William Sutton was somewhat embarrassed and angry, cursing as he prepared to leave. Suddenly, Andrew Thompson stood up and said, “Edward Sutton, may I borrow your bow and arrows?”

William Sutton’s bow and arrows were a size larger than everyone else’s, requiring great strength to draw. He glanced at Andrew Thompson and grinned, “Qilang, did I hear you right? You want to use my bow?”

The Tang soldiers all burst out laughing. Brian Foster gently tugged at Andrew Thompson and whispered, “Qilang, that’s a six-stone bow—you won’t be able to pull it.”

“I’d like to give it a try.”

Seeing his overconfidence, the Tang soldiers immediately began to boo. William Sutton whistled and laughed, “Alright! I’ll let you try, but if you can’t pull it, you’ll have to go steal money from those two women.”

Everyone roared with laughter again. A fire chief shouted, “Qilang, do you want me to teach you how to steal?”

The laughter grew even louder.

Taking the bow, the smile vanished from Andrew Thompson’s face. He squinted at the goshawk, which was circling above his head, sometimes high, sometimes low. Perhaps it sensed the killing intent below and dared not come closer. But after circling twice, it suddenly swooped over Andrew Thompson’s head. In that split second, Andrew Thompson swiftly drew the bow—the bow arched like a full moon, the arrow shot out like a meteor, streaking toward the goshawk like lightning. The arrow was powerful and fast. With a mournful cry, the goshawk plummeted straight from the sky, falling right in the midst of the Tang soldiers.

The Tang soldiers, who had just been laughing uproariously, fell instantly silent. Andrew Thompson stepped forward, grabbed the eagle’s leg, and lifted it high. For a moment, the Tang soldiers erupted into thunderous applause. “Great archery!” Cheers rang out without end. Not only had Andrew Thompson shot down the goshawk, but he had pierced its head with a single arrow. William Sutton’s eyes widened in astonishment as he exclaimed, “Truly impressive!”

At that moment, it was as if William Sutton was meeting him for the first time. He looked Andrew Thompson up and down, taking in his burly frame, and suddenly asked, “Can you draw a heavy crossbow?”

……

Chapter Three: Hunting on Lingshan

Andrew Thompson stood about 1.8 meters tall and had been exceptionally strong since childhood. The weightlifting team immediately recognized his potential and recruited him. After two years of weightlifting, his parents worried it would stunt his growth, so they forbade him from continuing and had him take up archery instead. He trained hard for ten years, then joined the army and became a member of the military archery team. At twenty-three, he won the national archery championship in one fell swoop.

Although he didn’t know exactly what was meant by a “heavy crossbow,” Andrew Thompson still nodded. He wanted to give it a try.

“Good! Come with me.”

A group of Tang soldiers followed William Sutton in grand procession up to the third floor of the fortress. Every eye was filled with anticipation—they all knew what the commander intended. That Fuyuan crossbow had never been drawn by a single person before; it had been gathering dust for decades. Was it finally going to see the light of day today?

Everyone ascended to the third floor, the highest point in the area. There were shooting holes on all sides, offering a wide view. The beacon cauldron was still on the roof, accessible by a ladder.

William Sutton pointed to an enormous crossbow in the corner. “Try pulling that one.”

Andrew Thompson slowly walked forward and picked up the dust-covered giant crossbow. Its stock was thicker than his arm, and the bow arms were a full two meters long. The trigger mechanism was already a bit rusty—it was impossible to tell how many years it had been there.

“Commander, I don’t know how to use a crossbow.”

“It’s simple. I’ll show you.”

William Sutton picked up a regular crossbow, about half the size, and demonstrated for Andrew Thompson. “Look, it’s like this: use the strength of your waist and legs, step on the bow, pull the string up with both hands, and hook the string onto the trigger mechanism.”

With bows and arrows, precision is key, but with crossbows, it’s all about range, so the requirements aren’t as strict—if you have enough strength, that’s enough. The Fuyuan crossbow in Andrew Thompson’s hands usually required three people to operate. Because there were so few people in the fortress, it had been left unused. If Andrew Thompson could draw it by himself, he’d be worth three men.

Andrew Thompson understood immediately. Imitating the demonstration, he placed the crossbow on the ground, stepped on the bow, and gripped the string with both hands. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exerted force with his arms. With a creaking sound, the string was gradually drawn back. The surrounding Tang soldiers’ eyes widened in disbelief—this was a ten-stone heavy crossbow, and he had actually managed to draw it.

Andrew Thompson hooked the string onto the trigger and handed it to William Sutton. “Commander, is this alright?”

William Sutton gave Andrew Thompson a complicated look, took out a crossbow bolt, loaded it into the groove, and pointed at a horse stake two hundred paces away. “Try shooting a bolt at that.”

In fact, Andrew Thompson had practiced with crossbows before, but he knew that in the Tang dynasty, crossbows were military weapons strictly forbidden to civilians. If he had shown too much skill at first, it would not have matched his identity.

Now that he had passed the clumsy beginner stage, he could show off a bit. A competitive spirit surged within him, giving him courage. He extended his long arms to support the crossbow, hooked his finger on the trigger, and carefully aimed at the distant horse stake, which looked like a tiny black dot.

The Tang soldiers all held their breath, watching him nervously. Andrew Thompson pulled the trigger. With a crisp “ka!” the bolt shot out powerfully, whistling straight toward the horse stake and striking it dead on.

A Tang soldier ran over to check and shouted, “It hit!”