Chapter 140: The Match (Part 4)

On the vast and spacious martial arts practice field, Inugami Shunji had long since mounted his horse, making all preparations as he quietly awaited Li Yi to compete with him in archery and horsemanship.

However, to Inugami Shunji's utter surprise, Li Yi's figure did not appear at all; instead, it was Yue'er who walked into the arena.

"How could it be his maid? Where is that bastard Li Bo'an? Why didn't he come?" Inugami Shunji wondered inwardly.

He was completely baffled.

*To send a maid to compete with me in archery and horsemanship—what kind of trick is this?*
*What on earth is that scoundrel Li Bo'an plotting behind the scenes again?*

Just as Inugami Shunji was deep in confusion, Yue'er, dressed in a green gown with her hair tied up, gracefully moved her lotus steps and slowly approached the warhorse.

She placed her left hand on the reins, lightly tapped the ground with the tip of her foot for leverage, and nimbly vaulted onto the saddle.

Every movement was as smooth as flowing water, resembling a graceful painting of an immortal maiden.

Instantly, Inugami Shunji, who had been waiting on horseback all this while, was left staring in utter astonishment and blank bewilderment.

He found it hard to imagine that she was merely a humble maid, yet even her posture in mounting the horse was so practiced, effortless, and crisp!

Although a myriad of doubts swirled within Inugami Shunji's mind as to why Yue'er had appeared instead of Li Yi, the moment he witnessed her imposing demeanor, he dared not harbor the slightest bit of carelessness anymore.

For this competition of "archery and horsemanship" was of paramount importance to Inugami Shunji.

Only by winning this contest outright against Yue'er could he shake off the infamous charge that Li Yi had "pinned upon him."

After a brief internal deliberation, Inugami Shunji wore a smile, looked toward the heroic-looking Yue'er, and gestured courteously with a smile, saying, "Young lady, after you!"

However, Yue'er did not even spare him a glance, much less deign to reply with a single word.

"Hyah!"

With a crisp, melodious shout and a gentle flick of the reins, Yue'er turned her horse around and rode off on her own, leaving Inugami Shunji standing there in awkward bewilderment, shivering slightly in the chilly wind.

A short moment later, after Yue'er's figure had receded into the distance, Inugami Shunji finally recovered his wits.

"Bastard!"

Inugami Shunji cursed between clenched teeth in his heart, then let out a cold snort. "Stinking wench, how dare you give me the cold shoulder! Just wait until I win this match today and take you as my concubine—I'll show you how to suffer!"

Having hurled this resentful thought, Inugami Shunji immediately spurred his horse into a gallop across the training field.

Seeing that Yue'er had drawn an arrow and was preparing to take aim, Inugami Shunji curled the corner of his mouth in a sneer, a cold laugh echoing in his chest. The moment he sighted the center of the target, he pulled his bow and loosed an arrow first.

"Swish!"

Unsurprisingly, Inugami Shunji's arrow flew true and straight, striking dead-center in the bullseye with his customary precision.

"You dare to compete with me in archery and horsemanship? Heh, utterly overestimating your capabilities!"

Smiling coldly to himself, Inugami Shunji spurred his warhorse into another gallop. He suddenly drew his bow once more, intending to repeat his trick and score another bullseye.

Yet just at that moment, Yue'er, who was already galloping wildly across the practice field, circled around the target, finally raising her bow with her left hand and nocking an arrow with her right.

With a sharp whistling sound of air being torn apart, the arrow resting on her curved bow shot straight out without warning.

"Thud!"

The loosed arrow emitted a sound akin to a long spear piercing through wooden planks, "brutally" punching a gaping hole right through the center of the target's bullseye!

Even the target itself swayed gently several times in the biting wind!

In that instant, everyone on the viewing platform was struck utterly speechless, deeply shocked by Yue'er's "violent" shot.

Li Shimin, along with the two envoys from the Eastern Island nation, Inugami and Hiyoshi, stared wide-eyed at the sight.

After a long, stunned silence, a wave of enthusiastic cheers suddenly erupted from the viewing platform—

"Splendid!"

The onlookers simply could not believe that such a "ferocious and violent" shot had come from the hands of a woman.

Her arrow was not only remarkably precise, but also immensely powerful.

With a single shot, she had pierced right through the very center of the target!

Everyone was too stunned for words. Aside from clapping and shouting "Bravo," they could find no other expression to convey the shock in their hearts.

On the training field, Inugami Shunji—who had been preparing to draw his bow and repeat his feat—suddenly heard the waves of cheers and whipped his head around.

His gaze caught sight of Yue'er just as she drew her bow, unleashing a continuous, frantic barrage of arrows.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish..."

Amidst a flurry of piercing whistles, the arrows shot by Yue'er all flew straight through the hole in the target's center, leaving only the shafts embedded in the wooden board behind the target.

In fact, many of the arrows she had fired earlier were directly pierced right down the middle by the subsequent arrows, splitting into halves and remaining pinned to the board, fluttering in the wind.

Inugami Shunji was left gaping on the spot, his mouth hanging open in an exaggerated, gaping shape large enough to swallow a goose egg as he breathed in the bitter cold wind.

"This... How is this possible?!"

Inugami Shunji was shocked into utter disbelief by Yue'er's barrage of arrows.

He saw that aside from the very first arrow she had fired, all the other nine arrows had passed cleanly and squarely through the bullseye!

Furthermore, the speed at which she loosed her arrows was even faster than a starving ghost rushing to be reincarnated, sending chills down Inugami Shunji's spine and making his scalp tingle.

At that very moment, Inugami Shunji had completely forgotten about shooting, forgotten that they were in the middle of a competition, and remained rooted to the spot in stupefaction, like a stone statue.

Li Shimin on the viewing platform was likewise utterly dazzled and captivated by Yue'er's staggering skill in mounted archery.

"Splendid! Truly worthy of being a subject of my Great Tang; indeed, women are no less inferior to men!"

Recovering his wits, Li Shimin burst into delighted praise on the spot, slapping his thighs repeatedly with an expression of boundless joy.

Earlier, he had harbored secret concerns over how Yue'er, a mere maid, could possibly defeat an expert well-versed in archery and horsemanship like Inugami Shunji.

Yet looking at it now, his worries and anxieties had been completely unfounded.

Such formidable archery skills were something Li Shimin had only ever witnessed once before in all his life—fired by Lady Red Sleeve.

Across the entire realm, he had never laid eyes on any other woman possessing such prowess!

"Could it be... that this little fellow Li Bo'an's maid has actually inherited Lady Zhang's true legacy in archery?" Li Shimin guessed inwardly, his gaze first flickering toward Li Yi and then shifting to where Li Jing sat.

However, Li Jing's expression remained entirely calm and collected, maintaining his usual unshakable composure.

On the other hand, Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao, who sat beside Li Jing, caught the sight of Yue'er's archery display and smilingly raised their wine cups, reaching across to toast Li Jing.

"Yaoshi, even such peerless archery skills—did your good wife really bear to... impart them to a household maid?" Qin Shubao bantered with a smile.

Seeing this, Li Jing first took a sip of wine with them, then set down his cup and gave a slight shake of his head.

"Heh..." With a faint chuckle, Li Jing waved his hand and said, "That girl Yue'er is a personal attendant specially chosen by my wife for Sanyang. It is merely some rudimentary archery skill; it is hardly a matter of whether one can bear to part with it or not."

"..." Hearing Li Jing put it this way, Cheng Zhijie and Qin Shubao instantly grasped the underlying meaning of his words and rolled their eyes in unison.

They suddenly realized that Li Jing, who was usually not much of a talker and preferred to remain taciturn, had now actually learned how to show off in front of them.

*Damn it all, this isn't right!*

After a brief moment of silence, Cheng Zhijie suddenly curled his lips into a smile and spoke up, "Yaoshi, I'd like to discuss something with you. How about it?"

"Yaogjin, there is nothing to discuss about this!" Before Cheng Zhijie could elaborate, Li Jing merely glanced at him and flatly refused.

"..." Seeing this, Cheng Zhijie ignored what Li Jing had just said. Wearing a cheeky, sly grin, he shifted his seat closer to Li Jing, leaned in, and smiled as he asked, "Yaoshi, does your Sanyang still lack someone by his side?"

Pausing for a fraction of a second without waiting for Li Jing's reply, Cheng Zhijie continued, "In my opinion, that good-for-nothing eldest boy of mine needn't trouble Shubao anymore. Why not send him straight to your estate and let your good wife impart some guidance to him? What do you think?"

"..." The corners of Li Jing's mouth twitched involuntarily. Looking at Cheng Zhijie, he could not help but admire the man's utter shamelessness.

"..." Qin Shubao also shot Cheng Zhijie a speechlessly sidelong glance.

The two of them abruptly realized that as Cheng Zhijie grew older, his skill in "shamelessness" was only growing more and more formidable...

Seeing that Li Jing remained completely silent without the slightest reaction, Cheng Zhijie assumed an earnest expression and added, "Beat him or scold him—do as you please!"

Qin Shubao: "..."

Li Jing: "..."

Had Cheng Chumo heard those words, he probably would have started doubting the meaning of his existence, wondering how on earth there could be such a father who pits his own son so thoroughly...

Fortunately, Cheng Chumo was seated quite a distance away from the three of them.

"Ahem..." Li Jing raised his eyebrows slightly, cast a glance at the "shameless" Cheng Zhijie, and gave a dry cough before saying, "Yaogjin, my wife stopped taking in disciples many years ago."

"..." This time, it was Cheng Zhijie's turn to be utterly speechless.

Glaring fiercely at Li Jing with his two copper-bell-sized eyes, Cheng Zhijie cursed out loud, "Li Yaoshi, you stingless miser! Just you wait, I'll go take this up directly with His Majesty!"

"..." Li Jing was left completely devoid of a response.