Wen Zilong urged his horse forward with his retinue, directly crossing the protection circle of the hunting ground and entering the dense forest in the northwest corner.
Although it was still on the shallower part of Mulan Mountain, the jungle rose abruptly. The tree canopies were stacked like a sea of clouds, and the sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
As soon as Wen Zilong entered the dense forest, he ordered his men to scatter and search everywhere for the Nine - Colored Deer.
Han Fen, Ning Shi and others were herding the deer around. Ning Shi asked, "Brother Han, shouldn't we release the deer so that they can find it?"
Han Fen lowered his voice and said, "What's the rush? You guys lead his retinue farther away first. Only when he gets into trouble and there's no one to rescue him can our plan succeed."
Moreover, if the Nine - Colored Deer was so easily encountered, wouldn't Wen Zilong be suspicious?
Hearing this, Ning Shi immediately called a few people and released all the pre - prepared sika deer, red deer and other kinds of deer.
For a moment, the shouts in the dense forest in the northwest corner kept rising and falling.
"Lord Wen! There's movement over there!"
"My lord! There's a deer in front!"
"My lord! There's one here too!"
...
Amidst the continuous calls, Wen Zilong lost himself. He was exhausted from running around and gradually got separated from his retinue. He spurred his horse deeper into the forest.
After running around in the dense forest for two hours, Wen Zilong, the Minister of War who was originally a scholar, was so dizzy and exhausted that he felt as if his buttocks had been jolted into four pieces while riding on the horse.
He stopped again to drink some water, but he had gotten separated from his retinue and the water in his leather flask had already run out.
Just as he was extremely thirsty, he suddenly saw a small stream in front of him. The water was gurgling. He was overjoyed.
He quickly dismounted and staggered towards the stream.
Just as he scooped up a mouthful of water with his hands, he heard the bleating sound of a deer in front of him.
Wen Zilong looked up and saw a divine deer with colorful fur standing not far away on the other side of the stream, also drinking water.
Its fur was glowing, its antlers were as white as snow, and its posture was elegant.
Wen Zilong rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was too tired, but he actually felt that there seemed to be a layer of glorious holy light behind the deer, illuminating his future.
Wasn't this the Nine - Colored Deer he had been searching for so long?
Wen Zilong held his breath and murmured, "Divine deer, divine deer..."
He didn't expect that he would be so lucky to encounter the Nine - Colored Deer on the first day of the hunting.
He was extremely excited.
It seemed that God had eyes and couldn't bear to see his future blocked, so the auspicious deer had descended from the sky.
After the deer finished drinking water, it sensed a fierce gaze on itself and sharply raised its head.
It was just in time to see Wen Zilong looking at it fiercely.
The deer that had been chased for several hours was no longer looking cute and stupid. When it saw a human, it immediately became vigilant and ran away.
Wen Zilong was extremely anxious.
He hadn't even thought of a way to get closer, and the deer had already run away!
He didn't even have time to mount his horse. He grabbed his bow and arrow and chased after it on foot.
While chasing, he drew his bow and shot an arrow, shouting, "Where do you think you're going!"
The deer was also very agile. Hearing the sound of the arrow behind it, it dodged left and right and kept fleeing deeper into the forest.
Wen Zilong chased relentlessly and finally reached the trap area set by Han Fen and others.
At this time, the Nine - Colored Deer had run into the dead end set by Han Fen in front and had no choice but to stop, looking at Wen Zilong in the distance.
Its pair of eyes were innocent and round.
Wen Zilong was holding his bow, out of breath from exhaustion. He grinned ferociously at the deer and said, "Run! Why don't you run anymore?"
"You're doomed to be my prey, the ladder for me to get promoted and make a fortune! Haha!"
There was a trap right in front of his feet. Han Fen, who was hiding in the dark, frowned and felt anxious.
Couldn't this guy take a couple more steps forward?
However, Xiao Rencheng, who had been following Wen Zilong all along, couldn't bear it anymore. He flashed out and kicked Wen Zilong hard on the butt!
"Ah!"
A shrill scream came from Wen Zilong's mouth, and he flew forward!
Xiao Rencheng had calculated the strength precisely. Wen Zilong fell right into the trap without any deviation.
Immediately afterwards, another scream came from the trap.
Xiao Rencheng stood there, retracted his foot and calmly dusted the dirt off his black boots...
The mission was accomplished.
Meanwhile, Cai Yu, Song Yongzhen and Song Boming and their group didn't go far while hunting. They just stayed in the hunting ground, hunting small animals like hares to kill time.
However, Song Yongzhen and Song Boming were both adventurous. They had only stayed in the hunting ground to take care of Cai Yu. After hunting for a while, they felt bored.
So they found a place to rest.
At this time, Lü Baiwei also rode by on her horse.
There were also a few hares hanging beside her. Seeing Cai Yu and the others resting there, she came over and greeted Song Boming and the others.
"Your Highness, the Prince of Qi, Your Highness, the Prince of Zhou."
Song Boming had always had a bad attitude towards this thick - skinned Lady Lü, who used to pester Song Yinghuai and then schemed to marry the Crown Prince. He just snorted and turned his head away.
Song Yongzhen was younger and didn't remember the past clearly. He still replied amiably, "Sister - in - law."
As a maid, Cai Yu still got up and saluted Lü Baiwei.
As soon as Lü Baiwei saw Cai Yu, she remembered that this maid had pretended to be a ghost and scared her fainting yesterday, and then kicked her off the soft couch. A feeling of hatred welled up in her heart.
Her eyes flashed, and a sinister idea came to her mind.
She curled her lips and said with a smile, "Why are you two Highnesses hunting small animals here? This is a place for us women."
Men usually go deeper into the mountains to hunt antelopes, red deer and even fierce animals like wild boars when hunting.
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming secretly glanced at Cai Yu.
They did want to go deeper to hunt some fierce animals, but with Cai Yu around, and not knowing that she had some skills, they naturally treated her as an ordinary young lady and only dared to hunt rabbits, pheasants and sparrows here.
Song Boming said, "Hunting is just for fun. It doesn't matter what we hunt."
"Really?" Lü Baiwei showed an approving smile on her face and nodded, "Your Highness, the Prince of Zhou, you're right. But it seems that you're a bit bored... Why don't you go hunting for the Nine - Colored Deer?"
She had heard the Crown Prince and Wen Zilong talking about this on the Crown Prince's carriage.
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming looked at her blankly.
A strange smile flashed in Lü Baiwei's eyes.
It seemed that these two knew nothing about the Nine - Colored Deer.
"I heard that there's a Nine - Colored Deer in the Mulan Mountain area. It is said that when it appears, it dances gracefully in the colorful auspicious clouds, stepping on lotus flowers. It symbolizes good weather and the prosperity of the family... Mother is not in good health recently. Don't you two Highnesses want to hunt the Nine - Colored Deer for Mother to show your filial piety?"
Lü Baiwei said slowly, "The Crown Prince has already gone to look for the Nine - Colored Deer..."
Song Yongzhen's eyes lit up, "Is there really such a thing? I've only seen the Nine - Colored Deer in the murals in Dunhuang, but I've never seen it in the mountains. Is there really a Nine - Colored Deer in the world?"
Song Boming was also amazed, "I heard that the Nine - Colored Deer can protect people's health. If a seriously ill person sees the Nine - Colored Deer, their lifespan can even be extended... Mother really needs it!"
Only Cai Yu looked at her warily and said, "If so, why don't you go hunting, Lady Lü? The Queen is your mother - in - law!"
Lü Baiwei showed an embarrassed smile on her face, "That deer is said to appear outside the hunting ground. I'm just a woman. The Crown Prince didn't assign anyone to me. How dare I go outside the hunting ground..."
Afraid that Cai Yu wouldn't believe her, she continued, "I originally wanted to ask Xuan Yao to go with me, but who knew that he had disappeared long ago. I heard that he went out of the hunting ground with the Princess of Nan'an. I guess he also wants to hunt the Nine - Colored Deer and compete with the Crown Prince - for the throne."
The world.
Lü Baiwei's words served two purposes. She not only implied that since Song Yinghuai had gone, the news couldn't be false, but also revealed the information that Xu Buyue was with him, deliberately annoying Cai Yu.
Sure enough, upon hearing the news that Song Yinghuai was hunting with Xu Buyue, Cai Yu's little face darkened and she stopped talking.
Song Yongzhen was already eager to try and asked, "Sister - in - law, do you know where that deer appears?"
Lü Baiwei pointed towards the northeast of the hunting ground, towards the belly of Mulan Mountain, and said, "Over there, in the deep mountains."
The direction she pointed was exactly where the giant python appeared.
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming were eager to try. They mounted their horses and shouted that they were going to hunt the Nine - Colored Deer.
Although Cai Yu thought Lü Baiwei's kind advice was very strange, she really hadn't seen Song Yinghuai and Song Chengyuan in the hunting ground. She thought that they must have really gone out of the hunting ground.
Her curiosity about the Nine - Colored Deer and her jealousy towards Xu Buyue made her remount her horse and set off into the deep mountains with Song Yongzhen and the others.
Lü Baiwei stayed there and watched the backs of the three people going away. Finally, she showed a successful smile.
"Slut! Let's see if you can escape the giant python's gaping maw!"