Hunting grounds

Yichang informed to Yan and yizhen, " there is a spring hunt held after two days. Do you want to come?" Yan said, "Yichang..I am sorry... I can't come as I am busy managing both the inns."

Yizhen said with an ardent expression, " I will come brother I need a real time experience." For the next two days, she practiced archery by riding on dark night. She trained the dark night to respond to her whistle.

On the day of the hunt, she dressed in black color men's attire. Yizhen patted on dark knight's head and said with her lips curved up, " let's go hunt." When yichang came out, she asked in an anxious voice, " in which place hunting takes place?" Yichang said, " in zijin mountain." They both pulled the rein and rides their horses.

At zijin mountain campsite, yuxuan and ruan knelt down. Yuxuan said, "Father, everything is organized well." Emperor said, "You both have always done your job well."

After an incense burning of time Yichang and yizhen reached to the hunting grounds. Once the hunting time has started all of them gathered. A palace guard informed to those who came to participate in the hunting.

There are several types of arrows. Different kinds of arrows are allotted to each family. Yuxuan turned his gaze towards yizhen. Yizhen smiled warmly at him. She took her arrows and bow along with yichang.

Yizhen said in an assuring tone, "brother I will meet you here." Yichang gave her sword and told her in a concerned tone, " Be careful, there are a lot of wild animals in this mountain." She nodded her head and left.

As she entered, she saw a few golden clouds surrounding the mountain. This mountain is bit rocky with steep sloping sides. After a couple of minutes, she entered into a thick forest region covered with thick fog.

She glanced around her surroundings covered with pine, oak and eucalyptus trees. She heard nearby birds flying suddenly. She has an alert expression on her face and said, " something is not right."

She climbed on a tree branch and saw at a distance a fat leopard moving towards her direction. She shoots an arrow towards leopard but the leopard moved away before it got struck. Yizhen shouted " dark knight run."

Then she thought I need to fight with a sword. She unsheathed her sword stride towards the leopard, and it escaped from yizhen's strike. This leopard is able to escape from my moves. The leopard made an attack on her hand with its claws.

She saw a small cut on her wrist. She again strides towards it and the leopard jumped towards yizhen and she immediately bent down and pierced the sword into its stomach while moving forward. When she turned her gaze the leopard snarled and died.

She placed her arrow on its body. she took out a cloth and tied it on her hand. She immediately took a small box and took a pill. So, it will help her from clotting the blood temporarily. She saw her blood has already dripped on the ground.

She smelled a faint fragrance coming from her blood which has ensnared her senses. She saw some green eyes surrounding her from the bushes.

As they moved forward she saw two wolves, and she climbed on the tree took two arrows and killed them. Wolves work together to take down their prey.The scent of the blood can attract predators.If I stay here all the wild animals may get attracted here, so I need to leave this place as soon as possible.

Once she got down, she is surrounded by five more wolves from front and back. She thought she was completely surrounded. Yizhen has only one option she need to kill  them. I won't give any chance to them to kill me. She used her fast movement martial arts and strikes them. She can hear the grinding howls of the wolves. She felt exhausted. Yizhen gasped for breath.

She placed her arrows on all the animals she killed. She whistled and dark knight came forward. She has debilitated expression on her face. She took the rein and mounted on it. Why do I feel I don't have any energy? She came out of the hunting grounds. She felt her body was burning.

Yizhen took a paper from the guard at the hunting grounds and wrote a letter to Yichang, " Brother, I am tired. I am going home." She gave money to the guard and said, " give it to general yichang." The guard saw blood on her fingers.

Yizhen went home, cleaned her wound, sprinkled medicine on it, and slept. Yuxuan killed a deer and few wolves. Yichang killed a bear, and a rabbit, few wolves. Once yichang came out of the hunting grounds. Guard has stopped him and gave him a letter.

Yichang got panicked and asked the guard, " How is he?" He said, " General, he is fine but I saw blood on his hands." He informed the guard, " Inform to the crown prince that Yi family has left due to some emergency."

The guard informed yuxuan. Yuxuan gave a cold gaze and his face turned pale. He asked the guard, he informed what has happened.

He immediately remembered today he saw only yizhen was wearing black. He felt a cold sweat on his face and he felt a pain as if his heart was being squeezed.

He wiped his face and thought, what had happened to her, but he maintained stern expression on his face. Yuxuan said, " Jinping, check out how is she?"

Later prey was counted and Yuxuan has lots of prey. So, he was bestowed with land and silk by emperor. He knelt down and said, " I am grateful to you father."

Yuxuan face was expressionless but inwardly he has deathly aura as if to kill someone, his anger is  about to burst out, but he felt helpless as he can't leave from hunting grounds.

After completing everything he said to Ruan, " I am leaving from zijin mountain, take care of remaining things here." As he rides his horse, he accelerated it's speed.

Yichang left the horse in the courtyard and went to the peach courtyard. It is already three hours. How is she? He knocked on the door, she didn't reply and he said, "Yizhen I am coming inside." He saw her lay down on the bed.

He called her name, but she did not respond. He shook her shoulders with his hand, but still there is no response, and he placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning.

Yichang called housekeeper and told him, " Hurry quick, get a doctor." Yichang said in a worried tone. " Mingyue get me a cloth and water in a basin."

Yuxuan came to the place behind her courtyard. Jinping said, " Master, miss lost her consciousness and she had fever. General yichang just now called over doctor."

Yuxuan has a lot of feelings inside him, he was eager to see her, he was angry at himself, as he didn't follow her. He felt it won't be good if someone sees me following her in the hunting grounds to protect her.

He shouldn't have cared about what others would think about him and yizhen. He wanted to care for her, but he cannot go inside. He felt guilty.

" You have created turmoil in my heart"

Housekeeper came with a doctor. Yichang has an uneasy expression and he said , " Doctor, please check him."

Doctor diagnosed and said, " Master , this young master have already taken blood clotting pills. He was exhausted by using his marital arts. His wound was infected, so he is suffering from fever."

He said, " I will write a prescription please boil these ingredients and give it to him. He will recover within a week." Doctor wrote a prescription and gave it to yichang.

Wen sent the doctor out. Yan and jingyi came inside and asked about yizhen. Yichang said, " don't worry. She had fever. I will take care of her.Yan can you get those herbs." Yan took the prescription and left.

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