Su Ran felt the corner of his mouth involuntarily rise up. He looked at the little lass, who was laughing so hard that she had to hold her belly. His eyes had a gentle look in them as he said, “In that little head of yours, just what are you thinking about all day long? Did you read too many storybooks ah? Tell me, if Royal Prince Yang heard your earlier words, just what would he do?”
Xiaocao howled in laughter for a bit longer before she finally straightened up and weakly threatened Chunhua and Su Ran, “You two are not allowed to tell Zhu Junyang a word of what I said earlier. Otherwise, I’m not going to make food for you two tonight! Not only tonight, but also tomorrow…when we get back to the stud farm, you also won’t be able to eat any food that I make either. Are you going to remember this ah?”
After she finished, she even waved a tiny fist in their direction, which wasn’t the least bit threatening.
“Don’t worry, I’m not the type of person who likes to gossip. It enters my ears and doesn’t leave my mouth! I swear on my honor!” Su Ran readily promised her. As for Chunhua, if she dared to gossip, then Yu Xiaocao would send her back to Zhu Junyang! She gave her own maidservant another warning look.
Last time, Chunhua and Qiushi had almost been returned back to the hidden soldiers ranks by Zhu Junyang. If it weren’t for their young miss pleading for them, they would have been locked in the hidden soldiers’ torture room and might have lost their lives right then and there. The two of them were immensely grateful to Xiaocao. In addition, Wutong continuously reminded them about staying loyal to their mistress, so they had long changed their mindset and now only saw her as their master.
Chunhua knew if she dared to bring those words to Royal Prince Yang, the first one to suffer a calamity would be her. She could only have one master and be loyal to one person. That was the standard that every hidden soldier needed to follow. Therefore, Yu Xiaocao’s warning was truly superfluous!
“They’re back!” Su Ran slowly got to his feet. He, who was skilled at martial arts, could hear the sounds of numerous footsteps in the distance. No wonder it took them so long to come back. Apparently, they had been slowed down by some other people!
Yu Xiaocao threw the dry stick in her hands into the fire and also stood up. She arrived at the mouth of the cave and copied Sir Su’s pose, c.o.c.king her head to the side to listen carefully. Her five senses had been slowly altered by mystic-stone water ingestion, so she was already at the level of Chunhua and Qiushi. After listening for a bit, she revealed a puzzled expression, “Sir Su, did Zhu Junyang come back ah? How come I hear more than one person coming back? It sounds like a whole group of people instead!”
Su Ran glanced at her in a flabbergasted manner. If he wasn’t completely sure that the little lass hadn’t learned martial arts before, he would start to wonder if she wasn’t a hidden expert right now.
“Young Miss, there are truly a lot of people coming over this way! I don’t know what type of people these are. Do you want to go into the cave and hide out until we figure out their identities?” Chunhua cautiously stepped in front of her young miss as she quietly advised her.
Yu Xiaocao glanced at Su Ran and shook her head, “Don’t we have Sir Su here ah? Even that little monster, Zhu Junyang, isn’t Sir Su’s rival, so isn't it safer to stay by him?”
“Just who are you calling a little monster ah? How come this prince keeps hearing someone saying bad things behind my back?” Zhu Junyang’s low and melodious voice suddenly transmitted through the darkness.
Yu Xiaocao’s small face lit up in happy surprise and she hurriedly went forward, “Zhu Junyang you’re back ah! You were gone for so long that I was worried to death!”
“Why are you mentioning the word ‘death’? Quickly spit for good luck!” Zhu Junyang’s tall and broad figure split apart the dusky darkness of the night, as if all of the remaining light was shining on him alone. His whole body seemed to emit a magnetizing aura that made it hard for people to look away from him. On his shoulders was a giant white tiger.
This white tiger was so large that, if it were standing on its four legs, it would absolutely tower over an a.d.u.l.t man’s height. However, when her man carried the tiger along on his shoulders, he acted as if it was as light as a feather. It didn’t impede his light and fast steps at all. In fact, the group of panicked and scared people behind him had to run to keep up with him.
“Wow! A white tiger! Zhu Junyang, you are too awesome. You actually managed to hunt a white tiger! Can you give its pelt to me, ah? I really want it!!” Yu Xiaocao’s excitement could be seen from head to toe. A white tiger was the product of a genetic mutation, so it absolutely was a rare find. Wow! Their luck was truly too good. Just as they were about to leave the mountains, they were able to come across and hunt such a surprising animal.
Zhu Junyang supported the tiger with one arm, making it seem weightless while his other hand was protecting his abdominal area. When he heard what she said, he slanted a look at her with his phoenix eyes and snorted, “What did you call this prince earlier?”
“Zhu Junyang…” Yu Xiaocao’s entire attention had been taken up by the white tiger this entire time. When she raised her eyes and saw that the expression on his face wasn’t quite good, she hurriedly corrected herself, “Ruizhi, Junjun, Yangyang, Jun Yangyang…as long as you give the tiger pelt to me, I’ll call you anything you want!”
Zhu Junyang’s heart skipped a beat and a suspicious smile crossed his lips, “Are you sure that you’ll call me anything?”
Yu Xiaocao saw the evil grin on his face and stared at him alertly, “Just what sort of wicked idea is going through your head now? Lord husband, beloved husband, husband…if you want me to call you things like that, dream on! Now tell me straight, are you going to give it to me or not?!”
She had accurately guessed what he was thinking, so he felt a bit at a loss. He thought for a bit and decided that they needed to set their engagement next year. That way, his label would be all over the little lass. In another two years, the little lass would finally be married to him. Then, wouldn’t these ways of calling him become the norm?
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you! Didn’t this prince say so earlier? During this outing, all of the pelts we get during hunting are all yours!” When Zhu Junyang first spotted this fierce white tiger, he didn’t feel nervous or alarmed at all. Instead, he felt pure joy. He finally had come across a fitting gift for his little lass ah!
“Eh? Who are they?” After she had finally gotten a satisfactory answer, Yu Xiaocao’s attention was taken over by the messy group behind him. The vast majority of people had frightened and panicked expressions on their faces and there were also a few who were supporting the injured. The most gravely hurt one was a man who was lying down on a simple stretcher that was made out of woven rattan vines. He was a sturdy man whose face was pale from pain.
“They’re the hunters from the village at the foot of the mountain! When this prince encountered them, the white tiger was currently fighting them, so I saved them while in passing. If we’re going to save them, we should do it correctly. Take out some medicine and give it to them…the wound balm from Tongren Medicine Hall should do the trick!” Zhu Junyang didn’t forget to give a pointed reminder to the muddle-headed little lass. A few days ago, when they saved the young master of Medicine King Valley, she had already aroused an outsider’s interest in her wound palm. He was afraid that one day the little lass would reveal too much of her secrets and cause a problem.
The leader of the group of hunters was a man who had the typical build of a northerner. He had a tall and brawny body, broad shoulders, and a full beard on his face that were paired with his bushy eyebrows. His large eyes were bright and full of expression. He first had the injured hunters carefully placed down in a corner of the cave and when he heard what they said, he bowed deeply towards Zhu Junyang, “Although they say that a big favor cannot be repaid with verbal thanks alone, we are truly grateful that my lord came out to help us now. I, Jin Tiankui, will never forget this boon for the rest of my life!”
“No need for pleasantries now, quickly go treat those who are heavily injured. If we wait any longer, I don’t know if they’ll be able to live!” Zhu Junyang placed the dead white tiger in another corner and carelessly waved a hand at the hunter. His right hand was still covering his abdominal area.
Yu Xiaocao delivered the wound balm to that named hunter and taught him how to use it. She also gave him a pouch of diluted mystic-stone water. With these two items, the King of Hell wouldn’t be taking their lives today!
After she saw them almost finish binding and treating the injured people’s wounds, Yu Xiaocao suddenly had an idea flit into her head, “Older Uncle, your surname is Jin? Then are you familiar with Jin Xiaohu at the nameless village at the foot of the mountain?”
When Jin Tiankui heard her question, he threw her a startled look and asked, “How do you guys know my youngest son? Did you guys go past our village before you entered the mountains?”
“Before we entered the mountains, we lodged at Grandfather Jin’s residence in the nameless village. You are Xiaohu’s father, what a coincidence!” Yu Xiaocao smiled brightly and her two adorable dimples blossomed on her cheeks.
“Second Uncle, apparently our savior had lodged at our residence ah! Our savior is truly very skilled as he was able to knock down such a ferocious tiger in a few moves! If I could be as skilled at martial arts as he is, in the future, we don’t need to be so scared whenever we enter the mountains!” Jin Xiaodong, who had overheard the conversation between the young girl and his uncle, sighed a bit enviously over this.
Xiaocao exchanged a few other words with Jin Tiankui before she turned around and noticed that Zhu Junyang was still holding his abdomen like he was earlier. She anxiously rushed over and pulled at his hand to ask, “What’s wrong? Did you get injured there ah? Let me look to see if it’s serious or not.”
Zhu Junyang’s left hand pulled at her arm, preventing her from pushing aside his clothes. He hinted that she should sit down next to him.
“This prince has a surprise that I want to give you!” Zhu Junyang pretended to smile mysteriously. His phoenix eyes seemed to shimmer with a watery light, causing his handsome face to look even more enticing.
Yu Xiaocao was stunned for a moment before she finally asked, “What sort of surprise?”
“Come look…what is this?” Zhu Junyang finally relaxed the hand that was covering his abdomen, revealing a shaggy and white little thing.
“Wow! A small white tiger? It’s so small ah. It must have just been born not long ago as it hasn’t even opened its eyes! So adorable!!” Yu Xiaocao had a pure look of delighted surprise on her face. She carefully took the weak and pitiful little animal from Zhu Junyang’s hand. It was truly very tiny and was smaller than an a.d.u.l.t cat at this point.
The little white tiger, which had been trembling in fear this entire time, gradually quieted after it reached Yu Xiaocao’s hands. Perhaps the smell of mystic-stone water on Xiaocao’s body naturally made animals want to get closer to her? The little white tiger calmly lay in Xiaocao’s chest, acting as if it had returned back to its mother’s embrace. The uneasiness and fright that surrounded it earlier had completely disappeared.
“Is this the surprise you were talking about ah? How did you find it?” Yu Xiaocao gently stroked the little white tiger’s soft fur. The little thing licked her hand, causing a tickling sensation, which made her giggle a few times.
Zhu Junyang stared a bit unhappily at the little white tiger that was worming its way into the little lass’s chest. He almost couldn’t resist the urge to pluck the animal out and throw it away. His line of sight suddenly stopped at a certain area, as if his eyes were being magnetized there. The little lass had grown up. At least, her chest had finally started to develop and they were happily growing in his direction…
“Stinky pervert! Just where are you looking?” His ear suddenly hurt and the angry face of the little lass, which was paired with her blushing red cheeks, appeared before his eyes. This little lass was getting braver with every passing day. She was unexpectedly pulling on his ear to punish him.
How could she not give him any face in front of everyone here by pulling blatantly on his ears? In a moment, he needed to have a good talk with the little lass. If she was going to pull on his ears…she should wait until they got back to a more private setting where there were no other people around!
