Chapter 27
The forest was quiet, with only the chirping of wild birds being heard. Suddenly a wild deer appeared in their sight. It was an adult male deer.
Lin Shuge signaled to Xie Chen, and he couldn't help but hold his breath, for fear of scaring it away.
Xie Chen saw the deer before him and had already drawn his bow and arrow, ready for the right opportunity. The deer didn't notice the two of them as it was looking for food. Xie Chen held the arrow in one hand and pulled the bow with the other. The arrow shot out with a cold light and the deer fell to the ground.
"Hit it." Lin Shuge said excitedly.
"Brother, let's go take a look."
Xie Chen got off his horse to check. The deer was dead, but its antlers were intact and could be used to decorate his brother's room. He tied the deer to the horse.
"Brother, come next time."
"good."
As we were talking, we saw a pheasant strolling in the distance, its tail feathers sparkling in the sun.
"Brother." Xie Chen reminded.
Lin Shuge nocked an arrow, drew his bow and shot it, but the arrow landed straight at his feet.
The air suddenly became quiet.
"Brother, you don't know how to shoot arrows?"
"No." Lin Shuge said as a matter of course. After all, they were out for fun, and with Xie Chen around, they didn't have to worry about having nothing to barbecue.
"Then I'll teach my brother." He moved and jumped onto Lin Shuge's horse.
Lin Shuge only felt his body being embraced, and he moved slightly, "Brother, don't move, put your hands like this," he held Lin Shuge's hand on the bow, and with his other hand, he exerted force, and the arrow flew out and hit the pheasant.
Lin Shuge got off his horse excitedly and ran to pick up the chicken, but when he turned around he saw Xie Chen had a strange look on his face.
"Zhongxuan, I won again, what happened?" he asked curiously.
"It's nothing. This pheasant belongs to my brother."
"Okay, then I'll take it." He happily hung the pheasant on the horse and urged Xie Chen to keep going.
Xie Chen looked at his back, rubbed his fingers unconsciously, and sighed.
Zhou Du and Yuan Hui were not so lucky. Apart from the hare, they had no other gains.
"We have to hurry, or we'll lose to them."
Yuan Hui nodded slowly. Seeing his unshakable expression, Zhou Du became angry and was about to speak.
"Shh, don't make any noise." Yuan Hui made a gesture.
I saw in the distance that the grass and trees were scattered, and there were piles of leaves half a person's height, and something was moving inside.
Zhou Du got anxious and pulled out an arrow and shot it, but he didn't expect to startle the creature. It shook off the leaves on its body, revealing its thick and fat body. It was a bear.
"Ahui, why do bears come out in winter?" Zhou Du asked.
"Maybe it's out for food because it's hungry." As Yuan Hui spoke, he had already picked up the bow and arrow and shot out. Although the black bear is bulky, it is fast, and its bite and claw strength are amazing.
The black bear was shot in the chest and rushed towards this side. Zhou Du quickly drove his horse to avoid it. Yuan Hui's eyes were calm, but his fingers were shaking. He continued to draw the bow and shoot arrows, but the black bear dodged flexibly and Yuan Hui shot the arrow at its foot.
Seeing the black bear rushing towards him, he drew his long sword from his waist and prepared for close combat. He rode his horse towards the black bear. The black bear slapped him with its palm. He blocked with his sword, but was knocked to the ground along with his sword by the black bear.
Seeing that the black bear was about to strike again, Zhou Du became anxious and shot an arrow quickly, but it missed the ground. At the critical moment, an arrow hit the black bear's eye, and the black bear let out a painful howl. Then another arrow hit the black bear's heart. The black bear was shot in the vitals and fell down with a "boom".
Zhou Du panted heavily and ran over to help Yuan Hui up, "Ah Hui, are you okay?"
Yuan Hui stood up and looked at Xie Chen who shot the black bear to death. "Good archery skills."
Lin Shuge quickly dismounted to check on the two, "Are you okay? It was so thrilling just now. How could a bear appear?"
Zhou Du raised his head and wiped the sweat off his face. His legs were actually a little weak. "Brother Huai Ting, give me a hand."
Lin Shuge quickly reached out to support him and said, "Let's go back first." After what happened, the few of them lost interest in hunting and nodded.
Zhou Du relaxed for a while and regained his former vitality. "You didn't pick up this brother in vain. He is an excellent archer. He is only fourteen this year, not even fifteen. I wonder how he will compare with Yang Youji in a few years?" He said convincedly.
Yang Youji was a sharpshooter in the Spring and Autumn Period. The allusion of "shooting an arrow through the eye from a hundred paces away" refers to him.
Lin Shuge looked back at Xie Chen and Yuan Hui, who were some distance behind him, and said with a smile, "You've always been fighting with him, why are you suddenly praising him now?"
Let's compare him with the top marksman.
"I just saw that he had a cold face all day long, so I joked with him."
"Zhongxuan has a cold personality, don't bother with him. Besides, I think he is very well-behaved..."
Before Lin Shuge could finish, Zhou Du interrupted him loudly, causing the two people behind him to glance at him strangely, "Well behaved, only you think he is well behaved, all right, let's not talk about him anymore, I'm hungry, hurry up, let's go grill some meat."
He rode his horse in front and called to the three people behind to hurry up.
Lin Shuge shook his head and followed.
When they came back with their prey, Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan had already prepared the firewood and barbecue utensils.
Lin Qingyuan came over with a pheasant and said to Xie Chen, "Zhongxuan, let's prepare the pheasant and rabbit together. As for the deer, cut a few pieces of good meat for roasting."
Xie Chen nodded obediently, carrying the rabbit and pheasant to the stream to deal with them. Yuan Hui also followed with the rabbit shot by Zhou Du.
"Brother, you also shot a deer." Lin Qingyuan was curious. He walked around the deer and even reached out to touch its antlers.
"Erlang fought, and we also encountered a bear."
Seeing that Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan were in high spirits, Lin Shuge picked some woolen grass to make a fire, while Zhou Du explained the key points to them.
Seeing that the twins were very interested, Zhou Du exaggeratedly told them how critical the situation was and how timely Xie Chen's arrow was, which made Lin Qingyuan exclaim repeatedly.
The velvet grass was quickly ignited, and Lin Shuge took the opportunity to put firewood on it. Looking at the firewood burning, he stood up and took out the things in the bag.
There were two knives inside, some bottles and jars of seasonings, and custom-made skewers of the same length.
"You are really well prepared." Zhou Du was distracted from the wonderful story.
"Of course, I prepared it a long time ago." Originally, I was thinking of having a family barbecue during the New Year, but outdoor barbecue is also nice.
I heard footsteps, and Xie Chen and Yuan Hui came back with the processed prey.
Lin Shuge took the prey from Xie Chen's hand and said, "You guys go and warm yourself by the fire first." The stream water in winter is bone-chillingly cold, so it's better to warm yourself by the fire.
"Brother, I'm not cold. Let me do these." Xie Chen picked up the knife and cut it into strips and pieces very skillfully. Lin Shuge sprinkled various seasonings on the rabbit beside him and instructed him to insert the whole rabbit onto the skewer. He also cut the pheasant into pieces, threaded it, and marinated it with egg seasoning.
When everything is ready, put it on the fire and start roasting.
The rabbit was plump and soon became juicy and fragrant.
Zhou Du couldn't help but asked, "Brother Huai Ting, what ingredients did you put in it? Why is it so fragrant?"
"It's just ordinary material. Maybe it's because my cooking skills are good." Lin Shuge said innocently.
Zhou Du pushed him and said, "Come on, who are you trying to fool?" He was born into a wealthy family and had seen all kinds of delicious food, but he had never smelled such a rich fragrance.
In fact, cumin was added. At that time, cumin had not yet been introduced to the Central Plains, and Lin Shuge bought it at a high price from a merchant in the Western Regions by chance.
The merchant said it was a precious incense. Lin Shuge, who was used to eating barbecue, knew it was cumin as soon as he smelled it. After much persuasion, the merchant finally sold him some.
"I'll give you a pack when I get back. I specially made it for you." Lin Shuge said as he turned the rabbit.
"That's right."
Not long after, the rabbit began to sizzle and ooze oil, and the aroma was so fragrant that it made people salivate. Lin Shuge cut the roasted rabbit into pieces with a knife and let them take them themselves.
Zhou Du and Lin Qingyuan were quick to grab a leg each, while Lin Xuan and Yuan Hui each picked up a piece of meat and started eating.
“Don’t worry, don’t you still have a rabbit? If it’s not enough, you can roast more.” Lin Shuge said with a smile.
He asked Lin Xuan to help watch the fire, picked up a rabbit leg and walked up to Xie Chen.
"Zhongxuan, try my roasted rabbit." Lin Shuge smiled.
Xie Chen took the rabbit and took a bite. The skin was crispy and delicious, and the aroma of cumin bloomed in his mouth, complementing the aroma of the meat. The rabbit is tender and juicy, and the juice is rich and fragrant in the mouth when you take a bite.
Xie Chen's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but eat a few more bites.
Lin Shuge looked at him with a rare youthful demeanor, "If it's not enough, there's more over there."
Xie Chen nodded and said nothing more.
"Have you made an agreement with Captain Yuan?" Hearing Zhou Du's voice of praise, he looked at the vast land in the northwest and asked softly.
Sometimes Xie Chen actually didn't wish he was so smart and so insightful about people's hearts.
He took a bite of rabbit and nodded.
"So when do we leave?"
Xie Chen spoke in a hoarse voice, not daring to look at Lin Shuge, "Captain Yuan asked me to go to the Duwei Mansion in the next few days. I want to leave the day after tomorrow."
Lin Shuge was stunned for a moment. The day after tomorrow? So fast?
"The New Year is coming soon, so doesn't that mean I can't come back for the New Year?"
"Captain Yuan said that the Xiongnu have been restless recently. I'm afraid that the year will not be peaceful. I'm afraid that they won't be able to come back by then." Xie Chen finished the last bite of rabbit meat and said, "Brother, I'll roast it later."
Seeing that he had performed the movements skillfully, Lin Shuge nodded in agreement.
Xie Chen stood up and said in a brisk voice, "Brother, try my cooking skills. When I was young, I often went out hunting with my friends, and barbecue was also something we often did."
"Okay." Lin Shuge closed his eyes slightly and said lightly.
The sun was setting in the west, and the evening sun was not very warm, so the group prepared to go back early before daybreak.
Lin Shuge and Xie Chen rode on horses and walked behind. "I will be off duty early tomorrow. Come with me to the street to buy some things. We don't know when we can come back. We need to prepare some commonly used clothes and medicines."
"I will listen to my brother."
"Envoy Wei gave me a few gold cakes that day. Take them with you when you leave, just in case you need them."
"I don't……"
"Zhongxuan, be obedient. I will be worried."
"good."
"Be careful when you get there. Although you are skilled in martial arts, the Xiongnu are cruel and murderous by nature. Don't be complacent. If you are ostracized and suppressed by your colleagues, you have just arrived and your influence is not important. You can bear it for now and take it slowly."
Xie Chen's eyes turned red and he replied, "Okay."
"Remember to write to me often." Lin Shuge looked up at the sky.
"Brother, can I sleep with you tonight?"
Lin Shuge said softly: "Okay."
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