He walked over and sat down, looked around, and asked, "How are the rest of the people in this mansion?"
They're all dead.
"..."
"After Ciwen killed my third uncle, she immediately sent people to massacre this place, killing all of my third uncle's family members."
"..."
Wu Shuangren was at a loss for words.
Xu Jing instead said, "Don't worry, I can handle it. One day, I will avenge my third uncle and his family!"
Wu Shuangren looked at this scion of a military family and relayed Guo Jiwang's assessment to him:
"... Next, Ciwen will definitely return to Rong Province with the Mount Liang people and join the Mount Liang army. When they meet again, he will be attacking the city with tens of thousands of Mount Liang troops. At that time, killing him will only be more difficult."
Xu Jing frowned, looking at Wu Shuangren: "What are you trying to say?"
Wu Shuangren took a deep breath, as if she had made a decision.
He stared into the other person's eyes and said, word by word:
"I was wondering if there were any good horses or strong bows in this city?"
143 With powerful bows and swift horses, he killed men in the night; the Hegemon-King Strips Armor, was invincible. (Large Chapter)
Xu Jing led Wu Shuangren through the main hall of the Xu residence and into a study.
The study was small, old, and messy, clearly having been ransacked.
Xu Jing walked to the east wall and squatted down. He felt around behind the bottom row of books on the bookshelf, and with a soft click, a small hidden compartment popped out of the wall. Xu Jing reached in and pulled a few buttons, and the bookshelf slowly slid open, revealing a door just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.
"This is my third uncle's storage room."
Xu Jing said, "He loved bows most in his life, and this storage room contains his collection of fine bows. When the people from Mist Hidden Temple searched, they couldn't find this place."
Wu Shuangren followed him inside, Xu Jing lit the oil lamp in the corner, illuminating the entire secret room.
The secret room was not large, about two zhang square, with bows hanging on all four walls, arranged in a staggered pattern, some large, some small, some long, some short.
A coarse cloth was spread on a wooden table in the middle, on which were placed several boxes of arrows and several rolls of bowstring. There was a smell of tung oil in the air.
Xu Jing took a bow from the wall in the center and handed it to Wu Shuangren.
This bow is about half a circle larger than the others, and its entire body is black with a hint of red. The bow arm is made of three layers of wood and two layers of cow horn stacked together, wrapped with fine hemp, and painted black.
The bow was very long, almost reaching Wu Shuangren, and the bowstring had been removed.
Xu Jing took a string made of cow tendon and silk twisted together from the table and skillfully hung it on. He activated his Internal Skill and forcefully pulled the bow arm to tighten the string.
The bow immediately stretched taut like a full moon, emitting a deep and powerful hum.
"This bow is the strongest in this room, it should have a strength of twenty."
Xu Jing handed the strung bow to Wu Shuangren.
In novels and historical fiction, it is often said that someone can pull a bow with a weight of hundreds of stones or a pulling force of thousands of catties. In fact, this is an exaggeration, and the weight of a "catty" varies in different eras.
In this world, one force equals ten jin (a unit of weight), and the strong bows in ordinary armies are mostly between eight and twelve forces.
The imperial court's martial arts examinations initially tested a warrior's strength by measuring the force required to draw a bow.
However, drawing a bow mainly relies on the back muscles and arms, while lifting a stone weight can also use the strength of the legs and waist, requiring the activation of more muscle groups. Therefore, the assessment item was later changed from drawing a bow to lifting a stone weight.
It can draw a bow with a weight of 100 jin (50 kg), and can also lift a weight of at least 200 jin (100 kg).
A bow that can draw twelve units of strength is called Tiger Strength. Archers who dare to use the Tiger Strength Bow on the battlefield must have Internal Skill cultivation of at least the Seventh Rank, otherwise they will run out of strength after firing only a few arrows.
As for the powerful bow with a strength of twenty units, even a Fourth Rank martial artist would find it difficult to wield!
Wu Shuangren took the bow and weighed it in his hand. It was quite heavy. He held the bow with his left hand, placed the string with his right hand, and tried to pull it gently. He opened it a little, and a strong yet resilient force came from the string.
He circulated his qi and blood, activated his Internal Skill, and with the strength of his right arm, slowly drew the bow to its full length. The bow arm emitted a soft creaking sound, like a wild beast slowly awakening.
Without the [Match for One Person] enhancement, Wu Shuangren could barely draw the bow with only Sixth Rank Internal Skill.
The test for Sixth Rank Internal Skill requires lifting an object three times one's own body weight, and then lifting it overhead three times consecutively. Without any training, Wu Shuangren could only fire four or five arrows with his bow before his strength gave out.
"A fine bow!"
Wu Shuangren slowly released the string and gave a thumbs-up.
He examined the inside of the bow arm closely; there were two tiny characters written in dark red paint, "Startled Tiger."
This is the name of this bow.
"Besides this Startled Tiger Bow, give me another bow with twelve strength."
Wu Shuangren slung the black bow on his back and said to Xu Jing.
So Xu Jing took down a smaller bow from the wall, painted dark red, strung it, and handed it to him.
"The bows in this room are all at least twelve draws strong; this bow is suitable for mounted archery."
Wu Shuangren took the bow and then asked Xu Jing to fetch a casket of heavy arrows specifically designed for armor penetration from the arrows on the table.
The two then left the secret room and headed towards the backyard.
The Xu family's stables were on the west side of the backyard. As soon as they entered, several horses poked their heads out. The one furthest inside snorted when it saw Xu Jing and gently pawed the ground with its front hooves.
"Two of these horses are ones I brought from home; they've followed me all the way to Bo County."
Xu Jing walked over and patted the head of the horse furthest inside. "This one is called Thunder Treader, it's the fiercest and fastest. There's another one called Azure Fire, it has the best stamina and is good at long-distance running."
Wu Shuangren walked up to the first horse, Thunder Treader, which was dark brown with a glossy coat. It had long, straight legs and bright eyes that looked at him with a hint of wariness.
Xu Jing then pointed out Azure Fire to him. Azure Fire was a green horse with a grayish-green coat. It was slightly shorter than Thunder Treader, but had a broad chest, round buttocks, and a sturdy frame. It was grazing with its head down. When it saw Wu Shuangren coming over, it only looked up at him once before continuing to eat.
Xu Dengyun was fond of bows, while Xu Jing fond of horses, so these two horses that he brought from home were both rare and fine horses!
"Now you can tell me, what do you want to do?"
Xu Jing looked at Wu Shuangren.
The other party asked him for a good horse and a strong bow, and he gave them both.
"Of course, it's to kill people."
Wu Shuangren patted the bow hanging on his body and said casually.
Xu Jing was shocked and incredulous. "You're going to kill Ciwen?!"
"Right."
How to kill?
"Ride over there, shoot down those around him first, then find an opportunity to kill him."
Wu Shuangren spoke too matter-of-factly, as if he were talking about how to kill a First Rank master, rather than how to slaughter a chicken.
Xu Jing didn't think the other person was joking, but he still found it absurd.
"How could it be so easy..."
How will you know if you don't try?
"... Why?"
Xu Jing looked at Wu Shuangren, not understanding why the other party would take such a risk.
We've already recaptured Yi Prefecture City; all we need to do now is defend it.
Wu Shuangren smiled, looked into Xu Jing's eyes, and said, word by word:
They say a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, but for me, revenge is something I enjoy from morning till night!
Xu Jing fell silent.
He didn't ask Wu Shuangren how confident he was, nor did he ask about the specifics of the plan; he only said:
"Okay, I'll go with you!"
The night was as dark as ink, and the Yi Prefecture City slowly opened a crack.
Thirteen riders filed out, each followed by an empty horse carrying quivers, rations, and water bags.
Wu Shuangren rode on Azure Fire's back, with Thunder Treader following behind. He had changed into a relatively intact set of infantry armor, and both bows and a Mo Dao were hanging on the saddle.
Xu Jing and the eleven archers he brought from Bo County also came along, all dressed in lamellar armor, wearing iron helmets, and carrying bows and swords.
Without torches, the group sped off towards Misty Mist Hidden Mountain by the still-bright moonlight.
Before long, the group arrived at the foot of the mountain.
It was pitch black here; there was no light and no one in sight.
Wu Shuangren reined in his horse and stopped. The others dismounted and searched the area.
The ground was littered with footprints and numerous wheel tracks, with the wheel tracks leading all the way to the northwest.
Xu Jing squatted down, pressed his finger along the edge of the rut, and then looked at the clumps of horse manure on the ground.
"The main force just left not long ago."
Xu Jing looked up at the northwest and made a judgment.
"They must have come here this afternoon to collect supplies from Mist Hidden Mountain, and then left with their men overnight."
Wu Shuangren nodded, guessing that the other party probably also planned to take the same path he had taken before, hoping to bypass Yi Prefecture City.
The group remounted their horses, and the twenty-six horses followed the tracks on the ground westward.
After chasing for about 15 minutes, lights appeared ahead. The lights stretched out in a continuous line, winding their way into the night, seemingly without end.
The forces of Mount Liang and Mist Hidden Temple are just ahead!
The team numbered over two thousand people, with numerous handcarts and wheelbarrows sandwiched in the middle, piled high with supplies.
Ciwen took away all the remaining monks and soldiers of Mist Hidden Temple, along with the wealth accumulated over the years and a large amount of grain.
"Instructor Lin was no match for that person in a one-on-one fight today?"
Mount Liang and others were also in the group.
Only then did Liang An find Lin Qian and inquire about the details of today's battle.
Lin Qian, seated on his horse, wore a complex expression. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, "Before the final retreat, I was indeed at a disadvantage..."
Liang An looked astonished. "It's said that this person just turned eighteen this year. First Rank, and such a thing has happened?!"
Zhigang up. "Heroes are as numerous as carp crossing a river; we truly underestimated Militia Commander Wu this time."
Lin Qian touched his left shoulder and said with a bitter expression, "I only knew of one person like this before: the Prince of the Western Capital. He could lift a cauldron with one hand at seventeen and defeated several First Rank experts by eighteen... Now it seems, this Wu Shuangren..."
He had been an instructor in the Imperial Guards, and the rumors he heard most often in the army were naturally about that [Hegemon-King].
Liang An immediately shook his head. "Does Instructor Lin really think that Wu Shuangren can become another [Hegemon-King]? I don't believe it!"
"..."
Lin Qian pursed his lips and remained silent.
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from the rear of the column.
The group looked behind them and then heard the sound of arrows whistling through the air.
"Careful!"
"I've been hit by an arrow!"
"Enemy attack—"
A commotion broke out in the line behind!
Wu Shuangren, Xu Jing, and others circled around to the back of the line from the left.
They proceeded slowly, and when they were about 150 paces from the rear of the column, Wu Shuangren spurred his horse, Azure Fire let out a long neigh, and suddenly leaped forward. The others also accelerated at the same time, and the sound of hooves exploded in the night, like the beating of heavy drums!
Wu Shuangren picked up the twelve-strength red bow, drew the bowstring, and the first arrow flew out with a sharp whistling sound, accurately hitting the back of the neck of a monk carrying a long spear at the rear of the group.