Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 44: Stronghold Mistress

Swoosh!

A stone flew through the air and accurately hit a sparrow.

Zhao Changhe strode up to examine it. He had an incomparably delighted expression.

Yue Hongling’s coming made up for his shortcomings of being a mountain bandit. Even if he was given ten thousand stronghold mistresses, he would not swap Yue Hongling out for them.

Theoretically, cultivating internal arts could improve one’s hearing and vision; learning how to determine the position of something using sound, as well as ways of killing enemies from a distance, could be learned by oneself.

That was, of course, only in theory. In reality, it was completely different from being taught by someone.

To use concealed weapons effectively, it was not enough to have power and accuracy. Technique was equally important. There were even standalone concealed weapon arts, and what Yue Hongling taught him was her very own concealed weapon art, Falling Feathers Soaring Plume. Seeing that rock fly out of his hands, whistling through the air and finally hitting its target, Zhao Changhe thought that this was what a bird gun was supposed to feel like.

Yue Hongling leaned against a tree by the side with her arms crossed and sized up the sparrow’s body. She was shocked and said, “I never thought you’d be talented at this. You haven’t even practiced yet, but you’re already so accurate!”

Zhao Changhe smiled. “I’ve played with a bow and arrow before. Accuracy is transferable.”

In the great Xia Dynasty, crossbows and armor were contraband goods. Travelers could carry sabers and swords but not bows and crossbows. However, this clearly had nothing to do with mountain bandits. The mountain stronghold had all sorts of homemade bows. Yue Hongling did not think what Zhao Changhe said was strange at all, and she nodded. ”If it wasn’t inconvenient to do so, carrying a bow while wandering the jianghu is actually much better than carrying a concealed throwing weapon.”

In reality, Zhao Changhe never played with any of the bows in the mountain stronghold. He had limited time to practice his martial arts. There was simply too much to learn and he had no time to spare for this. Of course, he had learned archery in the real world and was a member of the archery club. Even though he was less skilled than his peers, he still had a foundation and did not need to learn from scratch. Now with his improved vision due to his internal art and steadier hands, his accuracy was naturally higher, as if he had instantly maxed out his stats. Wherever he pointed, he could hit.

After listening to what Yue Hongling said, Zhao Changhe held his chin and pondered. In the future, if I fasten my saber on the left, tie a wine gourd on the right, sling a bow over my shoulder and carry a quiver full of arrows...uh...I’ll look like a walking weapon rack. No way. I won’t be able to go out like that.

What a pity. In an era like this, a bow would really be useful...

However, he would certainly be able to use a bow during special times... Thus, Zhao Changhe gleefully ran to the storehouse. “What’s the best bow our stronghold has?”

“The best bow we have is a three shi[1] bow. Instructor Sun used to play with it, but I guess he forgot to bring it along with him when he left. It’s too heavy for our brothers to use, even those who like archery, so it’s been left here ever since. It’s a pain in the ass to take care of it... Boss, would it be better for us to sell it?”

“Instructor Sun, you really are my good father!” Zhao Changhe exclaimed. “What do you mean, sell it? I want this bow!”

Yue Hongling followed from behind and saw Zhao Changhe disappear like a wisp of smoke to the warehouse, then once again to the arena. Once he took the arrows by the side, he rushed to loose an arrow at a target.

Dong~

It was like someone had struck a drum. The arrow lodged itself halfway into the hardwood target, yet its tail still swayed to and fro from the sheer shock.

The bandits training here all looked on, dumbstruck. Is our boss this strong?

“That felt really good to shoot! I almost shot my entire body away! Oh fuck... Ugh...”

Yue Hongling folded her arms and put on a blank expression as she looked at the idiot rubbing his shoulder while he squatted on the floor. He said, “It looks like I pulled a muscle...”

“How could you have not pulled a muscle?” Yue Hongling’s voice was cold. “You already overexerted yourself last night. With only that bit of rest, how much did you think you could recover? Do you really think you’d be as lively as a dragon or tiger? You idiot, you even put all your strength into that one shot. It felt good, didn’t it? Do you feel good now?”

Zhao Changhe’s face twitched. He lay there without moving. “Someone come and help me massage my shoulder...”

All the bandits looked at each other, then at Yue Hongling.

Who do you think is gonna give you a massage and steal our sister-in-law’s job? She’ll beat us to death.

Zhao Changhe roared, “Why are you all staring at her? Who cares what she... OUCH!”

Everyone retreated.

How can he be so jealous? We only glanced at her...

Yue Hongling smiled as she watched all of this unfold. She approached Zhao Changhe, grabbed him from behind by the collar and pulled him up. “Follow me back. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Everyone looked on with wide eyes. It was like seeing a fierce tiger being picked up and brought away like a kitten. The whole thing felt like a dream... This sister-in-law is really strong! I guess this is what it takes to be the stronghold mistress, right?

“Sister-in-law is mighty!” shouted someone after a moment. “There should have been someone to keep our boss in check sooner!”

“Hey, do you want to die? If the boss hears what you said, he’ll skin you.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? I’m praising our sister-in-law. Will the boss dare to do anything? Do you know what a stronghold mistress is? It’s someone who can keep our entire stronghold under tight control!”

“You sure fucking know a lot about this!”

The ruckus throughout the stronghold could faintly be heard inside Zhao Changhe’s hut. Yue Hongling threw him onto the bed with a blank face and began massaging his shoulder.

Zhao Changhe laid dare, not daring to make a sound. He stole a glance at Yue Hongling’s expression but could not make out anything?

“What are you looking at? I can’t cut any of them down. Trying to cover things up will only raise more suspicion.” Yue Hongling said indifferently. “Whatever. I’m already used to it. They can call me what they like. In any case, they don’t know I’m the real Yue Hongling. As long as Cui Yuanyong doesn’t spread any drivel, everything will be fine.”

In silence, Zhao Changhe thought the same. If he was Yue Hongling, he would also have no other choice but to play along and pray that Cui Yuanyong, who knew it was actually her, would keep his damn mouth shut.

Yue Hongling made a stern face. “Come to think of it, what were you so excited about? You even went to shoot an arrow for no reason.”

“Because this will be an effective weapon for fighting someone with a higher cultivation. As long as I can use it well, there will be many people who’ll hate me for it. I’ve thought of a few things I can do and I got excited...”

“You definitely have a clear goal you’re aiming for, and it’s something you have no way of accomplishing right now.” Yue Hongling said, “Do you need me to help you take care of it?”

Zhao Changhe looked at her. Her face was still blank.

He suddenly smiled. “There’s no need. I, Zhao Changhe, don’t live off women.”

Yue Hongling’s shapely eyebrows twisted into a scowl. “You—”

Zhao Changhe interrupted her, “Big Sister Yue.”

“Huh?” Yue Hongling was taken aback and forgot what she wanted to say. Why is he suddenly calling me this again? I’m not very used to it...

“In reality, you coming here to seek shelter with me is only half the truth. The other more important reason is that you feel a sense of duty after having observed me for so long. You feel that I am good-natured and if you had just accepted my request to be your disciple, I wouldn’t be in this bandit nest today. You’re using the excuse of recuperating here to stay and teach me.”

Yue Hongling listened and slowly got lost in thought. After a while, she responded, “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps you’ve never really thought it through clearly. Instinctively, you think that by doing all this, you can make it up to yourself and no longer be bothered about your mistake,” Zhao Changhe said in a low voice. “You won’t leave when you’re fully recovered... No, whether your wounds heal or not, you definitely wish to teach me all that you know first. Only then will you leave.”

Yue Hongling pondered, lost in thought for a while, before smiling brightly. “You know me better than I know myself.”

“Since I’m correct, your hope is for me to be able to use everything you’ll teach me to free myself from my shackles and climb up the Ranking of Hidden Dragons and then out of it. You don’t want me borrowing your strength to help eliminate my enemies.”

Yue Hongling nodded with a smile. “Very good.”

Zhao Changhe rubbed his own shoulders which were still throbbing with pain and sat upright. He said sternly, “Their misunderstandings have affected you. For this, I apologize. I hope that big sister won’t mind them too much and can continue to teach me. The Yue Hongling in my heart is a teacher and a sister. I have absolutely no other ulterior thoughts.”

So it turns out he thought I was going to leave because of my serious face and he‘s urging me to stay. Things have strayed so far from what they should be...

Yue Hongling suddenly felt that all this was amusing and had no idea how their conversation had reached this point. “What teacher and sister? I’m two months younger than you.”

Zhao Changhe, who had so far been speaking frankly and assuredly, was now the one that was stupefied and just sat there. For a while, he did not know how to respond.

“Rest well.” Yue Hongling patted his shoulder, stood up, and left. “Sharpening an axe makes chopping wood easier; when training in martial arts, you must never rush. As the saying goes, what you store in winter will flourish in spring. Winter is about to end and spring is upon us. You will make remarkable progress in your cultivation. The trifling second layer of the Profound Gate is merely the starting point for you.”

Zhao Changhe looked at her leave with a dumb expression. He originally thought that he had fully understood her psychology. How is it that I can’t see through her at all now? Women are really troublesome!

“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!” From outside came the voice of one of Zhao Changhe’s subordinates. “Branch Master Fang has sent someone over to remind us that the boss didn’t wish him a happy new year. Could you tell the boss...”

“What’s there to tell him? Your boss—I mean, the head of our family has injured himself while training. All of you saw it. Why does he still need to send people new year wishes? What gall. Does this whatever branch master think he’s some high-ranking official? Does he think that a valiant hero like the stronghold master is a paper pusher? This branch master really makes me want to vomit.”

“Sister-in-law is bold! We’ll tell the messenger at once!”

For a while, Zhao Changhe was at a loss. Then, he started laughing.

1. 1 shi = 120 jin, so 3 shi = 360 jin, more or less 360lbs. For reference, the current Guinness World Record for a full-draw shot is 200lbs. ☜