Ten days flew by in the blink of an eye.

The entire Liangzhou Guard was anticipating this exciting wager. Most people bet on Wang Ba’s victory, while a small portion sided with He Yan. Occasionally, when passing by, one could hear He Yan’s supporters arguing with the opposition: “What’s wrong with He Yan? Striving for something despite knowing its difficulty – that’s truly the mark of a great man!”

He Yan, who happened to overhear this: “…”

However, regardless of what people said, the bets revealed where their true feelings lay. Only three dried biscuits were wagered on He Yan’s victory – one each from Xiao Mai, Shi Tou, and Hong Shan.

Beyond these, to He Yan’s surprise, there was one anonymous person who bet ten pieces of dried beef on her victory.

“Who could be so generous?” Xiao Mai pondered deeply. “To bet so many treasures on Brother He Yan, they must be very wealthy.”

“Not just wealthy, but also discerning,” He Yan thought, finally someone smart had emerged in the military camp.

Hong Shan glanced at He Yan, “Too bad their brain is broken.”

“Brother Shan, you shouldn’t say that. This person must truly admire Brother He Yan to support him secretly. If I had that much-dried meat, I would bet on Brother He Yan too.”

“Alright, small bets for fun, big bets hurt. Don’t take it too seriously,” He Yan took a drink from her water flask and stood up. “We’re heading to the training ground soon, let me warm up first.”

Shi Tou asked her with doubt in his eyes: “Can you do it?”

“Like I said, my luck has always been good,” He Yan smiled.

When they arrived at the training ground, they found many people already gathered around Instructor Liang. Someone shouted, “He Yan is here!” Immediately, a sea of people rushed over.

“Where is he? Where is he?”

“He didn’t run away, he came!”

“Quick, is everyone’s dried biscuits ready?”

He Yan: “…”

This star treatment was rather uncomfortable. Instructor Liang watched coldly. Although private gambling was strictly forbidden in the military camp since they were using dried biscuits and given the situation, the Head Instructor showed no intention of stopping it, so Liang Ping didn’t comment further. Besides, he was excited to see the outcome.

After all, everyone has a bit of a gambling spirit in their bones.

As He Yan walked over, she saw a youth in tan-yellow clothes standing beside Liang Ping. The youth had red lips, and white teeth, and was full of vigor, looking quite familiar. He Yan felt she had seen him somewhere before and looked at him.

The youth, seeing her gaze, broke into a big smile and walked over enthusiastically: “So you’re He Yan!”

Was he also here specifically to see her? But judging from his attire, he didn’t seem like a recruit in the military camp, nor an instructor. He looked exactly like the noble young masters from the capital.

“I’ve heard all about you! I admire you! I want to become sworn brothers with you. From now on, we’ll be brothers, what do you say?” he said.

He Yan was bewildered. This person wanted to become a sworn brothers right away, yet she didn’t even know his name or surname.

At this moment, Instructor Liang stepped forward and said to the yellow-clothed youth with a smile, “Young Master Cheng, the Commander wants you to stay away from the crossbow.”

Xiao Jue? He Yan suddenly remembered where she had seen this youth before. When she and He Yunsheng were at the training grounds, secretly teaching Young Master Zhao a lesson after he wanted to kill his beloved horse out of misplaced anger, Xiao Jue stopped him. This delicately handsome young master had been with Xiao Jue then.

Oh? He had followed Xiao Jue to the Liangzhou Guard.

“Uncle is just too worried, what’s the problem? The arrows won’t hit me,” the youth grumbled but still obediently stepped back.

Uncle? He Yan was even more surprised. This youth was Xiao Jue’s nephew. But the Xiao family only had two sons and no daughters, so what kind of convoluted family relationship was this?

Before He Yan could figure it out, she heard a familiar voice: “You came!”

It was Wang Ba.

He had made thorough preparations today. He had removed his crimson training outfit’s outer garment, wearing only a red jacket, bare-chested, with a red headband tied around his forehead, looking like he was ready for a fighting tournament.

His voice was very loud. It was said that last night, his tent mates had given him all their food so he could perform at his best today.

He walked to the crossbow and stood with He Yan, looking at her provocatively, “Ten days have passed, now it’s time for you to fulfill your promise.”

“I remember, you don’t need to speak so loudly,” He Yan picked at her ear. “You go first.”

Wang Ba snorted with a laugh, leaned close to He Yan, and spoke softly, “It’s not too late to beg for mercy now.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say to you,” He Yan replied calmly.

“You’re asking for death!” Wang Ba laughed coldly, took a big step forward, and announced: “Since He Yan doesn’t dare to go first, I’ll start!”

Discussions erupted around them. He Yan shrugged and stepped aside. Hong Shan quietly asked him: “He Yan, are you nervous?”

“I’m not nervous,” He Yan replied somewhat helplessly, patting the visibly nervous Hong Shan. “So you have even less reason to be nervous.”

“I’m afraid he’ll perform too well…”

Wang Ba performed very well every day; there was no such thing as “too well.” They watched as he stepped forward, set up the crossbow, and placed his finger on the arrow. Because of this wager with He Yan, Wang Ba had been practicing archery even more diligently. He Yan could feel that his strength had improved compared to ten days ago, and his archery had become more composed.

The arrow was aimed at the straw target. At that moment, the sun was covered by clouds, casting a brief coolness. Wang Ba took a deep breath and suddenly released his finger.

Every one looked – the arrow had steadily hit the bullseye, knocking over the target.

Very stable, achieving the same results as Wang Ba’s daily practice these days. Being able to maintain such archery skills was already quite remarkable.

A flash of satisfaction crossed Instructor Liang’s eyes. Regardless of today’s outcome, Wang Ba was an excellent talent. Such a person would be valued under any instructor.

Wang Ba dusted off his hands, put down the crossbow, walked to He Yan’s side, and showed a smug smile, asking, “How about that? It’s your turn now.”

He Yan smiled without speaking and turned to step forward.

“Here we go, here we go!” Cheng Lisu excitedly stretched his neck and muttered to himself, “Brother He Yan, I bet ten pieces of dried meat on you. Though it’s not much, it’s this young master’s sincere support. Don’t disappoint me!”

He Yan didn’t know she was carrying the weight of Cheng Lisu’s ten pieces of dried meat. From the moment she walked to the crossbow, all the surrounding discussions stopped, and all eyes were on her.

This kid – was he just bragging? Or did he possess extraordinary skills?

However, in this world, true miracles were rare. Apart from a small portion hoping for a miracle, most people were just here to watch the show.

He Yan picked up the bow and arrow.