Arrow

With simple hand guards fitted, Xu Lin took a deep breath, letting his breath circulate for several cycles. His gaze cleared, and he casually picked up a 30-pound bow.

He wasn’t particularly strong—if he overreached, he might not even manage to draw the bowstring properly, let alone shoot accurately. That would be truly embarrassing.

“Is the 30-meter target alright? If you think it’s too difficult, we can switch to the 18-meter one.”

Zhang Qingzhen glanced at him with a small smile, calmly adjusting his bowstring, exuding confidence.

“That’s fine, but Mr. Zhang, please go easy on me.”

“Of course, of course.”

He nodded, watching Xu Lin’s less-than-professional technique, which made him feel even more assured of his own victory.

Xu Lin took another deep breath. He realized he hadn’t used a traditional recurve bow much before—no stabilizer, no sight.

He looked at the target prepared in the distance: a 122-centimeter full-ring target, with the ten-ring diameter only 12.2 centimeters. Using a full-ring at this distance was already quite considerate.

Though twelve centimeters wasn’t tiny and thirty meters wasn’t very far, hitting the ten-ring was far from easy, especially with a traditional bow.

“Nervous, Xu?”

“Don’t be nervous, make sure you win for me.”

At that moment, Chufeng Yi, who had finished competing with her sister and was all smiles, clearly having recovered, walked over, hopped up, and patted him on the shoulder.

“Why do you think I’ll win? I hardly know how to shoot.”

“I just think you will. I dreamed about you shooting last night.”

“You dreamed about me?” Xu Lin’s eyes widened. Chufeng Yi was momentarily stunned, realizing she’d been too open-mouthed—always speaking her mind! She quickly cleared her throat.

“Don’t get any ideas! There were lots of people in the dream. It wasn’t just you.”

“But the scene was you competing and winning. Now it’s the same—don’t embarrass our master.”

“Aren’t dreams usually the opposite?”

“Well, I just feel you can win. Master trusts you so much, so do your best.”

After finishing, Chufeng Yi returned to her seat, gulped half a cup of water, her mind still a bit hazy.

How did she end up blurting out her dream from last night, almost involuntarily?

But it was such a coincidence: in her dream, Xu Lin was dressed in handsome ancient attire, competing in archery against many.

He shot from afar and hit the target. Many familiar faces said something, but she’d forgotten most of it—only remembering that he was archery, and looked so cool!

So she instinctively felt Xu Lin could shoot. Chufeng Yi, is something wrong with your head?

Xu Lin also snapped out of Chufeng Yi’s strange words, but gazing at the bow in his hands, he suddenly felt a bit more confident.

“Xu, let’s keep it simple—one point per ring, no complicated rules. Ten arrows each, total score wins?”

“Alright.”

Chu Qingchan returned to her seat with her bow, surprised to see Xu Lin standing alongside Zhang Qingzhen.

“Does Xu Lin know archery?”

“I think he does—otherwise he’d make a fool of himself,” Chufeng Yi squinted, acting indifferent, yet her gaze remained fixed on Xu Lin’s back.

“My brother will definitely win. He can sing, tell stories, write novels—he must be good at archery too. Go, brother!”

“What does any of that have to do with how well he shoots?” Ye Qinleng massaged her daughter’s arm, sore from playing ball.

“Um… because my brother can do everything.”

“Alright then.”

“Mom, who do you support?”

“Hmm?” Ye Qinleng looked forward, then said, “I support your brother Xu Lin as well.”

Mainly, she didn’t want Zhang Qingzhen to overwhelm someone who hadn’t shot much before and then show off—it would be uncomfortable for everyone.

“Brother, mom supports you too!” Little Shaoyao shouted again. Xu Lin turned and waved.

Zhang Qingzhen’s expression soured. He took a deep breath, pulled out an arrow, and nocked it.

“Are you ready?”

He’d planned to miss twice at first, then shoot normally, to appear gentlemanly. Now he just wanted a perfect score.

Xu Lin glanced sideways at him, quickly drew an arrow and nocked it, pulling with all his might. Then, beside his ear, a sharp sound swept by—a piercing arrow broke through the air, landing with a dull thud!

“Nine rings! Boss, you’re amazing!” The staff called out promptly.

Zhang Qingzhen raised an eyebrow, glanced at Xu Lin, and continued to nock and shoot.

Xu Lin drew the bow to its full extent—a line and a dot appeared in his vision. As he exhaled, his fingers released, and the arrow shot out!

But the next second, there was no sound of the arrow hitting the target. Nearby, the electronic flagpole raised a red flag—he’d missed!

“Relax, brother. Steady yourself. Your form is good, but keep your body stable, and don’t let your hand deform.”

Zhang Qingzhen immediately adopted a friendly teacher’s demeanor, offered advice, then shot his second arrow—another thud, another hit.

“Eight rings!”

Then another arrow, and again eight rings. The third, fourth, and fifth arrows all hit the eight ring, showing his skill.

“Why aren’t you shooting?”

“I’ll let you finish first.”

For the first time, Xu Lin felt powerless. No matter his prior experience, this wasn’t a traditional bow, and he hadn’t practiced in ages.

“Sorry, Shaoyao. Maybe I’m just wasting everyone’s time.” Xu Lin spoke to Shaoyao, but she pouted.

“Come on, brother! In the stories you told me, even if you lose, you never give up, right?”

“Right… Okay!” Xu Lin, hearing the child’s encouragement, raised his bow once more, took a deep breath, and continued.

His second arrow finally hit the target—a meter-wide target, missing again would be disastrous.

“Six rings!”

“Good, you hit it.”

But the other side had finished ten arrows, totaling seventy-eight points—almost eight rings per arrow.

Xu Lin had only two arrows, totaling six points. The next eight arrows would need to score nine each just to tie. Would the system help him out?

But even if he could manage something, it wouldn’t be until tomorrow—today was Sunday.

The store refreshed on Monday. He’d just have to grit his teeth and do his best, scoring whatever he could.

“Xu Lin, don’t let me down; you can’t lose!”

At that moment, Chufeng Yi shouted at him again, almost possessed. She herself didn’t know why. Xu Lin saw her serious expression and instinctively nodded.

He picked up the bow, drew and aimed. Suddenly, a voice rang sharply in his ear: “Don’t let me down. You can’t lose… You can’t lose, I’m waiting for you here.”

It seemed like Chufeng Yi’s voice, yet also not. A sharp pain struck his head—the system suddenly flashed a line of red gibberish, then faded away.

A memory flooded his mind: standing on a vast grassland, surrounded by thousands, though their faces were all indistinct.

The only clear sight was the distant high platform, a veiled figure, a bow in hand, a faraway target, and the pounding of his heart—a determination to win!

Those around watched as Xu Lin suddenly closed his eyes, puzzled. Chu Qingchan and Ye Qinleng moved to check if he was unwell.

Zhang Qingzhen frowned—what was this kid doing? Acting out some novel twist? If he’s pretending to be weak and then beats me, I’d let him have the whole club!

“I won’t lose!”

Xu Lin suddenly opened his eyes and murmured to himself. Zhang Qingzhen felt something had changed about Xu Lin… a shift in his aura, though he couldn’t say what.

The next moment, the bowstring sounded a sharp, resonant twang in everyone’s ears, then a thunderous crack shattered the silence.

The staff glanced at the target—no arrow.

“Missed!”

“Where did that sound come from?”

“Over there, the 50-meter target!”

Someone shouted. The staff zoomed the camera closer, and there, in the center of the 50-meter target, a black arrow stood upright!

Before anyone could react, a second arrow flew out, then a third, with no delay or pause.

Xu Lin’s eyes were like a hawk’s, fixed ahead. He drew arrows and shot rapidly.

In just a few seconds—thud! Thud! Thud!

As everyone else was stunned into silence, the heavy, muffled sounds echoed through the hall.