Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

"I pay my respects to His Majesty the Ninth Prince."

Yao Yishan was pinched on the shoulder by Qi Xiao, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He felt pain and fear.

Yao Yishan had heard about Qi Xiao's rescue of Tang Ling at Lanquan Inn. Two assassins, one dead and one wounded, but Qi Xiao remained unharmed. Initially, Yao Yishan was skeptical. The two assassins were skilled, while Qi Xiao, a mere idle prince, had the skills to defeat two with such ease. Yao Yishan suspected that Tang Ling's shadow guards had accompanied Qi Xiao, giving him an advantage. When word reached the capital, even the emperor took notice. Surely, the emperor shared his concerns; otherwise, why would he have arranged for Qi Xiao to test his skills during a hunting expedition?

Yao Yishan originally planned to follow Qi Xiao to see how good his riding and archery skills were, and then find an opportunity to harass him, but he never expected that Qi Xiao would take the initiative and dare to fight his entire team with bare hands with only two people... and defeated him miserably.

When the scouts shouted "enemy attack," Yao Yishan immediately became alert, already fearing to underestimate Qi Xiao. But when Qi Xiao suddenly pounced on him, he still caught him off guard. Qi Xiao was too fast, as ferocious as a mountain beast, and he barely had time to fight back. Yao Yishan hadn't had time to consider Qi Xiao's status as a prince. He knew in his heart that he had tried his best. In a one-on-one fight, he was no match for Qi Xiao. If the battle dragged on, he might be able to repel Qi Xiao with his numbers, but a crushing defeat was still a crushing defeat, and he conceded.

Qi Xiao slowly loosened his grip, and when he released Yao Yishan, he gently patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Captain Yao's martial arts skills are extraordinary, and I admire him."

"Your Highness the Ninth Prince is making fun of me. I am ashamed." Yao Yishan lowered his head. Although Qi Xiao loosened his hand, his arm was still numb and sore. The arrogance on the training ground just now was completely extinguished without even a spark left.

"Captain Yao, you're too modest." Qi Xiao patted his robe to brush off the dust, then smiled and said, "This is my first time participating in the autumn hunt. I'm unfamiliar with Baiyan Mountain and got lost. Luckily, I met Captain Yao. I hope you can show me the way."

Qi Xiao looked calm, as if the person who had just fought with Yao Yishan was not him at all, and he was just passing by.

"Your Highness, I am honored to lead the way for you. Please." Yao Yishan said respectfully. Zong Sheng and Bai Xiqiao smiled at each other.

Bai Xi Qiao silently calculated the time. At this moment, the hunting had only lasted for an incense stick of time. The next time was enough for them to continue hunting.

Yao Yishan seemed to be someone Qi Xiao met on the way to hunt, and then he decided to go with him so that they could look after each other, and brought Yao Yishan with him. Yao Yishan was following the king's orders, and Qi Xiao did not "make things difficult" for him from the beginning, and let him follow him openly.

Baiyan Mountain is very close to Yuanjing City, and unlike Fenglin Mountain, where there are no ferocious beasts or poisonous creatures, the prey available are mostly pheasants and hares. During the previous two days of hunting, points were calculated based on the size of the prey; the smaller the prey, the harder it was to hunt, and the higher the points.

Qi Xiao, Bai Xiqiao and Zong Sheng had a tacit understanding and specifically looked for small targets, mainly birds, squirrels and voles. Yao Yishan followed them all the way, staring at Qi Xiao and the other two as they drew their bows, released arrows and picked up the prey. Half of the twenty arrows were soon used up, and they were already on their way back.

The forest was very large. Although they met other people, they all acted independently without talking much. Yao Yishan could see clearly that Qi Xiao had great confidence in himself and that he would be able to hunt the remaining prey on the way back. He did not need to go deep into the heart of the forest. He had no interest in what others were hunting. Qi Xiao wanted to hunt the most prey as quickly as possible.

An hour after the hunt began, Qi Xiao returned from the forest with his men. Yao Yishan stood at the entrance of the forest with his men, looking up and sighing. He had nothing in his hands and didn't know how to explain.

"Go hunting on your own."

"grown ups?"

Yao Yishan shook his head, waved his hand, and followed Qi Xiao's men out of the dense forest alone. He had already lost, and he was too embarrassed to participate in the hunt again. With Qi Xiao around, the winner of this year's Baiyan Mountain hunt would not have to think about anyone else, and he wouldn't have to suffer any more.

***

Qi Xiao returned so quickly, taking only half the time. He and his ten guards had hunted small game. From a distance, it looked as if they had hunted everything. Back at the parade grounds, someone counted the prey and reported it to His Majesty: fifty-seven birds, thirty-three field mice, fifteen squirrels, and five muskrats, astonishing everyone present. Aside from the more valuable muskrats, the others combined weighed only a few pounds. Not only had they not missed a single arrow, but their score was undoubtedly the highest.

Tang Ling looked at Qi Xiao with a smile, as if she saw the proud and arrogant Qi Xiao in Fuzhou. Even though she had expected Qi Xiao to win beautifully, Tang Ling still felt happy and couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Qi Xiao noticed Tang Ling's gaze and turned to look at him, with a slight smile on his face.

The emperor was very satisfied with Qi Xiao's performance. He took a deep look at Yao Yishan who had followed him back, and had already made a judgment in his mind.

"Ninth brother, you're quite capable," Fifth Prince Qi Li clapped his hands, stood up, and said with a smile, "I just saw you carrying a cage. What else are you hiding? Why don't you let everyone see it?"

Qi Xiao also laughed: "Fifth brother, you are joking. The one hundred and ten arrows are all there."

Many people saw Qi Xiao walking over with a small bamboo basket on his waist. But Qi Xiao wasn't lying. Eleven people, one hundred and ten arrows, and one hundred and ten prey were all there. Besides, deceiving the emperor was a capital crime. How could Qi Xiao have such courage?

The fifth prince Qi Li was speechless for a moment after being refuted by Qi Xiao's words. Qi Xiao clearly hid something. If the cage was empty, why would he carry it with him?

The fifth prince turned his head to look at the emperor sitting on the high throne, but received no response.

The seventh prince Qi Ting originally wanted to join in, but seeing that His Majesty didn't even look at the fifth prince, it seemed that he was biased towards Qi Xiao. He would not go and provoke His Majesty's displeasure, so he immediately fell silent and drank his tea, pretending that nothing had happened.

The fifth prince felt depressed, but he had no choice but to sit back down.

After a while, the emperor said he was tired of sitting for so long, so he dispersed the banquet and let everyone go and have fun. He ordered Zhang Suian to stay and personally monitor the results of the hunt.

***

"What's in that cage?" The emperor drank tea while Yao Yishan knelt on the ground.

Yao Yishan described his experience in the forest in detail, but His Majesty remained silent. The silence in the golden tent almost broke Yao Yishan's back, but he didn't expect that it would be such a question that broke the silence.

Yao Yishan couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare to relax for a moment. He replied, "Your Majesty, it's a little white snake."

"White snake?"

"Yes... His Highness the Ninth Prince caught it with his bare hands."

"Bare hands? Non-toxic?"

Yao Yishan swallowed his saliva and said, "It's a highly venomous puff-necked snake."

The emperor was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "The white five-poison snake... is indeed a rare creature. No wonder it is hidden and not allowed to be seen by others."

Yao Yishan was drenched in sweat and lowered his head, not daring to speak.

In the forest, Qi Xiao shot down a bird and discovered a bird's nest in a tree. He saw the little white snake crouching on the tree trunk and had moved to the bird's nest, ready to steal the bird's eggs. Qi Xiao almost climbed the tree without thinking, waiting for the opportunity to catch the little white snake.

Yao Yishan had never seen a completely jade-white snake before, and he was surprised. But when it suddenly straightened its neck, forming a fan-shaped flat neck, Yao Yishan was shocked. This little white snake was actually extremely poisonous. This puff-necked snake has many names, including the five-poison snake and the five-step snake, which means it is extremely poisonous. A bite will kill within five steps. I wonder if this little jade-white snake is even more poisonous!

Yao Yishan watched Qi Xiao approaching and wanted to shout at him to stop but he didn't dare to make a sound for fear of scaring the little white snake.

Qi Xiao realized early on that the little snake was poisonous, but he still liked it, so he climbed up the tree and waited. When the little white snake bit the bird's egg, he immediately reached out and pinched the little snake's seven inches, holding it in his hand, shocking Yao Yishan so much that he gasped.

Even now, when Yao Yishan thought of that scene, he couldn't help but sweat. If Qi Xiao was bitten, he would probably be held responsible for failing to protect him properly and would lose his head.

"You did well, go down."

Yao Yishan was overjoyed to hear His Majesty's praise and kowtowed quickly, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave."

"White Snake..." Yao Yishan heard His Majesty mutter this as he walked to the door, but he didn't understand the meaning. Yao Yishan didn't dare to guess what His Majesty was thinking, but he felt that His Majesty liked King Chu Qi Xiao very much. He couldn't explain why, it was just a hunch.