Chapter 811: Fate and Fate
"It fell! It fell!"

"What does it matter if it falls off?"

"What does it count? If there's no arrow on the target, it's considered a miss!"

"This……"

Someone in the crowd shouted first, which immediately broke the silence in the venue and made everyone who were in a trance suddenly realize what was going on. For a moment, they were indignant and talked a lot.

However, the majority of the discussion was in favor of Hu Lie, deliberately belittling Li Haitang. This was not surprising, after all, this was Mobei, and except for Liu Xunyi and a few others, all the people present were Mongolians or neighboring countries that were friendly with Mongolia, so it was human nature to do everything they could to please Hu Lie.

"Are you blind?" Hearing that everyone was confusing right and wrong, Feng Tianba could not help but get angry and retorted angrily, "The arrow hit the bull's eye, and everyone can see it, how can it be said to have missed the target?"

"Where is the arrow?" Wang Dechen pointed at the empty bull's eye and sneered, "What is high-level archery? It's not just about accuracy, it's also about power. If it were on the battlefield, Li Haitang's arrow wouldn't be able to kill the enemy, and I'm afraid it wouldn't even penetrate the enemy's armor. Your Majesty's arrow is like piercing a willow tree, piercing a louse, and drinking a feather. On the other hand, Li Haitang's arrow is like scratching an itch through a boot, weak and powerless. Who is stronger and who is weaker? Who will win and who will lose? It's obvious, and it's clear at a glance."

"Archery is about accuracy, not strength..."

"How dare you say such a thing that goes against your will?"

"No matter how accurate the arrow is, if it poses no threat to the target, what's the difference between it and not shooting the arrow at all?"

"An arrow that can't even hit the target is not worthy of being called an arrow."

"No need to argue, just look at the bull's eye and you'll know who's better..."

Feng Tianba's argument was quickly drowned out by the constant attacks. Even though he shouted at the top of his lungs, he could not gain any advantage in the face of so many criticisms. He felt ashamed and angry, but helpless.

"Lord Liu, I can't win the argument with them alone, please say something fair." Feng Tianba cast an indignant look at Liu Xunyi, his tone full of urgency and complaints, "Just now..."

"Begonia!"

Before Feng Tianba finished speaking, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly fixed, and he asked the timid Li Haitang word by word: "In front of you, we are not qualified to judge the level of archery. Why don't you tell me, does this arrow count?"

"This..." Facing Liu Xunyi's seriousness, Li Haitang's eyes were vague, his lips and teeth were trembling, and he hesitated for a long time without being able to say anything further.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xunyi, Feng Tianba and others felt their hearts sink at the same time, and a deep look of loss could not be suppressed and surged into their eyes.

"Rules are rules." Seeing that Li Haitang had no face to refute, Wang Dechen nodded with satisfaction and said loudly, "In this competition, Your Majesty hit the bull's eye, and Li Haitang did not. There is no doubt that Your Majesty won."

"it is good!"

When Wang Dechen announced the result, the Nadam venue immediately became abuzz with excitement.

With enthusiastic cheers from all around, Li Haitang came in front of Liu Xunyi like a zombie. Under Feng Tianba's angry gaze and Wuchan and Pan Yuyin's sympathetic and helpless hesitation, he suddenly bent his knees and fell to the ground with a plop.

“Brother Liu, I’m sorry…” Li Haitang’s eyes were red and his voice was choked with sobs, “I was too conceited! I underestimated the enemy! I…”

“No!” Liu Xunyi was stunned. He leaned over and slowly helped the regretful Li Haitang up, and comforted him, “This matter has nothing to do with you. It’s not just you who underestimated Hu Lie. All of us underestimated him…”

"Brother Liu..."

Knowing that Liu Xunyi was disheartened, he still forced himself to suppress his frustration and comforted her with kind words. Li Haitang was deeply moved and could no longer bear the shame in her heart. She threw herself into Liu Xunyi's arms and burst into tears.

Li Haitang was not ashamed of his inferior skills, but he was ashamed that he had the opportunity to defeat Hu Lie, but missed the chance because of his distraction and weak will.

Recalling his arrogance before the game, Li Haitang felt so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

"You...oh!"

Although Feng Tianba was holding back a thousand and ten thousand reproaches in his heart, he could not utter a single word when he saw Li Haitang's appearance at that moment. All he could say could only turn into an endless sigh. He staggered towards his seat, muttering to himself as he walked: "It's over... It's all over this time..."

"Master Liu, now even our 'Shangsi' has lost. Has the Song Dynasty been completely defeated?" Wu Chan asked in a low voice with reluctance. "The result of your fight with Master Su was not satisfactory either. We have lost two out of three matches..."

"Little monk, stop talking!"

Seeing that Liu Xunyi was depressed and pale, Pan Yuyin couldn't help but feel worried and hurriedly interrupted Wuchan's "reminder".

"My beloved concubine!"

As the saying goes, "some are happy while others are sad." Liu Xunyi and his friends on this side looked as if they had lost their parents, while Hu Lie on the other side was very happy and beaming with joy.

He handed the bow and arrow to Yin Zhan, and walked to Zhao Xin with big strides.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty..."

"My beloved, remember the promise you made to accompany me on horseback hunting!"

"I……"

Before the confused Zhao Xin could open her mouth to respond, Hu Lie picked her up by the waist without saying a word. Amid Zhao Xin's unexpected cries and the enthusiastic cheers around them, Hu Lie kissed Zhao Xin hard on the forehead in public, and his face was filled with joy, laughing loudly towards the sky.

In an instant, Zhao Xin, with a red face, curled up in Hu Lie's arms like a frightened bird.

Compared to Hu Lie's immense strength, her resistance was insignificant, so her struggle was futile. Zhao Xin had to give up the idea of ​​escaping and let Hu Lie hold her soft body tightly in his arms. Deep in her eyes, there was nervousness and shyness, as well as guilt towards Liu Xunyi and the humiliation of being unable to control herself.

At this moment, Pan Yuyin stood quietly beside Liu Xunyi, seeing him staring at Zhao Xin who was held in Hu Lie's arms, with a faint trace of tears in the corner of his eyes. For a moment, she was overwhelmed with emotions, feeling both pity and sadness in her heart.

"Brother Liu..."

As if she could feel the pain in Liu Xunyi's heart, a crystal tear formed in Pan Yuyin's watery eyes. Unconsciously, she slowly extended her soft and smooth hand to Liu Xunyi's palm, as if she wanted to soothe his inner pain with her tenderness.

When Liu Xunyi suddenly felt a soft and warm feeling in his palm, he subconsciously clenched it tightly with his five fingers. In a trance, he thought of Pan Yuyin as Zhao Xin who was gradually moving away. The inner depression and sadness were expressed through the strength between his fingers, and he refused to relax even a little. Although Liu Xunyi's grip was numb and painful, and he wished that his hand bones would be crushed by him, Pan Yuyin still stood beside him motionlessly, and there was not even a trace of pain on her face. She silently endured everything, and her eyes looking at Liu Xunyi were filled with pity and reluctance.

Wu Chan, who was standing nearby, took everything in, and for no reason, he felt an unprecedented sense of sadness and loss in his heart.

This time, no matter how he chanted the Buddha's name over and over again, it did not help. Instead, he felt even more lonely.

"Brother Liu, have we...completely lost?"

Li Haitang's voice suddenly sounded, causing Liu Xunyi's eyes to move and his confused mind to quickly wake up. When he noticed Pan Yuyin's hand being tightly grasped by him, his face suddenly changed, and he subconsciously loosened his five fingers and quickly apologized: "Miss Pan, I..."

"I am fine."

In fact, Pan Yuyin's hand had already lost feeling due to the pain, and the blood backflow made her feel pain like needles. But even so, she still acted calm and composed in front of Liu Xunyi.

"This time, we will all become eternal sinners." Liu Xunyi looked back at Feng Tianba who was sighing and Li Haitang who was full of sorrow, and laughed at himself, "It was me who insisted on having a bet with Hu Lie, and I got you into trouble..."

"You can't be blamed for this." Li Haitang denied it. "If it weren't for Brother Liu's mediation, Hu Lie would have taken away far more than one prefecture, but three prefectures. In my opinion, we are not sinners, but meritorious officials of the Song Dynasty and heroes of the Han people..."

"Hero?" Feng Tianba sneered, "You are from Longxiang Mountain, the worst that can happen is that you can just walk away. But Lord Liu and I are officials appointed by the court. When we return to Lin'an to report, how do you think the court will treat this 'hero'?"

"Where is Su He?"

When Feng Tianba was complaining to himself, Hu Lie's voice suddenly rang out from the "Nadam" venue, and the noisy scene quickly quieted down.

"It's his turn to fight in the second game, why is there no sign of him yet?" Hu Lie looked around with an unhappy tone.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have sent someone to look for ..."

"Su He is here!"

Before Yin Zhan finished speaking, an excited shout suddenly came from the crowd.

Then, everyone in the audience looked towards the source of the sound at the same time, and the bustling crowd gradually made way for a passage. Su He, with a solemn expression, slowly walked into the venue accompanied by Saihan and Bayin.

Upon seeing Su He, Liu Xunyi's expression became complicated and conflicted. He wanted to step forward and greet him, but suddenly realized his current situation. He stopped abruptly, staring at him from afar hesitantly.

"Su He greets the Khan! He greets the prince! He greets General Wang and all the generals..."

Su He bowed to the princes and nobles present without being humble or arrogant, then turned his deep gaze to Hu Lie who had a suspicious look on his face.

"where have you been?"

"Reporting to the prince, Su has been recuperating in Saihan's home these days."

"hiss!"

Su He's words immediately caused an exclamation.

"Recover from the wound?" Hu Lie frowned. "Recover from what wound?"

"Three days ago, Su was ordered by the prince to compete with Liu Xunyi." Su He said calmly, "Considering that the noise of 'Nadam' might affect our performance, Su took the initiative and competed with Liu Xunyi three days ago."

"This……"

Su He's explanation once again caused an uproar in the audience.

"Asshole!" Wang Dechen's face darkened and he scolded, "What qualifications do you have to make your own decisions? Are you harboring selfish motives?"

"Su has no selfish motives at all. He only wants a fair competition!" Su He said in a righteous and resounding voice.

"What do you mean?" Wang Dechen raised his eyebrows and asked in a bad tone, "Are you implying that 'Nadam' is unfair?"

"What is fair? Different people have different opinions." Su He said righteously, "As for whether today's competition with the envoys of the Song Dynasty is fair, General Wang has his own opinions, and I have my own opinions."

Having said this, Su He cast a secretive look at the three slaves who had just been used as targets. Although he did not say much, his words were full of meaning.

"you……"

"Alright!" Hu Lie interrupted Wang Dechen's rebuttal, "Su He is upright and honest. This prince and the Khan believe that he will never harbor any selfish motives."

"Thank you, Khan! Thank you, Your Highness..."

"No need to thank me!" Hu Lie waved his hand nonchalantly. "Since the winner between you and Liu Xunyi has been decided, why don't you announce the result loudly in front of the Khan and the leaders of the various tribes and alliances, so that we don't have to guess."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked, and they couldn't wait to cast nervous and curious eyes towards the expressionless Su He.

However, Liu Xunyi, the other protagonist of this competition, was uninterested and depressed.

Because he knew Su He very well. Su He would never lie about such a thing.

Su He, who was in the center of the vortex, looked around silently. When his eyes inadvertently swept over Liu Xunyi, he subconsciously paused for a moment and quickly turned elsewhere.

This scene was exactly the same as when Su He "praised" Liu Xunyi in public three days ago.

"Reporting to the Khan and the Prince, three days ago, Su and Liu Xunyi fought for hundreds of rounds but there was no clear winner." After a long silence, Su He finally made up his mind and broke the silence word by word, "In the end, Su was defeated by Liu Xunyi by just one move!"

……

(End of this chapter)