Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Presumptuous!” Before the Crown Prince spoke, the burly man who picked the thirty-five-picul bow had taken a step forward and yelled at Yan Liqiang while pointing at him.
“Don’t you try to fool anyone in front of the Crown Prince! Do you think you are on an opera stage where you can spout claptraps? Who do you think you are to be calling a forty-picul bow light? Are you trying to be clever so that you can escape from this blindfolded contest? You may have escaped a few years ago, but His Highness is giving you another chance today because he looks up to you. Don’t you dare be ungrateful!”
Although there were many experts who practiced archery in the palace, none of the imperial guards could draw a forty-picul bow. Thirty-five piculs was the limit for the best experts in the palace.
Yan Liqiang was young. Although he was tall, he didn’t look like a powerful man. Everyone including the Crown Prince and the two men who were going to compete with Yan Liqiang didn’t think he could even draw a forty-picul bow. Of course, they had asked around about Yan Liqiang before, and they knew that he was drawing less than a thirty-picul bow when he was in Deer Villa back then.
Yan Liqiang laughed as soon as he heard the man. He knew the Crown Prince had tried to find out about his past. However, in this era where the flow of information was limited, the Crown Prince was probably not informed of his glorious victory at Heavenly Lake yet. If he did, he would have asked another archer expert to find out Yan Liqiang’s cultivation in archery and wouldn’t have sent his two guards to embarrass themselves today.
The Crown Prince pursed his lips as he looked at Yan Liqiang sharply. “Since you think the forty-picul bow is too light, why don’t you let me see if you can fully draw it? If you can, I will have someone send in a stronger bow. The royal treasury has all kinds of fascinating weapons. The only problem is if you are capable of wielding them!”
“Since Your Highness has spoken, then allow me to demonstrate!” Yan Liqiang excl calmly, then picked up a forty-picul dark red bow. In just a flash, he effortlessly drew the bow into a full moon shape. Then, the study Horned Python Bow frame broke with a loud snap. The precious strong bow was instantly rendered useless and reduced into a toy in Yan Liqiang’s hands. The entire process was no different than watching an adult effortlessly breaking a child’s bamboo toy bow.
“I already said that this bow was too light for me to use. Ah, such a pity…” Yan Liqiang shook his head, then tossed the broken bow back to the rack with a sigh.
The room was absolutely silent, aside from the echoing snap of the forty-picul bow. The Crown Prince had unknowingly stood up, while the countenance of the expert archer who was yelling at Yan Liqiang moments ago had completely changed.
“Hahaha! What an eye-opening performance…!” A smile instantly appeared on the Crown Prince’s solemn face. “Someone, bring in the Vibrant Dragon Bow from my collection…!”
Shortly after the Crown Prince gave his order, an attendant brought a huge brocade box into the room and placed it on a table. The box was then opened, revealing a badass-looking precious dark red bow that was shiny like a crystal in front of Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang swept his gaze over the precious bow and couldn’t stop himself from shouting, “Fine bow!”
The bow was indeed fine in Yan Liqiang’s eyes. It was not an exaggeration to name it the Vibrant Dragon. Judging from the fine lines on the bow frame, the bow was probably at least a hundred-piculs, or more precisely, 108 piculs. It required more strength to be drawn compared to the hundred-picul bow that Yan Liqiang owned. Not only that, but it was a lot more exquisite and gorgeous. For that hundred-picul bow, Yan Liqiang nearly used up all the energy points he had accumulated in the ‘toy capsule machine’ to painstakingly summon a Horned Python in order to complete the raw materials he needed to make the bow. Back then, he thought it would be difficult for him to find another hundred-picul bow in this world. Little did he expect there was one in the Crown Prince’s collection.
Yan Liqiang picked up the bow, touched the bowstring. He weighed it slightly in his hands, then told the Crown Prince, “This bow will do…”
“Good!” The Crown Prince nodded. “My two guards are very adept in blindfolded contests. They each have their own strengths. You may choose any one of them to compete with you…”
“No need for the trouble, I will take on both of them at once!” Yan Liqiang said lightly. “They are your guards. Even if I beat one of them, it’s an unfair battle. If I cannot even beat two guards that serve you, then I have no right to be your master and I shall personally turn in my resignation from this position to His Majesty!”
In a blindfolded contest, the difficulty and danger of going up against two opponents greatly varied from going up against one opponent. The Crown Prince’s guards looked at each other with anger in their eyes but didn’t say anything. They were clearly stunned by Yan Liqiang’s performance earlier, but were still secretly angry. So what if Yan Liqiang could draw a bow? The blindfolded contest wasn’t just a contest of strength. They would show Yan Liqiang their true colors later…
“Good. Then I shall witness how you will go up against two opponents in this blindfolded contest today!” While speaking, the Crown Prince directly walked to the courtyard outside. The guards, attendants, the two expert archers, and Yan Liqiang followed him out of the room.
There was an archery range in the courtyard outside and it would seem like it had been set up for the blindfolded contest today.
When the other guards and attendants in the Zhaowu Courtyard saw the Crown Prince and Yan Liqiang come out, almost all of them quickly gathered around to watch.
The blindfolded match was formally conducted. Before the game began, someone inspected all the black blindfolds, as well as the arrows that had their arrowheads removed and wrapped in cloth. After receiving no objections from all three contestants, the three of them were instructed to stand on both sides of the archery range about fifty steps apart from each other.
Yan Liqiang stood on one side, while the two other expert archers stood about twenty meters apart from each other on the opposite side. The three of them formed an isosceles triangle on the field.
The sun was hanging high above their heads and the surroundings were in absolute silence. The crowd was quiet as everyone seemed to be holding their breath and did not dare to speak. The Crown Prince sat at the corridor beside the archery range, protected by a few guards who had their shields up as crowds began forming on both sides.
“This blindfolded contest shall commence with a coin toss from His Highness the Crown Prince. The contest begins as soon as you hear the coin hits the ground. Anyone who mishears and draws the bow in advance or gets hit by the opponent will lose…” The guard who led Yan Liqiang inside the hall earlier announced loudly on the archery range, then scanned around. “If there is no objection from the three of you, you may put on your blindfolds…”
Yan Liqiang looked at his two opponents with a smile, then put on his blindfold. He picked up his bow and stood calmly on the field, feeling bizarre. He had escaped from a blindfolded contest back then, but he didn’t expect to find himself drawn into another blindfolded contest this time in the Imperial Capital. It would seem like he had to participate in the blindfolded contest at least once for learning archery in the Imperial Capital. If that was the case, then so be it…
There were many onlookers, so Yan Liqiang wasn’t worried about the other party cheating or playing tricks. He believed that the Crown Prince still wanted his dignity. His intention in allowing other people to watch was to show Yan Liqiang that he wouldn’t tamper with anything. However at this point, Yan Liqiang didn’t even care if his opponents were going to cheat or play dirty.
When Yan Liqiang’s two opponents saw Yan Liqiang had put on his blindfold, they followed suit. The person who made the announcement on the field ran to the Crown Prince and reported to him, “Your Highness, preparations are ready…”
The Crown Prince squeezed the copper coin in his hand as his sharp eyes roamed over Yan Liqiang and his two guards. Half a minute later, he launched the coin into the air. Under countless gazes, the coin flipped a few times, drew an arc in the air, and landed on the ground with a soft clink.
