Chapter 42: The Legend of the Magic Bow

  (Thanks " Zhao Wu Xu 2014", "Duanmu Wang Chu", "River Horse Elephant" Speaking of River Horse Elephant, he is still an old book friend from the previous book, I have an impression!)

  August 8th, the conference rushed to Lin.

  The sky is as clear and bright as if it had been washed, with white clouds dotted among them, making people feel relaxed and happy. The grassland under the sunny sky is green and blue, and at a glance, it stretches endlessly without borders.

  In the depths of this most fertile grassland, on the banks of the Ruohe River, the Xianbei tribes' leaders and people constantly reported to the Kuike branch about the number of births, slaves, and livestock. At the same time, they sent those who committed theft, adultery, and murder from their tribe to be executed as sacrifices on a chosen day. The Xianbei had no written language or laws; their penal code was simple: thieves were put to death! Murderers were put to death! For other crimes, the most severe punishment was imprisonment for ten-odd days, after which they would be released and return home when the autumn festival ended.

  Such a grand occasion, of course, would not be without Han and Hu merchants who travel back and forth across the border. Such a rare gathering is precisely the best opportunity for making big deals, and how could businessmen with keen senses let it slip away? The Xianbei people were busy dealing with major and minor matters within their tribe, while the invited guests of honor would naturally be the best customers for the merchants.

  Ma Xian and Tian Yu led the Han cavalry along the river, discussing the terms they had agreed upon with the Xianbei and Wuhuan people the previous night. Finally, Tian Yu asked: "The Xianbei will hold a ceremony to report to heaven and worship their ancestors two days later, shall we return to our camp after the ceremony?"

  Ma Xun hesitated for a moment before asking: "What is your intention, Envoy Xing?"

  Tian Yu Dao said: "You will also be waiting for the ceremony to be completed before returning."

  Ma Xun smiled and said: "Alright then, let's go together later. On the way, I can also learn from General Xing."

  Tian Yu happily said: "It should be so. I heard that you, sir, intend to memorialize the imperial court, commending Xing Long's meritorious service in protecting the Han people, and requesting the imperial court to relocate the people of the Han戈 department to another county, allowing Xing Long's brother to take up the post of county magistrate..."

  Ma Xun smiled but did not speak. To be honest, there were too many old and weak people in the Han Gou department, and it was really not suitable for long-term residence outside the pass. Being able to move into the county is naturally the best. The county lieutenant seems to be not bad either, I remember that Gongsun Zan also started from being a county lieutenant...

  Two people were chatting and laughing, when a team of horses came from the front, and they bowed to Ma Xun from afar. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Wuhuan people, each carrying knives and bows, wearing felt hats and armor, and the leaders looked somewhat familiar... Hmm, seemed to have seen them yesterday, were the guards of Wuhuan Left Valley King Lou Fan's.

  Behind the heavy guard, a young laughter came, confirming Ma Xun's speculation.

  "Haha! What a coincidence, I've met the bravest warrior of Mo Bei again." Lou Ban's round face squeezed out from behind the guard, beaming a smile at Ma Xun.

  "The bravest warrior in the north? Me?" Ma Xun was somewhat amused and annoyed.

  "That's right, it's you!" Lou Ban said seriously. "Last night, you easily defeated the brave warrior Luban under the command of General Sulu, and proved to all the leaders that you have the bravery of a fierce general. The first warrior of the Xianbei Khanbi tribe, Budo, was killed by you; the first warrior of the Wuhuan Wuyan tribe, Hei Lou brothers, also died at your hands. Everyone acknowledges that in the north of the desert, there is no braver warrior than you. So, you are now the 'First Warrior of the North Desert'."

  Wu Zui and Han Ge's cavalry were excited to hear this, and they all raised their knives and shouted in unison: "The greatest hero of the northern desert! The greatest hero of the northern desert!"

  The sound echoed far and wide, causing many merchants and tribesmen to turn their heads in unison, wondering what was happening.

  Ma Hu's face was stern, and he said: "Actually, I don't want to be the first brave warrior of Mo Bei. If I have to be one, I'd rather be the first brave warrior of Sai Shang. I wonder if there are any other brave warriors from Xianbei Budugen Department, or from Hunnu Tuge Department, or from the Qiang people in Huangzhong, let's all come together."

  Lou Fang and his guards were stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing and praised him highly.

  Ma Teng and the others he mentioned were all famous warriors of the Han Dynasty, recognized by everyone. These words were spoken by Zheng Tai, a court official, to Dong Zhuo: "The bravest warriors in the world today are only found among the Xiongnu, Qiang, and other ethnic groups from the western regions, who are feared and respected by the common people, but you consider them as mere claws and teeth."

  Lou Fang laughed and said: "Why don't you say you're the bravest warrior under heaven?"

  Ma Huai smiled and thought to himself, "I'm not that arrogant, this title is still in Lü Bu's hands."

  Lou Fang's eyes were now fixed on Ma Yun's leopard bow, and he felt quite interested: "I wonder how this bow of yours is?"

  Ma Hu took down the infrared sight and threw the bow to Lou Fang.

  Lou Fang took it and looked at it. The bow arm was sharp-angled, not curved. He was surprised and said: "This is a footbow, why don't you use a horsebow?"

  Ma Xun shrugged: "I also want to use a bow and arrow, unfortunately there isn't one that fits."

  Lou Ban was now trying to hold the bow and string, as the string gradually tightened, his slightly dark round face began to turn red; the string creaked, and his finger joints were also turning white... Finally, the bow was fully drawn, and Lou Ban's face was like a bloody trickle.

  Slowly loosening the bowstring, allowing the bow to return to its original shape, Lou Ban handed the bow back to Ma Han with a hint of admiration: "My cousin Tuo Dun can draw a five-stone bow, I thought it was one of the rarest in the world. Unexpectedly, there is an even stronger archer, and relying solely on this bow, he can be called the number one brave warrior of Mo Bei."

  Lou Ban said, seemingly recalling something, his eyebrows raised, "Actually, the Xianbei people do have a good bow, but that bow can only be used by gods."

  Ma Xun didn't have much hope that the Xianbei people could produce a good bow, but the phrase "a divine bow that only gods can use" piqued his interest.

  Lou Fang saw that he had piqued Ma Hong's interest and became pleased himself. With a wave of his hand, he said: "Let's go, I'll take you to see."

  Along the way, Lou Ban slowly started talking about what was going on with this bow that was said to be "usable only by gods".

  This is a treasure of Xianbei Town that has been passed down for nearly thirty years. When it comes to this bow, the origin of the name "Xianbei" cannot be mentioned. Xianbei means "auspicious beast". And this "auspicious beast" refers to the Angle-end Cow, which is an extinct species in later generations.

  Due to the horns of the Angle-end Cow being shiny, large and having excellent elasticity, the Xianbei people often used them to make bows, which were known as Angle-end Bows, and were on par with the Hu Lu Bows of the Huns. The Angle-end Bow was indeed an excellent bow, but still within normal range, until fifty years ago, a mutated Angle-end Cow appeared.

  They called it a mutation, but according to the Xianbei people's words, that was a divine sign. The horns grown by the Angle-end cow were normally black, gray, indigo and brown in four colors. Even if there were differences, they were only slightly deeper or lighter in color. But that one head of mutated Angle-end cow grew horns that were actually blood red, bright and eye-catching, shocking at first glance.

  This horned cow, defined as a "strange beast" by the Shamanic Masters, was specially protected due to its unusual appearance and lived for exactly twenty years before passing away. After death, it was buried beside the ancestral spirits, while the pair of blood-colored horns were made into a bow. Before the bow was even completed, the craftsman was shocked to discover that two spiral patterns appeared on the upper and lower limbs of the bow, resembling blood-colored eyes that made one's heart tremble. Moreover, the blood horns were exceptionally tough and had excellent elasticity, far surpassing ordinary horned cows, making it possible to craft a bow with extremely high strength.

  The shamanic masters thought that the bow was not used, and at that time, the Xianbei master Tan Shi Huai ordered to make this horn into twelve stone super-strong bows, far beyond the range of human power, to serve as a sacrifice to the ancestors, called the divine beast bow. And in the vast grasslands of the north, the pastoral tribes called this bow "Magic Pupil Bow".

  Mystic Bow! Twelve Stones! Ma Hong couldn't help but take a cold breath, this leopard bow is more than twice as powerful as his own! A strong bow with a pull force of 700 jin, can anyone in the world handle it?

  Wu Zhui also said: "I have also heard of this magic bow, from the day it was made, all the Xianbei leaders, such as Tan Shi Huai, Kuitou, Budegen, Ke Bi Neng, Su Li, Mi Jia, including Wuwan Wang Toudun, who is famous for his bravery, tried to pull it, but no one can use it."

  Lou Ban nodded in agreement with Wu Zui's words: "My brother has indeed tried to pull this bow, and can pull it full, but he told me privately that at most he can only pull it three times before exhausting his strength, which is not enough to shoot an arrow."

  Lou Fang and Wu Zhui's words made Ma Yuan even more interested in this bow. What kind of bow was it?

  On a mountain ridge in the Great Xianbei Mountains, there is a temple with white flags inserted, built with white stones, and hung with various beast skulls. This is the ancestral spirit land of the Xianbei people. On ordinary days, there are two Saman priests, ten Xianbei attendants, and thirty Xianbei patrolling cavalry guards.

  Ancestral land, except for major festivals or important figures visiting, ordinary people are prohibited from entering, and those who enter without permission will be killed. If Ma Xun comes alone, that is an unauthorized entry, but if he comes with Lou Fan, that is an important figure.

  Lou Ban's identity was not inferior to that of the two priests, so they paid their respects with the highest courtesy. Upon hearing Lou Ban's intention, the two priests' faces, which were painted with various colors, showed a difficult expression: "The divine bow has not been equipped with new strings and has not been trained, I'm afraid it will be difficult to satisfy your noble person."

  A bow that is not used for a long time must be loosened and maintained, which is the same principle as musical instruments. The magic pupil bow is a ritual instrument, basically it can only be looked at but not used, so it is not strung on ordinary days, and only re-strung and trained during sacrifices or ceremonies.

  What is meant by "training the bow" is to use the technique of adjusting the tightness and looseness of the bowstring, and the empty string pulling and releasing method, to make a bow that has been loosened for too long re-adapt to the pulling force, in order to avoid damaging the bow body due to sudden loosening or tightening.

  Ordinary bows are easy to find a bow master, but this magic pupil bow is different. It's not enough for ordinary warriors to train the bow, and now there isn't even a suitable warrior-type bow master available.

  Lou Fang listened and turned his head to look at Ma Yuan, with a hint of expectation in his eyes: "I don't know what Commander Ma means..."

  Ma Xuan smiled faintly: "Training a bow, I still understand a bit."

  It must be said that the face of Lou Ban is really big, and this bow has a great reputation outside, but in the eyes of the ancestors, it's just a sacrificial vessel. So, under the leadership of the priest, Ma Xun and Lou Ban were able to enter the temple and saw the legendary magic bow.

  This is a red and black striped, bow arm as thick as a child's arm, made from hundred-year-old nanmu wood and blood horn. The bow body is bright and shiny, with smooth curves, making it comfortable to the eye and to the touch. As rumored, on both sides of the upper and lower bow arms, two red and black striped, blood-like wheel circles are clearly visible, still clear and distinct even after decades of erosion. In this ancestral temple of the Xianbei people, filled with an eerie atmosphere, seeing such a strange blood bow, how can one not feel a chill in their heart?

  As it is not yet strung, the bow body is open in a "C" shape, about five feet (about 1.2 meters) long. Once strung, the bow body shrinks and becomes a "B" shape, which can be shortened to about one meter, just the standard length of a horseback bow.

  Ma Huan took the bow in his hand, and it felt heavy, weighing no less than twenty kilograms. Ma Huan asked the attendant to bring him a special golden silk string as thick as a thumb, one hand pressed on the bow arm, and the other hand strung the string on the bow.

  The priest and the servant cried out in unison: "This bow is exceptionally strong, no one can bend it except for a few powerful men. This noble...".

  Before his words had fallen, Ma Huan had already hooked the bowstring onto the bow arm and twisted the metal buckle tight.

  Under the gaze of two priests and many servants, Ma Xun had already adjusted the bowstring repeatedly, feeling that the bow arm had adapted to the pull after adjusting the string to the best relaxation tightness, starting a slow and gentle training.

  "It's almost ready, would you like to try it out, King of the Valley?" Ma Xian handed the bow over to Lou Fan.

  Lou Fang took the bow with a smile, first wrapping his fingers in leather straps. He sank his energy into his dantian, opened his feet shoulder-width apart, and held his arms horizontally, forming a crescent shape. Slowly drawing back the string, the bowstring creaked and groaned as the bow arm gradually bent, while Lou Fang's face grew redder and redder until it was almost purple, roughly matching the color of the bow itself.

  When the string was drawn to its halfway point, Lou Ban finally couldn't hold on any longer. He suddenly loosened the string, sweat dripping from his forehead, panting heavily, and handed the bow over to Ma Feng: "It's no use, indeed it's not a bow that can be used by man! You come try."

  Ma Xun took it, walked out of the Zuling Temple in big strides, came to a cliff edge on the east side, and under the shocked gaze of Lou Ban and other ritual officials, drew out an iron-tipped arrow, placed it on the bowstring, took a deep breath, slowly raised the bow towards the sky.

  Under the vast sky, at the top of the cliff, a loud whirring sound, an arrow pierced through the clouds.

  Three Rivers Ticket, hehe.