spoiled brat

Chapter 107 106. It’s hard to calm down (6)
Ever since Zhao Zhao got that bow, she has slept with it at night and never let it out of her sight during the day, even when she goes to the fields to measure the land. Before, she and her masters used wooden rulers and ropes to measure the land, but now she uses a thin, long rope to tie the arrows to the bow, so that she can measure the length of the arrows and also see if the force has increased.

Shoot arrows, pick up arrows, shoot arrows, pick up arrows... Zhao Zhao runs energetically in the fields every day, thinking about her promise to Xiu Yi.

On the day of the appointment, she went to find Xiu Yi with her bow in her arms.

Upon reaching the courtyard, the attendants went in to announce their arrival. He Bi ran out, smiling as he led the man inside: "What a coincidence! My master just finished settling the newly arrived refugees in the village, and you've arrived. Lord Zhang is inside right now; let's sit outside for a while."

The courtyard is elegant, with autumn maple leaves falling and koi carp swimming in the clear pond.

A tea table was set up outside the main room. He Bi pushed two plates of snacks in front of Zhao Zhao and muttered, "Next time, never go hunting with Sister Zhen. Her archery skills are terrible. You'll starve to death before you even get a hot meal..."

The two sat there bored, chatting about recent interesting events. After a while, the door creaked open, and an official in red stepped out, his face unusually solemn.

Zhao Zhao recognized the insignia on his chest; Xu Feng had worn it before. She and He Bi bowed together, saying, "Please take care, Lord Zhang."

As soon as she looked up, she met Xiu Yi's eyes.

He was dressed casually today, wearing a long silk robe in an ink-wash style, his hair loosely tied up with a few strands swaying in the wind. He asked indifferently, "What are you chatting about so enthusiastically?"

“What you’re saying…” Zhao Zhao looked at He Bi, only to find that he was already gone.

"You think he's handsome now?"

Zhao Zhao had long forgotten the nonsense she had uttered earlier and honestly replied, "Guard He is indeed handsome."

"You're so young, yet you're completely blind." Xiu Yi stepped outside, but seeing that Zhao Zhao hadn't followed, he turned back and said, "Take the bow and come with me."

Zhao Zhao followed, and horses were already waiting at the courtyard gate. The two whipped their horses and headed out of the manor, soon arriving at their destination: a grove of red maple trees. Xiu Yi dismounted and said to Zhao Zhao, "Come."

As the setting sun cast its glow, the two walked through the maple leaves, which were ablaze with the red of the sunset, as if stepping into an unreal dream.

Zhao Zhao gazed at Xiu Yi's slender back and thought that this person had a certain aura. He was extremely proud, yet calm. He would occasionally glance back, and although his expression was cold and aloof, the small mole between his eyebrows was a beautiful red.

"We've arrived." Xiu Yi stopped, took the reins from Zhao Zhao, and tied the two horses to a tree. "How's your strength training going?"

"I can shoot thirty paces." Zhao Zhao answered truthfully, holding her bow. "When I'm full, I can shoot a little further, up to forty paces."

When Xiu Yi saw her tie the bow and arrows together with a rope, he knew she was treating archery like chasing a kite: "Take them apart and shoot a few arrows properly."

Zhao Zhao obeyed and did as instructed. She drew her bow and was about to shoot when she heard Xiu Yi say:

What happened to your hand?

Zhao Zhao pulled her sleeve to cover her hand injury, looking somewhat awkward and unsure of what to do.

Xiu Yi said, "It's normal to have injuries. Show them to me, let me see."

She must have played the open string a lot; her hands are covered in cuts and bruises. Xiu Yi asked, "Didn't your real sister get you a thumb ring?"

"Got it." Zhao Zhao then remembered and took it out of her pocket to put on.

The thumb ring was noticeably larger than usual, and even with the cloth wrapped around it, it was a bit loose. Xiu Yi casually looked away and pointed to a thick maple tree in the distance, saying, "Come and try it." He then pulled out a quiver from his horse's saddlebag: "Shoot freely, don't worry about picking it up."

Freed from the ropes, Zhao Zhao fired a few arrows with gusto. Xiu Yi estimated the distance and said, "Not bad." He then picked up a branch from the ground and used it to adjust Zhao Zhao's archery posture.

He was satisfied with his correction, but Zhao Zhao secretly groaned. This posture of tying the legs and opening the chest was ugly. When pulling the bow hard, he had to grit his teeth and puff out his cheeks, looking just like a door god.

She forced herself to shoot a few arrows, then complained awkwardly, "Young Master, could you please stop looking at me?"

Xiu Yi had no idea what she was thinking: "How can you teach if I don't watch?"

"Fine, learning skills is important, so be it if I'm ugly." Zhao Zhao stopped hiding her skills and started shooting with great force. As long as she could exert all her strength, she didn't care about being hoarse, grimacing, or having a flushed face. At first, she could still listen to Xiu Yi's instructions, but gradually she became engrossed and lost in the moment. She shot thirty arrows in her quiver for half an hour, and the time it took to concentrate her energy was only a short moment.

The arrows had all been shot, and Xiu Yi said that it was exactly one hundred paces from here to that maple tree. Zhao Zhao didn't think too much about when he had found this spot, and put down her bow to go find the farthest arrow.

As she ran forward, her little boots pattered on the thick layer of fallen leaves. When she ran back, her two braids bounced around her face. Clutching a bundle of arrows, she ran up to Xiu Yi, as proud as a cat with its tail held high: "I shot sixty paces at my furthest!"

Her eyes sparkled, and even the freckles on her face didn't dim her spirits. Xiu Yi said, "Girls are weaker. You've only been practicing for a short time, and sixty steps is already quite remarkable. Eat more meat in the future, grow strong, and you can shoot even farther."

Zhao Zhao was embarrassed by his praise and couldn't help but ask, "How was my archery performance different from the beginning?"

"There are differences."

"What's the difference?"

"At first you were timid and silly, not serious at all. I thought I had wasted these ten days waiting."

A horse whistle came from outside the woods, and He Bi's voice rang out from afar: "Master, it's time for the night patrol!"

"Practice hard." Xiu Yi reached past Zhao Zhao to take the horse's reins, but his waist was pulled. Looking down, he saw two things tangled together between them.

Zhao Zhao was taken aback.

Xiu Yi's was a fine piece, made of mutton-fat jade with red seal beads wrapped in gold thread. Hers was inferior, a string of copper trinkets, with keys to servants' quarters, workshops, warehouses, and storage areas all tied to her waist with hemp rope.

How could a hemp rope be tangled with gold thread? It was about to snap. She reached out to untangle it, but it was already a knot that couldn't be untied. Xiu Yi, impatient, pulled a dagger from her sleeve and plucked it into the knot. The gold thread broke, and the pearls and jade scattered on the ground.

He was too lazy to pick up something so commonplace: "Alright." He tossed the dagger back to Zhao Zhao, mounted his horse, and prepared to leave.

Zhao Zhao looked at him and couldn't help but ask, "When is the next time?"

Xiu Yi lowered his eyes slightly and asked, "Why are you so eager to learn archery from me?"

“Because the opportunity is rare.” Zhao Zhao said with a bright smile, “You said that the success of a general built from piles of bones is not worth praising, but what I heard was that your achievements were unparalleled. Countless times, you shot and killed the enemy commander with an arrow amidst thousands of troops. They say you are a unique archery genius in the world. Putting aside the noble birth of a king and nobleman… I want to be as majestic and powerful as you.”

She lies like this, her words are more beautiful than her singing. Xiu Yi mocked, "A silver tongue and a flattering face. You've changed your old ways of coaxing men, but I don't know where you picked up this obsequious air of currying favor with the powerful."

He was ruthless when he was being sarcastic. Zhao Zhao thought he was unwilling and was about to say something more, but he was tapped on the head with a riding whip.

“You’re not particularly gifted, so I won’t waste my time teaching a slow learner,” he said. “Prove yourself by practicing to the point of 100 steps within 15 days.”

With those words, the man and his horse disappeared into the sunset.

-

From then on, Zhao Zhao practiced diligently, working hard in the fields during the day to build strength, and often dragging Yuan Zhen hunting at night, even playing the bowstring while asleep. Hard work pays off; her strength and accuracy improved rapidly, and within fifteen days she was able to shoot a hundred paces.

The two met in the woods that day.

Xiu Yi saw that Zhao Zhao's face was tired and dull, but her eyes were shining brightly. He guessed that she was so eager to pass the test that she didn't even want to sleep.

"Shoot it for me."

"it is good!"

Zhao Zhao had been preparing for a long time, and had practiced in this forest countless times. She was confident, if not 100%. When she nocked the arrow, released the bow, and the arrow pierced the tree trunk a hundred paces away, stuck there for a while, and then fell to the ground with a gust of wind.

Fearing he wouldn't approve, Zhao Zhao added, "I slept on my side last night, which put pressure on my shoulder, so I couldn't exert much strength."

“Roll up your sleeves,” Xiu Yi said.

Zhao Zhao rolled up her sleeves, revealing swollen and red arms. Looking at her hands, which had only been injured last time, the joints were now slightly deformed, clearly a consequence of overexertion.

Even the new recruits on the battlefield, struggling to survive, don't work as hard as she does. Xiu Yi felt a surge of admiration and said, "You're working very hard, but your body isn't fully developed yet. One hundred steps is your limit."

Zhao Zhao was not discouraged after hearing this: "Good teacher, I have done what I can. What should I do next?"

Xiu Yi nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring, his voice calm: "There are at least ten birds within thirty paces of us. Can you tell where they are?"

Zhao Zhao looked around, but all she could see was a vibrant, intense red. The wind rustled the leaves, but there were no birds. She listened intently, but couldn't hear anything. So she dismissed them all: "They're everywhere, in the east, west, south, and north."

Xiu Yi plucked the string, and the sound of the wind breaking rang out. The arrow shot towards the lush foliage, and the birds were hit before they could dodge, letting out a mournful chirp. One chirp, two chirps... Zhao Zhao saw that he fired arrows in rapid succession and thought to herself that this man was incredibly fast. The intervals between arrows were extremely short, as if he didn't need to think. Once the arrows left the string, they would follow orders and pursue the target.

The arrow stopped, and there were continuous sounds of things falling all around. Zhao Zhao saw something fluttering in the pile of dead leaves nearby. She went forward and pushed it aside. A small sparrow had its tail feathers pierced by an arrow. She pulled out the arrow, and the sparrow fluttered its wings and flew up again.

Zhao Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of amazing skill is this?"

"Listen to the wind, observe your heart."

Xiu Yi pulled away the arrow, spread his hands, and let the bird fly away: "When your heart is calm and still, you will be able to hear all the sounds in the wind: flowers blooming, leaves falling, birds singing, and water flowing."

Zhao Zhao had never heard of such a mystical claim and was somewhat skeptical. Just then, a gust of wind blew, causing autumn flowers and leaves to swirl and flutter like butterflies. She raised her hand and pointed, asking Xiu Yi, "If I blindfold you, can you shoot the flying flowers?"

"It's hard to say," Xiu Yi said calmly, "but we can give it a try."

Zhao Zhao took out a clean handkerchief from her sleeve, folded it, and stepped forward to cover his eyes.

They were so close. The man's skin was as white as jade, and his features were proud and beautiful. If he weren't so aloof, his smile would be incredibly captivating... Just as he was pondering this, he said, "Come, I'll give you an arrow."

"Bring it?" Zhao Zhao didn't know how to bring it. Suddenly, she felt a chill on the back of her hand as Xiu Yi's elegant hand covered hers, and with an effortless pull, the bow was fully opened.

"Close your eyes."

Zhao Zhao did as instructed, and his consciousness fell into darkness, while his five senses became increasingly clear.

"What did you hear?"

My heart is pounding.

"I can't hear it."

What smell do you smell?

You have a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance.

“I can’t smell it.”

"Your talent is really just average."