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Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Mu Yan Presses Down on Zhan Feng’s Shoulders
Mu Yan walked up to Zhan Feng, towering over him with an oppressive presence.
Zhan Feng’s voice trembled as he said, "Lord Supervisor, you’ve arrived!"
Mu Yan did not acknowledge him and walked past Zhan Feng to stand before Zhan Lan, praising her, "Miss Zhan’s archery skills are quite impressive. Surely the young master from the second branch of Zhan Family isn’t a sore loser, right?"
Zhan Lan looked at Mu Yan, finding him much more agreeable today, especially the phrase "the young master from the second branch of Zhan Family," which sounded immensely satisfying to her.
The righteous soldiers, hearing Mu Yan standing up for Zhan Lan, also spoke up: "Indeed, we saw it. Miss Zhan’s arrow not only pierced through the young general’s arrow, but after hitting the bullseye, it even shattered the target!"
"Yes, we all saw it!"
Zhan Feng’s gaze swept over the faces of those soldiers, memorizing their appearances!
It was only when he met Mu Yan’s icy look that he stuttered, "Zhan Lan, even if you’ve won by fluke, what is it that you want?"
Zhan Feng asked, holding his breath.
Watching several old generals from the Zhan Family Army approaching from a distance, Mu Yan placed a hand on Zhan Feng’s shoulder and said, "What do you mean by ’if you’ve won’? If you’re not convinced, you can always shoot three more arrows to decide the victor!"
Zhan Feng felt a sharp pain in his shoulder blade under the heavy oppressive aura of Mu Yan, daring not to talk back.
However, he thought: Mu Yan is still giving him some face.
He actually allowed Zhan Lan to have another fair contest with him.
Determined to win, Zhan Feng looked at Zhan Lan and loudly said, "Fine, as long as Zhan Lan agrees, let’s compete!"
Zhan Lan wasn’t sure what Mu Yan was plotting, but she heard him ask again, "During the last round, what did Miss Zhan Lan want?"
Zhan Lan slightly smiled and said, "The young general has beautiful handwriting. I heard he personally transcribed a copy of the Buddhist scriptures. My mother is very devout; I wonder if you’re willing to part with it?"
Upon hearing what Zhan Lan wanted, Zhan Feng couldn’t help but feel amused, knowing that Zhan Lan’s unfortunate mother, Madam Li, was indeed a devout Buddhist.
Just a Buddhist scripture, he thought it was some kind of rare treasure!
"Alright! Even if you don’t compete against me, I can still give it to you!" Zhan Feng said generously.
After all, his calligraphy is a level Zhan Lan could never reach in her lifetime!
Mu Yan gave Zhan Feng a look, then spoke again, "If Zhan Lan wins this contest, apart from that scripture, remember to take a detour whenever you see her! A defeated subordinate has no right to walk alongside the victor!"
Zhan Feng was so furious at Mu Yan’s words that he was nearly spitting blood!
Mu Yan actually looked down on him to such an extent, truly believing that Zhan Lan could win!
Zhan Lan raised an eyebrow. Today the sun must have risen from the west, for Mu Yan was actually helping her vent her anger!
Seeing more and more people gathering, Zhan Feng naturally felt his face dishonored, especially since the four old generals of the Zhan Family Army were there too!
These four were the loyal subordinates of his grandfather Zhan Xinzhang, men who had a voice in the imperial court.
If he could gain the favor of the four old generals, he would have prestige in the Zhan Family Army in the future!
Zhan Feng contemplated with lowered eyes. His father had promised him that one day he would help him surpass Zhan Hui and become the future Main General!
At this thought, Zhan Feng put on a show of nonchalance with a laugh, "If I lose, I will certainly take a detour around Zhan Lan. If I win, she must also respectfully take a detour whenever she sees me!"
"Alright!" Zhan Lan smiled with a slight curve of her lips.
Her original intent wasn’t to humiliate Zhan Feng; he had brought this upon himself!
Both stood opposite the new targets, now at a distance of over a hundred steps from the targets.
Even for Zhan Feng, hitting the bullseye from such a distance was not guaranteed every time, let alone for Zhan Lan!
The soldiers brought over a mahogany chair, and Mu Yan sat on the platform between Zhan Feng and Zhan Lan, half leaning, looking effortlessly graceful.
Zhan Feng, with a smile, said: "Zhan Lan, you go first this time. I don’t want my bullseye to affect your performance!"
Zhan Feng was born just a few days after Zhan Lan, so though they were the same age, it was not improper to address each other by name.
Zhan Lan chuckled lightly, "Alright, to ensure Zhan Feng is utterly convinced of his defeat, Lord Mu, I can add some difficulty for myself." 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Upon hearing Zhan Lan’s tone, Mu Yan knew she was feigning weakness to exploit the enemy, and he nodded: "Agreed!"
Zhan Feng narrowed his eyes, uncertain of Zhan Lan’s intentions.
As the four old generals arrived, the soldiers instinctively cleared a path for them and swiftly brought over stools for them to sit.
After glancing at the four old generals, Zhan Feng said with a gentle smile: "Miss Zhan, perhaps you shouldn’t add extra difficulty for yourself. We are already a hundred paces away from the targets, hitting them with an arrow is difficult enough; you wouldn’t want to lose too embarrassingly."
Zhan Lan stood upright, her voice ringingly clear, showing utter disdain for Zhan Feng’s words!
"Little General, in the heat of battle, the enemy is always a moving target, what good is practice only on stationary targets when on the battlefield?"
The soldiers and officers watching around completely agreed with Zhan Lan’s words.
Especially the four old generals, who were amused by the audacity of this young lass.
"The old man heard that a clever girl had arrived, but never expected her to be so brash!"
"Indeed, hitting a moving target from beyond a hundred paces, how could a teenager like her possibly achieve that!"
"Well, this girl seems quite confident, who knows!"
"You old man, wait and see before you speak!"
One of the old generals took out a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and began cracking them!
The four old generals were each harboring their own thoughts, prepared to see whether this girl truly had potential.
They were getting on in years and simply wished to see if there were any promising youngsters in the ranks.
Hearing of the competition at the Martial Arts Arena, Beicang, Zhan Hui, and several Deputy Generals made their way over.
Before long, the crowd at the Martial Arts Arena was growing larger and larger.
Upon seeing Zhan Feng, Zhan Lan, and Mu Yan together, Beicang furrowed his brows and asked: "What are those three doing together?"
Zhan Hui had already found out what had transpired and proceeded to fill Beicang in.
Beicang rubbed his temple and shook his head: "This Zhan Feng, always behaving like a child, and even Lord Mu joins in the fun! Sigh."
He felt that they were all messing around!
Nevertheless, with the old generals happily cracking sunflower seeds and enjoying the show, he had no choice but to let them carry on with their nonsense!
Zhan Lan looked around with a smile: "Brothers, who would like to put on armor, don a helmet, hold a target, and move around for me? Please step forward, three volunteers will each receive ten taels of silver as my token of gratitude!"
Soldiers who had already witnessed the entire confrontation provoked by Zhan Feng raised their hands: "Miss Zhan, I’ll do it!"
"I will!"
"I’m in!"
Zhan Lan nodded slightly towards them, "Thank you!"
Though the soldiers were in support of Zhan Lan, they also valued their lives. They put on their helmets and carefully checked their armor, fearing that Miss Zhan would shoot them through the heart.
Just before, they had observed Zhan Lan’s immense strength – the target had split apart!
What kind of power that was!
Zhan Feng watched coldly as the three soldiers embraced the targets. Although they had protected their bodies,
their necks remained unprotected. It would be best if Zhan Lan accidentally shot one of the soldiers dead.
If that happened, she would be finished!
