The line-ups of the two sides would be decided by drawing lots; the first three of each round would advance to the next round, and the race would end when the top three were decided.

There were six participants in the first round, three from the Imperial College, and the other three the Oriental Rite Academy.

Ling Zhang's round was among the last few, while Xun Huo who was not very good at this sport was to ride in the second round, which was fretting him so badly that he could scarcely get on his horse.

"Relax, just do as we previously agreed," Ling Zhang consoled him.

"Take it easy. Just stay out of their way and focus on riding. Put your safety first," Ji Feng also said.

All the others came to Xun Huo's comfort as well, telling him not to be nervous. Xun Huo inclined his head, took a deep breath, swung himself onto the horseback and trotted his horse to the starting line with great caution.

Since so many of them gathered together, a lot of people were tossing glances at them. Seeing Xun Huo's tense face, almost all of them had a shrewd idea of what was going on.

Students of the Oriental Rite Academy were very happy, while their opponents furrowed their eyebrows. One of the other two students of the Imperial College who were going to ride in this round with Xun Huo said, "What is wrong with you, Xun Huo? If you can't ride, quit right now so someone else can replace you. We don't need you to hold us back."

"I know how to ride. I'm just a little nervous, and I might not be able to ride as fast as you do," said Xun Huo, his face going scarlet.

"I don't know how you have the nerve to tell us you cannot ride fast. You want us to lose?!"

"You'll be an absolute disgrace to our college. I think you should withdraw."

The two students didn't respond to Xun Huo's candidness with understanding. Instead, they were annoyed and suggested Xun Huo quit.

Xun Huo, who had just relaxed somewhat, went nervous once again, his hands gripping the reins tightly.

"He'd only be an absolute disgrace to the Imperial College if he chickens out. Why are you instigating him to back out? Is it because you're moles planted by the Oriental Rite Academy?"

Suddenly, a voice was heard. Xun Huo's countenance instantly grew relaxed. He twisted his head back and saw Ling Zhang, Ji Feng and the others walking over. Ling Zhang was the one who spoke.

The other two students of the Imperial College, seeing the speaker was Ling Zhang, were noticeably less cocky. One of the two huffed, "Cut the nonsense. Given the state Xun Huo is in, wouldn't it be better if he lets someone else substitute him? He'd only waste an opportunity if he rides."

"All students of our college present are allowed to ride in this race. Anybody withdrawing will be wasting an opportunity. If you're afraid to lose face, why don't you just outride your opponents?" sniffed Ling Zhang.

The speaker still wanted to say something, but was stopped by his friend, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth, unconvinced.

Ling Zhang said to Xun Huo, "Ignore them. Just do what you're supposed to do."

Xun Huo gave an earnest nod. "Thank you."

Ling Zhang smiled, "For what? We're friends, remember?"

Xun Huo also couldn't help but give a faint smile. "You're right."

Seeing the two schoolmates of theirs didn't dare say anything else, Ling Zhang and the others returned to their original positions.

"These bastards always bully the weak but cower before the tough," Ji Feng huffed, glaring at the two schoolmates of his.

"Let them be. There's no need to get angry because of people of their kind," said Zhao Jiusi.

"They're getting close to the finish line," Yuwen Jin reminded them.

Ling Zhang and the others hurriedly looked in the direction of the finish line of the racetrack. The hunting ground was vast, and there was more than enough room for holding a horse race. The finish line was rather far away from the starting line, and people with average eyesight might not be able to see clearly the situation near the finish line, but Ling Zhang had a very distinct view of that area.

"Two of the students of the Oriental Rite Academy finished in the first and the second places. One of us came in third."

"You don't say! Are you sure you're right about this? Why couldn't I see it clearly?" Yuwen Jin jumped up straining to get a clearer view.

"I'm sure," replied Ling Zhang with certainty.

Since Ling Zhang's tone was positive, naturally none of the others doubted him. The Oriental Rite Academy had got the upper hand after the first round, which rendered Ji Feng and the others rather unreconciled to the situation. They felt that a start like this did not bode well for their college.

"It's okay. At least one of them advanced to the next round."

"Bah, what are you talking about?"

Soon the next round started. Xun Huo, in his nervousness, could barely keep his horse running forward and didn't dare pick up speed, so he lagged behind immediately after the race started, which made him rather conspicuous.

When he finished one third of the course, those ahead of him were approaching the finish line. Though repeatedly telling himself to take it easy, he was still sweating buckets with anxiety. People in the stands, seeing his sweaty face and his lousy riding skills, generally guessed what was going on.

Many students of the Imperial College were discussing this, and their words were not very kind.

Ling Zhang and the other five, with sullen faces, shot dark glances at their schoolmates. Those who made eye contact with them sensed something and shut their mouths, but there were also some big-mouthed ones still complaining. Yuwen Jin, who had a short temper, rolled up his sleeves intending to teach them a lesson but was stopped by Ling Zhang.

"His Majesty is in the stands. Control yourself."

Ji Feng and the others also helped keep Yuwen Jin from losing his temper. "Chill out. Don't be impulsive. We'll fix those big mouths after we get back. Currently the race is the most important thing."

It was after hearing these words that Yuwen Jin managed to calm down. "Those guys really could use a beating."

Ling Zhang was somewhat resigned. Yuwen Jin's temper was indeed rather short. Exactly whom did he inherit this from? Neither his father nor any of his brothers was impulsive.

Xun Huo steeled himself staying on horseback and finally made it to the finish line, drenched in sweat all over. His tense face instantly relaxed and his hands went rather limp. Sitting on the back of the horse, he could barely keep his balance, swaying. Fortunately, those responsible for protecting participants at the finish line saw this, ran up to him, steadied his horse and helped him dismount. No sooner had Xun Huo got off his horse than he sat down onto the ground, raised his head and wiped the sweat from his face. "Finally, it's over."

"This is no place to sit. You might get run over by riders of the next round."

Xun Huo was heaved to his feet and went to where the crowds were to rest. Seeing him, one of the two schoolmates of his who'd just ridden with him coldly snorted, "What a disgrace."

Of course Xun Huo heard him, but he made no response. He just sat there quietly, trying to recover himself.

His silence deepened the disgust on the two students' face, but neither of them made any further remarks due to their misgivings about the warning that Ling Zhang, a man who had even had a professor expelled, had given them a while ago. Although unconvinced, they were also afraid to end up on Ling Zhang's enemies list.

Next, Zhao Jiusi, Xie Qing, Zhao Turui, Ji Feng and Yuwen Jin rode one after another, and to their delight, all of them advanced to the next round.

Then it was Ling Zhang's turn. As soon as he set foot on the track, countless spectators' eyes were drawn to him, not only because his horse Snowflake was very imposing but also because a lot of people had been covertly having half an eye on him. Now it was no exaggeration to say that Ling Zhang was quite the celebrity in the capital city.

Except for a glance at Yuwen Tong in the stands, Ling Zhang showed a total disregard for all spectators. He mounted Snowflake in an unhurried manner and reached out his hand to give it a pat. "We've got to try our level best in this race, buddy. If we win, I'll give you something good to eat and a nice bath after we return."

Snowflake neighed, as if responding to his words, growing excited.

As its spirits rose, Ling Zhang also felt his blood involuntarily pumping. He cast a few appraising glances at his opponents, got a general idea of the situation and then shifted his gaze to the finish line. Having just watched so many rounds, he was now very familiar with the track.

"Ready, go!"

As soon as the starter gave the order, Snowflake with Ling Zhang on its back hurtled forward like a shooting arrow. It went into the lead at the very beginning and its lead was commanding.

All Ling Zhang was doing was cooperate with Snowflake. Yes, he was cooperating with Snowflake rather than the other way around.

Snowflake was a very intelligent horse capable of understanding its master's will and feeling what its master felt. During the past few days, what Yuwen Tong had been teaching him most of the time was how to bond with Snowflake. Snowflake knew what it was supposed to do, and it was also the fastest horse, so all it would take for Ling Zhang to win this race was to trust Snowflake.

And the fact soon confirmed this. Snowflake, the horse easiest to ride, carrying Ling Zhang, dashed out like greased lightning, with all spectators' eyes fixed on it, and valiantly streaked towards the finish line.

Ling Zhang felt a kind of unbridled pleasure which was making not only his blood course violently through his veins but also his heart hammer. 'If only the finish line were further away and I could gallop a while longer with Snowflake,' he thought.

At the time when he was getting close to the finish line, and a beam of thrill was spontaneously widening on the face of Ling Zhang indulging himself in the delights of riding, a faint anomalous sound of something being fired came from the wood not far away to his left. A sense of dire, life-threatening danger made Ling Zhang's blood freeze and instantly put him on the alert. Almost at the same instant, he mobilized all his internal energy and unleashed it forming it into a protective shield of Qi around him. What spectators saw was that the space within a short radius of Ling Zhang seemed to briefly twist, as if a sudden wave of scorching heat erupted from the ground changing the density of the air.

Snowflake gave a long neigh and reared up on its hind legs. The snow-white horse, as if startled, abruptly came to a halt.

Meanwhile, Ling Zhang felt something hit his shield of internal energy and kept from going any further. He gripped the reins tightly with both hands to prevent himself from falling off the horse, cocked an eye at it and found that it was a short bolt which was very thin and totally different from common bolts. It had been aimed at his temple and would probably have gone straight through his head by now had it not been deflected by his internal energy.

Ling Zhang's face darkened. He instantly grabbed the short bolt as Snowflake's forelegs sank back to the ground where they'd been.

It was in a single instant that this unforeseen change had happened. Nobody else had yet come to realize what had just occurred.

Ling Zhang shot a piercing look in the direction of the wood and spotted a black figure hiding in there, who unhesitatingly shot a second bolt at him the moment his eyes darted towards the wood. This time, Ling Zhang saw distinctly that the attacker hiding in the shadows was holding a very special crossbow.

No sooner had that short bolt shot out of the wood than a sharp sword was swung downwards in mid-air and cut it in half. A figure of quite soldierly bearing had rapidly lunged into the wood.

For an instant Ling Zhang was dumbfounded and with that a voice was heard. "Keep riding."

Ling Zhang's countenance abruptly changed. At this time, his competitors had caught up with him. Ling Zhang raised his horsewhip and yelled, "Let's move, Snowflake!"

Snowflake once again proved itself to be an intelligent horse. It immediately sprinted forward once again, instantly outran its rivals and eventually was still the first one to cross the finish line.

It was not until this moment that spectators came to realize what was going on.

"Assassin!" Someone bawled.

Palace guards immediately ran to the protection of the emperor and courtiers in the stands, and the horse race was suspended. Everybody was looking in the direction of the wood that Yuwen Tong had just torn into.

"Hurry! Go and protect the Marshal! Enter the wood and seize the assassin!" bawled the emperor.

Guards of the hunting ground streaked towards the wood. At this time, Ling Zhang had turned at the finish line, galloping for the wood as well.

"Stop! Don't go in there!" yelled the emperor subconsciously, taken aback.

However, Ling Zhang, as if not having heard him, disappeared into the wood in the twinkling of an eye.

At this time, the whole place was in a babble of voices. Some were yelling "Protect His Majesty!"; some were shocked to see Ling Zhang dashed into the wood; and there were also some who were still perplexed as to what was going on. Students were gathered together, under the protection of guards.

"BROTHER ZHANG!" Yuwen Jin made an attempt to run out but his arms were tightly gripped by Ji Feng and the others.

"Don't do this. It's dangerous!"

"Both my cousin and Brother Zhang are in there!" Yuwen Jin was losing it with anxiety.

At this moment, Yuwen Tong in the wood had caught up with the assassin, but the man had poisoned himself already, his crossbow nowhere to be seen.

Snowflake was faster than guards of the hunting ground, so Ling Zhang was the first to find Yuwen Tong. At a glance he saw the body of the assassin. With a frown on his face, Ling Zhang dismounted his horse and quickly walked up to Yuwen Tong. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The assassin poisoned himself," said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang, after confirming Yuwen Tong was unharmed, heaved a sigh of relief. His eyes vigilantly swept around and then appraised the corpse on the ground. "His crossbow is gone."

"What kind of crossbow was it?" queried Yuwen Tong.

After a few moments' recollection, Ling Zhang gave a sketchy account of what had happened a while ago and finally made a summary. "... It was very special, unlike any crossbow I has knowledge of, and it was very dainty as well."

Saying this, he handed the short bolt to Yuwen Tong, who took it, scrutinized it for a while, put it away and said with a grim face, "The daintier a crossbow is, the harder it is to make. At that time this assassin was quite far away from you, but the bolt still had such momentum when it approached you, which showed that his crossbow was not only dainty but also very powerful. It's impossible to produce weapons of this kind in large quantities. I'm sure there are only a small number of them."

Yuwen Tong paused after making these remarks.

Ling Zhang, who could feel that Yuwen Tong had something else to say, was just about to ask him when he found that a group of guards had arrived. He instantly understood why Yuwen Tong didn't continue.

The guards clustered around the two of them. "Are you hurt, Marshal?"

"Is this... the assassin's body?"

"He poisoned himself," said Yuwen Tong. "There's nothing suggesting his identity on him. Judging by his features, he's probably a subject of the Great Yue. Bring his body back. Send for a court physician and have him find out what kind of poison this assassin ingested to commit suicide."

"Yes, Marshal!"

"Scour this wood as quick as possible and see if there are any accomplices. I want every inch of this place searched."

"Yes, Marshal!"

Then Yuwen Tong held Ling Zhang's hand. "Let's get out of here."

Actually Ling Zhang wanted to join the search, but Yuwen Tong was firmly drawing him towards the outside, so he had no choice but to leave, bringing Snowflake with him.

Though there were a few questions in his mind, Ling Zhang couldn't ask any of them on this occasion and had to keep silent for the moment, not with the guards escorting them outward.

After returning to the stands, the two of them had an audience with the emperor, and Yuwen Tong gave him a general report on what had happened in the wood and also handed the halved short bolt to him.

The emperor cast an appraising look at the short bolt and furrowed his brow. He had some acquaintance with weapons, though not much. "This bolt is so short."

The first bolt fired at Ling Zhang had been caught by him but nobody had noticed, for it had happened too quick, and some spectators' view had been partially blocked, and the space around Ling Zhang had seemed to be twisting in that instant. The emperor and courtiers around him all believed that this short bolt had been taken from the assassin by Yuwen Tong.

"When I found the assassin in the wood, he was already dead, and the weapon he'd used to fire this kind of bolts was gone. Although I didn't find his weapon, I guess it was probably some sort of crossbow that fired this bolt."

"But there's no crossbow that could fire a bolt this short, is there?" The King Duan expressed his doubt.

The others shared his opinion. After all, currently, nobody had made a crossbow that could fire a bolt of such short length.

Yuwen Tong, after a few moments' silence, said, "This is just a conjecture of mine, Your Majesty. It might have been some other kind of weapon. Pity it was nowhere to be found. Either the assassin had hidden it somewhere before his death or his accomplice took it. No matter which one is the case, this place is dangerous. I petition you to return to the palace, Your Majesty. Your safety is of supreme importance."

After hearing Yuwen Tong's words, all other people naturally tried to convince the emperor to go back to the imperial palace.

The emperor raised his hand to hush them. He said, "There's no hurry about returning to the palace. Mingyuan, take some men and search that wood. Find whatever it was that fired this short bolt."

"Yes, father," answered Zhou Mingyuan, also known as the King Duan.

"Your Highness," Jiang Changfeng called him to a pause and then said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, there might still be the assassin's accomplices in the wood. The King Duan is a member of the imperial family after all, which makes it inadvisable to let him take such risks."

But the emperor sniffed, "They're just a couple of assassins, and I'm still here, what should he possibly be afraid of? Go."

The King Duan answered "Yes, father" once again and then left.

Jiang Changfeng, seeing the King Duan had walked away, made no further remarks.

Ling Zhang kept feeling that by saying these words, Jiang Changfeng, rather than helping the King Duan, seemed to have kept others from trying to convince the emperor into sending someone else to scour the wood. A couple of courtiers had originally wanted to say something, but now they had all refrained from making suggestions.