A Step into the Past

Book 14 Chapter 04 – The Incredible Talented Lady Ji

An endless sea of tents and flags can be seen west of the River Jing.

Xiang Shaolong, Ji Yanran, Wu Tingfang, Zhao Zhi and the Tian sisters are situated on a little hill near the royal tent. They were observing all the excitement happening below them.

It may not be a real battle but the military movements are precise and according to the military law.

Among the seven states, Qin has the heaviest emphasis on military contributions. Every young child would have learnt some form of martial arts and everyone is somewhat familiar with military formations.

Since the terrain is wide grassland with no cover, a square campsite has been laid out.

Xiao Pan’s tent is situated in the centre of the defending gates and is akin to a military command centre. Within the gates are about twenty tents which belong to the royal family and others like Qin Qing who share a special relationship with the rulers of Qin.

On the two sides of the defending gates are two defending armies of palace guards led by Lord Changping and Lord Changwen respectively. Xiao Pan has direct control over the army to safeguard his own safety.

The other soldiers are based in all four directions and act as defenders. Xiang Shaolong’s cavalry army is based far away and is protecting the entire camp from their location. If necessary, they can act as a vanguard or a distraction to a potential enemy.

Besides the main tents, the other tents are in groups of ten and the space between them is wide enough for eight horses to travel side by side.

There are some dedicated areas with stables and target boards for hunters to practise their shooting skills, riding skills and even sword skills. These areas are especially crowded like a festive parade.

It is now four hours away from the evening hunt and everyone is enthusiastically assembled at the main assembly ground and challenging one another.

The main assembly ground near the royal tent has become the playground for Ying Ying and her female warriors. Young men keen to woo these stubborn Qin ladies are all gathering around the area for their chance to interact with them. Thus, this area is much livelier than the others.

Sounds of horses braying and people talking filled the air.

The strong wind began to blow and the flags unfurled majestically, adding to the grandeur of the hunting fair.

Ji Yanran has been updated on everything that has happened and smiled: “When Lord Gaoling is about to attack, he will first set fire to the tents furthest away from the royal tents and the river. Since it is now blowing the southeast wind, the fire will spread towards us and we can only escape by crossing the river and hiding at the north shore of River Jing.”

Xiang Shaolong and the ladies turned their attention to the two wooden bridges and were shocked. If the two bridges are destroyed, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Even if the two bridges are intact, they cannot support some many people crossing. Those who are unable to cross the bridge will have to swim over. During the chaos, it will be an easy feat for Lu Buwei to carry out his assassination.

He recalled that Guan Zhongxie will ‘heroically’ escort Zhu Ji and Xiao Pan across the river to safety while he will ‘die of poisoning’ and Guan Zhongxie will ‘score a huge merit’. Mo Ao’s devious scheme is indeed a brilliant strategy.

Rainfall is scarce and a fire attack is hard to prevent. Moreover, Lord Gaoling is familiar with the tents and in fact, his own tent is located at the southeast part of the campsite. He can easily set fire as Ji Yanran predicted.

In addition, during the night hunt, every hunter would be busy in the west forests and their defences will be lacking. That would be the ideal time to ambush the Crown Prince and Zhu Ji.

If the Lord Changping brothers are killed in battle, it is possible that Lu Buwei can insert his own subordinates to replace them as head of the palace guards.

Xiang Shaolong took a deep breath and remarked: “Yanran is amazing and can predict Lord Gaoling’s ambush like a fortune teller. Therefore, we must pay close attention to the southeast tents. The moment Lord Gaoling’s men or Lu Buwei’s men tried to bring flammable materials to that area, we will know when they will strike.”

Ji Yanran was overjoyed at his praise and smiled sweetly back at him.

Hoof beats can be heard as Lord Changwen rode up to him and cried: “Let’s ride our horses to the assembly ground to join in the fun!”

The ladies turned around to face him and he jealously stared at Ji Yanran and the girls with an intoxicated look on his face. He sighed: “Good evening ladies. Ai! I am so envious of Shaolong’s good fortune.”

Wu Tingfang chortled and smiled prettily, asking: “Has Lord Changwen finished his duties?”

Lord Changwen put on a busy expression and reported: “Empress and Crown Prince have settled down and Grand Tutor Qin is chatting with the Empress now. I was ordered to inform you ladies about this.”

Xiang Shaolong yawned: “You go ahead and have fun! I wished to catch some sleep in my tent.”

Lord Changwen burst out laughing and rode ahead between Xiang Shaolong and Ji Yanran. As he rode past Xiang Shaolong, he grabbed onto his horse’s reins and dragged him down the slope, shouting to the ladies: “We are going to have some fun!”

The ladies saw Xiang Shaolong helplessly being dragged down the hill and giggled with laughter. They then chased them down the slope.

Sou! Three arrows were shot out in succession and all three hit the bull’s eye of a target three hundred feet away. The observers cheered and clapped loudly.

The archer Ying Ying proudly scanned her audience and cried: “Who else is next?”

The various men may be itching to try but with this beauty challenging them, they are afraid to lose face if they failed to better her record. For some time, no one dared to accept her challenge.

Guan Zhongxie laughed: “Our best shooter among the female warriors is invincible. Of course no one dares to accept her challenge.”

Ying Ying was delighted at his praise and shot him a lovely glance. The other men were jealous but still did not have the courage to give it a try.

Xiang Shaolong dismounted from his horse and was stunned at Ying Ying’s archery skills. He can hit the bull’s eye with one arrow but definitely not with three arrows in succession. No wonder Ying Ying is so arrogant.

When the female warriors noticed Xiang Shaolong, every one of them had a look of displeasure on their faces but when they saw Ji Yanran, their expressions became envious.

Lu Dan’er stepped out from the crowd and jeered: “Has Commander Xiang recovered from his leg injury? I heard that you are unbeatable in parrying arrows with your sword but I wonder how good are your archery skills?”

Nearly a thousand pair of eyes looked at Xiang Shaolong before shifting over to Ji Yanran.

Ji Yanran naturally knew the level her husband’s archery skill and recognizes that the people of Qin values martial talent. If Xiang Shaolong refuses to participate because of his injury, he will be ridiculed by the people of Qin. Grinning, she took off her cloak and revealed a figure-hugging white suit. She gracefully stepped forward and asked in her sweet voice: “Can I give it a try?” Her casual demeanour and alluring disposition caused everyone present to be mesmerized by her.

When she finished speaking, everyone cheered at her decision and her attractive and athletic display.

Ying Ying shot a vicious look at Ji Yanran before she reluctantly stretched out to pass her the bow.

Ji Yanran noticed that Ying Ying is standing using the horse stance and guessed that she wanted to play a trick on her. Out of a sudden, she grabbed onto the end of the bow and applied downward pressure. Before Ying Ying could retaliate, the bow has been pried from her hands into the hands of the maiden who is even prettier than herself.

Even Guan Zhongxie was taken aback.

Standing besides Xiang Shaolong, Lord Changwen whispered: “It is good to curb that arrogant sister of mine!”

Ying Ying did not anticipate Ji Yanran to see through her trick and dejectedly returned to Lu Dan’er’s side.

Two cavalry soldiers happily stepped forward and presented three arrows to Ji Yanran.

Ji Yanran pretended that everything is the same and leisurely fitted the arrows to her bow while maintaining that sweet smile on her face.

The crowd quietened down.

In a whirl of actions, Ji Yanran fired three arrows one after another while the crowd stared with their mouths wide open. Her arrows shot forward like shooting stars.

She fired her first arrow with her back to the target board and her second arrow with a backhand. It was only until the final arrow did she face the target board properly.

Zng! The first arrow hit the bull’s eye while the second arrow split the first arrow into two and the final arrow split the second arrow into two. It was as if she is the Goddess of Archery. No one could believe their eyes. Without question, her archery skill is way above Ying Ying’s.

The crowd burst out into wild cheering which lasted for some time.

Ji Yanran is furious at Ying Ying and Lu Dan’er for ‘bullying’ her husband and did not even spare them a single glance. She curtseyed to the crowd and left without a word.

Xiang Shaolong can tell that their ‘hatred’ is becoming more intense.

An escort came to report that the Crown Prince is looking for him.

As he crossed past the wooden defending gates, he noticed a group of female warriors are riding behind him. Taking a closer look, he realised that it is Lu Niang Rong and her female escorts.

When Lu Niang Rong saw him, she has a mixed expression on her face. She curled up her mouth proudly and whipped her horse, cruising past Xiang Shaolong.

Xiang Shaolong detests her.

Knowing that he is poisoned, she did not show the slightest pity. Like father, like daughter. She is an evil woman just like her father Lu Buwei.

Hng!

She will get her just deserts later.

The open space in front of the main royal tent is filled with loud cheering. It appears that Xiao Pan is practicing his archery while Lu Buwei, Xu Xian, Lu Gong, Lord Changping and the other officials are cheering him on.

Li Si caught sight of him and moved to welcome him. “It is time!” he whispered.

Xiang Shaolong knew that Li Si is referring to the blood test. From Li Si’s anxious expression, Xiang Shaolong is certain that he is worried about the test results. If Xiao Pan is Lu Buwei’s son, it would be disastrous.

Xiang Shaolong squeezed to where Lu Gong and Xu Xian were standing and took out the special needle while winking at them.

Both men started to breathe heavily.

Xiao Pan has shot ten arrows with four hitting the bull’s eye and the remaining near the bull’s eyes. This has surpassed his usual record and no wonder the officials are so happy for him. As long as he manages to hit the target board, it is enough to make the crowd go wild.

As Wang Ben delivered another arrow to him, Xiao Pan detected Xiang Shaolong among the crowd. He turned over and raised his bow, exclaiming happily: “Grand Tutor! My archery skill has improved!”

Xiang Shaolong is certain that he is providing an opportunity for him to draw his blood. He greeted him and advised: “If Crown Prince uses less of his eyes and more of his hands, your results will improve dramatically.”

Xiao Pan was surprised: “Archery is all about eyesight. What is the hand used for?”

Everyone including Xiao Pan was puzzled at his words and he became the centre of attention.

Standing besides Lu Buwei, Lu Niang Rong and Mo Ao were staring viciously at him.

Xiang Shaolong respectfully got Xiao Pan to turn around and while he is turning around, he lightly poked the special needle at his neck. As Xiao Pan is exercising, his blood circulation is very strong and the needle was filled immediately.

Behind him, Xu Xian, Lu Gong and Lord Changping witnessed everything but the act was hidden from the eyes of everyone else.

Xiao Pan yelped: “Ai!” He went to touch his neck and purposely cried: “There is a mosquito!”

Xiang Shaolong stuffed the needle into Xu Xian’s hands and advised: “The Crown Prince must focus on the synergy between the eyes and the hands when shooting an arrow. However, it is easier to aim with the hand than the eyes. When the eye sees the target, it informs the heart and the heart will instruct the hand to shoot. This is quite cumbersome. If the hand is used directly to aim at the target, you will not have this issue. Look!”

He simply drew out five flying needles and shot them towards the two hundred feet target board.

Nobody expected that he would be shooting flying needles instead of arrows and were stunned. The five flying needles hit the target board neatly in a straight row and the centre needle hit the centre of the bull’s eye. The distance between each needle is exactly one inch. It was a result that even Xiang Shaolong did not anticipate.

His flying needles may be famous but no one has actually seen it in action.

Witnessing his accuracy on a two hundred feet target board, everyone agrees that he has a frightening and special way of throwing the needles with such deafening results. Lu Buwei, Lu Niang Rong and Mo Ao have a horrified expression on their faces.

Everyone present clapped and cheered loudly at his excellent display of talent.

Lu Buwei and Mo Ao exchanged a smile, thinking that Xiang Shaolong would be dead in a matter of days despite his godly ability.

Wang Ben ecstatically wanted to retrieve the flying needles and return them to Xiang Shaolong and Xiao Pan stopped him. He instructed: “Leave the needles on the target board. I want to keep this as a souvenir. Let the target board stay like that for the next three days.”

Xiao Pan was full of admiration: “I finally comprehend the essence of Grand Tutor’s terrifying flying needles. They were thrown with the hand rather than with the eyes.”

Xiang Shaolong may have been promoted to be the Imperial Cavalry Commander but he is still holding the post as a Grand Tutor so that he may still impart lessons to Xiao Pan the Crown Prince.

Xiang Shaolong secretly assessed Lu Buwei, Mo Ao and Lu Niang Rong’s expressions. He noticed that Lu Niang Rong has a lingering fear in her eyes which is probably caused by his excellent shot. Frankly speaking, he has no confidence of repeating this feat.

During his usual practise, he was using his eyes to aim at the target. Only today did he really use his hands to aim at the target board.

Lu Gong praised: “I am afraid no one can match Shaolong’s flying needles skill in the past, the present or in the future.”

Lu Buwei laughed: “Rong’er! Now, you have seen Official Xiang’s true abilities.”

Lu Niang Rong lowered her face to prevent others from detecting the dilemma expression on her face. Xiao Pan took this chance to invite: “Grand Tutor, please have a chat with me in my tent!”

With Li Si in tow, they walked towards the main royal tent.

Before Xiang Shaolong could take a step, Lu Gong whispered: “After you have seen the Crown Prince, come to my tent immediately.” He winked at him with a knowing expression.

Xiang Shaolong could not understand how he managed to draw Lu Buwei’s blood or that he has something else to discuss with him. With this concern, he proceeded to the main royal tent. Within the tent, Xiao Pan sighed: “Grand Tutor must teach me how to shoot the flying needles the way you did.”

Li Si praised: “No wonder Official Xiang has always been able to escape precarious situations and live another day to tell the tale. These flying needles are virtually undetectable when they are being shot and there is no way to parry them with a sword.”

Xiang Shaolong sat down on a thick carpet and bitterly smiled: “The Crown Prince and Official Li need not praise me to the skies. Last night, I made an about-turn at the gates of hell. That is what I call pure luck.”

Under Xiao Pan questioning, Xiang Shaolong revealed everything that has happened last night.

When Xiao Pan learned about Lord Gaoling’s rebellion and Lu Buwei’s scheming, he angrily swore: “These two men are atrocious! Do they still regard me as their King?”

Li Si hurriedly assured: “Please do not be angry. Official Xiang has plans to counter them.”

Xiao Pan looked over to Xiang Shaolong and Xiang Shaolong nodded: “When we know the time that Lord Gaoling is attacking the camp, we can use our army to wipe him out. Here, I wished that Crown Prince will lead the army personally. First, we can destroy Lord Gaoling’s forces and secondly, we can counter Lu Buwei’s schemes. In the future, no one will dare to challenge your authority.”

These words are what Xiao Pan wanted to hear. This future Qin Shi Huang loved to affirm his authority and he nodded: “Since Official Xiang is so confident, we shall act according to your plans.”

Xiang Shaolong explained: “This matter will require precise intelligence and acting according to circumstances. I will keep in contact with Official Li. When I have gathered the appropriate information, I will report to Crown Prince.” He secretly winked at Xiao Pan.

Xiao Pan understood his meaning. Xiang Shaolong will prepare the army orders while he himself will execute them accordingly. Elated, his face became reddish and he nodded: “We will follow your advice!”

He continued: “Today, Empress told me that Lu Buwei wanted to marry his beloved third daughter to you. I thought Lu Buwei has a change of heart but it is all part of a trick. Ha! Mo Ao will die an unexplainable death. I am so happy.”

Li Si and Xiang Shaolong heard his words and knew that he is in great spirits. They did not hold back and joined him in laughter.

An attendant came to report that Lao Ai is here to report something. The three men immediately stopped laughing. Lao Ai came in and kneeled down, requesting: “The Empress wishes to see Crown Prince.”

With a scornful look, Xiao Pan replied: “I got it! Please return first. I will join you shortly.”

When Lao Ai has left the tent, Xiao Pan lowered his voice and asked: “Is Official Xiang ready to marry Lu Buwei’s precious daughter?”

Xiang Shaolong coldly smiled: “When Lu Buwei saw me still well and alive, he will try to annul the marriage. But that is his problem!”

Xiao Pan understood his meaning and nodded: “I know what to do!” And stood up.

Xiang Shaolong and Li Si hurriedly kneeled down in respect.

Xiao Pan went forward and helped Xiang Shaolong up, whispering into his ear: “Master, please be careful. If anything happens to you, the world will be meaningless.”

He turned around and left.