Chapter 88 Part 1

 

On the Zhuque arena, everyone’s eyes were focused on the two riders in the field.

Being able to overcome all obstacles and stood out among many experts competing here, these two were naturally masters among masters and warriors among warriors in terms of archery and physical skills.

But compared to Hedu, who attracted a lot of dislike because of his conceited personality, Ashina’s popularity was obviously much better.

Although he unexpectedly eliminated Lantai in the previous round, causing many to lose their wagers, those who bet on him accepted their loss with grace. When the two men urged their horses to fight each other and began to compete for the first shot opportunity, every time Ashina gained the upper hand, there would be constant cheers and shouts in the arena.

It was obvious who was more popular.

From the moment Hedu entered the match, he fought with all his strength, focusing intently on securing the opportunity to shoot first.

Ashina was already a strong man, but Hedu was even stronger than him.

Because there were no restrictions on the clothes of the archers in this round, before he went to the field, he discarded the right-lapelled outer robe typical of men from this dynasty. Instead, he donned his usual left-lapelled, sleeveless warrior garb, cinched with a wide leather belt embedded with animal bones and gold inlays. One side of his muscular shoulder, as massive as a small mountain, was exposed, and his arm muscles, bulging like knotted cords, rippled with raw power. Whenever the two of them got close, he clenched his fist and swung it at Ashina. His punches, like iron bowls cutting through the air with a whooshing sound, were so powerful that if they landed on an average person, afraid their bones would shatter instantly, leaving them incapacitated on the ground.

Ashina was not as strong as Hedu, and looked in danger under his powerful attack, but he was an excellent rider, and his horse seemed to be one with him. He was able to control the horse in time to break up the attacks every time. Not only that, but his graceful posture also won him a lot of applause.

Hedu was as strong as a bear, but he was not a brainless person who only knew how to attack fiercely. When the strong attack did not work, he changed his strategy and stopped attacking actively. He began to ride his horse towards the Qilin platform, looking for a suitable opportunity to shoot the arrow.

The Qilin platform stood ten zhang high, and the Zhuque arena swept with strong wind. Although the colored ball was solid, it was still blown back and forth in the air by the wind, which made it not easy to hit it. In addition to be able to hit a target at a hundred paces, one must also calculate the swinging position of the colored ball when the arrow arrives. Naturally, the closer the distance, the better.

Ashina saw through his intention and would not let him succeed, so he immediately caught up with him, carrying the bow on his back and spurring his horse, attacking Hedu from behind as he was aiming his arrow towards the sky.

However, at that moment, He Du suddenly leaned low, dodging the attack. Then, with a feint, he spun around on horseback to face Chengping directly, and in the next instant, aimed to snatch his bow.

Chengping reacted quickly, dodged immediately, and hung his body on the side of the saddle.

This posture was common to him. Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could escape danger again, an unexpected scene occurred.

For some unknown reason—perhaps due to a hidden pit on the ground—Chengping’s mount suddenly stumbled, its front leg buckling mid-stride.

The accident happened almost in the blink of an eye. Even those closest to the scene couldn’t discern what exactly happened. They only saw him thrown off his horse, falling to the ground along with the momentum of the mount. His black iron horn bow was flung from his shoulder, landing several feet away on the ground.

Hedu, seemingly as surprised as anyone that his scheme had worked, froze momentarily in astonishment. But soon came to his sense and felt ecstatic. Wasting no time and giving Ashina no chance to recover, he urged his horse forward at full speed, racing toward the fallen bow on the ground.

Just as Ashina leaped forward and stretched out his hand to grab the horn bow back, Hedu had already arrived one step ahead, leaned down from the horse’s back, grabbed the horn bow on the ground, and then broke it.

One bow and four arrows, this was the standard equipment for every archer participating in today’s shooting competition.

In this final horseback archery competition, since Prince Ashina lost his bow, he would no longer have any chance to compete with Hedu in shooting the colorful ball on the Qilin Platform.

As Hedu broke Ashina’s horn bow, the huge competition ground, which had been filled with shouts just now, became silent.

“I won! I won!”

Hedu let out a series of triumphant roars, unable to suppress the overwhelming delight and smugness swelling in his chest. His gaze turned toward the Zhuque Platform in the distance, where he respectfully saluted the golden figure glimmering beneath the imperial canopy. Then, with a provocative smirk, he turned toward the stands, provocatively waving the broken bow in his hand at the officers and soldiers of the surrounding guards. The crowd fell silent, though many wore expressions of defiance, their frustration as undeniable. This filled Hedu with an intense sense of satisfaction. He threw the broken bow away, and then laughed wildly towards the sky.

Ashina was already defeated, but Hedu still had four arrows left. He was also an expert, so it was almost impossible for him to miss all four arrows without any interference. There would be no change in the fact that he would win the championship today.

No wonder he was so proud and started celebrating his victory early.

There were few harmonious voices in the competition ground. Except for the Xifan people and some of Hedu’s friends in the Wei Guard who cheered excitedly with him, the rest of the people kept silent and no one spoke.

The hundreds of officials watching the battle looked at each other in bewilderment, unable to believe their eyes. When they reacted, there was a buzzing sound near the Zhuque Terrace. Some people whispered to their colleagues, while others secretly looked at the emperor and princess on the Zhuque Terrace, wondering how this matter would end today.

Could it be true, as everyone expected before the grand archery ceremony, that the princess will marry today’s winner, the Xifan prince?

Hedu finished celebrating, but was still not satisfied, so he rode his horse to Chengping’s side and circled around him a few times, his horse’s hooves raising a lot of dust on the ground.

Chengping said nothing, enduring the silent disappointment and reproach from his companions around him. He slowly got up from the ground, stood still, closed his eyes, and let the dust fall on his head and face, without moving.

After thoroughly humiliating his opponent, Hedu burst into laughter and abandoned him where he lay. Urging his horse forward, he galloped toward the Qilin Platform. Once at its base, he reined in his mount, drew an arrow from his belt, and put it on his bowstring. Just as he was about to shoot, he suddenly stopped, turned his head and looked around arrogantly, then retreated until he reached an open space several feet away, then raised his bow again and aimed at the colorful ball on the platform that was swaying in the wind.

He did this to show off his martial arts, to demonstrate his archery skills to everyone, and to show that he was not afraid of long-range shooting.

Narrowing one eye, he focused intently for a moment, carefully observing the wind’s direction and the rhythm of the swaying ball. After calculating the angle in his mind, he steadied himself, and with a sharp release, the arrow shot from the bowstring, speeding toward the ball suspended in mid-air.

Suddenly, another feather arrow flew across the sky.

The arrow flew with incredible force, as if carrying the weight of a thousand tons. Its arrowhead tore through the air, producing a sharp, whistling sound as it streaked forward like lightning, in an instant overtaking the arrow Hedu had just released.

The two arrows collided in the air.

With a short and crisp cracking sound, the horizontal arrow hit the shaft of the arrow shot by Hedu.

The rod broke with a sound, and its momentum came to an abrupt stop, like a bird with a broken wing, falling from the sky and landing on the ground not far from Qilin platform.

Everyone in the audience reacted and turned to look in the direction of the arrow.

Under the sunlight, a horse with a black satin sheen all over its body and carrying a man appeared in the north gate passage of the competition ground.

The man sat upright on horseback, dressed in the regular uniform of a Jinwu military officer, with a golden belt around his waist, a handsome face and a strong body. He held a strong bow in his hand with its bowstring still vibrating slightly.

Obviously, the arrow that just broke through the air was shot by this person.

“Chief Pei!”

Someone nearby shouted loudly, and then there was a commotion in the stands.

Soon, the noise from all directions turned into cheers, one after another, and never stopped.

It was like a fire suddenly ignited in a desolate and lifeless land. The fire quickly spread and rose in all directions, bringing infinite light and hope.

As he appeared and shot the arrow, the atmosphere in the competition ground was no longer as depressing as it was a moment ago, and quickly turned heated.

Chengping opened his eyes amid the cheers that filled his ears, and stared at the figure riding a horse towards him from the opposite side. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, revealing a look that seemed to be both lost and relieved.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the beautiful figure on the Zhuque Terrace, then he looked away, led his horse, and quietly left.

At this moment, the emperor who had been expressionless on the Zhuque Terrace finally moved. He turned around and glanced at the princess beside him with a complicated look.

She always sat upright, holding a round fan, calm and motionless. No matter when Hedu was showing off his victory just now, or when Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly appeared.

“Chief Pei! What do you mean by this?”

After Pei Xiaoyuan stopped his horse in front of him, Hedu finally came back to his senses.

His eyes swept over the broken arrow that fell in front of the Qilin Platform. He tried his best to suppress the anger rising in his chest and questioned Pei Xiaoyuan.

Pei Xiaoyuan put away his bow, dismounted, and bowed to him to express his apology.

“I was originally on the list of participants in today’s grand archery ceremony, but I was unable to arrive on time this morning due to other matters. I had no choice but to do this now. I hope the prince will forgive me.” He said with a smile.

Hedu’s face was gloomy and he didn’t respond.

Pei Xiaoyuan was calm and composed. He turned to the stunned ceremonial officer and performed a proper bow. Then he said in a clear voice, “It is true that Pei is late, but as a soldier in our dynasty, I know the principle of ‘valiant warriors are the pillars of the realm’. With this grand archery ceremony, I could not help but be deeply drawn to it. I just witnessed the extraordinary heroic figure of Prince Hedu and admired him very much. Thus, though I may be overestimating myself, I hope for the chance to spar with him. I respectfully ask for your permission.”

The ceremonial officer came to his senses, glanced at him and Hedu, and knew that this matter was definitely not something he could decide. Calculating his next steps, he quickly put on a smile, returned the bow, and replied: “Chief Pei, please wait a moment.”

He quickly came before Prince Ning, who was in charge of the current situation, and conveyed Pei Xiaoyuan’s intention.

Prince Ning had already heard Pei Xiaoyuan’s words. He nodded and told him to wait. He walked to the front of the Zhuque Terrace and was about to report. At this time, a man wearing a fur hat and braided hair stood up suddenly in the guest seats nearby, walked out of his seat, saluted the emperor and Prince Ning, and voiced his protest first: “Today’s archery competition was seen clearly by everyone present. Our prince has advanced through the rounds, defeating opponents one after another with unmatched skill, and has now reached the final stage. Chief Pei himself was late, and now you would allow him to join in midway? Where is the fairness in that? If Your Majesty permits this, I will not accept it! None of us will accept it!”

The one who spoke was the Xifan envoy. As soon as he finished speaking, the Xifan officials and warriors with him jumped up one after another, shouting loudly that they would not accept it.

The atmosphere suddenly turned solemn.

The opposition from the Xifan people was expected. Prince Ning glanced at the emperor and was thinking about how to respond. At this time, another person in the guest seats stood up and strode over.

Everyone looked and saw that it was the envoy of Anguo.

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