Chapter 88 Part 2

 

After paying his respects, the Anguo envoy said in a loud voice: “Your Majesty the Emperor set up today’s archery competition for the purpose of selecting a Qilin Warrior. What is a Qilin Warrior? The most outstanding and brave warrior among ten thousand people! But more than that, he must also be a gentleman who understands the principle of ‘if one’s shot misses, he reflects upon himself’!”

After saying this, he turned to the Xifan envoy and said, “Do you understand the meaning of ‘if one’s shot misses, he reflects upon himself’?”

Although the Xifan envoys could speak the Han language, such refined expressions were beyond their comprehension, and he was momentarily at a loss.

The Anguo envoy said, “Then allow me to teach you. It means that if one misses his mark, he should not blame others but instead recognize his own shortcomings and strive to improve. This is in line with the humility and courtesy advocated by today’s grand archery ceremony. In this case, why can’t Prince Hedu accept Chief Pei’s challenge to compete?”

It was really surprising that he, an envoy of a vassal state, was so familiar with the classics and could explain them fluently and in a very coherent manner.

Some court officials around cheered.

The Anguo envoy hurriedly bowed to everyone and thanked them, then sneered a few times.

“Could it be the prince is afraid of losing? Everyone present saw it clearly, if Prince Ashina’s horse had not stumbled, how could he have been defeated so easily? In my opinion, Prince Hedu just took advantage of the situation and won unfairly. Shouldn’t a true archer ask his opponent to start over to prove his ability?”

Anguo had been invaded and oppressed by Xifan in the past. If the Holy Dynasty had not defeated Xifan, they would probably still be living a miserable life. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were enemies. Now that they had this opportunity, they would naturally not be polite.

The Xifan envoy angrily rebuked: “Do you think I don’t know? You were held hostage by the rebel general that day, and it was that man who saved you! Are you deliberately coming out to make excuses in order to repay a favor, intending to ruin my prince’s rightful victory?”

The Anguo envoy pointed at Hedu and said, “Speaking of life-saving grace, you reminded me. Prince Hedu was also trapped at the bottom of the valley that night. If Chief Pei hadn’t arrived, it’s hard to say what would have happened to him that night. Even if I repay a life-saving grace, is it wrong?”

As soon as he finished speaking, many people around him laughed. The Xifan envoy was so angry that his face turned blue. He paused, left the Anguo envoy, and turned to the emperor and Prince Ning: “Your Majesty and Your Highness Prince Ning, who is in charge of shooting today, please make a fair decision so that we can be convinced!”

At this moment, Pei Xiaoyuan stepped forward, and in full view of everyone, he pulled out the four feather arrows from his waist, separated one, put the other three together. Then with a slight force of his fingers, all of them broke in half and he threw them to the ground.

He turned to Hedu: “I want to challenge you! But I’m late, so I’m at fault. To show my sincerity, I’m willing to only have one chance!”

He faced the wind coming from the depths of Cangshan Mountain that was swirling above the arena, raised the remaining arrow in his hand, and looked towards Hedu.

“But I wonder if Prince Hedu dares to accept the challenge?”

He asked the question word by word, and his voice spread with the wind, reaching Hedu’s ears and the ears of many people around him.

The whole place fell silent again. Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, Hedu pulled out two arrows from behind, and broke them like the man opposite him. When there was only one arrow left, he gritted his teeth and said, “Come on! Why would I be afraid of you? This is the perfect chance for me to see exactly what you’re capable of!”

Though Xifan was defeated and forced to surrender, Hedu had a high opinion of himself. How could he truly respect this young man who had defeated him in the battlefield? Now that he was challenged so openly, not to mention that he was confident that he would not be defeated, even if he was really inferior to him, retreating was simply not an option.

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled, slowly cupped his fists in front of his chest, bowed to show respect to his opponent, then summoned Jinwuzhui, jumped on it, and galloped to the center of the competition ground.

Hedu followed closely.

Amid the roaring noise in the audience, the duel between the two began.

This archery competition was completely different from the previous one between Hedu and Ashina. At the beginning, both opponents charged directly on horseback, head-on, without any probing or maneuvering.

After Jinwuzhui carried its master onto the field, it seemed to sense the surging fighting spirit coming from all directions, and had long been eager to move. Now, under the control of its master, it was charging forward without fear. Hedu’s mount was also a majestic one, but after several head-on collisions with Jinwuzhui, it seemed to begin to be intimidated by the enemy’s dominance. After five to six rounds of confrontation, Hedu felt that his mount was retreating, so he kicked the horse’s belly hard, forcing the horse to charge again.

As the two horses galloped head-on and were about to pass each other again, Hedu suddenly shifted his attack. Instead of aiming his fist at his opponent, he thrust it downward, hooking his thumb and reaching for the eyes of the opposing horse.

The rules only prohibited the use of swords and hidden weapons, but did not prohibit attacking the opponent’s mount. If he succeeded, it would not be considered a violation. As for the so-called morality and righteousness advocated by the people of the Holy Dynasty, he did not understand them, and in his eyes they were worthless.

As long as he could win, he would do whatever it takes. This was the way of survival followed by the Xifan people. This was also the reason why when Ashina fell off his horse during the last competition, he did not stop but took the opportunity to grab the bow.

Pei Xiaoyuan had dealt with the Xifan people before, so he was not unfamiliar with this tactic. When Hedu made his move, he sensed his intention.

He loved Jinwuzhui very much, so how could he let his beloved mount suffer such a fatal attack? He suddenly pulled up the reins and turned the horse’s head abruptly. However, Hedu’s attack was indeed fierce and fast, and he could not completely avoid it. instead, Pei Xiaoyuan used his body to block Hedu’s attack.

With a bang, one of his shoulders received Hedu’s punch.

Though partially deflected, the punch still landed with significant force, leaving Pei Xiaoyuan’s shoulder and back throbbing in pain. As the sharp ache subsided, he glanced back and saw Hedu seizing the moment to drive his horse toward the Qilin platform.

At this time, Heavens seemed to be helping Hedu, and the wind in the competition ground stopped.

He urged his horse hard and rushed to the base of the platform. At the same time, he drew his bow at an extremely fast speed, put an arrow on it, tilted his head upward, aimed at the colorful ball that was quietly resting above. Seizing this perfect opportunity, as if heaven itself had presented him with the chance, he prepared to release his arrow.

At this time, Pei Xiaoyuan also turned his horse again and rode Jinwuzhui to catch up. Jinwuzhui’s four hooves galloped like the wind, almost not touching the ground.

Just before Hedu’s fingers began to tense and poised to release the arrow, Pei Xiaoyuan leaped from his saddle, lunging through the air amid exclamations from the audience. His outstretched arms caught hold of Hedu’s arms from behind just as he was about to release his arrow. With a sharp twist and a powerful pull, he dragged Hedu off his horse, sending both of them tumbling heavily to the ground together.

The two sides were already fighting with red eyes, each throwing their bows, fighting with their fists, throwing punch back and forth. During the fight, Hedu used his size advantage to finally restrained Pei Xiaoyuan.

Just as he clenched his fist and was about to hit Pei Xiaoyuan hard in the face, Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly straightened his waist and hit Hedu’s jaw directly with his head.

Hedu was caught off guard and cried out in pain. His teeth broke his lips and tongue, and his mouth was full of blood.

Pei Xiaoyuan succeeded in one blow, and then, without giving Hedu any chance to counterattack, he bent his elbow and slammed it into Hedu’s temple.

Suffering a series of heavy blows to his head and face, no matter how fierce Hedu was, he still could not bear it. He almost fainted and fell to the ground, unable to move for a while.

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at Hedu, who was slowly crawling under his feet with a look of pain on his face. He raised his hand, wiped the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, turned around and walked away.

At that moment, Hedu, lying on the ground, suddenly widened his eyes and summoned all his strength, lifting his leg from behind and delivering a heavy sideways kick aimed at Pei Xiaoyuan.

If the kick had landed, it would likely have shattered a leg bone on impact.

Amid the exclamations that rang out again around him, Pei Xiaoyuan narrowly evaded the sweeping kick without so much as a glance backward. Without pausing, he continued walking steadily toward the spot where he had dropped his bow moments earlier.

Hedu was indeed a ruthless man. After a sneak attack failed, he actually stood up shakily from the ground. He gritted his teeth and pounced on Pei Xiaoyuan again, hugged him around the waist from behind, and exerted force to knock him to the ground.

Pei Xiaoyuan finally showed anger on his face. He grabbed Hedu’s arm that was tightly clutching his waist with both hands and twisted it violently.

With a heart-wrenching scream, Hedu’s arm was twisted out of the shoulder socket and he fainted on the spot from the pain.

Pei Xiaoyuan exhaled slowly, took another step, walked over, bent down to pick up the bow and the arrow on the ground, and stood in place.

At this time, the wind started to blow again above the competition ground.

He raised his head and stared quietly at the colorful ball in the air that was swaying in the wind. He drew his bow and arrow, slowly raised it, aimed, and calmly shot the arrow.

The arrow flew off the string and flew into the air, while he himself jumped onto the horse’s back.

Jinwuzhui carried him forward at a gallop. Before the colorful ball fell from the Qilin’s mouth and hit the ground, he had already arrived, reached out his hand, and caught it steadily.

After a few moments of silence, the whole audience suddenly burst into loud cheers.

The Jinwu Guard were utterly ecstatic. Many, disregarding even the emperor’s presence, surged into the field and gathered around Pei Xiaoyuan. Without giving him a chance to protest, they pulled him down from his horse and hoisted him high into the air, expressing their excitement and celebration.

Meanwhile, General Fan Ximing of Longwu Guard and the others also came to congratulate Han Kerang. Han Kerang was very humble on the surface, repeatedly saying, “You flatter me, you flatter me.” But after Fan Ximing and the others left, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and the more he thought about it, the prouder he became. Eventually, he could no longer contain himself and burst into hearty laughter.

Suddenly, without knowing who started it, someone shouted “Prince Consort”. Soon, the shouts grew louder, gradually drowning out all other noises. After a while, like streams converging into river, they merged into one wave of sound.

“Prince Consort——”

“Prince Consort——”

“Prince Consort——”

The sound was made by tens of thousands of people, in unison, shaking the earth and heaven. Over there, Prince Ning also led the flag-bearing officers to the imperial seat.

The officer holding the banner placed the colorful ball on a golden plate and presented it respectfully to the emperor.

The emperor’s eyes fell on the colorful ball. He stared at it for a moment, then turned and glanced at the princess. Then, he gritted his teeth, as if he had finally made up his mind, and nodded slightly to Prince Ning.

Prince Ning returned to the shooting platform with a smile on his face and signaled everyone to be silent.

The cheers in the competition ground gradually died down. The excited Jinwu Guard also put Pei Xiaoyuan down and returned to their positions.

Prince Ning then loudly announced that the Qilin Warrior of today’s Grand Archery Ceremony was, the Senior Light Chariot Commander, the Lieutenant General of the Jinwu Guard, and the Chief of the Luwu Division, Pei Xiaoyuan.

After saying this, he paused and looked around the competition ground, finally his eyes fell on the figure in the middle of the field.

“Pei Xiaoyuan, come forward and receive the decree!”

Pei Xiaoyuan calmed himself down, and under the gaze of countless envious eyes around him, he walked to the front of the Zhuque Terrace and knelt respectfully before the emperor.

“The sage emperor proclaims that Pei Xiaoyuan, having been summoned to the court, has diligently fulfilled his duties and achieved numerous merits. In the case of the Chen’s rebellion, his contributions were as towering as mountains, recognized by all within and beyond the court. Today, participating in the grand archery ceremony, he has triumphed as the Qilin Warrior, proving himself a most outstanding figure. His Majesty is greatly pleased and hereby decrees that Pei Xiaoyuan shall marry the princess and be conferred the title of Commandant Prince Consort. A date for the wedding shall be selected, and upon the occasion, a general amnesty will be declared to honor the emperor’s grace!”

Pei Xiaoyuan kowtowed to express his gratitude and followed order to stand up.

All the officials stood up from their seats, and led everyone in the audience to kowtow to the emperor, shouting “Long live the emperor”. After that, they turned to Pei Xiaoyuan, saluted, and shouted “Prince Consort”.

Pei Xiaoyuan stood in the center of these ten thousand people.

If it weren’t for the real pain still lingering on his lips and body from the fierce fight just now, he almost felt that everything happening before his eyes was like a dream that was completely out of his control.

Slowly, he looked at her from afar who was still sitting under the imperial canopy.

She covered half of her face with a round fan, leaving only a pair of clear eyes as bright as autumn water.

Amidst the countless heads in between, the moment her eyes met his, she blinked slightly, and it seemed that a ray of gentle light that he was familiar with, and one that only belonged to Miss Ye, flashed across her eyes.

Pei Xiaoyuan felt his breathing stagnate, and his chest suddenly felt extremely sore and swollen.

It was a faint, sweet and bitter feeling.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, she had stood up from her seat and disappeared from his sight accompanied by guards of honor.

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