Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 5
Both of them had a dozen arrows in their hands. Li Xun spread out his palm as a table for Song Yang to sort them by color. Song Yang’s fingertips would rub against his palm from time to time, which made him feel a little itchy.
When they returned, the man in the black T-shirt looked at Li Xun and snorted unhappily, “Are you the coach here?”
“Well,” Li Xun returned to his usual indifference, “Just throw your complaint letter into the suggestion box. My last name is Li.”
The man in the black T-shirt reached out to stop him and said, “How about we make a bet? Three arrows each, and if you lose, you will resign.”
Song Yang was shocked by the shamelessness of this man, “Why? He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Li Xun turned around and found a row of students lying on the glass wall, all looking at this side eagerly. He unzipped his jacket and asked, “What if I win?”
The man in the black T-shirt shrugged: “At worst, I won’t come.”
Li Xun frowned slightly: “This is a bit unfair.”
The man in the black T-shirt laughed: “What, you’re not brave enough? A coach himself can’t even shoot with accuracy, so how can he be qualified to teach students?” He raised his voice in the second half of the sentence, and it was obvious that he was speaking to the group of students opposite him.
Several of his cronies also chimed in.
There was no way Song Yang would let the other side gain the upper hand. He puffed out his chest and used his height advantage to crush them: “You know shit! I grew up watching his games. When he won awards in international competitions…”
Li Xun hung his coat on Song Yang’s forehead, looked at the black T-shirt, and said with a fake smile: “I mean, this is very unfair to you.”
The man in the black T-shirt had a face as long as a horse’s.
The harsh words have been spoken, and it would be impolite not to compete. The man in the black T-shirt changed the bow and adjusted the sight, and his preparation posture was very good.
In contrast, Li Xun casually picked up a traditional bow hanging on the wall.
This kind of bow was used by ancient armies for archery on horseback. The bow has a certain degree of elasticity, a simple shape and is very light.
Song Yang has never used this thing.
Because it doesn’t look cool at all. Not to mention a balancer, there isn’t even a sight. There’s only a thin string besides the bow handle, and beginners have to shoot entirely by feeling.
Especially Li Xun’s gun, which is gray and looks like it hasn’t been used for a long time. There is even a straw rope wrapped around the handle. It looks quite retro and no one would pick it up if it was thrown on the street.
“You’re going to use this?” The man in the black T-shirt showed an incredulous look, “If you don’t have a bow, I can lend you one.”
Li Xun didn’t respond, but raised his chin towards the distance: “You go first.”
The guy in black T-shirt was still quite capable. His first two arrows both hit the ten rings. When he picked up the third arrow, he showed a determined smile.
Song Yang glanced at Li Xun. His face was calm and he was staring at the target intently, as if he was not disturbed by the other party’s provocation.
Come to think of it, an international archery athlete who has experienced so many big events must be very relaxed.
Besides, the shooting range was only 20 meters. He was looking forward to the scene of Li Xun beating up his opponent, and even took out his cell phone to record the video.
The third arrow from the black T-shirt still hit the ten rings. His followers applauded and cheered, and also made some sarcastic remarks to Li Xun.
Song Yang unconsciously clenched his fists and grasped Li Xun’s coat tightly: “Come on!”
The students next door also ran over to cheer him on.
Li Xun put on the finger guard, hooked an arrow from the quiver behind his waist, put the arrow on his index and middle fingers, and bent them into a small hook.
Song Yang stared at the cold eyes, his heart in his throat. Although Li Xun looked very confident, the recurve bow and the traditional bow were completely different concepts. Competitions like the Olympics stipulated that only recurve bows could be used, and athletes usually practiced with recurve bows. No matter how good Li Xun was, it was impossible for him to practice the traditional bow to such a superb level, right?
To be on the safe side, Song Yang stopped him and said, “Why don’t you get a better bow? I’ll go downstairs and get it for you!”
“Need not.”
Song Yang had no choice but to step aside.
Li Xun’s movements seemed quite casual. He raised the bow quickly and drew the string. It seemed that he had not even taken the aiming step, and the arrow had already been shot out.
With a “pop”.
A three-ring in the lower left corner.
Song Yang was stunned. He could have played this level with his eyes closed.
The students also sighed in disappointment.
The man in the black T-shirt burst out laughing: “Triple rings!” He pointed at the target and turned to look at the students, “Your coach is really amazing. He shot a triple ring!”
Song Yang gritted his teeth. He was so embarrassed for Li Xun that his toes were digging into the ground.
He knew it! He knew that traditional bows would not work!
“Hey,” the man in the black T-shirt looked at Song Yang and said sarcastically, “What competition did you just say he participated in? A bragging competition?”
Song Yang was so angry that his face turned red: “This is not fair! What is the configuration of your bow and what is the configuration of his bow?”
He was just trying to find a way out for Li Xun, but unexpectedly Li Xun winked at him and said, “Go to the next door and get a balloon.”
“What are you doing with the balloon?” Song Yang’s tone was a little aggressive, because he was also a little disappointed with the number of rings.
No matter how thick the childhood filter is, he lost, and he lost because of pretending to be cool. He felt it was not worth it. Maybe if he changed the bow, the situation would not be like this.
“Just take it if I tell you to.” Li Xun said, “Pick one at random and throw it at my target.”
Although Song Yang didn’t understand what was going on, he still did it. He ran to Li Xun’s target and raised his hand in the air: “Just throw it like this?”
Li Xun said: “Throw it up with all your strength, and make sure it’s in a straight line. Don’t throw it crookedly. Then run. The farther you run, the better.”
Song Yang roughly understood what he meant.
The balloon took the center of the target as the starting point and was thrown high up by Song Yang. It touched the ceiling and before it landed back to the starting point, the person had already run to a safe range.
“Wow!–”
Hearing the exclamations of the crowd behind him, Song Yang turned around and widened his eyes in surprise.
The second arrow shot by Li Xun landed on the three rings in the lower right corner, completely symmetrical with the first arrow, and held the balloon squarely!
“Fuck.” The tattooed man couldn’t help but sigh and looked at Li Xun in disbelief, “That’s quite a level.”
More than just a little.
This is no longer a level that can be achieved by luck, it is a level of accuracy that is exactly the same!
Song Yang was like a fish thrown back into the sea, coming back to life in an instant, and commented with great joy: “Look at the angle, the technique, and the symmetry!”
“Get out of the way.” Li Xun shouted from a distance.
Song Yang jumped to the side, and just like the first time, he casually raised the bow, pulled the string, and shot with seemingly no accuracy – because the balloon was colored, he couldn’t see the center of the bull’s eye even if he wanted to aim.
“Bang——”
The dark red balloon exploded into pieces in front of Song Yang’s eyes, and the third arrow pierced the center of the circle steadily.
Song Yang stretched his neck back, his eyes wide open, maintaining a frightened posture.
Everyone first leaned forward to check the number of rings, and then burst into a torrential cheer that lasted for a long time. Even the cleaning lady looked inside out of curiosity.
The man in the black T-shirt looked pale and stared at Li Xun without saying a word.
The dwarf asked Li Xun where he came from. Li Xun didn’t even give him a glance. He hung the rustic traditional bow back on the wall and told Song Yang: “The accuracy of the arrow depends on the person, not the bow.”
“Are you still accepting disciples?” Song Yang untied the quiver at his waist, his bright pupils filled with anticipation.
“What kind of disciple?” Li Xun raised the corners of his lips and asked jokingly, “The kind that is a teacher for a day and a father for life?”
