Book 14: Chapter 65

Slimeball Among Slimeballs Among Slimeballs (Part 1)

Before other contestants could even reach for their arrows, Che Gulu fired off his shots, accurately hitting all seven boards thrown into the air.

Shi Weiliang gasped, “How is he so good?”

Veteran Wang Zi, who had less than ten days of archery training, proposed, “People from Tiezhen are typically good at horse riding and archery.”

“He’s from Kiliya, though.”

“Isn’t that further north of Tiezhen? Just know that the further north they are, the better they are at horse riding and archery.”

Despite having her misgivings, Shi Weiliang chose to not express her disagreement with her best friend who actually had a martial arts background.

While “… the further north they are, the better they are at horse riding and archery,” was an erroneous fact, it was true that Kiliya people were well-versed in the arts of equestrian and archery. Kiliya people, also called Gaolis, were a country of fishers and hunters in the north. Che Gulu began his path in archery at the age of three and was able to pull bowstrings back at the age of ten. Before he came to the Central Plain, he remained in the list of top archers back home. What archers of the Central Plain considered challenges was just a matter of opening his eyes and shooting to him.

Che Gulu continued shooting down everyone’s boards before they could get a chance to shoot.

Although Su Xiao’s alliance proposal was attractive, it didn’t mean Che Gulu was without a plan. From beginning to end, his sole goal was the win the heart of Jin Zhaoying. The only other obstacle standing between him and having the beauty in his arms – besides not having a platform to display his greatness – was a flower boy blessed with better looks than him who wouldn’t stop hanging around Jin Zhaoying. His main quest was still winning the idol contest, but he added a side quest for himself – teaching Su Xiao a lesson! If he gave her all the glory and prizes, would Jin Zhaoying not throw herself into his arms?

Che Gulu inhaled deeply as he imagined himself with Jin Zhaoying in his arms.

Since ancient times, it was typical for minor characters to believe the words of a hero. Why, then, would the great Che Gulu need to feel guilty about not adhering to the agreement? Never had there been a hero who didn’t win through excellent strategies. The Central Plain even had the saying, “There can never be too much deception in war.” Che Gulu didn’t just sit on his laurels after he arrived in the Central Plain. He, however, didn’t realise that Su Xiao had already ignored the alliance agreement on his own side.

Song Chi’s group was set on taking home first place from the start, while Su Xiao’s side only had one viable solution – prevent Song Chi’s group from taking home first place. The simplest way for Su Xiao’s group to achieve that goal was to win the contest themselves.

There was nothing wrong with letting Che Gulu be the overall winner; Su Xiao’s team just didn’t believe Che Gulu was capable of beating Song Chi’s group. Hence, hedging their bets on Che Gulu could result in their own team not racking up enough points, and Che Gulu would still place second even after Su Xiao’s team gave up their points. To avoid the fate, Tang Ye and Su Xiao were desperate to obtain points even if it meant defeating Che Gulu. In that regard, the White Princes’ squad was on the same page.

Be it Tang Ye or Xun Feng’s teams, neither team had an archer who could rival Che Gulu. They most definitely could’ve hit the targets, but to hit them as soon as they were airborne and with the ability to balance their strength so delicately was no easy matter. Shooting occasionally would suffice to hit the edges of boards Che Gulu aimed for, but hey wouldn’t earn them any points, not to mention he could fire a second shoot if they didn’t knock the boards out. Su Xiao was among the worst shooters in both teams, both technically and from a strength-control perspective. His last shot sent a board flying over sixty metres out of bounds. He certainly had strength. Controlling it, though…

Che Gulu had both competitor teams mad as he continued to score over and over again.

As another board ascended, Su Xiao, who’d been holding an arrow on a pulled bowstring for a while, released the arrow. Alas, a “twang” rang out before his arrow left his bowstring. Just as the thirteen previous times, Che Gulu hit the target first and obtained another point.

“Hmph!” Su Xiao shot another arrow.

Snap! Instead of a board dropping to the ground this time, a splintered board and snapped arrow landed together. Not only did Su Xiao’s catch up to Che Gulu’s arrow, but it even destroyed the board and Che Gulu’s arrow.

…

“What have you done?!”

Only once they heard Che Gulu bray did the silent crowd remember they were supposed to applaud.

“Xiao Han… What did you put on your arrow? Tang Ye asked.

“I-I don’t know. I just used a bit more strength,” answered Su Xiao.

Su Xiao impulsively dialled up the intensity because he was frustrated, never expecting to produce such a result. He had no clue his progress in Yijin Jing had reached a respectable level.

Tang Ye monitored Su Xiao’s confused reaction for a while as he contemplated, then muttered something under his breath.

Su Xiao widened his eyes. “Ah? Can we?”

“I think it’ll work. Let’s give it a try in a bit.”

Following his own contemplation, Xun Feng whispered to his teammates, as well.

“Will it work?” Xun Feng’s teammates queried.

“I reckon it will,” replied Xun Feng.

As soon as the instructors released another five boards into the air, Che Gulu fired five shots without hesitation. Before his arrows could reach their targets, two arrows went past the targets and crashed straight into Che Gulu’s arrows, generating another thunderous “snap”! Five arrows were then heard zooming through the air and hit five boards, all of which landed in front of Tang Ye.

Su Xiao and Tang Ye gave up on trying to hit target boards. Instead, they changed their strategy to shooting Che Gulu’s arrows to sabotage him. It was a risky strategy as their arrows would fly straight to the judge’s tables and probably skewer a few innocent people. Thankfully, Su Xiao could now see arrows in slow motion. Though hitting the boards without sending them out of bounds was difficult, hitting arrows without having to worry about them flying out of bounds was easy.

In the next wave, Che Gulu fired five shots to attack five boards again, only for Su Xiao to sabotage his arrows again. Unfortunately, Tang Ye failed to reach the targets this time for Xun Feng hit the five boards before his arrows could reach.

Tang Ye lowered his bow and looked to the handsome monk.

Xun Feng smiled. “Too kind. Too kind.”

Tang Ye: “Slimeball!”

Xun Feng: “Likewise, likewise.”

Che Gulu: “Shut up! You’re all slimeballs!”