"Knowing you wouldn't hit it," Chu Youwei said bluntly, "I just wanted to see how well you could control a bow—how far off your first shot would be, that sort of thing."
At the end, she added with an amused smile, "Go ahead and shoot. I promise I won't laugh at you."
Though Chu Youwei spoke with righteous seriousness, Lu Feng could clearly see the gleeful, watch-the-show look in her eyes. For no reason at all, a competitive urge rose within him. He wanted to dampen that swagger a little and had no intention of letting her have her way.
With that in mind, his gaze shifted from the few bamboo leaves to a treetop nearby.
Drawing the Peach Blossom Bow, he turned slightly to one side. Just as he was about to release the string, Chu Youwei stopped him again.
"Don't keep staring at the bow and arrow."
Chu Youwei narrowed her eyes slightly.
Lu Feng paused. He had not been deliberately looking at the Peach Blossom Bow. He was merely worried that if he applied too much force and accidentally cracked it, that would be troublesome, so he had been watching for changes in the bow's resilience.
Chu Youwei said earnestly, "Not looking at the bow when drawing it is the most basic requirement of using a bow. If you keep watching the bow and arrow, your body will unconsciously tilt one way or another, affecting your shooting angle. Once it becomes a habit, it could be a fatal flaw in a life-and-death battle."
"Yes, yes, yes," Lu Feng nodded obediently, looking every bit the good student who corrected his mistakes as soon as he recognized them.
He also understood that what she said was indeed a truth of archery—but only for beginners.
Once one's archery reached a