Chapter 810: The Arrow Never Misses Its Target (Part )

It was not until this moment that Liu Xunyi truly realized that Su He's evaluation of Hu Lie was not an exaggeration at all. Instead, it was just the right description and very insightful.

"He has the heroic spirit of 'taking the head of a general in the midst of thousands of troops', and the elegance of 'planning and strategizing from a thousand miles away'. He is a man of both virtue and talent, a man of both civil and military skills, and a man whom Su admires very much."

As the saying goes, "a great reputation is not worth living up to", this golden rule that has been proven time and again in the Central Plains has somehow become a hypocritical and ignorant joke in the Mobei steppe.

In comparison, the princes of the Song Dynasty who were in a similar position to Hu Lie, although they could not be said to be good-for-nothings, mediocre and dull, at least none of them had the ability of Hu Lie in both literature and martial arts. It was a luxury to even compare them, let alone to compete with each other.

When it comes to plotting and scheming, the important officials in the Song Dynasty court are more shrewd than each other. But when it comes to military strategy and governing the country, the imperial city of Lin'an is stretched to its limits and can be counted on one hand.

The end of being careless and underestimating the enemy is often an ugly death. Li Haitang, who was already depressed, felt the pressure several times more after seeing Hu Lie's true strength. For a moment, he was silent and stunned.

"what!"

As wave after wave of cheers rose one after another, a tragic wail suddenly sounded from the venue, shocking everyone who was cheering. They looked up and looked around, curious.

It doesn't matter if you don't look at it, but once you look at it, the whole audience will be shocked.

The sixty-year-old man standing behind the girl and the woman was curled up on the ground with his hand covering his bleeding cheek, looking painfully grimacing, and rolling back and forth in pain.

Looking closely, everyone gasped.

It turned out that the second arrow shot by Hu Lie did not hit the fallen copper coin, but pierced the old man's right cheek. The sharp arrow tore half of his cheek apart, leaving a shocking and horrible gap. Two rows of uneven teeth were faintly visible in the bloody flesh, which was creepy and chilling.

Even though the old man covered his mouth tightly with his hands, he could not stop the blood from gushing out like water, flowing through his fingers and covering the ground with blood.

"Alas!" Looking at the bull's eye that Yin Zhan sent, especially when he saw that the arrow pierced the bull's eye only pierced two copper coins, Hu Lie couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "What a pity, my archery skills have become rusty!"

"Li Haitang, your chance has come!" After understanding the situation, Feng Tianba, who was originally discouraged, suddenly showed ecstasy and shouted excitedly, "Three arrows hit five hearts is your suggestion, you will definitely win."

"I..." Looking at Feng Tianba who had high hopes for her, Li Haitang hesitated to speak, as if she was feeling depressed.

"Drag the old man out and bring another one in." Wang Dechen pointed at the old man who was in agony and urged, "Let the pregnant woman stand at the back, the little girl stand at the second, and find a slave to stand at the front."

"This is unfair!" Liu Xunyi frowned and protested, "The little girl is short. If she stands in the middle, the arrow will need to be shot in a perfect curve..."

"This kind of competition is always changing rapidly. If the old man hadn't been moving around, why would the prince have missed the target?" Wang Dechen sneered. "What's more, it was Li Haitang himself who was distracted and didn't dare to shoot. You can't blame others."

"you……"

"Stop talking nonsense and start the competition!" Wang Dechen did not give Liu Xunyi a chance to argue and urged him impatiently.

"Haitang, you must have faith in your own strength. You are not harming them, but saving them."

Looking at Li Haitang, who was depressed and walking with heavy steps, Liu Xunyi spoke to comfort her again.

However, even though Li Haitang could force herself not to think about what had just happened, the woman and the girl, who were "sitting targets", could no longer bear the inner pressure and burst into tears as if they had lost their parents.

Their cries reached Li Haitang's ears, sounding like pleading, like hatred, like contempt, like despair... making Li Haitang, who was already worried, even more at a loss.

It seemed like a moment, and yet it seemed like thousands of years. Li Haitang finally completed the longest journey in his life. He stopped at the archery position, and with a complicated and sad expression, he slowly raised the iron bow in his hand towards the three slaves who were crying and trembling.

"Li Haitang, don't blame me for not reminding you." Wang Dechen pretended to be nonchalant and said, "The most dangerous position in this kind of competition is undoubtedly the last person. You saw what happened to that old man just now. Although he was seriously injured, he was lucky. The one standing at the end is a pregnant woman. If you make a mistake, you might end up with two people dead..."

"boom!"

Wang Dechen's words were like a blow to the head, a thunderbolt, causing a roar in Li Haitang's head. The mentality that had just been trying to concentrate collapsed in an instant. Looking at the woman who was holding her stomach and crying bitterly, her eyes became extremely melancholy.

"Li Haitang, what are you waiting for?" Feng Tianba said in annoyance, "Even if you accidentally killed one or two people, so what? Compared with the millions of innocent people in the Song Dynasty, the lives of three or two people are not worth mentioning at all."

"What are you talking about?" Pan Yuyin seemed very dissatisfied with Feng Tianba's remarks and said, "If the people standing there were your wife and children, would you still say that?"

"If I can die for the court, for the country, and for the people, not to mention my wife and children, even if it's my parents, it won't be a pity to die!"

"you……"

"Stop arguing!" Suddenly, Li Haitang's face turned ferocious and he shouted loudly, not only suppressing the dispute between Feng Tianba and Pan Yuyin, but also interrupting the whispers of the people around them.

For a moment, the "Nadam" venue fell into silence again.

Li Haitang panted heavily, staring fiercely at the three slaves standing in the distance, and said word by word: "I have no grudge against you, and I shouldn't gamble with your lives. But this matter is serious, and I can't retreat today. Therefore, if you... accidentally die under my arrow, you can seek revenge on me in the next life. Remember! My name is Li Haitang. Of course, if you don't want to die, you'd better stand still... don't move at all."

Li Haitang said this to the three slaves as well as to himself. It was like a reassurance pill that gradually calmed his anxious heart.

When he raised the bow again, the entanglement and hesitation in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a sharpness that penetrated everything and a cold arrogance that ignored life and death.

Being firmly locked by the sharp arrows, the first slave in line could not help but sweat profusely, his legs became weak, and his body trembled like a sieve.

Staring at the three shaking copper coins, the three originally barely visible hairs strangely appeared in his pupils.

Suddenly, Li Haitang's eyes focused, and he raised the arrow slightly. Then, his fingers that were holding the bowstring suddenly loosened, and the first arrow flew out like a flash, drawing a beautiful and smooth curve in the air, cutting three hairs in a row without hurting the three slaves at all.

At the moment the first arrow was shot, Li Haitang pressed down the iron bow and took the arrow with his backhand. With a light "whoosh" sound, the second arrow arrived as expected.

Threading the needle in the solidified air, the arrow was made to pass through like flowing clouds and water, and the three copper coins falling from the sky were pierced on the arrow head one by one with strange and precise precision.

Seeing this scene, Li Haitang's heart, which had been hanging high, suddenly fell to the ground, and the calm and confident look in his eyes returned again. In the flash of lightning and morning dew, he placed the third arrow steadily on the bow.

Now, he just needs to pull the bow to its full extent, and then loosen his fingers, and the dust will fall to the ground, and the mission will be accomplished.

However, just when everything was about to be decided, the woman standing at the end suddenly showed pain on her face. Although it was only a momentary strangeness, it made the confident Li Haitang subconsciously distracted, and even doubted whether the two arrows he had just shot had accidentally hurt her?

It happened so fast. A flash of trance caused the bowstring, which was not yet fully drawn, to fly out of Li Haitang's hand. The third arrow was suddenly shot out before Li Haitang could defend himself, chasing the second arrow.

"what……"

Accompanied by a cry of surprise and regret, the third arrow pierced through the tail end of the second arrow like a rainbow piercing the sun, and pushed it straight to the center of the target.

It sounds slow, but in fact it only happens in the blink of an eye.

"boom!"

Under the astonished and amazed gaze of the crowd, the arrow that pierced through the three copper coins accurately hit the center of the bull's eye a thousand steps away.

A muffled sound made everyone's heart tremble at the same time, but their reaction was not as enthusiastic as the cheers after Hu Lie was shot just now. On the contrary, they looked at each other in silence.

"hiss!"

Under tremendous pressure, Li Haitang was still able to display unimaginable magical archery skills, which not only shocked Hu Lie and Wang Dechen, but also made the Mongolian Khan's eyes flash with a hint of subtle admiration.

"Great! Won!"

Feng Tianba danced with joy and excitement, his ecstasy was beyond words. Wuchan and Pan Yuyin were also overjoyed, their eyes were full of smiles and their brows were relaxed.

However, before Liu Xunyi stood up to congratulate him, he saw that Li Haitang did not show the expected excitement. On the contrary, he was in a serious state of mind, staring at the bull's eye without blinking, with a hint of worry emerging from the depths of his eyes.

"This is……"

Seeing this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel his heart tighten, and subconsciously followed his gaze towards the bull's eye.

In the silent "Nadam" venue, an arrow pierced by three copper coins was quietly inserted in the center of the bull's eye. With the sudden gusts of wind between heaven and earth, the glorious arrow that attracted everyone's attention trembled slightly in full view of the crowd, and then gradually tilted amid a burst of unbelievable exclamations.

"No! No no! No way..."

"Snapped!"

Although Li Haitang prayed again and again, the arrow still stubbornly broke free from the bull's eye. Under the complicated gazes from all around, the arrow and the copper coins scattered like withered flowers and willows, falling on the grass in a mess.

……

(End of this chapter)