Chapter 22: The Youth's Hunt

At this time of year, Mount Wan'an had yet to reach its prime hunting season.

Wait another two months, and the snow on the peaks would melt, causing the Yi and Luo rivers to swell until Mount Wan'an was blanketed in marshes and dense reeds. The mountain forests would be lush with vegetation, and wild, nameless flowers would bloom in a riotous frenzy. Waterfowl would nest within the reeds, darting back and forth above the treetops; egg-stealing field mice and mud-loving wild boars would burrow through the earth, each minding their own business. As for the herds of elk, spotted deer, and wild oxen, they would frequent the area, dipping their legs into the water, ears twitching in vigilance as they lowered their heads to drink. Such scenes inevitably attracted scavenging wolves and even the tigers that prowled the mountains. It was a place where all manner of birds and beasts gathered.

But for now, spring was caught in a state of neither arriving nor departing. The grass had not yet fully sprouted, many migratory birds had not yet returned from the north, and bees buzzed anxiously among the few available blossoms. Naturally, the vibrant vitality of the coming months was nowhere to be seen. Yet, winter was truly over; many creatures had felt the call of the warm breeze and were foraging hungrily across the wilderness. On the patches of unmelted snow, this was evidenced by the chaotic, crisscrossing tracks of wild boars, hares, wolves, and foxes.

On this afternoon, a group of youths began to hunt in the mountains. Lacking the intense, singular focus of adults, they did not engage in the traditional, large-scale encirclement. Instead, they moved with a leisurely air, as if on a casual excursion, catching whatever they encountered with the playful spirit of a game of hide-and-seek.

At first, they turned their attention to rabbit burrows. Jia Mi had brought along a sable, claiming it was from Youzhou, capable of understanding human speech and skilled at catching rodents. The sable was barely a foot long, small and adorable—could it really catch game? Everyone was curious, so they found a hole the size of a bowl on a slope and let it slip inside.

Before long, a flurry of thumping echoes came from within, and three rabbits darted out like arrows. Jia Mi's attendants were quick-witted; each grabbed a rabbit by the throat, slit them with knives to drain the blood, and tied them in a string. As they processed the catch, the sable emerged leisurely, a palm-sized baby rabbit clamped in its jaws.

The youths cheered in unison and had the sable perform several more times. Within two quarters of an hour, the sable had flushed out a dozen more rabbits and even emerged with a black snake, still half-dazed from its winter slumber.

But the youths' novelty was fleeting. Having traveled twenty or thirty miles with bows and horses, they were clearly not content with just catching rabbits. After about an hour, they grew tired of the game at the burrow entrances and began discussing the hunt for larger prey.

Shi Chao, who had the most experience hunting with his elders, suggested heading to an area with a wider vantage point to make tracking easier. Liu Xian volunteered to ride with him to the mountain ridge. They climbed to the highest peak of the hill and looked down.

They saw the landscape, covered in sparse grass, sloping gently toward the south and extending into a series of interconnected ponds. A breeze swept through, causing the trees on the slopes to sway, while the ponds shimmered with golden sunlight reflecting off various-sized pools. Dotted among the reeds, they could see a herd of wild deer appearing and disappearing from view.

After returning to inform their companions, everyone was delighted and hurriedly gathered their bows and arrows to cross the mountain. To avoid startling the herd, they dismounted and proceeded on foot, steering clear of the flat paths and picking their way carefully through the woods.

When they were several dozen paces from the herd, Shi Chao stopped. He gathered the youths and whispered, "The art of war emphasizes an ambush from all sides, and hunting is no different. If we just chase the deer, we'll lose them because we don't know the terrain. If we split our attendants into two groups, have them circle downwind to the north of the herd, and then signal us, while we wait in the south—with an attack from both sides, how could we fail?"

Everyone agreed. The attendants took the horses and vanished along the flanks of the herd. The youths watched the deer anxiously, fearing any sign of detection. To remain unseen, the guards took a wide path, but even so, the drinking deer would occasionally lift their heads, ears pricked, gazing around in alarm. Whenever this happened, the youths held their breath, as if the deer dozens of paces away could hear them.

While they waited, Liu Xian watched Shi Chao beside him. He saw the boy’s eyes slightly widened, his hands clenched into fists, his body trembling with excitement. He couldn't help but sigh: "Xinu is truly a born general. Usually, he is careless and bold, but the moment he encounters the prospect of blood, he becomes so meticulous and focused!"

Liu Xian then glanced at Jia Mi behind them. The youth, who possessed the delicate beauty of a girl, was idly teasing his sable, showing no sign of tension or concern. Standing beside him was a brawny man, eight feet tall, with disheveled hair and a thick beard. He wore a four-foot-long hacking blade at his waist and carried a towering ox-horn bow on his back, scanning his surroundings with unwavering precision. For a moment, their eyes met; the man blinked, then smiled at Liu Xian, who quickly looked away.

Just then, a breeze swept across the slope. The stag leading the herd raised its head in alarm, peering uneasily toward the reed beds, sniffing the air. It let out a low, guttural cry.

The youths on the slope grew tense. They swung onto their horses, gripped their longbows, and waited for their attendants' signal. Suddenly, a sharp, whistling sound from a bone-tipped arrow pierced the air. In the woods on the opposite slope, the trees swayed, and a cloud of dust rose. After a great clamor and the splashing of water, a massive stag burst forth and galloped toward the slope where the youths were waiting.

The plan had worked! The youths cheered, whipped their horses, and charged to meet the herd, drawing arrows from their quivers as they rode.

Shi Chao was at the forefront. Though young, his arms were exceptionally thick and powerful. With his left hand, he drew an arrow, hooked the string, and pulled back his short, double-curved composite bow. He drew it until the bow formed a sharp, protruding arc, its tips almost touching. Liu Xian, riding behind him, couldn't help but silently applaud.

*That is a heavy bow of nearly two stone,* Liu Xian thought. *Usually, only adult warriors use such weapons. Shi Chao is only twelve, yet he can draw it to the limit—his strength is astonishing. It’s no wonder he has aspired to a military life since childhood. I have been training with Uncle Xiao Ruan and feel my strength increasing, but to reach this level, I must work even harder.*

Shi Chao aimed at a fast-moving stag galloping from his side, its four hooves flying as if it were about to take flight, its limbs and body stretched into a straight line. Shi Chao sat steady on his galloping horse, leaning forward, and released the arrow toward the stag's white, fleshy belly. The arrow cut through the dust-filled air and thudded silently into the stag's gut. The beast only had time to let out a single cry before collapsing onto the grass and snow, blood gushing from the wound.

"What a fine shot!" Liu Xian shouted as he rode past.

"Don't just watch! Shoot!" Shi Chao urged.

Liu Xian’s hands were indeed itching, but he hadn't fired because he had set his sights on the stag leading the herd. This stag was exceptionally powerful and imposing, its hooves churning as it strained to run toward the higher ground. Liu Xian followed closely, scanning the terrain. *The slope is too gentle here,* he thought. *It’s too easy for the stag to dodge. I should wait a moment and see.*

However, as he gave chase, he caught a glimpse of someone else out of the corner of his eye. It was Wang Zhou, who had also locked onto the lead stag.

Wang Zhou lacked Liu Xian’s patience. Steadying his mount, he drew his two-stone bow and pulled a specially crafted hunting arrow from his quiver—a broad-headed shaft designed like a small shovel to cut through blood vessels and cause heavy bleeding. He nocked the arrow, clamped his legs against the horse’s belly, leaned forward, and fired from beside the horse's neck in a textbook display of mounted archery.

The shot was incredibly fast, forcing Liu Xian to squint to track its trajectory. In a flash, the arrow narrowly missed the stag's hind leg and struck a rock, snapping in two from the force of the impact.

*Pity!* The thought flashed through Liu Xian’s mind, and he couldn't help but look back at Wang Zhou. Sure enough, he saw Wang Zhou’s brows knit together, his hand gripping the bow shaking—clearly annoyed by his miss.

*My turn,* Liu Xian thought with a surge of excitement. The slope ahead was becoming steeper, and the trees and rocks grew denser. The stag was forced to turn frequently, inevitably slowing its pace. This was exactly what Liu Xian wanted. He was using an ordinary longbow of just over one stone with standard arrows. In these conditions, to bag a larger prize than the others, he would have to use his wits.

He drew an arrow, nocked it with great care, braced his feet in the stirrups, and squeezed his legs against the horse's flanks. Holding his breath and leaning forward, he drew the bowstring taut, listening to the wood groan. He focused entirely on his aim until his eye, the arrowhead, and the stag's head aligned. Liu Xian released.

With a "swish," a sharp cry echoed from the distance. *Hit!* Liu Xian thought excitedly. But as he looked closer, he saw the stag hadn't slowed down at all; it was still galloping toward the mountain. An arrow was stuck firmly in its antlers, bobbing as the creature ran.

*I only hit the antlers.*

Liu Xian felt a pang of regret. A wound to the antlers wouldn't stop the stag, nor would it slow it down, and he wouldn't get another chance like this. *Must I let it get away?* He was unwilling to give up, but he had no other options.

As he thought this, Liu Xian began to slow down, intending to turn back and pursue the smaller deer. Suddenly, a tall, sturdy horse galloped past him. Before Liu Xian could react, the eight-foot-tall rider on its back drew a long arrow from his quiver. This was no hunting arrow; it was painted black, with a long, sharp, needle-like head—it was clearly an armor-piercing arrow. When the man nocked it onto his ox-horn bow, Liu Xian realized this was one of Jia Mi’s guards.

The man remained expressionless, aimed with icy indifference, and fired. This time, Liu Xian heard no whistle of an arrow parting the air, no cry of agony from the stag, and didn't even bother to track the shot. But just by looking at the archer’s face, he knew the hit was true.

Sure enough, when the other youths caught up, they saw the brawny man leap from his horse and tackle the stag, which was still struggling as it died from a neck wound. They rolled together through the withered grass and rocks. Finally, they saw the thick, tree-like antlers thrash violently a few times before falling limp and silent.