Chapter 221: Upright and Honorable

Zhao Tieniu stammered, "Three————three or four times?"

He lacked a bit of confidence.

Those guys in the group next to them were also quite strong; they blocked him completely in the middle, and he couldn't advance a single step.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a bit dejected.

Zhao Tieniu glanced toward the side of the field several times.

His father-in-law was there, and not knowing where he had gotten a bamboo tube, he was learning from others to tap the bamboo tube to cheer him on.

Seeing Zhao Tieniu look over, his father-in-law made an encouraging gesture.

Zhao Tieniu felt even more pressure.

Before the chaotic times, he was just a cargo carrier at the docks, and his physique wasn't as strong as it was now. Instead, after he fled here as a refugee, his father-in-law took a liking to him and chose him as a son-in-law. From time to time, he could eat some meat; he couldn't necessarily eat his fill every day, but he didn't go hungry often, and he had grown stronger and stronger over these three years.

Nowadays, the situation in Shenyi Gu was becoming increasingly complex, and his father-in-law had said that they needed to cling to the thighs of famous doctors in order to survive.

So this time, Zhao Tieniu came to try and see if this strength of his could be favored by some famous doctor so he could become a medicinal herb worker doing odd jobs.

The famous doctors did not have much armed force under them, but the famous doctors had cooperation with the Six Great Clans, so their influence was very heavy.

As long as they could latch onto one, their family could be considered to have a shelter.

In order to let Zhao Tieniu better display his strength in the examination, for the past month, the whole family had saved the meat for him to eat.

Thinking of his wife and children left at home, and then looking at his father-in-law on the side of the field, Zhao Tieniu only felt the heavy burden on his shoulders growing larger and larger————

————it didn't seem to be an illusion.

He looked over.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and this hand was also pressing down heavily.

Zhao Tieniu's thoughts, which had drifted outside the field, were pressed back.

The owner of this hand was still saying, "Look at the group next to us; they were just targeting you earlier. Once they blocked you, you couldn't stand out!"

"But!"

"The victory of the assessment has never been about that Medicinal Herb on the cliff!"

"As long as you break through their defense, even if it's just for a moment of loosening, you've won!"

The break time was almost over; a medicine boy walked toward the Incense Burner, about to light the incense. Someone was already holding a copper gong, waiting on the side.

The people resting on the field also stood up to prepare.

Zhao Tieniu put on his helmet to prevent anyone from playing dirty tricks.

Wen Gu did not tell him complex tactics, but instead gave him a clear and definite goal: "Remember what I said, push forward! Charge through! They definitely won't be able to hold out first! The victory of the second half absolutely belongs to us!"

Wen Gu said to Zhao Tieniu, "Can you count? Come, listen to me count, ready, ten, nine, eight————"

When the countdown was about to end, Wen Gu had been paying attention to the person in charge of sounding the gong on the side of the field; almost the moment he counted to one, the sound of the gong also rang out.

Zhao Tieniu, who had been accumulating strength along with the countdown, held his Shield and, truly like a wild bull, charged forward with a huff and a puff.

The other groups on the field saw this and hurriedly came over to block him; if two people wouldn't work, then four!

But Zhao Tieniu was different now than in the first half. In the first half, he had just stubbornly braced himself and pushed forward, but now, the "connection" who made the plan had told him to just stare at a certain person and charge with all his might!

That person had been slightly sprained during the first half, which was the weak point of that four-man group.

The situation was also very obvious; with one encounter, Zhao Tieniu made the opponent's injury worse, and then, dragging four people, he pushed all four of them to the side.

With him directly pinning down half of the competitors, the rest were much easier to deal with.

The competitors on the same field looked at the "connection" who was fanning himself with a Folding Fan on the side, decisively gave up on tailing them, felt no need to waste energy here, and turned to defend against the other two instead.

But as soon as the attention over there shifted, Wen Gu closed his Folding Fan, took the bow and arrow quiver he had been using, and walked forward.

He first fired two Arrows to get a feel for it.

At the same time, the second member of Wen Gu's group, with a lithe body like a hunting leopard, sped toward the cliff side.

Getting closer and closer to the cliff in front, his legs, which had been storing power, suddenly kicked off the wall to turn sharply; he feinted, abandoned the ladder going up, and ran to the side instead.

The moment after he turned, a long staff swung from behind and struck the cliff with great force; if he hadn't turned to avoid it just now, he would certainly have taken a blow and would have had to face another competitor pouncing from behind.

On the other side, Wen Gu, who had already found his rhythm with the bow and arrow, fixed his gaze and very decisively nocked an arrow and fired!

One arrow shot out, and the second arrow was already nocked on the string, without any hesitation!

After two arrows came the third, and each arrow was faster than the last!

Three arrows in succession, with a very short interval between them.

There was a crack on the cliff in front; the first arrow shot into this slightly wider crack, and before it could fall out, the second and third arrows had already arrived!

The three arrows happened to wedge into this crack, forming a handle that could be gripped.

Wen Gu's archery had neither the piety of radar-like shooting as if offering incense, nor the killing intent of Xiao Liu who stared down a hunt.

Famous calligraphers all have their own characteristic styles. Great archers are the same.

Wen Gu clearly hadn't reached that level yet.

In the eyes of an expert, one could not see a distinct arrow momentum; it was not seasoned enough.

But in the eyes of most laymen, three arrows fired in succession hitting the same spot and wedging directly into the stone crack was simply too amazing!

It didn't need to be art; achieving the goal was enough!

And below the cliff, the second member who had made a sharp turn suddenly lowered his body.

I don't know when, but a light and agile figure had already run over.

The third member, slippery as a loach, took the opportunity to slip through the gap, and like a nimble monkey, stepped on his teammate's shoulder, and borrowing the force of the other person pushing him upward, leaped upward.

While in mid-air, he happened to be able to grab the three arrows wedged in the crack, and borrowed the force to swing toward the ladder!

The figure then drifted over.

The third member grabbed the ladder without delay and climbed up rapidly, not giving the competitors below any chance to throw weapons to knock him off; in the blink of an eye, he climbed to the high platform at the top, grabbed the Medicinal Herb placed there, and raised it to signal.

Won!

There was no blood, no sword-fighting, and no massive brawl, which truly reflected the benevolent nature of the healers of Shenyi Gu.

At the same time, this whirlwind-like rapid action also fully demonstrated the capabilities of every individual.

It took no more than a few breaths from start to finish; with the mobility and explosiveness of a whirlwind, they had swept from the starting point to the destination before the crowd could even react!

The onlookers on the sidelines were left stunned.

They glanced at the thin figure holding the Medicinal Herb on the high cliff wall, then looked at the Incense Burner used for timing.

That incense—

Had it only just been lit?

The Tang Sect's "atmosphere squad" was the first to snap out of it, excitedly banging on their Bamboo Tubes.

They had only been helping out as a favor before, but now they were genuinely excited!

"As expected of our little junior brother, those Arrows swished and hit the exact same spot!" an apprentice shouted excitedly.

"That's how people from Xinzhou are; they have many wars in Xinzhou, so even scholars know a bit of martial arts. I heard many people at the border are skilled in riding and archery," someone said, thinking they had seen through the truth.

In any case, no one doubted Rong Huan's identity!

As for the candidates waiting to be tested, they had a different feeling—

Damn it!

He's showing off!

Wasn't it agreed that this was just a formality!

"If he does this, what are we supposed to do later?"

Are we supposed to use our trump cards too?!

Not only do we have to get the atmosphere squad going, but we also have to get serious?

Inside the examination grounds.

Zhao Tieniu had been pushing forward with his head down; soon, he heard the lively commotion coming from around the grounds, and the person blocking him in front also let up their strength.

Only then did he lift his head to look forward, seeing his teammate successfully climb the cliff wall and grab the Medicinal Herb.

This meant that their side had won!

They had actually won!

He had listened to the "connected person's" plan earlier, though he didn't really understand it; however, that person had also said he only needed to be responsible for the part within his own capabilities.

Therefore, Zhao Tieniu had not seen what the others' performance was like.

None of that mattered to him; he was just very happy to have won, and it proved that his chances of being noticed by a famous doctor would increase.

Hearing the sound of the gong signaling the end, Zhao Tieniu ran to the sidelines with a silly grin; his father-in-law was waiting there with a servant.

Zhao Tieniu's father-in-law had originally been dressed quite decently, but at this moment, due to his extreme excitement, his appearance was a bit disheveled, though he couldn't care about that.

"Tieniu! Well done!"

His father-in-law said excitedly, but after glancing at the "connected person" on the same field, he lowered his voice and asked Zhao Tieniu: "What happened at the start of the assessment? Why did you use your Shield to push that person to the side? That was too careless!"

Zhao Tieniu had been so happy he almost forgot about it; now that his father-in-law brought it up, his smile faded, and he felt quite aggrieved: "He was blocking the way in front, and I was in a rush; I didn't see who it was and thought someone was deliberately blocking the path!"

He really hadn't paid attention and never imagined that someone would still be standing there motionless after the assessment began! Naturally, he assumed they were deliberately blocking the way, so he used his Shield to push the other party aside.

That person was blocking the front!

If he didn't use his Shield to push them aside, what else could he do?

Who knew it was actually a teammate!

It was too noisy around them, so Zhao Tieniu's father-in-law covered his mouth with his hand and said: "That person is a pre-selected 'connected' candidate, and his backing seems quite strong. You pushed him until he stumbled; he must have lost so much face!"

"We must prepare a generous gift to apologize, and also to thank him! Without him, even if you won this round, you wouldn't have won so cleanly!"

Zhao Tieniu's father-in-law pondered to himself: If the other party holds a grudge, then let them vent it, and hopefully, they will show mercy and let us off.

If the other party is broad-minded, then we can interact more and strengthen the relationship!

None of this needed to be explained too clearly to Zhao Tieniu. Zhao Tieniu was a straightforward person and couldn't consider such complex relationships, but fortunately, he was obedient and filial!

Thus, Zhao Tieniu scratched his head with a foolish grin: "Aye, I'll listen to you, Dad!"

His father-in-law, still pondering things in his heart, continued: "Dad has already inquired about it just now—"

Actually, there was no need to inquire deliberately; one could hear plenty of discussions about this "Young Master Rong" just by standing on the sidelines.

Someone from the Zhao Clan of Xinzhou!

A young person the Patrol Guard Division wanted to support!

The family didn't seem easy to provoke either; it was said their influence was mainly outside the passes, and they were quite ruthless.

Ruthless or not, in troubled times, that didn't count for much.

There were plenty of black-hearted people in troubled times!

"That Young Master Rong is still more upright than those who hide and use fake identities!"

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