Chapter 203 - Pulling the Bow (1)
A few moments later, the wooden door opened, and the shop assistant hastily invited Shen Yanxiao into the compound.
Thick curtains covered the windows and blocked any incoming light, and so the room was pitch-black. As Shen Yanxiao stepped into the house, she felt a surge of a heatwave that enveloped the entire room. There were crystal lights that hung from the ceiling, and then Shen Yanxiao saw a sixty-year-old white-bearded man. He had a tobacco pipe in his mouth as he sat on a chair, and his sharp eyes stared at Shen Yanxiao. A middle-aged man who looked to be around forty years of age stood beside the old man.
“Did you want to buy this bow?” The white-bearded old man took a puff of his pipe as he narrowed his eyes to look at the little person in front of him. It was not an exaggeration to say that if the black bow were held upright, it would probably be as tall as the little guy.
Shen Yanxiao guessed the old man’s identity at once. He was probably the Great Master Duan that the shop assistant had mentioned.
“That’s right.”
Great Master Duan’s meticulous eyes assessed Shen Yanxiao brazenly as he looked at her slender arms and legs. Soon after, he frowned and said, “This bow will only be sold the person fated to be its owner. Unless you can pull the bowstring, you can put it down and leave.”
Shen Yanxiao quirked her eyebrows. She lifted her hands as if she intended to pull the bowstring then and there, but Great Master Duan suddenly said, “Even if you wish to try it, this is not the right place to do it. Please, follow me.”
After he said that, he stood up and left.
Shen Yanxiao could neither make heads nor tails of Great Master Duan’s behavior. However, since he was the Great Master, she had no choice but to follow him.
As they walked through a flight of stairs in pitch-black, Shen Yanxiao sensed that they were walking downward. After some time, she finally saw a trace of light.
A huge underground training space appeared before them. As she stood at the entrance, Shen Yanxiao was astonished when she realized that the open space was as big as half a soccer field. She did not expect that the unremarkable building would house such a vast underground area.
There were more than a hundred crystal lights that hung at the top of the shooting range, and they illuminated the entire space.
Different types of weapons were arranged neatly at both ends of the site. As one walked further in, one could see a specially divided shooting range.
The middle-aged man who stood by Great Master Duan’s side stared at the dark-colored bow in Shen Yanxiao’s hand as he walked past her.
“May I have a look at it?” the middle-aged man asked in a gentle tone.
Shen Yanxiao briefly considered his request, and she handed the bow to him.
As the man turned the bow gently in his hand, his tranquil eyes sparked in astonishment.
“This… this is forged with firmament wood!” the man cried out in surprise.
Unfortunately, Shen Yanxiao was not familiar with firmament wood.
Great Master Duan replied absent-mindedly, “Not bad, at least you still have a keen eye.”
The man’s gaze sparkled as he caressed the plain-looking bow with admiration.
“Aren’t the firmament wood on the verge of extinction? I heard that there is only one tree left, and it is located in the Lunar Continent. The elves treat the firmament tree like their prized treasure, and they would never allow anyone to harm it. Great Master Duan, where did you get this?”
Great Master Duan snorted and said, “That’s none of your concern. Why? Have you also taken a fancy to this bow? This bow will only recognize one owner in its lifetime, and it will belong to whoever to pull its bowstring.”