A Flower Of Youth

Chapter 9

"Why are the bunnies so good with you, Sizhui? They always run away for me," Jingyi sighs as he plops down into the grass.

"It's because you're too loud. You have to be more quiet or they won't come to you." Sizhui smiles as he pets the bunny in his lap.

"I'm not loud!" Jingyi protests. The other bunnies scatter immediately. Sizhui gives him a pointed look and Jingyi snaps his mouth shut, looking embarrassed. Jingyi sighs and sits down, trying to stay as still as Sizhui. Eventually a small black bunny hops up to him, sniffing his lap before settling down in it.

"It's so soft," Jingyi gasps as he runs his fingers over the soft fur.

"Of course they are," Sizhui laughs. "It's not your first time, Jingyi."

"I know, but they seem to get cuter every time we visit them! They also keep multiplying."

"Rabbits breed really fast. Hanguang-jun says in the beginning, he received rabbits as a gift and they've been breeding since then. Look, this black one and this white one were from the original ones he got."

"Rabbits live for that long?" Jingyi exclaims.

"It depends on how you take care of them," Sizhui replies. He finally places the rabbits down.

"Come on. We should go now. We'll be leaving for LanLing in one shichen. We should get ready and pack."

"I can't wait to see how good the other sect disciples are with their skills at archery!" The disciples in the rooms next door chatter excitedly

"I'm excited to see how good we'll be against the other sects!" A loud voice boasts.

"Arrogance is forbidden," A voice scolds.

"I know!" The loud voice replies. "I just want to see how our skills will compare to theirs."

Jingyi rolls his eyes as he hears their conversations and finishes packing. Sizhui slips his favorite rabbit plush and grass butterfly toy into his qiankun pouch as well as the jade rabbit Jingyi had given him. Then he packs the essentials: his sword, talismans, emergency medical supplies, flare signals, and most importantly, his bow and arrow. The trip to LanLing seemed to pass much faster this time. Perhaps it is because he has Jingyi who's chattering excitedly with him while Sizhui nods and smiles in enthusiasm.

When they finally arrive, the two Lan disciples line up with their sect. To their left and right, there were rows of disciples from the Nie, Jin and Jiang sect. A few minor sects including the Yao and Ouyang sect had also been invited. Ouyang Zizhen waves to them excitedly from his line of disciples. Sizhui gives a small wave back. He spots Jin Ling over by the roll of disciples and gives a small nod to him which the other boy returns. Sizhui turns his attention back to the front of the clearing as Jin Guangyao explains the rules.

"Whoever has the most points will ultimately be the winner. We have individual prizes for the top three contestants. Now let the competition begin!"

"I heard there hasn't been an archery competition like this since the Wens were in power," A Jiang disciple whispers.

"Really? I wonder how it was for the disciples back then to compete in it," A Nie disciple replies.
"Sandu Shengshou was in it."

"Does that mean Yiling Patr- oh shit." The Nie disciple pales when he sees Jin Ling's cold glare whip over in his direction, hands tightening on his sword." Another Nie disciple quickly comes and grabs his friend and pulls him into a different direction, disappearing through the trees. Jin Ling glares off to where they disappeared to before walking away in a different direction.