Chapter 65: Doubt
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Liang Ping and Du Mao finally arrived afterwards. The two of them dismounted at the finish line and saw He Yan happily drinking water to quench her thirst, while Ma Damei stood to the side with a thoughtful expression.
In this situation, it didn’t seem like Ma Damei had won.
The two men had a simultaneous thought: Could it be? Did Ma Damei really lose to He Yan?
Liang Ping walked over to Ma Damei, who didn’t wait for him to speak before taking the initiative, “I lost.”
Really lost?
Liang Ping was puzzled, “How? How did you lose to him?”
Ma Damei was the best among their instructors in equestrian skills. If Ma Damei couldn’t even beat He Yan, wouldn’t that mean that there was no one in the entire Liangzhou Garrison who was better than He Yan in riding? In that case, what was the point of He Yan learning riding from them? He could just be his own instructor.
“Could that kid have tricked you?” Du Mao asked in a hushed voice, “Did you fall for his trick?” He was still upset about He Yan using the riding crop to sweep away all his arrows. Just think about it, what kind of thing could a new recruit do?
Ma Damei glared at him, “I lost because my skills are inferior. Got it?” He walked over to He Yan and asked, “Youngster, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Are you asking about what I said to your horse just now, so it behaved and listened to me? If you’re asking about that, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. It’s a family secret and can’t be shared.” He Yan blinked at Ma Damei, then turned to Liang Ping, “Instructor Liang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way. I need to go to the training ground.”
Liang Ping waved his hand dismissively, fine, out of sight, out of mind.
Du Mao watched her back as she walked away, a puzzled look on his face, “After running like that, he still has so much energy left, and he’s heading to the training ground for more practice. Just what kind of person is he?”
“He’s different from you and me,” Liang Ping replied without much patience.
…
“Sorry for making the Commander witness this.” Shen Han felt a bit embarrassed. All of his instructors had been defeated by He Yan. Even though they had used tactics, they couldn’t even win when they teamed up. It was a bit hard to explain.
“It’s nothing. You’ve done well,” Xiao Jue said while sipping his tea, his gaze lowered. “I didn’t intend for you all to compete in archery. It was simply a test, and the person has already been tested.”
“Do you still have doubts about him, Commander?” Shen Han asked.
“Yes.”
“Is it because He Yan excels too much?” If that was the case, it could only be considered suspicion without evidence.
“It’s his final maneuver while controlling the horse just now. It’s from the barbarian tribes,” Xiao Jue placed his tea cup down.
“Barbarian tribes?” Shen Han stood up in surprise.
The barbarian tribes included the Western Qiang, the Southern Barbarians, and the present-day Wuto people. The Western Qiang Rebellion had been quelled by Flying Phoenix General, and Xiao Jue himself had driven out the Southern Barbarians when they invaded. The Wuto people were currently showing signs of unrest, and the relationship between the barbarian tribes and Da Wei had always been strained, much like the relations with the present Western Qiang and Southern Barbarians, which required constant vigilance.
“Could she be from one of the barbarian tribes?”
“It’s not impossible,” Xiao Jue shook his head. “Have you brought the military roster?”
Shen Han handed over the roster. “He Yan’s information is here.”
“Since this person is different, we can’t alert them. Pay close attention to her every move and proceed cautiously.”
“Commander, are you suggesting…”
“Let out a long line to catch a big fish. We need to identify who’s behind this.” His response was calm and composed.
After Shen Han left, Xiao Jue flipped through the military roster and paused on He Yan’s page for a while. Moments later, he said, “Fei Nu.”
Someone appeared silently from behind, like a shadow. In a hushed voice, they said, “Young Master.”
“Send someone to investigate whether there’s a son named He Yan in the He family, who serves as a city gate military officer in the capital.”
Fei Nu acknowledged and was about to leave when he was stopped by Xiao Jue.
“Also, find out if there’s any connection between the He family and Xu Jingfu in secret.”
…
When He Yan returned to the training ground, a crowd of eager onlookers had already gathered.
“How was it? What’s the result?”
“Why aren’t the instructors here? Did you win or did the instructors win?”
He Yan smiled and only said, “It’s a secret.”
Clearly, this answer didn’t satisfy everyone’s curiosity, but He Yan’s lips were sealed tight, and they couldn’t get anything out of her. Disappointed, the crowd dispersed, speculating among themselves.
“It must be that she won, right? He Yan doesn’t look like she lost.” This was the ones who believed in her.
“If she won, why wouldn’t she just say it openly? Not saying it means she probably lost and doesn’t want to lose face!” This was the ones who didn’t believe in her.
“You guys won’t come to a conclusion by arguing like this. Since He Yan won’t tell, just ask the instructors. They know the result!” This was a more rational thought.
So, when the instructors arrived, everyone swarmed them with questions. The instructors were initially puzzled, but when they heard the questions were about the result of their competition, they all turned to He Yan simultaneously. They thought He Yan was quite considerate, not revealing everything and leaving them some face. The instructors waved their hands, “Stop asking, disperse, disperse!”
In the end, no one said anything.
When He Yan laid down on her bed at night, Xiao Mai was still preoccupied with the day’s events. He asked He Yan, “Big Brother Ah He, so what was the final result?”
“The result doesn’t matter,” He Yan patted Xiao Mai’s head, “The important thing is that I need to go to bed now.”
She turned over, facing the wall, and positioned her back of her head toward Xiao Mai. Since Xiao Mai couldn’t get the answer out of her, he had no choice but to give up.
Unable to sleep, He Yan kept thinking about what had happened on the horseback earlier that day. Regardless, it was extremely odd for the three instructors to suddenly challenge her to a riding competition. If it was an ordinary new recruit, they would surely be overwhelmed by the three of them teaming up. However, they didn’t seem to consider whether she could handle such a challenge. It didn’t feel like an ordinary sparring; it was more like… a test or a confirmation of something.
She had subdued Ma Damei’s horse using techniques she had learned from a barbarian captive when she was in the military. That captive had been an expert horse trainer, and his skills had given them quite a bit of trouble back then. After capturing him, the captive, fearing for his life, had shared his tribe’s precious horse training techniques with He Yan.
However, those techniques were extremely intricate, and He Yan had only scratched the surface of them. Nonetheless, her knowledge was enough to control ordinary horses. If it hadn’t been for this, she wouldn’t have been able to beat Ma Damei.
However, if it was truly a test, the only individuals who could command the instructors of the Liangzhou Garrison would be the Chief Instructor or Xiao Jue. If it was Xiao Jue, what was his purpose? Was he trying to select people to transfer to the Nine Banner Battalion, and was he in a rush to assess whether she had the qualifications and skills?
Was it really like this? He Yan had a faint feeling that she might have misunderstood something, but she couldn’t find any other clues. After thinking for a while, she simply gave up. Since she was here, she should just accept it. In the end, as long as she didn’t lose, it was fine.
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Pour ML he’ll be staring for nothing lol