Chapter 12, Good Archery

  Zu Zhaowei carefully observed this rough and arrogant man for a while. Normally, people would not dare to offend a knight-errant with a horse and sword, let alone someone who is alone but has such audacity. He was definitely not an ordinary person. A few moments later, Zu Zhaowei felt a sense of admiration for him.

  That man didn't even bother with Zhang Yuan, coldly sneering for a while, his hand still gripping the dagger tightly.

  Zu Zhao jumped down from his horse and came before his opponent, politely bowing and asking: "May I ask the strong warrior's surname and given name?"

  Hanzi glanced at Zu Zhao, his face not looking good, but slightly friendlier than when he looked at Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yu. He didn't return the courtesy, saying indifferently: "Just a humble village husband, my name is not worth mentioning."

  Zu Zhao smiled and didn't think much of it, straightforwardly saying: "In that case, I won't ask more questions. My name is Zu Zhao from Beiguan Pavilion. If you gentlemen have some free time or happen to pass by Beiguan Pavilion in the future, please feel free to come to my humble abode for a short rest and a cup of light tea."

  That man, with a hint of interest in his eyes, took a closer look at Zu Chao and chuckled: "At such a young age, you already have this kind of demeanor, it's indeed rare. I'm guessing the few arrows on that tree trunk were shot by you, right?"

  Zu Zhao didn't know what the other party meant, and after a slight hesitation, he nodded and said: "The two arrows on top were shot from below, and the one arrow at the bottom was shot by this brother." He glanced at Zhang Yuan who was still on horseback.

  The man nodded slightly and said naturally: "This is no wonder. The actual winner of this contest should be you."

  As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding crowd of ancestral family members and traveling children all showed shocked expressions. They whispered to each other in twos and threes, although many of the ancestral family members felt pleased, they couldn't help but question whether this mysterious hunter was just talking nonsense. Perhaps his previous remarks about the Zhang brothers were just a form of revenge to belittle them.

  Zhang Yu's emotions were extremely agitated, and he pointed at Hanzi with his whip, shouting: "You scoundrel, how dare you spout nonsense here and seek death!"

  Even Zhang Yuan's face couldn't hold it, with a surge of anger hidden in his heart that couldn't be concealed on his face, revealing three points of evidence, the hatred reflected in his eyes gradually rose to a murderous intent, and he wished he could immediately ride his horse to pounce on that arrogant and ungrateful wild man.

  Zu Zhaoyi was aware of the change in atmosphere, and with a humble attitude, he explained to the man: "The strong man must have misunderstood. This time, I and Wen Yixiong were competing to shoot at the wine gourd, not this pearl tree. Unfortunately, I only hit one arrow out of three, and the result is self-evident."

  That man said with disdain: "The competition between you and that person, I watched carefully under the tree in the east. How can you win or lose? I've already guessed it roughly. Don't blame me for meddling in other people's business, but archery is one of my favorite things in life, so I stopped to watch. In terms of accuracy, strength, and technique, you are undoubtedly a notch above."

  Zu Zhaoyang raised an eyebrow, with a curious and puzzled expression, and said: "Brave warrior, your conclusion is somewhat exaggerated. I have competed with Wen Yigong in archery, and everyone has seen it. Even if you like archery, you can't be too proud."

  The man smiled with deep meaning, and without saying anything else, he turned around and walked to the tree trunk in big strides. He reached out to pull out the feathered arrow stuck in the tree trunk. The first two arrows were pulled out with a bit of force, but the third arrow was easily plucked out with a casual hand. Three marks were left on the tree trunk, with varying depths that were clear at a glance. He glanced at Zhang Yuan with mockery, still not speaking.

  Zhang Yuan's face turned gloomy, and he gritted his teeth in silence. On the other hand, Zhang Yu was not calm at all, and he scolded with a twisted mouth: "A wine gourd is just a wine gourd, you dare to make trouble, you rascal!"

  Zu Chao didn't take the outcome of this spar too seriously, but he was very interested in Hanzi's unique interpretation. He maintained his courtesy and demeanor, saying with a hint of subtlety: "Let's just discuss the matter at hand, since we had already agreed on the terms beforehand, I would have lost regardless."

  That man laughed and said, "If you are just idle young masters who have nothing better to do but fool around, then I, a rustic fellow, have spoken out of turn. But if not, as a robust and stalwart man of seven feet, why don't you think about serving the country with all your might? Instead, you only seek fleeting pleasures, what kind of dignity is that?"

  Zhang Yuan couldn't bear it anymore and retorted in discontent: "You're really arrogant to the extreme. Do you think we're playing a game of hide-and-seek? The wine gourd is hanging from the treetop, swaying with the wind, just like people walking and stopping, hard to grasp. You don't even understand this point, yet you dare to call yourself a good archer, truly ridiculous."

  The man coldly glanced at Zhang Yuan, not speaking in a hurry. Instead, he bent down to pick up a hemp rope from the ground, which was the same rope used to tie the wine gourd earlier. One end of the rope was still connected to a piece of broken gourd. He held the rope high and showed it around in a circle, his face expressionless throughout. Everyone stared at the rope in confusion, unable to guess what he was trying to show them for a while.

  "Haven't you seen that there are two marks on this rope?" The man said in a low voice.

  At this hint, everyone concentrated and looked carefully, and indeed saw two extremely faint scratches on the rope. The marks were very new and should have been made not long ago. Seeing this, the astute people had already vaguely guessed the general idea. And Zuxiao, who had always maintained a humble attitude by his side, gradually revealed a hint of delight. For this test, he had indeed put in some thought.

  "What... what does this prove?" Zhang Yu still couldn't see the point.

  "Hmph, this young man's first two arrows were shot from over a hundred paces away and aimed not at the wine gourd itself but at the rope on it. These two marks are arrow scars. In comparison, another person didn't shoot until they were within sixty or seventy paces, even if he hit the gourd it was just barely managed, what's there to say? This so-called competition has been uneven from the start, the outcome was already decided." Hanzi said bluntly.

  Zhang Yuan's face turned dark to the extreme, and his hand grasping the reins trembled slightly due to excessive force.

  Zhang Yu and the other young masters were indeed angry, but for a while they had no choice but to remain silent. If it were an ordinary occasion, they would not have wasted too many words and would have immediately resorted to violence. However, at this moment there were many family members present, and since it was a test of skills, they should have talked some sense into each other, otherwise it would be unreasonable and unacceptable in terms of morality and face.

  Zu Zhao really admired this "nameless village husband", it seemed that the other party was indeed a person skilled in archery. As he said, from the beginning, he aimed at the wine gourd's rope loop, and himself didn't have much confidence in shooting the wine gourd, so he tried to shoot something bigger, attempting to make an astonishing shot, and regain some face. Even if it wasn't successful, no big deal, he could just honestly admit defeat, on one hand showing his personal character, and on the other hand also taking the opportunity to lift up Zhang Yuan.

  Zhang Yuan is a chivalrous person who values his reputation, so he can be easily won over by flattery and will take action as long as it suits his interests.

  He didn't know that the first two arrows had hit the edge of the rope circle, perhaps due to the wind or maybe he was just lucky. Anyway, it still showed some skill. From Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yu's perspective, it would be hard to see the mystery behind it, which is why he chose to use his last arrow to directly shoot and shatter the gourd with a heavy bow, revealing one of his skills to save face.

  "It's just a scratch on the edge, what's so difficult about that? Moreover, how can you be certain that both arrows that broke the rope were shot by him?" Zhang Yu said with a scowl.

  "Zhang Yu, shut your mouth and stop losing face in front of everyone." Zhang Yuan loudly scolded as soon as the words left his lips.

  Although he values his reputation, he would not compromise his integrity for the sake of saving face. Even a young man like Zu Chao can remain calm in victory or defeat, so if he were to be petty and calculating, wouldn't that be even more unbecoming? During their earlier exchange, he had already sensed that Zu Chao was no ordinary person, and the words of this "nameless village scholar" merely served as further confirmation. It was with this in mind that he completely set aside his pride, dismounted his horse, and walked up to Zu Chao, bowing and clasping his fists in respect.

  "This strong man is absolutely right, although Zhang Certain is competitive, but he doesn't lose sight of what's right and wrong. As the eldest young master said earlier, losing a technique is minor, it's about knowing shame and then being brave. Zhang Certain has completely surrendered, not saying half a word in disagreement."

  "Brother, your words are too serious. Indeed, this time my younger brother and elder brother's sparring with arrows is more about exchanging pleasantries, winning or losing is not important." Zu Zhao replied humbly.

  "Haha, the young master is indeed a man of great presence! Zhang Wenyi is willing to befriend this gentleman!" Zhang Yuan said loudly, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. He was truly grateful for the humility and courtesy of the young master from the ancestral home, allowing everyone to save face. He couldn't help but admire him, it seemed that this young man's ability to defeat the enemy with a small force and drive away the nomadic horses was not just an exaggeration or a lucky move.

  Zhang anticipated the situation and hastily followed suit, dismounting his horse while also beckoning other traveling knights to do the same. His face showed a few shades of embarrassment as he scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

  "Your Excellency, I just spoke nonsense and farted loudly. Please don't take it to heart."

  "It's nothing, brother, you speak straightforwardly, indeed a man of temperament." Zu Zhao responded with equal politeness.

  After finishing speaking, he turned to the "nameless village husband". Since he was already very surprised by this person earlier, and now because of the other party's remarks, his situation has been thoroughly improved. It is natural to pull more.

  "A brave warrior keeps a low profile. I sincerely ask again for the great name of the brave warrior." He said this while bowing his head and showing respect.

  "It's too kind of you, I'm just a humble person. Let's just consider this a casual gathering for today and part ways here." Facing Zu Chao's politeness, the man was not polite at all, with an unwilling expression, he waved his hand and said. Before his words had even fallen, he had already taken steps to leave.

  Everyone's eyes widened in shock, some were indignant and others were astonished. No one could see through this "nameless village husband" to figure out what kind of person he was. Whether facing the threats of Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yu, or the lavish hospitality of the Zu Zhao clan, he seemed completely unfazed. The crowd automatically parted to make way for the village husband to leave calmly.

  Zu Zhao gazed at the back of his opponent, with a multitude of thoughts in his mind. At this moment, it was the eve of great chaos, and many of the famous heroes of history were still unknown small characters, just like this mysterious village husband.