This year is the first year of the Yan Zai era of the Great Tang, also the fourth year since the Sacred and Divine Emperor Wu Zetian ascended the throne. It is mid-spring, the most enchanting season in Dunhuang.

The mandarin fish in the Ganquan waters have grown fat, the riverbanks are adorned with blooming peach blossoms and verdant willows, fresh green shoots are sprouting in the wheat fields, and the air is filled with a fragrant breeze.

Perhaps because of his youth, even though Brian Thompson had not slept all night, he was still full of energy, showing not the slightest sign of fatigue.

After a short while, he brought Sarah Cooper to the training ground not far from his home. This place used to be a barracks for the Doulu Army, but after the entire Doulu Army relocated outside the city, the training ground became a gathering and resting spot for the local commoners.

Today, Brian Thompson was indeed a bit late. Many local youths were already practicing archery at the training ground. Tomorrow was the day of the martial arts county examination. Although they had already been tested on weightlifting and spear routines, the key test was tomorrow’s archery exam.

The archery exam was divided into foot archery and mounted archery, with the latter being much more difficult. Thousands of young men in Dunhuang practiced martial arts, but only a few dozen could shoot from horseback, and Brian Thompson was among the very best.

Therefore, the dozens of youths at the small training ground were all practicing foot archery; no one was training for mounted archery.

As Brian Thompson entered the training ground, more than twenty youths gathered around him. These were all neighbors; in their childhood, they had been under Brian Thompson’s command, and now, as they grew up, they had become his admirers.

“Sanlang is here!”

Brian Thompson smiled and clasped his fists to everyone. “Brothers, you’ve all practiced enough. How about letting me have a few shots?”

“No problem! Sanlang, shoot a few more arrows for us to see.”

Everyone chimed in, laughing and teasing, “Sanlang, why did you bring Sarah along? Ah, I see, I get it now—Sanlang, are you worried we’re in the way here?”

Just then, a terrified scream came from the side—Sarah’s voice: “Ah—”

Everyone turned to look and saw Sarah covering her mouth with both hands, staring in horror at the iron cage before her. The cloth covering the cage had been lifted, revealing more than a dozen fat, black rats inside.

Everyone burst out laughing. “Sarah, you carried it all the way here—didn’t you know it was the little black-faced fellows inside?”

Sarah stomped her foot in anger. “I didn’t know! If I had, I wouldn’t have carried it!”

Finding her amusing, everyone laughed even harder. Brian Thompson stepped forward, smiling, and said, “These are my live targets for archery practice. I wanted to ask for your help, but if you’re scared, I’ll have someone else help. You can go back first!”

“I… I was just startled, I’m not afraid of them at all.”

“All right then, take the cage behind that tree and let them out one by one.” Brian Thompson pointed to a red willow tree a hundred paces away.

Sarah hesitated for a long time before slowly picking up the iron cage and trudging step by step toward the distant tree. The others jeered and shouted, “Sarah, shall we go catch a few more?”

“You bunch of troublemakers! Tomorrow at the exam, I’ll come watch you make fools of yourselves!”

After a few more jokes, everyone’s attention turned to Brian Thompson. Brian Thompson had already mounted his horse. He spurred his steed, the thunder of hooves echoing, and his snow-white horse galloped across the training ground, kicking up clouds of yellow dust behind him.

“Brother Sanlang, the first one is out!” came Sarah’s shout from behind the tree in the distance.

Brian Thompson gripped his longbow, leaning forward slightly, his legs clamped tightly around the warhorse, his gaze sharp as lightning, fixed on the grass a hundred paces away.

He swiftly drew an arrow, his long arm pulling the bowstring taut. The bow arched like a full moon, and a wolf-tooth arrow shot out like lightning. With a faint squeak eighty paces away, a fat black rat was pinned firmly to the ground by the long arrow.

“Great shot!” the youths exclaimed in unison, breaking into applause.

“Brother Sanlang, should I let out the second one now?”

“Go ahead!”

Brian Thompson spurred his horse again, drawing another arrow from the quiver on his back.

……

Before the age of seven, Brian Thompson was just like the other boys around him—a mischievous child living near the north gate of Dunhuang. At that time, he had not yet awakened memories of his previous life, but his extraordinary talent was already beginning to show.

Not only did he possess a natural leadership quality, becoming the head of a group of children, but he also had a remarkable memory, able to recall everything he read, and showed even greater talent in martial arts.

He and a group of children would sneak into the martial arts hall to watch the adults train. While the others couldn’t remember even after watching ten times, he would grasp the essence after just one look.

Brian Thompson’s grandfather was a scholar of Shazhou Prefecture, a devout Buddhist, and also a layman at Dunhuang’s Dayun Temple.

On Brian Thompson’s eighth birthday, his grandfather took him to Dayun Temple for a Buddhist ceremony. By chance, an old monk at the temple noticed his extraordinary talent.

This old monk was his master, Reverend Carter. At that time, he had just come to Dunhuang from the Central Plains to become a monk, though he was already over sixty years old.

Reverend Carter’s background was extremely mysterious. No one knew his secular name or what he had done before, but Brian Thompson’s grandfather was so impressed by his literary accomplishments that he entrusted his grandson to him without hesitation.

However, Reverend Carter did not teach Brian Thompson much literature, instead focusing on martial arts and the strategies of the School of Guigu.