Chapter 34: A Peerless Warrior Emerges!

Ran Min’s prowess not only astonished Lin Qian but also surprised everyone around them.

“I never expected him to be so fierce!”

Lin Qian gasped sharply, then pointed at Ran Min and said, “You, come out!”

Beside them, Jin Jun sneered disdainfully, snorting coldly, “I can break it too!”

Without hesitation, he strode forward, took the boxwood longbow from a nearby soldier, gritted his teeth, and pulled with all his might.

A moment later, the boxwood bow didn’t budge an inch.

Jin Jun was stunned. “Impossible! Could this bow really be that heavy to draw?”

He switched hands and, under everyone’s astonished gaze, used his left hand to pull the bowstring until the bow bent into a crescent shape.

A bead of sweat silently slid down his forehead.

Jin Jun, flushed and breathing heavily, cast a glance at Ran Min, then clenched his teeth with a grinding sound and exerted even more force, veins bulging on his forehead.

The bowstring stretched from a crescent shape to nearly fully drawn when suddenly there was a “bang.”

The finely crafted, high-quality boxwood bow was shattered by Jin Jun’s brute strength!

With a clatter, Jin Jun dropped the broken bow to the ground, squinting and smiling faintly, “See? I told you I could break it!”

Yet his hand trembled uncontrollably.

He hid the trembling hand behind his back, pretending nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Lin Qian called out, “Is there a medic? Did anyone bring a medic?”

Ying Zhao quickly responded, “Yes, Old Xu is here, hurry!”

The medic, carrying his medical box, hurried forward and grabbed Jin Jun’s hidden hand.

He crushed some herbs, rubbed them in his palm to release the juice, and applied the mixture to Jin Jun’s webbed hand.

Frowning, he warned Jin Jun, “How reckless! This boxwood bow requires eighty shi of draw weight. Even the sharpshooters in the camp rarely manage to draw it. You exerted too much force too quickly and didn’t release it properly. This causes serious damage to your arm.”

Jin Jun listened but felt secretly pleased.

In the camp, sharpshooters were classified by their ability to draw bows measured in shi.

Drawing a bow of fifty shi marked a trained archer; sixty shi earned a place among the elite three-thousand troops as marksmen.

To draw an eighty shi bow was rare, achievable only by a few exceptional warriors.

According to Lin Qian and Ying Zhao’s estimate, Ran Min’s arm strength was extraordinary; he could likely draw a bow weighing around one hundred shi, perhaps even one hundred and twenty shi!

Such strength was the hallmark of a legendary general or fierce warrior.

Even the renowned warriors Lin Qian knew—like Lü Bu or Li Cunxiao—mostly reached this level, considered the fiercest in the land.

Seemingly wanting to test if Ran Min could truly astonish him, Lin Qian squinted and looked at Ye Huang beside him.

“I heard the Emperor Taizu’s old bow was bestowed to you when you were young?”

Ye Huang nodded. The two shared a tacit understanding; Lin Qian’s remark made her realize his intention immediately.

“Send someone to the mansion to fetch the Emperor Taizu’s bow!”

Soon, Ye Huang’s subordinate galloped back on horseback, carefully cradling an object wrapped in yellow silk.

Out here in the countryside, there was no target or distance marker.

Lin Qian squinted, took the yellow-silk-wrapped hard bow, and handed it to Ran Min.

Pointing with his hand, he said, “See that pear hanging on the tree? The second one from the left in the middle row. You’re only allowed to shoot the branch holding the pear. Shoot it down intact for me to eat.”

Though straightforward, Ran Min was not foolish; he immediately realized this was his chance to rise swiftly.

The next moment, he stood still, took a deep breath to calm himself, and summoned all his strength and controlled his breathing rhythm.

The pear tree was about one hundred and sixty paces away, perhaps even farther.

Using this hard bow to shoot the pear’s branch without damaging the fruit was reminiscent of Lü Bu shooting the halberd at the camp gate in ancient tales.

Ran Min drew the bowstring back to a crescent shape.

Suddenly, there was a “whoosh.”

The arrow flew straight and struck the branch holding the pear perfectly, causing the pear to fall to the ground intact.

At such a distance, with such exquisite archery skill, immense strength, and pinpoint accuracy, Ran Min remained composed and unfazed, appearing completely in control.

Such marksmanship!

Even Lin Qian was momentarily astonished.

This was the standard of the fiercest warriors of the era. Truly, if Ran Min could wield this skill on the battlefield, he would gain an invaluable advantage.

“Excellent!” Lin Qian was delighted and calmly said, “Very good! Ran Min, I ask you, are you willing to serve as my deputy general?”

Deputy general?

Ran Min was momentarily stunned.

He was just an ordinary commoner.

Scratching his head, his eyes filled with confusion, he asked, “Deputy general? What kind of official is that? Is there meat to eat?”

Hearing this, Lin Qian almost laughed out loud.

He immediately declared loudly, “There’s meat to eat—meat every meal. Not only that, your monthly salary will be high: fifty taels of silver. Since you have the rank of deputy general, if you win military merits, you will also receive a noble title and land!”

At Lin Qian’s words, Ran Min grinned broadly, baring his teeth.

“Deal! I’ll follow you!”

Ye Huang beside them laughed so hard she could barely stand straight. “That’s agreed, but if you follow him, you can’t follow anyone else!”

Ran Min nodded at once, “No one else. Following you means there’s meat to eat and land to farm!”

The lord of Chunping City held a fourth-rank official position, controlling the city’s administration, military affairs, and livelihood—the three powers all centralized in Lin Qian’s hands.

The deputy general rank was slightly below fourth rank, just half a level beneath the lord of Chunping City.

When Lin Qian left the capital, he acquired twenty blank official appointment documents from the Ministry of Personnel, just enough to fill these ranks.

Having gained such a peerless warrior, Lin Qian naturally would not shortchange Ran Min.

Jin Jun watched as Ran Min suddenly leapt to deputy general rank and felt deeply resentful.

But shooting the pear’s branch from one hundred and sixty paces with a one hundred and twenty shi draw weight bow was a feat of archery skill he could never match.

He could only exhale deeply and grit his teeth as he stepped forward, “City Lord! What about me? I can break that bow too. Let me try!”