Chapter 313: Chapter 126 Winning the Lantern_1
The floating lanterns drifted leisurely into the distance, illuminating the night sky like stars.
Lu Tong looked up at them until a vendor on her side who sold lanterns hailed her.
"Miss, do you like floating lanterns? Would you like to take one ho?" the owner, wrapped in a sheepskin coat, asked with a smile, bustling about, "We have all sorts of designs; take your ti to choose!"
Lu Tong ca back to her senses, about to decline, when a voice at her side spoke up before her, "Sure."
Lu Tong turned around to face a familiar figure.
Pei Yunng?
Today, he wore a deep red brocade robe with clustered eagle patterns, which made his stature stand out like a pine tree, and his deanor even more extraordinary. He didn’t appear as sharp as when he wore his official attire; instead, he seed like a nobleman out for a night stroll, captivating and radiant.
Lu Tong took a step back and said, "Lord Pei?"
There were all sorts of floating lanterns on the stall, and Pei Yunng casually picked one up, teasingly saying, "I didn’t think Doctor Lu would be interested in watching the lanterns; I thought you didn’t care for such things."
"Occasionally I indulge, but not as leisurely as Lord Pei seems to be all the ti," Lu Tong replied coolly.
The lantern vendor, noticing Pei Yunng’s extraordinary attire, grew more enthusiastic and even changed how he addressed Lu Tong, "Miss, tonight’s the Lantern Festival, and our little stall is joining in the festivity. With three arrows, if you can hit that one—" he pointed across the street—"I’ll give you a flower lantern!"
Lu Tong followed the direction he pointed to.
The little stall was originally set up with a small colorful tent in the market, with all sorts of lanterns hanging inside and out. On the wall inside the tent hung a giant "fortune" character, calligraphed in round and large strokes on a red background. Next to her was a shiny, lacquered buffalo horn bow, with arrow feathers adorned with big, red festive ribbons, giving it a joyous appearance at first glance.
"Get a good on!"
The owner then looked at Pei Yunng, "The lady likes the lantern; you, sir, seem to be an extraordinary archer. Win a lantern for the lady!"
Pei Yunng raised an eyebrow, took the longbow from the owner’s hand, but before he knew it, Lu Tong snatched it away.
"I’ll do it myself," she said.
Pei Yunng paused.
Because of their remarkable appearance, their stopping here had already drawn quite a crowd. People initially thought Pei Yunng would help Lu Tong win the lantern by shooting the arrows, but to their surprise, Lu Tong took the bow and arrow to do it herself. Soon enough, many onlookers stood by, watching Lu Tong’s movents.
Lu Tong raised the bow and arrow.
The buffalo horn bow was heavy and large, and it seed almost incongruous in the hands of the slim woman, almost making one worry that her delicate arms would snap under its weight.
The gesture of holding the bow appeared to be a bit strained, and her arrow-noch was not quite practiced. Pei Yunng watched for a mont, then stepped forward to hold her arm, "Don’t shake."
Lu Tong was taken aback.
A cool breath ca from above her head; he was exceptionally good at maintaining a proper distance, with a forceful but gentle touch, steadying her from behind as he adjusted her archery stance.
Lu Tong looked up and could see his handso jawline. His arms reached around from behind, encircling her shoulders, like an almost-there embrace.
Still, it was too intimate.
Lu Tong’s brows furrowed slightly and she loosened her grip on the bow and arrow.
"Whoosh—"
The released arrow sped off its course, striking the edge of the "fortune" character, the ribbons falling to the side.
Sighs of disappointnt rose from the crowd, "Ahh, it missed!"
"Still not good enough."
Pei Yunng’s gaze moved slightly, looking at Lu Tong with so surprise.
Lu Tong looked at the misfired arrow, a trace of disappointnt flickering in her eyes.
It missed.
Truth be told, this wasn’t her first ti drawing a bow.
Back then, on Luoi Peak, Lady Yun needed corpses for her dicine-making, and Lu Tong had to travel to Chaos Burial Mound from ti to ti. Once, she stumbled upon a corpse mauled by wolves, likely a trapped hunter who had starved in the snow; the body was eaten clean, with traps scattered around and a broken bow and arrow.
Lu Tong buried the body and took the bow, re-wrapping it with string, thinking to use it to hunt foxes and rabbits for dried provisions, but she never hit her target—the mountain animals were too fast, and her archery skills were not that advanced.
However, handling the bow and arrow every now and then, she had developed so feel for it. Still, the bow broke again after a few years, and no amount of string could fix it. Lu Tong put it aside, and eventually buried it along with Lady Yun on Luoi Peak.
After several years, drawing the bow again, she was inevitably out of practice.
So n in the crowd watching the spectacle started to tease, "Young maiden, don’t waste your arrows. Let the bow go and let your lover win you a lantern!"
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