In the Mengyinhe camp, the Khitan people's carnival began.
They sat in a circle, with a bonfire burning in the middle, and a roasted lamb on the bonfire. The soldiers sang and danced around the bonfire. When they were tired, they would sit down, tear off a leg of lamb, and drink strong wine.
The Khitan people do not prohibit alcohol, perhaps because of their love for it, or perhaps because the Khitan wine-making technology is not developed. Wine is an extremely precious thing to them, and putting it aside without drinking it is the greatest blasphemy to the wine.
It is only at this time that the order and concept of superiority and inferiority among the Khitan people will be forgotten. At this moment, both Yeluyan, the guard of the Mengyin River, and Abaoji, the high priest of the Wushen Cult, have already integrated into the soldiers.
Among them, he drank and had fun with them.
Zhou Bian sat in the corner and watched all this quietly. There was no expression on his face. The carnival of this group of people had nothing to do with him.
"What? Don't you want to go over and have fun?"
Yelu Hailan came over and sat next to Zhou Bian.
"Is this my bow and arrow?" Zhou Bian's eyes were fixed on the rhinoceros horn bow held in Yelu Hailan's hand.
"Tsk, I don't understand the style, take it!"
Yelu Hailan curled his lips: "This bow is an extremely valuable thing. I'm afraid you can't find ten of them in the entire Tang Dynasty. Hey, you are not a certain prince of the Tang Dynasty, are you? In this case, I can't let it go.
You're leaving."
Zhou Bian ignored her and stroked the rhinoceros horn bow, his eyes gradually showing a look of dementia.
"Boring." Yelu Hailan said, "Yeluyan wants to compete with you, come over?"
"Why?" Zhou Bian said without raising his head.
"Perhaps it's because you have only been here two days and I gave you the honorable name of Ge Shu Tai. He is not convinced."
Yelu Hailan stared into Zhou Bian's eyes and said with a smile: "Yelu Yan is also a marksman in my Khitan army, and is a strong enemy for you. I bet fifty taels of silver on you to win, don't let me down.
.”
"good."
Zhou Bian stood up and walked straight to Yeluyan, who was at the center of the crowd.
Seeing Zhou Bian approaching, the other soldiers retreated one after another to make way for him.
The news that this guy was going to compete with General Yelu in archery had already spread throughout the military camp. Although it was Big Wolf Lord Yelu Hailan's idea, people still thought that this Tang man was trying to please others and deceived Big Wolf Lord.
Yeluyan opened the wine stall, looked at Zhou Bian in front of her with hazy eyes, and couldn't help laughing:
"Is it you, a Tang Dynasty boy, who talks so shamelessly, that you want to compete with me in archery?"
"What that woman means is that she bet on me and win, so I came here."
"Yelu Hailan... what does she know as a woman? I tell you, you can't win." Yelu Yan said, "I grew up on my father's horseback. I tried swordsmanship at the age of three, drew a bow at the age of nine, and
When I was 20 years old, I used my bow and arrow to kill eleven prairie wolves that had killed my livestock. It has been thirty years now, and every day I don’t spend in blood, boy, why do you beat me?”
"With the bow and arrow in my hand." Zhou Bian said calmly.
Yeluyan smiled contemptuously: "Yes, your bow and arrows are indeed of the highest quality, but my precious eagle bow is not ordinary. Boy, I am asking you about your experience. I see that you are only in your twenties. How many people have you killed?"
Individuals? If there are less than fifty, I have no interest in playing with you."
"I have lost my memory and don't know how many people I have killed." Zhou Bian said, "But since you say that I am from the Tang Dynasty and you are from the Khitan, then I can be sure that the people I killed were all Khitan people.
I don’t know, but if I want to kill you now, I won’t just kill fifty of you.”
Zhou Bian spoke in Tang Dynasty Mandarin, and the Khitan soldiers on the side naturally couldn't understand it, but Yeluyan's expression changed.
"Boy, you are looking for death!" Yeluyan's face turned livid, "Based on what you just said, I can kill you right now, and the Big Wolf Lord can't say anything."
"Of course you can kill me." Zhou Bian looked calm, "In that case, even if you become angry, you will be at a disadvantage in the competition between us. As long as the woman can't lose the money, it's fine.
(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)
.”
Seeing that his threats were ineffective, Yeluyan sneered:
"Very good, very good, boy, you have the guts. Someone, bring up the archery target!"
The crowd broke through, and ten wooden stakes were set up by the soldiers and lined up in a row.
The wooden stake was covered with black cloth. Yeluyan waved his hand, and the Khitan soldiers took off the black cloth one by one. What caught Zhou Bian's eyes were ten Tang soldiers tied to the wooden stake with five-flowered straps!
In the distance, Abaoji stood with his hands behind his back, standing next to Yelu Hailan.
"The Great Wolf Lord still can't trust him?"
"That's not what I meant." Yelu Hailan smiled and shook his head, "It was Yeluyan who made his own decision, and I didn't know it until now. This is good, at least, I can test Ge Shutai again."
Abaoji looked at her deeply: "Do you really think he will side with the Khitan? Ge Shutai...heh, you are just deceiving yourself."
"Why should I deceive myself?" Yelu Hailan asked, "He is a talent and will be of great use."
"Is it just because you love me?"
Yelu Hailan slightly raised his lips: "Maybe this person is too stupid and I can't bear to kill him."
Abaoji sighed: "You are a little different from before."
"Oh? What's different?"
"You used to have a kind face, but a cruel heart. Since you came back from the Tang Dynasty, you seem to be cruel on the surface, but in fact your temper is much better than before."
"Is there anything wrong with having a good temper?"
"It just makes me feel strange." Abaoji said, "Hailan, we-"
"Shh, stop talking, they are about to start." Yelu Hailan said softly, looking closely at Zhou Bian.
Abaoji was speechless and dejected.
…
"These are ten prisoners of the Tang Dynasty. Each of us has five arrows to kill five of them and hit them between the eyebrows." Yeluyan said, "There are fifty steps from where we stand to the ten of them, not far. I
Throw the wine bowl into the sky, and before the wine bowl falls to the ground and breaks into pieces, we compete to see who can kill more people."
Zhou Bian nodded: "What if we both finish killing each other?"
"Then let's compare who can kill faster. With so many people watching, we can't fake it." Yeluyan said with a smile, "What? Do you dare to compete?"
"Why don't you dare?" Zhou Bian took out an arrow from the arrow pot and put it on the bowstring.
Yeluyan was a little surprised: "You have the heart to attack? They are all from the Tang Dynasty like you."
"I already killed one person yesterday. Killing one person is killing, and killing ten people is no different." Zhou Bian said calmly, "Let's get started. It's too noisy here and I don't like it. After I finish, I can go back and rest."
"
"Good boy, you are just like the wolves on our prairie. If you were not from Tang Dynasty, I would really make you a friend!"
"Come here, take this general's precious eagle bow."
Two Khitan soldiers came over holding a long bow. Yeluyan held the bow in one hand and looked sideways at Zhou Bian.
"Boy, let's start!"
With a wave of his hand, he threw the wine bowl into the night sky, then pulled out an arrow from the quiver and aimed it at the forehead of a Tang army prisoner.
The precious eagle bow sank eighty kilograms, and the bowstrings crackled like thunder.
The Tang Army prisoner's head was pierced by an arrow, and then exploded, and the wooden stake also shattered.
As for Zhou Bian, after Yeluyan fired the first arrow, he slowly loosened the bow string and shot his first arrow.
The arrow pierced directly between the eyebrows.
Yeluyan fired the second arrow, but the man's head still exploded and he died tragically.
"Geshutai is going to lose." Abaoji said calmly, "I don't understand why he is so arrogant, but his defeat is certain."
The wine bowl had already started to fall, and Yeluyan set the third arrow.
A cold flash flashed in Zhou Bian's eyes, and he took out three arrows from the arrow pot!
"Whoosh——" "Whoosh——" "Whoosh——"
(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)
Three arrows were shot out together, almost at the same time, hitting the Tang army prisoner between the eyebrows.
"Okay!" Yelu Hailan clapped her hands and praised, as cheerfully as a little girl.
After shooting three arrows, Zhou Bian immediately bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot his last arrow.
The fifth arrow killed the fifth Tang army prisoner.
The wine bowl fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
At this moment, Yeluyan didn't have time to shoot his last arrow.
The surroundings were completely silent, save for hundreds of nervous heartbeats.
Yeluyan slowly put down her precious eagle bow, looked at Zhou Bian, and nodded:
"I lost, I am convinced!"
Yelu Hailan came over with a smile: "How about General Yelu, the person I picked is not bad, right?"
"The Great Wolf Lord is the Great Wolf Lord, with unique vision." Yeluyan changed to Khitan and whispered:
"This person must have a special status. It is better to kill him as soon as possible to avoid future troubles. Otherwise, he will be a serious problem for me, the Khitan."
"General Yelu is worrying too much." Yelu Hailan glanced at Zhou Bian and said, "As long as he doesn't think of the past, he will always be Ge Shutai and a Khitan warrior loyal to me."
Yeluyan sighed deeply, said nothing more, squeezed away the crowd with a bow and arrow, and went to sulk alone.
"What were you talking about just now?" Zhou Bian said confused, "I don't understand."
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just complimenting you." Yelu Hailan hit Zhou Bian on the shoulder, "You didn't embarrass me, tell me, what reward do you want?"
"Not interested." Zhou Bian turned around and left, "I'm going back to sleep."
Yelu Hailan grabbed his wrist and said with a smile: "According to the Khitan rules, at the end of the banquet, the host must perform a dance to entertain."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"It would be boring for me to dance alone. It will be much more interesting if I join you."
Zhou Bian frowned: "Dancing? I can't."
"It doesn't matter, I can teach you." Yelu Hailan took Zhou Bian's hand and put it on his waist, then turned into the center of the crowd.
Beside the bonfire, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Khitan soldiers, Yelu Hailan danced gracefully.
At this time, she was really an ordinary girl, not the Ninth Princess of Khitan, nor the Great Wolf Lord.
Just a woman with a bright smile on her face.
Of course, Zhou Bian beside her was a bit disgraceful, he was just a piece of wood.
After the dance, Yelu Hailan was dripping with sweat.
"How was it?" she asked with a smile.
Zhou Bian's face turned red: "Oh, it's okay."
"What kind of evaluation is it?" Yelu Hailan was a little dumbfounded, "Forget it, it's getting late, you can go back and rest. If you have nothing to do tomorrow, come with me to patrol the camp."
"good."
Zhou Bian turned around and left, and the surrounding soldiers gradually dispersed. Yelu Hailan looked around and realized that Abaoji had disappeared at some point.
"This guy doesn't even say hello when he leaves."
She walked towards the Chinese army's tent, completely unaware that there was a pair of eyes staring at her secretly behind her.
…
Early the next morning, three hundred fine horses were waiting outside the camp gate, ready to go.
Yelu Hailan was dressed in military uniform, straddling a scimitar and striding over.
"General Yelu, please come back." She said to the person who sent her out, "Abaoji, while I'm away, remember to sort all the information, especially Yelu Zong and Ashina Chongguang. Once they have news,
Come, come back to me immediately."
"Yes." Abaoji said respectfully.
Yelu Hailan mounted his horse and glanced at Zhou Bian beside him: "It seems that the Khitan military uniform fits you very well. Otherwise, don't change it in the future."
"It depends on the situation." Zhou Bian said calmly.
Yelu Hailan smiled, and then shouted loudly: "Everyone, go down the river, patrol for a hundred miles, and set off!"