Although the gurgling sound of water was faintly audible from their location, there was still some distance from the stream.
Jiang Suizhou wanted Huo Wujiu to help him to the water’s edge, but Huo Wujiu bent down and pinched his ankle.
Jiang Suizhou gasped in pain, and reflexively ducked back.
Huo Wujiu straightened up and said, “You’ve sprained yourself and can’t walk at this time.”
“But…”
Before Jiang Suizhou could speak, his body lightened, and his feet were already in the air.
Huo Wujiu carried him up in a horizontal embrace.
“Hey!” Jiang Suizhou was startled and subconsciously struggled. However, Huo Wujiu held him steadily, and lifted a leg, setting out toward the water’s edge.
“Stop wriggling about,” Huo Wujiu commanded.
Jiang Suizhou felt his neck burning.
What is this, Huo Wujiu! Although he really couldn’t walk, this action was pretty ambiguous. There was something indescribably strange between them.
This strange feeling made Jiang Suizhou’s heart go pitter-patter.
“Quickly put me down first!” Jiang Suizhou cried anxiously.
Huo Wujiu glanced down at him in some confusion.
Then he noticed that under his black hair, his white and transparent ears were dusted a shade of blush.
Huo Wujiu realized in hindsight that this way of carrying him seemed to be inappropriate.
He did not think much about it just now, and only considered it more convenient. However, now that this man just let him carry him in his embrace, he looked quite well-behaved. It also seemed like he was entirely dependent on him.
Huo Wujiu actually felt reluctant to put him down again.
He maintained his composure, and only moved his eyes, averting his gaze from his ear.
“We’ll be there soon.” He looked calm, and his voice sounded indifferent, as if he hadn’t noticed any abnormality or felt the tension of the man in his arms. “Don’t struggle again, lest you fall.”
His appearance seemed to trick Jiang Suizhou. He replied with a stiff ‘Oh’ and no longer struggled to get down.
It was just that his head lowered deeper, as if to bury himself.
He didn’t realize that Huo Wujiu, who was carrying him, was not as calm as he imagined.
The pair of arms embracing him tightened two points nervously.
Jiang Suizhou was absent, but the Hou Zhu had quite a harvest on this day.
They rode to the hunting ground early in the morning, and by the time the sun descended, the Hou Zhu had hunted several large and small prey.
There were also a lot of military generals on the field. When it came to hunting, it was child’s play for them to capture some beasts. But everyone knew that His Majesty was fond of hunting. His hunting skills were awful, and he dared not chase and kill wolves and tigers.
His Majesty loved his image, so at this turn, they naturally couldn’t steal the limelight from him.
Thus, when the time came to count, only the Hou Zhu hunted the most. Afterward, the Hou Zhu pretended to train several military officials on the field, saying that their martial arts were lacking, and they needed more diligent training.
The crowd naturally responded with a resounding yes. It was plain to see that His Majesty looked like he was admonishing them, but from the look on his face, he was smug.
As expected, after His Majesty finished lecturing them, he waved his hand and asked the imperial guards to take away the animals he had hunted throughout the day and serve them up in dishes in the imperial kitchen. Tonight, the officials would enjoy a big banquet.
There was no mention of Jingwang, who had entered the forest and hadn’t come back yet.
Everyone was beaming and knelt down in succession to thank him.
But at this juncture, clattering horses’ hooves resounded from a distance.
The crowd raised their heads and spotted a tall dark horse carrying an adult man galloping straight toward them.
The man advanced closer until the crowd recognized his face.
He had a square wide dark face, a pair of copper bell-like eyes, tall and stocky. He was wearing official robes, reminding everyone of a ghost from hell. He was horribly ugly.
It was Ji Hongcheng.
The Hou Zhu frowned. The look of joy on his face gave him a feeling that nothing good had happened.
Ji Hongcheng traversed directly toward him, dismounted from his horse, knelt down in front of him, and laughed aloud, “Your Majesty!”
“What’s the matter?” The Hou Zhu couldn’t care less about what good things had happened to him.
Ji Hongcheng replied, “This subject has just hunted a tiger and would like to present it to Your Majesty!”
The Hou Zhu felt a lump in his throat. The instant the ministers heard his declaration, they exchanged glances for a moment, and the joy on their faces froze.
Did this Ji Hongcheng have a one-track mind? How could he accompany the Emperor on a hunting trip and steal the limelight from him?
The Hou Zhu was rendered speechless for a time. He raised his eyes and looked in the direction where he came. He saw several imperial guards riding horses and struggling to drag a humongous, hill-like object towards them.
Ji Hongcheng not only hunted a tiger, but also a sturdy and tall adult fierce tiger.
The Hou Zhu then glanced at his pile of elks and goats scattered around and felt sick of them.
This man surnamed Ji really spoiled the fun.
“This being the case, you, dear subject, is considered the best hunter. I should reward you handsomely.”
Ji Hongcheng exercised no modesty at all and responded loudly, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The Hou Zhu gnashed his teeth, wishing he could kill him.
“In that case, I’ll give you a job.” He sat on his horse and looked down at Ji Hongcheng. His tone was light, but his teeth were clenched.
“Jingwang went to chase a stag in the forest just now, but he hasn’t returned yet. I’m worried about him, so you go and find him back. You’ll be heavily rewarded.”
The Hou Zhu looked up at the sun that was gradually sinking down the mountain and decreed.
An entire day had passed. Looking at the weather, it was time to collect his Fifth Brother’s corpse. Let Ji Hongcheng take over this unlucky task. While he was at it, he would condemn him to death for the crime of failing to protect Jingwang and causing him to die when the time came. He would execute this ignorant fool all together.
