The lean limbs of the yellow dog alternated as it ran, its figure looking lithe and agile.
Xiao Jingcheng's eyes were fixed on the branch in the air. As the branch was about to hit the ground, he leaped into the air, opened his mouth wide, and bit the branch precisely.
After landing on his feet, he immediately turned his head and looked back at the girl behind him with a hint of pride.
Want to test him?
Look, he didn't let the branch touch the ground! Could that stupid dog do the same?
Suddenly, his whole body froze.
Wait a minute!
What had he just been doing?
He clearly didn't want to play this boring game with that village woman...
"Big Huang, you're so amazing!" the girl ran towards him, smiling and praising him, "The way you jumped up and bit the branch just now was so handsome!"
Xiao Jingcheng had never been praised so straightforwardly before.
In the Eastern Palace, in order to prove to his mother that he was a qualified crown prince, he worked hard every day without any slack. But all he ever got in return were cold looks and scolding.
As for his father, because he disliked his mother's over - controlling nature, he ignored Xiao Jingcheng. Naturally, he never got a word of recognition from his father.
Now, this straightforward praise from the girl gave rise to a kind of indescribable joy in his heart, like an electric current running down his spine all the way to his tailbone.
The furry tail behind him started to wag vigorously!
Xiao Jingcheng let go of the branch in his mouth and barked at Ye Wanmian eagerly.
Again!
Ye Wanmian picked up the branch and threw it out again -
Xiao Jingcheng leaped into the air once more and caught the branch. But this time, instead of waiting for Ye Wanmian to catch up, he took the branch in his mouth and actively came back to her side, pawing at her dress.
Again, again!
He could do it in an even more skillful way!
But Ye Wanmian threw the branch aside and said with a smile, "Alright, you've just recovered from a serious illness. You should know when to stop. Let's call it a day today."
Naturally, Xiao Jingcheng wasn't willing. He circled around her and nudged her legs with his nose from time to time. But since Ye Wanmian refused to play anymore, he could only huff and run away.
Once in the mountain, there were more obstacles and the view was blocked. Soon, the yellow dog disappeared from sight. Remembering her last experience, Ye Wanmian called out worriedly:
"Big Huang, don't run too far away. And remember not to eat random things like last time! Cats may have nine lives, but you don't. You should cherish your life."
Xiao Jingcheng in the grass snorted twice but still ignored her. Instead, he burrowed deeper into the grass.
He thought he had just seen a colorful figure flash by...
There it was! He found it!
It was a wild pheasant!
Humph, a mere wild pheasant couldn't possibly defeat him!
His Highness the Crown Prince didn't notice at all that he had already gotten used to his canine body. He was attracted by all the shiny, running, and jumping things in the world and instinctively chased and hunted them.
Ye Wanmian gave the reminder and then didn't worry about him anymore. Instead, she bent down to look for herbs.
After two days of heavy rain, the mountain path was indeed as slippery and difficult to walk on as she had imagined. However, the vegetation that had been nourished by the rain had grown more lush than the last time she came into the mountain. She pushed aside the bushes and soon saw a medicinal herb.
She squatted down, took out her small hoe, carefully dug the soil, pulled out the herb with its roots, and then carefully put it into the bamboo basket.
Then, she moved on to the next spot...
While Ye Wanmian was carefully digging herbs here, on the other side, Xiao Jingcheng was also concentrating on chasing the fleeing golden - feathered pheasant.
The yellow dog ran and leaped nimbly in the mountain. He didn't care at all that his body was covered with dew and grass thorns. Those beady eyes that looked so black, innocent, and cute in front of Ye Wanmian were now as sharp as a falcon's, filled with a determined killing intent.
In the sunlight, the yellow dog's figure was lithe. His limbs were taut, his muscles were strong, and his ears were pointed and erect, showing a bit of a fierce beast's aura.
Seizing the right moment, the yellow dog leaped into the air, bit the pheasant's body precisely, pulled it down from the branch, pressed his paw on the pheasant's body, and bit through its throat with his sharp teeth, ending its life.
Blood filled his mouth. The smell of blood should have been nauseating, but for Xiao Jingcheng at this moment, it soothed the wildness and hostility surging in his body. Even though the blood had wet his fur, he didn't care.
When he noticed that the pheasant under him stopped moving, he finally let go of his mouth.
【So amazing. Big Huang also wants to be this amazing.】
【Big Huang has never hunted food to add to mother's meal.】
Another voice sounded in his mind. Looking at his "trophy", Xiao Jingcheng felt proud again.
That woman would surely be surprised if she saw that he had caught a pheasant, right?
Just as he was about to take the pheasant in his mouth and go back to show off, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a gray figure flashing through the forest. It was a mountain rabbit, with a gray body and a pair of long ears...
During the imperial hunting before, he remembered that rabbit meat tasted quite good. More importantly, rabbit fur could be made into gloves and scarves.
When it got cold, that woman could use them to keep warm.
【Watch closely. I'll teach you how to hunt rabbits.】
Xiao Jingcheng said to the yellow light ball in his body. Then he controlled his body and chased after the rabbit. The yellow figure quickly shuttled through the forest, startling the small animals hiding in the bushes. They all fled in panic in all directions.
The sun gradually rose to the sky, and the sunlight became hotter.
Ye Wanmian put an angelica root into the basket and straightened up, letting out a sigh.
She took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the sweat from her forehead, cheeks, and neck. She rubbed her sore shoulders and lower back and looked at the full bamboo basket beside her.
After a busy morning, the things in the bamboo basket had become more and more, and it was getting heavier and heavier.
However, these herbs were full of water. After drying, their weight would be less than one - tenth of what it was now. So it was far from enough for her.
The place she was in now only had some common herbs. If she wanted to pick some precious ones, she had to go deeper into the mountain.
Recently, Big Huang had become extremely finicky. Correspondingly, there were more things to spend money on than before. After taking a short rest later, she still had to continue digging.
By the way, where was Big Huang?
Ye Wanmian looked into the dense bushes behind her. She put her hand to her lips and whistled, "Big Huang, where have you gone?"
Soon, there was a rustling sound in the bushes in front. Her eyes fell on that place, and before long, a yellow figure indeed emerged from it.
Ye Wanmian widened her eyes and looked at the yellow dog in front of her in surprise.
The yellow dog was holding a soft body in his mouth, and blood was dripping from it. There was also a lot of blood on his body. He looked extremely scary.
"Big Huang, what's that in your mouth?"
The yellow dog walked up to her gracefully, spat out the thing at her feet, stuck out his tongue, held his head high, looking imposing and majestic.
Ye Wanmian took a stick and poked the corpse on the ground. She found that it was actually a dead mountain rabbit!