Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 64: Making Bows and Arrows

Listening to Xu Yi’s plans, Lu Ke couldn’t help but smile.

It increasingly felt like they were getting by, rather than just surviving in the wilderness.

"Then I’ll dismantle all the sleeping bags tomorrow and make myself a set of clothes first, so that the jacket can be yours," Lu Ke thought. Without the sleeping bags, sleeping together would be much less awkward.

After all, the space in a sleeping bag is limited and confining.

Switching to a larger bed would be different; the space would be much bigger.

"Alright, I found some fluff grass today that should be nice for sleeping on the wooden mat," Xu Yi nodded. Without sitting by the fire at night, it gets quite chilly.

"I wonder if the clothes I make will look ugly," Lu Ke mused, already planning in her mind to make the most of the sleeping bag material.

After all, there’s actually enough to make a set of clothes, so it should be used wisely and not wasted.

"You’re so skilled; I’m sure they’ll look great," Xu Yi grinned. He had confidence in Lu Ke.

"But you might want to make it a bit bigger because I feel I’m still growing. I wouldn’t want it to be too small later," Xu Yi reminded, noticing Lu Ke’s changes.

"Yeah, I feel that too," Lu Ke nodded, knowing the clothes couldn’t be too small.

Bigger is fine; too small would be troublesome. Not that it couldn’t be altered, but it would be a hassle.

Seeing the fire was secure, Xu Yi brought over the logs he had carried back today.

Using the serrated back of the machete, Xu Yi sawed the logs into two pieces.

It was his first time using the serrated part of the machete and found it surprisingly sharp, easily cutting through the wood.

"Is this the wood for making bows and arrows?" Lu Ke asked, since Xu Yi mentioned that finding suitable wood for bows and arrows was his main task these days.

"Yes, this type of wood is very hard, so it should be suitable," Xu Yi replied, standing the piece of wood upright, ready to split it with a knife.

As for the top piece, Xu Yi decided to keep it for now.

Bows and arrows are meant to be reused, so there’s no need for too many.

The piece of wood in Xu Yi’s hand was thicker than his thigh. All processed, it could make at least thirty arrows for hunting without needing that many.

Of course, the more the merrier, and Xu Yi didn’t mind having more arrows. Even though they can be reused, they do wear out. Ultimately, bows and arrows are consumable.

"Will it be hard?" Lu Ke asked out of curiosity, having never seen an arrow made before.

"We’ll see if it splits easily," Xu Yi said, placing the knife in the middle of the wood and picking up a stone to strike it hard.

The blade went straight into the wood, and Xu Yi found it easier than expected.

Then, he pounded the stone alternately left and right, working his way down.

"It’s a fine knife, much easier than I expected," Xu Yi grinned, holding the split wood and continuing to split it the same way.

A few hours later, Xu Yi ended up with 32 square sticks.

As he estimated, all that remained was to shape them into cylinders.

For this delicate work, a machete wasn’t appropriate, so Xu Yi took out a dagger and began carving his first arrow.

Lu Ke glanced over occasionally, with a hint of amazement in her eyes.

Xu Yi often bragged about his skilled hands, and Lu Ke thought the same. If he knew weaving, he might not be any worse than she was.

After a while, Xu Yi would glance up to check his work.

This was a fundamental skill in woodworking: identifying areas that needed more work and trimming them.

As time passed, nearing midnight, Xu Yi finally had a fairly regular arrow in his hand.

The arrowhead was carved into a triangle.

After testing, Xu Yi found it very sharp.

He believed it could pierce animal hides, though he wasn’t sure if it would break.

Crafting a bone arrowhead was also quite tricky. Xu Yi felt the wood he found was comparable in hardness to a bone arrow.

Next was adding the fletching to the arrow.

Xu Yi had collected quite a few feathers from shooting down a large bird, enough to make the fletching.

But it was already past midnight, so it was time to sleep.

Lu Ke had already replaced the sleeping bag lining and placed it back in its original spot before crawling into bed.

Exhausted from a full day, Lu Ke went to sleep as soon as it was time.

The wood outside the earthen kiln had burned completely, but there were still some embers.

Xu Yi checked around before heading inside to sleep as well.

The next day, Lu Ke woke up earlier than Xu Yi, as usual.

"Day eleven," Lu Ke thought as she glanced back at Xu Yi in the room and stretched lazily.

Scanning the campsite, she added some firewood to the campfire.

The firewood was running out again, so Xu Yi would have to gather some more today.

There were endless tasks every day, with no time for rest.

Lu Ke checked the snake meat soaking in water, finding no signs of spoilage, so she started boiling it.

The delicious aroma must have woken Xu Yi, as he soon stirred awake.

After opening his eyes, Xu Yi didn’t get up right away but silently murmured, "System, check-in." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

After checking in, Xu Yi got up.

"Morning," Lu Ke greeted as Xu Yi appeared.

"Morning," Xu Yi yawned and stretched, inhaling the meat’s aroma as he walked to the washbasin.

A bowl of finely ground charcoal was on the ground, and Xu Yi dipped his finger in it to brush his teeth.

’Gurgle, gurgle.’

After rinsing his mouth, Xu Yi splashed some water on his face.

"Xu Yi, the rabbit’s grass is almost gone, so could you fetch some more later?" Lu Ke asked. She hadn’t been out yesterday and figured she could gather fluff grass and some tender grass for the rabbit while she was out.

"Sure, let’s grab some fluff grass for bedding too," Xu Yi nodded.

After a bowl of snake meat, he felt full of energy.

Once they rested a bit, Xu Yi and Lu Ke set out together.

The area with the fluff grass wasn’t too far, just a twenty-minute walk.

With a basket full, Xu Yi had Lu Ke take it back first.

Since one basket wasn’t enough for bedding, at least three were needed. Given the short distance, Xu Yi had Lu Ke go back alone.

Meanwhile, Xu Yi continued gathering as much fluff grass as he could.

After all, besides bedding, it’s excellent for kindling, so the more, the better.