Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 198: Chapter 108: First Attempt at Archery [11,000 Words!]

Although it’s easy to pull back, the force is somewhat lacking.

Of course, it’s quite suitable for beginners to play with.

Zhao Ruoxuan shot a few arrows in a row, all swerving off to other places.

She sighed, ”Pulling this thing isn’t as easy as it seems.”

Next, Ze Wangxiu was a bit eager and went to retrieve the arrows.

The young guy taught him again, ”This looks simple, but actually, it requires a bit of technique.”

Ze Wangxiu grinned, showing he understood, and then pulled the bow to shoot.

Ze Wangxiu’s performance was slightly better, after all, he’s a guy, but it wasn’t great either. After a few tries, he managed to get one lucky shot in the bullseye, but the others were way off.

After finishing, Ze Wangxiu remarked, ”This thing isn’t easy at all. The arrows that go out aren’t straight; they take a curved path, and the tail wobbles. Honestly, how can anyone shoot accurately like this? It’s tough to control.”

Zhao Ruoxuan nodded in agreement, ”I never knew archery felt like this before. Now I feel those tales of archery feats in history, like hitting willow leaves at a hundred paces, or shooting halberds at the gate, are all exaggerated. Totally impossible.”

The young guy shook his head, ”No, there surely are genuine sharp shooters. Besides needing lots of practice, talent is crucial too.”

As he spoke, he picked up the bow and arrow and shot one at the grass target, hitting close to the center.

He added, ”But I took a long time to get this feeling.”

Zhao Ruoxuan curiously asked, ”How long would it take to reach your level?”

The young guy thought for a bit, ”To steadily hit the target, you’d need to practice for about a month. But there are exceptionally gifted ones who hit the bullseye every time as soon as they pick up a bow.”

Zhao Ruoxuan scoffed, ”How could there be such a prodigy? Before experiencing it, I might believe it. But after really shooting arrows, I know it’s extremely difficult. Even Olympic players don’t have such high accuracy, not to mention this distance is much shorter than what Olympic athletes shoot.”

After Zhao Ruoxuan’s rebuttal, the young guy could only smile helplessly.

Li Younan saw the others chatting cheerfully, and since no one handed him the bow, he quietly picked up an arrow and weighed it in his hand.

At this moment, the young guy realized Li Younan hadn’t tried yet, quickly handing the bow to him, ”Come on, dude, have a go with two arrows.”

Li Younan declined, ”I don’t need to try, do I?” As he spoke, he naturally accepted the bow.

The young guy wanted to further instruct Li Younan on some bow techniques, but Li Younan had already nocked the arrow, leaving the words stuck in his throat.

At this point, Zhao Ruoxuan sneakily took out her phone, pointing the camera at Li Younan, and cheerfully narrated, ”Let’s watch our big streamer try out archery for the first time, let’s see if he can hit the target!”

Li Younan chuckled quietly.

Then he focused intently, slowly starting to draw the bow.

Just then, a small creature in the grassy heap by the target started moving.

Everyone noticed, and Zhao Ruoxuan moved her camera from Li Younan to the creature, taking a few steps back to stand slightly behind Li Younan, so she could capture both him and the arrow he shot.

Li Younan was already fixated on the thing in the grass heap.

The next moment, a big black rat sprang out from the heap.

Zhao Ruoxuan exclaimed, ”One Ear!”

The rat moved rapidly, scampering up the nearby beam, and seemingly losing its footing, fell down, but promptly jumped back up the next instant.

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the rat.

The next moment, they heard the crisp sound of a bowstring twang.

The rat leapt high, just reaching the beam, and an arrow swiftly flew over, piercing through its body, pinning it to the wooden stake.

Everyone stood dumbfounded.

Li Younan himself was somewhat bewildered.

When everyone’s astonished looks turned his way, Li Younan still maintained his posture from earlier, blinked, and said, ”Quite lucky...”

...

Even Li Younan himself didn’t expect such a precise shot with the arrow, hitting a moving creature.

Recalling that mystical state while shooting the arrow, he only remembered his complete focus on the rat. His left hand, holding the bow, seemed to adjust instinctively, while his right hand tightly drew the bowstring, even holding his breath.

At a certain moment, he saw the rat leap up. In mid-air, its previously erratic Brownian motion trajectory turned into a predictable vector movement. Although this lasted only a tiny fraction of a second, he seized the opportunity.

His mind hadn’t yet commanded to shoot, but his right hand instinctively released, sending the arrow ”whoosh” into motion.

From his perspective, the arrow didn’t fly in a straight line, nor was the shaft perfectly straight, its tail vibrating intensely, sketching out a curve.

Yet despite this, that curve precisely intersected the rat’s path, pinning the creature to the wooden stake.

At this point, his heart was full of amazement, appearing as if he was even startled by himself.

Luck seemed a very reasonable explanation for this arrow.

In life, there are always a few moments when luck overflows.

No one would believe that Li Younan, shooting an arrow for the first time, could precisely hit a rat ten meters away.

The young guy stared blankly at the arrow.

At this moment, the rat, pinned to the stake, wasn’t dead yet and was struggling miserably, looking somewhat disturbing.