Distress

Chapter Nineteen

I was so frightened that my hair stood on end. Luckily, I wasn't a young lady from a wealthy family, so I wasn't paralyzed with fear. In the blink of an eye, I had already moved, and when I came to my senses, I was already hiding behind a tree.

The ominous sounds of horses' hooves and dogs' barking came without mercy, each sound pounding into my heart. I held my breath, and in a moment of quick thinking, I turned to the tree trunk, grabbed it with my hands and feet, and scrambled up the tree. I hung tightly on the tree, not daring to move even slightly.

A short while later, three riders came galloping over at a leisurely pace, with two slender yellow dogs leading the way. The two yellow dogs were particularly hateful; they stopped at the foot of the tree and barked incessantly at the spot where I was hiding, their heads tilted back. One of them, with black fur on its ears, was perhaps impatient; after barking a few times and failing to bring me down, it stuck out its tongue and paced around the tree impatiently.

I was extremely anxious, wishing I had a crossbow to shoot those two beasts down. No wonder people call the lackeys who help the wicked "dog slaves"—it makes perfect sense!

The two stinky dogs circled the tree, waiting for their owner to arrive. They knew there were meat bones hidden there, so the three of them dismounted. One of them came over first and stopped the two dogs.

When I looked down, my heart sank to the ground. Was this what they call a small world?

The vicious hunter who came to hunt me was none other than Amuyue, the bear prince of Bozhou.

Despite their master's orders, those two dogs remained steadfast in their loyalty, refusing to leave. One moment they were howling at Amuyue, the next they were baring their teeth and howling at the tree where I was hiding.

You dog lackey!

Amuyue's two bodyguards also stepped forward at this time. The one on the left with a thick beard spoke first, but what he uttered was all in the local language, which I couldn't understand even if I tried to guess it.

Another pale-faced, beardless man joined the conversation, exchanging barbs with the bearded man. The two dogs and Prince Amuyue remained silent, but I was about to lose my composure.

This tree, of unknown species, was actually quite suitable for hiding. It was lush and leafy, and I hadn't climbed too low. Hiding inside the canopy, I reckon that from below, one wouldn't be able to spot me without careful searching.

However, every advantage has its disadvantage. It has too many branches and leaves. One of them was originally pressed against my face, but for some reason it bounced up and landed right below my nose and mouth. An even more unfortunate leaf "magically" landed right where my nose goes in and out.

With each breath, the tip of the leaf trembled and swayed gently, cautiously probing into my nose, tickling me like a gentle itch.

Normally, I could just lift my hand and brush it aside; it's such a trivial matter. But I can't move now. Even the slightest movement has startled the branches and leaves, and almost scared me to death.

I'm about to cry.

I've been sneezing non-stop since last night, and it's just like coughing—it's unbearable.

However, Amu chose two talkative followers, and after chatting for half a day, neither of them showed any intention of leaving.

Just as I was on the verge of collapse, Amuyo suddenly raised his hand, and his two bodyguards bowed to him. Fortunately, he was finally about to leave, and the two dogs eagerly caught up with him, but still turned back dejectedly and barked at the tree a couple more times.

Before I could even celebrate my escape, the bearded man and the pale-faced man forced me to the foot of the tree. The bearded man pulled out the arrow stuck in the trunk first, took two steps back, and kicked the tree twice.

The branches and leaves rustled, and my heart jumped into my throat. Just then, I saw the pale-faced man climbing up the tree trunk. He held his head high and had a smug look on his face. His eyes rolled around, and unsurprisingly, he had already spotted me!

Without thinking twice, I grabbed a branch and thrust it at the approaching face. The pale-faced man dodged left and right, trying to free one hand to take my weapon. I was on higher ground, and I could stabilize myself by clamping the branch between my legs. Both my hands were free. Although he had some martial arts skills, I had the advantage of the terrain. I seized every opportunity to stab him in the eyes, nose, and mouth. Finally, the pale-faced man screamed and hurriedly climbed down the tree.

Unfortunately, before I could even catch my breath, another arrow whizzed past and embedded itself in the tree trunk next to me. I gasped, and then I heard Prince Amuyue shout in Chinese, "Little Princess, you'd better come down quickly. Playing the monkey in this tree isn't fun."

While I was lamenting in my heart, I peeked out from among the branches and said to the bear prince with a smile, "My sister and I were traveling in the mountains when we went astray. Fortunately, we met the eldest prince, which was a true escape from a desperate situation."

“Lan Feiyu? That bitch?” Prince Amuyue put down his bow and arrow and sneered, “You still think she’s a good person? She tricked you into coming here just to let her man have his way with you.”

If I had to choose between the two princes, I would definitely prefer the naked prince, Asa. This bear prince not only has no sense of manners, but his words are so offensive that you just want to punch him into the ground. I chuckled awkwardly, but still didn't go any further, and continued to ask, "Why do I only see the eldest prince, and not the others? Don't you know my brother..."

Prince Amuyue got even more excited, his laughter like a wolf's howl: "Is your brother even a man? He came to go hunting and fell ill in half a day, whimpering in his tent. That Xian Asa is the best at coaxing people. First he coaxed the old king, then he coaxed you two siblings, coaxing back and forth, hehe, hehe, and he coaxed this little slut."

I knew that the "little bitch" he was referring to was Lan Feiyu. Even though Lan Feiyu had deceived me and was the culprit who had brought me to this state, I found Prince Amu's words extremely offensive and could only hold back my anger by biting my lip tightly.

After the bear prince finished speaking, seeing that I still showed no sign of coming down, he raised his bow again, but did not nock an arrow. He forced a smile on his face that was far uglier than the squeak: "Little princess, you'd better come down quickly. You Han people are all so smooth-talking. Are you stalling for time so that little slut will come back to rescue you?"

It's true that I'm stalling for time, but unless my older brother has some extraordinary ability, who can I wait for to come and save me?

I forced a smile and replied, "Your Highness, you're too kind. I'll come down right away."

Prince Amuyue brandished his longbow. "Should those two men go up and fetch you?"

"No need." Knowing I couldn't avoid it, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and climb down. The moment my feet touched the ground, the two of Prince Xiong's attendants immediately came up and sandwiched me between their left and right sides. I simply stopped where I was and asked Prince Amuyue, "What is Your Highness doing?"

"Hmm, what are you doing?" Prince Amuyue put away his bow and arrows, baring his teeth as he approached me. "At first you said you were your brother's... maid? Now you say you got lost here with Lan Feiyu? I won't believe you no matter what you say. Heaven is sending you into my hands. Don't you think I should seize this opportunity?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I involuntarily took two steps back, only to be grabbed by the arms by his two lackeys at the same time.