Mercenary Princess - Chapter 63
With a helpless roll of her almond-shaped eyes, Rongyue slung her bow over her shoulder and patted the black horse's head in a conciliatory manner. Seeing that it seemed to have calmed down, she carefully stepped into the stirrups and climbed onto the horse's back using both hands and feet...
Clinging tightly to the black horse's neck, Rongyue's body trembled as she pressed herself against its back, her legs gripping its belly tightly. Her almond-shaped eyes, darting around nervously, were filled with anxiety and panic. Why did people in ancient times love riding horses? Riding this horse is truly terrifying...
Suddenly, the black horse shifted uncomfortably in its powerful body. This shift, however slight, caused Rongyue, who had lost her balance, to slide inch by inch down its smooth black fur. Reflexively, Rongyue tightened her arms and legs, coiling herself around the black horse like a water snake…
Finally unable to endure Rongyue's "abuse," the black horse let out a painful neigh, its head snapping back and its two front hooves rising high into the air, as if trying to shake off Rongyue, the burden that displeased it...
"Ah... Help!" Rongyue, whose body had suddenly become a slope, abruptly lost her grip and began to slide down. With a panicked cry, she hurriedly concentrated her strength in her hands, frantically grabbing at the horse's fur.
But in the end, she couldn't outmaneuver this horse! Gasping for breath and wincing in pain, Rongyue collapsed to the ground, glaring angrily at the horse that seemed completely unconcerned!
At first, everyone was stunned by this sudden scene. After a moment, bursts of laughter erupted, creating a deafening uproar that quickly became uncontrollable. Some even led the jeering, booing, and whistling from outside the arena... In an instant, the entire archery arena was filled with chaos.
Ignoring the laughter of the crowd, Rongyue scrambled to her feet, walked towards the tall white horse, and shrugged at the rider: "As you can see, I can't ride a horse."
With a lingering smile, he wiped away the tears of laughter that had spilled from Yanjiao with one hand: "And then?"
"That's why I want to ride the same horse with you!"
He paused for a moment, then a slight smile played on his lips: "Are you sure?"
She brushed the sand off her clothes, raised her eyebrows fearlessly, and extended her right hand toward him.
He gave Rongyue a meaningful smile, leaned forward, and pressed his warm palm against Rongyue's. With a firm grip and a pull, he yanked Rongyue onto the horse's back.
Holding Rongyue's hand tightly, his deep eyes held an unfathomable light: "Your hands are so smooth...hehe, like a girl's..."
Her expression froze. Rongyue forcefully pulled her hand away and withdrew it, shifting her body slightly to create some distance between them: "Let's begin!"
His bright eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly spurred the horse's flanks: "Then you'd better be ready! Giddy up!"
But before the horse had run a few steps, he suddenly tightened the reins. The horse neighed and had to stop.
Due to inertia, Rongyue, who was completely unprepared, involuntarily leaned forward, and her whole body pressed straight against his back.
Grasping his waist, Rongyue moved back angrily, cursing inwardly: You scoundrel! If it weren't for her underdeveloped figure, with her chest bound up as if she were flat-chested, wouldn't her identity have been exposed today?
A fleeting look of doubt crossed his face. He shook his head, chuckled self-deprecatingly, steadied himself, drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and squinted at the target ahead. Holding his breath, he silently calculated the distance, and when he was only a few centimeters from the target, the arrow whistled through the air…
Thud! After passing through the eighth ring, the arrow fell to the ground.
The sobs and exclamations of the crowd outside the arena blended together. Seemingly unsurprised, he did not show much excitement or agitation.
He deftly twirled the bow in mid-air, then turned slightly towards Rongyue: "Are you sure you can do this? A kid who can't even ride a horse?"
"Whether it works or not, I'll find out after I try it!" Rongyue took down her bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at target number three.
"Very well! Then I'll be watching with bated breath!" The horse spurred itself on again, galloping merrily towards the front of target number three...
"Whoosh..." The arrow left the bow and flew unimpeded through the layers of rings, reaching the red bullseye!
With a heavy thud, the arrow struck the bullseye!
Staring in astonishment at the trembling arrow on the target, he abruptly turned his head toward Rongyue, his eyes wide with shock!
His horrified expression put Rongyue in a great mood! She put her hand to her mouth, let out a long whistle, raised her chin, and raised her eyebrows provocatively.
He turned his face to the center, his expression inscrutable. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the second arrow, aimed, and fired!
Nine rings! Rongyue rubbed her nose with her thumb and licked her lips. Nine rings? Man, you're doomed! She drew her arrow, and Rongyue's second arrow was about to fly out…
But just as the arrow was about to leave her hand, the horse suddenly reared up for some unknown reason, and the arrow in Rongyue's hand, which was on its way out, veered off course...
Thud! The arrow landed, a three-ring shot.
Rongyue, who had managed to steady herself by holding onto his waist, felt a surge of rage rise from her internal organs to her brain upon seeing this outcome!
"You...you did this on purpose, didn't you?! Despicable!"
He extended his well-manicured hand, elegantly rubbing his ears that had been trembling from Rongyue's shout, and leaned back slightly to get closer to her: "There's an old saying, 'All's fair in war.' Ha, kid, you didn't have any sense of self-preservation, so who can you blame for that?"
Her almond-shaped eyes widened, her jaw tightened. Her hands clenched into fists, Rongyue bit her lower lip, staring at the back of his neck, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes…
"How dare you!" His chest heaved violently as he roared at the gloating Rong Yue, "You're so ruthless! How dare you attack my vital acupoint! If I hadn't dodged in time, I would have lost my life on the archery field today!"
Tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and chuckled, "Young Master, there's an old saying, 'A petty person is no gentleman, and a ruthless person is no true man!' To paraphrase you, you lack the heart to guard against others, so who can you blame? Besides, you're doing well now, aren't you?"
Peaceful coexistence? His gloomy gaze swept over the arrow that had completely missed the target and its ring. He suddenly pulled his hand inward, and with a snap, the bow broke in two!
He was fine, but the arrow missed the target completely!
He gripped the reins tightly: "Until the very last moment, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious!"
That's right! The outcome is certainly debatable!
Calming herself, Rongyue drew the last arrow from her quiver, took a deep breath, and cautiously aimed at the red bullseye to her side...
Rongyue had expected him to use the same trick again just before the arrow was released, so she employed the military strategy of feigning weakness while revealing strength, hoping to confuse him and seize the opportunity to fire her arrow amidst the chaos and win the championship! But to her surprise, he seemed to have no intention of resorting to underhanded tactics; he didn't even make a move when the arrow was deflected by the bow...
Just as Rongyue was wondering to herself if he had no conscience, she was shocked to find that a jade arrow had shot out from the side and was rapidly overtaking her arrow!
As the arrow pierced the third ring, the jade pendant struck it from the side, stopping it in its tracks! Forced to change direction, the arrow flew several meters to the right before crashing to the ground...
He clapped his hands, slowly turned around, and a seemingly bright smile appeared on his jade-like face, which Rongyue wished she could tear apart: "Don't forget, there's an old saying, 'Use stillness to control movement'! Oh, right, there's also—'Seize the enemy's weapon by surprise'! Kid, admit defeat!"
He glanced at her coldly and said, "You're wrong! You got seventeen points, while I got sixteen plus the bullseye! We're evenly matched, the outcome is still undecided, why should I admit defeat? I will never give up until the very last moment!"
Rongyue's unwavering, determined tone sent a shiver down his spine! Gazing into her calm, composed, and dazzlingly bright black eyes set in her small, palm-sized face, he suddenly felt as if those eyes possessed an unknown magic, drawing him into their unfathomable depths with a terrifying spell…