"Now," Qi Shan said,"I'll teach you how to make and use a short bow."
Earlier, he had already taught Wei and Minnow a simple set of hand signals for communication.
Both of them were quick learners.
Whenever they had nothing to do, they practiced with each other.
Before long, they were signing at remarkable speed.
Wei made a gesture.
It was simple.
I already know this. No need to teach.
Qi Shan folded his arms and looked at him coldly.
Then he lifted his chin.
The meaning was just as simple.
Make one. Let me see.
Wei snorted.
He picked a flexible branch nearby and began stripping the bark, shaping it carefully. His strength had not fully returned yet, so Minnow had to help hold the wood steady while he carved.
The two of them worked at it for a while.
Soon enough—
they produced a bow as tall as a man.
Wei looked at his handiwork with great satisfaction.
He nocked an arrow and drew the bow.
Whoosh!
Thirty paces away, a pheasant pecking at the ground suddenly flapped its wings—
and dropped dead.
Wei lifted his chin proudly and looked at Qi Shan.
The expression on his face practically said:
See that?
Qi Shan finally strolled over.
He took the bow, pulled the string once, then nodded.
And then—
Crack!
With a single stroke of his knife, he split the bow cleanly in half.
The air fell silent.
Next, Minnow stared in astonishment as the two men's hands began flying through a furious storm of gestures.
It looked like two crabs fighting.
Qi Shan's insults were extremely foul.
And very loud.
The general meaning was:
Is your head made of stone?
Walking through Tianjing City with a bow that big—are you an assassin or a bow merchant?
Wei fired back instantly.
His hands moved even faster.
The rough meaning:
No wonder your heart's so black. Even the hair won't grow on you.
Minnow clutched his head.
His vision swam.
Watching them argue was more exhausting than watching a fight.
Finally, Qi Shan stopped signing.
He snorted and walked to the edge of a bamboo grove.
With a few casual chops, he cut down a slender stalk.
Slice, slice.
After a few quick strokes—
a tiny bow, shorter than his forearm, appeared in his hands.
Strictly speaking, it was hardly even a bow.
Just a split bamboo tube with a curved strip of bamboo fixed across it as a spring.
The arrow was a sharpened bamboo joint no longer than a finger.
Qi Shan raised his hand.
Thwack!
Ten paces away—
a thick bamboo stalk, as wide as a man's arm—
was pierced straight through.
The bamboo swayed gently.
Everyone's eyes bulged.
Qi Shan seemed quite pleased with the effect.
He said slowly,
"Your mission will likely involve assassination."
"At close range."
"Silent kills."
"No one needs you wandering the streets with a ridiculous longbow on your back."
Wei had already forgotten about arguing.
His eyes shone like lanterns.
He stared at the little bow.
Qi Shan continued.
"Good."
"Next—accuracy."
He hung a straw target about the size of an apple ten paces away.
At its center he dabbed a small spot of red clay.
"The bullseye."
Qi Shan demonstrated the shooting stance once.
Then he looked at Wei with a hint of provocation.
"Anyone who can hit the center within three days…"
"…gets to sleep."
"…and eat meat."
"Otherwise—"
He let out a cold laugh.
Wei bristled instantly.
He grabbed the little bow.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Bamboo arrows flew everywhere.
His best shot—
skimmed past the straw target.
The red center might as well have been ten thousand miles away.
Wei signed:
Maybe your bow is defective?
Qi Shan looked at him with pure disdain.
He took the bow back.
Raised it.
Thwack.
Dead center.
Minnow couldn't help clapping.
"Amazi—"
He stopped mid-word when he saw Wei shoot him a threatening look.
Minnow swallowed the rest of the praise immediately.
Zhang San and Li Si tried as well.
Both men were excellent at hacking people apart.
But at this—
they had absolutely no talent.
They couldn't even hit the straw target.
So—
Wei, Zhang San, and Li Si all turned to look at Minnow.
In Qi Shan's eyes, he was the star student.
Which meant, to the other three—
he was a traitor.
Minnow felt a little nervous.
He raised the bow.
Whoosh—
The arrow skimmed past the edge of the target.
Everyone sighed with relief.
Even Qi Shan.
He nodded approvingly.
"Very good."
"First shot grazing the edge."
"You've got instinct."
"A good omen."
Wei curled his lip.
Qi Shan was still lecturing.
"Don't underestimate this. Back when I—"
"I trained an entire day before I—"
Thwack!
Second arrow.
Dead center.
The forest fell instantly silent.
Minnow himself stared in shock.
Then he jumped in excitement.
The others looked at him as if he were some kind of monster.
Li Si muttered sourly,
"Beginner's luck?"
Qi Shan reacted at once.
He personally loaded another arrow for Minnow.
"Try again."
Thwack!
Bullseye.
Thwack!
Another bullseye.
This time, Qi Shan fell silent for a moment.
Then he suddenly smiled.
"Not bad."
"Very good."
But when he turned away—
his expression shifted slightly.
This kid…
Something's not quite right.
Li Si couldn't help asking,
"General… didn't you say it took you a whole day to hit the center?"
Qi Shan coughed.
"That was to encourage you."
"How could I possibly be that stupid?"
Li Si seized the opportunity immediately.
"Then what other tricks do you have?"
"Let us see something impressive!"
Qi Shan casually plucked a bamboo leaf.
Both ends were pointed.
Thin as a throwing blade.
He held it between his index and middle fingers.
With a flick of his wrist—
Whsssh!
The bamboo leaf—
struck the bullseye.
"Whoa!!"
Minnow started cheering again.
Wei tried it.
The leaf fluttered halfway—
then dropped to the ground.
Zhang San's leaf—
stabbed straight into the top of his own foot.
Li Si—
couldn't even throw his.
Everyone looked at Minnow again.
First try.
The leaf fell halfway.
Qi Shan began explaining the technique.
Second try.
It skimmed past the edge of the target.
Now even Qi Shan started to feel nervous.
Meanwhile Li Si kept pestering him.
"General, how long did it take you to hit the bullseye?"
Qi Shan thought about it.
Then silently subtracted three days from the real answer.
"A week."
"It took me a week."
"Don't rush yourselves."
Over the next few attempts,
Minnow could only graze the target.
Qi Shan finally relaxed.
He clasped his hands behind his back again and strolled off to drink some water.
Then—
suddenly—
a cheer erupted behind him.
A vein jumped on Qi Shan's forehead.
He slowly closed his eyes.
And sighed.
"These trainees…"
"…are very hard to teach."
In the days that followed, Wei's strength gradually returned. He also learned a variety of skills he had never encountered before.
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Arc 1 finished, I highly appreciate your time and reading till now.
thanks again and best wishes for all!