Chapter 48: Rigorous Training
From the very first day He Yan made the bet with Wang Ba, the entire military camp secretly started placing their own wagers.
Some who hadn’t witnessed He Yan drawing the bow personally even made a point to see what he looked like before lights-out at night. He Yan remembered the last time she had attracted this much attention was when she was awarded by the imperial court as the Flying Goose General after a victorious battle.
Though the circumstances were different now, at least she was famous again.
"Those people are going too far!" Xiao Mai stormed in, fuming. "I heard the number of people betting on Brother He could be counted on one hand. They’re all convinced he can’t win!"
"That’s just the normal choice of normal people," Hong Shan sighed, rubbing his temples.
Thanks to He Yan, the recruits had been doing nothing but grueling drills these past days. But now, with this bet, they finally had some entertainment, and the camp was filled with laughter and excitement, as if they’d stumbled into a bustling marketplace in the capital.
"Big Brother and I joined in too, to boost Brother He’s morale. We bet on him to win!" Xiao Mai turned to He Yan with an ingratiating smile. "Brother He, aren’t we the most loyal?"
Before He Yan could reply, Hong Shan cut in, asking, "How many dry biscuits did you two bet?"
"One each."
"One—" Hong Shan deliberately drew out the word. "And how many did you bet on Wang Ba?"
"Ten!" Xiao Mai answered without thinking. Only when he met He Yan’s gaze did his face flush red, and he stammered, "N-no, we just thought… if we won more biscuits, we could share them with everyone. And if Brother He lost… at least we wouldn’t starve…" His voice grew smaller and smaller until he didn’t dare speak anymore, looking pitifully at He Yan.
He Yan was astonished. "Where did you get ten dry biscuits?"
Even if they saved one every day, they couldn’t have saved up that many!
"On credit…"
They could even place bets on credit? He Yan was amazed—this was no small-time wager but a full-blown gambling ring.
She spoke earnestly to Xiao Mai, "Xiao Mai, you should withdraw that bet on Wang Ba. Ten dry biscuits? Do you plan to starve for ten days? Do you really think you can endure that?"
Hong Shan groaned. "He Yan, be reasonable. This isn’t the time for stubborn pride."
He Yan: "…What do I have to say to make you believe I’m not being stubborn?"
They wouldn’t believe her no matter what. The other three might as well have written their disbelief on their faces.
Helpless, He Yan stood up. "Then I’ll go practice now." With that, she left the room.
"Ah." Xiao Mai sighed gloomily.
"Ah." Hong Shan sighed despondently.
Shitou silently watched them, then also sighed without a word.
The room was steeped in despair.
……
The bet with Wang Ba was only the beginning of He Yan’s newfound fame.
These days, no matter where she went, she could hear her name being whispered.
"Have you heard? That recruit under Instructor Liang—He Yan—has gone mad!"
"I know, the one who bet he could outshoot Wang Ba in ten days. Wasn’t making that bet already proof of insanity?"
"He’s even crazier now. Instead of practicing with the crossbow during the day, he’s been lifting stone locks! He hasn’t even shot a single arrow!"
"Then he must truly have lost his mind."He Yan was tossing a stone lock in the open space. During the day when everyone practiced with crossbows, many people gathered to watch her, so she simply stopped training with them. She borrowed a large stone lock from the instructor and would toss it around whenever she had time.
She needed to increase her strength.
To maximize the power of a crossbow, one naturally needed enough strength to draw it fully. And what she lacked most now was precisely strength. Stone locks were the best tools for building power. Back in the military camp, she had a strongman under her command who had originally been a street performer. He had trained with stone locks since childhood and could perform all sorts of tricks with them—spinning them around his body, catching them behind his back, flipping them overhead, and more.
This strongman was also an excellent archer—not only was his aim precise, but he could draw the bow fuller than anyone else, unleashing the crossbow’s full potential. He Yan had once practiced arm strength with him by tossing the stone lock back and forth, dodging and weaving as they threw. Through this, they trained their arms, wrists, hands, and even their core strength.
Now, there was no one to toss the lock with her, but she only wanted to build her arm strength first, to draw the bow as fully as possible.
Practicing with the stone lock increased her strength much faster than simply drawing the bow. During the day, He Yan tossed the stone lock, and at night, she still sneaked out to the Martial Arts Field after everyone had fallen asleep. Fortunately, there were always one or two crossbows left there daily, allowing her to practice in secret. Even luckier, since the last time she had encountered Xiao Jue, she hadn’t run into him again during her nighttime sessions.
Not that she was afraid of meeting him, but being seen by Xiao Jue while secretly training at night carried a subtle sense of humiliation. It made her feel as though she had returned to her youth, when she had to struggle desperately every night just to barely scrape by—an unbearable memory.
Perhaps this was the shame of being looked down upon by a prodigy!
She had already shaken off this feeling, but who knew fate would twist again, making her experience this humiliation once more?
What had she done to deserve such attention from the heavens?
Of all the things she practiced daily, what puzzled her most were the reactions of her companions.
“Brother He,” Hong Shan hesitated, “even if you draw the bow perfectly, if your aim is off, you still won’t beat Wang Ba.”
“Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on Wang Ba for you,” Xiao Mai added. “He hits the center of the target every time—he almost never misses.”
“Wang Ba is naturally skilled in archery,” He Yan said. “He must be adept at using bows to strike, even more so than Shitou.”
Shitou nodded—he had to admit that.
“Then why don’t you practice shooting arrows at all, Brother He?” Xiao Mai was even more confused. “At least shoot a few times, work on your aim. What if the fletched arrows fly into the woods?”
“No need,” He Yan replied.
Xiao Mai stared at him wide-eyed. “Don’t tell me…”
Did He Yan have some secret technique?
He Yan laughed. What secret technique did she have? She was simply using the time others spent sleeping to practice archery. Every night, under the moonlight, she drew and shot arrows, pulling the bow fuller each time—with noticeable results. As for her aim, it hadn’t deteriorated, which was a small mercy in this unfortunate situation."I'm not very talented," she said thoughtfully after a moment of serious consideration. "But I'm very lucky. You must believe that even if I don't practice archery, as long as I can draw the bow fully, the arrow will seem to grow eyes and fly straight to the target by itself."
Everyone looked at the smiling He Yan, and the same thought flashed through their minds simultaneously.
He Yan had truly gone mad.
(End of Chapter)
OpenNovel