Regardless of what the others thought, the two parties of focus didn't appear the least bit serious, one appearing as though he had cracked nothing more than a joke and the other without the slightest fluctuation in his expression, as though he had heard nothing. From a certain aspect, the two of them could be considered a match made in heaven.
"Yuanxian, don't mess around..."
"Oh? Then I wonder what Shen Liang thinks? Are you willing to accept Yuanxian's marriage proposal?" Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the prince consort was prepared to smooth things over when the fifth Prince, Qin Yuntian, who had always been unscrupulous, demanded relentlessly. His devilish gaze fell on Shen Liang and because of this, Shen Liang once again became the focus of the audience. The chattering and hushed whispers surrounding them dissipated and fell into silence without a trace as the entire hall awaited Shen Liang's response.
Since he had been called on, then it was inevitably impossible for Shen Liang to continue to ignore the matter. His actions of fiddling with the bow slowly stopped as he raised his head and looked around the hall before his gaze finally rested on Duke Duanjun: "If I remember correctly, shouldn't we be preoccupied with my competition with the Young General Ling now? Since when did this event become about my marriage matter?"
Regardless of whether he was willing, he couldn't express his opinions openly right then and there before the scrutinizing gazes of everyone present. His marriage was his matter to decide and he couldn't allow just any outsider to interfere on it.
"Cough, cough..."
Clearly not expecting Shen Liang's response to be this, Duke Duanjun coughed twice unnaturally as though clearing his throat before continuing, "Shen Liang is right. This is now his competition with Young General Ling. Besides, marriage matters are matters that had always been what parents decide. With Aunt and Uncle passing away early, it's understandable for Yuanxian to mess around, but Shen Liang is a Ger and his reputation is something that carries more weight than his life for him."
As he spoke, Duke Duanjun's eyes fell on the Imperial Princes, who had had gloomy expressions. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. For the matters to have escalated to this point, he was afraid even the Emperor would find himself tempted now?
"It's alright. This lord will indulge and dote on you. I'll naturally wait until you nod your head," as though afraid the audience's fright still wasn't sufficient enough for his entertainment, Pei Yuanxian smiled meaningfully at Shen Liang. Perhaps no one would have guessed that he was serious this time. For Shen Liang to not refuse him outright, for Pei Yuanxian, it was tantamount to the best response he had expected for himself.
"Many thanks, my lord," turning his gaze on him, Shen Liang thanked him. Afterwards, he turned his gaze back onto Ling Yucheng: "Young General Ling, shall we continue?"
It wasn't easy to be an hero. Today, Shen Liang was adamant on teaching the boy a free lesson today.
"....."
Ling Yucheng found himself unable to speak with his dark expression. He couldn't concede and admit defeat. Neither could he really just stand there and let himself be an open target. He felt depressed and suffocated and felt as though he was suffering from an internal injury.
"Or perhaps the Young General Ling intends to admit defeat? That's alright. I'm an easy person to talk to. If you really concede, I won't truly take you to be taking advantage of your status as a distant relative of the Imperial Family to bully me."
"You..."Ling Yucheng's eyes widened at Shen Liang's provocative words. He impulsively picked up the apple and placed it on his head: "Just shoot! Isn't it just shooting. Go on!"
"Oh?" Shen Liang arched his delicate eyebrows and wasn't polite with him either. He took the bow and made a few steps back. Similar to Ling Yucheng, when he was about five meters away, he stopped. His left hand raised the heavy bow and his right hand drew the arrow back. Just looking at him made it apparent that he seemed to be working hard to just draw the bow. Ling Yucheng and the crowd felt their screams stuffed at the edge of their throat from Shen Liang's jerky movements.
"Wait, wait a minute," seeing that he was about to release the arrow, Ling Yucheng faltered to his fear. His entire body was stiff as his head carried the apple. He said: "You, you take your time. Aim carefully. No, not like that. It's off. Just a bit more to the left... That's too far left..."
"..."
As they listened to Ling Yucheng's stammering instructions and Shen Liang swinging the bow back and forth with the arrow unsteadily, while it was evidently a moment of life and death, those who watched the scene couldn't help the dark lines that furrowed in their forwards as they inexplicably felt the urge to laugh. What was this mess? It was simply too ridiculous.
"You be quiet. Don't bother me. What happens if my arrow ends up veering off?" unable to stand a certain someone's repeated instructions, Shen Liang finally called out with impatience. Ling Yucheng felt as though he was crying without tears. Will Shen Liang be able to shoot straight without his instructions to begin with? Had he known Shen Liang was such a person, even if they beat him to death, Ling Yucheng would have never forced himself to take the initiative to seek Shen Liang out just to make Shen Jing happy.
"Then, you..."
Xiu~!
"Ah..." unwilling to give up on his desire to live, Ling Yucheng originally wanted to say something else but Shen Liang never gave him the chance. The arrow blew out in a crooked manner and many people present screamed in fright. The third Prince and his concubine as well as those from the General's Manor all stood up in unison. Ling Yucheng found himself unable to dodge in time as he pulled back. He staggered and immediately fell back on his buttocks onto the ground as the arrow penetrated into the ground right between his wide open legs, threatening to castrate him for free.
"Oh, so close. So close. I'm sorry Young General Ling, almost took care of your future generation right then and there."
"...."
Just as everyone found themselves still unable to react, Shen Liang patted his chest exaggeratedly. The smile on his face was filled with apology as Ling Yucheng, who was covered in cold sweat gaped at Shen Liang in shock. He wanted to accuse Shen Liang of being deliberate but how could he do that to someone who couldn't even draw a bow? Ling Yucheng thought perhaps he was thinking too much, but just the first shot almost threatened to ruin his life's happiness. What should he do about the last two shots?
With just Shen Liang's archery skills, even if Ling Yucheng didn't die, it was highly suspected that he would lose his skin.
"Very good. Just the accuracy was a bit off," Perhaps the only person on scene who still dared to praise Shen Liang against his conscience would be Pei Yuanxian. Who knew if the accuracy he was addressing pertained to the so-called target on Ling Yucheng's head or the thing in Ling Yucheng's trousers. No matter what, his attitude truly was infuriating.
"Young General Ling, rest assured. With the first shot's experience, I'll definitely do better with my second shot."
"..."
That's what I'm afraid of!
Ling Yucheng found himself unable to express the bitterness in his heart. In the future, if he saw Shen Liang again, he promised to take a detour and avoid this person!
"Come, come on," procrastinating wouldn't solve the issue. Couldn't they see that a certain someone was already preparing his second shot eagerly?
Ling Yucheng jumped up. He picked up the soiled apple and placed it on his head: "You, aim better!"
"I got it," Shen Liang responded impatiently. He fiddled with the bow and arrow again as the fear once again leapt around in everyone's heart. The more jerky Shen Liang movements were, the more uncertain everyone became, especially Ling Yucheng, whose body had stiffened entirely.
Xiu~!
"Ah!"
It was once again another unexpected shot. The crowd screamed as the arrow pierced through the air, heading straight for Ling Yucheng's face. Just as everyone thought even if this arrow didn't take Ling Yucheng's life, it would scar his face horrendously, the shot was synonymous to Ling Yucheng's second shot, streaking past Ling Yucheng's face this time. But was different though was the arrow Ling Yucheng shot took a few strands of Shen Liang's hair, but Shen Liang's arrow left a faint scratch on Ling Yucheng's cheek.
Ling Yucheng raised his hand to touch his lightly stinging cheek as he looked at Shen Liang suspiciously. He, he really didn't know how to shoot?
This clearly wasn't a coincidence. Ling Yucheng wasn't the only one who had doubts. It was just that Shen Liang's demeanor and attitude revealed absolutely nothing. His movements were indeed jerky and even drawing the bow seemed difficult for him. It was hard to say anything.
"Didn't I say the second shot would be more accurate. It's a shame that it was too low. The last shot will undoubtedly hit the arrow," Shen Liang headed over to grab an arrow. As he was one his way back, he suddenly drew close to Ling Yucheng and whispered in a low voice in his ear: "Young General Ling, I am someone who usually doesn't take the initiative to provoke others. But for the people who provoke me, I don't let them off easily. Take a guess, would I dare to send you to King Yama with this one shot right here?"
"You..."
Ling Yucheng's gaze turned on him fiercely as he finally confirmed that Shen Liang was indeed playing with him. He did know how to shoot!
"Hehe... Young General Ling should rest assured. I do know how to shoot," Shen Liang headed back to his position after throwing the young general an innocent smile. As he looked at Shen Liang's back, Ling Yucheng's face was filled with complicated feelings It turns out that everything had been planned by Shen Liang. From the very beginning, Ling Yucheng had fell into Shen Liang's meticulous schemes. No wonder they had to sign that contract. In terms of martial arts, he really was capable of defeating Shen Liang with just one move, but in terms of wits and brains, Ling Yucheng suspected that even ten of him couldn't compare to a single Shen Liang.
"Young General Ling, are you ready," on the other side, Shen Liang drew his bow for the last time. It was clear and evident that his posture and aim was much better compared to the last two times. He was steadier. Ling Yucheng didn't respond. He could only carry the apple on his head and look at Shen Liang with puzzled eyes.
Xiu~!
Snap!
"How can this be?"
This time, Shen Liang didn't adjust his aim repeatedly. Instead, his motions were crisp and steady, as he delivered his shot unfalteringly. Ling Yucheng also didn't stand there stupidly but rather did a backflip, prepared to avoid Shen Liang's arrow. The apple on his head naturally dropped but the strange thing was the arrow Shen Liang delivered shot through the core of the apple, penetrating into it before they landed at Ling Yucheng's feet with a snap.
"Isn't this too... unbelievable?" It would be going overboard to call this a coincidence!
After a momentary silence, the whole hall was in an uproar. No one dared to believe that Shen Liang actually tied with Ling Yucheng. It would be too insulting to owe it all up to luck as many people present had already saw through everything. Shen Liang clearly knew how to shoot. What was more frightening was that his skills were not worse off than Ling Yucheng's.
"Got it? Aren't I lucky? But what should we do now? It's a tie? Perhaps we should add another round?" Shen Liang smiled mischievously as he played with the bow in his hand. It seemed as though he had grown addicted to the game.
"No, I lost," Ling Yucheng refused his proposal with a darkened expression. Another round? Was he crazy? This d*mn scoundrel. He wasn't satisfied with toying him once that he actually wanted a second round?
"What a pity. I was actually getting a feel for it," Shen Liang revealed an expression filled with regret. The audience casted him a contemptuous glance. What are you feeling f*cking pitiful for? An originally life or death match became your personal stage to show off. What remained for you to still be dissatisfied with?
"I lost. According to the regulations, I will pay forth the donations," not willing to bother or pay more attention to the swindler, Ling Yucheng turned to face Duke Duanjun. He tore off the jade pendant tied to his waist and presented it to the duke.
"This lord thanks Yucheng on behalf of the suffering civilians." It was finally over. Duke Duanjun found it much easier to breathe. Ling Yucheng nodded his head and gave the pendant to a servant before turning away and preparing to leave. As he passed by Shen Liang, he couldn't help himself as he said in a quiet voice only the two of them could hear: "You were lying a later ago. In actuality, you know how to shoot. In fact, your archery skills may not even lose to mine."
It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. If the second shot could be chalked up to coincidence, then how would he explain the third shot. Adding on the words Shen Liang said to him, Ling Yucheng was positive that Shen Liang knew archery.
"In this life, this is indeed my first time touching a bow."
But in his previous life, he was someone who had been on the battlefield. How was it possible that he didn't even know how to shoot?
Shen Liang never lied to him. He just never delivered the whole truth.