Jinting Han people

Neither Sima Chi, the Prince of Yuzhang, nor Sima Yan, the Prince of Wu, were fond of hunting. Their hunting trip was less about hunting and more about relaxing.

Sima Yan suffered from poor eyesight; since the age of twelve, he could only see objects within five paces. Therefore, he could not ride horses, shoot arrows, or even read by lamplight at night. This forced him to live a secluded life, with little entertainment beyond banquets. Even as a prince, he was inevitably filled with resentment and often felt melancholy.

Sima Chi thought that rather than letting his elder brother sit idly at home, it would be better to go hunting in the mountains. Even if he couldn't shoot arrows himself, it would still be good to experience the atmosphere of playing in the mountains and rivers. So he gathered a large group of people to accompany him to Wan'an Mountain for hunting, intending to stay for a few days.

When Liu Xian learned the reason for the trip, and thought about the infighting and scheming among the princes, he was quite moved. On the way south on horseback, he said to Lu Ji, "If the imperial family could all be as brotherly and respectful as the Prince of Yuzhang, many things would be much easier to handle."

Before Lu Ji could nod, Liu Cong spoke first, saying casually, "It's because they are too young and their talents are average, so they don't have the opportunity to get their hands on power."

Liu Xian chuckled upon hearing this, inwardly unconvinced. In the past, he would have argued with Liu Cong, but not now. He simply changed the subject, asking:
"When did you get involved with the Prince of Yuzhang? How come I had no idea?"

Liu Cong pushed aside the branches beside him with one hand, raised an eyebrow at Liu Xian, and said, "I am, after all, a prince of the Xiongnu. All the gentry in Taiyuan know me, and the court values ​​me. What's so strange about me knowing the Prince of Yuzhang?"

It turns out that two years ago, he had visited Sima Chi with Wang Ji, the former governor of Henan. At that time, he wrote a poem entitled "Ode to the Virtue of the Sage" for Sima Chi. The poem was very well written and was appreciated by Sima Chi. He was also given a bow and a silver inkstone as gifts.

Liu Xian asked him, "So, you want to work for the Prince of Yuzhang's residence?"

Liu Cong rolled his eyes, touched the sword at his waist, and sighed, "You underestimate me too much. Do you really think I'm the kind of person who would flatter such a lowly person to gain an official position?"

Liu Xian laughed and said, "It doesn't seem like it at all. Rather than flattery, you seem more like someone who makes fun of others, as if no one in the world can meet your standards."

Lu Ji continued, "I'm also very curious about what kind of official you will become in the future, Xuanming. It seems that you will never be at peace no matter who you are subordinate to."

Upon hearing this, Liu Cong replied in a deliberately profound tone, "Perhaps I am suited for enlightenment. Right now, I am cultivating and undergoing tribulations in the mortal world. In a few years, I will be able to attain enlightenment and ascend to immortality."

Everyone laughed.

This hunting trip was indeed very relaxing. After arriving at Wan'an Mountain, everyone set up a simple camp, with most of the princes' entourage staying behind to clean up. The fifty-odd scholars present then surrounded the two young princes and began hunting. It was more of a game than a true hunt, consisting mainly of shooting small prey like rabbits and pheasants. To please Prince Wu, Sima Yan, the retainers taught him how to set traps and cages, how to choose locations, and how to place bait to lure the prey. Before long, they caught their prey, and right in front of him, they plucked the pheasant and skinned the rabbit.

Both princes were seeing this scene for the first time and were both very interested, watching with great interest. Sima Yan roasted a rabbit himself, and immediately a busybody wrote a poem: "You sit under the tall forest, rabbit roasted among yellow flowers. Salt and pepper fall in a flurry, even Yi and Qi would be bewildered."

The King of Wu and the King of Yuzhang were naturally delighted to receive such care. After several days, the two young men had experienced the joy of hunting and were no longer satisfied with these small prey. They wanted to find some deer, foxes and other game.

So they continued their journey through the mountains. After passing a row of foothills, they followed a mountain stream upstream, walking along the river to avoid getting lost and to make it easier for the people and horses to drink water. Gradually, they crossed Wan'an Mountain and headed deeper into Shuanglong Mountain to the southeast. It was late autumn, and the mountain forests were covered with fallen leaves, but it didn't feel desolate yet. The shrubs and thorns were still full of life, and small, unidentified red berries could be seen everywhere.

By midday, the sun was already setting, and the light filtering through the half-fallen branches created a somewhat dim atmosphere. The autumn dampness in the mountains rose, gradually transforming into a faint chill. Only then did the group realize that they seemed to have ventured deep into a remote, uninhabited area.

Prince Sima Yan of Wu was in poor health. Although he had enjoyed himself these past few days, he was somewhat tired. Prince Sima Chi of Yuzhang, noticing this, said to the others:
“We brothers are very grateful for everyone’s care these past few days, but it seems we’ve gone too far and I’m a bit tired. How about this, you all can make your own way for now, and we’ll rest here tonight and head back the way we came tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and agreed in unison. After all, they had ventured too deep into the forest; there might be bears and leopards in such woods. Visibility was limited, and there wouldn't be enough time to fire arrows. If they encountered any mishap and the two princes were injured, they would have no way to explain themselves.

However, since they had some free time, some people were itching to hunt. Liu Cong said to Liu Xian, "We've come all this way, hunting deer alone isn't very interesting. I've heard there are bears here, and I'd like to see them. What do you think?"

The implication was that he was inviting Liu Xian to go bear hunting together.

Before Liu Xian could even agree, another group of people responded. Liu Xian turned around and saw that it was Gan Zhuo from Danyang and Wen Xian from Taiyuan.

Gan Zhuo was the great-grandson of Gan Ning, a famous general of the Wu Kingdom. He inherited the courage of his father and grandfather and said to Liu Cong with a smile, "Winter is coming soon, and I happen to be missing a bearskin hat. I hope that my wish can be fulfilled today."

Wen Xian was the grandson of Wen Hui, a famous general of the Wei Kingdom. When Sun Quan led an army of 100,000 to attack Hefei, it was Wen Hui who served as Zhang Liao's support and repelled Sun Quan. Seeing that Gan Zhuo had responded first and boasted that the people of Wei could not lose to the people of Wu, he secretly harbored a competitive spirit and came out to say, "It's good enough that the Wu boy knows how to swim, but how could he know how to hunt? Let me teach you!"

Their enthusiasm was so infectious that Liu Xian laughed and said, "Alright! Let's have a contest then. But if we're going to have a contest, we should at least have something to wager on. It's no fun if it's just a verbal competition."

Upon hearing this, Sima Chi took the initiative to speak up, saying, "I have a black knife here, the Taiqiu knife that Deng Shizai wore. How about we use it as a wager?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. So the four of them each found a partner to be their deputy, and agreed to return at dusk to compare their catches. If they caught a bear, that would be best; if not, they would compare the number of prey.

Liu Xian naturally chose Lu Ji as his partner. The two carried bows and left the river, heading further in. After finding a place with relatively abundant aquatic plants, Liu Xian built a wooden cage, put a rabbit inside, and tied it to the cage. He then placed it in the center of the open space, while he and Lu Ji hid back-to-back against a moss-covered boulder, each clutching their bows and arrows in their hands.

Liu Xian crossed his hands and placed them near his mouth, imitating the call of a deer to attract wild beasts. After a long time, he heard a soft rustling sound, like a large creature trudging through the fallen leaves and weeds. Liu Xian cautiously peeked out and looked ahead. He saw a dark-furred elk, about half a person's height, peering around between the trees and the clearing. Liu Xian was somewhat disappointed and hesitated, but then the elk seemed to sense something amiss. It suddenly pushed off the ground with its front legs, pulled its body back, twisted its front half, and quickly moved into the forest.

Almost at the same time, an arrow whizzed past, narrowly missing the deer's hind leg and leaving a bloody gash. The deer shuddered in pain, nearly falling to the ground, and thrashed about for a moment before regaining its balance. Lu Ji, the archer, had already rushed out to shoot.

Liu Xian felt a pang of regret over the arrow, but he didn't have time to think about it. He quickly jumped up and followed Lu Ji into the depths of the dense forest.

Lu Ji's stamina was not as good as Liu Xian's, and he was caught up by Liu Xian in no time. Unfortunately, the deer was not seriously injured. In addition, the terrain in the forest was complicated. After chasing for a while and circling around twice, they quickly lost track of the deer.

After catching his breath, Liu Xian smiled at Lu Ji and said, "Shiheng, you still need to practice your archery!"

Lu Ji, somewhat annoyed, said, "Then why don't you show me you've been hit by an arrow?"

As the two were chatting and laughing, a gust of wind blew by, and the woods rustled. Then, something else made a sound. Was it really the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves? Liu Xian wondered. He thought it sounded more like some wild beast running through the fallen leaves.

The wind was still blowing, and strange, whistling noises surrounded the two of them from all sides, instantly filling them with surprise and doubt.

To calm himself, Liu Xian reached for his sword and walked toward Lu Ji, saying, "We've gained nothing so far. We should have just bribed the fox..."

Before he could finish speaking, a huge, fiery red object was seen rapidly moving towards Lu Ji from beside him. Its speed was so great that Liu Xian only hesitated for a moment before it pounced several feet closer. Liu Xian knew he was in trouble. He quickly drew his Changsheng Sword from his waist and shouted to Lu Ji, "Get out of the way! It's a tiger!"

In the blink of an eye, the tiger leaped out from a high slope, its massive, ten-foot-long body like a boulder in the air, creating a suffocating gust of wind as it hurtled straight toward Lu Ji.

Fortunately, Lu Ji reacted extremely quickly. Upon hearing Liu Xian's shout, he didn't even turn around; he immediately rolled into a grove of trees. The yellow and black tiger could be seen pouncing directly onto a cypress tree.

With a snap, the cypress tree seemed to break from the inside, but it did not fall. The tiger that had suddenly appeared was also disoriented by its own pounce. It shook its head on the ground for a while, then revealed its ferocious teeth, its copper-bell-sized pupils flashing with a terrifying light, while its chest and abdomen trembled continuously, and at the same time, it roared like muffled thunder.

Even Liu Xian felt a chill run down his spine in the face of such a ferocious beast.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered a tiger in the wild. Years ago in Hedong, he'd also run into one, but that time he was armored and had his feathered horse by his side, allowing him to escape quickly without even getting a clear look at the tiger. Now, unexpectedly, he'd encountered another one! Just looking at the tiger's massive body reminded Liu Xian of the giant he'd met nine years ago; compared to that, this tiger was even larger. What should he do?
Because Liu Xian was holding a sword, the tiger, once it regained its senses, quickly turned its attention to Liu Xian. Having failed in its first attack, the tiger didn't immediately launch a counterattack, but instead cautiously circled on the ground, trying to find an opening for Liu Xian. Liu Xian could also clearly see Lu Ji quietly rise from the dense forest. The two exchanged glances; Liu Xian would hold the tiger back while Lu Ji attacked with his bow and arrows.

Liu Xian understood immediately. He roared, startling all the birds in the forest and even startling the tiger. He then suddenly turned and moved a few steps to the left, still facing the tiger. The tiger was confused, but quickly realized it had been tricked by humans, and finally roared as it pounced on Liu Xian.

Lu Ji had been waiting for this moment. He drew his bow and arrow, almost instantly pulling it to its full draw. A special armor-piercing arrow flew out, striking the tiger squarely in the shoulder blade, cutting into the bone, and blood gushed out immediately. However, the tiger's pounce was too fierce, and Liu Xian couldn't completely dodge it. He was still hit on the left arm by the tiger's body, and the immense force sent him flying halfway, crashing into a pine tree. Half of his body immediately went numb.

However, the sword also slashed a hideous wound on the tiger's right forelimb, causing the tiger to lose its balance and fall to the ground.

Although the tiger was severely injured, it still possessed considerable strength. Lying on the ground, it reared up on its forelegs and roared at Lu Ji. After a while, it roared at Liu Xian. Liu Xian knew he couldn't afford to lose face at this moment, so he forced himself to stand and still drew his sword at the tiger. But in reality, his left arm and left leg were trembling uncontrollably.

Just as Lu Ji was about to fire another arrow, the tiger, knowing Liu Xian was weak, used its remaining strength to pounce again. Its huge body flew down and pressed down on him once more. This time, Liu Xian had no way to dodge. He tried to use his sword to fight off the tiger's claws, but he was instantly knocked to the ground by an indescribable force. When he looked up, he could see a gaping maw about to bite down on his head.

This scene spurred Liu Xian to action. Holding the sword in his right hand, he instinctively thrust it into the gaping maw! The tiger trembled in pain once more. He released the hilt, instead grabbing the tiger's eyes, holding them firmly to prevent it from biting down. The tiger then tried to kill with its claws, but in that split second, Lu Ji fired another arrow, piercing the tiger's neck.

This caused the tiger to lose its strength. Liu Xian felt the tiger's strength loosen, and his heartstrings snapped. His right hand also lost its strength, and he collapsed to the ground.

Lu Ji walked to the tiger's carcass and it took him a long time to move it away. Liu Xian, who had escaped from the tiger's jaws, was also sweating profusely with lingering fear. The two of them slumped onto the rocks, feeling sore all over and incredulous.

Lu Ji said, "This tiger must weigh six hundred jin (approximately 300 kg), how come it didn't crush you to death?"

Liu Xian said, "If you crush me to death, be careful, my ghost will come after you."

The two, exhausted from their banter, looked at each other's disheveled appearance and suddenly chuckled in unison. Adult laughter is mature and complex, but at this moment, it was unusually clean and clear, making Liu Xian feel unlike an adult, much less a high-ranking official. He was simply reminded of the simplest joys of his childhood.

So much so that he almost blurted out a question to Lu Ji: "Would you be willing to be my Kongming?"

But he never said it aloud, which was one of the things Liu Xian regretted most in his life. (End of Chapter)