Tibet

Before dawn the next day, everyone got up. The maids and maids had already boiled water and prepared breakfast for them. They washed up in a hurry, had breakfast, and were ready to set off.

Starting today, they will be free to hunt for three days. On the one hand, they are familiar with the terrain, and on the other hand, they will let everyone practice their skills first.

Of course, free hunting is also a kind of competition. If you can hunt large prey, the emperor will receive additional rewards, and it will also be included in the total score of the competition.

People in front of Wuting River screamed horses, groups of hounds roared and galloped in front, and groups of hunters crossed the river on horseback. From Wuting River to the west, for dozens of miles there was a vast forest, with gentle rolling hills, and various kinds of life in the forest. All kinds of animals are great for hunting, but they also have hidden dangers.

There are seven or eight people in Li Ye's team. Cheng Changyin has participated in three spring hunts and two autumn hunts. He has rich experience. In addition, he is the oldest, so he is the leader of the team.

Then there is Li Ye, and there are three children of the Cheng family, Cheng Changdi, Cheng Changhui, and Cheng Changyao.

These three people are about the same age as Li Ye, but they are obviously more inexperienced. However, they are all wearing samurai uniforms and are full of energy. They hold bows and arrows in their hands and swords at their waists.

There were also five hounds and several servants. Cheng Xiaojiao also wanted to follow, but was stopped by her mother.

"Brother, this is for you!"

Cheng Changyin gave Li Ye a sharp dagger, "Put it in your leather boots, it's very practical!"

"Thank you!" Li Ye happened to be short of a dagger.

"Let's go!"

Cheng Changyin waved his hand, and the five men urged their horses to run towards the forest.

The forest was lush with trees and bushes on the ground. It was dark and quiet, with the only sound of their horses' hooves rustling on the leaves.

Hundreds of hunting teams entered the forest, and the animals were too frightened to speak.

"Aye, which direction do you think we should go?" Cheng Changyin asked.

Li Ye thought for a while and said: "There are hills in the northwest, there should be more opportunities there!"

The group immediately turned around and headed northwest. They were lucky along the way and caught more than a dozen prey in a row, almost all of which were hares and pheasants.

Li Ye opened his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot an arrow toward the top of a big tree dozens of steps away. The arrow speed was astonishing. A fat pheasant just fluttered its wings and flew up, 'Poof! ’ The arrow shot through the pheasant’s chest, and the pheasant fell from the tree.

"Good archery skills!" Everyone cheered in unison. It is not difficult to shoot a stationary pheasant, but it is extremely difficult to shoot a flying pheasant. The flight path and take-off timing of the pheasant must be inferred in advance, which is almost impossible.

At this moment, the barking of hounds was heard not far away, and a servant shouted, "The hare is coming!"

When everyone turned around, they saw a strong hare being chased by hounds. It came running towards him like lightning. Everyone chased after it. Li Ye also galloped on his horse, drawing his bow and arrows as he ran, staring at every move of the hare. Movement, the hare's running is like a combination of countless water flows, and its changes can be predicted in the subtleties.

Seeing that the hare was about to run into a bush, Li Ye suddenly felt something in his heart, and the arrow slightly deflected and shot in another direction.

Everyone laughed and shook their heads. Unexpectedly, the hare suddenly turned around and jumped to the other side, 'Poof! ’ He was hit by an arrow from Li Ye and fell to the ground. Several hounds rushed up and knocked him down.

"Okay!" Everyone's eyes widened and they gave a thumbs up.

Cheng Changyin stepped forward and asked in surprise: "Brother Xian's prediction is very good! How do you know it will turn around?"

Li Ye shook his head, "I don't know either, it's just a hunch that it won't dig into bushes!"

The head servant smiled and said: "Master Li is right. Even if the hare burrows into the bushes and can't hide from hounds, it can't hide from people. It will definitely turn around and run. We only react after the fact, but Master Li can wake up in an instant. This is either the result of more than ten years of experience or talent!”

Li Ye smiled and said nothing. He had more than ten years of experience, and he did not have such a talent. It was the understanding brought to him by practicing swordsmanship in the water, and he could see the truth in the subtleties.

Others only saw the hare running quickly, but what he saw was the ups and downs of the hare's limbs, and the subtle movements of the hare's neck twisting, which were signs that the hare was about to turn around.

Of course, his vision and perception must be far beyond those of ordinary people to achieve this.

Everyone continued to move northwest and entered the hilly area. The terrain began to become complicated and everyone became more careful. When they left, they learned that a large beast had appeared in this area.

Li Ye suddenly raised his hand, and everyone reined in their horses.

"Aye, what did you hear?"

Li Ye listened attentively for a moment and whispered: "There is movement in the nearby trees!"

Everyone looked at the trees, surrounded by pine trees, and did not hear any movement. Li Ye's brows furrowed deeper, and he felt a danger coming.

Several war horses also began to restless and restless, "I saw it!" Cheng Changyin pointed at the top of the tree, and a pheasant fluttered and flew up. Everyone shouted excitedly, and they all stretched their bows and shot.

"No, behind you!"

The strong sense of crisis made Li Ye turn around and saw a golden leopard appearing on the big rock behind Cheng Changyin, staring at Cheng Changyin's back with cold eyes.

Li Ye's reaction was extremely fast. He opened his bow and shot an arrow. The leopard shook its head, but Li Ye slightly missed the arrow deliberately, and the arrow hit the leopard's neck.

The golden leopard was enraged, roared, jumped up, and pounced on Cheng Changyin's back.

Everything happened between the rabbit and the falcon. Cheng Changyin also reacted and wanted to kick off the saddle, but it was too late. Just as the leopard was about to pounce on Cheng Changyin, a black figure rushed from the side and knocked the leopard to the ground. .

The black shadow was Li Ye. At the critical moment, he threw away his bow and arrow and jumped towards the leopard. The leopard was knocked down, roared, and slapped Li Ye in the face.

Li Ye dodged the fatal blow, and the dagger in his hand pierced the leopard's jaw hard until it reached the handle. At the same time, the leopard's tail also slapped Li Ye hard on the back, knocking him over.

At this time, the other children of the Cheng family reacted and drew their bows to shoot at the leopard. The leopard was pierced in the head with a dagger, which was fatal. It was unable to dodge and was hit by several arrows. It stood up and staggered away for a few seconds. After a few steps, he fell to the ground and died.

Everyone gathered around. Cheng Changyin helped Li Ye up and asked urgently: "Ah Ye, how are you doing?"

Li Ye was whipped by the leopard tail, causing his blood to boil and he was unable to move for a moment. If it had been anyone else, this whip would have shattered his spine. However, Li Ye was placed in a potion by his mother Pei Sanniang three months after he was born. He took a bath there until he was seven years old, and developed a body of iron and steel. No matter how hard the leopard tail was, it could not hurt him.

He waved his hand, "I'm fine, just take a rest and I'll be fine!"

At this time, three children of the Cheng family picked up the dead leopard and cheered.

Cheng Changyin had experience, and he shouted: "Leopards generally don't attack people on their own initiative. This should be a female leopard. Look around, maybe you can find a cub."

The three of them quickly put down the leopard and searched around.

Not long after, Cheng Changdi shouted, he had discovered something.

Li Ye also gradually recovered. He stood up and limped forward. He saw three brothers from the Cheng family walking over holding two little leopards. They were very small and had not yet been weaned.

Li Ye sighed and beat their mother to death. What a sin!

Cheng Changyin turned back to Li Ye and said, "Ah Ye, you killed the leopard. It's up to you to decide!"

Everyone knew that the golden leopard died because of the knife that Li Ye stabbed it in the head, and it had nothing to do with someone else's arrow.

Li Ye smiled bitterly, "Take them back first!"

Cheng Changyin and Li Ye had special leather bags, so they put the little leopard into the leather bag and carried it behind their backs. The leopard was placed on a pack horse, and everyone turned their horses and returned to the camp.

A few miles away from the camp, a group of hunters came in front, all female guards. The first two female generals were wearing armor and holding bows and arrows. They looked quite heroic.

Li Ye recognized one of them at a glance. He was wearing a mask. It was Suzaku, but the woman next to her was the protagonist. She had delicate eyebrows and was very noble.

Cheng Changyin was a palace guard. Although he had only been in the palace for a year, he knew the leading lady and hurriedly stepped forward to greet her, "I'm humble, Cheng Changyin. Please see Princess Guangning!"

When Princess Guangning saw Cheng Changyin, her pretty eyes lit up. She looked at Cheng Changyin and said with a smile: "I asked people to find you and wanted you to accompany me on the hunt. They said you were gone, which makes me so disappointed!"

Several children of the Cheng family turned their heads and laughed secretly. Li Ye also lamented that Tang women were unrestrained and never concealed their feelings. He originally wanted to come forward to greet her, but now he found that it was not necessary.

Cheng Changyin was really embarrassed and didn't know how to answer. Suddenly, Princess Guangning shouted in surprise: "What a cute little leopard!"

It turned out that the little milk leopard in the leather bag on Cheng Changyin's back felt bored, so he got out, stood on Cheng Changyin's shoulder, and tilted his head to look at Princess Guangning. Princess Guangning's heart suddenly became cute with the little milk leopard, " I want it, give it to me quickly!”

Cheng Changyin quickly handed the little leopard to her, and Princess Guangning held the little leopard in her arms, loving it very much.

"Did you hunt the leopard?"

Suzaku came to Li Ye and asked with a low eyebrow, but his eyes secretly glanced at the leather bag behind Li Ye. The leather bag moved, and Suzaku's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up.