Rebirth of a Star General: Chapter 62
TEAMING UP FOR A COMPETITION
Translator: Sylph
Editor: Elsa
Until midnight, He Yan was surrounded by new recruits who came to befriend her and she promised to teach them swordplay. She didn’t plan to train at night because it was too late today.
Mak laid facing her, one hand rested on the back of his head, his eyes shone brightly as he said to her, “Ah He was so awesome today.”
“Tell me,” He Yan said after a moment, “Did General Xiao actually watch my entire sword duel with Uncle Huang today?”
She was still thinking about Xiao Jue’s appearance at the match but Xiao Jue left halfway through her exquisite swordplay. Wouldn’t it be a waste of her efforts? Or did Xiao Jue think that her swordsmanship was so mediocre that it wasn’t worth paying attention to?
“Huh?” Mak didn’t think that He Yan would ask this. He tried to remember before saying, “The General came for a while then left. You were so nervous at the last moment of your duel that we all focused on watching you. We didn’t see when the general left. The General should’ve….watched everything, right?”
He Yan turned over anxiously.
“Ah He, did you really want the General to see the whole fight?” Mak asked.
“Naturally, I wanted to be a martial artist and sell my skills to the emperor and his family. At any rate, in order to sell it first, he has to notice it. If he doesn’t pay the slightest attention, how could he know that I’m number one in Liang Zhou?”
Hong Shan said slowly, “Now that your reputation as the number one Liang Zhou soldier has reached far and wide, don’t worry, there will be people looking for you to compete in this and that in the future. There will be countless opportunities for this and there will always be chances for the General to notice your skills.”
That’s good, He Yan thought to herself, closing her eyes.
….
Hong Shan was right. The next morning, Liang Ping walked up to He Yan just after the weight-loaded run and before she had time to practice her crossbow at the arena, “Come over here.”
He Yan, confused, followed him. When she arrived at the long road behind the arena, she saw two other men with three horses coming to the arena. They were both instructors of the Liang Zhou Guards. One of them was Du Mao, who often came to converse with Liang Ping. The other was a short, old man with white hair called Ma Da Mei.
“Instructor Liang, this is….” He Yan was puzzled. Was she so good that they’re recruiting her as an instructor? How could recruits be instructors? That’s not how you get promoted and she didn’t want to be an instructor.
Fortunately, Liang Ping’s words relieved her, “Didn’t you say on the stage the day before yesterday that you will take on any challenge in Liang Zhou and you will win every challenge?”
Although He Yan didn’t understand what he meant, she nodded, “Yes.”
“Today, the three of us will compete with you in a riding contest.” Du Mao took a step forward and handed the reins of the horse over to He Yan, “Let’s compete now!”
“Huh?” He Yan was surprised, “You want to compete with me?”
She became a ringmaster to make a name for herself amongst the recruits but she never thought of competing with the instructors. What’s in it for these trainers? They aren’t young men so why would they want to compete with her? Could there be a conspiracy?
When her cautious gaze fell on these people, the thin old man, Ma Da Mei smiled, “What’s wrong, young man? Are you afraid to compete with your instructors? I thought you were braver than that. Did we scare you?”
When Ma Da Mei smiled, there were wrinkles all over his face. They weren’t ugly but gave off a kind demeanour, like her own parents’. It’s just that He Yan also knew that this person was not as kind on the surface and every word she just heard was meant to stir the pot. If she really chose to not compete with them, she would become infamous for being timid and fearful. People like Xiao Jue who couldn’t tolerate sand in their eyes would never recruit her into the Nine Banners Battalion.
Thinking of this, she smiled cheerfully, “How could that be? I just don’t want to be embarrassed in front of all the instructors. I was just hesitating. If you’re willing to teach me, I dare not be ungrateful. Let’s compete. Just one match.”
Liang Ping and the two other people looked at each other and nodded, “Good!”
He Yan was now becoming a celebrity in Liang Zhou. Whenever there was a new rumour about her, everyone would know of it. As soon as the three instructors announced a riding competition with He Yan, all of the new recruits went crazy and wanted to watch. However, they were all stopped by their own instructors who demanded them to remain in the arena to train.
Of course, this was Shen Han’s arrangement. Although Xiao Jue only said that he wanted to test He Yan, he couldn’t bet on the reputations of all of the instructors. If He Yan won, would the new recruits obey He Yan or their instructors? It’s hard to say.
Therefore, it’s better to hide it than display it.
The new recruits couldn’t go and be entertained and neither could Cheng Li Su. He was locked up in his room in the Liang Zhou guardhouse. He couldn’t escape as there were guards stationed outside.
He didn’t know that He Yan was going to compete in a mounted archery competition. Suddenly, he thought that something had happened to the Liang Zhou guards as he was locked up and pounded on the door, “What happened? Is there an army riot? Why won’t you let me out? Uncle, why did you lock me up?”
The guard’s emotionless voice replied, “Master Cheng, the General said that you have to finish copying the Selected Works of Zhao Ming three times before you can go out.”
“I see that you want me dead! Why don’t you just kill me?” Cheng Li Su sat down at the table in a fury. Three times! That would take more than a month to finish copying!
Shen Han and Xiao Jue were walking outside.
Shen Han looked behind him, “Master Cheng is very fond of He Yan. If there is really something wrong with He Yan, could he have another motive for approaching Master Cheng?”
“Most likely,” Xiao Jue agreed, “It was Cheng Li Su who told him about the Nine Banners Battalion.”
Shen Han was silent. After a while, he replied, “If that’s the case, this would be really bad.”
There were people with ulterior motives mixed in with the new recruits. If He Yan was one of them, he would never be the only one. If there were others, they were very passive with their intentions. If Xiao Jue hadn’t been there this time and observed the difference between He Yan and the other recruits, then the entirety of the Liang Zhou Guards would’ve been in the palm of someone else’s hand.
Whilst conversing, they had already reached the roadside of the arena. The four of them were standing at the end of the road, each on their horses. The first was Liang Ping, then Du Mao, Ma Da Mei and finally He Yan.
He Yan was at the sidelines and her horse was the smallest. She turned over on her horse and looked skilful. She held onto the reins whilst carrying a longbow with the quiver of arrows on her back. He Yan looked courageous unlike her appearance of a feeble young man.
She didn’t wear a riding suit. The sunlight shone on her scarlet outfit as her beautiful eyebrows and eyes were glazed with a unique heroic spirit. The smile on her lips and the demeanour of He Yan sitting on a horse were identical to a young general.
Shen Han sneaked a glance at Xiao Jue, who looked stoic and indifferent, not knowing what he was thinking.
In this split second, Shen Han saw a resemblance between Xiao Jue and He Yan.
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