Chapter 99 - 89: The Crown Prince Also Has Work to Do!

Chapter 99: Chapter 89: The Crown Prince Also Has Work to Do!

The ride home was smooth. Zeng Anmin felt great.

His visit to the Profound Array Department this time had been quite pleasant. Especially after getting a deeper understanding of that girl, Sai Chuxue. A socially anxious teenage girl was simply too easy to coax.

"Where is my father?" Zeng Anmin asked upon arriving home. He looked at Mr. Qi, who was practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

He had just taken the Black Gold Bow down from his horse.

"He is still at the Ministry of the Secretariat," Mr. Qi replied, stopping his movements with a cheerful smile. "Things have been busy these past two days. As the Minister of Summer, the master naturally cannot step away."

"Oh." Zeng Anmin slung the Black Gold Longbow over his shoulder, preparing to head toward his own courtyard.

"Did you not go to the Imperial College today, Young Master?" Seeing that Zeng Anmin wasn’t carrying his book box, Mr. Qi asked out of curious concern.

Zeng Anmin paused, unslung the Black Gold Bow, and nodded. "I just took Dachun to the Profound Array Department and got a bow from a friend there."

"Hmm?" Mr. Qi noticed the highly conspicuous Black Gold Bow, a look of astonishment appearing on his face. "Young Master, this bow... could it be one of the exceptionally rare Spiritual Artifacts produced by the Profound Array Department mentioned in rumors?"

Clearly, as a country bumpkin originally from Liangjiang Commandery, Mr. Qi had only ever heard the name of the Profound Array Department’s Spiritual Artifacts in legends.

Zeng Anmin blinked. He remembered the Spiritual Artifacts hanging on the walls of the Profound Array Department like cabbages in a vegetable market.

"It’s nothing special, really." There was naturally nothing to hide from his own people.

As soon as he spoke, a wide smile bloomed on Mr. Qi’s face, and he couldn’t help but clap his hands. "What great fortune! What great fortune! I have never seen a Spiritual Artifact from the Profound Array Department before..." Mr. Qi looked sheepishly at the bow, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Well, today you get to see one." Zeng Anmin spread his hands.

Uh.

Mr. Qi’s face stiffened. He opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Haha, take a look. Let’s see if you can draw it," Zeng Anmin laughed, naturally understanding Mr. Qi’s eager gaze. He stopped teasing the old man and handed the Black Gold Bow over.

Mr. Qi hurriedly took it, finding it incredibly light in his hands.

"This bow isn’t heavy. I imagine I can draw it to a full moon with just thirty percent of my strength." Feeling its weight, Mr. Qi looked utterly confident.

"Oh? Give it a try then." Zeng Anmin grew curious as well.

He hadn’t tested the bow himself since getting it. Mr. Qi was an Eighth Grade Martial Artist, so he should definitely be able to draw it. He just wondered how far.

"HA!" Mr. Qi let out a deep shout, stepping into a firm bow stance with his right leg forward and left leg back.

With his white hair and beard, he looked exactly like a Grandmaster of a generation. Seeing this, Zeng Anmin couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. The old general might be getting on in years, but he still had plenty of fight left in him!

The next moment, Mr. Qi gripped the bow with his left hand, pinched the string with his right, and gave it a mighty pull. His face flushed bright red; it was obvious he was using every ounce of strength he possessed.

Yet, he only managed to draw the longbow to... thirty percent?

"HAA!" Mr. Qi pushed even harder, but the bowstring didn’t budge another inch. Instead, his face turned from red to purple.

Zeng Anmin wanted to laugh but held it in. After all, Mr. Qi had served the family loyally for so many years; he had to leave the man some dignity.

Unexpectedly, Dachun, standing behind him, looked at Mr. Qi with innocent curiosity. "Dad, are you only using ten percent of your strength right now?"

His voice was thick and naive, but the unintentional mockery was absolutely lethal!

"PFFT—" Hearing Dachun’s words, Zeng Anmin completely lost his composure. He covered his mouth, his shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.

"NNGH... HRNGH..." Mr. Qi tried to speak, but under such extreme exertion, the only sounds he could make were frustrated grunts through his nose.

"PHEW." Mr. Qi finally released the bow, not daring to meet Zeng Anmin’s eyes. Instead, he stared blankly at a very confused Dachun. "Have you practiced your martial arts today?"

His death stare instantly gave Dachun a bad feeling.

"I haven’t had the time yet. Mostly because I went out with the Young Master today—"

"Young Master, here is your bow back," Mr. Qi said nonchalantly, handing the Black Gold Bow over to Zeng Anmin.

"Right, I’ll head back to my courtyard then." Zeng Anmin shot a pitying look at the clueless Dachun, took the bow, and walked away.

He had just stepped out of the courtyard when Dachun’s blood-curdling screams rang out.

"Ow, Dad! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts... go easy on me!"

Back in his room, Zeng Anmin stared intently at the Black Gold Bow in his hands.

Having dismissed the maids in his courtyard, he stood right in the center of the room. He settled into a firm horse stance and took a deep breath.

"Rise!" The muscles in his right arm bulged instantly as he suddenly drew back the string of the Black Gold Longbow.

CREAAAK.

The bowstring let out a teeth-grinding groan. Without utilizing even a shred of his Martial Arts True Qi, he managed to draw the Black Gold Longbow to seventy percent!

"PHEW." Zeng Anmin slowly released the string, his face slightly flushed.

Drawing a heavy bow completely cold, without doing any stretching exercises beforehand, certainly took a physical toll.

"Good bow," Zeng Anmin murmured, slowly lowering the Black Gold Bow as a sharp gleam flickered in his eyes. "But carrying it around with me all the time makes it too easy to expose myself..."

He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking thoughtfully at the longbow. "If only I had a Storage Space."

Speaking of which, he remembered the day they captured Qi Xianlin in Liangjiang Commandery. Sai Chuxue had used a compass in her hand to suck Qi Xianlin right in.

"I’ll ask the working girl about it the next time she comes to the estate for chicken essence." Zeng Anmin placed the longbow beside his bed and lay down to sleep.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully.

The next morning at the Imperial College.

Zeng Anmin had just finished tying up his horse when the Little Fatty Crown Prince’s voice rang out beside his ear.

"Quan Fu, my friend, we haven’t seen each other for a day, and I’ve truly missed you!" The Crown Prince jogged over in an extremely friendly manner.

"There is really no need for that," Zeng Anmin said, looking at the slightly breathless little fatty who had jogged all the way over, feeling a twinge of amusement.