Chapter 262 - Going Hunting Together (2/2)

Zhu Junyang used his other hand to pick at his ear. He felt like his ears were about to explode from the little lass’s screams. He lifted Yu Xiaocao’s hand and then lightly let go. The little lass’s legs wobbled and she fell bottom first into the underbrush. Only then did she stop ravaging his eardrums with her voice.

‘Eh? It doesn’t hurt? How come I don’t feel any pain after falling off the tree? Is it because the grass is too thick or is it because I have too much fat on my butt?’ Yu Xiaocao rubbed at her butt and looked up the tree again.

“Cao’er?! Why did you follow us?” Yu Hai had heard Xiaocao’s desperate screeches earlier and thought she had encountered danger. He bolted over, panting, and carefully inspected her from head to toe. He only relaxed after he discovered that she had no injuries.

“I...I was afraid you guys might get into trouble, so I followed along…” Yu Xiaocao could tell that her father was getting angry very quickly, so she lowered her head and pulled at the grass as she stammered out a reply.

Zhu Junyang let out a cold sneer, “You were afraid for us? So you followed along? With that tiny stature of yours, if we encounter a wild beast, can you help us beat it off? Or can you protect us with your body? Hmph! This prince knows now, you probably planned on sending yourself into the jaws of the beast and give us an opportunity to run away right? You’re so tiny, you’re not even enough to get stuck between the teeth of a wild beast ah!”

Yu Xiaocao couldn’t explain that she had the little divine stone, so she kept her head down as she obediently listened to him lecture.

Yu Hai noticed that they were already in an area in the mountains where very few people tread. If he told his youngest daughter to head back on her own, she could get lost and then end up in a very bad situation. However, he couldn’t, for the sake of his youngest daughter, ruin the royal prince’s hunting mood. He braced himself as he said, “Your Highness, my daughter isn’t sensible and caused trouble for you...what do you think about letting my daughter follow along with us…”

Earlier on the way here, they traversed hills and threaded through the forest. The trail was quite hard to walk on. Zhu Junyang eyed the little lass who looked quite disheveled. He didn’t know how that lass managed to go this far. When he thought about how the girl might end up breaking a leg or encountering some dangerous beasts on the way back, Zhu Junyang wished he could pick her up and give her a spanking.

He looked around the area. They were surrounded by a thick forest and the mountain was loftily high. Who knew what type of ferocious beasts lurked in the area. They absolutely could not allow the little lass to stay here by herself. But they had already walked all this way, so they couldn’t just leave empty-handed. Apparently, they could only bring this fellow along and hope that she didn't impede their way!

“You better keep up because if you don’t, this prince won’t wait for you!!” Zhu Junyang leveled a fierce glare at the little girl and then turned around to continue deeper into the mountain forest.

At this time, Head Steward Liu discovered that his master’s walking speed had decreased a lot compared to before. He looked back at Yu Xiaocao, who was doing her best to keep up with everyone. When did his master ever think of others? Was the sun about to rise from the west?!

With a useless tail behind them. Zhu Junyang had a premonition that his chances of hunting a ferocious beast had dwindled considerably. He no longer rushed forward and instead did his best to shoot at any animals that appeared. Yu Xiaocao soon found out that the young royal prince’s archery skills weren’t just good; they were astoundingly good. He almost never missed what he shot at and every arrow hit a vital spot. He never needed to shoot a second arrow to fell a beast.

Red deer, wild goats, roe deer, hazel grouse...the most impressive one was that Zhu Junyang managed to kill a giant wild boar that weighed over three hundred pounds by accurately shooting it in the head. A wild animal that was usually quite vicious didn’t even make much noise before it was killed instantly by Zhu Junyang.

Yu Xiaocao looked at her father, who was carrying the red deer and wild goat on his back while his waist was strung with pheasants, badgers, and other small game. Head Steward Liu had easily crafted a sledge out of branches and was pulling along the wild boar, roe deer and other game. Even she was holding two wild hares. Despite all that, the young royal prince continued deeper into the thicket enthusiastically.

“Young Royal Prince, if we continue to hunt through the afternoon, we won’t be able to bring all of the game back! How about we go back home now and you can come back another day?” Yu Xiaocao heavily sat down on a nearby rock. She really didn’t want to get back up. Although the mystic-stone water had replenished her energy, she was still very tired, okay?

Zhu Junyang attentively observed their nearby terrain and environment and then turned back to look her in the eye, “You truly came over to be a deadweight! If you’re tired, then just stand here and watch over the game. This prince will head deeper in to take a look. If I’m lucky, I might encounter a black bear. Didn’t you say you wanted to try the taste of bear paws eh?”

Yu Xiaocao looked at the pile of game that emitted the smell of blood. She was absolutely sure that all of this was the perfect bait to attract a carnivore. If she was in charge of watching over the game, did he want her to become the snack of a wild beast? ‘Young Royal Prince ah, just what type of enmity do you have against me?’

‘Little Glutinous Dumpling, are you there?’ Yu Xiaocao lightly called at the little divine stone in her mind. It was currently in the multi-colored stone on her wrist.

A tiny, golden colored kitten appeared behind her and jumped onto her shoulder. It arrogantly asked, [What do you need this divine stone for ah? It wouldn’t be that you want this divine stone to help you go hunting eh?]

Yu Xiaocao suddenly thought that the little divine stone was quite similar to Zhu Junyang. Both liked to look down at everyone from their high statues, with their noses in the air. When they talked, they also made people feel like they immediately deserved a spanking. But the part that they most resembled each other was this: they were both annoying, but at the crucial point, they never disappointed her!

‘Little Glutinous Dumpling, help draw a ferocious beast over. The best kind would be one that’s not a fully grown adult and is easy to take care of! Either a tiger or bear would work. If there aren’t any, then a wolf would do too!’

[Tsk tsk! You take this divine stone to be bait for you? What advantage does this divine stone get out of this ah? If there are no advantages, this divine stone refuses to help!!] The little divine stone was feeling arrogant again. Every time she asked it to help her, it always acted as if it was very reluctant and made Yu Xiaocao quite unhappy.