Once everything was in place, Wu Di came over to the wooden platform and handed them the papers lying on it. "Put your handprints on these first."
They passed the papers around in turn, leaving their handprints on them. After they handed them back, Wu Di sat down, took a pen from his pocket, and began writing and sketching. When he finally stopped, there were words on the papers, along with a sketch.
"All right." Wu Di stood and looked at them. "Who wants to go first?"
After a brief silence, Ai Da spoke up. "I'll go first." He stepped forward, picked up the longbow beside him, nocked an arrow, and shot at the straw dummy fifty meters away.
Whoosh! The arrow whistled like a swallow in flight and plunged straight through the center of the dummy's head. Its tremendous force carried it easily through the straw before, with a thunk, it lodged firmly in a gap between the stones of the wall.
Immediately afterward, he nocked another arrow, aimed at the target, and released. The arrow struck the bull's-eye with precision, almost perfectly overlapping its central dot.
"Practically flawless."
Clap, clap! Wu Di applauded as he praised him. "Very good. You qualify to join the group. Next."
Ai Xiao went second, once again dispelling Zeng Mu's earlier doubts. His archery was every bit as good as his older brother's. Even the spots they hit were identical, both slightly left of center. It seemed they really were brothers after all.
Their performances were impossible to fault, leaving Wu Di thoroughly satisfied. Over the past ten days, at least, both brothers ranked among the top five.
"Next."
As soon as he spoke, Leng Feng stepped forward and took up the longbow with his powerful arm. The sight was as comical as