Arrow Contest Decides Treasure

It was the people from their Third Team!

Li Mo's booming voice instantly dispelled the anxiety that had just gripped Yu Bin and the others.

They looked at one another, and beyond the relief, an indescribable ecstasy welled up within them.

At first, they had held no hope, feeling that hitting a Treasure Fish was an incredibly difficult task, and they had already prepared themselves for failure.

Who would have thought that someone could actually strike and capture one, and it was an archer from their own Third Team at that!

Yu Bin asked impatiently, "Li Mo, hurry and see whose arrow that is!"

He only knew the arrow came from their Third Team, but he did not know exactly who had fired it.

Hearing this, the others also revealed expressions of curiosity and looked toward Li Mo.

Li Mo nodded slightly and focused his gaze; when he saw the markings on the arrowhead, his pupils constricted.

He blurted out in shock, "It's Hong Ming!"

"Hong Ming?"

Hearing this name, many were suddenly stunned.

This guy... who is that?

Within the entire Treasure Fish Team, they were all well-acquainted with one another, and none of them had heard of this person.

If he wasn't from the Treasure Fish Team, could he be a member of the Fishing Team?

Since when did members of the Fishing Team possess such superb archery skills?

In an instant, those who were confused began to look at each other in bewilderment.

Only a very small number of people showed signs of being moved.

The moment Shen Lin heard the name, his gaze narrowed; he immediately thought of the companion who had entered the Preparatory Camp at the same time as him.

Were they the same person?

He felt suspicious, thinking it unlikely.

Wasn't it said that Hong Ming hadn't received any official documents for nearly a month? How did he end up in the Archery Battalion, and coincidentally in the same team as him?

And how did he display such profound archery skills?

He inexplicably questioned whether it might be someone with the same name.

Yu Bin did not have such doubts; he was mostly just surprised.

He still had an impression of Hong Ming, but that impression was limited to their first meeting.

At that time, the other party had seemed like a piece of rotten wood, impossible to carve.

How much time had passed, and Li Mo had already stripped away the rot and meticulously carved him into a pillar of support?

It must have been luck!

He found a reason that he could somewhat accept.

This same reasoning was also accepted by Li Mo.

Compared to the other two, he found it easier to accept the current situation, believing that Hong Ming's success was a combination of skill and a touch of good fortune.

He didn't dwell on it further; regardless, Hong Ming capturing a Treasure Fish was a blessing for their Third Team!

Just as they were about to stow the Treasure Fish and return, a sharp, piercing voice suddenly rang out, as if to shatter their good fortune: "Li Mo, leave our Treasure Fish behind!"

The voice came from the Second Team, and the speaker was Wang Jiu, the deputy leader of the Second Team.

Led by Wang Jiu, the Treasure Fish Team steered their boat to block them, everyone on board wearing an unpleasant expression, glaring at Li Mo and the others.

They clearly had ill intentions!

"That is utter nonsense!"

Before Li Mo could speak, Yu Bin shouted in anger, venting the grudge from the previous arrow-snatching incident with interest.

"This Treasure Fish was obtained by our Third Team; what does it have to do with you?"

Wang Jiu sneered repeatedly: "A joke! If you hadn't played dirty and deliberately obstructed the arrow fired by our team's Zhou Zheng, would the Red-Horned Pomfret have fallen into your hands?"

Hearing the other party twist the truth like this, Yu Bin nearly cursed out loud.

Li Mo remained relatively calm and whispered a warning: "Don't get entangled with them, the Treasure Fish is what matters!"

The fish tide had only just begun, and Treasure Fish could appear at any moment; it wasn't worth wasting time on the Second Team.

Their main task was to catch Treasure Fish, the more the better!

However, while Li Mo wanted to leave, Wang Jiu and the others were unwilling to let it go: "Stop right there!"

As the words fell, it was as if a horn for battle had been blown, heightening the tense atmosphere.

In the blink of an eye, Water Soldiers within the Second Team drew their bows and nocked arrows, acting restlessly as they prepared to strike at Li Mo and his group.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Seeing this, Li Mo's expression darkened; he pointed at the Red-Horned Pomfret and shouted sternly, "Wang Jiu, the River Bureau has long established the rule: whoever strikes the fish, the Treasure Fish belongs to that person and their team. Are you planning to openly defy it?"

Wang Jiu was not buying it at all: "Li Mo, stop trying to suppress us with rules. The rules aren't wrong; what's wrong is that you cheated!"

"What a joke. How could we have cheated? It's clearly just that your skills are inferior!" Yu Bin did not hold back, rubbing salt directly into the wound.

These words infuriated Wang Jiu, who said in a deep voice: "Enough nonsense. If nothing else, we'll take this matter up the chain and let Team Leader Han preside over justice."

Hearing this, both Li Mo and Yu Bin's expressions shifted slightly, and they furrowed their brows.

Neither of them wanted to blow this matter out of proportion; not only would it inevitably be settled by someone playing favorites to keep the peace, but they were also worried about missing the fish tide and the Treasure Fish.

However, Wang Jiu and his men were clearly in a "nothing to lose" state of mind, making it obvious they would not let this go.

Unwilling to miss the opportunity, Li Mo seemed to compromise: "Then what would you have us do?"

"The rules of the battalion: a shooting contest to decide the winner. Whoever wins gets the Treasure Fish!"

Seeing that he had Li Mo and the others cornered, Wang Jiu did not push his luck. It was true that he wanted the Red-Horned Pomfret, but he did not want to suffer mutual destruction over it.

"A shooting contest?"

Hearing this request, both Li Mo and Yu Bin's expressions softened slightly.

If the ownership of the Treasure Fish were to be decided this way, it was well within their acceptable range.

As the deputy team leader, Li Mo was duty-bound to take on this responsibility. It just so happened that his archery had improved recently, and he could use this to establish his authority over Wang Jiu and the others.

But before he could agree, he heard Wang Jiu add: "Not us, but the two who shot just now: Hong Ming and Zhou Zheng!"

He had clearly seen through Li Mo's intentions and set the rules in advance.

Li Mo's archery was among the best in the entire Second Battalion; if he were to step up, even Wang Jiu would not have much of a chance of winning.

"Let Hong Ming come?"

Yu Bin's expression turned slightly ugly.

Li Mo fell silent, his brows knitting into a knot.

He did not yet know the level of Hong Ming's archery, but he was well aware of Zhou Zheng's standard.

The other party was a gifted archer within the Second Team, no less talented than Shen Lin.

The vast difference between the two was that the former had not yet matured, while the latter had fully realized his potential and was famous throughout the Archery Battalion.

In terms of eyesight alone, even he could not compare to the other man.

If he were to compete in this shooting match, his odds would be fifty-fifty, but if it came down to Hong Ming, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Li Mo's mind raced as he weighed all the options.

Yu Bin, however, was unwilling to settle: "Wang Jiu, since we are having a shooting contest, we should follow our rules: the archers can be chosen at will!"

Wang Jiu did not speak, putting on a rogue-like posture that suggested if they didn't agree, he would just keep dragging this out.

Seeing this, Yu Bin gritted his teeth, yet felt utterly helpless!

He ultimately left the decision to Li Mo. Li Mo sighed softly and asked: "We will agree to this, but we get to decide how the contest is held!"

"Fine!" Wang Jiu agreed quite readily.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Mo pointed to a withered yellow pine tree standing not far away.

On it was a mark they had made temporarily, a circle the size of a millstone.

Treating the pine tree as the target and the circle as the bullseye, Li Mo stated the rules of the contest: "At this distance, ten arrows each. Whoever hits the target more times wins. How about it?"

How about it?

Wang Jiu estimated the distance and glanced at the size of the target, feeling quite surprised.

These loose rules almost made him think that Li Mo was simply handing the Treasure Fish over!

Under such conditions, let alone Zhou Zheng, even any random archer from their Treasure Fish Team could hit ten out of ten with ease.

What exactly is Li Mo planning?