I've decided on you!

"Well, is this what you wanted to hear me say?" Cheng Junshi snorted, looking at Tang Qi, whose face had already collapsed.

Tang Qi dared not move.

He walked over to the petrified Tang Qi, glanced at him, and said in a nonchalant tone, "If you know fear, think before you speak next time."

Cheng Junshi didn't stop. Tang Qi, who had recovered, hissed and cursed himself inwardly before quickly catching up to him and saying, "I'm sorry, next time, no, I promise there won't be a next time."

He glanced cautiously at Cheng Junshi, and only felt relieved when he heard Cheng Junshi give a muffled "hmm".

...This is really going too far.

"What official position have you been promoted to?" Tang Qi asked.

"Vice Minister of the Criminal Law Department"

No wonder I ran into him in Jingzhou.

"Oh, so what were you before?" Tang Qi asked again.

"Junior Supervisor."

"Oh, is being an official fun?"

Cheng Junshi glanced at him: "...If you don't know what to say, you don't have to say anything."

Tang Qi shut up, ending the awkward conversation.

He had intended to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere, but he slightly overestimated his conversational skills.

"Everyone has secrets, right?" Cheng Junshi suddenly spoke after a moment of silence. Tang Qi exclaimed "Ah!" and stared at him blankly.

He glanced at the arrows Tang Qi had taken: "Didn't you also not tell the truth?"

Tang Qi's grip on the arrow tightened. Yes, he himself hadn't been completely honest. To pry into someone's background is something only someone trying to kill would do.

He chuckled twice and continued walking forward with Cheng Junshi: "You're right, everyone has secrets."

After they finished speaking, they fell silent again. Fortunately, their awkward journey didn't last long, as a commotion from afar broke their silence.

Tang Qi rushed forward almost immediately, pushing aside the dead branches and leaves to get a better look at what was happening over there—Zhou Ziye and Wei Fan, along with an unfamiliar person on the other side, seemed to be arguing about something.

"This is what we saw first!"

"It seems there's no first-come, first-served rule in the woods."

Just as the people on the other side were about to start arguing, Tang Qi reached behind him and took the bow and arrow that Cheng Junshi handed him.

"call out!"

The arrow pierced through them and embedded itself in the tree trunk.

"Oh dear, I clearly saw something coming this way, but there's nothing here!" Tang Qi shouted a few times, then pulled Cheng Junshi out one after the other. Cheng Junshi pretended to have just noticed the people over there and shuddered, saying, "Wow, why are there so many people?"

As soon as he and Cheng Junshi came out, they immediately attracted attention. Both groups of people looked at them. Tang Qi chuckled and walked to the tree with a calm expression to pull out an arrow: "You weren't hurt, were you? I'm not very good at archery—what are you all doing here? Is there a big game here?"

After pulling out the arrow, he walked over and, along with the others, turned his gaze to the person lying on the ground, the one they had been arguing about for so long—

On a little rabbit.

Tang Qi: ...

The vein on his forehead throbbed.

“We shot and wounded this rabbit first,” Wei Fan said.

"But I was the one who finally shot it dead," the man said.

Zhou Ziye stood to one side, and Tang Qi caught a glimpse of the sash on his wrist—he was on the same team as Wei Fan.

That's not surprising.

Zhou Ziye's face was expressionless, his expression seemingly detached. Wei Fan was so angry with the person opposite him that he turned around and called out to him a few times, but Zhou Ziye remained silent as if he hadn't heard him. It wasn't until Wei Fan couldn't help but shake his arm that Zhou Ziye finally reacted.

"Excuse me, Brother Lu, could you let us have this rabbit? I'm willing to pay a high price." Zhou Ziye had just come to his senses when he immediately bent down, his movements mechanical, as if he were used to doing it.

Tang Qi frowned; he wanted to punch Zhou Ziye in the face a few more times.

If you don't want to join the army, then don't join the army. Why are you acting like an idiot now?

“Brother Aye, what do you mean by giving it to us? This rabbit originally belonged to us. Don’t even mention a high price, I won’t give you a single penny,” Wei Fan said, hands on his hips.

Zhou Ziye remained numb, his hand reaching for the money pouch at his waist, shakily pouring out some silver ingots: "It's alright, I have plenty. Brother Lu, see how much you want. If this isn't enough..."

He paused, his eyes momentarily blank.

“If this isn’t enough…” Zhou Ziye patted himself down, as if he hadn’t found anything of value. He looked around and finally handed over the short sword at his waist: “Here, take this too. If it’s still not enough, I can write you an IOU.”

Tang Qi finally couldn't help but stop Zhou Ziye from handing over the sword.

This sword was forged by Zhou Ziye himself when he joined the army at the age of fifteen. Zhou Ziye forged two swords in total, giving one to him and keeping the other for himself.

Tang Qi was stunned when he touched the engravings on the knife.

"This short sword is for you. If you win a battle after joining the army, carve a mark on it. Once the sword is fully carved, you will be qualified to be a great general."

Recalling the past, Tang Qi clenched his fists, a nameless anger rising within him.

Why should he give away the sword?

Why should he forget?

...Why should he submit?

Tang Qi only came to his senses when Cheng Junshi put his hand on his. He quickly hid his embarrassment, let go, and then laughed, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just think that measuring this with money would be underestimating this gentleman."

"That's right, Brother Zhou, I never agreed to give it up!"

Tang Qi looked at the person who had called out across from him. His surname was Lu. He remembered Ye Qian's words.

Could it really be such a coincidence that he ran into him?

"Lu Juezhen!"

...He's overthinking it.

"What makes you think you can compete with us? Lu Juezhen, don't forget, if it weren't for Brother Aye's help, your brother might be dead by now!"

Oh, it seems there's still a chance.

“Go talk to Lu Chenghe about Lu Chenghe’s business. What does it have to do with me? He’s the one who owes you a favor, not me.” Lu Juezhen crossed his arms, looking annoyed.

Whoosh. Another arrow rang out.

Tang Qi turned around stiffly, while Cheng Junshi calmly put down his bow and slowly walked to a spot in the woods. When he came out again, he was carrying a plump rabbit in his hand.

"One on each side, just right."

"Ha—I knew something was running this way." Tang Qi laughed, crossing his arms.

Lu Juezhen, holding the chubby rabbit Cheng Junshi had given him, exclaimed with stars in his eyes, "So accurate!"

"Hmph, they didn't kill him with a single arrow, did they?" Wei Fan snorted and glanced at them. "Brother Aye, let's go."

The fat rabbit kicked its legs a few times in Lu Juezhen's arms in anger.

"It's already dead, why are you still carrying it?"

Zhou Ziye had only taken a few steps with the dead rabbit on the ground when he suddenly heard Tang Qi ask this question, and turned around in confusion.

"How can the score be calculated if it's not handed over to the person counting it?"

Tang Qi was stunned.

Cheng Junshi was also dumbfounded.

"Do I have to take it to the counter?" Tang Qi exclaimed in surprise.

“How will they know who shot the prey if they don’t go to the counters?” Zhou Ziye frowned even more deeply.

Tang Qi turned her head to meet Cheng Junshi's gaze: "Then what about all that stuff we did before..."

“…Let’s start over,” Cheng Junshi said.

Zhou Ziye glanced between them and then continued carrying the rabbit away.

"Hey!" Tang Qi called out to Zhou Ziye instinctively.

He caught his breath when everyone's eyes were on him. He stared at Zhou Ziye for a long time before finally managing to choke out, "...The knife is quite nice."

"laugh,"

People can burst out laughing when they are in a state of extreme speechlessness.

"Thanks."

Zhou Ziye and Wei Fan walked quickly. Tang Qi stared at their backs and asked Cheng Junshi beside him, "Do you know them?"

Cheng Junshi shook his head.

"What do you think he resembles?" Tang Qi asked, naturally referring to Zhou Ziye.

"Wood?" Cheng Junshi said.

Tang Qi shook his head and chuckled very softly: "Even wood still has life."

"Hey, you two, stop ignoring me, okay?" Lu Juezhen darted in front of them, turned to Cheng Junshi, and said, "Brother, you're really good at archery. Can I learn from you?"

Cheng Junshi tilted his head back and said, "I don't accept apprentices."

"No, Master, I'm really good!" he said anxiously, carrying the chubby rabbit to Cheng Junshi.

Cheng Junshi dodged his lunging body and frowned: "Don't shout nonsense."

“Master! My name is Lu Juezhen, and I am fifteen years old. Master, Master, what is your name?”

Cheng Junshi was still being chased and dodged by Lu Juezhen. Tang Qi ignored the pleading look Cheng Junshi gave him and laughed, saying to Lu Juezhen, "Your master's name is Cheng Wang, and his nickname is Junshi."

"Alright, thank you! And you, Second Master? What's your name?"

“Master is Master, there is no such thing as a second Master. Besides, I don’t have anything to teach you. My name is Lin Zhengye, and I am a little older than you. If you don’t mind, you can call me Brother Zhengye.”

Tang Qi hadn't expected the fire to reach him, so he quickly said...

"Alright, Brother Zhengye!"

Cheng Junshi had already retreated to Tang Qi's side, glaring at him with some resentment. Tang Qi shrugged: "Who told you to be so capable?"

Without a shred of remorse.

Even pride.

"Hey kid, let me ask you something. I just heard them say you have an older brother?"

Lu Juezhen stood next to Cheng Junshi, curled up a rabbit, and said without any suspicion, "That's right."

"Were you with him during today's hunt in the east?" Tang Qi asked again.

“Oh, never mind him,” Lu Juezhen said, pursing his lips. “He didn’t want to come. It’s because the Eastern Hunt requires two people, and I couldn’t find anyone else, so I had to drag him along. In the end, he was just there to make up the numbers and register me.”

Lu Juezhen continued nonchalantly, "I couldn't find him as soon as the Eastern Hunt started. He must have run home again. That's just how he is, a real coward."

"By the way, Master, I overheard you talking earlier. Do you need to hunt your prey again? Perfect timing, I can help you. Master, you can also see my strength."

He picked up the fat rabbit by the neck and shook its legs, saying, "This rabbit is cute, I don't want to kill it. I didn't have much of a chance to win the Eastern Hunt on my own anyway, so I might as well not come. I'll make up for your losses. If I really do win in the end, Master, will you really accept me as your disciple?"

Three pairs of eyes stared at Cheng Junshi, who remained silent for a moment.

"...I don't know how to teach people."

"Okay, Master, thank you for your permission!"

Tang Qi chuckled. This kid really understood Cheng Junshi's mind. When Cheng Junshi didn't explicitly refuse, it meant he agreed.

Tang Qi put his arm around Lu Juezhen's shoulder, raised his chin at him, and laughed: "You're a pretty good kid."

He teased the rabbit in Lu Juezhen's arms, rubbed his hands together, and said to Cheng Junshi, "Alright, then the heavy responsibility of winning the championship will be entrusted to you, my apprentice."

"Tsk, Brother Junshi, what are you still doing with those arrows? Quickly fill your disciple's quiver." Tang Qi, while carrying the fat rabbit in Lejuezhen's arms, also kicked it in front of Cheng Junshi.

Cheng Junshi glanced at him, then, with a few arrows in his hand and a hopeful look in Lu Juezhen's eyes, inserted them into his quiver.

"We're carrying bows, what are you doing?" Cheng Junshi asked him.

"Suckling," Tang Qi stroked the fat rabbit's chin, looked up at him upon hearing this, shrugged without any remorse, and said, "Of course I'm enjoying my retirement."

Cheng Junshi, too lazy to talk to him, simply sighed and said to Lu Juezhen, "Let's go."

"Bang!"

A sharp sound shattered their steps.

"Oh dear," Tang Qi looked up at the sky, stroking the fat rabbit's fur gently, "it seems I won't be able to enjoy my old age."