"Okay …"
"A godly arrow …"
As soon as Xia Pingan opened his eyes, he saw that he was in the middle of the crowd, watching the bustle, while the people around him were all excitedly clapping and cheering. Not far away, there was a tall city gate tower. At the gate of the city gate, there were two words, Handan. This was an open space outside Handan City. There were many peddlers around, and there were many people coming and going at the city gate. Everyone was gathered here, and he was also wearing coarse clothes, carrying a bag on his back, looking travel-worn.
The person being watched by the crowd was a tall man with a curly beard. That man was shooting an arrow with a bow.
The man's target was a big poplar tree outside the city. The tree was more than a hundred meters away from the man. Xia Pingan looked towards the tree and saw an arrow nailed to the tree, but the people around him were cheering.
Xia Pingan was still puzzled. It was just a big tree, what was there to be happy about?
Just as this question arose in his mind, Xia Pingan saw the man shoot another arrow.
This time, Xia Pingan saw clearly. The arrow shot from the back directly hit the end of the arrow shaft in front. The sharp arrowhead directly hit the arrow shaft and feathers of the arrow in front of the tree. The feathers scattered like catkins blown by the wind, causing the people around him to cheer.
Xia Pingan was also shocked. This level of skill was not as simple as hitting the bullseye. It was the standard of hitting a blade or a fly from a hundred meters away. The arrowhead at the back had to break the end of the arrow shaft in front of the arrow shaft. No matter how many arrows were shot, there would only be one arrow shaft left on the tree in front.
The man shot another arrow, hitting the arrow shaft in front of him. The scattered arrow shafts fell under the tree, and the people around him cheered again.
"Uncle, who is this archer? How can he be so skilled?" Xia Pingan asked an uncle next to him to be on the safe side.
"This is our Zhao Country's number one godly archer, Fei Wei …" The big tree next to him said proudly, and then clapped his hands.
It was indeed a Fei Wei!
Xia Pingan watched from the side, waiting for Fei Wei to finish his performance and for the crowd to disperse. Fei Wei came to the target poplar tree alone and was about to use a small knife to dig out the arrowhead from the tree trunk. Only then did Xia Pingan come to the side and help Fei Wei dig out the arrowhead without saying a word.
The arrowheads of this era were made of copper and were not cheap. If the arrowheads were dug out, new arrowheads could be forged.
Fei Wei glanced at Xia Pingan, who came over to help silently. He didn't say anything. After the arrowheads were dug out, he opened his mouth, "Young man, you look travel-worn. Did you just come to Handan?"
"To be honest, I came to Handan because I heard that Feiwei is the number one archer in our Zhao Country. I wanted to learn archery from you. I didn't expect to see you today. You really live up to your reputation. Can you teach me your archery skills?"
"Oh, you want to learn archery from me?" Fei Wei glanced at Xia Pingan and nodded slightly, "Your body isn't weak. You should have practiced before, right?"
"Yes, I have practiced for a period of time. I also like hunting. I can barely use a bow!"
"What's your name? Where did you come from?" Fei Wei continued to ask.
If this question was asked to other people who had fused with the Realm Pearl, they would definitely be dumbfounded. However, who was Xia Pingan? Naturally, he could answer it fluently, "My name is Ji Chang. I came from Xing Di Ningjin!"
Fei Wei laughed and put away his bow. Suddenly, he took out an arrowhead and stabbed it towards Xia Pingan's eyes. His movements were fast and swift. The sharp arrowhead almost touched Xia Pingan's eyelashes before Fei Wei stopped. Seeing that something sharp was stabbing towards him, although Xia Pingan didn't cowardly dodge, his eyes naturally blinked twice.
"Not bad, you have enough courage. You don't have to dodge. Seeing that you are also from Zhao Country, I will tell you. If you want to learn archery from me, you must first learn not to blink. When you learn not to blink, even if a sharp blade stabs you or an arrow shoots you, you can stare at your target without blinking. Then come and find me!" As Fei Wei spoke, he put the arrowhead back into the deerskin pouch and turned to leave.
Xia Pingan didn't chase after him. He only bowed deeply to Fei Wei's back. Then, he didn't enter Handan City again. Instead, he turned and left.
Ji Chang's hometown was Ji Chang Village in Hebei's Ningjin County. Of course, there was no Ji Chang Village at this time. Ji Chang Village was later changed to commemorate Ji Chang. The distance between Xing Di and Handan City wasn't far. In just three days, Xia Pingan had already returned to Ningjin County.
Xia Pingan originally wanted to find someone to ask and find a way to return home first. However, as soon as he returned to Ningjin, he was recognized by an old man driving an ox cart on the road.
The old man sat on the ox cart. When he passed by Xia Pingan, he tilted his head and looked at Xia Pingan. He smiled and said, "Isn't this Ji Chang? I heard that you went to Handan City to find a godly archer to learn archery. Did you learn it so quickly?"
Xia Pingan was secretly sweating in his heart. At this time, people were very simple. Ning Jin wasn't that big, and normally there wouldn't be any news or gossip. A person from Ning Jin went outside to find a godly archer to learn martial arts, and almost everyone in the county knew about it. This Ji Chang seemed to have some fame in Ning Jin, and he was actually recognized.
"I met the godly archer. The godly archer said that my skill wasn't enough and that I should go home and practice more …" Xia Pingan could only reply like this.
"Alright, I was just going to collect leather and pass by your house. Get on, it's on the way …"
Xia Pingan sighed in relief and directly got on the ox cart.
On the ox cart, Xia Pingan found out about the situation of Ji Chang's family after some indirect questioning.
Ji Chang's family conditions were actually very good. His family had accumulated wealth for several generations. In Ji Chang's generation, the family had more than three hundred mu of fertile land. Usually, they could collect some rent. Because his family conditions were good, Ji Chang liked archery from a young age. He often went hunting with hunters and could even catch prey to sell. In Ningjin County, he was considered a famous archer and the son of a rich family. Many people knew about him.
The old man driving the ox cart was called Feng. He was a small fur merchant in Ningjin County and could be considered acquaintances with Ji Chang.
The ox cart moved slowly on the road. Two hours later, the ox cart arrived at a village with hundreds of families. It stopped outside a courtyard with several courtyards and several large tiled houses. There was also a jujube tree in front of the courtyard. "Alright, Ji Chang, you're home. I'll come back to collect the prey when I get it. I heard that there was a large worm in East Mountain a long time ago. A few days ago, a rich merchant came here to collect the skin of the large worm or those with arrow holes …"
Xia Pingan got off the ox cart and came to the door. He knocked on the door. After a short while, the door opened, revealing the face of a 15-16 year old girl. The moment the girl saw Xia Pingan, she became excited and turned around to shout towards the house, "Madam … Madam … Master is back!"
'It's really here!'
Xia Pingan let out a sigh of relief and directly walked in. Then, he saw a beautiful woman in a dress and hairpin walking out quickly. When she saw Xia Pingan, the woman also let out a sigh of relief and revealed a smile, "It's good that you're back. Xiaohuan, go to the kitchen and tell Granny to cook two more dishes tonight!"
"Okay!"
In Ji Chang's house, there was a virtuous wife, a maid, and a helper granny. Ji Chang was the head of the family. Usually, the family's main income came from the rent. Because Ji Chang was powerful and had a group of friends in the farmstead and the county town, none of the tenants dared to not pay the rent. Therefore, the family's life was pretty good. At least they didn't have to run around for a living. Ji Chang could concentrate on archery and martial arts. When it was time to collect the rent, he would go and collect it. Ji Chang's wife was in charge of the family's big and small matters. The family lived a peaceful and happy life.
Xia Pingan came back this time to practice his eyesight.
Usually, Xia Pingan watched the clouds rise and fall, the sun rise and the moon fall, the eagles, the rabbits, the dogs in the farmstead, and the ants on the ground. He tried his best to keep his eyes open without blinking. Even if his eyes were red and tearing, he didn't blink.
Ji Chang's wife usually weaved at home. Xia Pingan lay directly under the loom and stared at the strings on the loom without blinking.
This kind of training was extremely boring. If one did not have confidence and perseverance, they would give up halfway.
In this way, after two years of staring, Xia Pingan trained Ji Chang's eyes until they were full of vigor. When Xia Pingan no longer blinked because of conditioned reflex and exhaustion, Xia Pingan went to Handan again and met Fei Wei again.
Fei Wei still remembered Xia Pingan. After testing Xia Pingan's ability to not blink, Fei Wei knew that Xia Pingan really wanted to learn, so he said to Xia Pingan, "You just don't blink now, but it's not enough. If you want to become a godly archer, your eyes still can't see things. You have to train your eyes to see small things as big as big, to see small things as big as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things as big, to see small things
If an ordinary person heard Fei Wei's words, they would definitely think that Fei Wei was making things difficult for him and didn't want to teach him. However, Xia Pingan knew that Fei Wei wasn't making things difficult for him.
The process of training one's eyes was actually the same as the process of Lie Zi learning to fly with the wind. Both of them were beyond common sense, but they were both developing the potential of the human body. The process of training one's eyes was to concentrate the energy and consciousness in one's eyes at a high intensity for a long time. This process could possibly develop the potential of one's eyes.
When he returned home again, Xia Pingan found the hair from the yak's tail and a louse. He tied the louse with an oxtail bristle and hung it under a window in his house. Every day, he would concentrate and stare at the louse.
However, after ten days, the louse that was originally as small as a sesame seed suddenly became as big as a broad bean in Xia Pingan's eyes. This made Xia Pingan very spirited. He knew that his vision ability had been developed a little, but he still persisted.
There were many louse in the countryside. If a louse died, he would replace it with another one.
If there were no louse, then flies, mosquitoes, sesame seeds, and even mung beans would be fine. Anyway, as long as it was small, Xia Pingan would tie it up with an oxtail bristle and hang it under the window to stare at it every day.
After three years, the louse that was hung under the window was almost as big as a wheel in Xia Pingan's eyes. Xia Pingan could even see the fine hairs and antennae on the louse clearly from ten meters away.
Xia Pingan went to Handan again and found Fei Wei.
After Fei Wei's test, he was also moved by Xia Pingan's spirit. He found that Xia Pingan was really determined to learn archery, so he taught him everything he knew. In one year, he passed his archery skills to Xia Pingan.
Until the night when Xia Pingan could finish his apprenticeship, Fei Wei and Xia Pingan drank. Fei Wei drank a little too much, so he said to Xia Pingan, "My archery skills are actually nothing. In this world, there are actually people who are better at archery than me …"
"Oh, who is that?"
"That is my master, and also your grandmaster, Gan Fei. What I taught you is only to shoot when there is a bow. My master, Gan Fei, is the world's number one archer. He has already reached the realm of shooting without shooting …"
Xia Pingan's heart skipped a beat. He knew that the hidden task was coming. "Ah, where can I find grandmaster?"
"The last time I saw your grandmaster was more than twenty years ago. He said that he found a place to live in seclusion in Shu. The scenery there was beautiful, and your grandmaster didn't want to come out. I haven't seen him in all these years!"
Xia Pingan said goodbye to Fei Wei. After returning home, he made some preparations and went directly to Shu to look for Gan Fei.
Xia Pingan searched for a year in Shu. It didn't matter. No one in Shu had heard of Gan Fei, but he still didn't give up.
Later, Xia Pingan focused his search on Mount Emei. He searched in the vicinity of Mount Emei. After searching for half a year, he still found nothing.
One day, when Xia Pingan was searching in the mountain, he suddenly heard a slight groan from the grass in the valley below the mountain road. Xia Pingan was curious. He went down the slope of the mountain road to the valley below. Then he saw an old man lying in the grass. The old man was dressed as a woodcutter. He had a hatchet on him. Next to him, there was a pile of firewood.
The woodcutter seemed to have accidentally slipped down from the mountain road above.
"Ah, old man, are you okay?" Xia Pingan quickly helped the old man sit up.
"I'm old. I can't even walk on the mountain road. Just now, I accidentally slipped down. Little brother, can you help me up?" The woodcutter said to Xia Pingan in an authentic Shu accent.
"Old man, where is your home? Let me take you back." Xia Pingan said and carried the woodcutter on his back.
"Little brother, you are a good man. My home is on the slope at the foot of the mountain. It's only seven or eight miles away from here …"
"Old man, please show me the way. I'll take you home!"
The woodcutter thanked him again and again. Xia Pingan carried the woodcutter out of the valley and walked four or five miles on the mountain road. Finally, he sent the woodcutter to his home.
Walking more than ten miles on the mountain road with a person on his back was really difficult.
The woodcutter's home was a small wooden house at the foot of the mountain. There was no one else in the house except for the woodcutter.
"Little brother, can I trouble you to help me bring back the firewood I just got? It was not easy for me to find the firewood. I want to sell it for money. I don't want to waste it!" Back home, the woodcutter said to Xia Pingan.
"Old man, how much is the firewood? I'll buy it!" Xia Pingan was stunned for a moment. Then, he took out some money and wanted to buy the firewood from the woodcutter.
"Alas, I can't accept a reward for nothing. Little brother, I can't take your money. I only want my firewood. Little brother, you must be tired today. Let me rest for a day. I'll go by myself …" The woodcutter said embarrassedly.
Xia Pingan looked at the old man and smiled. "I'm being rude. Old man, please wait at home. I'll help you bring back your firewood!"
After saying that, Xia Pingan left the wooden house and walked seven or eight miles on the mountain road. He returned to the small valley and found the place where the woodcutter threw the firewood. Then, he brought back all the firewood.
By the time Xia Pingan returned to the woodcutter's cabin, it was already a little late. The sun was about to set. Xia Pingan was also tired and sweaty.
Xia Pingan hadn't even had a sip of water when the woodcutter said to him, "Little brother, since you've brought back all my firewood, can you help me bring it back to Chun Feng Lou in Liujia Village at the foot of the mountain? This is the firewood for Chun Feng Lou. I promised to send it to Chun Feng Lou …"
"Well, old man, please wait a moment. I'll send it to you!" Xia Pingan said. He didn't get angry. He directly picked up the firewood and prepared to leave.
"Chun Feng Lou's roast chicken and wine are good. Little brother, with the money from selling the firewood, bring me some wine and dishes. I haven't eaten anything all day …" The woodcutter said.
Xia Pingan nodded. Carrying the firewood, he went down the mountain. After walking five or six miles, he finally found Chun Feng Lou and delivered the firewood.
The shopkeeper of Chun Feng Lou paid for the firewood. However, the firewood wasn't enough to buy the wine and roast chicken. Xia Pingan added the money himself and bought the wine and roast chicken. Then, he brought them back to the woodcutter's cabin.
When he returned to the cabin, the sky was completely dark. He handed the wine and roast chicken wrapped in lotus leaves to the woodcutter. The woodcutter finally smiled and invited Xia Pingan to drink and eat the chicken together. Xia Pingan didn't refuse. So, he and the old man warmed the fire, drank wine, and ate the roast chicken in the cabin.
After drinking two cups of wine, the old man put down the wine cup and suddenly asked, "Is Fei Wei doing well in Handan?"
Xia Pingan was stunned. Looking at the old man's smiling face, he hurriedly bowed to the old man and said, "Ji Chang pays his respects to grandmaster!"
"Hahaha …" The old man laughed loudly. His eyebrows were filled with a different kind of expression, and there was no trace of the woodcutter's aura on his body. "Fei Wei, that brat, is the most dishonest and impulsive. Back then, when I taught him some skills, he felt that he had learned enough, and in order to compete with me, he actually launched a sneak attack on me. However, I didn't teach him the Shoot Without Shooting ability. He's too impulsive and hasn't subdued the fire in his heart. After learning a little bit, he wants to go out and explore. If I really taught him the Shoot Without Shooting ability, he would have caused a huge disaster. However, his eye for people is not bad, and he can even teach you some skills. It seems like he has improved quite a bit in the past few years.
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