On the archery field, the three men competing with Zai Zai also leapt onto their horses.

The three horses neighed at once, circling rapidly within the arena, their hooves striking the ground with a “da-da” sound.

The rhythm of the hooves was like drums beating, Su Xi’s attention was instantly drawn over.

She looked in that direction, tense and focused.

Among the three, the first to ride out was the zhong lingjun¹Zhong lingjun (中领军): A middle-ranking commander in ancient military hierarchy. wearing a dark robe embroidered with a leopard. He had a rugged build and eyes sharp as hanging stars. Not only was his rank the highest among the three archers — third grade — but he also seemed to be the most skilled.

Sending out the strongest one first showed that the three were still somewhat wary of Zai Zai.

The man was not one for idle words. He cast a brief glance toward Zai Zai, then pressed his legs against the horse’s flanks.

With a sharp “Heh!” he rose from the saddle in one motion, landing steadily upon the horse’s back, his posture perfectly balanced.

Off-screen, Su Xi: …

Do all ancient generals have so many fancy archery tricks?!

The zhong lingjun’s horse galloped forward.

At the same time, he stood on the horse’s back, one eye narrowing as he locked onto the target a hundred meters away, drawing his bow to full strength.

A sharp whistle “shoo——” cut through the air.

Unsurprisingly — bull’s-eye.

The soldiers and officers who had unknowingly gathered outside the archery field erupted into wild cheers.

It had to be said — to shoot dead center while the horse was running fast, and while standing upright on an unsteady back — that took real skill.

Even Su Xi, though she was on Zai Zai’s side, had to admit that this zhong lingjun was impressive.

Of course, if he weren’t capable, he wouldn’t have risen to the rank of a third-grade military officer in the first place.

After his arrow struck the center, the zhong lingjun turned his horse around and looked back at Zai Zai.

The other two archers also turned to glance at him, ridicule written plainly in their eyes.

In this situation, Su Xi couldn’t possibly help.

With so many eyes watching, she couldn’t exactly lift the arrow and float it to the target — that would make the whole military camp witness a haunting, and bring disastrous consequences for Zai Zai.

She watched as Zai Zai calmly pressed his legs to the horse’s sides, the snow-white horse stepping forward at a measured pace. He raised his bow—

Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the scene.

Su Xi’s heart pounded wildly, almost leaping to her throat.

Seeing his composed expression, those dark eyes calm and assured, she finally let out a small sigh of relief.

But in the next instant—

The arrow that flew from Zai Zai’s longbow hadn’t even reached fifty meters before it wobbled midair and, with a “shoo——”, plunged headfirst into the ground.

“…………”

Su Xi: …???

Wait—Zai Zai, weren’t you supposed to be confident?

If you already knew the arrow would fall short, then what was with that earlier calm, unhurried draw of the bow, that cold, aloof, yet overbearing air?!

Was all that just for your mother’s sake?!

The archery field went silent for a moment, then burst into a wave of mocking laughter.

The four generals all cast sidelong glances at Zai Zai, their lips curling in disdain.

Meanwhile, the soldiers and officers gathered outside the archery field — though normally they wouldn’t dare laugh at a fifth-rank Bingbu yuanwailang²Bingbu yuanwailang (兵部员外郎): A fifth-rank official position in the Ministry of War, responsible for administrative duties within the military system. — found the gap in performance far too absurd, and could no longer hold back their muffled laughter.

Could it be that this young man was completely weak and powerless, that his victory at the Qiuyan Mountain hunt had been nothing but luck?

That he never had any real skill to begin with?!

Su Xi’s face flushed red with embarrassment, yet Zai Zai remained utterly composed.

Unable to help herself, Su Xi looked toward the arrow that had fallen to the ground — and realized that the one Zai Zai had used was the bluntest, heaviest of the three, its tip dull and rounded.

Even the strongest archer, one who could draw a bow that pierced eagles mid-flight, would never shoot such an arrow far.

It was, without doubt, the worst of the three arrows — the one least likely to win.

Su Xi had originally thought that Zai Zai would follow the logical order: Use the sharpest arrow to compete against the third-rank zhong lingjiang, the moderate one without feathers against the fourth-rank wuweijun, and the blunt one against the sixth-rank guard.

But instead, Zai Zai had done the exact opposite.

In that instant, Su Xi understood Zai Zai’s intention —

This was Tian Ji’s horse race³Tian Ji’s horse race (田忌赛马): A famous Chinese strategy story where General Tian Ji, with the help of strategist Sun Bin, wins a horse race by cleverly mismatching his horses against his opponent’s — sacrificing the weaker ones first to ensure overall victory.!

Of course, such a story didn’t exist in Yan Kingdom’s history.

Those rough and battle-hardened generals likely couldn’t even recognize a handful of characters — let alone anticipate a strategy like this.

It seemed that all those days of bitter study hadn’t been in vain.

Zai Zai really had worn through his copy of Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), thoroughly mastering many of the strategies of the art of war.

Just moments ago, Su Xi had been terribly anxious — but now, she suddenly felt confident that her Zai Zai held victory in his hands.

Far away, in the upper tower behind the folding screen, General Zhenyuan’s face had turned blue with fury.

He barked at the Minister of War beside him, “This is the ‘promising candidate’ you spoke of?! He can’t even draw a bow, how will he ever lead troops into battle?!”

The Minister of War wiped the spray of spittle from his face and helplessly shifted a little farther away.

He glanced toward Lu Huan from afar and shook his head with a sigh.

“General, if not for your men’s deliberate obstruction — giving him three useless, discarded arrows — he might not have lost.”

General Zhenyuan roared, “Of the three, one arrow was clearly intact! And yet he lost the very first round!”

The Minister of War could not clearly see which arrow Lu Huan had used from this distance, but while the other generals were surrounded by fawning soldiers near the field, that young man quietly remained on horseback, examining the two arrows left in his hand.

And somehow, the Minister felt certain — that boy would not lose today.

He couldn’t stop himself from retorting, “General, let us wager today — if my Ministry’s yuanwailang wins, you’ll have to accept my proposal.”

“And if he loses?!” General Zhenyuan gave a cold snort.

“I’ve heard your praise — that the boy has managed your Ministry’s two divisions with order and cunning. Clever, yes. But such a man belongs in court, playing his little games of power and intrigue. On the battlefield, blades and arrows see no eyes. The sons of Prince Ning’s household aren’t made for that, all scheming and no strength! I truly don’t know why you hold the prince’s third son in such esteem, you even summoned Han Yue here today!”

At the back, the Minister’s young daughter, Han Yue, sat quietly, gazing at the archery field with faint disappointment, unaware of her father’s and the General’s exchange.

The Minister thought for a moment, then smiled.

“If I lose today’s wager, you may choose freely among the calligraphy and paintings in my study. But if you lose, General — your word must be as good as gold.”

The conversation behind the distant screen was inaudible on the archery field — but on Su Xi’s screen, every line of dialogue popped up.

She had already been nervous, and now that she knew this match would decide whether Mission 7 succeeded, her anxiety doubled.

On the screen, the cartoon soldiers had all gathered around the four generals, eager for the next round of spectacle, while Zai Zai sat alone on horseback.

Then — the second match began.

This time, stepping forward was the sixth-rank guard among the three archers.

Perhaps because the third-rank zhong lingjun had already won, their side had grown visibly relaxed, sending out their lowest-ranked archer to “finish off” Zai Zai.

The sixth-rank guard, utterly careless, gave Zai Zai a contemptuous glance, arrogance gleaming plainly in his eyes.

He snapped his whip against the horse’s flank and galloped forward.

At the same time, Zai Zai finally moved as well — surging ahead like a racing stallion, almost neck and neck with him.

The man didn’t think much of it.

As he drew his longbow, he even had the leisure to glance sideways at Zai Zai.

When his arrow flew, every cartoon soldier on the screen — and Su Xi outside the screen — held their breath.

If nothing unexpected happened, the shot should hit the target, though judging from its trajectory, it wouldn’t pierce the very center.

Still, for a sixth-rank guard, this was no small feat — in a real battle, such aim could easily strike an enemy’s vital point.

But then, the scene on screen suddenly changed.

Out of nowhere, a sharp arrow shot through the air —

This one lacked feather fletching, which made it fly unusually fast and direct.

Though the arrow that the yuanwailang released looked entirely different from the first — far more precise and controlled — everyone still assumed it wouldn’t reach the bull’s-eye.

Who could have expected — midair, it collided with the sixth-rank guard’s arrow!

Then— “shoo——” — it sliced through the other arrow, piercing cleanly through two-thirds of its shaft!

When the two arrows separated, everyone saw that the tail of Lu Huan’s arrow now had feathers —while the guard’s arrow had been sheared off from mid-body, its fletching torn clean away.

The crowd froze — What the hell, it can even be done like that?!

The guard’s arrow, now featherless and off balance, veered off course and plunged into the ground not far away.

Meanwhile, Lu Huan’s arrow streaked through the sky like a falling star, tracing a graceful arc — and struck the bull’s-eye dead center.

After the second match, silence fell across the field.

Su Xi noticed Zai Zai toss a small bottle of glue — the kind used for sticking chicken coop molds — back into the pouch on his saddle.

She: “……”

After that round, every expression on screen had changed.

The cartoon soldiers were uncertain what to make of the situation, while the three archers’ faces had grown tense — they were all now on full alert.

They had been so busy underestimating the young man that they hadn’t realized —

When the third-rank zhong lingjun competed, he’d used the worst arrow, the dull and heavy one least likely to fly straight.

And against the sixth-rank guard, he’d used the damaged arrow without feathers.

Which meant… the arrow left in his hand now — was the only intact, sharp one!

That being the case, in the final round against the fourth-rank wuweijun, there would be no advantage or disadvantage in the arrows —

The outcome would depend solely on skill.

That previous shot, where his arrow had split another in midair, had been far too astonishing.

The last remaining archer, the fourth-rank wuweijun, was already uneasy, though he forced himself to stand tall, masking his nerves.

He stepped forward with forced confidence, bowed slightly to Lu Huan, and said, “Please.”

Up on the distant tower, General Zhenyuan’s brow twitched slightly, his expression shifting in subtle, uneasy ways.

The final arrow.

The fourth-rank wuweijun was utterly defeated.

Once the unfair tampering with the arrows was removed, everyone could finally see the vast gulf between these men and Lu Huan.

As for the sixth-rank guard — he wasn’t even worth mentioning, outclassed by hundreds of times, long since a fallen opponent.

And though the fourth-rank wuweijun also struck the target, the young man beside him —

his light, effortless arrow pierced clean through the bull’s-eye itself.

The victory was absolute.

Only now did the expression on General Zhenyuan’s face shift again and again atop the pavilion.

He and the Minister of War had both seen through the young man’s quiet, deliberate strategy.

High versus high, middle versus low, and low versus middle—a perfect inversion.

That first round’s careless display had lulled the three commanders into lowering their guard; the second round had struck back with calculated force, using external advantage to steal the opponent’s arrow feathers.

By the third round, victory was already inevitable.

All three archers were Zhenyuan General’s best men—each strong enough to hold his own on the battlefield—yet they had all fallen to this youth!

Had today merely been a contest of archery, Zhenyuan General might have acknowledged the boy as an extraordinary marksman.

But the youth had also revealed sharp intellect and foresight; the general now looked upon Prince Ning’s illegitimate son with newfound respect—though his face remained dark.

“I’ve lost,” he said curtly.

The Minister of War had never interacted with this young heir before, yet from the past month or two observing how the boy reorganized the ministry, he had long felt he was no ordinary man.

Thus, today’s outcome did not surprise him.

Stroking his beard with a hint of amusement, he said to the general, “So, about last night’s proposal—what does the general think now?”

Zhenyuan General glanced again toward Lu Huan on the archery field.

Though a flicker of admiration stirred in his heart, his face was still unwilling as he coughed lightly and replied, “Fine. As you said—this boy is worth cultivating.”

───♡───

The final arrow had decided everything; there was no need for a fourth match.

By the general’s own conditions—winning two rounds would count as victory—Lu Huan had achieved an overwhelming triumph.

The fourth contender now found himself in a most awkward position:

If he refused to compete, it would disgrace him.

But if he did and lost to a fifteen-year-old boy, would that not be even more humiliating?!

Fortunately, a messenger soon came from the tower and said to Lu Huan, “The heir of Prince Ning’s household, please come upstairs.”

Lu Huan lowered his eyes to glance at the man, then put away his bow and leapt lightly from the horse.

Footnotes

• 1
  Zhong lingjun (中领军): A middle-ranking commander in ancient military hierarchy.
• 2
  Bingbu yuanwailang (兵部员外郎): A fifth-rank official position in the Ministry of War, responsible for administrative duties within the military system.
• 3
  Tian Ji’s horse race (田忌赛马): A famous Chinese strategy story where General Tian Ji, with the help of strategist Sun Bin, wins a horse race by cleverly mismatching his horses against his opponent’s — sacrificing the weaker ones first to ensure overall victory.