Chapter 17:
The second level, the shooting range.
Lu Jianzhi arrived first, took the bow and arrow, went to the launch place, stood for a moment, then wound the arrow, pulled the bow, and stretched into the shape of a full moon.
The tenon on both sides of the bow tip was overwhelmed by the strength of his arms, and gradually made a slight tremor.
Just when the bowstring was so stretched that it seemed like it was about to break, he suddenly let go of the thumb that was tightly clasping the shaft.
The arrow broke free in an instant, left the string, went straight forward like lightning, hissed and broke through the air, and in the blink of an eye, with a "pop", impartially, it was nailed into the money hole in the center of the target opposite. .
One shot!
Not only that, during the whole process, his archery movements, whether it was stabilizing the bow or aiming, were smooth like flowing water, without the slightest stagnation, which was extremely beautiful!
The target keeper on the opposite side stepped forward to inspect it, and used a flag to indicate clearance.
In an instant, there was a burst of applause in the shooting range.
The onlookers, in addition to the disciples or friends of the Gao and Lu families, are those who are at odds with these two families on weekdays. At this moment, they have witnessed Lu Jianzhi's bow shooting and have to obey.
The eldest son of the Lu family really lived up to his reputation.
The cheers in the shooting range behind him were still one after another, but Lu Jianzhi didn't seem to hear it at all.
He put down his bow and arrow, looked up at the third pass, which was the direction of the clearing field, and ran away.
However, after just running out a dozen or so steps, his ears suddenly became quiet.
It's a strange feeling.
It was as if the throats of the hundreds of people behind the shooting range were suddenly caught by a giant hand at this moment.
Collective silence!
Lu Jian stopped consciously and turned his head.
Li Mu followed him.
Not only that, but in the short blink of an eye, when he had only run less than ten paces, he had already released the arrow.
In the bullseye coin hole at the end of his line, an arrow has also been driven into it.
The shaft of the arrow is still trembling slightly and rapidly with the remaining power that has not been exhausted.
Lu Jianzhi seemed to hear the special buzzing vibrato it made.
The shooting range, which was still full of cheers a moment ago, fell silent with Li Mu's appearance and the arrow he fired.
Almost no one could see how Li Mu used the bow to release the arrow, and the arrow had already left the string.
Not only is it fast, but its strength is like a thunderous thunder, implying murderous aura.
Maybe it was because they didn't have time to react, or maybe it was because they were caught off guard, and they didn't know whether they should applaud Li Mu for shooting such an arrow, or should they turn a blind eye, and this would happen. Such a dramatic scene.
…
There is an essential difference between this kind of killing arrows trained in the chaos of the battlefield and the exquisite arrows that the children of the nobles have been proud of since childhood.
In the battlefield of killing red eyes, there is no time or opportunity for a bowman to always release his arrows at the best angle.
Apart from being as stable, accurate and ruthless as possible, there is no other rule of survival.
Therefore, those bowmen who survived hundreds of battles and are still alive are all powerful weapons for murder.
Their movements may not be wonderful, and their movements are even less pleasing to the eye. But being able to shoot the most accurate and powerful arrow to kill in the shortest time is the only way they can survive on the battlefield every time.
In the first few years of joining the army, Li Mu was a long-time bowman.
He was one of the best bowmen.
…
It was almost just a back and forth, Li Mu put down his bow and arrow.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned around and walked in the direction of Hushan.
Lu Jianzhi looked at the back of him going to Hushan, his eyes were stagnant, and there was a trance-like look on his face.
After a while, he suddenly turned around, and went in that direction, hurriedly chasing after him.
Two people, one after the other, climbed to the location of Tiger Mountain.
The news was quickly spread to the observation deck.
The second level of the two is also considered equal.
But I don't know how Lu Jianzhi was thinking. At the last level, he gave up the talk and chose to go to Hushan with Li Mu.
This result is really surprising.
Lu Guang's choice of his son was obviously completely unprepared in advance.
He seemed surprised, and, probably, a little displeased. But soon, he concealed his emotions and sat upright with a serious expression.
Gao Qiao looked in the direction of Hushan and frowned. The rest of the people were talking and stood up one after another, looking around, curiously waiting for the final result.
…
Tiger Mountain is named "mountain", but it is actually a naturally formed cave in the belly of the mountain. There used to be beasts that were used to fight each other to please the nobles. It was later abandoned, but the name has remained.
Today, it is reactivated here.
The third obstacle is a tiger trapped in a cave.
This ferocious tiger has not only experienced many battles of the same kind and has dominated until now, but also, in the last three days, it has never been fed.
The level of ferocity can be imagined.
The tiger den is located in a deep recessed hole below. The mountain wall at the entrance is steep, but the rocks are rugged, so you can climb up and down with your strength. The light inside the cave is dim, and people standing at the entrance of the cave cannot see the scene in the depths of the cave.
At the mouth of the cave, stood a beast tamer, with a high nose and blue eyes, a barbarian. Seeing Li Mu and Lu Jian appearing at this pass, they greeted them, bowed and said, "The tiger is in the cave below. This is the entrance, and the exit is on the west side. The two gentlemen must enter from here. , go out from the west exit, and you will pass through. If you encounter a tiger on the way, you can kill it, but you can not kill it. You can listen to it and respect it. If you lose your way, you can go back and knock on the wall of the cave. , help Mr. Lang to come up."
The animal trainer pointed to a weapon rack and said, "This is for self-defense, two gentlemen, please use it."
There were only two long sticks on the shelf, nothing else.
Lu Jianzhi and Li Mu each took one, used both hands and feet, climbed the mountain wall, and descended into the cave.
If you want to go to the opposite exit from here, you can only walk along the topography of the cave, but the cave is like a tunnel cut in the middle of the mountain. The deeper you go, the lower and narrower it becomes.
At the narrowest hinterland, the width can only allow two horses to pass side by side.
The space is limited, and the evil tiger is blocking the way. The only self-defense weapon in his hand is a long stick, which has limited lethality.
Although the distance between the east and west openings of the tunnel is not long, the difficulty of this level can be imagined.
Lu Jianzhi and Li Mu each held a long stick, one left and one right, and walked slowly towards the depths of the cave.
Along the wall of the cave, although a torch was inserted at intervals to illuminate it, the light was still dim when it went down to the depths. The firelight reflected the two figures on the wall of the cave. Suddenly, in the depths of the opposite side, there was a gust of cool wind blowing towards him.
Then, the shadow flickered, and a tiger suddenly jumped out of the darkness, blocking the way for the two of them.
This is a huge adult male tiger, very strong, and the tiger's eyes emit two green lights, which is very scary.
Hunger makes it unusually restless and excited.
It stared at the two uninvited guests who suddenly appeared in front of it, with green light flashing in its eyes, and the corners of its mouth were drooling. .
A tiger and two people confronted each other for a while.
Li Mu slowly stretched out his long stick in his hand and knocked on the wall of the cave beside him, making two crisp thumping sounds.
The Evil Tiger was attracted, and swooped in his direction.
Li Mu didn't move, just when he was about to pounce in front of him, he rolled on the spot and dodged.
Tiger pounced.
Li Mu jumped up and ran forward.
Lu Jianzhi followed closely.
The tiger turned around and roared, chasing the two closely behind him, getting closer and closer. When he was about to catch up, he jumped and rushed towards Lu Jianzhi, who was closer.
Lu Jianzhi quickly shortened his body and avoided the pounce.
The tiger went over his head, and with a clatter, landed on its paws, blocking the way again.
This section of the cave wall has begun to become narrow.
Blocked by the huge body of the tiger, there is not much space left to pass.
Li Mu and Lu Jianzhi looked at each other, and invariably agreed, holding a stick towards the evil tiger on the opposite side, one left and one right, and quickly pounced on it.
"Puff!" Two dull sounds, the tiger's celestial spirit covered its bones, one left and one right, and ate two sticks.
This blow, both of them used a very strong force to penetrate the stick body.
Although the tiger's skin was strong and fleshy, it was dizzy and dizzy for a while, as if he was drunk, his body swayed.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them seized the opportunity, jumped over from the tiger, who had not recovered from the pain, and continued to gallop forward, and soon reached the narrowest part of the hinterland.
At this time, the roar of the beast behind him also caught up, and it was close to his ears.
Its furious roar shook the entire cave wall, and the gravel and dust in the rock formation above its head kept rustling down.
Lu Jianzhi squeezed the long stick in his hand tightly and gritted his teeth: "Li Mu, pack this thing, you and I will fight again. The loser, withdraw from today's competition, and no longer qualified to be the son-in-law of Gao!"
Li Mu stared at the evil tiger that had already rushed up again, and smiled: "It's exactly what I want!" His eyes sank, but he didn't avoid it at all. He hit **** a tiger claw that was grabbed towards him.
With a howl, the tiger's paw snapped.
The tiger's momentum subsided, and it fell to the ground from mid-air.
Lu Jianzhi quickly followed, and together with Li Mu, two sticks rained down on the tiger.
The tiger was mad at first, but gradually declined, spitting blood from its mouth.
With the last blow, Li Mu exerted his strength and hit the tiger's head hard, and the Heavenly Spirit Bone shattered under stress.
The stick was too strong, and it snapped from it, and Kerala broke into two pieces.
The tiger let out one last long, fierce howl, struggled, stood up from the ground, swayed a few more times, and fell to the ground again, motionless and completely dead.
Li Mu stepped forward, picked up the two broken sticks in the place, and walked through the narrow passage to the exit.
Lu Jianzhi accompanied him.
The light in front gradually became brighter, and the place became more empty.
The two came to the patio where the exit was located one after the other and confronted each other.
Li Mu said, "Master Lu, please."
The fierce fight between Fang Cai and the tiger made the two people's heads, faces and clothes splashed with blood spots that spewed from the tiger's mouth.
Lu Jianzhi's eyes were also slightly red, and he looked like two different people from before.
He stared at Li Mu and rushed up with a stick.
Li Mu hit him with a short stick with both hands. After a few rounds, the arm ate a swiping stick, and the body shook slightly.
Lu Jianzhi's eyes were even redder, and without the slightest pause under his feet, he swept the long stick and attacked Li Mu again.
With a "pop", Li Mu took another bite on his left shoulder.
Li Mu narrowed his eyes.
The third time, when the stick in Lu Jianzhi's hand smashed into his throat again, Li Mu not only did not dodge, but threw the two broken sticks in his hand and bullied himself to meet him. Live the stick.
The dual convenience continues to exert force and fight each other.
Lu Jianzhi's face slowly turned red, and sweat began to appear on his forehead. The two sides held a stalemate for a while, and he was pushed back by the force of the opposite, step by step until his back was pushed against the wall of the cave.
Li Mu exerted his strength again, and the long stick bent from it, suddenly turning into the shape of an arch bridge.
"Break!"
He gave a low drink.
"Snapped"!
Sure enough, the stick body responded, and it was broken into two pieces.
Lu Jianzhi's arm was numb with the terrifying force he had never felt before, and blood surged in his chest.
Before he had time to react, with a "huh" sound, the stick with sharp wooden thorns was cut off and touched his throat.
It was only half an inch away from his neck.
Lu Jianzhi's face instantly faded from blood, and his face became slightly pale.
If this was a sword, fighting for his life, he should have splattered three feet of blood at this moment.
The two looked at each other for a moment.
Li Mu took the truncation stick, threw it on the ground, took a step back, and said, "Accept." Turned around.
Lu Jianzhi leaned on the rock wall, motionless, his eyes fixedly watching him climb up the rock wall, his figure was like a spirit ape, and quickly disappeared above the hole above his head.
…
How the situation in Hushan, people outside, can not see. Only heard the dull sound of tiger roaring from the cave at first, and the sound almost shook the valley, causing the children of the nobility who were not used to riding horses to panic.
Gradually, the roaring of the tiger finally disappeared, but the two of them were not seen coming out of Hushan. The crowd began to lose their temper and kept talking.
Lu Guang was obviously a little uneasy, but he didn't want to show too much in front of everyone's eyes. He sat there and became more and more serious.
Gao Qiao's expression became unusually dignified. He even got up from his seat, walked down the viewing platform, and looked at the direction of Tiger Mountain, with a restless expression on his face.
At this time, the supervisor finally quickly came down from the mountain and ran to the viewing platform.
Everyone knew the result of the third pass, and they should have come out, and they all gathered around.
The supervisor bowed to Emperor Xingping: "Your Majesty, the third pass has been won. General Li left Tiger Mountain before Young Master Lu, and is heading towards the top of the mountain."
"Look!"
Suddenly I don't know who it is, I shouted loudly.
Gao Qiao suddenly turned his head and looked at the top of the mountain.
A black figure stood under the pavilion against the wind, wielding a bow and firing arrows.
With the arrow that left the string, the bunch of dogwoods on the top of the wind pavilion was shot and fell.
"How is Young Master Lu?"
Gao Qiao asked immediately.
"Mr. Xianggong, Master Lu is safe and sound, and has left Tiger Mountain." The man said.
Gao Qiao breathed a sigh of relief, and once again glanced at the figure coming down from the top of the mountain, with mixed emotions, it was really hard to describe.
The outcome has been decided, and there are no more variables.
On the entire viewing platform, the most proud, I am afraid that it will be a few secrets.
He resisted the thought of laughing, and glanced at Lu Guang. Seeing that his face had clearly turned blue, but he had to force a smile with those colleagues who came to comfort him one after another, I felt even more happy.
Li Mu went down the mountain road from the top of the mountain to the viewing platform.
Along the way, wherever he went, the people on both sides gave way one after another, with different eyes.
There is envy, jealousy, admiration, and naturally, there is heartache.
The eldest princess Xiao Yongjia, who had been sitting behind the curtain, immediately got up without waiting for the end, and left in a hurry with the attendants.
Behind the other curtain, a woman who was sitting with Princess Yu Lin Zhu Jiyue glanced at Xiao Yongjia's back and sneered in a low voice, "Can you see her face, Princess? Jinfan, I'm afraid it's not so good-looking. This time, even if you use the identity of the eldest princess to suppress your majesty, it will be hard to stop.
She spoke in a low voice, seeing that Zhu Jiyue didn't answer, her eyes looked through the veil curtain in front of her, as if looking at something, so she followed her gaze and saw that Li Muzheng was walking over the nearby mountain road.
She stared at the tall and straight sword-like back for a moment, and suddenly seemed to have an epiphany, covered her mouth and chuckled, and said slowly: "I have seen many more delicate men than our women, this Li Langjun, there is no other His demeanor. Looking at his appearance, he must have done a very tough job..." As he spoke, he leaned into Zhu Jiyue's ear and said something in a low voice.
Zhu Jiyue seemed to be angry and twisted her, the woman giggled, her body trembled like a flower branch, the laughter wafted out with the wind, but it attracted the peeping of those wild bees and butterflies.
…
Under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, Li Mu returned to the viewing platform from which he set off. After bowing to Emperor Xingping, he turned to Gao Qiao and respectfully presented the dogwood, but did not speak.
It would be untrue if Gao Qiao had no partiality in the three stages of today's competition.
Originally based on his speculation, Li Mu would definitely lag behind Lu Jianzhi in the first pass. Even if he could quickly pass the second pass, in the third pass, with his martial arts, he could deal with a tiger under the premise of holding a stick. It shouldn't be very dangerous, but it won't be easy to pass.
In this way, as long as Lu Jianzhi's performance in the three stages is not too abnormal, the possibility of his winning the prize in today's game will be far greater than that of Li Mu.
What Gao Qiao didn't expect was that Lu Jianzhi, or because of the pride inherent in the children of the gentry, disdained to win by clear talk, but chose to pass the last level with Li Mu.
Fortunately, Lu Jianzhi was not injured. Otherwise, at the Lu family's place, he would be to blame.
At this moment, the only thing left in his ears was the whirring mountain wind.
Gao Qiao closed his eyes, opened them slowly, looked at Li Mu who was standing opposite him, and word by word, he finally uttered what might be the most difficult sentence in his life: "Today's exam, Li Mu. Mu wins. From today, Li Mu is my Gao Qiao's son-in-law!"