Chapter 208 – The Fox Gets A Fright

No one was paying Chu Hean’s presence among the competitors any special attention. And a cursory look around showed that Ru Long was nowhere to be seen, with or without a mask or veil to disguise his identity.

On the level below Chu Yun’s and Xiao Zai’s viewing platform, Min Sezhui was sitting beside Tan Ruo, Minister Song, and a contingent of other courtiers. Chu Yun could only see the top of her head, and the butterfly pins sticking out of her delicate hairdo. 

She had no idea that Chu Hean was competing because of her. Maybe it would actually do her some good to know, she who always found herself lacking, that someone else thought she was competition.

Her time in the royal harem had destroyed her self-esteem, Chu Yun was running out of ideas about how to build it back. He just knew it didn’t have to do with teaching her how to play weiqi or the guqin. 

She seemed alert at least, if not overly interested in the games about to take place. Chu Yun focused on her to avoid thinking about Chu Hean and how he was certainly going to do something foolish.

Xiao Zai’s hand brushed over his knee for a moment, a quick touch, there one moment and gone the next. They were in full view of everyone, it wasn’t the time for intimacy. But as always, Chu Yun appreciated that Xiao Zai noticed when something bothered him.

He didn’t have long to worry about what Chu Hean was going to do, because one of the Xiongnu blew a horn, and the drums stopped suddenly.

A Zui official stepped onto a podium and announced the first competition while reading it off a bamboo strip scroll: horseback archery. 

Everyone who wasn’t going to compete fell back, while all the participants took a step forward among the cheers of the onlookers.

The challenge was very simple. The competitors rode the length of the track, each at a time, while trying to hit the centre of the stationary targets mounted along the right side of it.

Whoever hit the most targets won.

Horses were a Xiongnu speciality, so almost all of them were participating in this challenge. Many Zui soldiers were as well, including Xiao Ziyi.

The first contestant was from Zui, and he did a passable job. Of the seven targets he only missed two, and the last one was technically only a miss because the arrow wasn’t lodged deeply enough into the leather and fell due to the air displacement of the horse’s hooves.

Everyone still cheered dutifully, including Xiao Zai who seemed more excited than he had expected to be about the whole thing. “That was good start, right? Certainly not a shameful showing.”

Chu Yun agreed with him, at least until a Xiongnu followed him up and hit the centre of every single target.

Xiao Zai still cheered, but he turned to Chu Yun with a confused expression. “How is someone supposed to beat that? He already hit every target, does that mean he wins?”

They had their answer when the next Xiongnu shot the arrows while riding backwards on the horse. Despite the impressive display he missed one of the targets.

Chu Yun cheered alongside Xiao Zai but their gazes met in a look of twin bewilderment. Neither of them expected that the competition would be so fierce.

At least the Zui contestants weren’t humiliating themselves — that counted for something. Chu Hean was thankfully sitting this challenge out. Chu Yun supposed that horseback archery wasn’t part of the necessary skillset of a silent assassin.

When Xiao Ziyi’s turn came along Chu Yun only expected her to mount the horse and shoot every arrow into the centre of the targets. Competent, clean, but nothing fancy.

That was why he couldn’t hold back his surprised gasp when he saw her tie a black ribbon over her eyes before mounting her horse.

Both Xiao Zai and Xiao Yuan leaned forward on their seats, eyes wide with anticipation.

Privately, Chu Yun thought there was no way she was going to hit every target, not from the back of a running horse.

She kicked the horse into a gallop with a yell, thighs clamped tight around its middle as she loosed the first arrow right into the centre of the target, and then the second, and the third, and every arrow afterwards until she ran out of track.

The cheers from the spectators were deafening. After all, one of their own had put on the most impressive display until now. Hua Nanyi got up to her feet with a hoot, clapping loudly, until she realised everyone was shooting her weird looks and sat back down with an embarrassed grimace.

After Xiao Ziyi it was Lieba Chun’s turn, he was the only competitor remaining.

Chu Yun didn’t know what he planned to do surpass her, but these games had been nothing if not surprising.

Lieba Chun took his horse right up to the starting line, and climbed up on it, but he didn’t sit on the saddle. Instead, he stood on it, and pulled the reins with his feet.

The audience gasped in collective disbelief as Lieba Chun stood perfectly balanced on top of the running horse and hit every single target as easily as if he were shooting from the ground. 

He reached the end of the track and was immediately surrounded by a Group of cheering Xiongnu. It was obvious he had won the first challenge. Chu Yun was still amazed that he hadn’t fallen down the horse, let alone that he’d managed to hit every single target.

Lieba Chun stepped away from the group of Xiongnu and bowed to the Zui audience who cheered for him too, albeit less effusively than they had for Xiao Ziyi.

Then, he did something to an arrow, and fired it up into the air. Chu Yun followed its trajectory, as it approached the viewing platform at great velocity. Before anyone could scream in fear of the arrow being meant for them, or jump in front of Xiao Zai to protect him, the arrow lodged itself on the little table next to Min Sezhui.

Unfazed, she reached for it and pulled out the beautiful magnolia bloom pierced through the arrow shaft. She took the flower and pinned it to her hair.

Chu Yun only wished he could have seen his brother’s reaction.