Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 318 - 316

Chapter 318: Chapter 316

The sound of horns echoed out at the break of dawn.

Without delay, everyone rode into the forest on horseback.

Shangguan Xuanyi quickly joined Shen Xiao’er, both of them riding side by side.

"Brother Shangguan, follow me. Fortune has smiled upon me, and I can lead you to a place teeming with game - We’ll definitely nab first place!"

"Alright." Shangguan Xuanyi agreed, nodding his head.

Although Bai Tian and Tian Bai were still hatching baby swans, there were many shrimp soldiers and crab generals in the space that, after being reared for so long, had gained a bit of aura. They could be let out to scout the surroundings and guide the way, as such an easy task was well within their grasp.

The horses charged into the forest scaring the wild rabbits hiding in the bushes, who then hopped away towards their burrows.

As Shangguan Xuanyi galloped along, he shot arrows with deadly accuracy.

Two bodyguards that trailed behind them were tasked with picking up the game they had killed.

Seeing Shangguan Xuanyi’s archery skills, they weren’t surprised.

However, witnessing Xiao’er’s skills, they were so taken aback that their jaws nearly dislodged!

Xiao’er found archery troublesome, so for small game like rabbits, she mostly used stones and darts. She had a knack for hitting the target with every throw!

It was the bodyguards’ first time picking up game. Even though they knew hunting was no easy task, they thought that since this was a royal hunting ground, perhaps the animals here were so overfed that they made easy targets. They couldn’t imagine any other reason for the Mistress of Rui’an County to hit the prey so effortlessly.

So when they found more and more game, they went from initial shock to gradually becoming composed, and eventually, they considered every hit as only to be expected!

The pair ventured deeper into the forest.

Li Yunning followed closely behind them, watching their joyful exchanges along the way, her gaze as poisonous as venom.

She had known from a young age that Shangguan Xuanyi was skilled, and he had achieved the acme of perfection in the past two years!

She had never expected that Shen Xiao’er’s hunting prowess would be on par with Shangguan Xuanyi’s, and their harmony in action and conversation was impeccable.

Admittedly, seeing the confident, beautiful, efficient, and heroic Mistress of Rui’an County was quite enticing. At this moment, she was like an elf in the forest, one could hardly move their eyes away from her.

But, the more outstanding Shen Xiao’er was, the more she loathed her!

It was all because of her that everything had changed! She was supposed to be the wife of the Sixth Prince! She stole everything that should have been hers! Because of her, she was now forced to marry a worthless man!

Thinking of Chen Jin, and his touch, Li Yunning felt nausea from the core of her being.

Watching them move towards the direction she hoped for, she decided to change her route, no longer trailing behind them.

This was for the best. She would not have to devise a plan to lead them there. They were heading in the right direction anyway.

Nobody would suspect her after the event unfolded.

Li Yunning had been following them all along, a fact that Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi were aware of, but they did not pay any heed.

Upon noticing that Li Yunning was not tailing them anymore, Xiao’er was somewhat puzzled and glanced back.

"Why isn’t she following us anymore?"

"We will go to the other side." Shangguan Xuanyi replied, changing the subject.

Xiao’er nodded her head in agreement.

They had only walked a short distance when they encountered the wife of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister’s wife was looking for Li Yunning. Upon seeing them, she asked, "Has the Sixth Prince seen Ning’er?"

Shangguan Xuanyi pointed in a direction: "We saw her over there just now."

After thanking them, the Prime Minister’s wife rode away on her horse to search for her daughter.

With Chen Jin marrying into the Li family and her daughter’s unpredictable moods after marriage, she was worried that her daughter might do something irrational.

Shangguan Xuanyi pointed towards the direction they had planned to go to earlier, even though Li Yunning had clearly headed in a different direction.

Xiao’er glanced at Shangguan Xuanyi, "Does Brother Shangguan suspect that Li Yunning has set a trap in that direction to harm us?"

"We don’t know yet, but we will soon. Caution is the parent of safety."

Before long, a distress signal was launched into the sky from the direction Shangguan Xuanyi was pointing.

Shangguan Xuanyi looked up at the sky. As he realized that the color of the distress smoke was bright yellow, his usual expressionless face grew stern: "The Emperor is in danger!"

At hearing this, Xiao’er’s face also turned pale.

Usually, the emperor would always have personal guards around him, not to mention numerous hidden guards. Yet a distress signal was sent out, indicating a situation of extreme danger.

The two of them hurriedly turned and ran towards the source of the signal.

Snakes, so many snakes, all sorts of poisonous snakes, more and more snakes were crawling towards the direction of the Emperor.

There were so many snakes, it resembled a global snake gathering for a family conference.

Espionage agents and hidden guards surrounded the Emperor to protect him. With a desperate persistence, they hacked at the countless snakes on the ground!

Even when bisected, the snakes could still wriggle about, the sight of which was enough to give anyone goosebumps!

The wife of the Chancellor came up this way, but upon seeing the disorderly mass of snakes on the ground, she let out a shrill scream and fainted, tumbling off her horse.

Her horse, overwhelmed with panic, bolted off.

Some snakes proceeded to crawl over the unconscious Chancellor’s wife, forging ahead unperturbed.

Xiao’er and the others, upon arriving, were also stupefied by this spectacle.

"Why are there so many poisonous snakes?" The hair on the back of Xiao’er’s neck stood on end. She was genuinely afraid of snakes.

Shangguan Xuanyi heard her fear and said, "Girl, leave this place quickly!"

In response, Xiao’er swallowed and said, "No, no need! It’s a good opportunity to exercise my courage!"

"Listen to me, you should go and find some people to bring sulfur over!"

He was afraid that he wouldn’t have the time to look after her and that she would end up bitten by a snake.

Although Xiao’er initially refused, a voice rang out in her mind: "Master, let me handle these little darlings!"

Calling snakes ’little darlings’? How nauseating!

Wait, the golden python?! Great, the golden python has finally woken up.

As Xiao’er realized that the golden python was awake, she complied with Shangguan Xuanyi’s instructions and left on horseback.

She then found a suitable spot to let the golden python out.

The golden python quickly grew from a small golden snake and moved rapidly towards the cluster of snakes while hissing and flicking its tongue out. It seemed rather excited.

Xiao’er quickly caught up on her horse.

Some of the snakes, who encountered the golden python halfway, took a fright and turned tail.

The emergence of the golden python had an effect like seeing a ghost; the snakes dispersed in all directions as if they wished they had legs to run faster!

Even the bodyguards and hidden guards were so frightened at the sight of the python, which was thicker than their own thighs, that they nearly lost their nerve to fight.

But its appearance scattered the horde of snakes that were causing them great distress.

If all those writhing snakes were enough to make their skin crawl, then the huge golden snake in front of them was making their legs turn to jelly.

Is this a snake spirit? How can their martial arts skills cope with it?

Shangguan Xuanyi frowned at the sight of the golden python. It couldn’t possibly be attracting all these snakes, could it?

That couldn’t be, those snakes were clearly terrified of it. As soon as it arrived, they scattered in fear.

Having scared off all the snakes, the golden python was satisfied.

It then turned to give Shangguan Xuanyi a meaningful glance before heading back.

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