Gu Yuan handed the bow in his hand to Gu Yanfei and explained with a smile: "Sister, your bow is a stone bow. It is a bit light for a martial artist. However, for most women, this stone bow is still a bit difficult."
"Have you tried your bow?"
"I tried it." Gu Yanfei nodded, "It's quite light."
"Sister is indeed a child of our Gu family!" Gu Yuan smiled happily, "Several aunts and great-aunts in the family are also good at riding and shooting."
Gu Jian, who was standing next to him, only realized at this moment that the bow actually belonged to Gu Yanfei. His expression froze. He felt that the brother and sister were in cahoots with each other, as if they were mocking his uncle for not being able to even pull a stone bow.
Gu Yuan turned his back to Gu Jian and focused on talking to Gu Yanfei: "Sister, although my archery skills are not as good as my father's when he was alive, I am still 70% to 80% as good as him. I am the top archer in the army every year. If you want to learn, I can teach you."
When he said this, he was in high spirits, and his expression revealed a sense of complacency and boasting.
When Gu Jian, who was not far away, heard him mention Gu Ce, the teacup in his hand shook slightly.
Gu Yanfei was amused by Gu Yuan and smiled. Just as he was about to say yes, he noticed that the hairband behind Gu Yuan's head was a little loose, so he waved at him: "Sit down, lower your head."
Gu Yuan followed the command and sat down on a chair with his head slightly lowered.
Gu Yanfei helped him smooth out his slightly loose hair and then tightened the headband again.
Gu Yuan lay motionless, letting Gu Yanfei braid his hair, staring at the girl standing so close to him.
There was a voice deep in his heart saying that this was his real sister, she was different.
Since childhood, Gu Yuan has been very good to his only sister Gu Yunman, and Gu Yunman is also close to him, but for some reason, there is always an invisible barrier between him and Gu Yunman deep in his heart, and there seems to be an impenetrable fog surrounding them that is difficult to describe in words.
Sometimes, he felt that there was something wrong with him. He and Gu Yunyan both lost their parents and were each other's only relatives. He should have treated her better. He also blamed himself and felt confused for this.
It was not until now that he found his real sister that the fog in his heart was cleared.
When he was with Gu Yanfei, there was no such strange sense of estrangement. Instead, there was an inexplicable tacit understanding and intimacy between them.
Even though they had only known each other for a short time and had only spent such a short time together, it seemed as if there was an invisible bond deep in the blood that connected him and his sister.
This is his sister! The person closest to him in blood in this world.
Gu Yuan's heart finally settled, just like a traveler who had been wandering for many years and finally found his home, and his heart felt warm.
Gu Yanfei tied her hairband slowly and leisurely, and glanced at the young servant in blue clothes who was running towards her breathlessly, holding two heavy bows.
Gu Yanfei's gaze fixed on one of the bows for a moment, and a faint sneer escaped from his mouth.
She calmly raised her hand and drew a strange, winding line on his forehead, drawing it from the beginning to the end. When she finished, she lightly touched his forehead with her fingertips.
A faint white light flashed by.
Gu Yanfei withdrew his hand with satisfaction, and then said: "Okay."
Gu Yuan then stood up from the chair, and touched the hairband that Gu Yanfei had retied with some reluctance, feeling full of energy.
While the brother and sister were talking, the blue-clothed servant had already walked to the long table with the two bows, sweating profusely, and carefully put down the bows.
These two bows are heavier than the other, far superior to Gu Yanfei's stone bow.
Gu Jian put down the teacup, cleared his throat, and said, "Brother Yuan, I remember you could draw a two-stone bow a year ago, and you can draw this one with ease now. Let your uncle see how many stones you can draw now?"
The servant had just brought two bows, one was a three-stone bow and the other was a five-stone bow.
Without saying a word, Gu Yuan picked up the three-stone bow and shook it.
The three-stone bow is obviously heavier than the one-stone bow, and the bowstring is thicker, flashing a faint cold light in the sunlight.
Gu Yuan remained calm and composed. He slowly put the arrow on the bow and pulled the bowstring to its full extent. His movements were as smooth as flowing water, and it seemed that it had become a reflex action of his body.
In the past two years, the bow he often used in the army was the three-stone bow, which was no longer a problem for him.
The feather arrow shot out rapidly, faster and sharper than the first arrow, falling like a meteor.
The second arrow hit the bull's eye again.
The target in the distance was shaking violently and rustling because of the impact of the arrow, as if applauding Gu Yuan.
"Pa pa pa..." Gu Yanfei clapped happily again, his eyes shining.
"Good!" Gu Jian also clapped his hands and praised loudly with great energy, "Brother Yuan has made great progress this year."
"This third one is a five-stone bow, which your father also used when he was young..."
Gu Jian said it lightly, with the corners of his mouth curled up with a bit of complacency.
This rhino horn bow is of extraordinary significance to the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, representing the mansion’s former glory and honor.
When Emperor Taizu conferred the title of Duke of Dingyuan, Gu Yao, on the first generation, he personally bestowed this rhinoceros horn bow, praising Gu Yao as a natural archer with extraordinary powers, who had not been matched in a hundred years, and saying that a good bow is a gift to a hero.
Of course Gu Yuan also knew this history.
Gu Yuan looked at the five-stone bow with burning eyes, picked it up eagerly, his eyes shining with excitement.
He still remembers that it was his grandfather who personally passed this bow to his father. He watched his father draw the bow and shoot an arrow through the air. At that time, his father said with a smile that he would pass the bow to him in the future and let him practice riding and shooting well so that he could draw this bow when he grows up.
Although he had little strength and stature at that time, he would always sneak into his father's study to secretly play with the bowstring.
Later, when my father passed away and my second uncle inherited the title, he took the rhinoceros horn bow away with him.
Gu Yuan grabbed the heavy rhino horn bow in his hand and couldn't let it go.
Gradually, a trace of sadness and reluctance appeared in his eyes.
This emotion was soon replaced by another kind of excitement that was eager to try.
He held the rhino horn bow tightly and pulled the string step by step, increasing the strength again and again. After testing the feel, he slowly and firmly pulled the heavy empty bow to its full length the third time.
The muscles in the shoulders and arms are tensed as he draws the bow; the strong muscles bulge slightly under his robe, and his posture of drawing the bow is very heroic.
But anyone could see that it was already very strenuous for him just to pull the empty bow to its full length.
"Not bad, quite good." Gu Jian stood up from his chair and clapped his hands again, "You have the style of your father back then!"
After a while, Gu Yuan let the bowstring back little by little.
Gu Jian stroked his beard again, his face showing nostalgia, "I still remember that when your grandfather gave this bow to your father, your father was about your age now, and this bow had been with him on the battlefield..."
As he spoke, his index finger brushed across the corner of his eye, and his voice became a little hoarse.
Gu Yuan still held the rhino horn bow, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead and temples, but his eyes were bright, as if to say, he could do it! He casually pulled out another arrow from the quiver, and the meaning of this action was very clear, he planned to use this five-stone bow to shoot the third arrow.
"Brother Yuan, forget it." Gu Jian advised with a sigh, "You have tried very hard. It is quite good for you to be able to pull this bow at your age. I am afraid there is no one else like you among your peers..."
"People should do things within their ability and not force themselves."
"I can do it." Gu Yuan said confidently, his spirits high. The beads of sweat sparkled like crystal in the sunlight, making the boy look even more unrestrained.
His archery skills were taught by his father himself.
My father said that practicing martial arts cannot rely solely on brute force, but also requires perseverance and the use of the brain.
His father taught him a training called "meditation", which required him to practice martial arts every day and to rehearse the process of practicing martial arts over and over again in his mind at night when no one was around.
He has done this kind of "meditation" training thousands of times and is very familiar with it.
When he was trying out the bow just now, he rehearsed it several times in his mind, down to every detail of nocking the arrow, pulling the string, pre-tensioning, drawing the bow, aiming, and releasing the string.
Although he hadn't gotten started yet, he was sure that he could do it! Gu Jian stopped trying to persuade Gu Yuan and picked up the teacup again.
Under his half-closed eyelids, his gaze moved slightly and a sneer appeared on his lips.
Eight years ago, the title of Marquis Dingyuan was almost lost to his elder brother Gu Ce. It was he who worked hard to keep the title, and it was because of his keeping a low profile all these years that their Gu family can live a stable life today.
He would not let Gu Yuanbai get the advantage!
Gu Jian seemed to be drinking tea, but in fact he was still paying attention to Gu Yuan's every move. He saw Gu Yuan calmly put the third feather arrow on the five-stone rhino horn bow with a serious expression.
His phoenix eyes emitted an unusually bright light in the sunlight, as if they had passed through that distant time and space, looking at a tall and heroic figure with a bright and handsome appearance.
His father's blood runs in his body. Whatever his father can do, he can do too!
Gu Yuan took a deep breath, looked focused, and pulled the string again.
This time, he pulled the string with greater force and greater speed, just as he had practiced in his mind before, using the strength of his waist and back to firmly pull the bow.
The pulled bowstring made a slight "hissing" sound.
The sound was as light as a mosquito's hum, almost inaudible in the cold wind of the martial arts arena.
The teacup in Gu Jian's hand stopped in front of his chest. His eyes widened unconsciously, staring at the five-stone bow in Gu Yuan's hand without blinking, watching the bowstring being pulled full little by little.
He knew that the bowstring would break if pulled to the extreme.
In other words, the moment Gu Yuan released the arrow, the bowstring would break...
He was sure that Gu Yuan would not be able to escape, and his arm would be in danger! Gu Jian's eyes became more and more sinister and dark, like an evil ghost from the boundless hell.
This injury would not take Gu Yuan's life, but once the hand bones were broken, it would be fatal for a military general, so Gu Yuan could only stop here.
(End of this chapter)
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