Poison Doctor Roaming the Martial World

"To fight or to retreat?"

Yang Jianwu felt so angry she almost fainted. You're asking me whether to fight or retreat?! Am I the kind of person who retreats? This is clearly forcing me to go!

Mo Ye secretly hoped Yang Jianwu would accept this. He knew she was quite strong and proficient in the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams formations, but he had never had the chance to witness it firsthand. Today was a good opportunity to learn more about her. If her maid could take down a whole team by herself, how many could the three of them defeat together?

Yang Jianwu seemed to sense Mo Ye's eager gaze and went to meet him. "Your Highness Prince Ning, we can fight, but regardless of who wins or loses, the first priority is to spar, the second is to compete. No one should be injured, and we should stop when we have made a move."

Mo Ye's lips curled up, just what he wanted, "Okay."

"Then what should we compete in?" This is Mo Ye's home turf, so let's leave the choice to the host.

"I heard that a few days ago Mu Jin defeated a whole squad by herself, and today Zi Ping beat Commander Han. It seems that Xiao Wu'er has just as many people as you, and they should all be very good at close combat. So how about we compete in something else, like archery and group attacks?"

Yang Jianwu looked at Mo Ye with suspicion and asked in a low voice, "Didn't you see me shoot before? You should know that my accuracy is very high."

"Ahem..." Forgive Mo Ye for thinking the wrong thing, he's recently been crammed with a lot of common knowledge about men and women by Jing Nan...

Mo Ye coughed lightly a few times to cover his embarrassment, "Um... I've only ever seen you shoot crossbows, never arrows..."

Yang Jianwu understood. Crossbows were not widely used, and very few people knew about them. Moreover, the crossbows he had shot were carefully modified, and even fewer people knew about them. "Alright, let's start with an archery contest."

Archery, an ancient and captivating sport, combines movement and stillness, allowing one to perceive the profound truths within its interplay.

Jing Nan arranged for three people to participate in the competition on Mo Ye's side. Jing Nan wanted to propose the rules first and ask Yang Jianwu for her opinion. After all, they were women, and it would be unfair to set the rules according to the men's requirements. "There are three types of bows in the army, and their ranges are different. Miss Yang, which one do you think we should compete with?"

Then three people stepped out from behind Jing Nan, one of whom was Hong Dian. The three presented three types of bows commonly used in the army. Yang Jianwu glanced at them; they were all bows and arrows used in regular training, so Zi Ping and Mu Jin should be fine with them.

"Three types of bows, three rounds of competition, three arrows per round, quick and decisive, is that feasible?" Yang Jianwu didn't know their skill level, so he had to compete in all of them to get a sense of the overall situation.

All three types of bows will be tested in one round, which is within Mo Ye's expectations. He is very curious about how they will shoot the most difficult longbow and who will shoot it.

Jing Nan hesitated and asked, "Should we move the target a little closer?"

Yang Jianwu shook her head, "No need, just compete normally, don't think about taking care of us."

Jing Nan also wanted to see their strength, "Alright, then let's follow the military rules, all one hundred paces."

Yang Jianwu estimated the distance and began assigning tasks to the two, "Ziping, first round, ordinary bow, all three arrows must hit the bullseye! Mujin, second round, Xipan bow, both arrows must hit the bullseye, one arrow is allowed to miss the bullseye! If you fail to complete the task, you will be punished!"

"Yes!" Zi Ping and Mu Jin clasped their hands in acceptance of the order. The moment they received the bows and arrows, their auras changed, as if they were warriors about to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. Their faces were serious, and a cold aura suppressed everyone present as the breeze rustled their clothes.

The three fighters Jing Nan chose to challenge were all experts from Mo Ye's Dark Guard Camp. Yet, they felt a sense of fear in front of the two of them, showing cowardice before the battle even began. This was a major taboo. Jing Nan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

The first match was between Zi Ping and Hong Dian.

Hong Dian was severely punished by Prince Ning for hitting a horse's hoof last time, and he harbored a little resentment towards Zi Ping. He decided to make this girl realize her place and that what did it matter if she beat Commandant Han? Now he was going to slap her in the face.

"Miss Ziping, please." Hongdian gestured for Ziping to go first.

Zi Ping took a half step back. "Miss told us that we must not use force to usurp the throne. Brother Hong Dian, please go first."

Hong Dian chuckled, "You're quite the expert, aren't you? Okay, I'll go first, you watch carefully."

Hong Dian stood upright with his feet one in front of the other, drew the bow to its fullest extent, and released it. "Whoosh!" The arrow hit the bullseye, and the red tassel at the end of the arrow trembled.

"Good!" The soldiers applauded and cheered.

The second and third arrows were also fired, and they hit the target!

Zi Ping clapped lightly, "Brother Hong Dian, you've got a great shot! Now it's my turn."

Hong Dian gestured for him to step back.

Zi Ping's first arrow was like a bolt of lightning, drawn back to its full length and shot straight to the bullseye.

"Good!" Although everyone applauded, it was clearly just to go through the motions, not as enthusiastically as they applauded Hongdian.

Zi Ping didn't care about their attitude. She spun around on the spot, stood with her feet apart, and shot her second arrow, hitting the bullseye again.

The room fell silent for a moment, and the applause that followed was noticeably more sincere than before. Hong Dian slowly clapped along, thinking to himself that this girl had a lot of clever ideas. She even spun around an extra time, clearly outshining him. No wonder she wanted him to shoot first.

Before the third arrow was shot, Zi Ping attacked Hong Dian directly. Hong Dian hurriedly responded, "Hey, what do you mean! Aren't we supposed to be having an archery competition?"

Neither of them used internal energy. Zi Ping held her own for several rounds, showing no signs of being at a disadvantage. In a flash, she appeared opposite Hong Dian, raised her bow, and shot at him... Hong Dian was shocked. Before he could react, the arrow flew past his ear and struck the bullseye a hundred paces behind him...

Hong Dian felt thoroughly humiliated and was deeply shocked. He clasped his hands in a salute, admitting defeat wholeheartedly.

Zi Ping returned the greeting with clasped hands and stepped back behind Yang Jianwu.

Mo Ye's lips curled slightly. As expected of Xiao Wu'er's subordinates, each of them possessed unique skills. They were not ordinary maids, but qualified warriors.

In the second match, Mu Jin faced Hong Nan. Hong Nan was the captain of the ambush squad in the Dark Guard Camp, and his archery accuracy was second to none. He was a little scared by Zi Ping's move just now, and he wondered how Mu Jin would compete in archery.

The Xipan bow is larger than a regular bow and comes from the Xipan Kingdom. The Xipan people mainly live by hunting, so their bows and arrows have a longer range than those of ordinary bows. Of course, they also require more strength.

Hongnan first sought Mujin's consent, "Miss Mujin, let's shoot arrows at the same time and see what happens?"

Mu Jin had no objections and nodded in agreement.

"Then, will you fight me?" Hongnan thought of how Ziping suddenly attacked Hongdian just now. Fortunately, Hongdian reacted quickly, otherwise he would have made a big embarrassment. It was better to ask him first.

Mu Jin tilted her head and glanced at this silly, blockheaded man. "So... do you want to fight?"

"Um..." Hongnan would have to answer like this, "I don't want to... is that okay?"

Mu Jin shrugged. "Then let's not fight, let's have a contest."

Hongnan was relieved. "Okay."

The two stood together at the line, bows drawn taut. Hongnan was about a head taller than Mujin, so his bow was of a more suitable size. Mujin, on the other hand, seemed to be drawing her bow with all her might, which explained why Yang Jianwu had allowed one arrow to deviate earlier.