After dinner, the Liangshan heroes assembled, and the carts I had chartered arrived. Just as we were about to set off, two men ran up from afar: Bao Jin and Fang Zhenjiang. Bao Jin hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to go. He had been closest to Pang Wanchun in the past, and now that their families were competing in archery, he didn't want to get involved. Initially, he didn't want to go, but now it seemed he couldn't let it go. Fang Zhenjiang had left early that morning, rushing over after finishing some family business. Although he was also quite concerned about Liangshan, he ultimately lacked memories of his past life, so he remained somewhat distant from the heroes. As a modern person, Fang Zhenjiang had no idea that this was a life-or-death struggle. Along the way, he tried to strike up conversations with others several times, but received no enthusiastic responses. I was also constantly gloomy, even forgetting to give Fang Zhenjiang the biscuits I had prepared. I was trying to find ways to avoid casualties, but in the end, I couldn't come up with a good solution. The more troublesome issue this time was Hua Rong's problem. He had only been awake for a few days, and his thinking was still entirely Liangshan-style.
It was nearly the beginning of autumn, and it was already completely dark. There were no streetlights on this road; it was pitch black. The mountain wind was growing stronger, howling loudly. The road was flanked by rocky mountains, making it seem very desolate. No one could understand why the other side had chosen such a place. Besides being far from human habitation, where else would it be suitable for an archery contest?
When we arrived, we saw a large bus waiting for us in the middle of the rugged mountain road, its headlights on, providing sufficient light. Besides Pang Wanchun, the other two were Li Tianrun and Wang Yin. This time, Li Tianrun was carrying the camera, while Wang Yin sat on the ground leaning against the bus wheel, glaring coldly at Fang Zhenjiang.
Pang Wanchun was a middle-aged man who had gained weight. Today, he was dressed in a tracksuit, sneakers, and trousers tucked into his socks, looking like the captain of some company's employee football team. Two large bags were at his feet. He greeted us politely with a wave and a smile, asking, "Where's Hua Rong?"
Hua Rong stepped forward from the crowd. Pang Wanchun's first glance fell on the bow in his hand. As I mentioned before, the bow was quite ugly, with a wretched and repulsive appearance, but Pang Wanchun's eyes lit up at first sight. He stared at the bow for a while, and finally sighed deeply, "The saying 'Liangshan is full of talented people' is indeed true. The one who could make such a powerful bow must be that Brother Tang, right?"
Tang Long said smugly, "That's right."
Lin Chong praised, "What a brilliant Pang Wanchun! He saw the wonder of this bow at a glance."
Wu Yong said worriedly, "That's right. If he were to ridicule this bow, it wouldn't be a problem. This person is neither arrogant nor frivolous, and is meticulous and cautious. He is indeed a master archer."
Pang Wanchun opened a bag at his feet and said leisurely, "Although the craftsmanship of this bow is not bad, it ultimately lacks the thoughtful spirit of one's own brother's bow." As he spoke, he took out a large, antique-style bow from the bag. Just by looking at its appearance, it was far superior to the garbage cart handle in Hua Rong's hand. It must have been carefully crafted by a rare bow-carving master at great expense.
He slung the bow over his shoulder a few times, kicked another bag far to the side, and chuckled, "I told you that Brother Hua wouldn't be able to find a suitable weapon in a short time, so I specially prepared one for you. Now it seems it was all for nothing." They knew this the moment they found Wu Song and the others, so it's no surprise that they were prepared now that Hua Rong has returned.
Hua Rong clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, saying, "I am deeply grateful for your kind hospitality."
Pang Wanchun stared at Hua Rong and suddenly said, “Brother Hua, you don’t need to talk to me like that. We all know that although we are enemies, we have long been friends even back then. If we’re talking about the most intimate person in the world today, hehe, it’s actually you, my enemy.”
Hua Rong, leaning on the handlebars, laughed and said, "That's exactly right. I heard that you kept calling my name on the front lines back then, but unfortunately we never met. To be honest, I cried a lot the day I heard you died."
Pang Wanchun laughed and said, "Yes, it's really lucky that I died before you. That feeling of loneliness must be unbearable."
We were all horrified; the way those two acted like they were honoring each other was absolutely disgusting! To put it in a trendy way: we were all stunned...
Hua Rong probably felt he had gone a bit too far, and said awkwardly, "Brother Pang, how do you plan to compete?"
Pang Wanchun asked, "Would you prefer a literary contest or a martial contest?"
I impatiently spoke for Hua Rong, asking, "How did the literary competition go, and how did the martial arts competition go?"
Pang Wanchun said casually, "The writing is simple. It's already dark, so we just found a few trees and marked them on the leaves. It's what you call 'shooting an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces'..."
Hua Rong interrupted him before he could finish speaking: "Tell me the second method."
No matter how much they admire each other, it's all fake. These two are enemies after all, and their words are now tinged with hostility.
Pang Wanchun seemed to have known Hua Rong's choice all along. Upon hearing this, he immediately took another bag from their car, opened it, and took out two pieces of clothing, along with two small televisions. We had no idea what he was going to do, so we all took a step forward.
Pang Wanchun picked up one of the garments and put it on. It was called a garment, but it was actually just a few threads and several small, semi-circular balls, each no bigger than a longan, strung together by the threads. Now, when he put it on, several points were visible: his forehead, shoulders, chest, and knees.
Hua Rong couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"
Pang Wanchun pressed a button on his waist, and all the small balls suddenly lit up simultaneously. In the pitch-black night, Pang Wanchun instantly transformed from a blurry shadow into six clear dots, visible no matter how far away he was. Instead of immediately answering our chaotic questions, he turned on a small television and placed it in front of us. Finally, he pressed the small dot on his chest, and the number "10" suddenly appeared on the television screen. Then he pressed the dots on his shoulders and knees a few more times, and the number increased by five cents at a time.
By this point, I had a general understanding that Pang Wanchun was now a sitting duck, but the points were within a certain range.
Sure enough, Pang Wanchun said to Hua Rong, "This garment is a sensor, and the television is a display screen..." As he spoke, he raised his hand, "Brother Hua, do you see those two mountains?"
Upon closer inspection, we saw two relatively flat hills on either side of the road, about 100 meters apart.
Pang Wanchun said, "You and I will each go to a mountaintop, wear these clothes, and shoot at each other. The score will be 50 arrows in half an hour. Whoever scores higher wins. Do you dare?"
Hua Rong said, "This method is novel and interesting!"
Pang Wanchun said, "Let me explain the rules in more detail. This outfit is very exquisite. You only score points if you hit the red dot, and you won't get hurt. That goes without saying. What I want to say is that if you shoot outside the red dot, with the power of our bows, it will probably go right through your body. So the most basic rule of this game is: if anyone is injured, the person who missed is immediately declared the loser and will be at the mercy of the injured person. Do you dare?"
Hua Rong picked up the clothes and examined them, saying, "What if the one who was injured first died immediately?"
Pang Wanchun said, "The loser will naturally pay with his own life."
Without a word, Hua Rong put on the small balls and asked, "Can I dodge them?"
"Sure, as long as you don't go down the mountain, you can run and jump as you please."
Hua Rong said, "It's really fun!"
Pang Wanchun said, "Finally, let me talk about the scoring." He pointed to a small dot on his chest and said, "This is 10 points, both shoulders and both knees are 5 points, and this..." He pointed to his forehead and said, "It's 15 points! If no one is injured in half an hour, then we'll have to look at the scores on the monitor to determine who's better. Is there anything else you don't understand, Brother Hua?"
Hua Rong said loudly, "No."
“Okay, please!” Pang Wanchun pointed to the hilltop over Hua Rong’s side.
Hua Rong smiled politely and said, "Please."
Chapter 88 The Battle of Nudity
The two of them had been talking non-stop from beginning to end, giving no one else a chance to interrupt. It wasn't until they each headed up the mountain that I pointed at Hua Rong's back with my arm raised, but I didn't have time to say a word. I knew this was an unstoppable duel.
This is playing with your life!
Hua Rong lit up his bright spot and walked away side by side with Pang Wanchun. At the fork in the road, the two clasped their hands in a fist salute and went their separate ways.
Now I finally understand why they chose this place. First, it's very secluded, so no one would know what happened; second, there are no lights here, and since Hua Pang and his companion both claim to be archery masters, it would be a perfect opportunity to test their eyesight.
The two men walked further and further away. At first, we could still see their blurry silhouettes, but eventually, we could only occasionally see the red dots on their foreheads flashing, probably because someone was turning their head to observe the road. A little while later, Hua Rong, on our right, had climbed to the top of the hill. When he turned around, the six red dots on his body were clearly visible, but his body completely disappeared into the darkness. The bright dots swirled around him, probably as Hua Rong warmed up his joints and observed the terrain, like six fireflies dancing up and down.
Beside us was a monitor displaying Hua Rong's score, and next to Wang Yin and the others was Pang Wanchun's scoreboard; they could see each other clearly. Since there was nothing to film, Li Tianrun, carrying the camera, listlessly looked around. Suddenly, Xiang Yu leaned close, grabbed the camera, and pointed it at himself, saying, "Listen up, I can ignore your affair with Xiao Qiang, but I urgently need one of those pills you have to save someone. If you agree, I thank you; if you don't, I'll have to make your life a living hell." He then tossed the camera back to Li Tianrun and walked away as if nothing else mattered. I never expected Xiang Yu to follow me all this way just to say these few words, but I could tell this wasn't just talk; it was Xiang Yu's ultimatum.
Li Tianrun knew Xiang Yu's strength and remained silent. Wang Yin coldly said, "Such arrogance! Who are you?"
Xiang Yu turned and glanced at Wang Yin, giving him a cold smile: "Want to try?"