Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 107 Hunting in Zhongnan Mountain

Li Xian looked over.

Several soldiers in standard armor stood in front of the mountain road, seemingly blocking off the forest.

Li Xian frowned. Every autumn harvest season, Chang'an would indeed send out some troops to guard the mountains and forests to prevent wild animals from rushing into the fields on the outskirts of Chang'an and destroying crops. But now it was spring plowing season, so why would the government make such an arrangement?

Privately mobilized soldiers?

The thought instantly popped into Li Xian's mind.

In just a short while, Li Xian's group had reached the foot of the mountain road. When the soldiers on duty saw that Li Xian and his men were riding over, their expressions became much more tense.

Seeing their expressions, Li Xian felt increasingly uneasy.

At this moment, Liu Jianjun had already steered his horse forward, asking in a questioning tone, "Where are you soldiers from? What are you doing here on duty?"

Although Li Xian and Liu Jianjun were only dressed in ordinary clothes, the guards accompanying them from the Prince's Mansion were all fully armed. Anyone with eyes could tell at a glance that the two were either rich or noble. The soldiers looked at each other for a while, and one of them gritted his teeth, stepped forward, clasped his hands, and reported: "Reporting to your question, sir, we are from the Right Guard of the Southern Army!"

However, he did not answer another question from Liu Jianjun.

Liu Jianjun was taken aback. He rode his horse back and looked at Li Xian, asking, "Xianzi, what is the relationship between the Right Guard of the Southern Army and Wu Youji, that Right Guard General?"

Li Xian glared at him irritably and said, "These are Wu Youji's soldiers!"

Liu Jianjun burst out laughing: "Good heavens! I knew it was a narrow road for enemies, but I never imagined it would be so narrow that it turned into a single-plank bridge!"

Li Xian could tell what Liu Jianjun was thinking just by looking at his expression, and said with a smile, "Don't provoke him here. There are fewer of us. If we anger him and he stabs you in the back, even if I can avenge you, it will be a loss!"

Liu Jianjun was taken aback, frowned and thought for a while: "That's true. This desolate wilderness is not like Chang'an City. It's not worth risking my precious life to play with him."

So he spurred his horse back to the soldiers and looked down at them, asking, "I am the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Pei's Palace, and this is His Highness the Prince of Pei! You have neglected your duties and abandoned your posts. What is your punishment?"

The soldiers' faces changed when they heard Liu Jianjun mention the Prince of Pei's residence, and they became even more terrified when Liu Jianjun questioned them.

But then Liu Jianjun said, "Alright, I know you are soldiers of Wu Youji. I, the chief clerk, became acquainted with him after a fight. He's probably here for sightseeing and hunting, right?"

The soldiers looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Liu Jianjun sneered: "In this desolate wilderness, if you're not here to hunt, are you here to find prostitutes for casual sex?"

"I'm not here to hold you accountable, but I'd like to ask where your general is hunting. His Highness Prince Pei and I are also planning to go hunting in the mountains. If we run into each other, whose prey is it?"

The soldiers' expressions relaxed slightly. The soldier who had spoken earlier mustered his courage and stepped forward, clasped his hands, and reported, "General Wu is hunting south of Wangshun Mountain in this valley."

Liu Jianjun exclaimed, "Hey! He's taken over the entire area south of Wangshun Mountain all by himself?"

The soldiers lowered their heads sheepishly, not daring to respond.

Liu Jianjun waved his hand and said, "Alright, I won't make things difficult for you. I will go hunting north of Wangshun Mountain with Prince Pei. If you see Wu Youji, just say that I am making amends for the beating I gave him last time."

After saying that, he spurred his horse back, a mischievous smile on his lips: "Let's go, Xianzi, into the mountains!"

Li Xian thought to himself, Liu Jianjun must be up to something again.

The group headed straight into the valley, and the soldiers naturally didn't dare to stop them. They reached the end of the valley, where soldiers had already set up camp, indicating that Wu Youji had organized quite a few people for the hunt. Liu Jianjun was right; after Empress Wu came to power, Wu Youji, as a descendant of the Wu family, had become increasingly arrogant.

Not only did he go hunting during the very period of duty, but he also led his soldiers to neglect their duties.

Liu Jianjun repeated the same words to the soldiers on duty in the valley, then called on everyone to tie the horses to their camp and instructed, "Since you happen to be here, help watch the horses!"

Then he ran back and chuckled, "That way we won't need to keep someone specifically watching over the horses."

Li Xian chuckled; Liu Jianjun was even greedy for such a small advantage.

After tying up their horses, Li Xian and his group headed into the mountains. Liu Jianjun, as expected, planned to avoid Wu Youji and head north towards Wang Shunshan.

Li Xian asked curiously, "When did you change your ways? You're actually avoiding Wu Youji this time?"

"Why should I avoid him?" Liu Jianjun rolled his eyes and said, "Back in Liujiazhuang, those small hills used to take a dozen or twenty hunters to go into the mountains. What can we possibly do with such a small group of people going into such a big mountain?"

Li Xian suddenly realized that Liu Jianjun also had hunting experience, and then asked, "Then what does that have to do with you avoiding him?"

“Wu Youji drives and surrounds the prey on the south side of the mountain. The wild animals inside the encirclement will definitely be driven to the south side of the mountain, but the prey outside the encirclement will be startled and will naturally run in the opposite direction. If we go directly to the north side of the mountain to surround them, isn’t that the same as Wu Youji doing work for us for free?”

Li Xian chuckled to himself.

That's true. When has Liu Jianjun ever done anything that puts him at a disadvantage?

The group circled the foot of the mountain. The mountain path was a bit difficult to walk. Guangshun and Guangren no longer had the excitement they had when they first set out. On the contrary, Liu Jianjun was as carefree as a fish swimming in water, weaving through the trees and thorns as nimbly as an eel.

Even the elite guards in the manor are no match for him.

Li Xian somewhat regretted coming to this place to hunt. In the past, when hunting in Shanglin Garden, there were people specifically responsible for driving the prey, and he only needed to ride his horse behind the prey and draw his bow to shoot arrows.

Who would have thought that real mountain hunting would be so physically demanding?

Liu Jianjun remained energetic, moving silently through the woods like a raccoon dog, sometimes crouching down to examine the marks on the ground, and sometimes listening intently to the sounds in the distance.

Li Xian thought he was extremely professional, and in comparison, he felt like a leisurely person going on a spring outing in the mountains.

"Shh!" Suddenly, Liu Jianjun stopped abruptly, raised a hand, and whispered, "There's movement!"

Everyone immediately held their breath.

The guards quickly surrounded Li Xian and the two princes, looking around warily.

A rustling sound came from the dense forest ahead. Liu Jianjun, looking excited, grabbed the longbow from his back, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the swaying bushes.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew away at breakneck speed.

……

(End of this chapter)