Lin Yu'an carefully stored the tanned beaver pelts, and looking at the relatively abundant food supplies recently, his confidence soared!
This also gave him more time and energy to improve his archery skills, preparing for exploring and hunting further away.
During archery practice a while back, Lin Yu'an keenly sensed that the reborn Spatial Golden Finger was not just for storage; it also seemed to have enhanced his physical abilities to some extent.
After adapting and intentionally experiencing over this period, he could confirm that his body indeed became stronger!
His stamina recovery was faster, endurance more lasting, and vision sharper, especially in low-light conditions, with a much greater ability to capture subtle movements than before.
Also, his perception of distance became more precise, and he could accurately shoot arrows within twenty meters.
Even at critical moments, an indescribable "Sixth Sense" had helped him pinpoint the position of fish schools multiple times!
This physical change must be adapted to and mastered through a lot of practice.
Bow and arrow shooting is an excellent way to test and improve comprehensive perception and coordination abilities.
He spent some time tying a thick grass target with straw and set it up in the open area near the camp.
At least two hours of archery practice daily became his steadfast compulsory course.
He selected three arrows from the ten original ones, specifically for daily shooting practice.
That afternoon, during a long-range shooting practice of about forty meters, the angle was slightly off, and it grazed the edge of the grass target, then hit hard on a sturdy dead tree behind it!
"Crack!" A slight, painful crack sound came from the arrow shaft.
Lin Yu'an walked up and forcefully pulled out the arrow, only to see a clearly visible crack near the junction of the shaft and arrowhead. A gentle snap with his hand, and the shaft broke with a sound.
"Alas, one of the three arrows meant for wear and tear is already broken, faster than expected."
"I must put the work of making a batch of practice arrows on the schedule."
When the weather was clear, Lin Yu'an took the logging axe and multi-tool knife and entered the birch forest near the shelter.
He decided to use the bones left from the beaver catch to make arrowheads, and the most common birch wood nearby for the shafts.
"Birch wood is light and flexible, one of the excellent materials for making arrow shafts. But choosing the right birch branches is also particular."
Lin Yu'an weaved through the forest, his eyes scanning each towering birch tree while explaining to the camera.
"We are looking for those growing in an open environment, about one to two centimeters in diameter, as straight as possible branches or the tip of the main trunk."
"Such wood usually has more evenly distributed fibers and is easier to process."
After finding a suitable target, he first used the blade of the multi-tool knife to cut a groove about half a centimeter deep around the selected branch.
"This is to damage the bark's phloem, making subsequent logging easier and reducing wood splitting."
Then, using the logging axe, he aimed below the groove and chopped it off cleanly and neatly.
Back at the camp, he began processing these fresh birch wood rods.
"The first step is peeling. Fresh birch bark is relatively easy to strip off. I need to peel off the smooth white bark entirely to reveal the light yellow wood underneath."
He started at one end of the birch rod, carefully and evenly shaving off the bark with the blade of the multi-tool knife.
"These protruding knots and uneven areas are flaws that need to be shaved smoothly, making the whole as round and straight as possible; this is critical to the flight stability of the arrow."
Lin Yu'an lit a small fire and, once the flames stabilized, took a pre-processed birch rod.
He held it about ten centimeters above the flame, slowly and evenly rotating to heat it.
"Heating to straighten relies on heat to soften the wood fibers, then using external force to deform and shape them."
"During heating, care must be taken not to stay at one spot for too long, or it will easily scorch or crack the rod."
Gradually, the distinctive wood aroma emitted under the heat was clearly detectable.
When feeling the rod become slightly warm and its internal fibers relatively soft, he quickly removed it from the fire.
"The golden time for straightening is very short; once the wood cools, it quickly regains hardness, so the action must be fast."
Lin Yu'an immediately gripped the heated birch rod tightly in both hands.
His thumb usually pressed on the most prominently curved part, while the other four fingers clasped the concave side, forming a reverse lever.
His eyes, like the most precise instruments, carefully scrutinized the curvature and direction of the rod.
Then, he exerted force with his arms, applying a rubbing pressure in the opposite direction of the bend.
"Creak... creak..."
The internal fibers of the rod made subtle and clear sounds under the force of his arms, proving that the fiber structure was being rearranged and stretched.
"When straightening arrow shafts, brute force cannot be used to wrench them, as it easily damages the wood's fiber structure, even breaking it directly."
"It's about subtly guiding the wood fibers to extend and shape in the desired direction through rubbing, pressing, and twisting."
For some particularly subtle adjustments, he would bring the rod close to his eyes, squint one eye.
Like a marksman aiming through sights, he carefully observed along the longitudinal axis of the arrow shaft, then pressed and adjusted.
Lin Yu'an patiently performed multiple rounds of heating, pressing, observing, re-heating, and re-pressing, continuously holding the arrow shaft up to his eye level, rotating it to examine from various angles until it exhibited an almost perfect straight line.
Once the initial straightening of an arrow shaft was complete, he placed it in a cool, ventilated spot to cool down slowly.
"The cooling and setting process is also crucial, allowing the wood fibers to cool down naturally and stabilize."
He rotated processing those few birch rods, and when the last arrow shaft was repeatedly straightened and quietly cooled into shape, Lin Yu'an finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, a satisfied expression on his face.