Chapter Thirty-One: The First Archer

The tallying of scores was still underway.

“Continue counting, station six: seventeen points! Station seven: twenty-three points!...”

As the scoring went on, the crowd’s interest waned; no one cared much for a contest whose outcome was already clear.

The seventy-four points scored by Li Dazhuang had become an insurmountable peak.

“Uncle Li, I was wrong. I didn’t realize you were so deeply hidden,” the young man outside the archery range apologized to Li Six-Four.

“It’s true what they say: a tiger father does not beget a dog of a son,” an old man nearby said, his face alight with excitement. “At least we hunters of Deer Crane Gully have regained a little honor today.”

Li Six-Four smiled but felt no desire to keep talking to these people; there was no reasoning with them.

He knew well enough it wasn’t a matter of a tiger father’s son. The archery skills Dazhuang now displayed had little to do with his own teaching; the boy was far more influenced by Xu Wenshan.

What he cared most about was how many points Xu Wenshan had scored.

At station ten, Xu Wenshan yawned. Thanks to his cultivation of demon power, his eyesight was far sharper than ordinary men’s, and he had already counted his own score. This contest held no suspense for him.

To avoid attracting too much attention, he had even held back a little, keeping his score within reasonable bounds.

Competing in archery with these people felt like playing a game with cheats enabled—there was no challenge in it at all.

“It’s almost Xu’s turn,” someone said.

“What a pity! The Xu family’s five strings of cash will now end up with the Li family.”

People were already laying the groundwork for the future.

“Six-Four, has your Dazhuang been matched yet?” an old man asked. “How about joining our families?”

Others murmured, calling him shameless, yet many followed suit.

“Uncle Li, my younger sister is wonderful—capable and obedient. Your Dazhuang would surely like her.”

“Don’t listen to him. His girl’s plain as a washboard. Mine’s the real catch.”

Li Six-Four listened to these ingratiating words and said impatiently, “Enough noise! Don’t distract me from Xu Wenshan’s score.”

“The score for station ten is…” Ah Fa began.

Suddenly, the range fell silent.

But after making the announcement, Ah Fa did not give the score.

In a low voice, he called to the servant, “What are you doing? Hurry and give me the score!”

The servant, sweat beading on his brow, stood with his back to Ah Fa, counting again and again.

The crowd was growing restive, whispers spreading.

“Is it too low to admit?”

“Feels like cheating to me.”

“Doesn’t look like he cheated—maybe he’s just afraid to announce it and embarrass his young master.”

“Honestly, Young Master Xu would’ve done better just acting as a patron, not coming here to be beaten by the Li boy.”

Ah Fa called out to the servant again, who finally turned, wiping his brow, and signaled two numbers.

Ah Fa announced, “The score for station ten is… ninety-two!”

A gasp and a roar erupted from the crowd, the din nearly shaking the very fences of the range.

“Trickery! Pure trickery!”

“How could he possibly score ninety-two?”

The people protested, more hurt than if they themselves had lost the championship.

In truth, this was Xu Wenshan’s effort to hold back his score. Had he shot freely, there was no way he wouldn’t have achieved a perfect score.

Wu Yi clenched his fists and stood, but quickly sat back down. Thunder Tiger cast him a sidelong glance, knowing he dared not speak his mind.

He was indignant, but as Ah Fa had said, without evidence, it was all empty talk.

“It’s all right,” Thunder Tiger said. “There’s still the final round. If anyone tries tricks there, it’ll show at once.”

Wu Yi replied angrily, “But they won’t care. They’re landlords. Even if they cheat, what can anyone do?”

Thunder Tiger said, “Even if he doesn’t cheat, the winner won’t be one of us.”

Wu Yi gritted his teeth. “I know, but I can’t swallow this humiliation.”

Ah Fa raised his arm and shouted, “Quiet, quiet, everyone!”

“We’ll now announce the finalists: Wu Yi, Thunder Tiger, Li Dazhuang, and… Young Master Xu, Xu Wenshan.”

The final round was less crowded than the qualifiers. The four drew lots and would shoot in turn, scores announced on the spot, leaving little room for cheating.

The draw put Li Dazhuang first, Xu Wenshan second, then Wu Yi, then Thunder Tiger.

Although the sun was nearing midday and it was time to light fires and cook, the crowd’s excitement had not diminished. They clustered around the range, reluctant to leave.

Li Dazhuang stepped up.

“Calm down, stay calm,” he kept telling himself. “If I don’t even have the courage to draw the bow now, I’ll never be able to again.”

Indeed, before Xu Wenshan’s archery, an ordinary man could lose the will to draw.

When Li Dazhuang heard Xu Wenshan would be competing, he had given up hope of the championship. Lately, he’d managed to keep his scores around seventy, but whenever Xu Wenshan demonstrated, he never scored below nine per arrow.

That Xu Wenshan only scored ninety-two this time had surprised Li Dazhuang—he’d expected at least ninety-five from him.

Wiping sweat from his hands, Li Dazhuang began to shoot.

First arrow. Second arrow.

The range was quiet, inside and out, with only the sound of his silent draw breaking the stillness. In that moment, Li Dazhuang felt as though he was alone on the range.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Ten arrows were loosed in short order.

Ah Fa announced, “Scoring… Scoring complete. Li Dazhuang: eighty points!”

“There’s hope yet!” came the murmur from the crowd.

As fellow folk of humble means, their sympathies naturally lay with Li Dazhuang.

“If Young Master Xu doesn’t cheat, Li Dazhuang might really take the championship.”

Li Dazhuang clenched his fist in secret. Though the score was still low, at least he had surpassed himself.

Wu Yi and Thunder Tiger exchanged wry smiles. They knew the championship was now beyond their reach.

Eighty points—there was no way they could shoot that high.

They were destined to be outclassed.

Li Dazhuang exhaled; every time he finished shooting, it felt like shedding armor.

Next was Xu Wenshan.

The two brushed past each other, and Xu Wenshan was quickly on the platform.

He shot rapidly, each arrow taking only a third of the time Li Dazhuang had needed.

Li Dazhuang no longer cared much about Xu Wenshan’s score; the audience, however, was keenly focused on it.

“If he’s caught cheating, we’ll all jeer together. What do you say, folks?” the young man outside the range rallied those around him.

Yet few responded, most preferring to trust Li Six-Four.

The young man bit his lip. Though his confidence had wavered, he still wanted to make a last stand.

“Don’t bother!” Li Six-Four doused him again. “He set the rules himself. If he wanted to cheat, why make them so strict? With everyone watching, what could he possibly pull off?”

“But…” The young man faltered, unable to continue.

“…Scoring complete! Xu Wenshan: ninety-two points!”

At this, the whole range fell silent. The previous ninety-two had already prepared them, so they were less shocked, but disappointment lingered.

Xu Wenshan had scored ninety-two under the gaze of all; no room for cheating.

The Xu family’s young master… truly was the best archer in Deer Crane Gully.