Chapter 43 Hunting
Lin Changning has been living a comfortable life lately. During the busy farming season, many people come to her house to help, and she finishes most of the week's work in just three days.
When he had free time, Commander Qi often asked him to spar and practice, and his martial arts skills improved a lot. The person who sent him money home last time has returned in the last few days, and also brought a message from his mother. She said that everything was fine at home and that he didn't need to worry. She also told him not to send money home and to keep some money with him when he was away.
Having just finished a battle with Commander Qi, she was so exhausted that she plopped down on the training ground, panting heavily. Qi Rong, on the other hand, was in a dignified and composed manner. His personal guards brought over a grand chair, and he sat down upright, even taking a sip of tea from a teacup with a leisurely air.
"Commander, I'm not coming anymore, I'm bored."
Qi Rong smiled and took a sip of tea: "You're not having much fun sparring now? I saw you were quite enthusiastic when you were giving advice to a few centurions on how to make money after you finished your shift."
Lin Changning, as astute as Qi Rong, immediately understood what he meant: "I'm innocent, Commander! It wasn't my idea. The centurions were worried that the wild rabbits were robbing everywhere and ruining our traps, so they asked me for advice. As for selling them for money, we just traded the hides we dug up with the farmers for some chicken and duck eggs. I really don't know anything about selling them for money."
Qi Rong was so angry he laughed. This kid was the most cunning one: "You've stripped yourself down pretty cleanly!"
The reasons were all well-founded, and the farmers were all friendly. When the investigation came, it turned out that they had simply exchanged some eggs. Although the matter was not foolproof, it did not leave much evidence. Recently, the military has been quite popular in terms of respecting and treating soldiers with courtesy, and these men have had a much better life. Of course, this is a good thing. The wild rabbits they catch are used to fill their stomachs, and in the meantime, the soldiers' families can save a lot of food.
Border troops already have a tough time. Although this matter was somewhat close to the line of military discipline, it was indeed for the good of the soldiers, so he turned a blind eye. However, upon investigation, he found out that it was this brat who had given advice to others. Recently, when they went hunting outside the city, the wild rabbits that were usually clustered together were nowhere to be seen. When they came back and asked the kid, he found that the rabbits were slippery. He was so angry that he laughed.
"You brat, don't do it again."
Lin Changning scurried to the back of the armchair and leaned back, giving a perfunctory bow: "Thank you, Commander."
Qi Rong couldn't help but give her a sharp rap on the head: "You sly one! Next time, give me a heads-up first. Why haven't you been running outside the city lately?"
Lin Changning sighed, "It's getting hot, and the rabbits, foxes, and wolves are shedding their fur, looking ugly and not fetching a good price. I can barely afford eggs anymore, Commander~"
Qi Rong chuckled and took a sip of tea: "Alright, stop looking so gloomy. I know a place with deer. Deer are worth much more than their pelts. I'll take you hunting. It'll be a good opportunity to practice your archery. Among all these people in the army, you're the worst at archery and horsemanship!"
Lin Changning nodded, but muttered under his breath, "I'm not an archer."
Qi Rong glanced over, and Lin Changning immediately fell silent: "Understood, command."
In May, the water flowing along the grassland and riverbank shimmered with silver light, looking like a piece of green brocade. The petals of unnamed wildflowers on the ground trembled in the breeze. In the distance, it looked as if a herd of wild deer were drinking water under a clear blue sky.
As the group rode past, several wild rabbits suddenly darted out of their burrows, their grayish-brown fur appearing and disappearing in the waves of grass. Lin Changning couldn't resist, nocked an arrow, and shot it.
"Whoosh."
The long arrow pierced deep into the grass, its feathers still trembling slightly. A wild rabbit leaped a few times with its hind legs and disappeared into the grass.
A few muffled laughs came from the ranks. Lin Changning rode over, picked up the arrow, and looked rather dejected.
Qi Rong, dressed in a black outfit, also clenched his fist to his mouth, concealing a smile when people turned around.
His personal guards and he himself all caught some prey, but Lin Changning was the only one who went empty-handed and failed to catch anything repeatedly.
Zhi Qi chuckled and teased, "Hey, Liu Lang, is it alright or not? If not, your brother will give you one."
Lin Changning rolled his eyes: "Who wants your lousy rabbit? I'm here to hunt deer. I didn't hunt because I was afraid the prey would take up too much space."
The attempt to save face failed, and laughter and chatter returned to the group. Lin Changning was young but skilled in martial arts, and he got along quite well with them after their sparring and playful exchange. Although the guards liked to tease him, they all took good care of this younger brother-like captain.
Qi Rong waved his hand, and the group of people stopped and galloped towards the water. When they entered the water source, a large herd of deer were drinking water, and a few of them were quite alert and would occasionally look up and look around.
Qi Rong divided the team into three groups: "Knowing that they are guarding the flank, we will suppress the deer herd. Male deer are valuable, so don't let the big ones escape. Liu Lang, come with me to shoot them, and try to carry one back with each of us. We'll have roasted venison for dinner tonight!"
Upon hearing this, He Zhiqi obeyed the order and rode his horse around the deer herd. Hearing the noise, the deer suddenly raised their heads, and several does kicked the fawns drinking water with their hooves, quite agitated. The horse neighed and raised its front hooves high. The sound of an arrow piercing the air startled the buck, who leaped up and ran headfirst into the arrow. The arrow pierced his body, and the buck neighed. After running a short distance, he suddenly collapsed, his hind legs kicking as he fell into the wolfsbane bushes.
The deer scattered and regrouped like a gust of wind, surging outwards like a flowing brown river. Zhiqi led the way, driving them from the side, while Wenzhi steadily brought them back from behind. The deer headed in the direction of Lin Changning as planned.
Qi Rong drew his bow and shot an arrow, which instantly killed a stag. Lin Changning also drew his bow, but a stag suddenly appeared out of nowhere and charged straight at him.
Lin Changning was startled and fired an arrow in a backhand motion. The stag quickly dodged, and its huge antlers charged towards Lin Changning. Qi Rong was shocked and drew his sword to cut down the stag. Lin Changning, for some unknown reason, grabbed the stag's antlers and snapped them off with a sharp crack.
Lin Changning was dumbfounded, as was the stag. It hooked Lin Changning's bow with its other antler and ran towards the herd.
Before Qi Rong could say anything, Lin Changning threw away the antlers and chased after him, yelling, "My bow!!!"
Lin Changning, caught off guard by the deer's trick, immediately lost his temper, drew his sword, and gave chase. Qi Rong, somewhat dumbfounded, shouted loudly, "Sixth Brother!!! Come back!!!"
Lin Changning was preoccupied with his bow, which was specially made for him by Old Liu from the Miscellaneous Crafts Bureau. It had a very long range. The deer, with the bow and arrow hanging from its antlers, took off running, and Lin Changning brandished his sword and spurred his horse to give chase.
Knowing that Qi and Wen were suppressing the deer herd, they couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
The warhorse was powerful and actually caught up with them. Lin Changning, his eyes red, swung his sword down: "Give me back my bow!!"
A gash was instantly ripped open on the stag's neck. Lin Changning looked ahead and saw several more large stags running away into the distance. Lin Changning gripped his sword, glanced at the fallen stag, and felt the sword was in his hand. He howled and charged toward the herd of stags.
Zhiqi and Wenzhi worked together to drive the deer herd toward Lin Changning. Lin Changning, like a blue eagle, plunged into the herd and charged left and right, leaving behind only felled deer in his wake.
Knowing that he was controlling the deer herd, Lin Changning felt a little envious; this kid was truly fierce...
In no time, the deer herd had fled far away. Lin Changning grinned foolishly at the seven or eight deer lying down along the way.
Qi Rong sighed, somewhat amused and exasperated. A group of guards dismounted to help clean up the game, while Lin Changning picked up the specially made bow with an indescribable air of triumph.
"Commander, I already said, I'm worried about having too many prey to keep them all."
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