Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 131

The sky was gradually darkening.

"Your Highness, the sun is setting. Let's find a place to spend the night," Xiao Xin suggested to Yelü Hongji as he rode forward.

Yelü Hongji pondered for a moment. According to his personality, he actually wanted to walk a little further, but when he looked back, he saw that the women traveling with him all looked tired, so he could only nod in agreement.

Xiao Xin laughed and said, "Your Highness need not worry. Judging from the footprints, that beast must be nearby. It can't be too far away. Perhaps we can catch up with it tomorrow."

He was only half right.

The beast was indeed nearby, but they still hadn't caught it by the next day. Just as Mo Yan had said, this rather old tiger was extremely cunning, almost like a spirit, and it kept circling the group in the deep forest.

After three days of searching, they could only find its footprints, a few tiger hairs, and even some deer bones it had gnawed on, but they still couldn't catch it.

Mo Yan's tracking skills, honed by her training, were met with such a formidable opponent, even though it was a beast. She became even more excited, and despite enduring several days of harsh weather, she didn't mind at all. Zhao Yu, on the other hand, was exhausted and only hoped to return to the camp as soon as possible for a proper bath.

That night, everyone sat around the fire to rest.

Mo Yan strung up an unidentified bird with a bulging belly and roasted it over the fire until it turned golden brown and emitted a fragrant aroma. Then she took it down, blew on it, tore off a wing, and handed it to Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu shook her head, indicating that she had no appetite.

"Princess, try some. I stuffed some fruit inside the bird's belly, so the meat has a fruity aroma and isn't greasy at all," Mo Yan kindly advised. Brother Zhan had instructed her to take good care of the princess. Zhao Yu had been eating very little these past two days, and Mo Yan was getting worried, fearing that the princess might get sick from hunger.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yu took it, ate a few bites, and found that it tasted sweet and tender, and was indeed delicious.

"Is it delicious?" Mo Yan said with a smile, and simply handed her the whole bird.

"Give it all to me, then what will you eat?" Zhao Yu asked.

Mo Yan said nonchalantly, "I'll bake another one."

Xiao Guanyin sat at the other end of the fire, watching Zhao Yu eat with relish. She frowned slightly, turned her head, leaned against the tree trunk, and closed her eyes to rest. Although she was a Khitan, she had been pampered since childhood and had been quite exhausted these past few days.

A little further away, Yelü Hongji and Xiao Xin spoke in hushed tones. The former picked up a twig and traced the path they had taken over the past few days on the ground, gritting his teeth as he said, "These damned beasts are making a fool of us!"

Xiao Xin also said angrily, "I don't believe we can't catch this old thing."

Yelü Hongji pondered for a moment, tapped the ground with a branch, and said, "Tomorrow, we will split into three groups and surround them from three sides."

"Split into three routes?"

"Um."

Yelü Hongji nodded firmly. He was already disgusted with the women traveling with him. Although he didn't show it on his face, he always felt that if it weren't for accommodating them, he would have caught that beast long ago. At this moment, no matter how beautiful Xiao Guanyin and Zhao Yu were, they would be of no use to him.

How to divide it?

“We will split into two groups, and we will have the experienced guards lead another group.”

"And my sister, there's also..."

“They’ll all go with you,” Yelü Hongji said matter-of-factly. Then, noticing Xiao Xin’s slight daze, he explained, “Guanyin’er is your sister, so it’s naturally more convenient for her to go with you. As for the princess… it’s better for the girls to stay together so they can look after each other.”

It sounded reasonable, and although he also felt that having a woman with him would be a burden, Xiao Xin couldn't raise any objections.

"That's settled then."

Yelü Hongji beckoned to his guards and discussed the allocation of manpower with them. Xiao Xin then went to his sister's side and told her about their parting ways the next day.

"Brother, I want to be with Brother Cha Ci." Xiao Guanyin said urgently as soon as she heard this.

Xiao Xin shrugged: "This is His Highness's arrangement."

“But…” Xiao Guanyin’s voice softened when she heard that it was Yelü Hongji’s arrangement, and she glanced at Zhao Yu, “Then, what about that Song princess?”

"She came with us too."

Hearing her brother say this, Zhao Yu felt a little relieved. At least her brother Cha Ci hadn't abandoned her and taken that Song woman with him.

Xiao Xin then went around the fire and told Zhao Yu about it.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu simply nodded obediently and smiled, "As long as we can find that beast sooner, anything is fine. I will naturally follow Your Highness's arrangements. I only regret that I can't help more." This wasn't entirely a lie; she genuinely wished Yelü Hongji would catch the tiger quickly so she wouldn't have to accompany him wandering in these mountains anymore, just expressing it in a different way. Xiao Xin, upon hearing this, immediately felt that Song Dynasty girls were indeed gentle, charming, understanding, and considerate.

Mo Yan peeked over: "Wouldn't it be alright to split into three groups? That tiger is very cunning."

Unexpectedly, a young maid would question His Highness's arrangements. Xiao Xin glanced at her, and seeing that she was not particularly attractive, he did not want to look at her any longer. He casually said, "You don't understand hunting. Just follow me."

Mo Yan shrugged, exchanged a glance with Zhao Yu, and said nothing more.

The next morning, Mo Yan and Zhao Yu followed Xiao Xin on a solo journey, flanking from the southwest.

After splitting into three groups, there were even fewer people. Coupled with days of hard work and no results, everyone was a bit bored and had no mood for chatting.

Only Xiao Xin kept chattering beside Zhao Yu, even Mo Yan couldn't stand it and walked away. Xiao Guanyin couldn't do anything about her brother, so she walked far ahead.

Xiao Xin began by recounting his first hunt as a child, followed by his first deer hunt, his first wolf hunt, his first falcon hunt… Zhao Yu listened until she was dizzy and wished that tiger would appear soon and kidnap the man next to her, giving her some peace and quiet.

A gust of wind swept by, seemingly carrying some kind of dangerous message. The horses seemed to sense it, and the last few horses in the procession stood up and neighed loudly, as if they were frightened.

Xiao Xin abruptly stopped speaking, turning around to look around. The grass not far behind them rustled slightly before returning to stillness. No one dared to speak now. The experienced guards slowly drew their arrows, ready to fire at any moment. However, after a long while, the surroundings remained eerily quiet; they could even hear the breathing of those beside them…

"Beast!" Xiao Xin cursed fiercely, putting down the bow and arrow in his hand.

Almost simultaneously, a colossal creature leaped out of the bushes beside him. Before Xiao Xin could react, a massive tiger paw slammed heavily onto his head with the force of a thousand pounds. He felt a deafening buzzing in his head, the world spinning before his eyes, and he was thrown from his horse with a thud.

"Brother! Brother!..." It was Xiao Guanyin's desperate scream.

The incident happened suddenly; the tiger appeared abruptly, greatly frightening the horses, which scattered in all directions, and chaos ensued. The guards had to control the horses, rescue Xiao Xin, and many others were thrown from their horses and fell to the ground.