Steadying herself, Mei Lin awkwardly walked towards the thicket. She parted the brush to reveal a gray hare lying on its side, an arrow embedded in its belly, already lifeless. Supporting her aching waist, she slowly squatted down, reached out to grab the hare by its ears, and lifted it up, turning to look at Murong Jing He.
The man sat tall on his horse, his back to the rising sun, making it difficult to discern the usual frivolity on his face. In the morning light, his figure seemed imposing, even intimidating.
She had thought she was dealing with someone useless and harmless, but now it appeared that she was facing someone far more ruthless than she had anticipated. Mei Lin frowned slightly, troubled by her earlier misjudgment.
"What are you thinking about?" Murong Jing He asked as he noticed her squatting there without getting up. He pulled on the reins, guiding his horse to slowly approach her.
As he came closer, Mei Lin felt a sudden, inexplicable panic and quickly stood up, forcing a smile. "I was just thinking about how accurate your archery is, my lord."
"If you’re going to shoot, you should hit the target with a single arrow. Otherwise, once the prey is alerted, catching it becomes much more troublesome," Murong Jing He replied slowly, his voice carrying a subtle chill that sent a shiver down her spine.
Mei Lin felt a wave of unease, sensing that his words held a deeper meaning.
Before she could dwell on it, Murong Jing He bent down and lifted her back onto the horse, guiding it at a leisurely pace further into the untouched depths of the dense forest. Occasionally, a pheasant or deer would dart across their path, but he made no move to shoot, leaving Mei Lin puzzled.
"Aren’t you going to hunt something, my lord?" she asked. From the previous night’s reward of beauties, it was clear that the amount of game caught was a reflection of one’s prowess, directly tied to personal honor.
To her surprise, Murong Jing He patted the hare dangling from the horse’s saddle and laughed. "Isn’t this something?"
Mei Lin was momentarily speechless. Then, after a pause, he added, "What fun is there in killing small, defenseless creatures that serve no real purpose..."
As they were speaking, a flash of fiery red suddenly streaked through the rocky and barren area not far ahead, cutting him off mid-sentence. He quickly raised his crossbow and fired. However, an arrow shot from the side abruptly deflected his bolt. With this interference, the red figure disappeared into the forest.
Muyi Luo Mei, riding her exceptionally tall black horse, appeared beneath a tree to their left, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Murong Jing He. "Murong Jing He, how about a competition?" she said coolly, the challenge obvious—both knew it was to hunt the elusive red creature that had just vanished.
Mei Lin wasn’t sure how Luo Mei had managed to get behind them. But when she noticed that Luo Mei had called Murong Jing He by his full name, she immediately realized that Luo Mei might not actually dislike him as much as she appeared to. It was even possible that there was a deeper relationship between them that others couldn’t fathom. Of course, this was all speculation. What wasn’t speculative was the clear joy in Murong Jing He’s demeanor when she appeared.
"If you’re interested, Luo Mei, I’m happy to accompany you," he responded with a smile, holding the crossbow in one hand and Mei Lin’s waist in the other as he prepared to ride towards where the red figure had disappeared. But Muyi Luo Mei blocked their path with her horse.
"Bringing her along..." She pointed at Mei Lin with her small, rounded chin and said proudly, "Even if I win, it wouldn’t be a fair victory."
Mei Lin’s heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, she heard Murong Jing He laugh. In the next moment, she was gently placed on the ground.
"Wait here for me," he said as he leaned down to meet her startled eyes, his tone gentle, though his attention was clearly elsewhere. Before he even finished speaking, he had already straightened up, pulled the reins, and disappeared into the forest with Luo Mei, one after the other.
Mei Lin stood amidst the barren rocks, a gust of wind blowing through the gaps in the trees, sending a chill through her body that made her shiver involuntarily.
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