The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 5: Horseback Archery with a Two-Stone Bow
Baochai curiously opened the envelope and took out the letter to look at it.

After reading it, the girl's pretty face showed an expression of surprise and doubt.

Soon, he seemed a little confused again.

She turned the letter over and looked at it, then took the envelope and looked through it carefully. After making sure there was no other letter inside, she looked at Ying'er beside her with her almond-shaped eyes and asked in confusion, "Is this the only letter? No others?"

Ying'er didn't understand why her daughter asked this question. She nodded her little head and said in a confused manner, "No, just this one letter."

Baochai was stunned for a moment, but didn't ask any more questions. She picked up the page of letter with her delicate hands and read it again.

【Miss Xue, I am glad to see you in person.】

【Since we parted yesterday, are you doing well? I miss you so much! 】

[What I wrote today is not to defend myself, but to express my true feelings.]

[Do girls believe in love at first sight? ]

The letter ends here, which captures the essence of the fragments of later online articles.

"It's gone?"

"What does that person mean?"

It was a letter without a beginning or an end, with no signature and no contact information left.

Even if she wanted to answer, she didn't know who to tell.

Baochai puffed up her cheeks, feeling only angry at the moment, forgetting all other emotions.
Not to mention that Baochai was secretly angry over there, after Shen Yuan delivered the letter, he did not stay in front of Xue's house and left directly.

If he could see Xue Baochai's expression at this moment, he would definitely be very pleased.

He has been a human being in two lives. Although he has never had any love experience, he has seen pigs run even if he has not eaten pork. Especially in his previous life, the Internet was well developed and he had everything.

He also drew on the experiences of those love bosses on Douyin in his previous life.

To win a girl's heart, you must first make her curious.

Sure enough, Douyin Love Boss is honest and sincere.
Putting this matter aside for the moment, Shen Yuan planned to go to the horse market in the west of the city.

The autumn examination of martial arts in this world is divided into inner and outer fields.

As the cultural level of warriors was generally low, the requirements for the inner field examination in the autumn examination for martial arts were not high. One only had to recite the "Seven Military Classics" as required, which was not a difficult task for Shen Yuan.

The outer field is divided into three sections, namely, skill and bravery, archery on foot and archery on horseback.

In his previous life, Shen Yuan was a champion of Chinese martial arts and a horse riding enthusiast. He often went to the Mongolian grasslands to practice horse riding and archery.

In the previous five years in the time cage, in order to pass the time, he also practiced swords, guns, and bows and arrows.

He should have no problem with his skills, bravery and archery on foot, but he still needs to practice more on horseback archery.

Perhaps because the autumn examination is approaching, the horse market in the west of the city is unusually busy today, with many people coming to choose horses.

Like other dynasties in the Central Plains in history, the Zhou Dynasty also had a shortage of war horses.

Most of the horses sold in this horse market are for ordinary civilian use.

However, scarcity makes things valuable. In order to earn high rewards, some horse merchants will sell some higher quality Hu horses, but the quantity is limited and hard to come by.

Shen Yuan wandered around but didn't find any good horses, so he came to a horse dealer dressed as a Hu man and asked, "Are there any good horses coming in recently?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Shang carefully looked at Shen Yuan and saw that he was quite dignified and well-dressed. He smiled and said, "Are you the martial arts scholar who is taking part in the autumn examination?"

Shen Yuan knew that the horse dealer was asking for information in order to raise the price, so he didn't say much and asked directly: "Just tell me whether you have it or not?"

“Yes, but at this price.”

"If it is indeed a good horse, I will give you a lot of money."

"Okay, please follow me, my guest."

The horse dealer led Shen Yuan through a gate and saw a smaller stable inside with only five or six horses scattered around.

Shen Yuan took a quick glance and found that the horses here were much better than those outside, both in terms of coat color and physique.

"These are all good horses that have just arrived from the grassland. Please take a look first. Call me anytime when you pick one."

Shen Yuan nodded, and Ma Shang went to receive the new guests.

Shen Yuan walked around the horse pen, looking around, and soon stopped in front of a dark yellow horse.

He looked at the horse intently. Although its fur was messy and it was not particularly tall, its ears were like bamboo shoots, its eyes were like bird eyes, its belly was like a unicorn's and its chest was like a tiger's, and its tail was like a hanging broom.

Although he is not good-looking, he has a powerful aura.

"Good horse!"

"Good horse!"

As Shen Yuan was sighing, he heard someone beside him saying the same thing.

He turned his head and the man also looked at him curiously, and their eyes met.

Shen Yuan saw a tall and strong man, with a short and handsome boy beside him. The person who spoke just now should be the tall man.

Before he could say anything, the man laughed heartily and said, "Brother, you have good taste. My name is Jiang Fan. What's your name?"

"Shen Yuan."

"I wonder how Brother Shen identified this horse?"

Before Shen Yuan could answer, the short boy said, "What else can I do? I guessed it."

"Xiao Qiu, stop talking nonsense!"

Jiang Qiu was scolded by Jiang Fan, he pouted and stopped talking. In his heart, no one knew horse appraisal better than his brother.

Jiang Fan looked at Shen Yuan with an awkward expression, "My brother Jiang Qiu is spoiled by his family and speaks without restraint. Don't blame me, Brother Shen."

Shen Yuan saw the young man named Jiang Qiu. He had a handsome face, red lips and white teeth. He looked like a spoiled child. So there was no need for him to be angry with the child.

"It's okay. Brother Jiang, do you also like this horse?"

"My brother's horse is ten times better than this one."

"Jiang Qiu!" Jiang Fan glared at his brother.

Jiang Qiu was warned by his brother again, but he was not afraid. He muttered, "That's right, I'm just stating the facts."

Shen Yuan remained silent when he heard this. This young boy, whose height just reached his chin, really needed to be beaten by society.

"Since Brother Jiang doesn't want to buy this horse, I will buy it." Jiang Fan saw that Shen Yuan had a calm demeanor and an open mind, and was interested in getting to know him, so he said sincerely, "I'm sorry for offending you just now. I'll buy this horse and give it to Brother Shen as a gift as an apology."

After saying that, he was about to call the horse merchant over, but was interrupted by Shen Yuan.

"Brother Jiang, I appreciate your kindness, but I won't accept it without merit, and I don't take your childish words to heart."

"Who is the child? I am just..."

Jiang Qiu was about to get angry, but was held back by his brother next to him.

Jiang Fan looked at Shen Yuan again, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Brother Shen's open-mindedness makes Jiang admire him."

After a pause, he asked, "Brother Shen, are you planning to participate in the Autumn Examination?"

Shen Yuan nodded.

"It just so happens that I am about to go to the East Suburbs Shooting Range to practice horseback archery. Brother Shen, would you like to go with me?"

Shen Yuan was silent for a moment when he heard this. He had originally planned to find a place to practice riding and archery after buying the horse.

"Then I'll have to trouble Brother Jiang to lead the way."

Afterwards, Shen Yuan bought a horse and rode straight to the East Suburb Shooting Range with the Jiang brothers.

As soon as I entered the shooting range, someone came to greet me.

The man recognized Jiang Fan at a glance, and a smile instantly appeared on his face. He asked in a courteous tone, "Mr. Jiang, would you like to have some tea first, or go directly to the shooting range?"

"Let's go to the shooting range and get my two-stone bow. Also..." Jiang Fan turned to look at Shen Yuan and asked, "Brother Shen, how heavy is the bow you usually use?"

Shen Yuan was stunned. When he was in Aomen Village, he used a 1.6 stone bow. It was not that he could not pull a heavier bow, but that the village did not have it.

"I used one stone and six before, but today I want to try this two-stone bow."

Jiang Fan nodded when he heard this, and told the boy at the shooting range, "Then bring me a 1.6-stone bow and a 2.5-stone bow."

The man bowed in response and went to get the bow.

Jiang Qiu, who was standing by, saw this and thought that Shen Yuan was just trying to show off, but due to his brother's power, he did not make any sarcastic remarks.

Then, the three of them led the horses into the shooting range.

The shooting range is large, but there are not many people. It feels a bit like a high-end shooting club in my previous life.

Considering the attitude of the shooting range boy towards Jiang Fan just now, it is not difficult to imagine that the identities of the Jiang brothers are not ordinary, perhaps they are the children of officials in Jinling.

After a while, several people stopped in an open shooting range, and the servant also fetched the bow and arrow.

After the servant left, Jiang Fan looked at Shen Yuan and said with a smile, "Brother Shen, try the bow first."

Shen Yuan nodded and picked up a two-stone bow. This was a riding bow, with moderate hardness and softness. It was black all over, and the bowstring was made of tanned cow tendon, which was flexible and solid.

Under the gaze of Jiang Fan and Jiang Qiu, Shen Yuan's face was calm. He concentrated his mind and gathered his energy. He stretched his arms horizontally, drew the bowstring, and the bowstring gradually bent.

Soon, the bow was drawn like a full moon, but the arm did not shake at all, and the force was deep and steady.

"What great strength!" Jiang Fan praised.

Even Jiang Qiu, who had always been sarcastic, was a little surprised at this moment. He never thought that Shen Yuan had quite some brute force and his arm strength was not inferior to his brother's. But the next scene surprised him even more.

Shen Yuan was seen aiming at the target in the distance for a while, and after a few breaths of stillness, he suddenly released the bow. The bowstring vibrated with a sound like thunder, and the arrow hit the center of the bull's eye. The clanging sound lasted for a long time.

Jiang Fan's face became serious when he saw this, but then he suddenly felt heroic and said with a loud laugh: "Brother Shen, how about we compete in riding and archery?"

Shen Yuan also wanted to practice horseback archery at this moment, so he said cheerfully without being pretentious: "Please teach me, Brother Jiang."

Afterwards, the two men carried their bows and arrows, jumped on their horses, and ran straight to the center of the shooting range.

Horseback archery generally involves practicing straight shooting and side shooting.

"Brother Shen, how about you and I each choose a target, shoot ten arrows straight ahead, ten arrows to the left and ten arrows to the right, from a fifty-step distance?"

Shen Yuan nodded and said, "Brother Jiang, please go first."

Jiang Fan said no more. He squeezed his horse's belly and rushed out. He first shot straight, then shot from the left and right, and all three arrows hit the target.

"Brother Jiang, you have great archery skills." Shen Yuan cheered.

"Great! Big brother is the best!"

Jiang Qiu on the sidelines cheered, feeling proud of his brother. He glanced at Shen Yuan from time to time, puffed out his chest, and looked proud.

Shen Yuan didn't look at him, he rode his horse at full speed and shot a round as well, but his arrow did not hit the target.

Seeing this, Jiang Fan did not look down on him at all, and said with a smile: "Brother Shen, you are sitting on a new horse and holding a new bow. It is amazing that you can have such momentum."

Shen Yuan knew that Jiang Fan was trying to comfort him, so he smiled without feeling depressed at all.

Instead, he was eager to continue practicing, and said boldly: "Brother Jiang, come again!"

"Haha! Come on!" Jiang Fan was also infected by Shen Yuan's positive attitude.

Jiang Qiu on the sidelines pouted, feeling somewhat annoyed, thinking that Shen Yuan was just a show-off.

An hour passed after all thirty arrows were shot.

Jiang Fan was indeed an excellent archer, and all thirty arrows hit the target.

After Shen Yuan became familiar with it, he gradually got into the groove and finally achieved a result of hitting ten out of thirty arrows.

After practicing archery, Shen Yuan didn't stay any longer and said goodbye to Jiang Fan and left.

Jiang Fan looked at Shen Yuan's departing back, his eyes sparkling and a look of satisfaction revealed on his resolute and upright face.

Jiang Qiu on the side said awkwardly: "I thought he was so powerful, but he is just so-so, 10 out of 30, far behind Big Brother."

"What do you know, girl? Shen Yuan hit the target every time he shot ten times. That means he only practiced twenty arrows before he got used to the new bow and horse."

"And the last three arrows hit the bull's eye. They were more accurate than your elder brother."

Jiang Qiuer: “(⊙▽⊙)”

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(End of this chapter)