Chapter 104.2 – Departure and Return
It only took 15 minutes, or maybe slightly longer, before the behemoth in front of them finally collapsed with a bang.
The tiger died a terrible death. The originally beautiful fur of the king of beasts was chopped to pieces by everyone, the dark crimson blood staining its yellow and black striped fur. The chopped-up pieces looked pretty gory. Its pair of amber-like bright eyes had been destroyed at one point. After the arrows were retrieved, only two empty bloody holes remained.
Qi Yang took a short glance then looked away. Tiger blood was mixed with human blood, causing a foul smell that would make anyone feel nauseous. She barely suppressed her nausea, comforted everyone with a few words, then instructed them to heal their wounds and stop the bleeding first.
At this moment, the Eldest Grandson also walked over and bowed deeply to Qi Yang and Lu Qipei, saying, “Ah Qi thanks Aunt and Uncle for your help.”
Seeing him run away on his own, Qi Yang had some grudges in her heart. But when she saw him return later on, she realized that maybe the young boy didn’t intend to use them to escape, and just didn’t realize that the fierce tiger chasing him had been left behind. They were also busy running away from the tiger, and didn’t even have the time to look back.
Looking at him again like this, all the previous grudges disappeared, and Qi Yang’s expression softened. She first helped the Eldest Grandson up, then patted the young boy’s tender shoulder and said, “Lending a hand is just the right thing to do. First, you should explain how you got into trouble with this tiger.”
Seeing her expressions, the Eldest Grandson knew that she wasn’t angry that he had run away. He breathed a sigh of relief and replied, “I was hunting in the forest and accidentally bumped into it. I saw a rabbit running into the bushes and shot an arrow into it, but it was the tiger who came out. Maybe I hurt its skin, so it chased us all the way.”
It was clear that the boy still had some lingering fears. He also had a bad luck, and an earlier accident caused most of his attendants to get separated, so he only had around five to six people following him. It would probably enough for a regular hunt, but they unexpectedly encountered this fierce beast.
When they heard this, Qi Yang and Lu Qipei looked at each other with doubts in their eyes – it might have sounded like an accident, but it was a turbulent time right now, and too much coincidence would make people feel uneasy.
While the two were still making eye contact, the Eldest Grandson spoke up again. He stuttered and begged, “Auntie, Uncle, Ah Qi would forever remember today’s incident in my heart, but this matter… can you not make it public?”
Although Qi Yang was surprised by those words, she quickly realized that the Emperor was especially concerned about this Autumn Hunt, and had entrusted the safety of the hunting ground to the most reliable Crown Prince.
But now an incident had happened in the hunting ground. Not only did such a fierce beast like a tiger appear, it also harmed people. If it was really pursued, the Crown Prince would definitely be held responsible, and the Eldest Grandson obviously didn’t want his father to be troubled.
Understanding this, Qi Yang became even more fond of the Eldest Grandson. But she and Lu Qipei looked at each other and mercilessly refused. Lu Qipei explained in her stead, “Although the tiger is dead, it has injured so many people, it’s impossible to hide it. Besides, such a beast has already appeared in the hunting ground, who could say if there aren’t any others? If we hid it and then someone else was hurt, wouldn’t it be harder to explain?”
The Eldest Grandson was speechless when he heard this, and he lowered his head in frustration. The small crown on his head was still tilted, and he looked really downcast.
Qi Yang reached out to straighten his small crown for him, then straightened his clothes, “This is not your fault, so what are you feeling down for? Besides, if it’s really because of Royal Brother’s negligence, I believe he won’t shirk the responsibility.”
The Eldest Grandson blinked his eyes, looking at Qi Yang with a gaze that was slightly more intimate compared to his usually reserved and polite demeanor, but he was still somewhat unhappy. He raised his hand and saluted the two of them again, saying, “Thank you Aunt and Uncle for your guidance. I understand.”
By the time the three of them finished talking, the injured attendants on the other side had also finished temporarily dealing with their injuries. Someone approached and asked, “Your Highness, the bloody aura here is very strong. We don’t know what kind of danger is nearby, so it’s really not suitable for us to stay here for a long time.”
Qi Yang nodded and waved her hand, saying, “Take the tiger with you, and let’s return to camp.”
No one had any objections. In fact, although meeting a tiger was dangerous, it was also a great achievement to capture such a prey during the Autumn Hunt. It’s a pity that they had chopped off the tiger’s skin, otherwise bringing it back would invite even more envy.
Even in death, the tiger was still intimidating. The attendants tied the tiger to the back of the strongest horse, and it was so frightened that its legs felt a bit weak.
Qi Yang couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched the horse carry the tiger, trembling as it moved forward. She relaxed and turned to Lu Qipei, blinking as she said, “This time, Nanping is really going to be speechless.”
Author notes:
Eldest Grandson (silently): Aunt, actually, you just wanted to bring this tiger back to slap Aunt Nanping’s face, right?
Qi Yang (touching his head): Be a good boy, don’t say anything if you’ve seen through it.
