The moon was full, the stars sparse, and from the main hunting ground, the sounds of music and dance continuously drifted over.

Great Xia valued martial prowess, with a fierce folk culture. To commemorate their ancestors’ nomadic spirit and not forget their tribal roots, the Great Xia Dynasty’s biannual hunts in spring and autumn were essential traditions.

It was still early spring, and in a place like Red River, snow wouldn’t stop until May or June each year. The summers were extremely short, the winters extremely long. From the nearby woods came occasional, scattered human voices. Chu Qiao knew these were soldiers searching for tigers and bears that were hibernating, to eliminate dangers for tomorrow’s hunt.

She wore a snow-white sable jacket with a light blue fur cloak over it. Her small boots were also white, making her jet-black eyes and ink-dark hair stand out even more. Carefully considering, Jing Yue’er’s little face could indeed be counted as pretty. Though not yet fully matured, she exuded an unmistakable grace and charm.

A fire basin burned in the tent, filling it with warmth, but for some unknown reason, she felt somewhat stifled. She walked alone to the northwest corner of the camp, listening to the distant music, her heart gradually growing restless. Feelings of resistance rose bit by bit in her heart. She raised her head, exhaled a long breath, and then swallowed everything down, trying hard to calm herself and think no more of it.

The night sky was pitch black. Suddenly, with a soft flutter, a white pigeon landed on the snow, looking at Chu Qiao from a distance, tilting its head, gradually approaching step by step.

This was a wild pigeon, not a domesticated carrier pigeon, and it was somewhat afraid of people. It must have been curious seeing this person sitting there motionless for so long and wanted to come closer for a look. Chu Qiao raised her head, noticed the little bird, smiled slightly, and reached into her pocket to take out a handful of wheat she carried to feed horses, scattering it on the ground.

In the vast snow, finding food was difficult. Upon seeing this, the pigeon immediately chirped happily, fluttering up and flying toward Chu Qiao.

However, at that moment, two sharp arrows suddenly shot from the distance simultaneously, both piercing the pigeon’s chest and abdomen. With swish, fresh blood sprayed, scattering like red plum blossoms across the snow.

Thundering hoofbeats immediately sounded. Two fast horses led far ahead of the people behind them, one red and one black, fierce and eye-catching. The man on the red horse was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, arrogant and domineering. Seeing the youth sitting in the snow, without asking any questions, he nocked an arrow to his bow and, with a swoosh, shot it straight at Chu Qiao’s heart!

A muffled sound instantly rang out as Chu Qiao immediately sprang up like a pouncing leopard, supporting herself with one hand on the ground, spinning around to rise. Her movements were swift and unparalleled, flowing like water. Her right hand swung back, firmly grasping the arrow in her palm. The strong wind blew, causing the young woman’s long cloak to billow in the air like a white eagle spreading its wings to fly. Her gaze was as sharp as ice and snow as she coldly looked toward the newcomers.

“Whose servant are you, wandering in the hunting grounds late at night?”

The cold voice came from the man on the red horse. Despite being the first to attack without cause, he showed not the slightest sign of remorse. Wearing a northern snowy sable fur coat, beneath his dignity was an indescribable coldness and gloom.

With a “thud,” the man on the black horse jumped down. He was also about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with eyes like copper bells and a dark complexion. He ran to the pigeon in a few steps, picked it up, and exclaimed: “Mu He Xi Feng, how do we count this?”

The man on the red horse gave Chu Qiao a cold look, then turned to address the other man: “Zha Lu, my arrow hit the throat, so naturally I won.”

The man frowned angrily: “How do you know your arrow hit the throat? We didn’t use marked arrows.”

“I naturally know which arrow my hand shot.”

“Hmph, unacceptable.” Zha Lu said: “We need to compete again.”

Mu He Xi Feng raised an eyebrow: “How do you want to compete?”

“Well, her.” Zha Lu casually pointed at Chu Qiao and said: “Isn’t she a ready-made slave? Let’s shoot at her.”

Chu Qiao’s brow gradually furrowed as she looked askance at Zha Lu. But Zha Lu didn’t notice at all. He turned and climbed back onto his horse. Seeing her look, he urged: “You, run quickly, run far away.”

Chu Qiao looked the two men up and down, her brows tightly knit, then said solemnly to Mu He Xi Feng: “I am not a slave.”

Hearing this, Mu He Xi Feng raised an eyebrow, seemingly quite interested, and said: “So what?”

Yes, so what? Even if you’re not a slave, these nobles can still kill you on a whim, without any need for a reason.

Chu Qiao said no more and turned to walk toward Yan Xun’s tent. With a swoosh, a powerful arrow suddenly landed near her heel, embedding itself in the snow. Zha Lu angrily shouted: “I told you to run quickly, didn’t you hear?”

In the biting gale, the girl suddenly turned her head back, her eyes jet-black, her gaze as sharp as a knife as it swept across Zha Lu’s face. The Young Master Zha Lu from the northwestern territory felt a chill in his heart, and a curse that was about to leave his lips was forcibly swallowed.

“If I were on horseback, could the two masters still shoot me?”

Mu He Xi Feng’s mouth curled slightly upward, but before he could speak, Zha Lu angrily said: “Give her a horse.”

A completely black warhorse was led to the young woman. Chu Qiao gently patted the horse’s head, then turned back to look at the two men. The night wind was strong, whipping up the snow on the ground, hitting their faces like small grains of sand, quite painful.

Suddenly, the young woman leaped onto the horse, drew the small dagger from her waist, and without hesitation, stabbed it into the horse’s flank. The warhorse neighed in pain, galloping away with lightning speed. Before everyone could react, she had disappeared from the two men’s sight.

Zha Lu stared in disbelief, his eyes bulging like a cow’s. After a long while, he turned to Mu He Xi Feng and said: “She just left like that?”

Mu He Xi Feng turned his horse around, heading toward the direction of the bustling crowd, coldly snorting with indifference: “What did you expect?”

Zha Lu flew into a rage, his angry voice immediately coming from behind. Mu He Xi Feng’s eyes turned cold, with sharp gleams flashing through them.

Before reaching the camp, a troop of riders galloped from the opposite direction. Chu Qiao reined in her horse, frowning as she looked ahead. As the figures drew closer, she saw it was Yan Xun with A Jing and a group of guards.

“Ah Chu!” Seeing Chu Qiao, Yan Xun pulled his reins abruptly, rushed forward, and asked in a deep voice: “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Chu Qiao shook her head and asked: “Is the night hunt over? How did you return so quickly?”

Yan Xun looked the young woman up and down, his chest heaving slightly, somewhat out of breath. He shook his head and said: “Let’s go back to the tent first.”

Yan Xun seemed very tired tonight. After returning to the tent, they separated and went to their rooms. As she was leaving, she happened to encounter A Jing and several guards leading some children into the camp. Chu Qiao was startled and went forward to inquire.

A Jing respectfully said: “Miss, these are the ones the Young Master bought back from the night hunt.”

Chu Qiao was taken aback and asked solemnly: “Bought back from the night hunt? What do you mean?”

“Tonight was a human hunt. The Young Master said he had drunk too much and wouldn’t participate. Young Prince Jing and the others wouldn’t accept it and made a fuss along with the son of Prince Ling. The Young Master had no choice but to buy each child in his cage for one hundred gold pieces.”

“Oh.” Chu Qiao nodded. “You all carry on. I’ll go back first.”

The girl turned away with a calm expression. The night wind was cool, whistling around her body. She lifted the curtain of the tent, where it was warm and cozy, no longer feeling stifled. The girl took off her large fur coat and sat on the soft couch. After a long, long while, a smile suddenly curled at the corner of her lips, like a gorgeous sunset.