"Thank you!" Shen Lixue smiled and looked at the little white rabbit's injured leg. She took out some wound medicine, carefully applied it, and bandaged it.
"Dongfang Heng!" With a sharp whooshing sound, Nangong Xiao flew over with a bow and arrow. Looking at the little white rabbit in Shen Lixue's arms, he said arrogantly, "You've been gone for so long, this rabbit is the only prey you've caught!"
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "How did you know?"
“Someone has put something special around here, and all the animals are avoiding it. This little white rabbit wandered in here by mistake in order to escape my pursuit…” Nangong Xiaochuan looked at Dongfang Heng with a half-smile. The dignified Qingyan War God had been secretly tripped up.
"Dongfang Heng, did you already suspect that something had been done to the area?" Dongfang Heng often ventured into the mountains and forests when he was at the border. After walking a long distance without seeing any animals, he would definitely become suspicious. However, as they walked along, Dongfang Heng remained unusually calm, as if he was used to everything.
"Just a petty trick, not worth mentioning!" Dongfang Heng sneered, not taking this small stunt seriously at all. He looked up at the sky; it was getting late. His sharp eyes swept around: "This way!"
Nangong Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Quite the insightful one. That direction has the most prey." He continued, "The prey are very cunning. Dongfang Heng, keep a close eye on them so you don't miss them!"
Shen Lixue frowned as she looked at the white rabbit in her arms. She quickly passed Nangong Xiao and caught up with Dongfang Heng, muttering to herself, "Rabbits in the mountains are all gray. How come there's a white rabbit here?"
Dongfang Heng glanced at the rabbit: "It's probably a domesticated one that escaped into the mountains!"
"Whoosh!" A strong sound of wind breaking rang out, and a small fox pierced by an arrow appeared out of thin air on the ground in front of Shen Lixue!
"Sorry, I startled Li Xue!" Dongfang Zhan walked out from the left. He was handsome, tall and elegant, carrying a long sword and exuding an imposing aura. The guards hurried forward and picked up the little fox.
"It's alright!" Shen Lixue replied indifferently.
Dongfang Zhan wasn't annoyed. Looking at Dongfang Heng, whose hands were empty, he smiled meaningfully: "Prince An's archery skills are superb, how come you haven't caught your prey yet?"
What was meant to be a caring statement came out of his mouth with a subtle hint of sarcasm and gloating.
Shen Lixue frowned slightly. Could the animal-repelling drug have been released by Dongfang Zhan? Looking at the guards behind him, each of them was holding two or three animals, indicating a considerable haul.
"The prey I've encountered is all too small; I have no interest in hunting them!" Dongfang Heng coldly stared at Dongfang Zhan.
"Is that so?" Dongfang Zhan's slight smile seemed like a silent provocation: "What kind of big prey is Prince An planning to hunt?"
“Naturally, it’s rare in the forest.” Dongfang Heng looked at the white rabbit in Shen Lixue’s arms: “Rabbits and foxes are numerous and gentle. Hunting them won’t show off your archery skills or martial arts prowess. If you want to become the commander of the Imperial Guard, the prey you hunt must be unique and able to demonstrate your talent!”
"I've learned something!" Dongfang Zhan's gentle smile froze. The prey he hunted most often were foxes and rabbits. Dongfang Heng was indirectly mocking him for only being able to hunt small animals and not having any real skills.
"Then I will wait patiently for Prince An's big prey!" He wanted to see what kind of strange animal Dongfang Heng could hunt.
"Princess Lixue's rabbit is so cute!" Li Youlan flew through the air and landed gently in front of Shen Lixue. Looking at the white rabbit resting with its eyes closed in her arms, she smiled brightly: "May I hold it?"
"It's injured and recovering, so it's best not to move it. If Miss Li likes rabbits, you can ask Prince Zhan to hunt one for you!" Shen Lixue gave Dongfang Zhan a meaningful look. The rabbits he hunted were all dead, while the rabbits Dongfang Heng hunted were alive. The difference in their archery skills had already been revealed.
Dongfang Zhan's expression instantly darkened. When he shot arrows, he was simply hunting prey. Every arrow was aimed to kill, and the prey would naturally die. If it were a contest to catch live rabbits or foxes, he could do it too.
"The rabbit's fur is so soft!" Li Youlan chuckled softly, lovingly stroking the white rabbit's fur with her slender white hands, unable to put it down. "Cousin, can you help me catch a live white rabbit too?"
"Fine!" Dongfang Zhan replied coldly, then looked at Shen Lixue, following the little white rabbit's gaze: she actually liked small animals.
"Little white rabbit, so cute!" Li Youlan exclaimed, turning away reluctantly. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she kicked the long hem of her skirt, and her slender body crashed hard into Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue stood quietly, her bright smile slightly deepening. The moment Li Youlan bumped into her, she suddenly turned around and kicked back, hitting Li Youlan hard and causing her to fall forward.
"Bang!" Li Youlan was filled with panic. She reached out and grabbed wildly, but grabbed nothing. She tried her best to steady herself, but instead fell even more awkwardly to the ground.
Surprisingly, the moment she fell, the ground beneath her quickly caved in, and her slender body uncontrollably plunged into the deep pit: "Help!" Her shrill scream pierced the clouds and echoed through the sky.
Dongfang Zhan's gaze sharpened, and his slender figure instantly appeared at the edge of the pit, reaching out to grab Li Youlan's wrist.
Li Youlan hung halfway in the deep pit, her face pale with fright, and her words were incoherent: "Cousin...cousin..."
Holding the white rabbit, Shen Lixue looked down and saw that amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the bottom of the trap was covered with long, cold steel needles that gleamed with an eerie light. If Dongfang Zhan hadn't grabbed Li Youlan, she would have fallen in and been pierced by the needles.
Of course, if she hadn't avoided Li Youlan's heavy impact, she would have been the one knocked into the trap and pierced by steel needles! Li Youlan's intentions were truly malicious.
Dongfang Zhan frowned, raised his arm and pulled Li Youlan up. Looking at the smoke-filled trap, his sharp eyes flashed with a cold, fierce light: "It's too dangerous in the woods. You should go back outside and wait!"
After saying that, he turned around and strode forward without looking back.
Li Youlan stood up shakily, patting her chest. Her heart was still pounding with fear. "That was close! I almost died!" she thought. Looking up, she saw Dongfang Zhan had already walked far away and hurriedly chased after him, calling out, "Cousin, wait for me..."
Dongfang Zhan, Li Youlan, and the guards had all left. Shen Lixue was about to take a closer look at the trap when she caught a glimpse of the rabbit in her arms and exclaimed, "My white rabbit!"
Dongfang Heng and Nangong Xiao glanced sideways and saw that the snow-white ball in her arms had turned completely black, its eyes tightly closed, its fur glossy black, and its mouth and other parts were also black, making it a real little black rabbit.
Nangong Xiao raised an eyebrow: "Li Youlan poisoned the white rabbit!" Her method of poisoning wasn't particularly sophisticated, yet it was impossible to guard against.
"The rabbit is dead!" Dongfang Heng waved his hand, and the black rabbit flew out of Shen Lixue's arms and landed in the distance. The rabbit was covered in poison, and if she held it any longer, she would probably be poisoned too.
Shen Lixue was always on guard against Li Youlan, but she never expected that Li Youlan would poison the white rabbit to death just because she didn't let her hold it. Her intentions were truly vicious.
Shen Lixue's outer garment was stained with poison and could no longer be worn, so Dongfang Heng took off his own outer garment and draped it over her: "There are many prey ahead, I'll hunt another one for you!"
Shen Lixue nodded, a dark glint flashing in her cold eyes. Li Youlan had plotted against her and blatantly poisoned her; she would never let her get away with it.
"How could there be a trap here?" Shen Lixue looked at the two-meter-deep pit. Before entering the forest, she had asked Dongfang Heng, and there were clearly no traps in the forest.
Nangong Xiao picked up a handful of soil and examined it carefully: "The soil in the trap is still very fresh. It must have been dug just a few days ago!" Dongfang Zhan had been hunting in this area. Could it be that he had guessed that the royal hunting grounds would come and dug the traps in advance to catch prey?
“If the traps were indeed dug by Dongfang Zhan, then he must have dug more than one!” Shen Lixue, Dongfang Heng, and Nangong Xiao exchanged glances, turned around and carefully examined the surrounding area. A quarter of an hour later, they found four or five traps.
Seeing the long steel needles in the trap, Shen Lixue's eyes flickered, and she carefully jumped into the trap.
"Li Xue, what are you doing?"
"Give Dongfang Zhan and Li Youlan some gifts!" Shen Lixue smiled mysteriously, and under the watchful eyes of Dongfang Heng and Nangong Xiao, she gently rubbed her outer garment on the steel needles in the center a few times!
Chapter 155: Zheng Zhan Wang, Li Zha Nu