Not long after Xie Min’s entourage had left, Pei Yue pushed him away and struggled out of his embrace.
“My lady, be careful,” Xie Min reached out to steady her.
“What an act,” Pei Yue batted his hand away and nimbly landed on the ground. She took the reins handed over by an attendant and leapt onto a reddish-brown horse, sitting atop it as she adjusted her bold riding attire.
“What, does my lady find my embrace too hot?” Xie Min lightly laughed, his tone lazy and mocking.
“Xie Min, spare me the pretense and hypocrisy when others aren’t around, it’s truly laughable,” Pei Yue coldly glanced at him. “We can keep up appearances in front of others, but that’s it.”
Xie Min smiled faintly, “As you wish.”
His response was extremely acquiescent. Pei Yue was too lazy to continue the conversation. She took out a map of the hunting grounds, scrutinizing it closely for a while before slowly saying, “I asked my maternal grandmother, and she said if a prince manages to hunt a white deer this time, the Emperor will appoint them Governor of Yongzhou. This is a good chance to gain real power, you must seize it well.”
Pei Yue’s maternal grandmother was the current Empress Dowager of the Pei clan, so her words were unlikely false. The Governor of Yongzhou was the highest regional administrative official in charge of the capital Chang’an and vicinity, an extremely prestigious role involving complex affairs, usually assumed by imperial clansmen. The previous prince who held this position later became the current Son of Heaven. This demonstrated the weight of the appointment and the nobleness of the office.
After hearing Pei Yue’s words, Xie Min casually nodded, seeming nonchalant. Pei Yue was somewhat unsatisfied with his attitude. Raising her voice sharply at him, she said, “Xie Min, be serious! If you can’t hunt the deer, this appointment will likely fall to Xie Wuyan instead.”
Xie Min faintly smiled. “This king not only wants to hunt deer, but people as well.”
Pei Yue abruptly looked up. “Xie Min, have you collaborated with the martial world again?”
“Don’t worry, my lady,” Xie Min casually stroked his spirited steed’s mane. “They’re of the martial world, but not only the martial world. After tonight…whether Xie Wuyan lives to get that appointment still remains to be seen.”
He smiled, and the hand stroking the mane abruptly clenched. The warhorse let out a pained whinny.
The whistling sounds were like a sudden gale.
Feathered arrows broke through the air from all directions, assaulting the prince’s guards amongst the woods.
Jiang Kui coldly snorted. She leapt up from horseback! Suspended midair, she nimbly tumbled, brandishing her spear to form a complete circle. The spear tip clanged as it swept away the sky full of arrows.
“Protect His Highness!” The guards wielding swords surrounding him in a circle simultaneously cleaved down, shielding the prince within.
“Stay still,” Jiang Kui said lowly to her husband.
She curled her waist midair and somersaulted down, toes lightly landing to stand behind him atop the horse while wielding her spear. Her long hair fluttered as her clothes billowed, the strands brushing past his cheek like a wisp of sweet morning breeze.
Xie Wuyan tightened the reins, stabilizing the white horse. His wife now stood on his steed, swirling her spear once more to shake off the keen edges with a cold radiance, firmly protecting them within.
One person sat still as a jade mountain, the other leapt vibrantly like flowing water. Jiang Kui repeatedly rose and landed atop the horse, occasionally gently bracing Xie Wuyan’s shoulder to leverage herself, spinning over and over amidst the air. Her movements resembled not brandishing a lethal weapon, but rather a dance, with graceful and captivating poses.
As a wave of arrows fell, broken shafts littered the ground. Jiang Kui pressed her palm against Xie Wuyan’s back to steady herself before standing firmly again, swirling her spear tip to dispel the sharp edges.
“Lean sideways,” she said softly again.
Amidst the whistling, a second volley of arrows assaulted them!
Xie Wuyan shifted slightly sideways to evade as Jiang Kui spread her spear between both arms. The instant the arrow rain arrived, she leapt up, hands swinging the spear which spun around her to form an airtight shield of blades. Like a furious gale, it deflected countless arrows.
The third wave arrived, then the fourth…even more arrow showers!
Low muffled groans transmitted over as some guards could no longer withstand it, falling from their horses when struck by arrows.
“Your Highness,” the Captain of the Guards charged over on horseback amidst the arrow rain. “At this rate…we can’t hold out. We must break through the encirclement.”
“How to break out?” Jiang Kui took over the conversation as she brandished away arrows. “The arrow rain is too dense to ascertain the enemy numbers and locations.”
“Esteemed Consort, please take His Highness to break out.” The Captain deeply saluted. “I will lead the defenses here and do our utmost to obstruct the enemies until the last man!”
Before Xie Wuyan could reply, Jiang Kui had already swiftly assessed, “Alright, I’ll take him away.”
“My lady,” Xie Wuyan interrupted her words. “If we can defend here for half an hour, a patrol squad will arrive. We can await reinforcements then. But if we break out now, once we leave it won’t be long before exiting the hunting grounds into even greater danger.”
He looked at her, “My lady, I prefer to stand our ground here.”
The autumn hunt was an enclosure hunt. Before it began, the Imperial Guards would cordon off areas for the grounds, releasing less dangerous creatures like rabbits and deer inside for the nobles’ entertainment.
Once they broke out and left the hunting grounds, the sprawling mountain ranges of the Imperial Northern Forbidden Forest connected to it, filled with countless venomous snakes and fierce beasts. The road ahead was filled with unknown risks. It would be more prudent to defend this position.
But…
“Can we really last half an hour?” Jiang Kui softly asked Xie Wuyan.
“You all don’t need to shield me. Just focus on protecting yourselves,” he said solemnly. “I have the ability to defend myself.”
Jiang Kui slowly shook her head. “Xie Wuyan, you’re the Heir Apparent. You cannot be injured, your life is more important than all of ours combined. Anyone here would be willing to die for you, only you cannot perish.”
His expression dimmed slightly as he lowered his gaze.
“You’ve chosen to defend, but I’ve chosen to take the risk.” She continued, “I will definitely take you to break through. Are you willing to trust me and stake it all on me?”
Xie Wuyan raised his head to meet her eyes. “Alright.”
“Alright,” she nodded.
In the next moment, Jiang Kui brandished her spear and shot upwards, forcefully sweeping aside a wave of arrows. She fiercely smacked the white horse beneath her and shouted, “Go!”
Seizing the gap between two arrow assaults, Xie Wuyan spurred his horse forth! The galloping steed was like a sharp blade slashing through the heavy encirclement. Crimson robes fluttered wildly behind him as the hoofbeats were like a sudden clap of thunder, resounding explosively amidst that split second of stillness.
Jiang Kui curled her waist midair and dropped back onto her own horse. One hand held her spear while the other grasped the reins. Glancing back at the Captain of the Guards, she suddenly softly said, “All of you must survive as well, this is the Crown Prince’s order.”
“Yes!” The Captain saluted with a fist against his chest.
“Hyah!” Jiang Kui spurred her horse to catch up with Xie Wuyan.
A surge of black masses poured out from the dense forest, chasing after the two fleeing figures. The prince’s guards immediately engaged them, fighting fiercely to obstinately obstruct the pursuers. Within the woods, the clash of blades rang continuously.
Jiang Kui and Xie Wuyan burst out of the forest, leaping over a bubbling stream to gallop into the vast mountain woods. This area was no longer within the imperial hunting grounds, stretching endlessly with rivers and peaks as the landscape opened up vastly, the long winds sweeping by.
After shaking off the chasers, Xie Wuyan slowly reined in his horse, breathing heavily.
As he was usually susceptible to chills, feeling warm was a rare sensation for him. He parted his fox-fur robe, raising both hands to lightly pull the garment off his shoulders and casually laying it across his horse.
Beneath the thick cloak was a crimson inner robe and plain white undertunic. Strands of disheveled hair clung to the lapels, dampened somewhat.
“Put it back on,” Jiang Kui glanced at him. “Dressed like that, the wind will make you catch cold.”
He kept his head lowered, silently draping the fur robe back on.
“Shall we circle back to the tents?” Jiang Kui asked.
Xie Wuyan shook his head. “No. We’re going to find Ruoheng.”
“Find Prince Wen?”
“I’m more worried about Ruoheng,” Xie Wuyan said softly. “If someone can ambush me here, they must have arranged an attack on Ruoheng as well. I know there are people who want him dead.”
If Crown Prince Xie Kang and Prince Xie Ruoheng could be assassinated together during this hunt, it would completely devastate the prince’s faction and the intellectuals of the Southern Offices supporting him. No new leader could possibly emerge then.
Jiang Kui nodded, understanding Xie Wuyan’s implication.
Just as they were about to turn their horses to circle towards the hunting grounds, a sudden sound of breathing came from the woods.
It was the low and deep thunderous breathing of a beast, coarse and hoarse, definitely not emitted by humans.
The two horses, badly frightened, ceaselessly retreated as they anxiously pawed the ground with their hooves. Exchanging a glance, Jiang Kui and Xie Wuyan pulled on the reins to calm their mounts, individually dismounting and tacitly falling silent.
“Wild boar,” Xie Wuyan mouthed.
Such ferocious beasts could not exist within the hunting grounds, but they had traveled quite far from there, hence it was unsurprising.
Jiang Kui signaled Xie Wuyan with her eyes to retreat a step. Gripping her spear halfway along the shaft with one hand, she strode forth?a pose for both offense and defense. This balanced middle way might not allow the strongest attacks, but could accommodate advancing or retreating as needed.
Jiang Kui frequently battled others in the martial world, but never combated beasts before. Unsure how to proceed, she adopted the safest tactic.
Behind her, Xie Wuyan silently pushed an inch of chilling blade out from his sword sheath.
His sword-grasping gesture was very unique, not resembling conventional poses. That hand clasping his sword was slender yet strong, vaguely emanating circulating inner energy wrapping around his fingers with an icy, imposing aura.
If she faced the slightest danger, his sword would be unsheathed.
Amidst thumping hoofbeats, a wild boar charged out fiercely from the woods!
It was a gigantic ferocious beast with a long snout and large belly, four feet and a tail. Tusks like ivory, fur resembling blades, its galloping rumbles resembled rolling thunder. Bloodshot eyes furiously glared as it shook out its mane, roaring towards the girl ahead.
Jiang Kui loudly shouted. Her spear shot forth!
In a split second, a flash streaked past.
Blood sprayed copiously, sketching out demonic patterns amongst the fallen leaves.
The massive beast thundered onto the ground with a spear pierced right through its body.
Xie Wuyan watched as the spirited girl trampled the corpse, effortlessly pulling out her spear. Her motions were agile, her figure imposing. Sunlight filtering through the woods shone down upon her slender form.
His fingers grasping the sword hilt gradually relaxed their strength.
“My lady,” he gently called out, walking towards her.
She raised her face to meet his gaze, eyes gleaming with fleeting radiance resembling chilled wine.
His own gaze quivered imperceptibly. Head lowered, he pulled out a square white handkerchief and handed it over. She boldly accepted and weighed her spear, tip facing upwards, using the fabric to wipe the blood off.
“The wild boar was intentionally released to kill you,” she softly said. “There’s definitely an ambush up ahead.”
“Mm,” he nodded. “I realized.”
“I thought of a method to exterminate all the pursuers in one go,” she tilted her head, peering at him. “With you as bait. Are you willing?”
Evading her eyes, he lowered his voice answering, “Alright.”
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