I don’t know how long it was, but suddenly there was the crisp sound of a ceremonial officer’s whip coming from the front, and the surroundings instantly became noisy.
The neighing of war horses mixed with the low shouts of the riders, and a cloud of dust flew up. When Xiao Nan came to his senses, he could only see the backs of a group of strong horses' buttocks going away.
Jixiang slowly turned around in place, stepping on the horse manure with his four hooves.
As the saying goes, there are too many wolves and too little meat, and too many monks and too little porridge. Judging from the situation today, it would be good if she could hunt a rabbit before sunset tomorrow.
Sighing, Xiao Nan turned around and drove Jixiang in the opposite direction of the main force.
******************
The forests in late spring and early summer are almost still. The rainy season has just arrived and the south wind has not yet risen. Even the drizzle is silent, which makes the sounds of birds and animals clear and noisy.
Although Yu'an's mushrooms are not as good as Beizhi's, they have always been abundant in yield. As soon as Jixiang stepped into the forest, his head never left the ground. He sniffed and nibbled, and gradually went deeper into the mountains.
Xiao Nanhui ignored it and just wandered aimlessly. The surrounding forest was deep and shadowy, with the constant chirping of insects and birds, which was quite pleasant.
Dawn and dusk are the times when birds and animals prefer to appear. At other times, it is often impossible to catch a glimpse of them, and searching for them is nine times out of ten a waste of effort.
It was still early, so she found an open space by the stream. She simply let Jixiang go to look for mushrooms, and then she climbed up a thousand-year-old banyan tree. She quickly weaved a simple vine bed, nestled in it, and looked up at the sky comfortably.
Today's sky looks even grayer than yesterday's. The weak sunlight cannot penetrate the clouds, and only water vapor like smoke and fog can be seen flowing quietly.
After looking for a while, she suddenly remembered something, reached out to her waist, and took out the exquisite niche from the bag.
She was in a hurry this morning and had not had the time to take a closer look. Now, after playing with it for a while, she is even more certain: this thing is a hundred times more complicated than the black robe she is wearing. Even if ten of her come to untie it, they will not be able to do it.
Humph, the emperor had a good plan. He let her keep this hot potato, but he was also certain that with her skills, she would never be able to remove the contents without permission.
The sleeplessness from last night came over her, so she put her things back in place, took off her heavy armor, and turned over to take a nap.
I don’t know how long I slept when a slight noise came from under the tree. Xiao Nanhui quickly opened his eyes.
Instinctively, she did not move, but just rolled her eyes to glance at the source of the sound.
Through the layers of dark green branches, she first saw a pair of slender hooves, then a coat of golden fur, and after a moment, the owner of the fur appeared: big furry ears, a delicate white-spotted mouth, and a pair of alert black eyes set in a wedge-shaped head.
A golden muntjac.
Xiao Nanhui widened his eyes.
During the spring hunting, according to convention, first-class gold rewards are given to bears, lions, and leopards; second-class gold rewards are given to tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves; third-class gold rewards are given to foxes, raccoons, badgers, and pigs; and fourth-class gold rewards are given to roe deer, musk deer, and black foxes.
To add to the fun, the muntjacs, who are responsible for protecting the forest animals and birds, always add some tricks. This year's trick is the golden muntjac.
Whoever hunts a golden muntjac wins directly.
Muntjacs are timid and extremely agile by nature. They will disappear in the blink of an eye at the slightest sign of trouble from thousands of miles away. Even in the deep mountains, few people can see their head and tail. During ordinary hunting, they are startled by the sounds of horse hooves and bowstrings, and even a hair of theirs cannot be seen.
Xiao Nanhui tiptoed down from the tree and observed her prey from a different angle.
It was a female muntjac, with a hornless head, only slightly raised, and two black and white stripes under its eyes that looked like tear marks. It came following the sound of the stream and found its way to the fresh, tender water chestnuts on the rocks by the shore, its tail wagging happily.
She took out a crossbow from her back and prepared to string it.
She could no longer draw the bow. She could still use a sword in close combat, but she suffered a great loss in hunting. She could only ask Mo Chunhua for this set of self-defense weapons.
□□ was originally lighter than an ordinary longbow, but who knew that the golden muntjac was even more agile than imagined. As soon as she hooked it with her fingertips, the slight sound of the bowstring startled it.
The golden figure paused, turned around and quickly fled.
Xiao Nanhui cursed inwardly, and without bothering to put on her armor, she rolled over and fell from the tree. She whistled, and Jixiang jumped up to catch her, chasing after the fleeing figure.
It is best not to ride a horse too fast in the forest, because there are many tree roots and the light is dim, and you may stumble if you are not careful.
But Jixiang was no ordinary horse. Having traveled extensively with Xiao Nanhui in his early years, he knew the ropes well. Adding to his stubborn temper, he believed there was no four-legged animal he couldn't catch, and he chased for several miles without a single breath.
When Xiao Nanhui looked up and around, he found that he was already very close to the depths of the mountains.
The hunting grounds were based in the woodlands and bordered by the foothills. She had already reached the border of the Yulin Villa.
Not far away, the golden muntjac was cornered and leaped into the area where two mountains met. The slopes were too steep for horses to pass. Seeing this, Xiao Nanhui quickly dismounted and gave chase. After passing a few beech bushes, his pace suddenly slowed down.
The walls are towering, with hidden crevices between them. Strange rocks cover the sky, and moss obscures the view.
It is a narrow passage.
She had traversed many deep mountains and forests, steep hills, and had seen many such narrow passages. Soldiers were cunning and cunning, and they made good use of dangerous terrain. Such narrow passages were always perfect locations for ambushes and killing. With just a few archers and infantry, a thousand cavalrymen could be driven to their doom.
Therefore, for a long time, she has been going up and not down. Whenever she encounters a narrow gap, she will avoid it.
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