Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 16

Night had fallen on the Western Hills once more, and in the blink of an eye, the time had arrived for the early morning of the next day.

The man awoke after a night of vitality, the person in his arms was languid and soft, making him reluctant to release the slender waist he held in his grasp.

Zhou Yan waited with his eyes closed for the first ray of morning sun to appear. Extremely reluctant to leave the soft body, he carefully stepped away from the bed, not wanting to wake Jiang Wanshu. He turned his body, stepping over her form, and after placing his palms on either side of her, he successfully stood before the bed.

Zhou Yan lowered his gaze to admire the girl’s beautiful sleeping face. Jiang Wanshu’s long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly with her breathing, like a tiny fan.

Early autumn in the deep forest was chilly. Zhou Yan quickly got up and put on the undershirt placed nearby.

He opened the wooden door, which hadn’t been handled by him for a long time, and the door let out a “creak.”

He stepped lightly outside and closed the door.

After washing up, he stretched out his long arms, looking into the deep forest that came into view.

He had promised yesterday to teach Jiang Wanshu some archery skills for self-defense. To practice archery, having a target for training was the most basic requirement.

Moreover, targets were hard to find in this remote mountain forest. To get one, he would have to leave the old forest and go to the village beyond to buy it.

So, he got up early again today, just to ensure everything was ready before the afternoon, so he would have enough materials to give Jiang Wanshu his all.

Zhou Yan finished everything that needed to be done. He walked to the stable, specially built for Zuo Masen, grabbed a handful of grass, and tossed it into the mouth of the horse, which was already awake from its slumber. After waiting for it to eat its fill, he untied the rope specially wrapped around the horse’s back, easily swung onto the horse, and galloped towards the outside of the deep forest.

The sound of hooves echoed, the sound lingering in the vast open space with every step. After another hour, the sky was completely bright, and the wooden door the man had closed was opened again.

Jiang Wanshu lazily pushed open the door, supporting herself with her hands above her head to casually stretch her body.

Under the autumn sunlight, the girl’s sky-blue dress made her appear bright and lively.

She looked down at the skirt she had already tucked up with her belt, and curved her lips into a smile.

Zhou Yan had promised to teach her archery today. The deep forest was occasionally infested with insect nests and tribes, which was a potential threat to her escaping this place alone. She must study diligently and not let this delay her.

She remembered the chickens and ducks by the vegetable garden and walked towards that area. She lowered her head and glanced, seeing the half-full bowl of vegetable and rice mix left in the iron basin.

She then hopped and skipped to look at the vegetable garden, already seeing sprouts emerging from the vegetables.

Jiang Wanshu was secretly delighted. So, bringing the content taught by the master into reality looked like this. Even though she had only guided from the side, only touched the ladle a few times to water, the sense of accomplishment from things mostly grown by another person’s hands would diminish significantly. But even so, she still found it all new and surprising.

Jiang Wanshu felt refreshed. She used a bamboo branch to tease the fat geese in the enclosure. Bored with playing, she walked to the small kitchen, washed her hands, and then helped herself to the large bowl, still hot in the stove, with the soup and noodles separated.

That was Zhou Yan’s habit when he left her alone in the house.

No matter where these things were placed, the only constant was that Zhou Yan would tirelessly prepare food for her in advance.

She realized that apart from him, no one else in her life had ever done this for her.

Her father and mother were very busy. They not only had to divide the work but also had to carefully look after and instruct her younger brother. Although she knew her parents loved her, they rarely paid attention to small things like whether she ate her meals properly, while her brother received this attention.

When she was younger and didn’t understand, she had asked the nanny why her brother received certain preferential treatment that she didn’t. At that time, the nanny was vague, but now that she had grown up, she understood much more and rarely worried about these fleeting things.

Her younger brother was the future Crown Prince of the Central Plains, and he deserved to be treated better than her.

As for the maids around her, their careful preparation of food for her was simply “performing their duty and holding their position.” She was not used to being served, so she was not as fortunate as other noble ladies to be close to her personal maids to the point of sharing everything. Thus, she could easily understand why she paused for a second at this small bowl of noodles.

Because this was the first time she had so clearly felt a person’s most direct care for her.

It wasn’t because she was in a high position and they had to serve her well, but a genuine act for her as a person, a living, down-to-earth girl.

She was not an ungrateful person. She understood her father and mother’s difficulties and compromises, but she couldn’t deny that Zhou Yan’s dedication over the past few days had indeed penetrated her heart.

A feeling of gratitude arose for him in her heart, not much, only as high as her little finger. But the moment she remembered that it was he who had confined her to his side, her gratitude for him was reduced to less than three centimeters.

She sniffed, the internal conflict in her mind ceasing.

Looking at the bowl of soup with goose meat, she instantly understood her earlier thought. No wonder when she was teasing the goose earlier, she felt something was wrong but couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Now she knew that one was missing.

The thick and flavorful soup contained a small but perfect amount of ingredients. It was convenient for her to pour it into a large bowl, and she ate it with relish at the round table in the small kitchen.

For some reason, Jiang Wanshu felt that time passed slowly today. When she saw Zhou Yan coming out of the deep forest at noon, she clumsily ran up and smoothly took the target the man had brought back from outside.

The man’s figure was tall and imposing. He looked at the chattering, excited girl beside him, who was like a little sparrow, and unconsciously softened his tone.

His eyes flickered, the corners of his eyes slightly curved, and a smile played on his lips. “How long have you been waiting here?”

He hadn’t expected Jiang Wanshu to be so interested in archery.

Jiang Wanshu recalled watching the princes learn the Five Arts of the Gentleman in the palace grounds. She excitedly tried to insert the bottom section of the target into the ground, but the soil was solid, making it impossible for her to succeed.

The man bent down, took the wooden target from her hand, and forcefully plunged it into the ground, burying the stick that supported the target in the mud.

Just like on the training grounds in the palace, the target was firmly and accurately inserted into the soil.

Jiang Wanshu couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. Zhou Yan turned and went back inside to retrieve the arrows, then stood behind her.

Zhou Yan’s physique was tall, and standing behind Jiang Wanshu, he blocked almost half of her sunlight, leaving only a shadow enveloping her.

He was like a majestic and grand mountain. Even Jiang Wanshu, who had been by his side for a long time, was startled by the sudden pressure.

“What are you thinking, silly girl!” The man’s calloused, sand-like hand gently tapped Jiang Wanshu’s forehead, and he stood up straight again.

Jiang Wanshu finally came back to her senses with the man’s reminder, almost having to tilt her head back completely to look up at Zhou Yan.

He was very tall; she only reached his chest.

“Nothing, I just didn’t react a moment ago.”

Zhou Yan passed the longbow to Jiang Wanshu, letting her take it, though with a look of suspicion.

The longbow he used was different from others. Due to his unique physique, his longbow was much heavier and larger than one used by an average person.

Consequently, Jiang Wanshu staggered slightly when she took it.

Jiang Wanshu glanced at the longbow in her hand and spoke softly, “This longbow is really difficult to hold.”

The gentle, delicate voice reached his ears. Zhou Yan subconsciously looked and then realized he had miscalculated.

He took the longbow from the girl’s hand, lifting it with ease.

The man’s arms were thick and long. Corresponding to Jiang Wanshu standing straight in front of him, he wrapped his arm around her, holding the bow with his left hand and an arrow with his right, the long arrow resting on the bowstring.

The man was always an expert archer on the grassland. “Archery focuses on three words: ‘stance, grip, nock.'”

Because he was teaching a girl who had never picked up a bow before, Zhou Yan spoke in a slow, gentle tone, his language simple and easy to understand.

“Stance is the posture. The basic stances include the open stance, where the right foot is slightly ahead of the left, and so on; there are also the parallel stance and the closed stance.

Grip is how you hold the bow. There are two ways to grip the bow: the high grip and the low grip. The high grip is pushing against the grip with the web between the thumb and index finger, with the hand and forearm forming a straight line, and the fingers naturally drooping. The low grip is when the palm contacts the bow grip from the web to the thenar eminence.

Nock is placing the arrow. The principle of nocking the arrow is to ensure the index fletching is perpendicular to the string, and to avoid the fletching touching the bow, which would affect the flight path. Therefore, the arrow should be nocked at a fixed angle.”

Zhou Yan patiently instructed, his drawn-out voice different from the usual, sounding like flowing water over a high mountain, or the crisp sound of jade hitting broken stone.

The girl’s cold hand was pressed into the man’s palm. He bent his knees, and as soon as he finished speaking, he opened the hand controlling Jiang Wanshu’s longbow. In an instant, the arrow flew, and the bow stopped. The long arrow flew fiercely, perfectly matching Zhou Yan’s own nature. In less than three seconds, the arrow hit the wood target, right in the bullseye.

Suddenly, Jiang Wanshu saw the perfect circle on the target and couldn’t help but feel excited, her eyes lighting up with a playful smile. She was eager to try, looking up to ask the man.

“Zhou Yan, can I try by myself?” If she wanted to escape alone, she absolutely had to learn archery completely.

Even with someone next to her, guidance alone wouldn’t do; she had to be able to execute the shot herself.

Zhou Yan furrowed his brow, then, after thinking clearly, he adopted an indifferent look. “It was my oversight. This bow is really too heavy for you. I didn’t notice that.”

Saying that, Zhou Yan put down the longbow he was holding and let Jiang Wanshu take it.

His arms naturally hung at his sides, contemplating what he should do.

In contrast, Jiang Wanshu was full of confidence, based on Zhou Yan’s easy bullseye and detailed description just now. Looking dashing, she picked up a long arrow, nocked it, and shot the longbow for her first time completing the action independently.

Without Zhou Yan’s hands-on guidance, and being a novice, Jiang Wanshu’s arrow speed was insufficient, but there was still the sound of the arrow cutting through the air.

A few strands of Jiang Wanshu’s bangs fluttered, flying forward with the wind.

After only a few seconds, the arrow flew most of the way to the target but dropped a few centimeters away, not touching the wooden target at all, and landed in the ground.

The sound of the wooden arrow hitting the ground was not loud, but in Jiang Wanshu’s heart, it was deafening.

The corner of her lips twitched slightly, the determined expression on her face fading. She murmured, “I didn’t hit it.”

Seeing the girl’s dejection, Zhou Yan took her hand again, helped her nock the arrow, and with the man’s assistance, the next second the long arrow hit the center of the wooden target again.

“It’s my fault too. Tomorrow, I’ll get you something else. How about a crossbow? It’s small and not heavy, and more suitable for a beginner like you to operate?”

While thinking of a remedy, he picked up the long arrow, aimed at the target again, and shot another one, hitting the bullseye again.

Jiang Wanshu looked spiritless, passively following Zhou Yan’s movements.

“But you have nothing else to do today. Learning to shoot an arrow has similarities to learning to shoot a crossbow. I’ll take you to practice the arrow.”

Since he was standing behind Jiang Wanshu, he couldn’t see her face and didn’t notice her emotions.

After speaking, Zhou Yan bent his knees again, starting to find the best position for the two of them to practice archery.

Getting closer, the fragrance from Jiang Wanshu filled his nostrils, light, fresh, and pleasant.

Zhou Yan was in a good mood, nocked the long arrow again, and with a “whoosh,” the arrow missed the target and dropped outside the bullseye.

Zhou Yan was puzzled and finally discovered what the problem was. He leaned in and put his hand on her, his rough arm pulling the girl’s soft, slender waist into his embrace.

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