yuanli had, it would cost ten times that amount—5,000 coins. “Fire leader, have a drink!” This was the phrase his subordinate, He Yanming, said most often since his promotion. He mostly gave his wine to his new superior, which could be considered some form of compensation for Li Qing’an. “Xiao He, is there any way to make some money?” “Xiao He” was a new title invented by Li Qing’an, but it wasn’t unusual in the fortress. His father had originally been a veteran there, and He Yanming taking over from his father naturally earned him the nickname “Xiao He.”

Although He Yanming had only served as a soldier for a year, he had gained a lot of valuable experience from his father. When he heard Li Qingan wanting to make money, he immediately said with a smile, “Commander, you must rely on what’s around you. Since we’re stationed here, if we want to make money, we naturally have to squeeze something out of the foreign merchants who come and go. Everyone does it this way!”
Those foreign merchants were extremely wealthy, so it wasn’t wrong to take a little from them. But the question was, where were they?
Li Qingan frowned and said, “I’ve been here for over a month, yet I haven’t seen a single foreign merchant.”
“That’s true. There seem to be especially few this year.”
He Yanming scratched his head and suddenly remembered something, then quickly said with a smile, “There’s another method, and it’s very suitable for you, Commander.”
Li Qingan perked up. “Tell me quickly, what is it?”
“Go hunting!”
Li Yanqing’s eyes lit up. That was indeed a good idea. There were grasslands to the south; they could give it a try.
As if knowing Li Qingan’s thoughts, He Yanming shook his head and said with a smile, “There are only deer, hares, and other wild animals in the grasslands—nothing worth much money. If you really want something valuable, you need to go to Ling Mountain. My father catches a few argali goats there every year. A good argali head can fetch over ten strings of coins, earning him a small fortune.”
Ten strings of coins was enough to buy a good bow. Li Qingan became interested. He drained his wine gourd in one gulp and smashed it hard on the ground. “Let’s do it! We’ll go hunt some argali goats tomorrow to make money.”
…
Ling Mountain was what is now the Tianshan Mountains, stretching for thousands of miles and dividing Anxi Region of the Tang Dynasty in two. To the north was the Beiting Protectorate, and to the south was the Anxi Protectorate. Countless wild animals lived in Ling Mountain—wolves, argali goats, red deer, foxes, argal, and so on. Among them, argali antlers were the most valuable. A high-quality argali head could sell for three strings of coins in Bahuancheng.
Hunting in Ling Mountain was also one of the main sources of income for the soldiers. In fact, foreign merchants came to the fortress to do business largely to purchase the prey captured by the Tang army.
Li Qingan led his men through Ling Mountain for a day and reaped rich rewards—hunting five argali goats, six red deer, and over a dozen argals. The meat of these animals could improve the Tang army’s diet, while their antlers could fetch dozens of strings of coins.
As dusk fell, they passed through a mountain valley where no sunlight reached, making it cold and gloomy. Huge rocks were still covered in thick ice and snow, and animal bones were scattered in some cracks. The warhorses became restless, neighing frantically. An experienced veteran named Han Jinping immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Commander, retreat quickly! Get out of here.”

But it was too late. A few piles of snow fell from a pine tree, and cold eyes appeared from the cracks in the tree.