“Speed shooting. See that dead-end alley three hundred paces away? Have people hang bronze gongs and drums on the wall at the alley’s end. You and I each take one side, blindfold ourselves, each take a hundred arrows—you shoot the drum, I shoot the gong. Can’t remove the blindfold until arrows are exhausted. Most hits wins.”
“Bring arrows.”
The Five Cities Military Commissioner’s men and the Eastern Palace Nine Guards had already heard the news and arrived. Knowing Tie Ci’s temperament, they didn’t approach closely, only constrained and dispersed the crowd, establishing a perimeter to prevent accidental arrow injuries. The crowd was kept far away, craning their necks but unable to see clearly what was happening.
Dan Ye squinted at the direction Tie Ci indicated. Vaguely ahead, banners fluttered and tall buildings stood in rows. He wasn’t familiar with the capital and didn’t think much of it. Seeing guards position the bronze gong, he blindfolded himself, exhaled, and drew his bow.
On the other side, after he blindfolded himself, Tie Ci, who was pretending to blindfold herself, tossed the cloth aside and immediately sat on a stool Dan Shuang had dragged over. Little Bug presented a plate of pastries.
Dan Ye’s archery was indeed excellent. Almost immediately, drum sounds began booming with very even rhythm and imposing momentum. Listening carefully, it was actually the melody of the frontier battle-breaking tune.
Tie Ci applauded.
This control, strength, and accuracy were truly remarkable.
Hearing no movement from the bronze gong, Dan Ye tilted his head slightly: “You southern nobles love pretending and faking. Your archery skills were probably someone letting you win and flattering you, making you think you’re really a divine archer. Today I’ll show you what real archery is.”
Before he finished speaking, suddenly the bronze gong rang frantically like torrential rain, and he was immediately stunned.
This speed…
Tie Ci sat cross-legged with a smiling squint, raising her hand to blow a kiss toward the far end of the street.
The torrential ringing immediately became even more intense, practically playing out a thunderstorm rhythm.
Dan Ye was so shocked by that clanging din that he forgot to shoot arrows—drawing the bow and changing arrows took time, yet these rapid sounds had no pause. He could tell that in one instant there were nearly a hundred sounds.
This was simply absurd—there were only a hundred arrows total!
The alley’s end and surroundings had been cleared. With his extremely sharp hearing, he was certain no one had approached after blindfolding. Could it really be Tie Ci shooting?
He absolutely refused to believe it. He simply stopped shooting, threw down his bow, and without removing his blindfold, strode forward.
As soon as he moved, Tie Ci immediately stood, patted pastry crumbs off her hands, and left too.
Dan Ye walked while hearing the gong still ringing like torrential rain, yet there were no sharp wind sounds of arrows passing around him. He yanked off his blindfold and saw the bronze gong trembling slightly, with countless tiny objects hitting it, the sound endless.
He slowly looked up.
He saw tall buildings on both sides with red lanterns hanging high, brocades and silks everywhere. Among the silks were countless rouge beauties leaning on railings with smiling faces. Some cracked sunflower seeds, some ate preserved plums, some gnawed duck wings. After eating, with a wave of red sleeves, sunflower seed shells, plum pits, and duck bones were thrown at the bronze gong, creating clear ringing sounds. Some were even competing for accuracy—those who hit beckoned and laughed charmingly, those who missed spat in frustration.
Both sides were lined with such pleasure houses, the buildings packed with women. With each person spitting once, the bronze gong could ring a hundred times.
Dan Ye: “…”
He’d seen cheating before, but never cheating like this!
When he looked up, the prostitutes in the buildings all brightened up, immediately eager to show off in front of this wild, sweet, and special youth. But they were too eager, so sunflower seed shells, plum pits, and duck bones all rained down on Dan Ye.
Dan Ye: “…”
He turned sharply toward the other end of the alley. Sure enough, not only was Tie Ci gone, but even the guards from earlier had all vanished.
A moment of silence.
A plum pit flew over. He was so lost in thought that he forgot to dodge, and with a splat, the sticky plum pit stuck to his face.
Dan Ye turned his head and slowly picked off the pit, staring up at the building.
The prostitute who had spat the plum pit was originally laughing and flirting with her eyes. Meeting his gaze, she shuddered in fright and cleverly dodged backward.
Just then, a whistling sound arose. The plum pit at Dan Ye’s fingertips came flying with the wind, exploding with a crack. Above the deep red carved railing support, a deep hole pierced through appeared.
The support was a full half-foot wide and thick. If that prostitute had still been standing there, the plum pit would have gone through her chest.
This time it was the buildings above that fell silent.
A moment later, women’s shrill curses rolled over like tidal waves, accompanied by old shoes, rotten eggs, menstrual cloths, foot-binding strips raining down like hailstones… There were also worn-out undergarments and belly bands from the women, crashing down all over Dan Ye’s head and body.
Bang bang bang bang—the sound of doors slamming shut rang out urgently. When Dan Ye struggled out from a pile of belly bands, menstrual cloths, stinking socks, and old shoes and looked up again, all the brothels and pleasure houses on both sides had shut their doors.
A moment later, a furious roar echoed through the street:
“Tie Ci, I will definitely sell you to the Western Rong royal tent as a female slave!”