Chapter 96

Ignoring Li Jiao, Liang Xiao took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes, tightly holding the letter given to him by his mother.

After two rounds, a total of eight arrows had been shot, and although only three had hit the target, he had already become familiar with the venue. There were many factors that could affect archery, such as the environment, wind direction, weather, and even the angle of the sunlight. The target was a hundred paces away, and the area to aim at was about the size of a person's chest or abdomen standing beside it. It was already difficult to see clearly, let alone hit it.

Huan Yuan taught him the technique of listening, focusing on his hearing, as his eyesight was not particularly outstanding. After a year of hard practice, his eyesight was only slightly better than that of an average person, and compared to Li Jiao, who had been practicing archery since childhood, he had no significant advantage.

However, he was more focused than Li Jiao. Following Huan Yuan's teaching of "sitting, standing, and walking, never leaving the bow," he almost always pondered archery, not just when he held the bow and arrow.

Huan Yuan did not let him practice martial arts to avoid distracting him, hoping that he would always be honing his archery skills.

Only his master and he knew this; no one else did.

With prolonged focus, Liang Xiao had gained some insights. For example, at this moment, he could feel the wind gradually strengthening. The wind whistled past his ears, at least thirty percent stronger than before. If one did not pay close attention, an ordinary person would not notice this change.

But he did.

After listening to the wind for a moment, Liang Xiao took a deep breath, suddenly opened his eyes, and with lightning speed, raised the bow, drew it to full, and released the arrow. The bowstring trembled, and the arrow flew away.

Liang Xiao remained motionless, maintaining the posture of drawing and releasing the arrow, but he closed his eyes and listened carefully to the wind.

The wind did not change.

"Right side!" A loud shout came from a distance, filled with surprise. Liang Xiao and Li Jiao had shot a total of seven arrows, and the first six had all hit the largest area, the upper part. This was the first time an arrow had hit the side, so he shouted particularly loudly.

"Bravo!" The audience cheered, delighted that Liang Xiao had hit the right side. At such a distance, hitting the side, though not as impressive as hitting the center, was still rare. Even if it was by chance, it was worth cheering. Even Li Guang nodded involuntarily.

Li Danghu smiled but said nothing.

Li Jiao frowned, stood on the platform again, nocked an arrow, looked at the distant target, and raised his bow. Unaffected, he aimed at the largest area, the upper part, and shot an arrow.

This time, he hit the upper part. He lowered his bow, glanced at Liang Xiao, and yielded his position again.

Liang Xiao did not look at him. While Li Jiao was shooting, he kept his eyes closed, feeling the wind. The wind seemed to have strengthened a bit, so he slightly adjusted his aim and shot an arrow.

The adjustment was a bit too large, and the arrow grazed the edge of the right side. If it had been a bit higher or lower, it could have hit the upper or lower part. The marker was somewhat regretful and waved the flag.

"We're even again," Li Jiao laughed, drew his bow again, and hit the target. This time, he hit the lower part. He smiled smugly. "Your turn."

Liang Xiao stood on the platform again, leaning to the left, his left hand holding the bow down, his right hand on the string, but he did not draw the bow. Instead, he closed his eyes, remained still, and listened carefully to the wind.

Liang Xiao did not draw the bow for a long time, and the people around him were puzzled, whispering to each other. Li Gan teased, "Why isn't he shooting? Is he afraid? If this arrow misses, he won't have a chance to win."

"What do you know?" Li Guang's expression was very serious. "He's listening to the wind."

"Listening to the wind?" Li Gan was surprised. "He's using his ears to judge the wind speed and direction?"

"Exactly, that's the secret skill of a sound archer," Li Guang whispered. "Usually, archers rely on their eyes to judge wind speed and direction, but sound archers are different; they rely on their ears. Listening with the ears may seem clumsy, but it helps concentrate the mind and mobilize innate power. The better the hearing, the greater the strength, the faster the arrow, and the easier it is to hit the target."

"Innate power?" Li Gan was shocked. "What kind of power is this? Why have I never heard you mention it, Father?"

"Innate power can only be understood, not forced. If you talk about it too early, blindly pursuing it can affect archery practice. Hmm, Liang Xiao has only been practicing archery for a year. Could he have already understood innate power?"

At that moment, Liang Xiao caught the moment when the wind slightly weakened. His body, which was leaning to the left, suddenly straightened, his left hand raised the bow, his right hand drew the string, and he pulled the bow to full, then released the thumb holding the string.

"Whoosh!" The arrow flew swiftly, disappearing in an instant. As soon as the arrow left the string, Liang Xiao felt the wind start again, and his heart leaped to his throat.

At a hundred paces, the arrow would take more than two seconds to fly, and even a slight change in wind speed could cause it to miss the target. He had made an adjustment, but he could not be sure. If this arrow missed, he would have no chance of winning, at best tying with Li Jiao.

"Hit the center!" The marker shouted, filled with surprise.

Liang Xiao sighed in relief. This arrow not only did not miss but also hit the center, which was quite lucky. He looked at Li Jiao, a light smile playing on his lips: "Mr. Li, it seems my luck is good. One arrow hit the side, one hit the center. If your last arrow doesn't hit the center, you have little hope of winning."

Li Jiao's face turned ugly, and he felt very uneasy. He knew the wind was getting stronger, making it several times harder to hit the target, let alone the center. However, Liang Xiao was right; if he did not hit the center, he could not guarantee a win.

Li Jiao held the bow, hesitating.

Li Guang was disappointed. He could guess Li Jiao's current state of mind. However, he was not disappointed that Li Jiao might lose, but that Li Jiao showed a lack of confidence. Li Jiao had participated in countless competitions and hunts, and his experience far exceeded Liang Xiao's, but his mental strength was not as strong. This was what disappointed him.

Just one competition and he was so restrained. In a real confrontation, how much of his archery skills could he still display? Li Guang thought of Zheng Dangshi's letter and Liang Xiao's courage in the duel with Feng Ji, and sighed, turning to leave.

Li Danghu did not leave. He stood in place, watching the two competitors quietly.

Li Jiao looked back at Li Guang and saw him turn and leave, his heart sinking.

Is Father disappointed in me? Yes, the wind is so strong; how difficult it is to hit the center.

Liu Ling, who had been watching coldly, smiled with relief. This nerve-wracking competition was finally coming to an end. Li Jiao was already flustered and likely to miss this last arrow. In that case, even if Liang Xiao missed his last arrow, he could still win with one hit on the side and one on the center.

At least she wouldn't have to bear the huge loss of a thousand gold.

She looked back at Xiu Chengzi Zhong and Han Yan, smiling.

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