Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 506: The Baby Turns to Ash and Wants to Cry Without Tears (4)
Wan Hun’s heart jumped with fright, but thankfully, the Crown Prince’s qinggong was excellent. Mid-air, he flipped his body and landed steadily on the ground. He glanced at the room and snorted quietly. Then, looking at his sister, his usually discontent face darkened even more, "Do you want to fly or not? Brother will teach you!"
"No, no need. Watching you fly is good enough." Shaking her drum-shaped rattle, she took a few steps back, cautiously watching her brother.
"Hmph." Twisting his body, he snorted coldly and walked away.
Yueyue squinted her eyes, smiled faintly, and called out to her departing brother, "Brother, are you still going to the mountain with Uncle later?"
"Yes." A roar echoed from the distance. Yueyue’s smile widened. She turned her head to look at her mother’s room, then back at her retreating brother, remembered her precious possession that had turned to ash, and with her head drooping, Yueyue walked toward her own room.
Feng Xi had prepared the tools and, at the start of Wei Time, sent for Qiqi and Yueyue. Accompanied by an adult and two children, they headed straight to Nameless Mountain behind the manor. Along the way, Feng Xi was vigilantly surveying the surroundings. Although he’d entered the mountain many times and never encountered any large beasts, this time was different. With two important individuals by his side, he could not be too careful.
Qiqi and Yueyue, on the other hand, played more freely. Xiaobai, ever since arriving at the manor, seemed noticeably more lively. Seeing the young masters heading for Nameless Mountain to hunt, Xiaobai eagerly trailed behind, not just to protect the young masters but also to scope out any new and interesting animals, hoping to present them to the older masters later.
The further they walked into the mountain, the thicker the grass on the ground became. Feng Xi looked around and felt it was about time to stop. Going deeper would mean the grass could swallow up the two little ones, so he halted and called to the children, "We’ll try to catch a few wild creatures here today. We won’t go any further inside."
Both Qiqi and Yueyue looked at their uncle with disappointment. They peered longingly at the mountain, eager to explore it, but seeing their uncle taking out the tools and starting to dig holes, reluctantly, they went forward and began to help set the traps. After digging out holes, they planted sharp bamboo sticks upright in them and then carefully concealed the mouth of each hole with fresh grass. In this fashion, they quickly dug four more holes. When the traps were set, the three of them hid aside, quietly waiting for prey.
Half an hour passed without sight of any game. Little Yueyue grew impatient, "Uncle, why haven’t any animals shown up yet?"
"Wait a bit longer," Feng Xi replied, glancing toward the pit not far away where rabbit tracks were visible on the nearby wet ground. Staying there should yield something.
The couple who had been about to share a passionate moment had their interlude rudely interrupted by the two little intruders. Someone’s expression was quite sour. Feng Xuxu shrugged her shoulders at him, lay back on the bed, and closed her eyes for a brief rest.
Baihe and Yingsu had not seen the sister duo, Xia Lian and Xia Lan, for quite some time. The four women gathered at the pavilion in the rear garden, slowly catching up with one another.
Mei Lenglei, Zhu Lengqing, and Lan Lengyun were visiting the manor for the first time. Though it resembled the manor outside Capital City, they were filled with curiosity about the mother’s family of their host.
Tian Yi and Di An were guarding the master, while Xuan Yue, Huang Yi, and Xuefei, having nothing else to do, gathered together. Looking at the mountain not far away, they decided to have a hunting contest. They agreed to return to the manor by the end of Shen Time to see who had caught the most game, and whoever did would be the winner.
After they had agreed on the terms, the group vanished from the manor with a few swift movements. The two guards left at the door could only gape helplessly.
Two quarters into Shen Time, Feng Xi led Qiqi and Yueyue back to the manor, his hands holding their spoils of the hunt. Heading straight for the kitchen, he instructed the cook to prepare a barbecue for the evening, getting all the game ready to be roasted later that night.
At the end of Shen Time, the three contestants returned, some carrying their prey in their hands, others shouldering or even bearing it on their backs. Upon meeting, they began to count their hauls. The amounts were close, leaving Huang Yi dissatisfied. Glancing at their catch, mostly rabbits and pheasants, the largest being a pheasant and comparing it to the young bull he’d felled which was not fully grown yet, it seemed, in terms of size and meat quantity, he certainly had bagged more. He pointed to his game and addressed the other two, "I don’t accept this. We can’t just end in a tie, look at my game. In terms of size and quantity, and in terms of the amount of meat, I’m obviously first."
"Cut it out; I have even more in numbers than you. By that logic, I’m first too." Xuan Yue retorted with a blade of foxtail grass between his lips, humming in response.
Xuefei looked over his own game, then back at the other two, "If that’s how we’re measuring, then I’m first as well. I’ve got as many as you, and I even got a roe deer."
The three argued endlessly outside, drawing a crowd eager to watch the commotion. The manor’s servants were in awe at the sight of so much game, giving admiring thumbs up to the three men.
Yueyue watched as the crowd gathered. Driven by curiosity, she squeezed through to the front and gazed at the piled-up game. Her little face stiffened, forcing a smile as she looked at the three men and revealed her small teeth, "You’re amazing, capturing so much game, huh!"
