Top Scholar

Chapter 289 None of them are easy to deal with.
Standing by the training ground, Su Man stared in disbelief and asked Su Lu, "Is this Xia Ge'er's?"

"Yes." Su Lu nodded and said, "She has taken a liking to my brother, and my father can't separate them no matter what he tries."

"Go back and try to persuade your second uncle," Su Man said worriedly. "We can't afford to offend this woman!"

"I never expected her to be so powerful." Su Lu felt a wave of fear as he recalled how he hadn't treated her well back then, and was grateful to his elder sister for sparing his life...

Three years ago, she looked so frail and delicate, how did she turn into a tigress in just three years? And she still claims it was all an act?

Either way, it's terrifying enough...

On the other side of the training ground stood five Luo Luo warriors with their hair styled in heroic buns. Four of them were She Yunluo's guards, and the other was a complete stranger.

Although the middle-aged man was dressed the same as them, he was clearly someone in a higher position. He said with surprise, "I didn't expect Mu Shi to have improved so quickly?"

"Reporting to Mu Kui, since the attack three years ago, Mu Shi has become a completely different person, practicing martial arts with extreme diligence," said She Yunluo's guard leader. "She has vowed to avenge Brother Su Jia."

"Good, that's ambitious! No wonder she's the successor my sister chose!" the middle-aged man said happily. "I thought she'd been too busy having fun since she came to Luzhou. Turns out I was worrying for nothing."

"..." The guards looked at each other, wondering if dating counted as being playful.

"What?" The middle-aged man frowned and asked, seeing their guilty looks, "Could it be that I was right?"

"No, no." The guards quickly shook their heads. "Mu Shi practices martial arts very diligently, otherwise she wouldn't be so accurate."

"Hmm." The middle-aged man nodded and smiled, "I also want to advise Mu Shi not to work so hard. She should have fun when she wants to, as long as she doesn't find a Han Chinese lover."

"No, no..." The guards' foreheads were covered in beads of sweat.

"Why do you sweat so easily?" the middle-aged man said, his gaze suddenly sharpening as he saw a majestic Han Chinese warrior riding a tall horse, standing at the starting point.

"What a magnificent Han Chinese!" The Luo Luo man gasped. "We couldn't find one like this even in our Shiyizexi!"

"Yes..." The guards prayed silently, hoping that Mu Shi would hold back and not give herself away.

At that moment, the examiner gave the order, and Su Tai spurred his horse. The blue steed galloped across the training ground, its hooves kicking up dust. He reached for the three-stone bow from the saddle, and with a swift movement, drew the bowstring to its fullest extent. The arrowhead had barely grazed the bullseye before it was released!

He went back and forth three times, firing nine arrows in a row, and every single one of them hit its mark!

Elm wood chips flew everywhere from the target, with the arrowhead deeply embedded in it!

"Good! Good! Good!" Su Lu and the others clapped and cheered enthusiastically.

Su Man breathed a sigh of relief; only now could he tame the tigress...

"Atai is fantastic!" She Yunluo excitedly rushed over to help Sutai hold the reins. "His shots were both accurate and powerful!"

"Be mindful of the consequences." Su Tai dismounted and coughed, saying, "The Grandmaster is watching."

"Let him see it." He shouldn't have said that, because once he did, She Yunluo got even more excited and grabbed Su Tai's arm, saying, "There's no rule against flirting in the school rules."

“Because they are all male students…” Su Tai helplessly pried her hands away.

The Grandmaster was alright; he couldn't place the figure and assumed it was two men struggling.

The middle-aged man was stunned. "Was Mu Shi just hugging that man?"

"Mu Kui must be mistaken," the guard said, wiping his sweat. "Mu Shi is practicing wrestling."

"Really?" Mu Kui asked, still somewhat doubtful.

"Yes!" The other three guards nodded in unison. "In martial arts, you can't think of yourself as a woman."

"Alas, poor Mu Shi," Mu Kui sighed.

~~
The next item is 'Shoot the Earth'.

The so-called 'Earth' is a leather sphere with a diameter of two feet, placed on a low table.

Candidates ride on horseback and use flat-headed arrows to shoot at a ball. They pass if they can knock the ball off the platform with three arrows. This tests the strength of the candidate's archery.

Most candidates could shoot it down with two arrows, but She Yunluo used three. As for Su Tai, he shot the solid ball away with just one arrow...

Next, the archery skills will be tested.

The shooting target was made of cloth, at a distance of 100 paces. The target was human-shaped, with three target points from top to bottom, corresponding to the three vital points of the head, chest, and abdomen.

In foot archery, nine arrows are shot in total. Not only must the arrow hit the target, but it must also penetrate the cloth to count as a hit. Hitting three arrows is considered passing.

The difficulty was considerable, mainly due to the distance. Most martial arts performers could hit the target five or six times, but She Yunluo, limited by her physical strength, although her arrows never missed, three of them failed to penetrate the cloth…

But considering that she is a woman participating in the men's competition, how can one not feel awe and respect?
Anyway, Su Man secretly resolved never to say a bad word about her again. Otherwise, if this sharpshooter caught her eye, she'd have nowhere to run.

When it was Su Tai's turn, he changed to an iron-rimmed bow and a feathered arrow. The bow was full and the arrow was like a shooting star. He pierced a large hole in the target cloth and shot it into the target wall on the opposite side. The arrow feathers were still buzzing and vibrating.

He fired nine arrows in quick succession, each one piercing the target cloth and striking the target wall. The last arrow knocked down the wooden target wall!

"Wow!" This shocking scene not only stunned the audience, but also made the martial arts performers exclaim in surprise. It turned out that Su Tai had never used his full strength during practice.

"What did you eat? How come you have so much energy?!" She Yunluo excitedly gave him a big hug. Su Tai scratched his head, bewildered, and said, "I don't know either, maybe the target wall wasn't properly set up..."

"What is this brave man's name? He is truly like a reincarnation of Marquis Wen!" Even Xiao, the provincial education commissioner, stood up and exclaimed in admiration.

"Grandmaster, the student's name is Su Tai!" the martial arts instructor hurriedly reported. "He is excellent in both character and academics, and is also the brother of the Three Scholars."

"Really? The two brothers are one scholar and one warrior?" Xiao Tixue immediately extended his affection to them, saying, "They're ranked first class!"

~~
"Who is he? What's his name?" Naroro Mukui asked the same question, but his tone was furious. "See? This time he's hugging me head-on! This time it's not a wrestling match, is it?"

"Perhaps Mu Shi was just excited for a moment..." the guards said stubbornly.

"What's with the excitement? I'm not blind or stupid!" Mu Kui said angrily, "Such a big thing, and you dared not report it? Go back and wait to be punished."

"We usually don't get to get in here, so we don't know what's going on inside," the guards complained.

At this point, the morning's examinations ended, and the Grandmasters and examiners went inside to eat and rest, as did the martial arts students.

Su Tai and She Yunlu naturally came to Su Lu and the others to enjoy the lunch they had brought.

Su Lu was politely introducing his elder brother and She Yunluo when a Luo Luo warrior came over and whispered in She Yunluo's ear, "Mu Shi, your uncle has arrived."

"Huh? When did he arrive?" She Yunluo asked in surprise.

"After the competition began," the samurai whispered, "they suddenly appeared on the training ground, startling us all."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!" She Yunluo said dejectedly, "I would have been more careful."

"The competition has already begun, and unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter," the samurai said helplessly.

"You stubborn fool, what's wrong with shouting?" She Yunluo said angrily.

"Uh..." The samurai scratched his head, it seemed like it might actually work.

"Idiot!" She Yunlu asked, "What did my uncle see?"

"You've seen everything, both what you should and shouldn't have seen..." the samurai said with a bitter face. "We wanted to keep it from you, but you made too many moves, and we just couldn't hide it anymore."

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!" She Yunluo stomped her feet in anger, then turned to Su Man with a smile and said, "Excuse me, big brother, I'll have to leave for a moment. Someone from my family has come to visit."

"Please go ahead," Su Man said with a smile.

She Yunlu bowed to him again before following the guard.

"Aren't you going to go and take a look?" Su Lu asked Su Tai.

“What would it mean if I went along?” Su Tai shook his head.

"Sigh, another problem..." Su Man couldn't help but sigh.

~~
She Yunlu followed the guards into the grove and, as expected, saw her uncle, Arno, waiting for her with a dark expression.

"Uncle, what brings you here?" She Yunluo quickly put on a sweet smile and stepped forward to greet him, saying, "You didn't even tell me beforehand."

"Why didn't you tell me in advance how you wanted to see this good show?" Arno said coldly.

"What's wrong with me?" She Yunluo asked nonchalantly.

"What's wrong? You were hugging and cuddling with that big guy, and you're asking me what's wrong?" Arno said angrily.

"I'm just a woman disguised as a man, aren't I? They all think I'm a guy, so I have to be closer to my buddies." She Yunluo's lying skills were much better than her subordinates': "Being coy will give you away."

"Don't try that!" But it was no use. Arno was her mother's right-hand woman, assisting her in managing the affairs of the entire chieftain. How could she be fooled by a little girl? "Do you think I can't see through you? If no one was around, you would have kissed her!"

"Oh right, I've got my eye on him, so what?" Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, She Yunluo simply said bluntly, "If a woman like us Luo Luo has our eye on a man, we'll snatch him away if we have to!"

“But he’s Han Chinese!” Arno said dejectedly.

"What's wrong with Han people? Can't Han people rob?" She Yunluo said righteously, "In the entire Yongning and Shuixi area combined, there isn't a single Luoluo person as strong as him. My mother will definitely be satisfied!"

"Sigh." Arno slapped his thigh helplessly and said, "Let's not talk about that. I'm here to take you back on Naiye's orders."

"Why?!" She Yunluo's beautiful eyes widened. "I still have to go to school!!"

“Naiye didn’t say why, Mushi will find out when she gets back.” Arno still used the She Saihua to pressure her, saying, “Your mother has been in a bad mood lately, so don’t go against her.”

"I'm not going back unless you tell me why." She Yunluo wasn't buying his act at all, and said firmly, "My studies are my priority!"

"Mu Shi, don't be willful!" Arno couldn't help but mutter to himself: It's more like you're prioritizing romance.

"Don't you know my nickname is 'Willful'?" She Yunlu waved her hand: "A Long, A Kui, chase him away!"

"Mu Kui, this is a martial arts school. Let's talk about this when we get back," the two guards said to Arno.

"Sigh..." Arno had no choice but to leave in a huff.

(End of this chapter)