"Huuu…." Shu He stood straight as he breathed out to calm himself.
He stared at the person opposite him, the young man who was standing around like he was about to go for a stroll, he didn't seem to be taking Shu He seriously at all.
In his hand, Shu He gripped the shaft of his bow tight and circulated the Qi inside his body, so he was ready to use it when he needed to.
'Why do I have to do this?' He complained to himself as he continued staring at Bai Shun who was also staring him down.
He didn't want to fight anyone, he was never interested in doing such a thing yet because of those three that appeared out of nowhere yesterday, he was stood here now.
…
"Tomorrow, I want to test you".
"… Wha?"
Shu He stood, completely dumbfounded as to what he just heard.
"What's with that expression, didn't you hear me?" Bai Shun asked, seeming slightly annoyed.
"What do you mean 'test'?" Shu He replied, still not understanding why this was happening.
"Huh? A test is a test, tomorrow I want to have a duel with you" Bai Shun said while looking at Shu He like he was dumb.
"Duel? You mean we're going to fight? Why?!"
'I don't want to fight another person!' Shu He heartbeat loudly as he started to regret not just walking off when he got back.
"Because I want to see what you can do, you can't just enter our sect because someone thinks you have potential, you have to show you have the bare minimum skill" Bai Shun explained.
"But I didn't want to enter your sect!"
"You said you would consider it though?" Chao Shi chimed in on the conversation from behind making Shu He almost bite his tongue.
"That-!"
'That doesn't mean you can do this!!' He wanted to say but he feels like complaining much more was just a waste of energy with these people.
He sighed loudly and then tried to change the subject.
"Why are you people even here anyway? All of a sudden, after all this time why have cultivators of two different sects appeared in this village?" He asked.
Right, this was what Shu He found incredibly suspicious.
He had only spent 9 years here and yet not one of those years had he seen eye nor ear of any cultivators, now they just pop up like cabbages. Something was definitely going on.
Though, he had an idea, those rumours that he had been hearing about seem like a good reason.
Bai Shun looked at Yun Hua and Chao Shi who were stood near him then shook his head.
"That's nothing to do-" However before he could finish he was interrupted.
"Riiight! We are here for a reason, but we normally shouldn't tell you since you're just a child and unrelated, however if you have this duel Bai Shun and do well we'll tell you" Chao Shi said while holding his chin and smirking.
'I really hate this guy' Shu He couldn't help but think, he hated his smug face.
"So? Do you agree?" He pushed Shu He for an answer.
"… Fine" In the end he decided to agree, he wasn't confident about a duel, but he was interested in what he could learn, and it seemed like they would keep nagging him if he didn't agree.
And so, like that, Shu He was roped into a duel he didn't really want.
…
Shu He had never fought another person, he had never pointed his bow at another person and didn't really want to.
'Is this really fine?'
When he was told to use his bow freely, he began to become worried, if he actually hit someone with an arrow they'd get hurt, right? This isn't meant to be a duel to the death, right?
He got him even more worried was, even though he was equipped with his bow and arrow, Bai Shun stood on the other side of the dirt opening with nothing in his hands and a completely relaxed stance, Shu He couldn't even see if he had any weapons on him which worried him even more.
'Does he have hidden weapons or something?' Was what he thought.
"Start whenever you want" Bai Shun said from across the way.
Shu He felt sweat drip from his brow as he steadied his hands.
Chao Shi and Yun Hua stood off to the side together observing, the place they were having a duel was the wide-open area Shu He usually trained in, so there was a fair amount of space to move around.
"Isn't this a bit unfair? The kid's barely a foot into cultivation…" Yun Hua whispered to Chao Shi beside her, slight concern was written on her face.
"It'll be fine, Bai Shun knows how to hold back" But he merely dismissed her worries.
Soon, Shu He had worked up enough bravery to make the first move.
'I have no experience against another human, I've only ever hunted prey… so I'll just do whatever I can!'
His bow rose, he drew his arrow and for a second he held it pointing directly at Bai Shun, the string fully taut.
'Is he not going to move?!' The worry increased, but he didn't stop and let the string go, the arrow shot through the air at high-speed heading straight for Bai Shun's body.
And right before it hit, Bai Shun merely shifted slightly barely a few milliseconds before it hit, and the arrow flew right between his torso and arm.
'He dodged it that late?! I was aiming towards the middle of his torso and yet he perfect moved it so the arrow would move between that small gap instead' The sudden and swift movements at the last second bewildered him.
However, a slight look of anger rose on Bai Shun's face.
"FOOL! Why are you aiming for a non-lethal area, aim to kill!" He admonished Shu He.
"But you're a person i-" didn't want to hurt you, is what Shu He wanted to say.
"No excuses! Do you think someone like me could be hurt by you?!" He shouted.
"I- Uh-" Shu He merely tripped on his words.
'Fine! If he wants it that way, I'll do it!' Shu He decided not to care anymore and drew his bow once more and aimed directly at Bai Shun's head.
Once more, the arrow flew through the air and towards Bai Shun's forehead, directly in the middle, if it hit the man would definitely die; But of course, that didn't happen, again at the last second he shifted his head closely but cleanly avoiding the arrow.
The last drops of reservation in Shu He's mind, and heart fell, he didn't stop after that one arrow, he draw again, and again and again.
More arrows flew, one after another barely a second in between as he began channelling his Qi to reinforce his arms and back muscles to draw more efficiently.
Brain, Heart, Lungs, Kidney, Liver, Spleen; The arrows homed in on each vital organ with high precision, Shu He had also activated his Keen Sight to observe his opponent, and like before but in an even more impressive manner, one by one as they arrived Bai Shun effortlessly dodged each arrow, though he did have to move more than before due to the varied targets.
'How can I hit him?!' If he couldn't hit him with arrows, what was he meant to use?
'Should I abandon my bow? No, I can try a few things..'
His stance changed slightly, he no longer holding his bow vertically but more or less horizontally.
'I never really use this to hunt since it's unnecessary, but it could be useful here'.
He knocked an arrow in an off position, then began running to the side before drawing his bow, as he did he slightly twisted the string and suddenly swiped as he aimed while letting loose the arrow.
The arrow flew, to the side, away from Bai Shun.
'Did he miss?' He thought, with some disappointment but then he quickly realised he was wrong.
Like the arrow had a mind of its own it curved in an arc, barrelling through the air towards his side, he raised his eyebrow as he dodged slightly later than usual, unlike before his robe was left with a slight nick in it.
Shu He didn't slow down, one after another he sent arrows flying and each one followed a weird, curved path as he moved about to allow a larger variation in his shots.
It seemed that Bai Shun wasn't dealing with these new shots as easy as his first ones since he needed to move about more, however the only one to damage his clothes was the first shot, he had adjusted quickly.
'Only three more arrows left' He had used up the rest already, unfortunately his quiver could only hold a small amount.
The previous shots he used were trick shots he had learned for fun in his free time, he had no use for them when hunting yet now they seemed invaluable.
'Last try, I'll give 'that' a go' He drew the last three arrows from his quiver and his Qi started to rage enhancing his body further.
He looked over at Bai Shun who was still standing, waiting for his next attack.
Quickly, Shu He drew his bow even further than he normally does almost straining it, not just that he had nocked all three arrows and manipulated the string.
*phwss* with a louder sound than before the three arrows shot off, all following different trajectories, one above and one to each side, this was the best 'trick' Shu He had, and it took a lot of work to get down.
As he saw the three arrows flying towards him from all sides, Bai Shun's mouth opened slightly, then transformed into a slight smile.
Shu He watched on, eager to see if he could land another hit on his 'enemy'.
They got close, close enough that he wouldn't have a chance to dodge all three, except this time, Bai Shun had no intention of doing so.
Suddenly, the sleeves of his robe flapped and three soft thuds sounded out.
Shu He's pupil constricted as he witnessed what happened.
'Seriously?!' He felt a sense of defeat.
Right before he was hit, Bai Shun had done something very simple yet impressive, he used just his right hand and swiped, catching all three arrows easily.
He stood staring at Shu He with a smile before speaking.
"Is that everything?"
Shu He's arms flopped to the side as he gripped his bow.
'I'm out of arrows, what else can I do? All of them went past him so I can't retrieve them, and he has the other three in his grasp.. I doubt he'd let me'.
Unfortunately, the bow is all Shu He had, while his father had taught him basic skills with a knife and hand to hand combat, his skill with them paled in comparison to his archery, they were useless here.
"I see" Shu He's silence told him all he needed to know.
"Then it's my turn" As he said that he suddenly disappeared from his position.
'?!' Shu He was taken by surprise, and all of sudden a cold chill ran down his spine.
'Where is he?!' Shu He looked and quickly found him, right in front of him in a low stance.
'He covered that much distance in less than a second?!' Shu He's Core Flame lit up brighter than ever before, he jumped back with his Qi reinforced legs to distance himself.
But it was in vain.
*SLAM*
Without any hesitation, Bai Shun slammed his palm deep into Shu He's abdomen, the boy quickly threw up the contents of his stomach followed by some blood as he flew a few meters before crashing to the ground.
Shu He blacked out.