sirius

The next day, the weather was still fine, with clear skies and a slight autumn breeze.

Autumn hunting in Baiyan Mountain officially started.

The hunting rules for the first and second days are very simple, one person shoots twenty arrows, within two hours, the more prey you shoot, the more you win.

During these two days, all the people involved in the hunt, including the princes, envoys of the Zhou Kingdom, royal family members, descendants of the family, and the military will be divided into four groups, and the points will be calculated based on the hunted prey. Half of them will be eliminated, and the winner will be the winner. If you are eligible to participate in the "Lucky Headhunting" afterwards.

According to the usual practice, the group will be determined by drawing lots.

Qi Xiao stretched out his hand and took out a lottery, his brows could not help but frown, and after a while he returned to his natural state, he turned around and handed the lottery to the internal officer beside him, who then handed it over to Zhang Suian.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Ninth Prince has drawn the first group."

The emperor glanced at Qi Xiao, nodded slightly, without much expression.

First group.

Qi Xiao was still thinking about whether to hide his sharpness and see how much the fifth and seventh brothers can hunt, he just made up a similar number.

But the first group doesn't matter, just play it by ear.

Just as Qi Xiao was thinking about it, he suddenly heard someone coming forward and chattering nonsense: "Your Majesty, I heard that His Highness the Ninth Highness happened to rescue Mr. Tang that day while hunting in Hukou Gorge, so His Highness Ninth Highness must be very good at riding and shooting.

In the end, the general would like to ask His Majesty for an order to be in the same group as His Highness the Ninth Prince. "

Qi Xiao had met the person who spoke, but Qi Xiao didn't remember the name of the school lieutenant next to Song Li, the general of Wudu Mansion.

The school lieutenant of the Wudu Mansion is not as high as Su Qin in terms of official position, but the Wudu Mansion is under the emperor's feet and directly under the cabinet. He can be regarded as the emperor's close minister, so he dares to stand up on this occasion and beg His Majesty's favor.

But if he dared to act on his own before Song Li said anything, someone must be interested, otherwise, even if His Majesty spared him the crime of disrespect, Song Li would not allow him to look like an army commander.

Qi Xiao looked at the aloof His Majesty, only waiting for the emperor to speak.

"allow."

Ha ha.

As expected, what this person did was His Majesty's intention, to try his skills in hunting.

"The final general will thank His Majesty."

The man got up, walked towards Qi Xiao, clasped his fists and cupped his hands, "The last general, Yao Yishan, see His Highness Ninth Highness, His Highness Qiansui."

"Lieutenant Yao, no courtesy."

Qi Xiao responded with a smile, turning a blind eye to the hostility in Yao Yishan's eyes.

Qi Xiao knew in his heart that he couldn't escape, and His Majesty already knew about the incident on the way back to Beijing, so it was not surprising that he wanted to test his skills.

Yao Yishan can still handle it.

The lottery continued, and the old enemies, the fifth and the seventh, were not drawn into the same group, which made everyone feel relieved, but the envoy Zhou Guo and Su Qin were drawn into the second group, and they will compete in the afternoon.

After grouping, there was a fragrant time, and each selected horses from the stables.

Everyone was very active, but Qi Xiao walked towards the stables unhurriedly, as if he didn't care much about whether he could get a good horse.

The emperor tilted his head slightly, and told Zhang Suian: "Go, call His Highness Ninth Prince back."

"Yes."

Zhang Suian trotted to chase Qi Xiao, but luckily Qi Xiao walked slowly so that he wouldn't torment Zhang Suian's old bone too much.

"Your Highness, please slow down, His Majesty has summoned you."

Qi Xiao turned his head and gave Bai Xiqiao a look, asking him to choose for him.

Then he followed Zhang Suian and turned back.

"Eunuch Zhang, what is your father's order?"

"This old slave doesn't know, His Highness will know after seeing His Majesty in a while."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Qi Xiao went back and forth, and was summoned by the emperor, "Come closer."

Qi Xiao had no choice but to walk up to the high platform.

The emperor raised his hand again and beckoned: "Come forward."

Only then did Qi Xiao move to the emperor's side.

He could feel a lot of eyes cast on him, and the ones staring at him as if they wanted to poke a few holes were probably the fifth and the seventh, and those who were suspicious, puzzled and prying should belong to the military and Clan sons.

Qi Xiao sneered in his heart, if in the past, when he was young, his father would have looked at him more and had such a moment-to-moment closeness, neither he nor his mother would be in the situation they are in today.

His father never saw him as a son, never hadn't, and still doesn't.

He is just a pawn, used to stir up the situation.

The emperor deliberately wanted to break the balance between the two factions of Qin and Gongsun.

"It's the first time to participate in the hunt, can you be sure to win?"

"Lieutenant Yao is a fierce general of Da Chen, and my son dare not trust him."

"Haha, okay, if you win, I will fulfill your request."

The emperor had a rare and amiable smile on his face, not only Qi Xiao had never seen it before, even the sons of the fifth and seventh princes who were by the emperor's side all the year round were rarely seen, and they were even more surprised and uneasy.

Qi Xiao was right in front of him, the smile he saw was not only unfriendly, but also had a cold light in his eyes like sharp knives, he lowered his head and frowned slightly.

The emperor beckoned again, asking Qi Xiao to get closer, and said in a low voice: "There is a mysterious camp in the forest, if you play tricks, you will be guilty of deceiving the emperor."

Qi Xiao raised his eyes for a moment, then restrained himself immediately, and nodded slightly: "I dare not."

"Go."

Qi Xiao stepped down from the high platform, his face was as usual, but his steps seemed to be heavy, and he no longer had a trace of leisure.

Looking at him like this, Tang Ling could clearly see the gloomy look on his face, and she already had some speculations in her heart. For Qi Xiao, this would be an opportunity, but why didn't he see a trace of joy?He really doesn't care?That supreme right.

Qi Xiao didn't expect that the emperor not only wanted to test him, but also threatened and lured him. Not only was there no room for it, but it was also quite straightforward.

is it necessary?

It's not difficult for Qi Xiao to lose or win, he sighed, but having no choice makes him very uncomfortable.

What made Qi Xiao even more concerned was that if Xuanji Ying was hiding in the forest, Baixiqiao would have to be more careful when he went to find Lu Xiulin, and he had to find out first today.

Fortunately, Lu Xiulin was drawn to the fourth group. It should not be difficult for him to pass this round of competition with his ability, and there will always be opportunities in the future.

The golden gong sounded, and the hunt officially began. The crowd whipped their horses and rushed into the forest. The momentum was as great as a vanguard rushing into battle, brave and unstoppable.

The birds and beasts in the forest startled up, it was a matter of life and death for them, they instinctively hid and ran away, so it was not chaotic.

***

There are ten people around Qi Xiao, including Zong Sheng and Bai Xiqiao. After entering the forest, Qi Xiao immediately reined in and gathered them all around him, and said: "You have been with me for a long time. I don't need to say more, you must Win, I only give you one hour to return here with your prey."

"As ordered."

As soon as Qi Xiao waved his hand, a group of people dispersed quickly, riding their horses at a much faster speed than before entering the forest.

Zong Sheng and Baixi Bridge didn't move.

"You two go too."

"We follow you."

Bai Xiqiao refused straight away, but he never regarded himself as Qi Xiao's bodyguard, and he had to obey Qi Xiao's orders.

Without waiting for Qi Xiao to say anything, Zong Sheng also shook his head: "Master, Yao Yishan is not easy to deal with."

Zong Sheng entered Wudu Mansion since he was a child, and knows the power of Wudu Mansion best. He can sit in the position of captain, and Yao Yishan's martial arts are by no means inferior to himself and Baixiqiao.

"I am the prince, Yao Yishan dares to kill me?"

"No."

Qi Xiao chuckled: "Okay, since that's the case, let's go together."

Only then did Baixiqiao show a smiling face, and drew his bow: "Let's go."

"Hey, wait a minute, I don't need a bow for now."

Bai Xiqiao looked puzzled, but he didn't bother to ask any more, so he put away his bow and arrow, and just followed Qi Xiao.

"Zong Sheng, can you catch up with Yao Yishan?"

Zong Sheng has been in Wudu Mansion for several years, and he must learn tracking skills. Apart from hawks and hounds, Zong Sheng is the best one to use in this forest.

"Grandpa?"

"What about you?"

"can."

"Let's go then."

Bai Xiqiao still couldn't bear it, and asked, "It's too late to hide from Yao Yishan, why chase after him?"

"Fight."

Qi Xiao twitched the corners of his mouth and smiled badly, "Let's go, he must be lying down somewhere, waiting for us."

Baixiqiao and Zong Sheng looked at each other, and couldn't help but also laughed. Ever since they left Yongcheng, they seemed to have been aggrieved, uncomfortable and cautious.

When Qi Xiao suddenly returned to his previous arrogant appearance, he was excited when talking about fighting.

The three of them left their horses where they were, and went deep into the forest on foot. It was not only not difficult but also extremely easy to chase Yao Yishan.

Because Yao Yishan has been sending people to watch Qi Xiao, and he is not far away.

Qi Xiao and the others rushed to Yao Yishan, they didn't focus on hunting at all, but focused on searching for the people hiding in the dense forest.

Qi Xiao is like a wild wolf, with a keen sense of smell, he will never miss any prey.

The sentry from Wudu Mansion never expected that Qi Xiao would abandon his horse, and came up to him without a sound, and even smiled at him.

The man jumped up in shock, and was strangled by Zong Sheng in an instant.

Baixiqiao looked at the whistle and couldn't help shaking his head.

Qi Xiao smiled, waved his hand and said, "Zong Sheng, let him go."

Zong Sheng let go of his hand, but Sentry Tan didn't dare to move a step, and looked at Qi Xiao in shock and horror.

"Go, find your captain.

I'll be right here waiting for him. "

The sentinel was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned around and ran away.

Qi Xiao winked at Baixiqiao and Zong Sheng, and the three of them had a tacit understanding, performed lightness kung fu, and chased the sentry to Yao Yishan.

Sentry was hesitant, what does Qi Xiao mean by letting him go?Make an appointment with Captain Yao?Will you come after him?Use him as bait?After thinking about it, Sentry still ran with all his strength in the direction where Yao Yishan was.

Yao Yishan's order was to find out where Qi Xiao was, and report back at any time. Since Yao Yishan was also waiting for Qi Xiao, then luring him over was just a way to lure the enemy.

But what Shao Tan and Yao Yishan didn't expect was that if Qi Xiao had the courage to use his tricks, he would be able to catch them by surprise.

Just now a large group of people entered the forest to startle the birds and beasts, but now everyone else is busy hunting, the beasts roar and the birds sing one after another, but the direction of the sentinels is silent, which is a warning of danger.

Qi Xiao and the others jumped onto the tree, looking down from a height, and followed the sentinel through the dense forest like an ape. They were so fast that they even passed the sentinel and came in front of him. Spotted the other two.

The two noticed the movement in the forest, and they couldn't help frowning when they saw the sentry running in the grass, and raised their bows and arrows vigilantly.

"Enemy attack!" Sentinel suddenly opened his throat and shouted.

Qi Xiao smiled instead of being surprised, and made a gesture, Zong Sheng and Bai Xiqiao were even faster, and rushed towards the two people on the tree with lightning speed.

The arrow was shot, but the people were already in front of them. The two people from Wudu Mansion were kicked off the tree by Zong Sheng and Bai Xiqiao before they even had a chance to resist.

Suddenly, Yao Yishan lived in hiding, so he immediately ordered to meet the enemy.

Since he dared to stand up, he couldn't blame Qi Xiao for being rude.

Qi Xiao hid in the forest, waiting for the people from Wudu Mansion to split the two sides to get Baixi Bridge and Zong Sheng, then he went straight to Yao Yishan.

Qi Xiao's lightness kung fu, martial arts, and fighting skills were all practiced in Fenglin Mountain. Fenglin Mountain has rugged and dangerous terrain, dense forests, many snakes and beasts, and there is an opponent like Baixiqiao who can fight and carry.

Yao Yishan may be able to form troops and have good skills, but when it comes to fighting in the deep mountains and old forests, he is no match for Qi Xiao.

Hunting in Baiyan Mountain, everyone can only carry bows and arrows with them.

Yao Yishan didn't have a single weapon in his hand, and only after confronting Qi Xiao with his bare hands did he realize that the prince's strikes were not in the usual way at all, he was both tricky and vicious, his punches were fast and fierce, and he couldn't dodge it at all Can bear it hard.

Qi Xiao understands that with Yao Yishan's martial arts, once he is allowed to stand firm and finds a flaw, Yao Yishan has a chance to fight back, not to mention that they have fewer enemies and more enemies, and they are caught by surprise. He would not give Yao Yishan any gaps, he made a feint to force Yao Yishan to dodge sideways, Qi Xiao immediately withdrew his arm, elbowed Yao Yishan's waist and eyes, Yao Yishan staggered, Qi Xiao seized the opportunity to pinch Yao Yishan's shoulder to control him.

"Lieutenant Yao, we met again so soon."