From the first day of He Yan’s wager with Wang Ba, private betting began in the barracks. Those who hadn’t witnessed He Yan drawing the bow came especially before bedtime to see what He Yan looked like. He Yan recalled that the last time she drew such attention was when she, as General Fei Hong, had won a battle and received an imperial commendation.

Though the circumstances were different now, at least she was becoming famous.

“Those people are too much!” Xiao Mai returned from outside, complaining, “I heard the people betting on Brother He Yan’s victory can be counted on one hand. They’re certain Brother He Yan can’t win!”

“That’s just normal people making normal choices,” Hong Shan held his head.

Thanks to He Yan, the recruits who could only train and suffer found new entertainment these days. Laughter and joy filled the air, making it feel like a city marketplace.

“Big Brother and I joined in to boost Brother He Yan’s morale. We bet on Brother He Yan winning,” Xiao Mai looked at He Yan ingratiatingly. “Brother He Yan, aren’t we loyal?”

Before He Yan could speak, Hong Shan asked, “How many hardtacks did you bet?”

“One each for me and Big Brother.”

“One—” Hong Shan deliberately dragged out the word, “Then how many did you bet on Wang Ba?”

“Ten,” Xiao Mai answered without thinking. When he came to his senses and met He Yan’s gaze, his face reddened, and he stammered, “No- no, we thought we could win more biscuits and share them later. If Brother He Yan loses, at least we won’t lose everything… having food is good too.” His voice grew smaller until he dared not speak, looking pitifully at He Yan.

He Yan was surprised, “Where did you get ten hardtacks?”

Even saving one daily wouldn’t add up to that many.

“On credit…”

Even credit was available – He Yan was amazed, realizing this was a major gambling operation, not just casual betting.

She earnestly told Xiao Mai, “Xiao Mai, you better withdraw your bet on Wang Ba. Ten hardtacks – can you handle going hungry for ten days?”

Hong Shan was exasperated: “He Yan, be reasonable. This isn’t the time for pride.”

He Yan: “…How can I convince you I’m not being prideful?”

Nobody believed her. The other three might as well have written it on their faces.

He Yan had no choice but to stand up and say, “Then I’ll go practice,” and left the room.

“Ah.” Xiao Mai sighed dejectedly.

“Ah.” Hong Shan sighed melancholically.

Shi Tou watched them silently, then also sighed.

The room was filled with gloom.

……

The wager with Wang Ba was just the beginning of He Yan’s fame.

These days, her name could be heard everywhere.

“Did you hear? That recruit He Yan under Instructor Liang has gone mad!”

“I know the one who bet with Wang Ba about archery in ten days. Wasn’t he already mad to make that bet?”

“He’s even crazier now. Instead of practicing archery during the day, he’s lifting stone locks! Not even shooting arrows anymore?”

“Then he must be mad.”

He Yan was practicing with stone locks in the open ground. During daytime archery training when many people watched her, she simply stopped practicing archery. She borrowed a large stone lock from the instructor and played with it whenever possible.

She needed to build strength.

To maximize the power of a crossbow, one needed enough strength to draw it fully. What she lacked most was strength and stone locks were the best tools for strength training. Back in her army days, one of her subordinates was a strongman, originally a street performer who had trained with stone locks since childhood and could perform amazing feats with them. He could make the stone locks dance all over his body – “catching lotus leaves,” “fanning beams,” “tumbling cuts,” “snowflake ceiling,” “Guan Gong removing his robe,” and more.

This strongman was also an excellent archer, not only accurate but able to draw the bow fuller than others, fully utilizing the bow’s power. He Yan had practiced arm strength with him through paired throwing, building arm, wrist, hand, and waist strength through their exchanges.

Now she had no partner to throw with, but she only wanted to build arm strength first, to draw the bow completely.

Training with stone locks built strength faster than drawing bows. During the day, He Yan practiced with stone locks; at night, after everyone was asleep, she would sneak to the training ground. Fortunately, there were always one or two bows left there for her secret practice. Even more fortunately, since her last encounter with Xiao Jue, she hadn’t met him again during her night practice.

Though she wasn’t afraid of meeting Xiao Jue, being seen by him during her secret night practice gave her a subtle sense of awkwardness. It reminded her of her youth when her clumsy self had to struggle nightly just to reach “third from last” – memories she’d rather forget.

This must be the humiliation of being looked down upon by heaven’s chosen ones!

She thought she’d escaped this humiliation, but fate had somehow brought her back to experience it again.

What virtue did she possess to deserve heaven’s attention?

What she understood least during her daily practice was her brothers’ reactions.

“He Yan,” Hong Shan hesitated, “Even if you can draw the bow better, without accuracy, you can’t beat Wang Ba.”

“Yes, I watch Wang Ba every day. He hits the target’s center every time, rarely missing,” Xiao Mai added.

“Wang Ba is naturally skilled with the bow,” He Yan said, “He must be proficient at hurting people with arrows, seemingly even more skilled than Shi Tou.”

Shi Tou nodded, acknowledging this point.

“Then why don’t you practice shooting arrows every day, Brother He Yan?” Xiao Mai was even more confused, “You should at least practice accuracy a few times. What if the arrows fly into the forest?”

“No need,” He Yan said.

Xiao Mai stared at him wide-eyed, “Could it be…”

Could He Yan have some secret weapon?

He Yan smiled. She had no secret weapon; she just used others’ sleeping time to practice archery. Daily she drew the bow and shot arrows by moonlight, drawing the bow fuller and fuller with notable progress. As for accuracy, well, fortunately, she hadn’t regressed.

“I’m not naturally talented,” she thought seriously for a moment, then said sincerely, “But I have very good luck. You should believe that even if I don’t practice shooting, as long as I can draw the bow fully when the time comes, the arrow will fly to the target as if it has eyes of its own.”

Looking at the smiling He Yan, everyone had the same thought.

He Yan had truly gone mad.