"Da Huang, did you hunt these?" Ye Wanmian looked utterly stunned.
Da Huang used to just chase rabbits in the mountains for fun and never harmed them. She once suspected that since it had been by her side since it was young, it didn't see itself as a dog and thus lost its hunting instinct.
Unexpectedly, after it nearly died from poisoning, it started to learn how to hunt. Could it be that the fight with that shaggy stray dog had awakened its bloodline?
"Da Huang, you're really amazing!" Ye Wanmian praised without hesitation.
Xiao Jingcheng had brought the rabbit back to scare her. He didn't expect that the young girl not only wasn't scared but even praised him for being amazing...
That familiar tingling sensation came again. Xiao Jingcheng couldn't help but raise his head proudly.
Of course he was amazing. During the royal hunt before, he had always been the most outstanding among all the princes. A mere rabbit or pheasant was nothing to him.
He let out a "woof" at her, then got up and ran towards the back. Ye Wanmian understood and picked up her bamboo basket and chased after it.
After making several turns, the yellow dog finally stopped.
Seeing the corpses of small animals such as pheasants, hares, and bamboo rats laid out on the flat ground, Ye Wanmian covered her mouth in shock.
They had... struck it rich!
Life in the countryside was hard, far from the luxurious life in the capital. An ordinary family had to save up silver for a long time to have a meal of meat during festivals.
Even she had learned to follow the local custom of pickling meat with salt and air - drying it so that she could have some oily food every once in a while.
If you had no silver but still wanted to eat meat, what could you do?
Naturally, you went hunting in the mountains!
Da Huang used to just chase rabbits for fun. She had given up on it, but today it had given her such a big surprise!
Ye Wanmian squatted down and counted the corpses of the prey on the ground. There were as many as six!
There were only her and Da Huang at home. They definitely couldn't finish all this meat, and it would go bad if left for too long. She could take it to the town and sell it for silver.
This trip up the mountain today was really worth it!
Ye Wanmian was extremely happy. She hugged the yellow dog and rubbed and praised it. The yellow dog's tail was wagging so fast it was almost a blur.
However...
The prey was bloody and it wasn't suitable to take them down the mountain like this. There were so many soldiers guarding the entrance of the town. If they saw blood dripping from the bamboo basket, they might cause her trouble again.
Ye Wanmian found some leaves and wrapped up the prey on the ground, then walked deeper into the forest.
"Da Huang, come with me."
Xiao Jingcheng controlled his body and followed her, shuttling through the forest with her.
The terrain in the mountains was complex, and the trees and vegetation were very dense, making it hard to tell the way. But Ye Wanmian clearly knew this place very well and didn't stop because of the dense bushes at all.
The fluffy ears on top of the yellow dog's head twitched slightly.
Xiao Jingcheng heard the sound of water!
Sure enough, the further they walked, the clearer the sound of water became, and the air also became a bit more humid.
After walking a bit further and carefully bypassing a slope, their view suddenly opened up. A silver chain soared out of the mountain and fell into the lake below.
There was actually such a charming scenery here.
The water vapor rising from the falling waterfall hit their faces, dispelling the summer heat and making them feel refreshed.
Ye Wanmian put down the bamboo basket on her back, jumped onto the big rock on the shore, untied the prey wrapped in leaves, and started to clean them up.
Xiao Jingcheng walked forward curiously and saw the girl skillfully cut open the bellies of the prey and take out their internal organs.
The scene was so shocking that he took a few steps back.
Ye Wanmian gave him a funny look. "What are you scared of at this time? Didn't you kill these prey?"
How could it be the same?!
How could a woman, how could she take out the internal organs of an animal without changing her expression? Such rough work should be done by men.
However...
Xiao Jingcheng looked at the girl's serious profile and fell silent.
She had lost her husband and had no other relatives. There was only a yellow dog by her side. Naturally, she had to do all the rough, tiring, and dirty work by herself.
She could have remarried and lived a peaceful life as a housewife, not having to suffer these hardships. However, she had refused the marriage proposals that came to her door and preferred to live alone and remain chaste for her dead husband. Even though her behavior was a bit vulgar, she still had her merits.
Xiao Jingcheng paused, turned around, and lay down beside the girl. From time to time, he would lower his head and help her hold the legs of the prey so that she could cut more easily.
After a long time of hard work, Ye Wanmian finally finished cleaning all the prey. She found some more broad leaves, wrapped up the cleaned prey, and put them into her bamboo basket.
"You've made the greatest contribution today. When we get home tonight, I'll fry some rabbit meat for you." She wiped the sweat off her face and said to the yellow dog with a smile.
Xiao Jingcheng had tasted the food Ye Wanmian cooked. Hearing her say this, his stomach couldn't help but growl.
The weather was already hot. Although there was a lot of water vapor beside the waterfall, disemboweling the prey required a lot of strength. Ye Wanmian was sweating all over and felt sticky and extremely uncomfortable.
Come to think of it, she really hadn't had a good bath for a while. Moreover, when she went up the mountain today, her clothes had gotten a lot of mud on them while collecting herbs, and they had also been splashed with a lot of dirt when she was dealing with the prey...
She had an idea and looked around.
There didn't seem to be anyone here...
She squatted down, got close to the yellow dog, and whispered, "Da Huang, help me keep watch around. If anyone comes near, remember to remind me."
Xiao Jingcheng didn't react at first.
What was she going to do?
When he looked up again, he saw the young girl turning her back to him and taking off her clothes. A flash of white passed before his eyes.
Xiao Jingcheng was really startled. He quickly closed his eyes and turned around. Behind him, he only heard a "plop" sound as someone jumped into the water. He turned his head and the beautiful figure on the shore was already gone, only leaving a pile of clothes.
Remembering the fair and smooth skin that had flashed before his eyes, his heart started to beat heavily and quickly in his chest. Xiao Jingcheng was both shocked and angry.
This village woman was really too bold!
How could she, how could she... how could she take off her clothes and play in the water in broad daylight! Didn't she worry about being seen and ruining her reputation?!
No.
Why was there no sound after she got into the water? Could it be that she had hit her head when she jumped in and fainted?!
A sense of anxiety welled up in Xiao Jingcheng's heart. He didn't know if it was from the other soul in his body or for some other reason. He controlled his body and took a few steps forward. His tail drooped slightly and wagged quickly behind him. A low growl came from his throat.
Where was she?
The lake was rippling with gentle waves. A yellow hunting dog was reflected on the water surface, but the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Woof, woof!"
Without thinking, Xiao Jingcheng jumped into the water and was about to sink to the bottom when the surface of the lake in front of him suddenly shook violently.
Accompanied by the sound of "splash", the water splashed high into the air. A fair figure rushed out from the bottom of the lake and reappeared in front of him.
The young girl's hair was wet and hanging down behind her. The skin that emerged from the water was so white that it was blinding, so tender that it seemed to be able to squeeze out water. The water droplets slowly dripped from the girl's slender and graceful neck, rolling over her beautiful collarbone and making the red mole on it even more prominent. She gasped for breath, and the plump breasts supported by the pink bellyband rose and fell in front of him with her breathing and the waves.
Sensing his gaze, she looked at him and showed a smile. Her skin clearly looked sallow, but at this moment, the only thing left in Xiao Jingcheng's mind was a sentence he had accidentally read in a book before -
The lotus emerging from the water is so charming as if it's about to speak; the peony in the painting is truly the national beauty.
The next moment, he was tightly hugged by the young girl and once again sank into a familiar and fragrant softness...