Chapter 64: The Shadows of Night and the Cold Light (Part 1)

It was a rare sunny day in winter, with the sun warming the air. However, the sky was somewhat hazy, obscured by the yellow dust stirred up by the north wind, like a layer of translucent bamboo paper from the Chengxin Hall, tinged with a vague bluish-gray. The snow was also covered by the floating dust, turning the once pristine white mountain peaks into a dull yellow, with no trace of green in the vast fields.

It was the slack season in winter, and life in the countryside was peaceful and monotonous. In Xiaolongwan Village, the villagers, at the end of the year, would gather to gamble or chat idly on the threshing ground when the weather was good.

The three scholars of the Han family were now the best topic of conversation among the villagers. The village head, Li Laizi, was already a formidable figure in the villagers' eyes; his son-in-law, Huang Dalu, was even more fearsome, like a wolf or a tiger, making the villagers even more afraid. As for their backer, the registrar Chen Ju, who was said to have the power to cover the sky with one hand, his influence was so great that even the county magistrates of Chengji had to give him a wide berth. To the villagers of Xiaolongwan, who had little knowledge of the outside world, Chen Ju was the third most powerful person after heaven and the emperor.

However, these formidable figures were like clay chickens and straw dogs in front of the third brother of the Han family, who had just recovered from illness. Li Laizi had a dispute with the Han family over three acres of land, angering the third scholar of the Han family. With one move, he made Huang Dalu die without a burial place, and with another, he caused Chen Ju's family to be destroyed, even accusing both of colluding with the Western bandits.

Although the villagers were simple, they were shrewd in their own way and did not believe that Chen Ju and Huang Dalu had any connection with the Western bandits. They all knew that it was the third scholar of the Han family who had orchestrated this, and they couldn't help but praise his cleverness. When the news came that Han Gang was to become an official, the villagers changed their praise to his abilities. Every day, a crowd gathered on the threshing ground, spreading all sorts of insider information with great enthusiasm.

However, in recent days, the trial of Chen Ju had begun, and it was said that villagers from all over the region had flocked to the city to buy New Year's goods and watch the trial for entertainment. The villagers of Xiaolongwan were no exception, leaving the village much quieter.

Chen Ju was a skilled orator and had served as a clerk for thirty years, thoroughly familiar with the law. In the previous trial, he had embarrassed the presiding judge, the Censorate Commissioner, to the delight of the spectators outside the court.

However, his greatest crime was the vast wealth of hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. As long as Chen Ju lived, the wolves in Qinzhou City could not divide the spoils with peace of mind. The charge of treason, no matter how skilled he was, could not be washed away. Treason was the third most serious crime, just below rebellion and high treason. According to the criminal code, the sentence was immediate execution, without waiting for review by the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Court. In modern terms, it was called "a true capital crime, to be executed without delay."

Ordinary death row inmates would wait until autumn for execution, and if they were lucky, they might be pardoned by the emperor. However, the capital crime that Han Gang had pinned on Chen Ju was "to be executed without delay." Once sentenced, he would be immediately executed, leaving no chance for a reversal through the capital's connections.

Since Chen Ju had no chance of turning the situation around, Han Gang had no interest in joining the villagers to watch the trial. If he were seen as frivolous and not steady, it would be counterproductive. In his free time, he either read books or practiced martial arts. On this day, he invited his cousin Li Xin, along with Wang Hou, Wang Shunmin, and Zhao Long, to test their martial skills.

The bowstrings twanged, and the arrows formed a line in the air, like a string of pearls, landing on the target thirty paces away. In a moment, the target was covered with a cluster of "wildflowers." The target, made of rice straw, was about the size of a bucket, but the twelve arrows that Wang Shunmin shot in one breath were densely packed in the center, an area no larger than a bowl.

"How about that?"

Wang Shunmin turned back, proud and not even out of breath. Shooting twelve arrows in quick succession, with such speed and accuracy, was a rare feat. Wang Hou, seeing this for the first time, was speechless, and even Han Gang, who had seen it before, was amazed.

"Even Li Guang and Yang Youji couldn't do better. They could match Liu Zijing in skill!" Wang Hou shook his head, giving up the idea of performing himself. He had practiced archery, but compared to Wang Shunmin, he was a joke. He turned to Han Gang, "Yukun... do you want to try?"

"I'll pass... I don't want to embarrass myself..." Han Gang also shook his head. After his recovery, he could easily draw a war bow of 130 catties. In terms of accuracy, he could hit the target thirty paces away with seven or eight out of ten arrows. With his current strength and archery skills, he could be considered one of the best in the elite troops of the imperial guards, but Wang Shunmin's skills were one in ten thousand.

Rapid shooting, compared to slow shooting, was ten times more difficult to maintain accuracy. Wang Shunmin's ability to shoot twelve arrows in one breath, maintaining consistent accuracy and power, was something Han Gang believed even in the imperial guards, there might be no one who could match him. He thought about finding an opportunity to learn a few moves from Wang Shunmin. The six arts of a gentleman—ritual, music, poetry, calculation, charioteering, and archery—since he couldn't write poetry, he could only rely on the other skills to make up for it.

Wang Hou and Han Gang admitted their inferiority, and Wang Shunmin became even more proud, looking at Li Xin with a raised chin. He knew how skilled Zhao Long was, but he wanted to test the abilities of Han Gang's cousin.

Li Xin showed no emotion, walked to the weapon rack, and picked up seven short spears. He turned and neatly planted them in the ground. However, he was not aiming at the target but at the forest at the other end of the training ground.

Wang Hou turned to Han Gang, "Yukun, what is your cousin going to do?"

"My late grandfather was known for his spear-throwing skills in Fengxiang Prefecture and had many victories in battle. I wonder how much of that skill has been passed down."

Han Gang watched Li Xin closely, not having seen his true abilities before. These days, his cousin had maintained the habits of a military family, practicing martial arts every morning. His personality was not as fiery as Han Aili's, but he was always quiet and reserved. Han Gang had only met him twice as a child, and the memory was vague. However, the fact that he could remain calm after Wang Shunmin's impressive performance suggested he had some confidence. Knowing his mother's skill with a rolling pin, he was confident that his maternal grandfather's family had a deep martial tradition, and he had high hopes for his cousin.

Li Xin picked up a short spear from the ground, weighed it in his hand. His listless eyes suddenly lit up with a fierce glow. With a loud shout, he took a step forward with his left foot and swung his right arm, sending a spear flying toward the forest.

Li Xin, of medium height in Guanxi, was only a finger taller than Wang Shunmin, who was only five feet two inches tall, and not as robust as Wang Shunmin. Compared to Han Gang, he was even more slender. However, his ordinary appearance belied his incredible strength. The short spear, when thrown, produced a sharp whistling sound like a powerful crossbow bolt.

The first short spear flew like a streak of light. He reached down with his right hand, and another short spear appeared in his palm. With another roar, the second spear followed the first, shooting toward the forest. In the blink of an eye, all seven spears were gone. The spears whistled through the air and, with a series of thuds, embedded themselves in a white poplar tree thirty paces away, forming a straight line from top to bottom.

"Amazing!" Wang Hou shouted, and Wang Shunmin's eyes widened in surprise, his confident expression fading.

Han Gang walked forward, grabbed the spear embedded in the tree, and tried to shake it, but it wouldn't budge, firmly lodged in the tree. Wang Hou, surprised, stepped closer to examine it. The spear tip had penetrated the hard white poplar trunk by four or five inches, no wonder it wouldn't move. Wang Hou looked back at Li Xin, who remained calm, and marveled at the force he had exerted. Even the finest iron armor of the Western Xia would have been pierced through by such a throw.

In terms of archery, Li Xin might not match Wang Shunmin—after all, there were probably only a handful of people in the Qin-Feng region who could match Wang Shunmin, perhaps even the renowned Western Inspector Liu Changzuo, whom Wang Hou had mentioned. However, Li Xin's display was not a bit less impressive.

After Wang Shunmin and Li Xin's demonstrations, both of whom had top-notch martial skills, it was Zhao Long's turn. Without waiting to be urged, he stepped forward, laughing, and picked up two stone locks, each weighing twenty to thirty pounds. With a shake of his hands, the stone locks flew up and down, whirling like butterflies.

The heavy stone locks danced around Zhao Long like butterflies, weaving like shuttles. The wind roared, and the force was so strong that Wang Hou took a step back. But seeing Han Gang standing still, he felt embarrassed and stepped back.

Han Gang was impressed by Zhao Long's performance. The stone locks, weighing about fifty pounds in total, were handled by Zhao Long as if they were two needles. The whirlwinds created by the stone locks roared like lions, but Zhao Long's movements were like a continuous flow of a mighty river, requiring immense strength to achieve such a breathtaking display.

After completing his performance, Zhao Long gently placed the stone locks on the ground, his breathing slightly rapid, and his face slightly flushed. He clasped his hands and smiled, "My archery skills are poor, but I have some brute strength. I hope I didn't embarrass myself. Please forgive me!"

"Where's the embarrassment?" Han Gang laughed. "Brother Zhao, using stone locks as swords, your performance was truly eye-opening. If this is considered embarrassing, how many people in the world can show their skills?"

Seeing the demonstrations of Wang Shunmin, Zhao Long, and Li Xin, Wang Hou was overjoyed. Their martial skills were all top-notch, something he had rarely seen in his life.

Wang Shunmin and Zhao Long had been recruited by Wang Shao to the Strategic Planning Commission. Wang Shunmin had been promoted to a third-class official, and Zhao Long had been appointed as a palace attendant. Although they had not yet reached the rank of officials, they were not far from it. With a little more achievement, they would be promoted quickly. Now, with the addition of Li Xin, who was also Han Gang's cousin, Wang Shao would have three tiger generals by his side when he launched his campaign in the Hehuang region, along with Han Gang's wisdom and strategy, greatly increasing their chances of success!