The Flood Controller's Wife

Chapter 4: Bird shooter

"Lanwangji, why are you using your old bow and arrow? where is that good one I gave you?" His father frowned seeing Lanzhan wielding an inferior bow and arrow.

Lanzhan remembered how happy he was when his father gave him the legendary unbeatable bow and arrow that was second to none in the whole five kingdoms. He would polish it everyday and would not let anyone else touch it. He thought if his rival Yuxian see it, he would be in awe and step back a little from shadowing his limelight.

However, every one else was in awe of the arrow and Yuxian would not spare it a glance. Someone at school even went so far as touch his precious bow out of curiosity. He was so angry he pushed the boy down. No one dared to interfere the fight except for Yuxian who stood forward and pushed him aside then declared arrogantly:

"A bow and arrow is just meant to shoot a target. It doesn't matter where yours came from its no different than a regular bow. Only the skill of the archer makes a difference."

"How dare you say mine is the same as a regular bow? You or anyone here can never beat me with your inferior bow!" Lanzhan retaliated angrily.

The two decided that only a contest could decide and settle the feud. So a contest was indeed held. It was not an ordinary contest. About a hundred meters away, a footman would release a dozen small birds from a cage. The birds would fly out at different direction and both contestants would shoot at the same time. The one whose arrow killed more birds wins. Each of them had five arrowheads and there were only eleven birds.

Yuxian did not have a bow and arrow of his own. It was natural that since he was raised as a girl his parents did not give him any weapons. He did not mind it one bit. A weapon was just like using a chopstick or a spoon. Any would do just fine.

On the contrary, the concept that quality of a weapon matters held deep meaning in Lanzhan's mind. Yuxian's indifferent attitude toward one was way too absurd and all he wanted to do was bring this arrogant young man down so he knew his place.

"Does anyone care to lend me a bow?" Yuxian asked the row of students gathering to watch the match. Lanzhan scoffed at his attitude that was clearly mocking him and his prestigious weapon. A handful of students reached out their arms hands reached out to hand him their bows. Yuxian took a quick look and grabbed Yubin's.

All the students and some teachers gathered to watch the match. There were about a hundred people crowding around the arena. Murmurs and excitement could be heard. It was the first time in a long while they were to witness a close match between the top students. Some placed bets secretly betting on who would win. Lanzhan was the undisputed top student and no one had beaten him before. However, his cold attitude was not very popular with the other students. On the contrary, Yuxian was the beloved darling of the campus. He was popular for his good looks and easy going personality.

The senior blew the horn and match officially begun. Yuxian's arrow tail was dipped in red paint to differentiate from Lanzhan's white ones. The birds were released and the first two arrows shot its moving target without fail, marking the first four birds down.

Yuxian could gauge and match Lanzhan's precision and speed. However, the match could not be won with just that. The trick was strategy which Yuxian had mastered thanks to the hundreds of martial arts book he had read. Two more arrows were shot individually and four more birds were down. There were three birds left and they were left with an arrow each.

The three birds were moving at random and both paused to get a clear shot. However, Yuxian knew that at this time you could not depend on clear shots. He noticed that the wind blew slightly strong on the direction of the bird and that their flight was swayed in accordance of the wind. One bird was a few feet away from another flying quite abnormally. Yuxian quickly moved two steps to the left and gathered momentum before firing his last shot, approximately the same time as Lanzhan. Lanzhan's arrow decisively hit a bird. Yuxian's arrow hit another one before curving slightly to pierce through the other bird behind it.