I couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it, are you trying to scam me?!"
The man didn't say much, just glanced at me sideways and asked, "Are we going to shoot or not?" He seemed to realize that we had no choice but to shoot this arrow today, so he made an exorbitant demand.
I yelled, "Shoot! Shoot it all over your face!"
Seeing that I was softening my stance, the lazy man laughed and said, "Oh, that won't do. I'm running a legitimate business."
I pushed the money towards him: "This is all for now, we'll talk about the amount later."
The lazy man pocketed the money and immediately became very attentive. He handed me a large bow and said, "Actually, this is already a discount for you. Normally, renting bows costs extra."
Dong Ping eagerly took a bow and a large bundle of arrows, placing them in the quiver in front of the target line. He fiddled with the iron hook holding the arrows and said, "Is this a bow? What is this thing?"
The lazy man chuckled, "Look at what this brother is saying. Aren't bows made of composite materials all the time? What kind do you want, one made of bamboo?"
Dong Ping waved his hand, then suddenly noticed a sign on the wall that read: "A reward of 50 yuan for hitting the bullseye." Dong Ping asked, "Does it really work?"
A sly smile appeared on the lazy man's face as he said, "No problem, I'll definitely keep my word!"
Dong Ping picked up an arrow, nocked it fully, and with a whoosh, the arrow struck the target. The fletching trembled, but it hit an eight-ring mark.
The lazy man exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, this guy must have practiced, right? Ordinary people can't even fully draw a bow."
Dong Ping shook his head in frustration and said, "This bow is no good." He picked up another arrow and shot it, but this time it went even further away, only hitting the 6-ring.
Lin Chong and the Ruan brothers all grabbed their bows and stood around several targets. After a flurry of shots, none of them managed to hit the bullseye. These generals were all skilled archers and horsemen; if they had used bows they were comfortable with, hitting a perfect ring from ten paces wouldn't have been difficult. However, the bows in this amusement park were poorly made, clearly designed for improvisation, making them difficult to calibrate accurately.
After several rounds of shooting, they didn't even manage a bullseye, let alone a nine. Initially, there was a selective approach; everyone knew that none of them had a significant advantage in archery, so it was a matter of whoever had the best feel for the ball going up against Pang Wanchun. But the more they shot, the less confident they became, and they lost all faith. In the end, they simply treated it like a game, even letting Xiao and Jin Dajian take a couple of shots.
Dong Ping handed the bow to me and said, "Xiao Qiang, you can play with it for a while too."
I gripped the bow with my left hand, swung my right arm, grabbed an arrow, nocked it on the string, and pulled back. Only then did I realize that the bow was completely unstable, as if it were about to run forward on its own. At the same time, my right hand holding the arrow slipped, and the arrow flew out of my hand. Only then did I realize that let alone drawing the bow fully, even holding the arrow steadily was difficult.
The arrow, crooked and wobbling, landed on the target and hit the bullseye!
The heroes didn't know who had shot the arrow; they were just excited to see someone had finally won, and cheers erupted. I, in particular, excitedly grabbed the lazy man's shoulder and shouted, "Give us the money! Give us the money!"
The lazy man had just turned his head back when a gentle breeze blew, and the arrow... it was blown away.
The lazy man looked at the empty target, then pushed my hand away: "What money are you paying?"
Enraged, Zhang Qing grabbed an arrow and threw it at the other side, hitting the bullseye. He said, "Give me the money now."
The lazy man casually replied, "Throwing it by hand doesn't count."
Why doesn't it count?
The lazy man chuckled and said, "There are rules for everything. Riding a motorcycle to run a marathon or flying a plane to compete in a high jump contest, isn't that cheating?"
Although his reasoning was flawed, we couldn't really refute it, and in the end, we could only leave dejectedly. The lazy man called out reluctantly behind us, "Come back often, guys! Hit the bullseye and you get 50 yuan, guaranteed forever..."
That day, the archery cost over 2000 yuan. Before leaving, I glanced at the targets we left behind, and they were truly a pitiful sight. Except for Dong Ping and Lin Chong, whose targets had arrows, everyone else's targets looked remarkably clean; the arrows had all hit the grass wall, as if someone had stood in front of them to block them. How could this not remind me of that final scene in the movie *Hero*…
When we returned to school, Tong Yuan pulled Hu Sanniang aside and said with dissatisfaction, "What are you all doing every day? Instead of teaching properly, you just run around like crazy. You said you wanted me to come and help you, but now you've disappeared without a trace." But despite her complaints, the group of little girls were taught quite well by Tong Yuan.
The fact that the heroes were rarely seen together was a mixed blessing, with some happy and others worried. Duan Tianlang, on the other hand, wished that all the children would train with him alone.
Fortunately, I had the foresight to keep Cheng Fengshou and Duan Tianlang here, otherwise we would have been completely wiped out. Also, I've realized we're being led by the nose the whole time. Besides Bao Jin, there are still five of the Eight Heavenly Kings. With this kind of battle happening every few days, when will it ever end? And even if we defeat all eight Heavenly Kings, what then? As long as he has the medicine, he can conjure up Li Yuanba today, Qin Shubao tomorrow, and help the reincarnated Zhang Fei regain his memories the day after. If this keeps going on, in two or three years, our city won't need to train any more extras for period dramas…
The fact that Liu Laoliu hasn't given me what I need is a serious problem. Compared to my opponent, I'm practically blind. Although I don't know how he figured out who someone was in their past life, it's true I'm constantly on the defensive. If I had a pair of those glasses I wanted, I could put them on and go out and see: Hey, that guy driving the Mercedes was Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in his past life, and that secretary next to him was Yang Guifei; hey, isn't that shoe wholesaler Liu Bei? That elementary school student with a 59 on his test asking for his signature is Liu Shan; Zhang Liao and Xu Chu were just about to go to the movies…
That way I can control certain people in a targeted manner, and I don't need to care about those who were just Zhang San or Li Si in their past lives. But now, even if Shen Wansan and Fan Li walked past me, I wouldn't recognize them.
My fellow heroes and I entered the lecture hall with long faces. They were worried about the duel with Pang Wanchun; in their current state, they might still win even sitting in an armored infantry vehicle.
Today was the day to install TVs in the old campus. The dormitories and classrooms have already been installed, and four TVs have been installed in the lecture hall. When we came in, the installers had just finished their work. They handed the remote control to Duan Jingzhu, who was the last to enter, and told him to try it out before leaving.
We were discussing things in the front, while Duan Jingzhu sat at the last table, muted all the TVs, and watched one channel after another.
Lu Junyi spoke first, saying solemnly, "I think our chances of winning against Pang Wanchun in an archery contest are not high." Everyone knew that this "not high" was actually a way of flattering him.
Seeing that everyone's faces were embarrassed, Wu Yong adjusted his glasses and said, "Actually, we don't necessarily have to fight him in archery. Didn't he say that himself?"
Dong Ping tapped the table with his hand and said, "He's implying that Liangshan has no one to rely on!" I thought to myself, judging from this, Liangshan really does seem to have some lack of talent. In the first battle, Xiang Yu fought them. In the second battle, they were incredibly lucky to run into a half-awakened Wu Song. What are they going to do in the third battle? Are they going to say that Wang Yifu is one of their brothers and have him bring a pistol?
Li Kui shouted, "Let me, Tie Niu, charge up and chop him up!"
Wu Yong shook his head and said, "You can't get close to him, and besides, even if you succeed, it won't be honorable."
At this moment, Zhang Qing and Ou Peng rushed forward and said, "I'll go!" Zhang Qing was famous for his featherless arrows, and Ou Peng was also good at throwing hidden weapons. When everyone saw these two sign up, their eyes lit up.
Lin Chong gently tapped the table: "Brothers, sit down. After all, bare hands can't compare to a bow and arrow. Once Pang Wanchun creates distance between you, you won't have any chance at all."
The thought of this step only brought a sense of gloom.
Just then, Duan Jingzhu behind them frantically slapped his thigh and shouted, "Hua Rong, Brother Hua Rong!"
The heroes' faces immediately turned extremely ugly, and several of them shouted, "Shut up!"
In fact, the moment Pang Wanchun appeared, the heroes had already silently murmured Hua Rong's name countless times. However, since Little Li Guang wasn't present, it would be pointless to mention it, only adding to the sadness. So, everyone tacitly refrained from bringing it up. At this moment, Duan Jingzhu's shout caused the heroes to erupt in anger.
Unexpectedly, Duan Jingzhu not only stopped talking, but also pointed at the television and shouted even more excitedly, which made his voice sound somewhat distorted and shrill:
"Hua Rong... Brother Hua Rong is on TV!"
Chapter Seventy-Four: Saving the Hero Hua Rong