Chapter 33: Confrontation outside Zhuo County

  Ma Chao analyzed it for Zhang Xiong like this: He said that the first game was a test of their immediate skills.

  Du Ren is thirty-five or thirty-six years old, but his name is not well-known, and he hasn't made a name for himself. Of course, this doesn't rule out the possibility that Du Ren is a low-key person. But no matter how low-key he is, at the age of thirty-five or thirty-six, if his horse riding skills are truly top-notch, he should have gained some recognition by now.

  But the people present had never heard of such a thing, and looking at Cui An, he was also not famous, but Cui An is now only twenty-two years old, if waiting for Cui An to be over thirty years old, his reputation will necessarily be much greater than Du Ren.

  Of course, there are personal factors involved, but Ma Chao has absolute confidence in him. Cui An studied under the famous master of Pingzhou, a figure even Tong Yuan admired. He left home at six and studied for ten years. His teacher finally gave him his own halberd, showing that Cui An was his most promising disciple. Moreover, Cui An is currently the best among the three in terms of martial arts skills, so it's only natural that he should fight the first match.

  After listening to Ma Chao's explanation, Zhang Xiong felt that it was very reasonable, and he also had a smile on his face, and his confidence increased a lot.

  "Alright, let's do it as little brother said for the first round!"

  Ma Chao smiled and nodded, "Let's continue with the second round."

  He continued to analyze Zhang Xiong, the second game was Du Yi himself, Du Yi was a famous swordsman in this area of Youzhou, it is said that he also had a nickname called Youzhou Yijian, which can be seen that his swordsmanship is extraordinary, not ordinary.

  According to Zhang Xiong's introduction, Du Yi and he were about the same level at first. However, over the years, Zhang Xiong became a butcher, while Du Yi remained a wandering swordsman, whose martial arts skills must have improved. But Ma Chao was not afraid of them; he had confidence in himself, or rather, he had more confidence in Nan Hua.

  He told Zhang Xiong that he was also a disciple of a famous master, and his teacher was a figure on the same level as Wang Yue. Ma Chao wanted to say that his martial arts were learned from Nan Hua, but an old monster like Nan Hua was not someone that Zhang Xiong could have heard of, so he had to bring up Wang Yue instead.

  As expected, after listening to Ma Chao's words, Zhang Xiong's confidence in him greatly increased. Who is Wang Yue? He was almost an idol for all the wandering knights. Since Ma Chao's teacher was someone like Wang Yue, his skills must be absolutely top-notch.

  To put Zhang Xiong at ease, Ma Chao specially practiced a simple knife technique in front of him. After watching it, Zhang Xiong immediately clapped his hands and said, "This second round will be troubling you, little brother!"

  "Uncle, don't be polite!"

  If the first two rounds were won, then this last round would naturally not need to be compared. Zhang Fei was eager to say something on the side, but after careful consideration, he didn't say anything. His original intention was to try himself in the first round, but his current skills are indeed inferior to Cui An, so he can only give up.

  But in his heart, he is now drumming, his shooting level, others don't know, he doesn't even know himself, compared to ordinary people it's okay, but if he really encounters a master, he will definitely not be an opponent. Now he can only hope that Cui An and Ma Chao win completely.

  In fact, Zhang Fei didn't know that Cui An and Ma Chao's archery skills might not be as good as his, so based on sending the strongest player each time, this arrangement is actually the most reasonable.

  After listening to Ma Chao's analysis, Zhang Xiong's eyebrows finally relaxed completely. However, he had already made his own plans. If they lost two games or the other side cheated and didn't admit defeat, then he would hold off Du's family men himself and let Ma Chao and the others run first. In fact, he still underestimated Ma Chao and the others.

  Ma Chao and Zhang Fei came out of Zhang's house, he said to Zhang Fei: "Three days later, if Du's family is willing to admit defeat, everything will be easy to say, but if they play tricks and don't admit it in the end, we'll take our uncle and kill our way out, see who dares to stop us!"

  Zhang Fei nodded in agreement, "That's natural! Everything will be done as you say, brother!"

  "Alright, we'll play it by ear!"

  After finishing, the two returned to their respective rooms. However, before returning to his own room, Ma Chao went to Cui An's place and woke him up from his sleep. He told Cui An about the arrangements for the trial three days later, and finally said that everything would be handled as circumstances allowed, and they should act accordingly. As soon as Cui An heard this, he immediately became spirited, and his chest thumped loudly with excitement.

  "Don't worry, sir, I'll take care of everything!"

  "Foda, remember, during the martial arts competition, never take a life! Ma Chao repeatedly warned and exhorted, Du Yi and Zhang Xiong had already borne a grudge, if his brother died again, then this feud would not be resolved in this lifetime."

  "I understand!" Seeing Ma Chao being so cautious, Cui An also had to take it seriously. After all, his master was a fearless and powerful man, and if he was like this, then it must be something big. After instructing Cui An, Ma Chao returned to his own quarters.

  In just three days, Zhang Fei's condition was brought under control after taking Ma Chao's prescription, and everything was developing in a positive direction.

  Today at noon, they will have a trial in a secluded open space outside the city. At Chen time, Ma Chao and others got up early, still practicing martial arts first, then everyone had breakfast together. When it was almost noon, each person got on their horse and set off towards the outskirts of Zhuo County, I don't know how many people went from Du's family, anyway, there were only five people on Zhang Xiong's side: Zhang Xiong, Zhang Fei father and son, steward Zhang Sheng, Ma Chao and Cui An.

  Ma Chao was confident, relying on Cui An and himself plus the third master, the three of them working together to bring Zhang Xiong and Zhang Sheng out from among the thousands of soldiers would not be a big problem. Of course, these thousands of soldiers were not shooting arrows, otherwise they would have been shot by a thousand arrows at once, and Lü Bu would probably have become a hedgehog too. The Du family couldn't possibly have tens of thousands of archers, so he was not afraid at all.

  Before long, they arrived at the location. The place was indeed remote, with not even a single passerby in sight. Only someone as familiar with the local area as Zhang Fei could lead the way; even Ma Chao might not have been able to find this place.

  This place is a clearing in the woods, although it's not particularly large, but for martial arts and the like, it's more than enough. After Ma Chao's observation, there are no ambushes in the woods.

  Five men dismounted their horses and saw Zhang Xiong rush towards a middle-aged man in front of him, clasping his fists and saying: "Brother Zhongming, it's been a long time!"

  "Hmph!" The middle-aged man didn't even bother with Zhang Xiong, he just grunted.

  The other side had only a dozen or so people. Apart from the three leaders, there were also over a dozen burly men standing behind them, who should be bodyguards and thugs.

  Zhang Xiong introduced to Ma Chao beside him: "The three people opposite are the three brothers of the Du family. The middle-aged man with a white face and no beard is Du Yi, Du Zhongming. On the left side of Du Yi is the eldest brother of the Du family, Du Ren, Du Boming. And on the right side of Du Yi is the third son of the Du family, Du Yi's younger brother, Du Li, Du Shuming."

  Ma Chao nodded while carefully observing the three Du brothers. Du Ren was good at horseback riding and had a long spear standing beside him. Du Li had a bow on his back with an arrow quiver, seemingly a skilled archer. As for Du Yi, he held a sword in his hand, which was not a scholar's sword, but a wandering swordsman's killing sword.

  Just then, Du Yi spoke up, "Zhang Xiong ah, Zhang Xiong! Xiao Yu is gone, why didn't you tell me!"

  The last half sentence was basically shouted out by him. Anyway, Du Yi's feelings for Chen Yu were indeed real, and they had not changed in over 12 years.

  "Second Brother Zhongming, this... I..." Zhang Xiong's heart said, why didn't I tell you? There are other reasons. However, he couldn't speak the truth, fearing that Du Yi would suffer another blow.

  As a result, Zhang Xiong hummed and hawed on his side, and Du Yi thought he was guilty.

  "What's wrong, Zhang Xiong? Are you feeling guilty?! You don't dare tell me because you're afraid I'll come after you for revenge, you coward!"

  "You, you, cough, cough, cough..." Zhang Xiong was so angry at Du Yi's words that he started coughing again.

  Zhang Fei hastily went forward and blocked Zhang Fei's back, "Dad, are you okay?!" Zhang Fei waved his hand.

  "Haha, I was right! Zhang Xiong, what else can you say?" Du Yi was convinced that Zhang Xiong had a guilty conscience.

  "Du Yi Du Zhong Ming, you fart! Cough cough cough, I Zhang Xiong walk upright and straight, never had a guilty conscience, nor have I ever feared you. I Zhang Xiong am a man who stands tall and proud!"

  "Oh? Is that so? Then why didn't you tell me about Xiaoyu's absence?"

  Du Yi's words were reasonable, but he didn't spare anyone. Ma Chao heard this and slightly furrowed his brow. He knew Zhang Xiong was kind-hearted, but Du Yi was too much. It was just that the current situation wasn't right, or else he would have gone over to give Du Yi a few slaps.

  He restrained himself, but next to him was a man who couldn't hold back, shouting, "Your grandma's Du Yi, you're not reasonable at all! My old man has never been afraid of you. As for the news that my mother is not here and didn't tell you, it's because my mother herself didn't let us say it, do you understand?"

  This was naturally spoken by San Ye, and his temper has been explosive since he was a child. He had endured it for a long time before finally erupting.

  Du Yi was startled by San Ye's sudden loud voice, and even Ma Chao was shocked. He thought to himself, "San Ye, can't you give us a warning? Your legendary voice that can shatter the Yang Bridge and scare Sun Quan to death is not something ordinary people can handle!" His ears were now buzzing like a swarm of bees flying beside him.

  Du Yi listened to Zhang Fei's words and was stunned for a moment, then said: "Xiao Yu, did she really say that?" His voice trembled slightly.

  "That's still fake, cheating you is a grandson!" San Ye shouted loudly again.

  "No, it's impossible! It can't be! Little Yu, why don't you believe me? Why?! Du Yi let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky, his expression pitiful. Being doubted by the one he loved had dealt him a heavy blow."

  Ma Chao shook his head, the most formidable things in the world are not weapons, but emotions and words. Weapons can only harm people's bodies, at worst they can kill you. But emotions and words can hurt a person's heart, making them wish they were dead, suffering unbearable torment.

  After a long time, Du Yi finally recovered a bit. He said to Zhang Xiong: "Zhang Xiong, are you ready? The grudges between us will be settled today, right here!"

  "Good, just as I intended!" Zhang Xiong replied after hearing this.

  "Alright, best two out of three. If you can win two rounds, I, Du Yi, will not say another word and immediately return to my hometown in Lecheng. The grudges between us will also be written off from then on! If we win two rounds, Zhang Xiong, you will kneel before me and admit your mistakes, and then I'll finish you off with one sword!" As he said this, it seemed as if he had already seen Zhang Xiong kneeling in front of him admitting his mistakes, and himself killing Zhang Xiong with one sword. A self-satisfied smile appeared on Du Yi's face.

  "No problem! Du Yi, let's start the first round!" Zhang Xiong said.

  "Hold on, today's three rounds have changed, but only the order has changed. The overall content hasn't changed. In the first round, we'll compare shooting skills, in the second round, we'll compare horseback riding skills, and in the third round, we'll compare footwork martial arts!"

  Du Yi explained the change, and Zhang Xiong was taken aback at first, but then returned to normal. The content of the other party did not change, only the order of the test changed, and he had nothing to say.

  "We can, we'll see it through to the end!"

  In fact, according to Du Yi's meaning, before the change in the first two games, Ma Gong and Bu Xia Wu Yi, the Du family side can absolutely defeat Zhang Xiong's side.

  It's also unknown where he got the confidence from, but as a result, his third brother Du Li didn't want to do it anymore. If it really went like Du Yi thought and they won two games in a row, then there wouldn't be any chance for himself to show off. So under Du Li's persistent persuasion, Du Ren and Du Yi had no choice but to let Du Li play the first game. No way around it, after all, Du Li was the youngest of the Du family. Although he was already in his thirties this year, sometimes he still couldn't change his childish temper. As the older brothers, they naturally had to give in a bit to their younger brother.

  "The first round, a test of archery skills. At a distance of 100 steps away, there are two targets. The two contestants will each shoot ten arrows, and the one who hits the red center the most times will be declared the winner!" A young man walked out from behind Du Yi and said.

  At this time, Du Li and Zhang Fei were both ready. Someone on Zhang Fei's side had also prepared a bow and arrow for him. Du Li clasped his fists in respect to Zhang Fei: "Du Li of Lelang, Du Shu Ming, please instruct me!"

  Zhang Fei had a bad impression of Du's family, but they were polite, so he couldn't be rude either. "Zhang Fei from Zhuo County, at your service!"

  Du Li nodded, then never looked at Zhang Fei again. He took down the bow from his back, pulled out an arrow from the quiver, nocked the arrow on the bowstring, aimed at the target, drew the string and released it.

  This series of actions was like a flowing cloud, done in one breath. Ma Chao thought to himself, "Not good, Third Brother has met a master archer. Du Li's archery skills are probably among the best in the Three Kingdoms' generals. Shooting arrows at 100 paces is child's play for him, which shows just how skilled he is."

  Ma Chao's thoughts were indeed correct, Du Yi was actually a skilled archer. He is thirty-one years old this year, and his martial arts skills are only at a third-rate level, but from the age of five when he started learning archery, for more than twenty-six years, he has been diligently practicing every day, and his attainments in archery are very deep, and he has a special affection for this way.

  It can be said that the bow and arrow are more intimate than his children, inseparable day and night, even when sleeping, they must be placed on the pillow. Every day, at least five hundred arrows must be shot, otherwise it would be unbearable. With such a strong obsession with archery, being so diligent and talented, it's impossible to think that one's level wouldn't be high.

  Third Master was also shocked, he had a premonition that he would definitely lose the first game today, and the last two games would depend on you guys, he turned his head to look at Ma Chao.

  Ma Chao also noticed Zhang Fei's abnormality and thought to himself, "This is the end." After looking at Du Li's state, San Ye obviously lost confidence. When shooting arrows without confidence, how can you expect to be accurate? Moreover, this is not even an enemy, but a timid formation, which will surely lead to defeat.

  However, he still gave San Ye a reassuring look, meaning don't worry, we've got the last two games, and we definitely won't lose.

  After seeing Ma Chao's eyes, Zhang Fei felt much more at ease. By the time he turned his head to watch Du Lü shoot arrows again, the other had already shot all ten of his arrows, and the result was that every single one hit its mark.