Chapter 877 - 879: The Perseverance of Tu Bai_1
Bai Ruozhu was startled and quickly followed her gaze to see Tu Bai shooting his last arrow, while a small patch on the front of his shirt was stained, as the uniform of the Study Palace was dark green, the bloodstains were not very noticeable, but Bai Ruozhu knew without a doubt that those were fresh blood, Tu Bai’s wound had split open!
Bai Ruozhu’s heart also raised to her throat, wasn’t Tu Bai supposed to take it easy? The blood was seeping out, how was this taking it easy?
Finally, Tu Bai released his last arrow, hitting the bullseye with all five arrows, his body trembling slightly, probably from enduring the pain of the wound.
Bai Ruozhu dared not delay, took out a medicine bottle and handed it to Tu Ying, "Quickly give your brother one."
Tu Ying took the medicine bottle, rushed over to meet Tu Bai, and quickly poured out a pill into his mouth.
The judges on the field had already noticed Tu Bai’s abnormality and came over to ask, "What’s wrong with this contestant? Is he injured?"
Tu Bai gave the judges a simple smile and said, "Sir, it’s nothing, just a superficial wound, my sister is just making a fuss."
"Can you continue the competition after this? If not, you can go to the Rest Room to change the dressing," said the judge kindly.
Tu Bai, worried that Tu Ying would speak up, immediately interjected, "It’s nothing, it’s nothing, I’ll just change the dressing after the competition."
"Brother!" cried Tu Ying, tears streaming down her face, while Tu Bai desperately made eye gestures to her, and seeing that Tu Bai insisted, the judge had no choice but to walk away.
In the sidelines, Bai Ruozhu sighed and said, "Tu Bai, this is the first time I have seen Tu Ying cry, look how worried she is about you, can’t you stop being so willful?"
Tu Bai gave a bitter smile, "I’m really fine, the worst-case scenario is that the wound reopens and has to heal again, I can’t let this trip be in vain, can I? Otherwise, I really won’t feel reconciled, and I might even develop an illness from frustration."
Tu Ying was not a woman who indulged in sorrow, and she had already dried her tears at this moment, disagreeing, she said, "You shouldn’t continue the competition later, no matter what you say, I won’t agree."
"Little sister, do you really want me to kneel down to you?" Tu Bai almost shouted, and Zheng Kangle, seeing that something was wrong with Tu Bai, hurried over, only to be startled by his words.
"Tu Brother, your sister is just looking out for you," whispered Zheng Kangle in an attempt to persuade him.
Ignoring him, Tu Bai just stared at his own sister, and Tu Ying glared back at him in anger, neither of them willing to back down. Bai Ruozhu, having no choice, interrupted their silent argument, saying, "Let me apply acupuncture on Tu Bai to stop the bleeding temporarily."
Tu Ying hurriedly turned to Bai Ruozhu, "Ruozhu, thank you so much."
While the competition was still going on for other groups, they stepped aside, and Bai Ruozhu quickly applied the needles on Tu Bai, indeed the bloodstained patch on Tu Bai’s body did not expand any further.
At the judges’ table, the same perceptive judge who noticed earlier exclaimed, "That lucky young Miss is actually a doctor, her acupuncture skills are quite impressive."
The judge beside him glanced over, not paying much attention, and said offhandedly, "Noble ladies don’t study medicine, she is probably a female doctor."
Down below, seeing that Tu Bai’s bleeding had stopped and his complexion had improved somewhat, Tu Ying finally sighed and said, "Never mind, have it your way then, Father and Mother always say I am stubborn, but when you get stubborn, you’re like a bull."
Tu Bai grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. Although his features weren’t exceptionally handsome, he still had a sunny and attractive appearance.
By this time, all of the archery competitions had finished, and everyone had been scored on their performance. Surprisingly, Tu Ying had scored a perfect ten, but there were also two men who scored tens; judging from their builds, they were surely on the Martial Exam Ranking path.
"Take it easy later on, I’ll do my best to fight for first place for you!" Tu Ying said, gritting her teeth.
Tu Bai nodded, "Don’t worry, I won’t mess up."
Next came the horseback archery competition, with only the top twenty from the archery round qualifying to compete. Tu Ying, Tu Bai, Bai Ruozhu, and Zheng Kangle all made it into the top twenty, while Dang Youshen was unlucky to miss out by a few spots, causing him to return to the group feeling extremely disgruntled.
Once again they drew lots for their order, and each person had to shoot five arrows while galloping on horseback.
Unexpectedly, a Chang’an Academy student who had also scored ten points like Tu Ying drew the number one lot. This time the rule was that the horse had to run a circle within a marked line, and the five targets were spaced out at intervals. Competitors had to shoot their arrows while making the circuit, hitting each target with one arrow, aiming to hit the bullseye. The winner would be the one with the most bullseyes.
Of course, if there were any high-difficulty movements, they would be awarded bonus points.
"Number one contestant from Chang’an Academy, Zou Tao, get ready!" the judge called out loudly on the arena.
Zou Tao mounted his horse with agility and then spurred it into a run around the field. He began to perform fancy moves on horseback, leaning to hide beside the horse one moment, then leaping to the other side the next, eliciting gasps of surprise from the spectators, as those unaware often thought he was about to fall off.
Tu Ying and Tu Bai, who were experts in the field, could immediately tell the competitors were formidable, and a serious expression appeared on their faces.
Zou Tao performed exceptionally well. Not only did his riding skills earn praise from the judges, but he also hit the bullseye with all five arrows.
With his impressive performance, the next three contestants seemed somewhat lackluster by comparison. The judges seemed unenthusiastic, and the three competitors cursed their bad luck for having to follow such a strong opener, which affected their scores.
Next was Lin Xufei. His riding was actually better than his shooting and helped him regain some points. Soon it was Lin Hanlan’s turn. Perhaps inspired by Tu Ying’s outstanding performance, she put in a lot of effort. She daringly executed some fancy moves in her riding, and hit all five targets with her arrows. Though not as formidable as Zou Tao, she still won a round of applause from the crowd.
Bai Ruozhu drew number nine and was soon up. She didn’t have the same riding skills as others, so she didn’t overreach and simply focused on shooting arrows from horseback. Perhaps because she had previously entered a state of perfect unity with the bow, she felt incredibly in sync, and with her exceptional eyesight, all five arrows hit the bullseye, though one was on the edge. Nonetheless, the judges declared it a bullseye.
When Bai Ruozhu finished, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that not falling off the horse was already good, and at least she had completed her task successfully without embarrassing the Study Palace.
Then came Tu Bai. He mounted his horse with a fluid movement, not demonstrating overly flashy maneuvers but exuding a crisp efficiency, executing one shot with his foot hooked on one side of the horse.
This move was incredibly difficult and wasn’t merely for show; it was suitable for combat on horseback when dodging incoming arrows before shooting back. Although injured, Tu Bai performed it beautifully, winning approval from the judges.
Bai Ruozhu nodded inwardly, recognizing that Tu Bai was not just bold but also wise, knowing his limits and achieving the greatest effect with the least harm to himself.
When Tu Bai came down, his complexion had paled even more. One kind-hearted judge said, "You should go to the Rest Room to rest. We have a Doctor arranged in the arena, I’ll call someone to change your dressing."