Chapter 656: The Official Start

Everyone was stunned.

Without a single exception.

Originally, people had been quite looking forward to it. After all, this Longyun Games was something Liu Zheng had stirred up single-handedly.

It was so grand, so magnificent.

And yet...

The delegation he had put together himself.

People blinked their eyes, staring dumbfounded at everything happening before them.

Holding the flag, the one walking in first.

Was an old man...

That's right!

You didn't see wrong!

It was a white-haired, gray-headed old man! He looked to be at least fifty or sixty years old.

Skinny and bony...

He wobbled as he walked, and he was missing several teeth...

Just as everyone was dazed and unable to react, what followed was even more outrageous.

Behind the old man followed a woman who looked spirited and heroic!

At this moment.

The whole arena erupted in an uproar!

A woman?

A female?

Everyone exclaimed in shock.

How could this be!

On an occasion like this, how could they let a woman participate!

"Has he gone mad!"

"What is going on!"

"Prefect Liu, what is the situation here! Explain it to everyone!"

"Traitor! Have you turned cowardly again!"

"Are you trying to lose on purpose?"

The entire venue exploded.

Those who had been criticizing Liu Zheng all along were spitting with excitement, their spirits high.

They had originally thought... that regarding the matter of the Liaodong region, Liu Zheng should have kept a low profile; people were waiting for him to prove himself at the Longyun Games.

They didn't expect.

They absolutely didn't expect!

He had turned cowardly again!

Such a massive sports event, and he wanted to lose again! It was blatantly obvious he wanted to lose!

The commoners would not stand for it and began cursing loudly one after another.

The officials were also unable to fathom it and looked at each other in confusion.

Even Xie Tianyao frowned, his face cold as frost.

"Hahahaha, it's killing me, it's killing this Prince!"

Xie Fang had just finished his house arrest today and been released. Perhaps Xie Tianyao felt that, after all, he was his own son and couldn't keep him locked up forever, so letting him come out to see the Longyun Games and broaden his horizons was fine.

"What does he want to do? Huh? What does he want to do!"

Xie Fang had originally been worried that Liu Zheng would win this time, which was something he did not want to see.

But the people before his eyes...

Made him laugh so hard he couldn't even stand straight.

Look at the athletes from the other delegations; which one of them wasn't full of vigor and spirit? All of them were strong men with astonishing presence.

And then look at the Longyan side...

A white-haired old man, a big-footed woman, a dark-skinned child, a foolish-looking man, a skinny fellow with shifty eyes, a dwarf who was probably only half a person tall—and that wasn't even all, there was also a blind man being supported by others, and a man missing an arm...

What is this?

The Eight Freaks of Jiangnan?

Outrageous!

Too outrageous!

Tie Mu-cheng, Mizuno Masashige, and Li Xuanya were also completely stunned. Could it be that this Liu Zheng really wanted to concede?

"Oh my, what is he trying to do!"

Today.

Xie Chan also appeared at the scene.

After all, this concerned her public selection of a husband, and thinking about it, she hadn't seen Liu Zheng for many days, so she had dressed up meticulously early this morning. She looked even more stunning and breathtaking, a beauty of peerless grace. In her heart, this Longyun Games was something Liu Zheng had stirred up for her...

It was a grand event prepared for her.

And so.

She was full of anticipation.

She was feeling sweet and happy.

She...

Seeing the current scene, she almost choked to death on her own saliva.

Huh?

Just this?

Are you here to be funny?

The whole arena was cursing in anger.

The whole arena was roaring with laughter.

The whole arena was full of doubt.

Even the group of people beside Liu Zheng had expressions of collapse. Liu Dahao, Feng Sanniang, and the Prince of Yong all wanted to ask Liu Zheng what was going on. But they understood Liu Zheng's personality, so naturally, they stopped themselves from speaking. Yet in their hearts, they couldn't help but mutter.

Admitting defeat?

But...

Why admit defeat?

The Longyan Delegation walked in under this kind of atmosphere.

The old man was named Qian Yifeng; in his youth, he had also served in the military, and after retiring, he spent decades as an oil-peddler. In one war, he had carried the corpses of over a dozen comrades back, so he could be considered someone who had seen big scenes. But even so, facing these hundreds of thousands of people today, he still felt a bit nervous. He tried his best to grasp the Flag in his hand firmly and took a deep breath.

The young woman, Li Qingqing, was much more excited.

Since she was small, she had been daring and feared no one.

In this sea of people, she used her eyes to search for her dream lover—Prefect Liu.

The boy who liked Swimming was named Wang Liang; relatively speaking, he feared this kind of occasion the most, and his timid appearance made people unable to help but smile.

The man from Shichang was named Dong Erniu.

The thin man with shifty eyes was named Lin Qi, and he was a companion of Jiang Xuan and Chen Zeming.

The blind man being supported by Lin Qi was a famous master archer of the Liangzhou Army. He could not see the people at the scene and could only hear these sounds, but for him, having already lost half his life, he appeared very calm at this moment.

The dwarf who was only half a person tall was a once-famous thief in Liangzhou City who could ascend to the heavens and tunnel into the earth, and he was also a member of Jiang Xuan's little group. His name was Deng Jiu.

Being called a dwarf by others, his reaction was the most intense; he bared his fangs and brandished his claws, wishing he could go up and have a fight with these people.

In short.

That was the atmosphere at the scene.

The disappointment and despair of the masses turned into anger and laughter.

But there was no Method.

This Longyan Delegation was indeed the responsibility of Liu Zheng.

No matter what these athletes were like, this was just how things were; what could you do?

It's over.

The Longyan Delegation is finished.

This is a group of comedians that arrived!

These Guanzhong people and these commoners of Longyan all wanted to cry.

Prefect Liu!

Pair after pair of vicious eyes looked toward Prefect Liu!

Is this guy even a Longyan person anymore!

But regardless.

The Longyun Games began in this bizarre way.

After the opening ceremony.

The first event still attracted everyone's attention completely.

After all, it was the first Longyun Games, and people were still very curious about how this was played. The first event was shooting, which was Archery. This was, of course, without a doubt an event that could represent military skills. It also fit the original intention of the Longyun Games.

Shooting meant Archery.

This venue already existed, as the targets for the Imperial Guard's military training were all there; it just needed a slight modification.

In a swarm, everyone rushed over, but they were blocked outside the railings.

Under the order maintained by the referees at the scene, the athletes from each delegation entered the arena one after another.

The referee first announced the rules for the Archery event. Each person had the opportunity to shoot twenty arrows; ten rings scored ten points, nine rings scored nine points, and so on; after twenty arrows, the one with the most points would be the champion.

"Hahahaha, Archery?"

The side from Tie Mucheng was naturally full of confidence.

In the event of Archery, who didn't know the dominance of the Grassland's mounted archers? The Grassland produced many master archers; this was no boast.

Mizuno Masashige's side from Wa, as well as the side from Joseon, appeared relatively calm. It seemed both teams felt that there was probably no hope of winning the Gold Medal in this Archery event. However, striving for a Silver Medal should still be possible.

As for Longyan?

A group of people sneered incessantly.

With just those few people, what chance did they have?

Ignore him!

Ignore them, fine!

The Longyan spectators all thought with a sense of "hatred for iron not becoming steel."

"The Archery competition, officially begins!"

With this shout, the whole arena boiled over.