Two Arrows

Wei Jiangyang and Chen Huadong's calves were trembling in front of the folding knife. If the other party was just after their money, it would be fine; they could just consider it a loss and move on. But judging by the young man's demeanor, he seemed to have designs on the girls as well.

Besides Wang Huan, the other three girls in Xiaoxiao's dorm were not unattractive. Shen Xixi was, of course, the undisputed campus beauty of the Public Administration department. Xiaoxiao was on the university volleyball team and maintained a great figure. As for Xu Jing, the legally underage loli, she was a magnet for trouble.

Normally, they didn't have to worry about their safety at school. But now, they were in a truly remote wilderness. Although there were other campers, they were too far away. Even if they called for help, it wasn't guaranteed anyone could reach them in time.

Xiaoxiao and the other girls were starting to regret coming here for camping. However, they had done their research beforehand; the surrounding area was all villages, and the public order had always been good. They didn't know why they were so unlucky this time.

Sweat beaded on Wei Jiangyang's forehead. His girlfriend was right behind him, so he couldn't retreat. But facing this situation, fear was a natural human emotion. He watched the young man approach step by step, his body stiff, his throat dry.

However, in the next moment, something sliced through the darkness.

The young man stopped in his tracks. An arrow was stuck in the ground in front of him, the arrowhead completely buried, and the fletching still trembling, indicating how fast the arrow had been shot.

Zhang Heng stood in front of the tent, holding the SF Recurve Bow. After shooting the first arrow, he didn't stop and quickly drew a second one. Before Wei Jiangyang and the others could cheer, they saw the second arrow miss by a mile, embedding itself into a small tree in the distance.

Wei Jiangyang and the others felt a chill in their hearts, thinking it was over. They had hoped this arrow would scare off the young man in front of them, but Zhang Heng had revealed his weakness so quickly.

The young man was startled by the first arrow. Firearms were strictly controlled by the state, so generally, bows and crossbows were the most powerful ranged weapons available to civilians. He hadn't expected someone in this group to be an archer. But the subsequent arrow had landed several meters away from him.

So, was that first arrow just luck?

He subconsciously looked back towards where the arrow had landed. To his horror, he realized that the tree was exactly where his companion was hiding.

"The first two arrows were warnings. If you don't leave, the third arrow will draw blood," Zhang Heng said calmly.

The young man's expression changed several times at his words, and everyone else's hearts pounded.

At this moment, the young man was only three to four meters away from Wei Jiangyang and Chen Huadong. He was contemplating whether he could grab a hostage if he made a sudden move. However, after much hesitation, he couldn't guarantee he could do it before the other person's arrow hit him. So, he finally chose to put away his folding knife, raise his hands, and say, "Sorry to bother you. It seems my brothers and I will have to find friends elsewhere."

As he spoke, he kept his eyes on Zhang Heng, who was holding the arrow, and retreated step by step back into the woods.

After this incident, no one had any appetite for dinner or camping. They hastily packed their things, wishing they could leave immediately. However, it was impossible to get a taxi in the wilderness at this hour. Moreover, Xiaoxiao was worried that the group might harass other tourists. So, while calling the police, they went to notify others.

Shen Xixi seemed about to say something but ultimately held back.

It was the other girls who, after the danger had passed, gathered around Zhang Heng. Xu Jing stuck out her tongue and said, "Amazing, Zhang classmate. I thought you were scared away at first, but it turns out you were Iron Man summoning his armor."

Chen Huadong couldn't help but add, "Big brother, I only admire you in this life. You missed that second shot so badly, and you could still stand there and launch a verbal attack. I'm impressed."

Xiaoxiao also said, "So those thugs were that timid. They got scared just seeing you with the bow and ran off. But you really saved us this time; you scared me half to death just now."

"To thank you for saving our lives, I've decided to betroth our dorm's beauty to you," Xu Jing finally declared. As soon as she made this bold statement, she received another rap on the head. However, Shen Xixi also sincerely thanked Zhang Heng afterward.

After notifying the scattered campers around, everyone gathered together, finally feeling a bit safer.

Zhang Heng put down his recurve bow, opened his backpack, and distributed the snacks he had brought that didn't require any preparation.

Xu Jing mumbled through a mouthful of egg tart, "Today was too exciting. This is my first time camping, and it might be my last."

With the sweet snacks, everyone's mood generally improved, and they began chatting about the recent thrilling events.

At this moment, Shen Xixi suddenly spoke up, "Zhang Heng, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Mm."

Under everyone's ambiguous gazes, they walked aside. Shen Xixi first thanked him again for the evening's events, then said, "You noticed, didn't you."

"Noticed what?"

"That guy didn't look like he was from the nearby villages. He should have come from the city like us."

"Are you saying that group specifically targets women at night here?"

"No, if they were prepared, he wouldn't be dressed like that. Those shoes he's wearing are Adidas Yeezy 500s; the genuine ones cost at least over two thousand yuan on the market. He wouldn't be willing to wear them here and risk getting scratched by branches. Also, he kept scratching his neck while talking, clearly bitten badly by mosquitoes. If they were planning this, they wouldn't be so careless. So, it's more likely he rushed here too."

"Your observation is very detailed," Zhang Heng said in surprise. "Considering the situation at the time, few people could still pay attention to so many details."

"Aren't you the same?" Shen Xixi said softly.

"I didn't notice," Zhang Heng shook his head. "I don't know much about shoes. My attention was mainly on his companions in the woods, and I didn't notice his small actions. If you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have discovered them."

Shen Xixi seemed a bit surprised. "Then why were you paying attention to Wang Huan all along?"

"Because her emotional fluctuations were too intense when the guy with the tattoo appeared. Everyone was terrified at the time, but her surprise was more pronounced than her fear. After they left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but her fear actually increased."

Shen Xixi showed a wry smile. "This is why I didn't agree with calling the police."

"Even though she put you all in danger tonight?"

"Wang Huan also has her reasons. Cheng Cheng threatened her, saying if she didn't help, she'd have to pay for that lipstick. Her parents lost their jobs a long time ago, and she has a younger brother at home. And like you said, she didn't expect what happened tonight. She just secretly sent our address to Cheng Cheng, thinking he just wanted to come over. She didn't expect bad people to show up. Now she's very scared and worried about being discovered by the police."

"You decide."

Zhang Heng remained noncommittal. They were all adults and needed to take responsibility for their actions. Their circumstances and family background might be the cause of their mistakes, but they were not excuses. It's a simple principle: society might be unfair to you, but you can't go to a kindergarten and start slashing people or set fire to a bus.

However, since the person came for Shen Xixi, how she wanted to resolve it was her business, and Zhang Heng had no objections.

As for Cheng Cheng, he could roughly guess what the other party was up to. Given that his favorability with Shen Xixi had turned negative, perhaps only a staged hero-saves-the-beauty scenario could barely improve it. But this guy had clearly underestimated Shen Xixi's intelligence.

As it stood, they were not on the same level at all.

Shen Xixi seemed relieved at his words. "I'm not going to forgive someone without limits. Wang Huan promised to switch dorms with someone when we get back, and we won't have any more contact after that, so let's just leave it at that. As for you, you'll probably have to be careful from now on. Cheng Cheng probably wouldn't dare to commit a crime, but he wouldn't hesitate to push the boundaries like this. Hmm, you'd better not leave campus for a while. I'll try to think of a way to help you."

Hmm, the cover art the art director at Qidian made for me is too tempting; I can barely control myself... I hope it can be changed back tomorrow.